Chapter 89: Spear Emerges, Thousand Clouds (2)

The Thousand Clouds Spear broke into the forest. Ye Xuanshang's figure suddenly flashed away at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and a Heavenly Sect disciple immediately collided with the spear tip. Ye Xuanjian was indeed a rare martial arts genius of the Heavenly Sect in a hundred years; amidst such a rapid attack, he was actually able to suddenly hold his spear horizontally, avoiding the disciple's vital points by a hair's breadth and sending him flying. Then, the spear tip flashed, still shooting through the wind to strike at the target.

But this momentary delay caused the spear's momentum to weaken. Ye Xuanshang let out a long laugh, backhanded a slash through the air, and as the spear and sword clashed, he borrowed the momentum to retreat abruptly, killing his way into the enemy crowd.

The forest was densely packed with Heavenly Sect disciples, and the Thousand Clouds Spear was restricted by this, making it difficult to unfold its full momentum. Ye Xuanjian was also unwilling to take advantage of the many bullying the few, so he drifted back to a high place, the spear shadow flashed and disappeared behind him, quietly observing the battle situation.

At this moment, the rain was growing heavier, and the visibility in the forest was blurred, which was extremely favorable for breaking out of the encirclement. However, there were many opponents before them. Although Ye Xuanshang was rampaging through the enemy formation, he could never find an opportunity, and furthermore, with a top expert like Ye Xuanjian lurking on the sidelines, it was not easy to retreat unscathed.

The Heavenly Sect had dispatched all the elites of the sect for this operation, which showed that Ye Xuanjian had already obtained sufficient intelligence from Crown Prince Yu. Besides the disciples fighting Ye Xuanshang in the forest, the four exits outside the forest were also heavily blocked.

Facing the Heavenly Sect disciples who surrounded him, Ye Xuanshang's eyes showed a cold look. The Guili Sword advanced and retreated abruptly, so fast that its shadow could barely be seen. Everyone around him was splashed with blood, and no one was spared.

"Retreat!" A command suddenly came from the battle formation, and the disciples retreated in response. Double swords and double blades attacked from the front, back, left, and right. These were the four great disciples under the Heavenly Sect: Yifeng, Huandian, Qianyü, and Yinglei.

The blades were fast and the swords were swift, completely filling the gaps that flashed by when the battle formation changed, not giving Ye Xuanshang any chance to break out.

The long swords of Qianyü and Huandian appeared and were retracted instantly, and the people also drifted back a few steps, guarding the sides and rear. Yifeng and Yinglei, however, drove straight in, striking at their opponent head-on.

The battle circle suddenly expanded, but it was no longer as chaotic as before.

Ye Xuanshang couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The Heavenly Sect disciples were well-trained and deeply understood the way of attack and defense. Once the chaotic situation was cleared, there was no need for Ye Xuanjian outside to take action; this kind of wave-after-wave wheel battle alone was enough to take his life, while also reducing casualties to the minimum.

He gave a cold shout, the sword light surged, and his figure rushed forward.

Yifeng and Yinglei slashed diagonally from close range, determined to dampen his sharpness before Ye Xuanshang's sword momentum reached its peak. Suddenly, the Ghostly Sword flicked into mid-air, and both were stunned. A black shadow pressed close like lightning, and suddenly a cold laugh was heard in their ears. Ye Xuanshang slapped their blade tips without distinction. Yifeng and Yinglei groaned simultaneously and retreated like they had been electrocuted to resolve the two biting True Qi that attacked their hearts directly. Qianyü and Huandian shouted in unison and attacked with their swords!

Ye Xuanshang let out a long whistle, returned the sword to his right hand, and turned to kill the two.

The sound of clanging was endless.

Qianyü and Huandian exhausted all their skills, each hard-blocking more than ten of Ye Xuanshang's swords in an instant, retreating frequently, and finally dragging the crowd of disciples back into the battle circle.

If it weren't for other weapons blocking desperately all around, the two in front would probably have been corpses on the ground long ago. Heroic spirit surged in Ye Xuanshang's heart, the strange light of the Guili Sword surged, the sound of weapons clashing suddenly intensified, and the blade light and sword shadows suddenly became dense and then scattered. Ye Xuanshang pointed his sword forward and laughed heartily. More than twenty people lay behind him, and for a time, no one dared to attack again. The battle situation appeared in such a strange pause for the first time.

The heavy rain flew, and the world was like a curtain.

A look of regret flashed faintly in the eyes of Ye Xuanjian, who was watching the battle from a high place. He sighed slightly and whistled softly through his lips.

The offensive in the forest was launched again.

"Swish!" A slight sound of breaking through the air suddenly came. The Heavenly Sect disciples responsible for defense leaped from the forest, intercepting a white figure in mid-air. Two traces of white light appeared and vanished rapidly in the rain mist, and the Heavenly Sect disciples who came forward to intercept groaned in unison and flew backward.

Ye Xuanjian's gaze moved. The white light reappeared, meeting the blades, spears, sticks, and swords that blocked his eyes. Advancing and retreating, floating like a dance, it seemed as if the entire misty rain was swirling open, and the flowing light was blooming.

In that cloud-like dance posture, red bloomed and splashed. Every time it turned, an opponent fell out of the battle circle, and the defensive posture outside the forest quickly disintegrated. The person who came was as light as a cloud, drifting to the edge of the forest. Without even seeing how they borrowed strength, they swept forward several feet and landed where Ye Xuanshang was, showing the wonder of their light-body technique. A gap appeared in the tight battle circle.

"Third Young Master!"

Ye Xuanshang slashed two people away with his backhand and looked toward the source of the voice. His heart was slightly shaken; he did not expect that the person who broke into the encirclement was actually Bai Shu'er, who had an appointment with him here.

Bai Shu'er's charming figure flickered and leaped, and in the blink of an eye, she had broken through the outermost two layers of blockade.

I don't know when, a mist like smoke drifted gently, winding around everyone. The breeze and fine rain in the forest also seemed to have charming sounds and colors, gradually emitting a lingering and soul-stirring dark fragrance.

Ye Xuanjian frowned, and the Thousand Clouds Spear suddenly appeared in his hand.

Bai Shu'er brought the Freedom Carefree Method to the extreme. The short sword in her hand danced with her sleeves, and the slender light flashed. Seeing the enemy, she injured the enemy, showing the extraordinary martial arts cultivation of the Freedom Hall Master.

Seeing that she had joined Ye Xuanshang and could break out of the encirclement, suddenly, a huge True Qi pressed toward them like a tidal wave.

Bai Shu'er was shocked and swirled her willow waist, withdrawing her sleeves to fly and avoid, as fast as the fleeting spray on the crest of a wave.

A point of silver light appeared in the rain mist, and the Thousand Clouds Spear locked onto the opponent like a shadow. There were spear shadows in all directions, and the top-notch light-body technique of the Freedom Carefree Method could not escape from this terrifying energy.

Amidst the clanging sound, Bai Shu'er's short sword intersected, and she exhausted all her strength to intercept it before the spear tip.

A terrifying True Qi suddenly came from the spear body, covering them like Mount Tai pressing down. In the spear shadows, the man's face, which looked very much like Ye Xuanshang's, with emerald clothes and black hair, and a carefree posture, made it impossible for anyone to imagine that this fierce spear momentum actually came from him.

The spear shadow arrived again, shooting toward the center of the eyebrows like lightning.

At the critical moment, Bai Shu'er's slender and soft body miraculously folded sideways. Without any borrowed strength, she relied solely on a breath of True Qi to drift along the spear body. Her light cloud water sleeves swirled against the wind, and the wonder of her posture was breathtaking.

Also in this almost impossible moment, the Thousand Clouds Spear underwent a change, the spear tip retracted and released, faster than lightning. Blood splashed beside Bai Shu'er, and she was forced to change direction, a wisp of white gauze falling into the Heavenly Sect disciples' formation. The Thousand Clouds Spear was like a dragon emerging from the sea, chasing the wind and breaking the waves, devouring the falling figure. Below, blades, swords, sticks, and spears attacked the back, left, and right respectively. The fierce wind pressed in front!

In the ten years since she led the Freedom Hall, Bai Shu'er had never thought that someone could injure her with a spear in one move. Under the severe pain of the wound, the True Qi in her chest was chaotic, and she could no longer resist.

The moment she closed her eyes under the pressure of the spear wind, the sword light suddenly surged, and a black figure pounced down from the air. The Guili Sword, which had once made people's hearts palpitate, turned into thousands of sword shadows, protecting every flaw and every gap in her whole body.

The falling body in mid-air suddenly fell into a strong arm. Ye Xuanshang held Bai Shu'er's slender waist, which could not be held in a full grip, and man and sword became one, soaring into the sky.

Bai Shu'er opened her eyes and looked, meeting Ye Xuanshang's strange gaze for an instant. Her body trembled slightly, and she whispered: "Third Young Master!"

Ye Xuanshang suddenly raised his lips, the cold lip edge showing a beautiful arc, and his arm tightened, protecting her in his arms.

The Thousand Clouds Spear chased after them, and a dazzling strange light erupted on the Guili Sword. Since the battle began, Ye Xuanshang finally had to face the Thousand Clouds Spear head-on.

Bai Shu'er's soft, boneless body felt almost weightless in Ye Xuanshang's arms. Under the protection of the Guili Sword, her fluttering long sleeves also protected Ye Xuanshang's vital points, allowing him to face the enemy with all his might without any scruples.

Ye Xuanshang suddenly accelerated, meeting the world-shaking Thousand Clouds Spear. The Guili Sword produced a wild and fierce True Qi, crashing hard toward the spear tip.

Ye Xuanjian's spear momentum intensified, and his eyes surged.

"Bang!" The spear and sword intersected, unexpectedly emitting a dull impact.

Ye Xuanjian suddenly felt something was wrong. A thick, confusing smoke exploded in the rain. Ye Xuanshang had already carried Bai Shu'er and retreated in mid-air, breaking through the clouds and mist, and disappeared into the vast rain in the blink of an eye.

The tip of the Thousand Clouds Spear trembled slightly, and countless air vortices were born out of thin air, scattering the fragrance that was drifting in the wind.

Ye Xuanjian stood with his spear retracted, not expecting that his opponent could turn hardness into softness with sword energy in one move. In this way, it was like a feather meeting a hurricane, and the fierce energy on the Thousand Clouds Spear was equivalent to sending the two of them away, out of danger. But if it weren't for his own strong and abundant internal strength, enough to turn the pure Yang True Qi transmitted from the spear into his own use, this risky move would have turned into a fatal blow, leaving Ye Xuanshang seriously injured on the spot, with no possibility of recovery.

Ye Xuanjian had to praise his courage, and his technique was brilliant. Moreover, the white-clothed woman who killed her way out halfway also cooperated with Ye Xuanshang's strategy just right. Now, the unique confusing fragrance still drifting in the rain made it impossible for him to pursue immediately.

Looking in the direction where the two disappeared, a faint smile flashed on his face. When the confusing smoke dissipated slightly, he raised his hand and ordered: "Scatter the manpower, pursue!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 90 =====