Chapter 1411: [Sacrificing Oneself to Save Another] (Part II)

Su Yujin's body struck the cave wall and then bounced back like a rubber ball, rushing full speed at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian also refused to linger in battle, executing the Art of Soaring, he followed Ji Feihua's steps flying toward the exit, but before his body reached the cave mouth, flutter, a large snow-white silhouette swooped down from the air—it was a white bat that blocked the exit before he could escape.

Hu Xiaotian had already drawn his soft sword in midair, uniting man and sword, his body spinning rapidly in the air, the soft sword whirling before him, his whole body like a spinning drill, he carved a bloody path through the layers of bat blockades; flesh flew and screams rang out. Following their devised tactic, he never lingered in battle, putting escape first.

Su Yujin never expected that after four days of being frozen, the two not only hadn't died of cold but were vigorous and lively, actually having set an ambush for her; seeing the Blue Skull about to be taken by the two, who were about to flee one after another, how could she let them get away so easily? She let out a sharp whistle from her throat, her body like lightning, darting through the air, closely following Hu Xiaotian's back.

Hu Xiaotian ran all the way, rushing to the midpoint, when he saw a tide of white-haired rats surging forward, his heart involuntarily prickled; he steeled himself, strode into the rat swarm, and with each step he crushed several rats underfoot. Although the rats swarmed around him, none dared to bite. He was no stranger to this—since he had swallowed the Five-Colored Spider King's Inner Dan, many poisonous creatures avoided him.

Su Yujin drove the bats and rats to try to block Hu Xiaotian's escape, but seeing him still striding forward with unabated speed, she felt strangely puzzled—apparently this person possessed an extraordinary constitution, being invulnerable to all poisons.

Hu Xiaotian carved a bloody path out of the bat and white rat encirclement. Leaping into the air, he burst from the secret passage and found himself inside the Flow Moon Pavilion; as soon as he appeared, six gleaming long swords thrust at his body—wielded by six Taoist nuns who had been waiting there.

Hu Xiaotian shook his soft sword, and in an instant he had tapped each of the six long swords. Clang! clang! the sounds rang without cease; the six nuns and Hu Xiaotian's strength were vastly unequal, the shock numbed their tiger mouths, and they could not hold their long swords, which flew from their hands.

Taking advantage of the six's stunned moment, Hu Xiaotian burst open the Flow Moon Pavilion's doors, gliding out like a great bird, and headed straight for the cave mouth.

Hu Xiaotian's body had just left the Flow Moon Pavilion when a white light-and-shadow trailed after him—it was Su Yujin, who had arrived. Seeing Hu Xiaotian defeat her six disciples with a single sword, she let out a piercing whistle that carried far away.

Hu Xiaotian had already rushed out of the cave mouth, heading straight for the Three-Chi Beam; before he even reached it, he saw more than ten gray-clad Taoist nuns guarding the entrance of the Three-Chi Beam. Upon seeing Hu Xiaotian approach, those ten-plus nuns formed a sword array.

Speaking of the might of sword arrays, the Sword Palace's formations are second to none; Hu Xiaotian had once broken through the Sword Palace's array relying on the power of the Light Sword. Now he holds no Light Sword, but these Qingxuan Temple nuns' strength surely cannot compare to that of the Sword Palace.

Hu Xiaotian did not take their array seriously; the real danger came from Su Yujin behind him.

At this moment the moon hung high in the sky; Hu Xiaotian had both sneaked in and escaped at night. Twelve Taoist nuns simultaneously raised their long swords, twelve beams of stern cold light thrusting at him at once.

Hu Xiaotian gave a cold snort, his soft sword arcing out to slash sideways at the opponents' sword blades; the blades, stiffened by infused inner force, stood straight, and as they sped forward they emitted piercing whistles, the ding-dong sounds ringing without cease—this single strike of his actually severed eight of the twelve long swords, though he wielded only an ordinary soft sword; its remarkable rigidity came entirely from the might of his inner force.

The nuns' faces changed; even pooling their strength they were no match for Hu Xiaotian. Yet they did serve to impede him, for Su Yujin had already arrived behind him, waving her sleeves, she launched three ice spikes aiming at his neck, back, and spine; the transparent ice spikes gleamed with a chilling cold light in the moonlight, and as they shot forward at high speed they left three trajectories like lightning bolts.

Hu Xiaotian did not look back, his body swiftly shifting to the right; the three ice spikes missed their mark and continued flying forward.

A Qingxuan Temple disciple watched as the ice spikes originally aimed at Hu Xiaotian approached close; she turned pale with fright, thinking she was surely doomed—just then Su Yujin shook her arm, and the three ice spikes, when still an inch from the disciple's body, shattered into ice shards; the disciple inhaled many of the shards and could not help but sneeze, only then realizing she had saved her life; her legs went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

Hu Xiaotian seized the opportunity, leaping from the opening created by the fallen disciple onto the Three-Chi Beam; he brought his right foot down hard on the stone beam—thud! —and this kick actually split the stone beam in two; his body sprang up again and dove to the opposite side of the beam, the broken beam crashing down into the ravine with a thunderous roar.

A distance of five zhang might hinder an ordinary disciple, but for an expert like Su Yujin it posed no problem; she shouted angrily, "Thief, where do you think you're going?" and soared across the five-zhang-wide chasm, continuing her relentless pursuit.

Hu Xiaotian ran all the way to the Iron Chain Suspension Bridge of Sandal Green Mountain; there were guards at the bridgehead, and upon seeing Hu Xiaotian come flying, a voice ordered, "Release the arrows!"

Swish! swish! swish! the sound of arrows splitting the air rang without cease; Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly, waving his soft sword back and forth to block—these feathered arrows could inflict no harm on him, they simply flew over the heads of the Qingxuan Temple disciples, and by the time they landed he had reached the center of the Iron Chain Suspension Bridge; crossing the bridge would let him rush into the vast forest of Sandal Green Mountain, meaning he could shake off the encirclement of the Qingxuan Temple folk; even if Su Yujin caught up, in a one-on-one duel he would not fear her.

Yet at the opposite end of the bridge stood a person and a horse; seeing that figure, Hu Xiaotian's heart gave a start—it was Murong Feiyan at the bridgehead. Murong Feiyan gazed at the black-clad masked figure in the bridge's center, then spurred her mount, the horse charging toward the bridge; borrowing the horse's forward momentum, she leapt from its back, her long sword scooping up the cold moonlight, and brought it down to cleave Hu Xiaotian's head.

Hu Xiaotian could hardly bring himself to strike Murong Feiyan; as their blades clashed, he heard her whisper softly, "Take me as hostage!"

Hu Xiaotian's heart shuddered—why would she say that? She had always passed herself off as Rong Feiyan; he had thought she had forgotten him, but in fact she had always remembered him, merely pretending not to recognize him. His emotions surged to the peak; seeing Murong Feiyan deliberately expose an opening, he brushed aside her sword, his body swiftly turning to her back, he gathered her into his arms and pressed his soft sword against her delicate neck. Murong Feiyan cooperated well, letting out an alarmed cry, her expression filled with utter panic.

At this moment Su Yujin had already arrived on the suspension bridge; seeing the scene before her, she couldn't help but frown slightly.

Hu Xiaotian threatened her viciously, "Demonic woman! If you dare take another step forward, I'll make your precious disciple spill blood five steps away!"

Murong Feiyan trembled as she said, "Master, your disciple is useless……"

Su Yujin's disciples also rushed to her rear, shouting in unison, "Release my junior sister! Release my junior sister!"

Su Yujin furrowed her brow, raised her hand to signal them to keep quiet.

Hu Xiaotian said triumphantly, "Why don't we discuss terms? You lead your disciples back obediently to the Qingxuan Temple; after I leave safely I will naturally release your precious disciple—this deal would be profitable for you, wouldn't it?"

Su Yujin chuckled, gazing at Hu Xiaotian at the bridge's center, she slowly nodded and said, "You don't understand me at all!" Her eyes turned toward the Daoist temple bell tower, and she cried sharply, "Attack!"

Hu Xiaotian thought she would still risk attacking him, but instead he felt a sudden jolt beneath his feet—one end of the suspension bridge on the far side had actually detached from the cliff; it turned out Su Yujin had ordered her subordinates to operate the mechanism to dismantle the bridge. Murong Feiyan let out a startled cry, her body sinking together with Hu Xiaotian; he reacted in time, embracing Murong Feiyan and soaring upward, intending to bring her out of danger.

Su Yujin had already activated at the same moment, soaring into the air above Hu Xiaotian, she continuously waved her hands, releasing hundreds of ice needles as fine as cow hair that rained down upon him from all sides; under normal circumstances Hu Xiaotian could have blocked them with his sword, but now he held Murong Feiyan in his arms—the hostage he had intended to use against Su Yujin had become his own burden; left with no choice, he could only shield Murong Feiyan and descend together with her toward the cliff below.

Amid the gasps of the onlookers, Hu Xiaotian seized a crevice in the cliff with one hand, while his other hand still clung to Murong Feiyan, refusing to let go.

Su Yujin's body twisted in midair like a snow eagle, swooping down toward the pair's position; from their recent actions she immediately deduced his identity—what a person Su Yujin is, just moments ago when Murong Feiyan stepped forward to block the enemy she had sensed something amiss, and had at once ordered the iron-chain bridge severed; under such circumstances no one would still worry about a hostage while life and death hung by a thread, but seeing this abnormal situation Su Yujin instantly grasped what was going on, and also understood the relationship between the two.

Murong Feiyan grabbed the protruding stones with both hands; seeing her master descending from the sky, she couldn't help but worry for Hu Xiaotian, and she urged softly, "Go, go quickly! No need to mind me!"

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that if he brought Murong Feiyan along he would likely be unable to shake off Su Yujin's pursuit; since Murong Feiyan was Su Yujin's disciple, Su Yujin would hardly harm her, but if he continued to protect her the loopholes would only grow larger, possibly even exposing his own identity. In a short time Hu Xiaotian made up his mind, sending a mental message: "I will come find you!" Before Su Yujin could arrive, he flipped his body upside down and plummeted straight down the high cliff like a meteor; in an instant his figure vanished into the night mist. (To be continued~^~)