149: One against three

[You pretended to panic and fled towards the city gates, while secretly releasing your Divine Sense. Sure enough, you discovered Lan Yuting, Du Hong, and Tang Yao were secretly following behind.]

[All four of you were Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. You knew clearly that you couldn't fight head-on; you had to catch them off guard and take down one first.]

[The three suddenly accelerated, intercepted you, and surrounded you in a triangular formation.]

["You deliberately lured us out of the city, didn't you?" Lan Yuting asked with a sneer.]

[You smiled faintly, "Since you knew, you still dared to follow? Aren't you afraid of an ambush?"]

["Speak! Who instructed you to do this?" Du Hong roared. For decades, he had only schemed against others, how could he tolerate others scheming against him?]

[Tang Yao smiled and lightly stroked her hair, "Why waste words with him? I already checked the surroundings just now; there's no one else here..."]

[Before she could finish speaking, you suddenly gave a low shout, "Body Manifests Myriad Forms!"]

[In an instant, you conjured tens of thousands of illusory figures. The sky was filled with your silhouettes.]

[Using this move with your current Supernatural Power Realm cultivation, every silhouette was as solid as reality, making it impossible for people to distinguish the real from the fake.]

[This sudden change greatly startled the three of them, and they hurriedly displayed their respective Divine Abilities—]

["Ethereal Cloud Steps!" Lan Yuting lightly shouted. Her figure instantly became like clouds and mist, unpredictable and elusive.]

["Vajra Escape!" Du Hong also shouted loudly. Golden light shone all over his body, and he instantly retreated hundreds of miles away.]

["Phantom Sound Flowing Light!" Before Tang Yao's voice faded, she was already rapidly retreating backward like the aurora, accompanied by waves of sound.]

[You dared not be careless. This was your first confrontation with Nascent Soul Cultivators, and you had already locked onto the reality and illusion of the three with your Divine Sense.]

[You found that Du Hong was the strongest among the three. Only by resolving him unexpectedly first would the other two be easy to handle.]

[Without hesitation, you fully activated Subtle Steps of Ling Bo, and with a flash of your figure, you arrived behind Du Hong—]

["Spirit Erosion Palm!" You shouted loudly and struck out fiercely!]

[Countless purple palm prints rained down like a torrential downpour, instantly enveloping him.]

[Du Hong was greatly alarmed and hurriedly summoned a defensive Magic Treasure. A giant shield carved with Dark Tortoise Patterns appeared, emitting a heavy golden light that firmly protected him.]

[This was precisely his supreme defensive treasure, the "Dark Tortoise Mountain Suppressing Shield."]

[This Magic Treasure, refined using the shell of a ten-thousand-year-old Dark Tortoise and the Essence of Geng Metal, was enough to withstand a full-force blow from a Late Nascent Soul Stage.]

[When a portion of the Spirit Erosion Palm prints slammed onto the shield, they produced loud thuds but failed to breach the defense and harm him.]

[You immediately understood—although your Spirit Erosion Palm was potent enough in toxicity, you had only just mastered the basics, and its power to breach defenses was insufficient.]

[Moreover, the opponent was using a top-tier defensive Magic Treasure. If your palm strength didn't reach the level of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, you couldn't possibly break through it.]

[However, you were already prepared. Without hesitation, you summoned the immortal slaying sword, and a streak of aurora flashed past—]

["Clang!" With a sharp sound, the defensive light screen of the Dark Tortoise Mountain Suppressing Shield shattered instantly, and the Magic Treasure itself was sent flying.]

[A trace of surprise and fear flashed across Du Hong's face—he hadn't expected his proud supreme defensive treasure couldn't withstand your mysterious longsword.]

[But regret was already too late. Another portion of the Spirit Erosion Palm prints struck him instantly.]

["Ah—!" He screamed miserably and flew backward.]

[Before he even landed, he tried to activate his movement technique to escape.]

[However, the toxin had rapidly invaded his Meridians. He felt his Meridians were in chaos, unable to muster even a trace of magical power.]

[His face turned pale with fright, and he was momentarily thrown into complete disarray.]

[He regretted it immensely in his heart: He really should have struck first just now to gain the initiative.]

[Just as you were about to deliver the fatal blow—]

[Lan Yuting had already arrived. You heard her shout sweetly, "Nine Sounds Soul Seizing!"]

[She summoned a bell. As the bell rang softly, waves of sound, tangible like substance, assaulted you. This Magic Treasure, specialized in attacking the Divine Soul, caused a sharp pain in your Sea of Consciousness.]

[At the same time, Tang Yao also took out a silver-glowing folding fan: "Thousand Feather Illusory Kill!"]

[This was precisely her Lifebound Treasure, the "Thousand Feather Illusory Kill Fan." As the silver fan waved, countless feather blades shot towards you like a torrential rain!]

[This "Thousand Feather Illusory Kill Fan" also contained potent poison. Nascent Soul Cultivators who touched it would either die or be crippled.]

[Normally, she wouldn't easily expose this trump card, but she was startled and flustered by your sudden attack just now, making her extremely annoyed.]

[You had no choice but to abandon killing Du Hong and fully utilize Subtle Steps of Ling Bo to evade.]

[At this moment, Du Hong actually endured the severe pain and used the Blood Burning Secret Technique to suppress the toxin—]

["You dog thief, let me give you a taste of my Soul Splitting Claw!"]

[He roared angrily and summoned the murderous Magic Treasure, the "Soul Splitting Claw." Five streaks of black light aimed straight for your Dantian!]

[Facing the combined siege of the three, you finally stopped holding back—]

[You raised your hand, looked indifferently at the three, and the corner of your mouth lifted—]

["Since that's the case, let me show you This Venerable One's true trump card!"]

[Before your voice faded, you mobilized the power of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law, and shouted loudly, "Lonely Slaying Annihilation!"]

[The immortal slaying sword hovered above your head, the world suddenly darkened, and you merged with the immortal slaying sword. A sword light, seemingly from Heavenly Punishment, ignited.]

[This sword light was so fast that the three of them had no time to react.]

[Du Hong's Magic Treasure, the "Soul Splitting Claw," immediately cracked under the sword light, turning into dust and dissipating.]

[He was already forcibly suppressing the toxin, and with his Lifebound Treasure destroyed, the toxin could no longer be suppressed—]

["Pfft—!"]

[He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsed with a crash, and fell unconscious.]

[Tang Yao's Lifebound Treasure, the "Thousand Feather Illusory Kill Fan," also melted away in the sword light like ice and snow—]

["Pfft—!"]

[Suffering from the backlash, her face was as white as paper. Terrified, she tried to use her Nascent Soul to escape, but found that even her Nascent Soul was locked down by the Sword Intent.]

[The sword light flashed centered on her. Her body and Magic Treasure were annihilated together, leaving her Body and Spirit Annihilated!]

[Lan Yuting saw this scene, was scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and turned around to use an Escape Technique to flee.]

[Just then, a figure suddenly appeared, blocking her path—]

[The newcomer, with lightning speed, summoned a golden rope. Like a spiritual snake, it bound Lan Yuting tightly, completely immobilizing even her Nascent Soul!]

[You also separated from the immortal slaying sword, your face pale, your physical strength exhausted, and your power reduced to less than ten percent.]

[You already knew this would happen after executing "Lonely Slaying Annihilation," which is why you seized the best opportunity just now to decisively strike—at that time, all three were using their Lifebound Treasure trump cards, and only this moment allowed you to take down all three in one fell swoop.]

[But you hadn't expected someone else was hiding in the dark.]

[You steadied your mind and looked closely—the newcomer was tall, wearing a mask that covered their face, and their true appearance could not be detected by Divine Sense.]

[You stood holding your sword, vigilantly looking at the Mysterious Person who had suddenly appeared, alarm bells ringing in your heart.]

["You don't need to be nervous, I bear you no ill will!" he suddenly spoke.]

["Fellow Daoist, why did you help me?" you asked curiously.]

["Put away your curiosity. Knowing too much won't benefit you!" he laughed.]

[Seeing that he captured Lan Yuting but didn't kill her, you vaguely guessed that he must be someone from the Heavenly Sword Sect.]

[It seemed highly likely that he needed Lan Yuting's Nascent Soul to save a Disciple. You guessed he might be a Peak Master.]

[But now Tang Yao was annihilated, Du Hong was poisoned, and Lan Yuting's Nascent Soul absolutely could not be given away.]

[So you said, "Fellow Daoist, she is very important to me!"]

["She is also very important to me. What, do you want to attack me?" he laughed.]