Chapter 214: Turtle Sorcerer

Three figures flew out simultaneously!

Though there was a two-zhang-high steep slope between this hilltop and the waterfall's crest, to the two humans and the fox, it was merely a small step.

The fox moved with utmost grace, riding the wind forward as if gliding through the air.

The warrior was most bold—he leapt straight down.

The junior sister drew her sword and ran a few steps down the slope, then kicked off hard with both legs, launching herself forward.

Above, the twelve flying swords had been gliding steadily with the wind, slowly descending, but during this descent, two swords repeatedly adjusted their trajectory, suddenly accelerating and shooting ahead. The twelve swords passed by the two humans and the fox six times each, darting past their heads and sides.

"Who are you?"

The two closest "Celestial Soldiers" beside the ditch below finally reacted, turning their heads at once.

In that instant, two flying swords struck their chest armor simultaneously, emitting two sounds unlike metal clashing—both ringing out at the exact same moment.

Smoke immediately rose from their bodies.

The other eight "Celestial Soldiers" snapped back to awareness, turned, and saw the sword-wielding martial artist and the sword-darting female Daoist descending from above—these two had charged in without a word, their silence radiating lethal intent and resolve, filling them with dread.

Some wore expressions of terror, some opened their mouths to shout, some raised weapons to meet the attack—but as soon as they moved, more flying swords sliced through the gale toward them.

A series of rapid, indistinguishable sounds rang out—the eight "Celestial Soldiers" were pierced by flying swords, grimacing in pain as smoke rose from their bodies.

In the strong wind, the smoke was swiftly torn away.

The ten "Celestial Soldiers" revealed their true forms—

Ten creatures standing upright like humans, with limbs and bodies roughly human-shaped, yet entirely covered in armor scales of ink-blue, black-red, or yellow; their heads were not human.

Seeing their heads, they realized: these were shrimp, crab, and fish demons.

Unlike ordinary shrimp and fish, their front bodies were also armored in thick plating.

Lin Jue's flying swords pierced their armor, yet sank in only a tiny distance.

At the same time, four beans flew through the wind, arriving above their heads, then transformed into four armored warriors who crashed down like celestial soldiers, their armor clashing loudly.

"Die! Kill them!"

The turtle sorcerer retracted his sleeve; two pure-metal flying swords lay on the ground beside him as he spoke.

The shrimp, crab, and fish demons surged forward.

A crab warrior wielding a golden hook charged ahead—but suddenly, a white mist shot out from the side, striking him; his entire body instantly froze over with ice, yet he kept his momentum, crashing heavily to the ground and plowing through grass, branches, and stones.

A black-shrimp general advanced with spear in hand, heavy-footed; before he could close the distance, a bright flash appeared ahead, then a dragon of fire surged toward him, outlining his entire form.

When the flames faded, his armor glowed crimson.

At the very moment the fire dissipated, a figure burst from the flames—swift as a startled swan darting through willows—thrusting a sword straight into his chest.

But his armor was unbearably hard; this thrust pierced only an inch or so.

In the next instant, two yellow-scaled guards wielding bone swords rushed toward the junior sister, their eyes sharpening as they swung their blades together.

"Hmm?"

The junior sister applied slight pressure, found she couldn't pull her sword free, and instantly let go of the hilt, ducked low, rolled sideways—avoiding both the black-shrimp general's spear and the yellow-scaled guards' swords—and rolled out along the leg of the left yellow-scaled guard.

Both yellow-scaled guards swung their bone swords through empty air.

When they regained their bearings, the world seemed to sway.

Before their eyes, a deep sky suddenly appeared; in the span of a single breath, the ground and the ditch waterfall reappeared before them.

It was the sword-wielding warrior—who had somehow reached behind them—who had swung his blade with all his might, severing their heads clean off; the heads rolled onto the ground with a thud.

Nearby, two crab warriors with hooks were knocked down by two armored warriors wielding shield and saber, wrestling fiercely and overturning mounds of soil. Two yellow-scaled guards with bone swords fought against two other armored warriors, their bone swords and spirit-metal blades clashing repeatedly in an instant.

"Shu!"

A piercing sound came from above.

The black-shrimp general, his body riddled with flying swords and longswords, took another arrow to the chest with a "do" sound—but all wounds were shallow; he was fiercely brave, ignoring his injuries, charging forward with his spear straight at Luo Seng.

The warrior sidestepped, dragging his blade closer.

The demon retreated; the warrior advanced—his long blade, brimming with murderous aura, slashed toward the shrimp demon's head in an instant.

"Chii!"

But the black-shrimp warrior was no novice; his shell was as hard as refined steel. Though the warrior's blade cut through it, it still failed to kill him outright.

In the next instant, the female Daoist closed the distance.

The black-shrimp general retreated—but he was not afraid.

Just now, her flying sword strike had used all her strength, combined with the momentum of her leap, focused entirely on the tip—and still hadn't pierced him. Now she was unarmed; he assumed she merely wanted to pull back her longsword.

He would not let her retrieve it!

But even if she did, what difference would it make?

Yet the female Daoist ignored the longsword embedded in his body entirely, pressing closer and raising her palm to strike him.

"Hmm? Trouble!"

The shrimp demon instantly sensed danger.

As expected—

"Bang!"

That slender, pale palm struck his body.

A strange force surged through him, rippling across his rigid armor—yet the armor itself instantly turned to dust, and within, his internal organs trembled into sludge.

"Puh!"

The shrimp warrior spat out a jet of black blood.

His final thought was—

Perhaps if his shell were softer, it might have held.

…

Lin Jue had already reached the ground, crossing the chaotic battlefield and closing in on the turtle sorcerer.

He raised his hand—and a longsword appeared in it.

The Daoist drew his sword, chanted a spell, and the scabbard whirred as it flew toward the turtle sorcerer; meanwhile, the two flying swords on the ground had risen unnoticed and now spun toward the sorcerer as well.

The turtle sorcerer chanted in return, raising his staff and pointing.

The whirlwind he had summoned below had been interrupted, but not fully dispersed—it had shrunk, and now he redirected it to the waterfall's crest, directly before Lin Jue.

The gale immediately swept him skyward.

"Hmph…"

Lin Jue was utterly unfazed—

On the subject of wind, he had some understanding.

So rather than resist, he stabilized his body to avoid being tossed, inverted, or spun uncontrollably, letting the wind lift him while keeping his gaze locked on the turtle sorcerer.

Both sides continued their incantations.

The turtle sorcerer raised his staff and swept upward, releasing a Gangqi that sent the flying scabbard spinning away.

Simultaneously, he bent low to dodge, raising his left hand.

Like an old man shielding his face in shame or fear.

But his sleeve was wide and long; with a simple lift, it concealed him completely.

"Pup!"

Two flying swords, originally sharp and fierce, struck the fabric of his sleeve—but emitted only dull thuds. Even as the incantation continued and the swords spun inward to cut, they could not pierce through.

The turtle sorcerer raised his other hand as well.

Another sleeve, equally vast.

"Shu!"

An arrow pierced the air, striking the sleeve with a dull thud—had it not been shot with lightning speed, it would have seemed limp and powerless.

The turtle sorcerer's sleeve, meanwhile, looked as if struck by a child's thrown stone—slightly indented, wobbling twice, then returning to normal.

The arrow fell to the ground.

"Cloth barrier?"

Lin Jue recognized this technique.

The Immortal Source Temple used it too—it was one of their signature tricks; he and the junior sister had seen it many times, though neither had learned it.

Though he thought this, he remained focused on two tasks at once—chanting, he summoned several more flying swords from elsewhere, sending them again toward the turtle sorcerer.

These swords no longer spun—they flew straight.

Their streamlined shapes made them swift, lethal, and silent.

"Huh?"

The turtle sorcerer was far from weak or clumsy as he appeared—he was sharply perceptive, raising his sleeve once more to block.

Lin Jue's gaze turned sharp; his incantation shifted abruptly.

The flying swords instantly changed direction, veering to the side, slipping past the sleeve to pierce his chest.

In the past, he would have blocked them.

But recently, Lin Jue had been using incantations to control cloth balls, grass balls, and the fox in games of chase—the fox was too nimble, and Lin Jue loved teasing it; to prevent the fox from snatching the balls, he had to constantly alter their trajectory just before the fox bit them, watching the fox's bewildered confusion. Over time, this practice sharpened Lin Jue's own skill.

In an instant, two flying swords pierced the turtle's chest.

"Doo! Doo!"

But again, two dull thuds.

Lin Jue was surprised—then instantly understood.

Of course—

This is a turtle! Turtles have shells too!

And harder than shrimp and crab!

The turtle sorcerer slowly lowered his sleeve, calm and composed, smiling as he looked up at Lin Jue in the air.

His expression seemed to mock him.

But the mockery lasted only an instant—the sharp arrows from the bean soldiers forced him to hastily raise his sleeve to block them, barely avoiding disaster.

"Hmph!"

When the turtle sorcerer lowered his sleeve, the smile was gone.

He swung his wooden staff again, still from bottom to top.

Swish! Extremely swift!

Pebbles and weeds on the ground were instantly blown apart by the Gangfeng, leaving a one-foot-wide gap; the Gangfeng then surged upward, striking Lin Jue.

Stone Transformation Art!

Boom!

Though powerful, the Gangfeng lacked sharpness—it merely helped Lin Jue escape the tornado without a single injury.

After landing, Lin Jue instantly reverted to his human form.

Without hesitation, he leapt sideways.

Swish!

Another blast of Gangfeng shot past, clearing another one-foot-wide path where he had just stood.

Around him, several explosions rang out in succession.

It was the turtle sorcerer swinging his staff repeatedly, the Gangfeng striking the fully armored soldiers.

Lin Jue did not advance; instead, he raised his hand and waved—two long swords instantly appeared in the air, identical to the one in his hand, leaping free of their scabbards, spinning left and right, circling around the tornado toward the turtle sorcerer.

At the same time—

His junior sister slashed out one of the crab warrior's protruding eyes, then closed in while he was blinded and smashed her palm into his crown, shattering his skull.

Though she had perfected the "Crush Stone Art" and could now harm soft targets, it was still most effective against hard objects—especially stone. These yellow-scaled guards, the shrimp and crab soldiers, were encased in impenetrable shells—perfect for her skills.

A glance showed her brother being pushed back; she ignored the other shrimp and crab warriors, brandished her sword, and charged straight at the turtle sorcerer, her gaze unwavering.

To her, the turtle sorcerer was no different from the water demon she had faced years ago by the village river.

The turtle sorcerer swung his staff repeatedly, sending out several blasts of Gangfeng.

But his junior sister's movement was far more agile than Lin Jue's—she dodged with quick sidesteps, and the Gangfeng passed harmlessly by her body.

In an instant, she stood before the turtle sorcerer.

On the other side, Luo Seng was surrounded by two shrimp warriors and one crab warrior, yet he showed no panic—only sheathed his blade at his neck, spun his body sharply, and slashed with the centrifugal force of his turn: Night Fighting in Eight Directions.

A flash of blade light—and three shrimp and crab warriors' heads fell cleanly, adding more demonic souls to his precious blade.

After sheathing his sword, all the shrimp, crab, and fish demons lay dead on the ground; the few bean soldiers knocked down by Gangfeng rose again.

Luo Seng turned his head, without hesitation, and sprinted toward the turtle sorcerer.

It seemed slow—but it was fast.

In mere moments, the turtle sorcerer found himself surrounded by two men and four armored soldiers, and only now did his true nature—slow, clumsy, and heavy—finally show—

His wooden staff and two sleeves were utterly inadequate to defend himself.

Lin Jue flicked his sword, then stepped forward.

The turtle sorcerer grew even more frantic; his old eyes narrowed, and he slammed his staff hard into the ground.

"Boom!"

The Gangfeng exploded outward in all directions.

No matter how strong the warriors, how swift the junior sister, or how heavy the soldiers, all were struck by the sudden, violent blast and hurled backward.

"Who are you? You're not Daoists of the Talisman Sect—no grudge, no feud—why come to kill me? Do you know I am the strategist under General Tuolong Wang?!"

Lin Jue ignored him entirely, continuing to advance with his sword.

Luo Seng adjusted his posture mid-air, landed on both feet, slid two zhang along the ground on his knees, then rose and charged forward again—only killing intent, not a single pause.

Though she had fallen to the ground, the junior sister felt no pain—she rose instantly with a Dragon Twisting Posture, sword in hand, sprinting forward.

"Can we negotiate?"

The turtle sorcerer was growing desperate.

It wasn't just their skill—it was their silent, relentless determination to kill him, a chilling aura that froze even his turtle heart.

He muttered a spell and swept his sleeve forward.

The sword-wielding warrior, just overtaking Lin Jue, narrowed his eyes and instantly noticed the subtle shift in the stones and grass ahead—he braked sharply with a "shh!" and thrust his palm forward.

His palm met an invisible wall.

Seeing this, the junior sister leapt up at once, kicking off the wall with both feet in succession, rebounding back to a steady stance.

Lin Jue also touched the wall.

The turtle sorcerer stood less than a zhang ahead, his aged, ugly face filled with terror.

He glanced toward the ditch, hoping to escape through it—but the ditch had frozen over, inexplicably.

Lin Jue stood facing him, eye to eye.

He understood at once—

This turtle demon was finished.

…

Knew some readers would use chapter breaks, so I deliberately hit 20 points.