Chapter 1008

This opportunity is just like today's.

Opportunity is something everyone wants, something one must fight for to obtain!

With one person voicing a suggestion, the others no longer held back.

Each one declared they would go too, and the martial artists present all leapt into motion, speeding toward that direction.

In an instant, the once bustling, lively Yunzhou Shaolin was left empty.

Aside from the Yunzhou Shaolin monks still fighting the fire, only Shangguan Haitang and Benefactor Guihai remained.

796 What kind of Wu Gong is this?

Mount Emei Sect's lightness skill is famed for its ethereal grace and otherworldly elegance, granting it a natural advantage in agility.

Yet its speed over long distances is relatively ordinary.

Zhou Zhiruo cultivates precisely the Mount Emei Sect's lightness skill.

Though her cultivation is supreme, having reached the Realm of Heavenly Beings.

Yet now, after repeated clashes and carrying Master Juejue,

After exerting herself to the utmost to leap clear of Yunzhou Shaolin and entering a dense forest,

She felt a gust of air sweep behind her, and then saw a figure land steadily before her.

Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Zhu Tie Dan, the Zhuge Shenhou, who had arrived after her but overtaken her!

What astonishing cultivation this man possesses!

What incredible lightness skill!

Zhou Zhiruo was startled inwardly, yet her feet did not slow.

She tapped the air mid-leap, pushing the Mount Emei Sect's agility to its utmost limit.

Her whole body suddenly shifted from forward motion to a diagonal dash.

Zhu Wushi smiled faintly, brimming with disdain.

With a casual palm strike, he blocked her path.

Yet Zhou Zhiruo shifted her form once more, turning another direction and fleeing again.

"I know the Mount Emei Sect's lightness skill intimately. Do you think you can escape me?"

But this time, Zhu Wushi still blocked her inevitable route.

He opened his palm, and a terrifying suction surged forth.

Zhou Zhiruo's spirit trembled; she knew relying solely on lightness skill to evade this man was impossible.

And if she waited any longer, his strange art would seize her, leaving her at a disadvantage.

At that point, she would no longer be able to escape as easily as before.

Without hesitation, she drew the Yitian Sword with a clang, and with one hand unleashed the Great Subduing Demon Heavenly Sword Art, striking directly at Zhu Wushi.

This sword art truly deserved its reputation as Zhou Zhiruo's strongest.

Coupled with the enhancement of the celestial-grade divine weapon, the Yitian Sword, the moment she unleashed it, a majestic, sweeping sword momentum surged toward Zhu Wushi.

Seeing this, Zhu Wushi naturally could not use his Absorbing Power Art.

He could only raise his bare palms, channeling his full true energy to meet her attack.

Zhou Zhiruo unleashed eighteen moves of the Great Subduing Demon Heavenly Sword Art; Zhu Wushi countered with eighteen palm strikes.

The two clashed head-on, matching each move with a counter.

Ultimately, Zhu Wushi's cultivation was deeper, his power greater.

Even with sudden changes in technique, his palm strikes remained dense and unbroken, not only blocking all eighteen of Zhou Zhiruo's moves,

But also, through his vast battle experience, he used these eighteen palms to seal off even more of her escape routes.

From the direction of Yunzhou Shaolin, continuous sounds of air being pierced rang out.

Clearly, others besides Zhu Wushi were about to arrive.

If the others caught up—especially that neither-man-nor-woman eunuch—

And if they joined forces, Zhou Zhiruo would have no chance of survival.

"Will my Master and I perish here?"

Though only eighteen moves had passed, Zhou Zhiruo realized she could not break through Zhu Wushi's encirclement.

Despair filled her heart; she did not know where to turn.

"Hehe! Zhou Zhiruo, if you hand over the sword in your hand, I'll spare your life—how about that?"

Just then, a voice suddenly sounded.

Both Zhou Zhiruo and Zhu Wushi were startled, their spirits shaken with shock.

For though their cultivation was not strong among the Nine Provinces, in this foreign land of Great Ming, they were the highest-tier experts.

Yet this speaker had appeared out of nowhere.

Clearly, this person's strength surpassed theirs.

Who is this person?

Especially Zhou Zhiruo, who continued thinking inwardly.

This person, unlike Zhu Wushi and the locals, did not seek the Tian Xiang Doukou.

He directly demanded the Yitian Sword in her hand.

Having appeared on the Heavenly Dao Hundred Flowers List, she was surely known to those of the Nine Provinces.

The Yitian Sword is not only razor-sharp, allowing her to fight evenly against experts like Zhu Wushi and Cao Zhengchun despite her slightly weaker cultivation,

But more crucially, it conceals the secret of the Yitian and the Dragon-Slaying Blade.

Now that this man has demanded the Yitian Sword outright, he is surely a powerful figure from the Nine Provinces.

Moreover, he was very likely a top-tier expert on the Heavenly Dao Combat Power Ranking of the Nine Provinces!

Thinking this far, Zhou Zhiruo secretly made up her mind and spoke up directly,

"Senior, I do want to give you this precious sword, but right now there are blockers ahead and pursuers behind—how could it possibly be that easy to hand it to you!"

If she stubbornly clung to the Heaven-Relying Sword now, she would most likely be captured by Zhu Wushi and the others from the foreign Great Ming.

That old eunuch Cao Zhengchun would also take the Heaven-Relying Sword.

But if she could draw out this top expert from the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking to act, then she and her Master Extinguishing Nun would have a slim chance of survival.

"Hahaha! These are mere chickens and pottery dogs—how could they possibly be my enemies?"

That man let out a wild laugh, his words treating Zhu Wushi as nothing.

Zhu Wushi was secretly angered by this, and his subordinates also slowed down somewhat.

The greater part of his attention was placed on guarding against this hidden person's strike.

"Even if you guard against it, how could you truly guard against it?"

That man had astonishing eyesight; hiding in the shadows, he caught Zhu Wushi's little movements at a glance, and mocked him further with his words.

Zhu Wushi was used to living in comfort and being honored; being ridiculed like this made him feel even more flushed with embarrassment.

He had just made up his mind—as soon as this person showed himself, he would play every card in his hand and make this person pay dearly.

But the moment he made this decision, suddenly a yellow dot lit up in the air.

This yellow dot was extremely abrupt, as if it had always been there.

Zhu Wushi's heart was suddenly filled with a great sense of alarm; just as he was about to reveal his trump card to resist,

unexpectedly that yellow dot rapidly expanded, and in the blink of an eye, it had dyed this entire deep forest a golden-yellow color.

Once it took shape, whether it was Zhu Wushi or Zhou Zhiruo,

both of them were as if someone had struck their acupoints—apart from their eyeballs being able to move, everything else could no longer move at all.

"What kind of cultivation art is this exactly?"

Zhu Wushi was greatly shocked in his heart, continuously urging his true essence, even wanting to activate the Heaven-Plundering Art.

But no matter how he struggled, it was all to no avail.

"Don't waste your effort. Once you've been struck by my 'Yellow Calamity,' if a little Heavenly Being Realm cultivator like you could break free, I'd offer my head for you to kick around like a ball."

That man had clearly seen through Zhu Wushi's struggle, and his words were full of lament.

"Alright now, hand over the Heaven-Relying Sword! Miss Zhou."

Immediately after, a figure slowly appeared before Zhou Zhiruo.

Zhou Zhiruo looked closely and realized—wasn't this person that famous Great Ming martial artist, Old Man?

Since when did this lone wanderer Old Man possess such strength?