Chapter 307: Collecting Looted Equipment

"BOOM!!!!"

After heaven and earth fell silent, a torrent of sword qi cascaded down like a furious ocean, exploding with deafening roars under the night sky.

Violent shockwaves erupted in circular waves; those on the mountain and below hastily covered their faces with sleeves, stabilizing their stances with spiritual energy.

Beneath the surging sword waves, the Xuantian Treasure Seal blazed with blinding golden light, while the six-faceted black mace released crackling violet lightning, intertwining into a net that forcibly held back the tidal wave of swords.

Yet the crushing might of 【Little Heavy Mountain】 pressed down on Shang Que, his bones cracking under the strain, his sleeves shredding inch by inch, his face twisted in agony.

"The world says the Tian Shu Academy has a rogue cultivator, reckless and lawless—but I never imagined you'd dare so boldly defy the Five Immortal Sects!"

"Then what am I supposed to do? Four are already dead..."

"?"

"Can you convince the other four families not to oppose me?"

Ji You spoke softly; his sincere, weary tone left Shang Que momentarily stunned.

This question was identical to the one Yu Danzong had once faced: if the Immortal Sects intended to capture alchemists, whether five or six arrived made no difference.

Just as now—Ji You had already killed four; killing one more made no difference.

There's a huge difference between offending one family and not offending any—but offending four versus five is nearly the same.

As Shang Que hesitated, he suddenly felt a sharp, cutting aura slicing toward his face.

Before he could react, Ji You shattered three zhang of blue bricks and leapt upward, the spiderweb cracks exploding into flying stones and dust.

The gleaming Dao sword hummed softly, reflecting a pair of icy, soul-chilling eyes.

Then came the circular slash encircling the heavens.

The torrential qi pressure flattened the dust and earth before him, cleaving open a patch of clear night sky, then the sword qi crashed down.

CRASH— the floating Treasure Seal shuddered violently and was flung sideways.

Shang Que gritted his teeth, slammed his hand onto the hovering black mace, and charged headlong into the oncoming sword qi.

The roaring sword qi collided with the mace's lightning, exploding in sparks like falling stars, spraying everywhere; both men were hurled back dozens of zhang, the ground between them now riddled with deep craters and jagged fissures.

Of the five Wujiang cultivators who ascended tonight, Shang Que's combat strength ranked among the highest—but his specialty was weapon control, not direct confrontation.

Thus, after just this single clash, he realized: if Ji You closed the distance, he had no chance of victory.

Instantly upon landing, Shang Que unleashed all his qi, recalled the flung Treasure Seal, and drew in a blinding beam of heavenly light into the black mace.

The two artifacts spun and crossed in midair, emitting dragon-roars and tiger-roars, then he slammed his palm outward.

Meanwhile, Ji You surged upward along the lingering sword qi, his Dao sword slashing out a crescent of freezing light.

On contact, the metallic clash shook the surrounding mountains.

Like a bronze disc, the incoming Treasure Seal radiated a terrifying aura, directly shaking Ji You's Dao sword into a mournful wail.

In that same instant, the six-faceted black mace pierced through the air and slammed hard onto the Treasure Seal.

A violent explosion of force shook him violently, hurling him backward, blood instantly spraying from his lips.

Seeing this, a flicker of unnoticed fear passed through Shang Que's cold gaze.

The Treasure Seal and the iron mace shouldn't have been this weak.

"WHIRR!!!!"

Shang Que's mind flickered; a ripple of void-light spread beneath his feet, and in an instant he shot toward Yu Danzong's mountain gate.

Even now, he didn't understand how the situation had spiraled this way—and the deaths of peers had begun destabilizing his Dao heart.

Most crucially, the mission had failed.

No matter what, he couldn't take any alchemist tonight; he had no reason to keep fighting.

Ji You now stepped forward, watching Shang Que's fading shadow, and swept his sleeve— instantly, the grand array protecting the entire Dan Mountain surged to life, erupting in countless mysterious lights from the earth.

At the very moment the array rose, a pair of fists that crushed the air with thunderous pops descended.

"Rogue! How dare you!"

"BOOM!!!"

In truth, the chaos on Dan Mountain had ceased the moment Huo Yu died.

In the lingering darkness before dawn, everyone stared toward the mountain gate.

A blazing white beam erupted from the dense woods halfway up the mountain, like the rising sun tearing open the night, illuminating every rock and cliff face in sharp detail.

It was Wenda Sect's technique—familiar and awe-inspiring to any Wenda disciple above the ninth tier.

But the circular slash of sword qi was no less potent, instantly slicing through the wild immortal light; the massive sword scar made even Yu Danzong's protective array tremble.

Then another beam of immortal light shot forth, piercing through the nearby cliff.

Roars and light tore at heaven and earth, mixed with explosive fist winds—until, in one instant, all sound seemed silently snuffed out.

The booming clashes of immortal light and sword qi continued, then abruptly ceased in a single moment.

Before everyone's eyes, atop a hundred-zhang-high wave of earth, Elder Shang of Wenda erupted in a mist of blood, then tumbled sideways from the towering mound.

The sword-wielding swordsman fell into the sinking dust, drenched in blood; the residual sword qi still hummed violently in his iron blade.

Amid the howling mountain wind, the vast Dan Mountain fell into silence.

As the dust gradually dispersed, everyone saw two figures by the stream below the mountain—one seated, one prone.

The Immortal Sect's old dog was truly hard to kill.

Ji You sat panting on a rock, blood dripping from his arm resting on his knee.

After long breaths, he swallowed, instantly tasting thick metallic sweetness—his throat convulsed with nausea, his gaze flicking toward Elder Shang of Wenda.

The white-haired Shang Que lay prone, breathing faintly, too weak even to stir the fallen leaves—only a fine dust stirred around him.

Soon, his breath slowed further, his eyes dimming bit by bit.

Only when those aged eyes turned completely cloudy did Ji You, gritting his teeth against the pain within, bend forward and reach toward Shang Que's waist.

As he felt around, his eyes widened—he now held three storage gourds.

This old dog was truly a treasure-laden immortal.

Ji You suddenly remembered four more old dogs remained unsearched; he pushed himself up, dragging his Dao sword, and trudged toward the Nine-Tiered Steps.

After a night of fierce battle, dawn had quietly arrived.

The eastern horizon first lightened to deep blue, then slowly faded into the pale gray of a duck eggshell.

When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, the mountain ridge sharpened into clear outline, as if a brush dipped in gold powder had lightly traced its contours.

On the mountain and below, all stared at the figure emerging from the dawn, silent for a long time.

Dan Mountain's semi-isolated state meant its cultivator battles were only heard of, never witnessed.

Yet tonight, they had seen one kill three.

And the dead were three Wujiang masters.

For Yu Danzong, this was a century-scale disaster; before nightfall, many had already prepared to die with the sect.

When Chu Hong and Chen Ke ascended, when the bronze disc crushed the Patriarch's quarters, many female alchemists in Yaoguang Hall had already placed pills to their lips, ready to swallow.

Then, as the mountain rained with swords, everything vanished like mist.

At that moment, a sudden clatter of weapons broke the deathly silence of the Nine-Tiered Steps.

But this time, it wasn't an assault—it was retreat.

Seeing their elders dead, the Immortal Sect disciples panicked, retreating downhill—first a few, then dozens, then all surged like a tide toward the mountain gate.

Thus, in the dawnlight, the scene became Ji You ascending the mountain, while every Immortal Sect disciple fled downward, avoiding him.

Ji You now held six gourds; seeing the Immortal Sect disciples blocked before the mountain gate array, he waved his hand, dispersing a strand of mysterious light to let them pass.

He had no strength left to speak—only his original intent drove him to collect the dropped equipment; he could not fight again.

Besides, among those Immortal Sect disciples were Yingtian cultivators—not easy to kill.

"Young Master!"

"Brother-in-law!"

"?"

Ji You turned to see Yuan Caimei sprinting up the mountain, followed by Yuan Yuanchen, his hair disheveled, his reddened eyes fixed on him in stunned silence.

Even for this daughter of Yu Danzong, Ji You's killing of three Wujiang masters was unimaginable.

Her affection for Ji You stemmed partly from his actions, partly from Yan Shuyi.

Though she'd grown up with Yan Shuyi, Yuan Caimei had always admired this sister who single-handedly upheld an Immortal Sect.

After leaving Qiling, her first curiosity about Ji You arose when she discovered the lofty Jian Master sister actually liked him.

Later, hearing he protected many children and saved countless civilians, her heart could no longer resist its stirrings.

But she never imagined that when Yu Danzong faced disaster, he could stand alone and defend the entire Dan Mountain.

Ji You reached out and placed his hand on Yuan Caimei: "Help me up—I can't stand anymore."

"I'll take you back to heal."

"There are still two gourds on the mountain—send someone to collect them for me. Don't let anyone else take them."

"Understood."