Chapter 1363: [Three Consecutive Slashes] (Part 1)

Huo Shengnan fired two arrows in succession, both were knocked down by the outer circle swordsmen.

Hu Xiaotian changed his blade technique, turning a thrust into a chop; his long blade drew a circle, clashing one after another with the long swords of the four swordsmen in a short time, the ping-pong sounds unceasing; just as he had felled those four swordsmen, the eight swordsmen of the outer circle simultaneously launched an attack.

After a series of blade and sword clashes, Hu Xiaotian wanted to leap out of the circle, but discovered the enemy's encirclement had already expanded, the formation shifting into a pentagonal shape, with him exactly at the center of the pentagon.

Hu Xiaotian surveyed the thirteen swordsmen, clicking his tongue in wonder; their offense and defense were measured, their coordination seamless. If taken individually, each might be at most a first-rate swordsman, but together the thirteen could contend with a top-tier expert. Hu Xiaotian said: "Judging by your methods, you are hardly nameless nobodies; I do not know what grudge I have with you, why must you press so hard?"

One of the thirteen swordsmen spoke in a low voice: "Hand over the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords, and we will spare your life."

Hu Xiaotian felt the voice somewhat familiar; after thinking, it sounded exactly like Feng Xianlin, the tutor of Yang Yuanjie, son of Yang Daoyuan, the governor of Xichuan; when Hu Xiaotian was in Xichuan, this man had been defeated by him and then soundly beaten by Xiang Qin. Hu Xiaotian only knew he was a successor of the Sword Palace, his generation still being the junior disciple of Sword Palace Master Qiu Xian Guang; it seemed Feng Xianlin, after suffering a setback, had not given up but gathered a group of Sword Palace experts, waiting for an opportunity to retrieve the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords, regarded as the Sword Palace's supreme treasure, from him.

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly: "I thought it was someone else; it turns out to be Mr. Feng. The Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords? Who said they are on me?"

Feng Xianlin said gloomily: "You cannot fool my eyes." Since Hu Xiaotian had already seen through his identity, there was no need to continue hiding; he raised his hand, removing the veil from his face.

Hu Xiaotian sighed: "That ugly face of yours is better covered; I advise you to leave quickly. Otherwise, I will cover your eyes as well."

Feng Xianlin sneered: "Then let you taste the Heavenly Net Sword Formation!"

The thirteen swordsmen each held their position; Hu Xiaotian, at the center, could feel the murderous intent weaving into an invisible net that enveloped his body.

Huo Shengnan watched from afar, her long bow drawn like a full moon, this arrow nocked and ready. Only when the enemy sword formation turned could she find its weakness; this arrow aimed to break the enemy with a single shot.

Hu Xiaotian focused, his mind clear and empty; the inner breath in his Dantian Qi Sea continuously flowed outward, the blade's luster increased due to the condensation of inner breath, in the dark night the fish-scale-like patterns on the blade were clearly visible. After learning the enemy's true identity, Hu Xiaotian decided to show no mercy. As the time he had spent in this era lengthened, he understood a principle: to cut the weeds, one must remove the roots; leaving the opponent a chance is leaving himself a risk. Had he eliminated Feng Xianlin back in Xichuan, there would be no such ambush today. If he mastered the secret of the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords, the Sword Palace would not learn of it.

Feng Xianlin shouted loudly: "Wind!"

The thirteen swordsmen ran counterclockwise, their long swords rising and falling; four of the long swords guarded the outer circle, defending against Huo Shengnan's possible attack at any moment. The other nine long swords all pointed at Hu Xiaotian, their running speed increasing. Four swordsmen broke formation, running clockwise in the outer circle, their sword lights merging into one, like two silver dragons coiling and undulating around Hu Xiaotian's body.

The nine swordsmen of the inner circle. Their sword tips tilted toward the center; the inner breath poured onto their swords formed an invisible vortex around Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian coldly surveyed the surroundings, slowly raising his Wind-Splitting Blade with both hands gripping the hilt; a powerful inner breath poured onto the blade, the tip of the long blade bursting forth a blade aura about a foot long due to the gathering of inner force. One force reduces ten; before absolute strength, any formation or technique is meaningless.

Gazing at the encircling circle continually contracting toward the center, Hu Xiaotian's mouth curled into a cold smile; he stepped forward, suddenly letting out a roar that shook the night sky, his Wind-Splitting Blade slashing down fiercely—this is one style of the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords. If Hu Xiaotian held the Hidden Edge Sword, it would better display the power of the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords; though the Wind-Splitting Blade is somewhat lighter than the Hidden Edge Sword, using this technique with a long blade feels natural. An invisible blade aura detached from the blade and shot forth, striking the funnel-shaped light halo formed by the enemy sword formation.

Hu Xiaotian did not hear the earth-shaking collision sound; the blade aura striking the light halo caused not even a ripple, like a stone sinking into the sea; the overbearing blade aura was actually dissolved into nothing by the enemy's rotating sword curtain.

The light curtain rotating around Hu Xiaotian seemed to distort slightly, then the distortion grew larger, becoming twisted in his field of vision; energy passed through layers, gathering on Feng Xianlin's sword tip; his sword emitted a clear, dragon-like cry; a thread of icy, invisible sword aura broke free from the sword formation and thrust straight at Hu Xiaotian; this sword aura not only condensed the combined inner force of the nine, but also merged with the power of the blade Hu Xiaotian had just slashed.

Hu Xiaotian had already sensed the tremendous power of the sword aura; his expression turned grave; with his inner force he dared not gamble, he retracted his blade stance, tapped his toes, and his body suddenly leapt into the air.

Four rays of light rose from the outer circle, four sword auras preemptively sealing Hu Xiaotian's retreat above.

At the same time, Huo Shengnan in the distance had already activated, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, instantly loosing seven feathered arrows; as the four outer swordsmen blocked Hu Xiaotian's retreat, they simultaneously exposed their own weak points, giving Huo Shengnan the chance for a decisive strike.

However, the enemy sword formation's coordination far exceeded Huo Shengnan's imagination; while the four outer men blocked Hu Xiaotian's retreat, the inner circle except Feng Xianlin—eight swordsmen—had already activated, their swords striking down each of Huo Shengnan's feathered arrows one by one.

With his retreat blocked, Hu Xiaotian had no choice but to resist head-on with his Wind-Splitting Blade against this icy sword aura generated by the enemy's combined force; in this, his own strength accounted for most of it; the sword aura heavily struck the light shield formed on his blade, emitting a loud "Peng!" as the shield's light was instantly torn apart, Hu Xiaotian's body revealed behind the shield; the sword aura not spent, still surged at astonishing speed toward his chest; Hu Xiaotian exerted all his skill, his footwork shifting, changing his body position three times before dodging this sword aura.

Hu Xiaotian still shaken, he looked up; the thirteen swordsmen, under Feng Xianlin's command, had re-formed the encirclement.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought it sinister; this was his first time witnessing the power of a sword formation; previously he had thought the Sword Palace had declined after Lin Bai Tao's death, he had once crossed swords with the Sword Palace's junior sect leader Qiu Mu Bai, and had also learned Feng Xianlin's high techniques; one could say neither of these two were his match, but times had changed, during this period he had encountered many fortunes, his martial arts greatly improved; he never expected to be blocked today by the sword formation led by Feng Xianlin and the Sword Palace experts.

The Sword Palace's ability to stand out among the many sects of Da Yong was surely no coincidence; Hu Xiaotian put away his contempt, his gaze crossing space to Huo Shengnan; Huo Shengnan looked at him from afar, her beautiful eyes full of concern. She also saw that although Hu Xiaotian was not in immediate danger in the short term, he could not break through the enemy sword formation in a moment.

Huo Shengnan drew her bow again, seeking the winning opportunity; as long as she could kill one of the thirteen swordsmen, the enemy sword formation would inevitably show a flaw, and Hu Xiaotian's breakthrough would become easy.

The thirteen swordsmen again ran around Hu Xiaotian; this time the inner circle became five, the outer eight; their running method differed from before—previously inner and outer ran opposite, now both inner and outer ran clockwise, the two sword auras forming light curtains rotating clockwise around Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian subtly sensed the flow of the enemy's energy, patiently searching for a loophole; this time the double encirclement formed by the enemy felt more oppressive than before.

Hu Xiaotian still gripped his blade with both hands, launching an attack with the same technique.

The corner of Feng Xianlin's mouth curled with a faint sneer; Hu Xiaotian seemed not to have learned his lesson; such an attack was utterly useless to them; their sword formation could borrow force to counterforce, reflecting Hu Xiaotian's attack entirely back.

The blade aura of the Wind-Splitting Blade blazed; at the moment the light burst forth, Hu Xiaotian swung his long blade, the blade aura tore through the air, assaulting the light shield formed by the enemy sword formation; the power of this strike was clearly much weaker than before, one push then decline then exhaustion; no matter how strong your inner force, it will continuously drain in battle.

Yet this strike of Hu Xiaotian was intentional; the blade aura flying off the blade struck the enemy's light shield, then was again dissolved by the enemy's constantly rotating shield; the energy transmitted through the blade was delivered level by level to Feng Xianlin's sword, but before all energy could finish transferring, Hu Xiaotian, with astonishing speed, unleashed a second strike, still the same technique, chopping the same direction; this time the force was doubled compared to before.

The five inner swordsmen clearly had not expected him to launch a second attack so quickly; this person's inner force was astonishingly strong. At the same moment, the eight outer swordsmen flashed like lightning into the inner circle's formation; thirteen long swords seamlessly united, the sword lights dancing formed a light shield that instantly blazed with several times the sharpness.

The blade aura again collided with the light shield formed by the thirteen swordsmen; where the blade aura cut, the light shield clearly twisted.

At the same time, Huo Shengnan's long bow began to fire, shooting out nine arrows like chasing wind and electricity.

The thirteen swordsmen simultaneously waved their long swords; the sword light formed a shield that twisted and spiraled, the sound of arrowheads colliding with the shield constant and tinkling; the shield twisted and reversed, like a long dragon tumbling and dancing wildly.

Two updates delivered, today is Monday, Zhangyu seems to have forgotten to ask for recommendation tickets; those who have recommendation tickets, please vote for me! (To be continued~^~)