Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  As Bi Xuan saw through the nature of the mirage above the mercury moat, the people in the dao of heaven held an emergency meeting. To them, a natural moat was not actually something that was difficult to cross. They just needed to think about how they were to cross it.

  "It's impossible for the mercury moat to be so wide that there is no bounds for it. We can use something to serve as platforms for us to cross over it."

  "There is poison in the moat and a mirage. Who knows whether there are other traps in it."

  There are those who supported going over the moat, and there were those who hesitated.

  "Master Zither Player, if we act according to what you said and continue delaying things, the black sandstorm might be over, and we will all be buried under sand. Then, we will rot together with the desert palace." Ye Gucheng gave the old zither player a mocking look.

  The old zither player spoke in a natural manner. "I am just reminding all of you not to be too rash. Right now, the most important thing is for us to remain calm. We must think of the most suitable and safest plan."

  "Alright, then tell us. What should we do?"

  The old zither player thought about this for a while before he came up with a plan. "Zither sounds can affect areas wider than other attacks from normal martial artists. It can also travel very far. If you don't mind, allow me to play a piece to check just how deep the mercury moat is."

  Once he said those words, Ye Gucheng immediately had the mocking look on his face disappear. His expression became stern.

  "Then, I will have to trouble you, Master."

  The other people in the dao of heaven also believed that this was a plan, and they nodded. "If that's the case, we shan't delay things any longer. Master, please go on ahead."

  "Alright." The old zither player did not waste his time in pleasantries either. He sat down cross-legged and brought out his dilapidated zither from underneath his black cloak. He placed it on his knees and slowly pushed his hand down on it to play a note that traveled far and wide.

  Twang!

  The note was like the sound of a water drop falling from a mountain into a calm lake. It created a ripple of sound that could travel incredibly far and had a lingering charm.

  All the people in the hall felt their hearts tremble. They felt refreshed, and their spirits were lifted.

  At the same time, something in the rather thick fog above the mercury moat seemed to have been stirred. It started tumbling about madly, and that momentum made it seem as if a violent gust of wind had blown against it. It started rolling backward, and its movements were incredibly distinct.

  "It's effective!"

  Happy and Thousand-faced Human Fox saw this on time when they turned their heads around. They could not help but quirk their eyebrows.

  If the old zither player's zither note had managed to affect the air flow above the mercury moat and caused the mirage above the moat to crumble because of it, they would be able to clearly see just what was behind the mirage.

  The old zither player did not disappoint the people.

  As the note swept outward like a violent gust of wind, the subsequent zither notes suddenly became forceful. At the same time, they carried a gentle and sweet tone. They were like continuous waves that violently tore apart the fog above the mercury moat.

  Boom!

  The golden mirage swayed a little because of the tumbling fog and the impacts from the zither notes. Soon, it collapsed and turned into shattered golden pieces that completely disappeared above the mercury moat.

  "..."

  The people in the hall took action!

  Everyone's gazes were fixed on the tumbling and blurry fog. They wanted to see through what was behind the mirage. But clearly, this was rather hard.

  At that moment, a spark flashed in the old zither player's eyes.

  He moved his hands faster over the zither. All six of his fingers flew like two dancing butterflies. With an exceptionally unique method, his hands flew on the zither. He would either pluck, flick, sweep, or hook the strings. In an instant, the two butterflies turned into four, and four turned into eight…

  In an instant, it was as if there were dozens of butterflies dancing on the zither. It dazzled the people's eyes, and their hearts trembled.

  Boom!

  Invisible zither forces swept out.

  The endless waves of zither forces were like extra large blades. They easily cut the fog over the mercury moat was cut into pieces. Then, with a momentum that could not be blocked, they pushed forward and turned into nearly one thousand sound blades that cut the shattered fog so much that it could not fuse together within a short amount of time.

  The waves of zither forces cut the mirage into pieces and sent it scattering. At the same time, the people were able to see the truth behind the fog, which now resembled a net.

  "...That is…"

  "How could such a thing appear in this place?!"

  "That's impossible!"

  "Could that also be a mirage?!"

  When they saw what was behind the mirage, quite a number of people in the hall s.u.c.k.e.d in sharp breaths at the same time. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

  Happy's eyesight was not any worse than the people in the hall. He could also see what had appeared behind the mirage.

  It was the mouth of a beast, and it was dark and savage. It was wide open in a mighty and fierce manner. It had its neck craning forward, and it was less than 164 feet away from the mirage. But it seemed like it was fixed in place by a few black chains that were two feet wide. It was like a huge creature that protected the moat. It gave off an incredibly powerful pressure and air of danger.

  "What is that?"

  Happy had never seen this before.

  Thousand-faced Human Fox seemed to remember what it was. His face instantly turned pale. He mumbled, "It's an ancient machine used to attack cities! It's the Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds! It's a divine weapon for attacking cities. How could it appear in this place? It's fake. It's definitely fake. It's just used to intimidate us."

  But…

  The zither sounds changed.

  Even more powerful zither sounds swept forward. They endlessly cut into the metallic body of the Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds. Clanging sounds rose, but the sound waves from the elite in the dao of heaven never did manage to shake this huge divine weapon used to attack cities. It remained hanging over the mercury moat pridefully. It looked down on them, as if it stood at the peak of the world and was staring at the ants in the world.

  "It's… real…"

  The clear sounds were reflected in the ears of the people in the hall. The elites in the dao of heaven all had their expressions change.

  "It's a real Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds…"

  The Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds was an ancient machine used to attack cities. It could spit phosphorus flames that could burn everything, and even those in the dao of heaven would find it troublesome if those flames touched them. They would be burned badly by it.

  "Look over there! There seems to be more than one!"

  Bi Xuan cried out softly.

  "Yeah, they have one Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds situated every 162 feet. The money spent for the desert palace simply cannot be imagined. This is built by a royal family falling in decline, but they managed to create so many divine weapons to attack cities. If these are used to attack the Chinese plains, even the Qin Dynasty at its strongest would not have been able to withstand it!" Ye Gucheng's eyes burned intensely.

  But soon, someone dashed his hopes.

  "The Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds have already disappeared from the world. Even Heaven's Secret Valley cannot create it. You can take this Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds with you, but let me give you a word of warning. You only have one day to take it to the desert." Evil King laughed coldly.

  "It doesn't matter whether I can get this Fire Spitting Beast of Clouds. I'll be satisfied as long as I can get some other thing from the desert palace." Ye Gucheng ret
orted brusquely.

  "City Master Ye, aren't you easily satisfied?"

  "The more powerful you are, the more you can gain. These words might be crudely phrased, but they are true." Ye Gucheng did not care about Evil King's mocking words. "Evil King, aren't you thinking about how to get past the lockdown of the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds? Since these are true, could it be that you think the master of the desert palace also placed these here to intimidate us?"

  When he heard this, Evil King stopped fighting with Ye Gucheng. It was just as he said, the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds posed as quite the threat to those in the dao of heaven. If they were careless, they would die, and he had to be careful.

  Buzz!

  The final zither force was flung out, the dozens of flying butterflies immediately disappeared from the zither strings.

  The old zither player slowly opened his eyes and cast a glance at the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds set in the depths of the mercury moat. A faint hint of resignation appeared on his old face. "The Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds are bound by recondite steel, and they weigh over ten thousand pounds. Even if I give up my life for this, I cannot affect those huge beasts. I'm afraid that I've disappointed all of you."

  "Nonsense. Mister Zither Player, you've helped us see the road ahead of us, and this is already very valuable. Besides, the Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds are peerless and wondrous items. Even if we attack at the same time, we will need a long time before we can destroy them. We cannot blame you for not destroying them."

  Bi Xuan and the others in the dao of heaven nodded.

  "We don't have much time. Let's talk about what we should do now. Since there are Fire Spitting Beasts of Clouds guarding the area, even we will have a hard time breaking through the lockdown and jumping over the mercury moat. If we have the time to exchange pleasantries, it would be better for us to think about how we should go over." The swordsman in black armor took the initiative to speak, which was something rare of him.

  "Heh…"

  Before the others in the dao of heaven reacted to what he said, they heard a clear voice speak with a mocking tone by the side. "Ever since we entered the desert palace, you have been so calm that it's as if the desert palace is your backyard, sir. I thought that there should be nothing that can possibly trouble you. I can't believe that you would actually feel troubled right now."

  Chapter 1178 - Provoke the Swordsman in Black Armor

  In truth, from the moment they were trapped in the hall, the swordsman's solitary actions and the astonishing strength he occasionally revealed caused many of the people in the dao of heaven to be wary of him. Even though he had been set up by Happy, the people had noticed that the mighty power and the mystery air from the swordsman in the black armor was quite the threat to each of them.

  But the elites in the dao of heaven had very complicated emotions regarding the white-clad teenager who had a low qi realm but had extraordinary strength.

  Even though the white-clad teenager also acted alone, he had the ability to do so. He was not unnaturally cold. At the very least, he helped out when the Great Sky Force Formation attacked them, unlike the swordsman in the black armor, who had been preserving his strength all this while and constantly put on a stance where he regarded the idea of attacking with scorn.

  In comparison, the white-clad teenager was much more pleasant to the eye compared to the swordsman in black armor. Bi Xuan had harbored the most negative emotions toward the white-clad teenager in the beginning, but now, a lot of the negative emotions he had toward the white-clad teenager had already disappeared.

  Right now, when he heard the white-clad teenager mock the swordsman in black armor in his face, Bi Xuan quirked an eyebrow, and while he was surprised by this, he also had his interest piqued, and he was delighted. He discreetly looked at the swordsman in black armor.

  Bi Xuan was rather wary of the swordsman in black armor. Ever since he showed extraordinary strength, he attributed the deaths of many of his subordinates in the hall to the man's mercilessness. Right now, he was definitely happy to see someone causing trouble to the swordsman in the black armor.

  At the same time, the ones who were surprised by this and had their interests piqued were Ye Gucheng, Evil King, Empress Yin, as well as Osaya and the old zither player, who formed an alliance with Happy.

  This meant that aside from Dongfang Bubai, who was uninterested in Happy's actions, the others all paid close attention to these two people at this moment.

  Right after he finished speaking, the swordsman in blackarmor smiled coldly.

  Happy had already activated his spirit sense, and Happy could clearly sense a flash of killing intent under the swordsman's fanged mask. It was a bone-chilling, cold killing intent that caused fear in people's hearts.

  "How preposterous!

  "You're still wet behind the ears. Do you think that you have the right to talk to me just because you're hiding behind a woman's skirt? If I want to take your life, no one can stop me. I'll let you know that you have to pay a price if you offend me."

  Right after the swordsman in black armor finished speaking, he left behind an afterimage that could not be seen clearly. He disappeared from Happy's spirit sense.

  Happy might be shocked, but he showed no panic on his face.

  Even if the swordsman in the black armor showed astonishing body movements, broke free from Happy's spirit sense right after he moved, and showed strength that was even more astonishing than Bi Xuan, Happy knew that if the swordsman in black armor appeared to be strong while he was angry, he would have achieved his goal.

  Besides…

  He had Osaya, who was someone who had truly reached the dao of heaven. It would not be easy for the swordsman in black armor to get close and threaten him.

  Just as he expected, almost at the moment the swordsman in black armor vanished from the spot, Osaya also disappeared from where she stood.

  Bang!

  They exchanged a palm strike in the air.

  The swordsman in black armor was indeed blocked in the air.

  However, while the people started guessing what sort of relationship Osaya shared with the white-clad teenager, something unexpected happened.

  The swordsman in black armor did not seem to have the intention to retreat after he exchanged a blow with Osaya. After they attacked each other once in the air, the swordsman in black armor let out a cold huff, and his body moved like a dragon. His qi flow shuddered. He actually gained a clear advantage during that palm strike. Then, with a remote palm strike, he attacked Osaya fiercely and quickly while she was sent flying backwards.

  "Urk!"

  Osaya trembled in the air, and her speed while she was flying increased drastically.

  Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

  When she landed on the ground, she took seven steps backwards and left behind clear footprints on the ground. After she finally stopped, a clear trail of blood trickled down a corner of her lips.

  Once they saw this, the six people in the dao of heaven were shocked. They had originally wanted to enjoy the view of the swordsman in black armor attacking.

  Their eyeballs nearly popped out of their eye sockets.

  Osaya might be the youngest among the ones in the dao of heaven, but her performance during the Great Sky Force Formation had been praiseworthy. Her strength was not that much weaker than anyone else aside from Martial Paragon Bi Xuan.

  "Hmph!"

  Once the swordsman in black armor sent Osaya reeling after one hit, he gave off an even more domineering presence. He let out a cold huff. "You're a mere spark, and you dare challenge a roaring fire?!"

  He redirected his gaze and sent the white-clad teenager a brutal glance. He did not bother to hide his killing intent. "I'm going to let you watch your lover die in front of your eyes!"

  Before his voice faded away, Happy received the system's grave and urgent notification.

  "You used Osaya and successfully angered the mysterious elite in the dao of heaven. How
ever, since everyone has made a misjudgment to the mysterious elite's strength, all the others in the dao of heaven are intimidated by the mysterious elite's power, and they will not lend a hand to you. It's best to rely on your own strength now. Work hard and survive as the mysterious elite chases after your life."

  Happy was shocked.

  Even though he had asked Osaya to make preparations beforehand to force the swordsman in black armor to use his full strength so that he could create an illusion that he was much more powerful than the others, he did not expect that Osaya would be injured right after she exchanged one blow with the swordsman. It also threw him off his rhythm a little.

  But Happy did not panic immediately.

  He had Heaven Crystal in his hands. Even if he did not have the strength to fight back. He had no problem in lasting for a while.

  "Ten Thousand Years, stand down."

  Happy drew Heaven Crystal and sent Thousand-faced Human Fox away, since he could not help. After all, Happy might be distracted if he were around, and Thousand-faced Human Fox might even get killed by the swordsman in black armor.

  Thousand-faced Human Fox knew that he could not handle a fight at this level, so he did not say anything. He just cast a deep glance at Happy's back before he retreated and landed beside Osaya.

  "Did you send your servant because you intend to fight against me alone?" The swordsman in black armor put his hands behind his back. A great wave of power from the dao of heaven surged out from his body. His feet gradually left the ground, and while he was airborne, he looked down at the white-clad teenager whose robes fluttered loudly, but whose expression remained determined. Surprise flashed briefly in the swordsman's eyes.

  Boom!

  At that moment, Happy could no longer care about hiding his identity. He brandished his longsword and activated his qi realm. With his powerful Willpower supporting him, he fought back against the mighty pressure from the dao of heaven and pressure on his mind which were attacks from the swordsman in the dao of heaven. He did not back down in the slightest. His gaze was intense, and he did not take even a single step back.