28: ambush

"So it is Fellow Daoist Taiyin, my apologies for the lack of respect!"

Qiu Dao first offered a few compliments, then asked with slight confusion, "By the way, may I ask if Fellow Daoist is a Loose Cultivator? Why have I never seen you before?"

Yu Xuzi nodded, his expression unchanging as he spoke naturally:

"Indeed, I have spent many years traveling and cultivating across various countries on the continent, with no fixed residence. This is my first time coming to the Southwest region of the continent, and I didn't expect to encounter a war between two countries."

"As I thought."

Qiu Dao accepted this explanation without suspicion, and his tone became even friendlier.

"I was saying that with your cultivation at the Peak of the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, you shouldn't be unknown. That's why I wondered why we had never met."

Because as he said, there weren't many Loose Cultivators in the Southwest region of the continent in total, and most were concentrated in the territories of Kang Country and Yuan Country.

He knew every one of those Loose Cultivators, but he had never seen Yu Xuzi; it was only possible he was from elsewhere.

Yu Xuzi smiled in agreement but didn't speak.

"Fellow Daoist, you've come at a good time. There's a spectacle to watch. That Yellow Heaven Cult down there is quite strange—"

"..."

Qiu Dao was the type to get familiar quickly. Seeing that Yu Xuzi was also a Loose Cultivator, he immediately began to chat enthusiastically about various topics.

And Yu Xuzi indeed rarely met fellow Cultivators, so he didn't reject the conversation.

Overall, the exchange between the two was fairly harmonious.

Half an hour later.

"Buzz, buzz~"

As a burst of blinding white light erupted from the distant Yellow Heaven Army camp, the expressions of the two changed abruptly, and they immediately realized the cause.

"This is?"

"The people from the Celestial Immortal Sect are here!"

Yu Xuzi pointed towards the military camp... "Boom!!!"

Accompanied by dazzling white radiance descending from the sky, a massive roar suddenly exploded in the silent night sky, and the earth trembled.

The Yellow Heaven Army's main camp instantly boiled over.

Countless campfires and tents were directly blown away by Spells. Soldiers screamed in terror, fleeing in all directions.

Many were hit by flying debris; iron armor shattered, and they fell dead on the spot.

"Enemy attack—!"

"Don't panic, form ranks quickly!"

"It's the Immortals!!"

"..."

The Cultivators of the Celestial Immortal Sect didn't bother with the Mortal soldiers, instead immediately surrounding the center of the camp completely.

One after another, fireballs, ice spikes, and sword blades rained down from the sky.

"Rumble——————!!!"

The Cultivators of the Yellow Heaven Cult were caught off guard and appeared somewhat flustered.

In an instant, the camp was in a state of complete mess.

Flames shot into the sky, illuminating half the night sky. Billowing smoke rose from burning tents, visible for ten miles around.

"Run!"

An Early Stage of Qi Refining Cultivator of the Yellow Heaven Cult tried to turn and flee, but was caught by two Celestial Immortal Sect Disciples. Amidst the flashing sword light, his body was sliced into several pieces, blood staining the ground.

Another Disciple had just opened his eyes when he was pierced through the forehead by Celestial Mountain Master's sword light. Blood splattered as the corpse fell straight down.

"It's the people from the Celestial Immortal Sect!"

"Gather together, don't panic!"

The leading Yellow Heaven Cult Cultivator roared.

He immediately sacrificed a crimson long saber, its blade burning with raging flames. A saber glow seven or eight zhang long slashed down fiercely towards the leading Celestial Mountain Master.

He was the eldest Disciple of True Man Huang Tian.

His Daoist name was Blazing Flame Master, and he possessed a cultivation at the Peak of the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

Celestial Mountain Master sneered at the sight. He pointed his right hand like a sword, and a condensed white Sword Qi shot from his fingertip, colliding with the crimson saber glow.

With a loud "clang," the saber glow exploded in mid-air.

Blazing Flame Master groaned, shaken back repeatedly by the residual Sword Qi, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The gap between the two was too large.

Celestial Mountain Master stepped forward and thrust his right hand gently.

"Celestial Immortal Sword Art: Rainbow Piercing the Sun!"

A pure white sword rainbow, only a few inches in diameter but twenty to thirty zhang long, suddenly erupted and whistled towards him.

Blazing Flame Master's face changed drastically. He hurriedly took out two Rank 1 Medium Grade Golden Armor Talismans and stuck them in front of him.

"Buzz, buzz!!"

Two layers of dark gold spiritual armor instantly enveloped him.

But against Celestial Mountain Master, it was still insufficient; it only blocked for two or three breaths before being pierced on the spot.

"Crack!"

"Puchi!!"

Blazing Flame Master only had time to twist his body before his right thigh was directly pierced by the sword rainbow, leaving a bloody hole.

With a sizzle sound, before the blood could even spray out, the flesh had already been charred.

"Ah~~"

Blazing Flame Master screamed repeatedly, his body falling directly to the ground.

Seeing this, the morale of the Celestial Immortal Sect members soared, and they fought with increasing bravery.

"Kill them! Leave none alive!!"

Elder Tieshan laughed as his twin swords flew. Wherever the Sword Qi ravaged, dust flew and ravines crisscrossed.

"Swish, swish~~"

The Yellow Heaven Cult Cultivators could only wail as they fled in all directions. The Mortal iron-armored soldiers on the periphery who were caught in the crossfire fell like grass being mowed, corpses littering the field.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, more than half of the twenty to thirty Cultivators of the Yellow Heaven Cult were dead or injured.

The remaining people were also surrounded by the Celestial Immortal Sect Cultivators, their faces filled with terror.

A great victory seemed to be right before their eyes!

However, at this moment, there was no joy on the faces of Celestial Mountain Master and the several Elders; instead, their brows were tightly furrowed.

Things were simply going too smoothly... Since the Yellow Heaven Cult dared to invade Xuan Kingdom on such a large scale, how could their Cultivator strength be only this much?

Where was the Cult Leader of the Yellow Heaven Cult?

Was he actually not here?

Just as unease began to well up in their hearts,

A sudden change occurred!

"Not good!"

Elder Qingshan suddenly cried out, his gaze directed toward the darkness surrounding the camp. "There are a large number of Cultivator Auras! They're in every direction!"

Venerable Tianxuan's heart sank. He hurriedly circulated his mana to investigate, and indeed felt countless Cultivator Auras emerging out of thin air from the darkness, closing in on the center of the camp like a tide.

Most of these Auras were only at the Early Stage of Qi Refining, with very few at the Middle Stage; their individual strength was not formidable.

But their numbers were far beyond imagination!

"Fifty... one hundred... no, nearly two hundred people!"

"How is that possible!!"

Suddenly, Elder Qingshan looked around with a pale face: "What are they doing?"

Everyone looked up to see figures rushing from the darkness. Each was wearing the iron armor of the Yellow Heaven Army's Mortal soldiers as cover, and each held a yellow Talisman with dim spiritual light.

Rank 1 Low Grade Talisman—[Breath Concealing Talisman]

During these days, they had used this to hide their mana Auras, disguising themselves as ordinary soldiers within the army.

All for the sake of today!

They quickly split into nearly twenty small teams, each with about ten people, gathering around a leader, with a faint yellow glow emanating around them.

In the next instant, these glows connected, forming a massive yellow light net that enveloped the members of the Celestial Immortal Sect.

"A combined attack method!"

Celestial Mountain Master was struck with alarm. "We've been ambushed!"

The combined attack method of these Yellow Heaven Cult Cultivators was extremely strange. The mana of a single Cultivator was not powerful.

But when the mana of ten people was connected through the combined attack formation, it actually erupted with power no weaker than a Cultivator at the Peak of the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

A few of the teams even had pressure fluctuations of the Late Stage Qi Refining.

This was the Mass Talisman Formation method from the Huang Tian True Scripture!

Dozens of dazzling yellow light pillars shot out from the light net, accompanied by the whistling sound of tearing air, blasting toward the Celestial Immortal Sect members like sharp swords at lightning speed.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

"Quickly, dodge!"

Celestial Mountain Master roared, his mana surging as he sacrificed a white shield. It expanded to five zhang in size, blocking in front of several people.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The light pillars struck the shield one after another, producing deafening booms. The white shield vibrated violently.

Celestial Mountain Master groaned, shaken back several steps by the massive impact, his face turned grim.

He had managed to block it.

But the Disciples in other directions suffered.

A Celestial Immortal Sect Disciple failed to dodge in time and was hit by a yellow light pillar. His body instantly exploded, turning into a mist of blood.

"Break out!!!"

The several Elders grew anxious.