Chapter 1182

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The feathered arrows tore through the air with a sharp whistling. As Hu Xiaotian leapt up, he had already drawn the soft sword hidden at his waist. The sword trembled, radiating light, and an icy cold mist instantly enveloped his whole body. Three of the seven arrows struck the mist surrounding Hu Xiaotian, all of which he knocked down. In that breath, Hu Xiaotian had already covered half the distance.

Tang Jingyu's pupils contracted sharply. From Hu Xiaotian's movement, he judged that the opponent's strength was not inferior to his own. Tang Jingyu drew an ancient black wood bow from the bottom of the guqin, his body coiling upward. In midair he had already pulled the bowstring, nocked a feathered arrow, and with a 'po!' released the bowstring; the arrow spun toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian was already familiar with Tang Jingyu's archery; he knew this guy had reached the point of controlling arrows from afar, but he himself was not lacking either. Let's see whether your long-distance sword control is fiercer or my outward sword qi is! Hu Xiaotian thrust his soft sword in a Golden Snake Entwining Body move, deflecting the arrows aimed at him, then casually slashed out. This move, however, is one of the forms of the Slay Heaven Seven Swords. If he were holding the Hidden Edge Sword, he might be able to freely project sword qi, but the feel of the soft sword in his hand is completely different from that of a heavy sword, and this slash failed to emit sword qi.

Hu Xiaotian was also mentally prepared for this. Swish! Swish! Swish! He slashed out seven swords in succession. There was no way; since the success rate was low, he could only compensate with numbers. He refused to believe this evil—if he could achieve even a one‑tenth probability, he could take your life—but Hu Xiaotian's success rate today didn't even reach one‑tenth.

After the seven swords, not a single one managed to project sword qi, and Tang Jingyu then shot three consecutive arrows at Hu Xiaotian.

The three arrows flew toward Hu Xiaotian in a triangular formation; the distance between them was now less than five zhang. Tang Jingyu's black wood bow looked simple, yet the arrows it shot were astonishingly fast. After leaving the bowstring, the three arrows first formed a triangular shape, then rapidly turned into six in flight. This technique of splitting one into two is the secret art of the Falling Cherry Palace.

Hu Xiaotian dared not delay. He rotated his soft sword, forming a light shield in front of him. Ding! Dong! Dong! The arrows struck the shield one after another. Each impact dimmed the light a little, and Hu Xiaotian blocked all six arrows outside; the light shield created by his soft sword then vanished completely.

Tang Jingyu stood proudly atop a crystal pillar, his black wood bow resembling a full moon, with a black-feathered arrow nocked on the string, shooting at close range toward Hu Xiaotian's brow.

As Hu Xiaotian charged at Tang Jingyu, the two white‑clad maidens each took out a wooden bow and attacked Yan Boguang and his sister. The siblings used the ubiquitous crystal pillars as cover, dodging the incoming arrows while closing in on them. Their greatest advantage was that the enemy presumably wanted to keep them alive; although they kept firing, they never aimed for vital spots.

Yan Nujiao's movement was far quicker than Yan Boguang's, and she didn't know why, but ever since leaving Xichuan her inner strength had surged. She certainly wouldn't have expected it. After a single spring breeze encounter with Hu Xiaotian, he inadvertently passed some inner strength to her via the Shooting Sun True Classic; though it meant only a small part for Hu Xiaotian, for Yan Nujiao her inner strength underwent a complete transformation. She pressed herself against a crystal pillar, dodged the enemy's arrows, then in a flash raised her right hand; a sleeve arrow shot out suddenly.

This arrow struck the throat of one white‑clad maiden; she let out a miserable cry and died on the spot. Her scream drew her companion's attention, and as the other maiden turned toward the sound, Yan Boguang leapt out like a leopard, thrusting his sword into her chest. Though Yan Boguang's martial arts were ordinary, his strike was extremely vicious and cruel.

Ding! Hu Xiaotian blocked the black feathered arrow again; the arrow shaft trembled, and countless black dust scattered from it. Hu Xiaotian hastily held his breath, his body plummeting downward, and with an unconscious backhand flick, he unexpectedly managed to emit sword qi.

Tang Jingyu plotted against Hu Xiaotian, thinking his scheme had succeeded, but he never expected that this guy could still unleash such a fierce counterattack. Faced with the fierce sword qi slashing toward him, Tang Jingyu kept retreating; even as he continually shifted his form, he could not escape the area covered by the sword qi. At the critical moment, he raised his black wood bow to block, but the sword qi struck the bow—crack! —splitting it in two. Tang Jingyu, frightened, discarded the black wood bow, his body bending backward. Although the sword qi had weakened somewhat, its power remained, splitting the white jade hairpin on his head. Tang Jingyu's black hair fell loose over his head, his eyes filled with a shocked, inexplicable light. Few people under heaven can emit sword qi; he felt a chill deep inside. Tang Jingyu realized he was somewhat afraid.

Hu Xiaotian landed on the ground, seeing the black powder still falling down over his head and face, he drew a breath from his chest and abdomen and blew it out with a puff! like a sweeping gale, clearing the black toxic mist completely.

At this moment, the Yan siblings had already successfully eliminated Tang Jingyu's two beautiful female disciples. Hu Xiaotian gripped his soft sword, stared coldly at Tang Jingyu, and said: 'Tang Jingyu, prepare to die!'

Having lost his black wood bow, Tang Jingyu seemed to have lost his will to fight as well, especially after seeing Hu Xiaotian just now actually emit sword qi; he abandoned any thought of lingering in battle, decisively deciding to turn and flee into the crystal forest.

Hu Xiaotian shouted, 'Where are you going?' He thrust his sword forward and chased after him, aiming a strike at Tang Jingyu's back. Just then, as if aided by divine help, he succeeded in emitting sword qi again, but by the time the sword qi caught up to Tang Jingyu, the latter's figure had already vanished into the crystal forest. The sword qi slashed a crystal pillar, cleaving it in two.

Hu Xiaotian strode into the crystal forest, and behind him came Yan Nujiao's concerned voice: 'Young master, don't chase!' But her warning had little effect, for Hu Xiaotian had already closely followed Tang Jingyu into the crystal forest.

Yan Boguang looked at his sister with a meaningful expression.

Yan Nujiao glared at him, somewhat dissatisfied, and said: 'What are you staring at me for?'

Yan Boguang said: 'You seem quite familiar with him, huh?'

Yan Nujiao snapped: 'Don't you have anything serious to do? Hurry up and leave—this crystal forest is a formation!'

Hu Xiaotian rushed into the crystal forest and quickly realized something was wrong—crystals everywhere. Although he could sometimes see Tang Jingyu's silhouette shimmering through, when he chased after it he found nothing but empty air, time and again. Soon Hu Xiaotian was dazed and confused, unable not only to find Tang Jingyu but even to find his way back, when from a distance came Tang Jingyu's triumphant laughter: 'Kid, just wait to starve to death here!'

Although Hu Xiaotian clearly heard Tang Jingyu's voice, whenever he pursued it he kept falling back into the crystal forest, only then realizing he had stumbled into a bewildering formation. Outside, the sky should have been overcast, and the light inside the crystal cavern grew dimmer and dimmer. Hu Xiaotian steeled himself, thinking, 'If worse comes to worst, I'll use my inner strength to shove these crystal pillars aside and carve a passage.'

At that moment, a concerned voice came from afar: 'Young master, where are you?'

Hu Xiaotian recognized the voice as Yan Nujiao's and shouted, 'I'm over here!' His voice rang out loud and strong, carrying far away, but he immediately realized this might be unwise—Tang Jingyu might not have left, perhaps he was hiding nearby waiting to ambush. He warned, 'Miss Yan, be careful—absolutely do not speak!'

Yan Nujiao heard it from afar, a warm feeling rose in her heart, and she thought silently, 'Is he showing concern for me? He must be Hu Xiaotian.'

Yan Boguang, who also didn't understand formations, followed his sister into the crystal forest. Hearing Hu Xiaotian's words, he muttered sarcastically, 'He seems to be quite concerned about you.'

Yan Nujiao gave him a glare and whispered, 'Don't speak; be careful lest the enemy discover our whereabouts.'

Yan Boguang wore an expression of displeasure, thinking, 'You won't let me speak, yet just now you were the one asking where that person was, constantly saying "young master, young master"—clearly you're just a black-faced little pirate, aren't you?'

Yan Nujiao's face was grave; she was not in a hurry to find Hu Xiaotian, instead moving through the crystal forest while keeping watch on her surroundings. The crystal forest bore many traces of human arrangement, and she instantly saw that a formation lay hidden here. If someone unfamiliar with formations stumbled into this bewildering maze, they might never find their way out for life. Tang Jingyu's earlier claim that they would be starved to death was no empty boast. Yan Nujiao silently prayed that Tang Jingyu would not hide in the crystal forest waiting to ambush.

Hu Xiaotian stood in the crystal forest, vigilantly scanning his surroundings, fearing Tang Jingyu might launch a sudden cold arrow. He shouted loudly, 'Tang Jingyu, are you even a man? You're nothing but a shrinking-headed turtle! I say your Falling Flower Palace is all shrinking-headed turtles—no wonder you've handed over the name of the Arrow Palace to others; now you dare only call yourselves the Falling Cherry Palace—I think you should be called the Defeat Palace!' Hu Xiaotian's true purpose in saying this was to draw Tang Jingyu's attention, preventing him from attacking the Yan siblings.

Hu Xiaotian spoke while listening to the movements around him; his perception could extend at least ten zhang in all directions, but Tang Jingyu was no ordinary person either and surely excelled at concealing his movements.

Both Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang were extremely cautious, but Yan Boguang only watched his surroundings and forgot to look at his feet; his right foot accidentally kicked an upright crystal shoot, causing him to cry out in pain, and Yan Nujiao, frightened, hastily covered his mouth with her hand.

Just then, a white shadow approached them from behind soundlessly; Yan Nujiao sensed the danger through the refracted human images in the crystal and cried out, 'Careful!' She pulled Yan Boguang's arm and ran to the right.

Tang Jingyu, who had been hiding in the crystal forest all along, now realized that Yan Nujiao actually understood formations, while Hu Xiaotian also realized that Tang Jingyu was nearby launching an attack on the Yan siblings, roaring, 'Tang Jingyu, take this!' Hu Xiaotian's shout was merely for show; he truly had no way to exit this bewildering formation, and although he heard the sound nearby, he simply could not find the road leading there. (To be continued~^~)