254: Chapter 254 A Moment of Attack

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several sounds of piercing through the air rang out!

Led by the one-armed cloaked man, the three cloaked figures formed a triangle, faintly surrounding the corner where Ye Tian was located!

At the same time, the figures of Ye Yiyi and Zhao Chengzhi also appeared silently from two other directions, forming a pincer movement!

Jing Wutian and Sikong Changhe stood in place, their brows slightly furrowed, seemingly hesitant, but they did not intervene.

Zhao Qing and the others from the Governors Mansion watched coldly from the sidelines.

The atmosphere became instantly tense!

"What do you want?"

Hou Xiaojie's face turned pale; he held his sword and blocked in front of Ye Tian, shouting with a fierce expression that masked his inner fear.

The Mini Dragon Ape also bared its teeth and growled low, with pale flames gathering in its mouth.

Ye Tian slowly stood up, his gaze calmly sweeping across the five people surrounding him, finally fixing on the one-armed cloaked man: "Everyone, what is the meaning of this?"

The one-armed cloaked man let out a hoarse, cold laugh: "Kid, let's not beat around the bush! You must hand over the Opportunity you obtained in the 'Dao-Propagation' Gate obediently! Otherwise, this Sword Pavilion will be your burial ground!"

Ye Yiyi gently stroked her hair and smiled charmingly, but her words carried a chill: "Brother Ye, an innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth. You've gained benefits, so you should at least let us have some soup, right? Hogging it all might just make you choke, you know."

Zhao Chengzhi did not speak, but his cold Sword Intent had already locked onto Ye Tian; the meaning was clear.

Clearly, Ye Tian had stayed in the 'Dao-Propagation' Gate the longest, and when he came out, the Dao aura on him was the most concentrated, arousing the greed of these people.

Especially those three cloaked men, who had suffered great losses in the 'Sharpness-Honing' Gate and gained nothing, so they set their sights on Ye Tian, who appeared to be a "soft persimmon."

Ye Yiyi and Zhao Chengzhi wanted to take the Opportunity to probe, perhaps hoping to get a share of the spoils.

Jing Wutian's brows were tightly locked, and he said in a deep voice: "Junior Sister Ye, Junior Brother Zhao, and these three friends, treasure hunting in ruins depends on individual Opportunity. Acting like this, I'm afraid it's inappropriate, right?"

Sikong Changhe also said in a muffled voice: "Exactly! If you have guts, go back into the 'Sharpness-Honing' Gate and try again!"

However, greed had already blinded the reason of some people.

The one-armed cloaked man said sharply: "Jing Wutian, Sikong Changhe, this matter has nothing to do with you! If you are sensible, get lost! Otherwise, we will deal with you all together!"

He clearly had something to rely on, perhaps wanting to borrow the momentum of Ye Yiyi and Zhao Chengzhi.

Ye Tian looked at the situation before him and sneered inwardly.

He was just worrying about not having a chance to test his newly comprehended Cloud-Breaking power!

He gently pushed Hou Xiaojie aside, stepped forward, and faced the faint pincer movement of the five experts alone, his tone remaining calm: "You want my Opportunity? Fine, come and take it yourselves."

As soon as he said this, it was equivalent to declaring war directly!

"Seeking your own death!"

The one-armed cloaked man shouted angrily, and the three figures split instantly, dispersing into the haze, their robes tearing through the air.

They saw them wave their sleeves in unison, and several pitch-black, pungent, and rotting chains shot out!

These chains were neither gold nor iron, but were condensed from pure dark-element True Qi. The chains shimmered with a ghostly light, as if countless grievances were entwining and wailing, like living pythons, winding toward Ye Tian's acupoints from all sorts of tricky angles from above, below, left, and right.

Not only were they intended to bind, but they also had the vicious effect of eroding protective True Qi and corrupting Meridians.

Wherever the chains passed, vegetation withered and scorched in an instant, and the ground was even corroded, emitting wisps of black smoke.

At the same time, Ye Yiyi raised her jade hand slightly, her fingers blooming like an orchid, and a colorless and odorless pale red mist spread out; it was exactly her "God-Confusing Peach Blossom Miasma," which made people turn pale at the mere mention of it.

This miasma specifically attacked the Divine Soul, capable of making people's minds dazed, as if falling into a gentle illusion, causing their True Qi to become sluggish and dissipate; it could be described as extremely sinister.

Where the red mist passed, even the moonlight seemed to be dyed with a layer of ambiguous dimness.

Zhao Chengzhi stood still, his eyes as cold as ice, his right hand's two fingers held together like a sword; he did not unsheathe his blade, but simply pointed into the air.

This finger strike condensed his entire sharp Sword Qi!

But with a soft "chi" sound, a stark white Sword Qi arrived first despite being launched later, tearing through the air with a shrill whistling sound, aiming directly at Ye Tian's Dantian vital point!

Before the Sword Qi arrived, the chilling coldness had already forced frost to form on the grass within a ten-foot radius.

Although the three people attacked one after another, their coordination was seamless; the chains blocked his escape, the poisonous miasma disrupted his mind, and the Sword Qi pointed directly at his vitals, sealing off all directions. It was ruthless and decisive, clearly intending to subdue the enemy and kill him in one blow!

Facing this sudden and fierce siege, a cold glint flashed in Ye Tian's eyes.

His feet suddenly slid, his figure appearing illusory, using the "Star-Shifting and Object-Changing" technique from the Taixu Star-Shift Steps.

With this step, it seemed he had only moved a foot, but in reality, his figure had changed positions several times between reality and illusion, dodging Zhao Chengzhi's deadly finger sword. The Sword Qi brushed past his shoulder, silently piercing through a tree trunk as thick as a bowl behind him.

He shifted sideways another foot, and two pitch-black chains whistled past his robes, a foul wind hitting his face.

At the same instant, his right hand pressed toward the hilt of his sword at his waist. With a "zheng" sound of a dragon's roar, clear and long, like a Phoenix crying out to the Nine Heavens, his lustrous treasure sword suddenly unsheathed!

The sword light was as azure as the autumn water and sky, and even more like a galaxy pouring down, carving out an arc of light.

With several crisp "ding, ding, ding" sounds, like ice and jade striking each other, as the sword blade vibrated, the blue glow flowed like water ripples, cleverly deflecting the other two incoming chains. The True Qi on the sword surged, actually forcing the black Qi on the chains to shrink back.

However, the Peach Blossom Miasma cast by Ye Yiyi had now silently spread around Ye Tian.

The pale red mist seemed to have a life of its own, winding in wisp by wisp.

Ordinary Martial Artists, even if they could avoid tangible attacks, would inevitably have their Divine Souls invaded by this miasma if caught off guard; at best, their True Qi would become sluggish, and at worst, illusions would arise, leaving them at the mercy of others.

Unexpectedly, although Ye Tian's figure moved, his spiritual platform remained perfectly clear; his Mind-Cultivation Technique was like a tide, and his Divine Sense was like a mirror. Regardless of the storms raging outside, his inner self remained calm, completely isolating the mind-confusing miasma, preventing it from invading even a fraction.

"Eh?"

Ye Yiyi's red lips parted slightly, emitting a very soft sound of surprise. A flash of uncertainty flickered in her charming eyes; clearly, she had not expected that this young man, despite his young age, would have a Divine Soul as stable as a thousand-year-old rock, completely unaffected by her Peach Blossom Miasma.

Her miasma had caused countless famous experts to stumble, yet today it returned empty-handed before a youth.

At this very moment, Ye Tian's previous move had just finished, and his figure seemed to pause for an instant due to deflecting the chains, leaving a slight opening in front of his chest.

The last cloaked man, who had been hiding in the shadows to the side and rear, seized this golden Opportunity. His body emerged suddenly from the tree shadows like light smoke, a poisoned dagger in his hand, ruthlessly and peerlessly stabbing directly at the vital point of Ye Tian's back!

This strike had been brewing for a long time; the precision of the timing, the trickiness of the angle, and the concentration of the force could be called vicious—it was truly the assassin's method of killing in one blow!

"Senior Brother, watch out behind you!"

In the distance, Hou Xiaojie saw it clearly and was terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, crying out in alarm, his voice changing tone.

Seeing that the dark blue dagger tip was about to touch his clothes, the fishy, sweet scent on the dagger could almost be smelled.

Yet Ye Tian seemed to truly have eyes in the back of his head.

He did not turn around, nor did he block; he simply raised his left hand that was hanging by his side, his movement as slow as plucking a flower.

His two fingers were like a sword, a wisp of pale silver radiance suddenly flickering, faintly containing the image of wind and thunder, with the intent to destroy all techniques!

It was precisely the Taixu Cloud-Breaking Finger Sword!

"Chi!"

The attacking cloaked man's rapid stabbing momentum suddenly froze, and the forward rushing force was instantly swallowed up.

His figure froze, and he slowly lowered his head, looking in disbelief at the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest. He saw a blood spot as fine as a needle hole quietly appear, its edges smooth as a mirror. No blood gushed out, but a fierce and unparalleled Sword Qi had already penetrated his body, destroying his heart pulse and Dantian Qi in an instant!

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but only exhaled half a breath of silent air, the luster in his eyes rapidly dimming, like a lamp being extinguished.

"Thump!"

This True Martial Realm cloaked man fell straight forward, smashing onto the ground; the dagger slipped from his hand and rolled aside.

He had actually been killed in seconds by this understated finger strike!

Zhao Chengzhi's pupils constricted slightly, and his fingers pressing on his sword tightened involuntarily!

The charming smile on Ye Yiyi's face disappeared completely, replaced by deep wariness.

Although one could not see the face of the one-armed cloaked man, his figure clearly shuddered.

Ye Tian stood alone in the field, his sword tip pointing obliquely at the ground, his blue robes slightly fluttering, like a god of war.