Chapter 211

"Disciples of Zixiagu Sect, follow me Gu Mo! Defend our Zixiagu! We will not allow any outsider to trample upon our sect's dignity!"

As he spoke, Gu Mo pulled out his treasure—the triangular fork.

"Crack!" Within moments, Zixiagu's protective array had been shattered by the strength of Jiuyinmen's experts.

Although Zixiagu Sect's aura was formidable, its protective array was truly pitiful—barely a low-grade Level Five array.

With thousands upon thousands striking the array simultaneously, plus a Primordial Soul realm expert among them, holding out this long was already impressive.

Before Gu Mo and Zixiagu's disciples could reach the sect's main hall, Jiuyinmen's forces had already stormed inside.

This was outright tyranny. If they had merely shouted threats outside the sect, there might still have been room for negotiation.

Now Jiuyinmen had broken through Zixiagu's protective array from top to bottom and invaded the very heart of our sect—this was annihilation.

If they didn't annihilate us, Jiuyinmen would never survive in the Daoist world.

Zixiagu's disciples were so enraged they longed to rush forward and fight to the death—now the enemy had breached their own home.

But Gu Mo was stunned.

According to the message brought by Liu Yinzhu, Ding Huan had foretold that Jiuyinmen would break the sect's protective array and storm Zixiagu to annihilate it.

He was speechless.

If I had perished, this might have been plausible.

As long as I, Gu Mo, still lived, Jiuyinmen could never possibly wipe out Zixiagu.

Since they couldn't destroy Zixiagu, they had no reason to break the array and enter our grounds—they should have merely stood off against us, seeking control of Zi Yuan Zhongshan.

Now it was clear: he had misjudged. Ding Huan had been right.

At this moment, he regretted it bitterly—he had ignored Ding Huan's advice and failed to set up a trapping array within the sect.

If he had listened to Ding Huan, Jiuyinmen would now be walking straight into a death trap.

How could Ding Huan have known such an illogical thing?

Gu Mo had intended to lead the charge, but then he remembered Ding Huan's words, delivered by Liu Yinzhu.

Do not strike first. Wait until the enemy rushes in, then unleash your full power.

Remembering this, Gu Mo forcibly suppressed his rage and halted his advance.

Just as Gu Mo expected the enemy to charge forward, something even more unexpected happened.

Jiuyinmen did not rush in—instead, each disciple pulled out a cylindrical device, activated it, and thick smoke filled a radius of several miles.

What was this supposed to mean?

When the smoke drifted toward him, Gu Mo's heart jolted—he understood.

The smoke they released—wasn't that the very poison he had been poisoned with?

Jiuyinmen was so despicable—they meant to exterminate us completely, using this horrific poison mist against Zixiagu.

Even I could not resist this poison, let alone the disciples and elders. They dared release it so openly—they must have taken an antidote.

No more waiting. Charge now—kill one and you break even, kill two and you profit.

Wait… no.

Gu Mo instantly realized what was happening, and roared in fury:

"Chang Qi, Hao Wudao—do you dare openly defy the rules of the Daoist world?

You, one the Sect Master, the other the Supreme Elder—storming into Zixiagu like this—do you think the Daoist world will allow Jiuyinmen to continue existing?"

At this moment, Gu Mo finally understood what Gao Xiang meant—its ingredients were definitely an antidote.

Ding Huan had ordered them to burn Gao Xiang before battle—to inhale the antidote first.

Now, Jiuyinmen, believing them poisoned and powerless, would charge in en masse.

Jiuyinmen would lower their guard—we, fresh and ready, could strike them down with cunning.

"Ha ha! Gu Mo, you're still alive? That surprises even me, Hao! My Jiuyinmen disciples—Zixiagu has seized our Zi Yuan Zhongshan. We annihilate them!"

Hao Wudao laughed loudly—he had long desired to destroy Zixiagu, and today was finally the chance.

Over eight thousand Jiuyinmen disciples surged forward.

Gu Mo roared: "Zixiagu disciples! Give this battle your all! Unleash your full strength—kill!"

Anyone with even a shred of battlefield knowledge knew that a battle of nearly twenty thousand warriors charging blindly into chaos was the height of stupidity.

No order, no organization, each fighting alone—no collective strength.

Yet whether Jiuyinmen or Zixiagu, these elders and disciples cultivated solely for immortality.

Who in their right mind would bother learning battlefield formations?

Besides, in Jiuyinmen's eyes, Zixiagu's cultivators were already poisoned—next came the slaughter, like cutting melons and chopping vegetables. Why bother with formations? Why bother with ranks?

At this moment, every Jiuyinmen disciple only craved harvesting as many heads as possible while Zixiagu's people were poisoned.

Ding Huan wasn't here—if he were, he'd surely curse Gu Mo as a fool.

If he led this battle, he'd guarantee the complete annihilation of Jiuyinmen's invaders.

He had already told Gu Mo: Jiuyinmen would storm Zixiagu.

Yet Gu Mo had set up no battle array—had he done so, combined with the pre-placed trapping array, could ten thousand men not kill eight thousand?

Jiuyinmen charging blindly was understandable—they believed Zixiagu's cultivators were poisoned, so no formation was needed.

But for Gu Mo to order Zixiagu's disciples to charge blindly too? That was incomprehensible.

"Ahh!"

With the first scream, the battlefield erupted in blood mist—cultivators fell everywhere.

Gu Mo watched as the unsuspecting Jiuyinmen disciples rushed into Zixiagu's ranks and were cut down—his heart swelled with satisfaction.

He was grateful he had listened to Liu Yinzhu's suggestion to burn Gao Xiang.

He had never intended to burn it—until Liu Yinzhu insisted that Ding Huan never spoke without reason, and there must be a purpose.

Thinking again about how Gong Hua had gone to look for the missing Ding Huan, he had still listened to Liu Yinzhu's suggestion, refined the Gao Xiang, and had the participating disciples witness the Gao Xiang burning in the sect's main hall.

Otherwise, this would have been the moment Purple Mist Valley was wiped out.

A group of poisoned disciples — you expect them to turn the tables and kill?

"They weren't poisoned…" Nine Sound Gate's Sect Master Chang Qi finally realized.

In this very first wave, Nine Sound Gate had already suffered heavy losses.

Without needing Chang Qi's reminder, every Nine Sound Gate disciple had already come to their senses.

Only now did Nine Sound Gate's disciples begin to guard against the counterattack of Purple Mist Valley's disciples.

Just the first wave of attacks had cost them close to one or two thousand people.

"Gu Mo, you bastard — let's see where you can run today."

Hao Wudao's heart was also blazing with rage; without realizing it, he had been outmaneuvered by Gu Mo.

Now he struck without the slightest mercy — although his name meant "No Blade," at least five entirely different blades circled around him.

Gu Mo's triangular halberd also whipped up clusters of halberd shadows wrapping toward Hao Wudao:

"So it really was you who ambushed me last time — you despicable little man."

Hao Wudao didn't answer. The five blades formed a blade formation, not only wrapping up Gu Mo's triangular halberd shadows but even trapping Gu Mo himself, who for the moment couldn't break out.

Gu Mo knew Hao Wudao was Nine Sound Gate's only Primordial Soul cultivator — once he was locked with Hao Wudao, he had no way in the short term to go support anyone else inside the sect.

Yet in his peripheral vision he saw that Nine Sound Gate, after suffering those initial losses, had now stabilized its footing.

Purple Mist Valley's True Pill elders kept getting cut down by Chang Qi; the Enforcement Elder Dong Lishang, on whom he had pinned such high hopes, was nowhere to be seen at all.

Clearly, Dong Lishang had fled right after the great battle began.

A wave of sorrow rose in his heart.

For the sake of Dong Lishang and Gong Hua, he had offended his savior Ding Huan — looking at it now, what a bitter irony.

Purple Mist Valley hadn't just lost Dong Lishang who fled — several True Pill elders had also escaped along with Dong Lishang.

So what if Purple Mist Valley had more disciples than Nine Sound Gate?

In a cultivators' battle of this kind, since no tactics favoring numerical superiority had been laid out, what it ultimately came down to was the strength of the experts.

What made Gu Mo even angrier was Elder He — a Primordial Soul elder who absorbed massive sect cultivation resources every year, yet when the sect was on the verge of annihilation, he still refused to come out.

In a life-and-death battle like this, anyone who hadn't fled beforehand basically had no hope of escaping now.

Purple Mist Valley's disciples understood this too — every single one of them fought with everything they had.

Even if they died, they would drag someone down with them.

Purple Mist Valley's disciples were rapidly dwindling — Nine Sound Gate's disciples were dwindling just as fast.

Gu Mo's strength had originally been no worse than Hao Wudao's; it was just that his serious injuries had only just healed, and he was still worried about the rest of Purple Mist Valley's elders and disciples, so when facing Hao Wudao he was slightly outmatched.

When he saw Liu Yinzhu about to be killed by Nine Sound Gate's Sect Master Chang Qi, he could no longer hold back — he charged madly at Chang Qi and at the same time slapped a palm onto Chang Qi's forehead.

Chang Qi was a sect master too, but he was only a True Pill realm sect master — facing Primordial Soul realm Gu Mo, he wasn't enough; he didn't even get a chance to strike back.

Just one palm strike, and Chang Qi's head was smashed into a pulp.

"Puh!" A spray of blood exploded from Gu Mo's body.

That reckless palm strike had also left him gravely wounded.

Hao Wudao was even more furious than Gu Mo — after being heavily wounded by Dahan Yi Dao, he threw himself madly at Gu Mo without caring about his own life.

Gu Mo had actually killed Chang Qi — that was their Nine Sound Gate's sect master!

At this moment Hao Wudao felt only regret — he should never have given Gu Mo the chance to kill Chang Qi.

"Crack!" Gu Mo's waist was split open again by one of Hao Wudao's blades — that strike nearly cut Gu Mo clean in half.

Having lost the initiative, Gu Mo suffered heavy wounds one after another.

Even so, Gu Mo still hadn't fallen — fresh blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth, and instead of retreating, he turned and grabbed hold of Hao Wudao, then violent true essence surged out.

Hao Wudao's bones kept shattering, his dantian was crushed apart by one of Gu Mo's hands.

"Boom!" Gu Mo was kicked flying by Hao Wudao.

Hao Wudao spat out a great mouthful of fresh blood — he too was gravely wounded.

"Gu Mo, I'll swallow you whole!" Hao Wudao's eyes blazed red with fury.

His dantian shattered — his future was gone.

"Sect Master." Liu Yinzhu, who had just been rescued, threw her arms around Gu Mo the very first moment.

"Quick — run, go find Ding Huan, take you away…" Gu Mo only managed those few words before his head lolled to the side.

How could Liu Yinzhu dare linger even a moment? Purple Mist Valley was clearly about to be wiped out completely.

She picked up Gu Mo and activated a forbidden art to flee.

How could Hao Wudao let Liu Yinzhu and Gu Mo go? Seeing Liu Yinzhu escape, he too chased after her without the slightest hesitation.

It was just that, gravely wounded as he was, his speed could only match Liu Yinzhu's.

(Today's update ends here, friends — good night. Old Five begs for next month's ticket support!)