Chapter 330: Head-on Confrontation

Zhang Nuo hesitated; he dared not return to the lakeside rashly. If someone were to discover the secret of the Illusion Array, there would certainly be no share left for him!

According to Zhang Nuo's own conjecture, the location of the Illusion Array must be the entrance to the Zifu Tianqi Immortal Cave. If Chunyangzi really broke the Restriction, it would be futile if he were not present!

He looked anxiously at the massive Tianqi Immortal Mountain. Suddenly, a purple-gold ray of light flew from one side, slashing toward Zhang Nuo! He had been maintaining vigilance at all times; the moment he sensed the malicious wind behind him, he flipped his body and shot away like an arrow for several zhang!

With a loud "Boom—", that purple-gold ray of light struck the spot where Zhang Nuo had previously stood. Dust and smoke rose everywhere, and a deep pit with a diameter of three zhang was blasted directly into the ground!

"Who is it?"

Zhang Nuo had a belly full of fire with nowhere to vent it; his gaze turned cold as he looked toward the source of the purple-gold light.

"Heh heh! The old man's luck today is truly excellent! I didn't expect to find you again!"

After a cold laugh, the figure of Jin Buhuan walked over from a distance. With a wave of one hand, the purple-gold light that had previously attacked Zhang Nuo flew rapidly back into his palm. As the light faded, it was revealed to be a purple-gold Flying Sword!

"It's you again!"

Zhang Nuo was so angry his eyes turned blood-red. If not for the appearance of this old man earlier, he would not have left the side of the small lake. Now, the old man was clinging to him again like a lingering ghost. It seemed that running away was not a solution; perhaps all the cultivators in the entire Great Underworld Mansion were hunting him down.

"Since you've come seeking death! Then don't blame me!"

In for a penny, in for a pound! In order to enter the Zifu Tianqi Immortal Cave, Zhang Nuo had no choice but to adopt a head-on confrontation with the cultivator from the Great Underworld Mansion! As he spoke, he moved his Divine Sense, and dozens of Flying Swords rushed out from his body simultaneously. These Flying Swords shone with brilliant spiritual light and, accompanied by a humming sound, appeared very restless!

"This old man would like to see just how much the little fellow from back then has grown!"

Seeing that Zhang Nuo no longer intended to flee, Jin Buhuan narrowed his eyes and spoke. Do not be fooled by his relaxed tone; he dared not be the least bit careless in his mind. A small Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator from the Divine Sword Sect back then could now become the Golden Core Late Stage cultivator before him—this was not something that could be achieved by luck alone!

"Before I strike, I want to ask you one thing."

Silver flames flickered incessantly within Zhang Nuo's blood-red eyes. He clenched his ten fingers into fists, causing a series of knuckle-cracking sounds, and his words were devoid of any emotion.

"Ask me?"

Jin Buhuan hesitated slightly, his expression changing slightly; he did not know what Zhang Nuo wanted to ask him.

"In the small village below Sword Mountain, was the Blood Sacrifice incident back then caused by people from the Great Underworld Mansion?"

This matter, buried in Zhang Nuo's heart for decades, was finally spoken aloud. At the same time, his pupils shrank abruptly as he quietly waited for the old man before him to provide an answer!

"Blood Sacrifice? You mean that blood pool in the center of the village! It was us! So what?"

Jin Buhuan feigned a thoughtful look, then admitted it as if it were nothing. Seeing Zhang Nuo's eyes, which were on the verge of splitting, the old man continued:

"Oh! This old man almost forgot! You were one of the people from that village! I suppose your parents were among them too! Tsk tsk! No wonder there was a couple back then loudly shouting 'Nuo Er!'"

Jin Buhuan deliberately described the event as extremely tragic; he wanted to use this to enrage Zhang Nuo. Once a person enters a state of uncontrollable anger, their mind is bound to be disturbed, and their fighting will fall into disarray!

Listening to Jin Buhuan's words, Zhang Nuo's heart felt as if it were dripping blood. He seemed to see the moment his parents called his name, his entire being immersed in heart-wrenching sorrow!

Zhang Nuo's slightly trembling body took a few steps back. He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them abruptly a moment later. After a flash of Evil Qi passed through his eyes, he pointed a single finger at the old man in front and roared:

"Who was the one who did it? Was it that fellow with the surname Chi!"

Because Zhang Nuo had only seen the man with the surname Chi at the time, in his memory, he had always believed it was the work of the man with the surname Chi!

Looking at Zhang Nuo's face, distorted by grief, Jin Buhuan gave a cold snort and said:

"Yes! It was done by the one surnamed Chi!"

Seeing that he had successfully enraged Zhang Nuo, Jin Buhuan took a slight step forward and observed Zhang Nuo's reaction. He saw him standing straight on the spot, waves of Evil Qi radiating from his body, his blood-red eyes almost unable to show pupils!

Taking another step forward, he discovered that Zhang Nuo still had no reaction, as if what stood there was merely a shell, its soul having long since vanished!

"This is the chance!"

What kind of person was Jin Buhuan! From the two-step probe, he saw that Zhang Nuo was still immersed in sorrow and unable to extricate himself! Seizing this great opportunity, the old man raised one hand and unleashed the purple-gold Flying Sword in his hand, slashing directly toward Zhang Nuo's head. At the same time, he opened his mouth wide, and a fist-sized mass of Yin Qi flashed out, pouncing toward Zhang Nuo without the slightest pause!

That mass of Yin Qi arrived later but reached the target first, flashing in an instant to Zhang Nuo's proximity! Seeing that Zhang Nuo still had no reaction, Jin Buhuan was secretly delighted; it seemed his plan had succeeded! However, before the joy on his face could fade, a pair of Black Butterfly Wings suddenly sprouted from Zhang Nuo's back, the two wings wrapping Zhang Nuo inside them.

As spatial fluctuations arose, Zhang Nuo vanished from the spot, and the mass of Yin Qi and the purple-gold Flying Sword struck nothing! At this moment, the Yin Qi dissipated, revealing a pitch-black Kuluotou!

This Kuluotou was not large, but it seemed to have a life of its own. Yin Qi rolled incessantly within its two eye sockets, and as its mouth opened and closed, it spat out a foul odor that made one want to retch!

Seeing that the sneak attack had failed, Jin Buhuan gasped. How could a matter that was supposed to be a sure thing turn out like this? With his Divine Sense fully expanded, he shrouded the nearby space.

"Not good!"

Just as his Divine Sense was released, Jin Buhuan felt something was wrong around him. His figure flashed like lightning, rushing more than ten zhang away. When he turned his head to look, he saw that right where he had just been standing, spatial fluctuations arose and a pitch-black object appeared out of thin air—it was exactly Zhang Nuo, wrapped in the Black Butterfly Wings!

The Butterfly Wings opened, revealing Zhang Nuo, who looked like a walking corpse. At this moment, two trails of blood tears flowed from his blood-red eyes! Zhang Nuo's throat rolled a few times as he asked emotionlessly:

"What is the name of that cultivator with the surname Chi?"

"Just obediently come with me; won't you be able to ask him yourself when you see him?"

Although the movement technique Zhang Nuo had just displayed was very strange, Jin Buhuan did not take it to heart. His expression tightened as he continued to provoke Zhang Nuo!

After a long silence, Zhang Nuo slowly raised his sorrowful face, looked up at the sky, and said with extreme flatness:

"Father! Mother! May your spirits in heaven not disperse! Today, your son will avenge you!"

As soon as his voice fell, Zhang Nuo's face suddenly became ferocious. At the same time, he flicked the 'Seven Kill Ring' lightly with his finger. Immediately, waves of visible Evil Qi surged wildly from the ring, flashing as they drilled into his body.

"Go to hell!"

Wrapped in layers of Evil Qi, Zhang Nuo no longer looked like a human at all; he was like a demon god who had just returned from purgatory. After a wild roar, he cast a spell with one hand. In an instant, a Flying Sword beside him transformed into a Silver Dragon over a zhang long, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it pounced toward Jin Buhuan!

Startled by this sudden turn of events, the old man's expression turned ugly at once. The aura radiating from Zhang Nuo made even him, a cultivator of the same rank, feel a tremor from the bottom of his heart!

He hurriedly moved his Divine Sense. The black Kuluotou beside him gnashed its teeth, emitting a "clacking" sound. Then, a large amount of Yin Qi radiated from the object, and as it condensed, its size actually swelled to over a zhang!

With a "whoosh", the giant Kuluotou spat out a foul odor from its mouth and charged directly to meet the Silver Dragon!

With a loud "Boom—", the two collided, and spiritual light and Yin Qi intertwined. Before Jin Buhuan could see what was happening inside, he suddenly felt a silver radiance flash across the sky above his head. Following that, the silver radiance rapidly transformed into thousands of ruler shadows, which smashed down toward him without the slightest pause!

Zhang Nuo had held nothing back from the moment he struck, directly unleashing the Measuring Heaven Ruler. Now, there was only one thought in his mind: to annihilate the old man before him!

Jin Buhuan's Divine Sense sensed the silver ruler shadows raining down like raindrops. He wanted to use his movement technique to escape the range of the attack, but time seemed to be running out! He lifted his eyebrows slightly and stomped his foot hard on the ground; in an instant, his entire person sank into the earth!

The silver ruler shadows struck the ground, emitting continuous explosions. The soil and rocks on the ground were smashed into powder, and deep pits were everywhere!

Seeing the old man escape by burrowing into the ground the moment he was attacked, Zhang Nuo's expression sank. He raised one hand lightly, and with a "whoosh", the Measuring Heaven Ruler returned to his hand.

At this moment, Jin Buhuan's figure slowly emerged from the ground a hundred zhang away from Zhang Nuo. Glancing at Zhang Nuo in the distance, he opened his mouth wide and a small black banner flew out. The small banner was only three or four inches large at first, but in the blink of an eye, it transformed to a height of a zhang.

As the old man shook it in his hand, sounds of ghosts wailing came from the surface of the banner. At the same time, countless ghost souls swirled rapidly around the giant banner, and the aura of death gradually shrouded the surrounding space.

Seeing the appearance of this banner with his blood-red eyes, Zhang Nuo's heart immediately recalled the time back at the Divine Sword Sect when the old man had similarly activated this Magic Treasure called the 'Ten Thousand Ghost Banner'! Even Lin Fan and the others had been helpless against this banner back then!

"Use whatever techniques you have, bring them out!"

Although he was in a fit of rage, Zhang Nuo had a plan in mind; the old man's Ten Thousand Ghost Banner was refined using the souls of cultivators, and the Hell Butterfly within his own body was specifically meant to restrain souls! He let out a long whistle and his figure rushed toward Jin Buhuan like a flash of lightning!

"You really have been blinded by anger! You still dare to charge forward!"

After the old man let out a cold, mocking laugh, he flicked the giant banner with one hand, and immediately, hundreds of ghosts flashed out from the surface of the banner, circling once before all pouncing toward Zhang Nuo to bite him!