Chapter 705: Attack

“What?”

The “Thousand-Faced Lord” gasped in shock, only now realizing his face had melted like a wax statue…

After the wax melted, crimson, pale flesh and bone emerged… they rapidly decomposed, dripping drop by drop.

Whoosh!

A figure flew into the secret chamber—it was the real Gui Yan Nian!

Compared to before, his temples were streaked with gray, giving him an air of age, yet his aura was terrifyingly immense.

Entering the chamber, Gui Yan Nian’s first sight was a strange pool of wax on the ground, and within it, a stone talisman.

“Zhenwu Talisman?”

He swiftly reached out; invisible force wrapped the Zhenwu Talisman and drew it into his palm: “Ancestors, thank heaven—I’m not too late…”

“Wait—where’s the impostor who impersonated me?”

A warrior’s instinct made Gui Yan Nian glance at the pool of corpse-oil on the ground… and he fell silent.

Today, the Gui She Sect suffered a sudden attack; I was lured away, and then a Cult disciple disguised himself as me and infiltrated.

Everything seemed shrouded in conspiracy.

Most critical of all… the Zhenwu Talisman has been exposed!

Gui Yan Nian’s scalp prickled—he knew that if the Cult failed to steal it and leaked the news, the entire Gui She Sect would become the target of all under heaven!

Even if he had spent years cultivating the Xuanwu True Art and finally ascended beyond the Void, facing a coalition of martial masters from across the land, he would still meet only death with no burial!

“Go! We must leave immediately!”

“The sect can no longer be held—disband…”

Gui Yan Nian stepped out of the secret chamber into the outside world.

At this moment, countless black-clad figures had appeared within the Gui She Sect, fighting desperately against its disciples.

Some wore monk robes, muttering incessant “false words and evil incantations”; others were wrapped in a blood-red armor that continuously devoured enemies’ flesh to heal their own wounds.

“False Word Monks, Blood Glutton Guards!”

Gui Yan Nian hovered in midair, serpentine qi currents spilling out, weaving through the entire battlefield.

Wherever he encountered Cult disciples, he detonated them outright.

Even those Cult disciples with Second or First Rank power were no match for Gui Yan Nian, a being beyond the Void—they were slaughtered en masse.

“Master?”

An elder, drenched in blood, looked exhilarated: “Have you broken through beyond the Void?”

Master. The realm beyond Superlative is considered a great sect even across the entire Dala.

Though the Gui She Sect today suffered great disaster, if the Master possesses such cultivation, he can rebuild ten Gui She Sects!

“Today, the sect faces catastrophe—each elder and disciple must break out separately… once outside, do not say you are from the Gui She Sect.”

Unexpectedly, Gui Yan Nian’s next words caused every elder and disciple to turn pale.

What’s the difference between this and the sect being wiped out?

The key point is—even with powerful enemies, we can still fight! Why retreat to this extent?

“Hehe… Guoran ， Zhenwufuzainishoushang ！”

As Gui Yan Nian spoke, a cold, sinister voice echoed simultaneously.

The heavens and earth plunged into darkness.

No!

Rather, a vast darkness descended, claws outstretched!

The formless, intangible darkness transformed into a monstrous beast; one by one, Gui She disciples screamed and were swallowed whole.

“Void power… Second Rank Eternal Darkness Marquis?”

Gui Yan Nian sneered; from his center, aura forms emerged—taking the shape of a coiled tortoise and serpent, the Xuanwu form—dispelling the darkness.

He knew a powerful enemy had arrived!

This Cult expert, though only Superlative Void Rank, bore the additional title of “Eternal Darkness Marquis,” making his strength equal to Gui Yan Nian’s.

From within the darkness, a figure in a black robe appeared, raising one hand.

Space and darkness fused at once, forming a strange beast claw that covered half the sky.

The Cult’s Ninth Rank titles do not directly correspond to martial ranks.

For a long time, no Cult disciple could even ascend to Second Rank.

But this does not mean the Cult is weak!

In fact, the Cult has always been the primary target of the Dala Court, even holding its own during Dala’s golden age, occasionally sparking rebellions that left the court in chaos.

Now, as the Dala Court enters its twilight, the Cult has grown bolder, poised to sweep across the land!

Boom!

Behind Gui Yan Nian, the Xuanwu form came alive, roaring fiercely, enveloping him and causing the black beast claw to recoil uselessly.

?co

“Xuanwu True Art?”

The Eternal Darkness Marquis was slightly startled: “I thought your Gui She Sect merely inherited a fragment of the Zhenwu lineage’s visualization technique—never expected you’d obtained the core True Art… hehe, so you were once a direct branch of Zhenwu Mountain? The more direct, the more you must die!”

The feud between the Cult and Zhenwu Mountain traces back to Xun Heihu and the Black Lotus Patriarch.

Indeed, the Cult secretly aided in the downfall of Zhenwu Mountain.

Even the downfall of Zhenwu Mountain years ago had the Dark Cult secretly behind it.

Gui Yan Nian sneered; after shattering the darkness, he did not challenge—he fled.

He knew the Cult would fixate on the Zhenwu Talisman.

By fleeing swiftly now, the elders and disciples of the Gui She Sect would be safer!

Now that he has left swiftly, the elders and disciples of the Turtle-Snake Sect are even safer!

Gui Yan Nian’s form slithered through the void like a serpent.

Though the Gui She Sect was never known for agility, he had broken beyond Superlative—every movement was astonishingly swift.

But barely had he flown dozens of miles when the heavens suddenly changed!

But just as he flew out dozens of li, the heavens and earth suddenly changed!

The void trembled violently; light across the world seemed sucked into a black hole…

No—it was not a black hole, but a “Hundong,” a primordial void resembling the abyssal eye of Gui Xu, devouring everything nearby!

“Cult… First Rank… Gui Xu Master?”

Gui Yan Nian’s eyes cracked open, blood streaming from them: “The Cult’s leader himself has come—how honored I am!”

Among the Cult’s Nine Ranks, only one person has reached First Rank—the “Gui Xu Master”—the Cult’s leader!

Feeling the Hundong’s abyssal pull, Gui Yan Nian could not escape—he was drawn into the void.

Feeling the void’s chaos and primordial void, Gui Yannian could not escape and was sucked into the chaos vortex.

Terrifying tearing force struck his body.

Terrifying tearing force landed upon him.

The Xuanwu shadow shattered instantly, followed by Gui Yan Nian’s right hand…

The Xuanwu phantom instantly shattered, followed by Gui Yannian’s right hand…

A muffled crash—the Hundong was torn open by a blood-red Xuanwu, revealing a figure wearing a golden crown, silently watching the crimson Xuanwu flee.

A surge of darkness rushed forward—it was the Second Rank Eternal Darkness Marquis: “Master…”

“He was struck by my ‘Gui Xu Fist’—his heart meridian is severed, his life force extinguished—he won’t escape.”

The Cult leader’s voice was genderless, carrying an irresistible authority.

Yet he made no move—he clearly still bore the backlash from Gui Yan Nian’s dying counterattack.

But he did not move; clearly, Gui Yannian’s dying counterattack was no easy thing to endure.

The Eternal Darkness Marquis bowed immediately.

“Hurry! If the Dala Court and other martial sects react… the Zhenwu Talisman will slip from our grasp.”

The Cult leader said calmly.

Watching the Eternal Darkness Marquis ride the darkness away, the Gui Xu Master’s face twisted with a strange smile: “Rumors say the Zhenwu lineage is our ancient enemy… the Zhenwu Talisman carries fate—it will never fall into Cult hands, and will even kill Cult disciples… Wu Qi, you’re too dangerous. Go test the talisman’s repulsion…”

Yet he did not follow—he too had been wounded by Gui Yan Nian’s final backlash.

Besides, he must personally confront the Court’s and other sects’ experts coming next…

Moreover, he must personally intercept and deal with the experts from the imperial court and the major sects coming next…

Beneath a residential building.

Gui Yan Nian bled from nose and mouth, a bitter smile on his face.

He slipped into a sewer and hid within.

In the cold, filthy sewer, Gui Yan Nian sat cross-legged, sending a thread of consciousness into the Zhenwu Talisman.

In the cold, filthy sewer, Gui Yannian sat cross-legged, one strand of consciousness entering the Zhenwu Talisman.

He gazed at the figure atop the stone steps, his expression pleading.

“When Xia Mang died, and Xun Heihu was bound by the millennium’s limit, I did not intervene…”

On the stone throne, Fang Xing’s expression was cold: “Why do you think I would make an exception for you?”

“Because this time it’s the Cult… if I die, the Zhenwu Talisman will almost certainly fall into their hands…”

"Because this time it is the Demon Cult... if I die, the Zhenwu Talisman will most likely fall into the hands of the Demon Cult..."

Gui Yannian said grimly, clinging to his last remaining bargaining chip.

“Too bad… to me, it makes no difference.”

Fang Xing shook his head: “You don’t have much time left…”

“I…”

Gui Yannian’s expression changed as he felt his body weakening rapidly: “I’ll use my last shred of spirit and void power to send the Zhenwu Talisman away… I beg you, Elder, to one day inherit my Turtle-Snake lineage…”

“That request… I can agree to.”

Fang Xing nodded.

“Thank you.”

Gui Yannian’s form vanished instantly.

Outside.

His eyes flashed with sharp light, and a black catfish as thick as an arm shot out of the waterway, caught in his hand.

“Go…”

Gui Yannian sighed, shoved the Zhenwu Talisman into the catfish’s body, then used his last vestige of spirit to imprint a mark within its skull.

Splash!

The black catfish was flung into the water and immediately twisted its body, fleeing swiftly from the place.

“Go… run far away…”

“Alas, I, Gui Yannian, spent my life as a hero—yet now I’m reduced to this… Could it be he who leaked the Zhenwu Talisman’s secret to the Demon Cult?”

Thinking of the disciple he had once poured his heart into, Gui Yannian’s heart clenched: “Come then! Demons!”

He roared, his aura exploding outward, smashing through the earth to reach the heavens above.

“Found him!”

Marquis Yong’an rejoiced and instantly transformed into darkness, lunging forward.

At the same time, several streaks of light appeared on the horizon: “The Demon Cult dares to be so bold?”

“Demon sect scum treat our Great Luo Capture Bureau as if it were nothing—deserve death!”

But just then, they saw Gui Yannian’s body erupting with tiny crimson blood droplets, as if he had turned entirely into a bloodied figure.

Then…

A terrifying dark-red Xuanwu phantom emerged.

Its turtle and snake coiled together, but from the turtle’s body extended not turtle legs— but dragon claws!

Screech!

The claw force tore through the air, ripping apart the darkness.

Marquis Yong’an screamed and was instantly reduced to ashes.

“Ha ha… you’ll never find the Zhenwu Talisman!”

Gui Yannian laughed loudly, his body instantly transforming into a rainbow of blood, shooting like a crimson arc toward one direction.

“No good!”

“Chase him!”

The martial experts who arrived paid no attention to the Demon Cult—they chased the crimson rainbow.

But how swift was that crimson rainbow?

In just a few flashes, it vanished…