txolops Chapter 155 Falling into the Star Abyss, Shadows Stripped Away
Chapter 155 Falling into the Star Abyss, Shadows Stripped Away
After passing through that towering gate of light, thousands of feet high, the world seemed to turn upside down.
The dizzying sensation of overlapping spaces caused many cultivators who were entering the secret realm for the first time to vomit on the spot.
Gu Yan only felt a flash of white light before his eyes, and then his feet were on the hard ground.
Looking up, the sky was gray and cloudless, with only a slowly flowing dark red aura.
Beneath my feet lay the dry, cracked, dark brown earth, stretching to the horizon.
A massive, broken bronze halberd lay askew in the yellow sand, while weathered, brittle bones lay half-buried on the ground, turning into specks of white ash when blown by the cold wind.
Apart from the rustling sound of sand being carried by the wind, there was no other sound around.
A purple-gold light shone in front of Gu Yan, and Nangong Yue withdrew the guiding ribbons wrapped around the wrists of the four people.
It was precisely because of this magical artifact that the four members of the first squad of the Flowing Cloud Sect were not separated during the random teleportation.
Nangong Yue looked around, her beautiful face filled with solemnity, and the long sword in her hand emitted a crisp sword sound.
Su Hongxiu gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, while Shen Youwei subtly moved half a step closer to Gu Yan, shielding him behind her.
Gu Yan behaved extremely well, shrinking his neck, gripping the old folding fan tightly, and looking around in fear.
Nangong Yue gave him a cold look, her tone full of disgust.
"Stop making a fool of yourself. This is the outer wasteland of bones, where there are no high-level demonic beasts for the time being, but don't let your guard down."
As soon as Nangong Yue finished speaking, several sand dunes not far away suddenly exploded.
Amidst the swirling yellow sand, seven figures, exuding a bloody aura, shot towards the four from all directions like arrows released from a bow.
"kill."
A hoarse, unpleasant roar shattered the deathly silence.
This is a group of rogue cultivators who have been living on the edge of danger for many years. They clearly planned this in advance, specifically lying in ambush near this teleportation landing point to find prey.
The seven rogue cultivators were all at the late Foundation Establishment stage. The leader, a bald, burly man, possessed a powerful aura and was only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
Their eyesight was extremely sharp; in just a moment, they determined which of the four was the easy target.
Three of the flying swords, gleaming with a ghostly green poisonous light, flew past Nangong Yue with a sharp whooshing sound, heading straight for Gu Yan, who was hiding in the back, to take his head.
"court death."
Nangong Yue's willow-leaf eyebrows stood on end, and her purple-gold Taoist robe fluttered without wind.
With a flick of her longsword, she summoned a sky full of purple-gold crescent moon sword energy, which met the bald, burly man and the other two rogue cultivators.
Su Hongxiu sneered repeatedly, her dark red outfit fluttering in the wind, her long sword blazing with flames as she slashed at the enemy on her left.
A cold glint flashed in Shen Youwei's eyes as she was about to draw her sword to block the three poisoned flying swords for Gu Yan.
But at that moment, Gu Yan suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.
"Senior sister, save me!"
Gu Yan seemed to be terrified. His legs went weak, and he fell backward without any regard for his image, rolling down into a sandpit.
This seemingly chaotic and scrambling movement, though extremely clumsy, subtly and skillfully avoided the three deadly flying swords.
The flying sword grazed his scalp, severing a strand of Gu Yan's hair.
The instant Gu Yan fell to the ground, his fingers, hidden in his sleeve, subtly released three invisible strands of flowing cloud sword energy.
These three wisps of sword energy were so gentle that they were less than a breeze, yet they struck precisely the pressure points behind the knees of the three rogue cultivators who were controlling flying swords.
The three rogue cultivators were about to change their tactics and pursue when they suddenly felt a numbness in their legs, and the circulation of their spiritual energy within their bodies stopped for one-tenth of a breath.
This brief gap can be fatal.
Shen Youwei's snow-white sword light poured down at that moment.
Like the moonlight falling from the Moon Palace, cold and merciless.
Three fine heads shot into the sky, their blood spraying onto the parched yellow sand, where it was instantly absorbed by the earth.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nangong Yue's Purple-Gold Crescent Moon Sword Qi had already cut the bald, burly man in two, and Su Hongxiu's Wildfire Blade had burned two enemies to charcoal.
The battle came quickly and ended quickly.
In less than ten breaths, all seven ambush cultivators were wiped out.
Nangong Yue sheathed her longsword, too lazy to even glance at the corpse on the ground. The waist token on her body glowed faintly, absorbing the points from the bald, burly man's jade token.
"Come out, stop pretending to be dead."
Nangong Yue glanced at Gu Yan, who was still lying in the sandpit, her disdain growing even stronger.
Gu Yan patted his chest, scrambled to his feet, his face pale and his clothes covered in mud and sand, and thanked them timidly.
"Thank you so much, my three senior sisters, for saving my life. This place was terrifying. I almost lost my head."
Su Hongxiu sheathed her longsword, stepped forward, picked up a few storage bags belonging to rogue cultivators, casually rummaged through them, and curled her lip in disdain.
"Junior Brother Gu, you're really lucky. You even managed to dodge a fatal blow by rolling around. But if you don't work on your courage, even with us protecting you, you'll be scared to death sooner or later."
Gu Yan nodded repeatedly in agreement.
No one noticed that Gu Yan, who had just rolled around in the pile of corpses, now had the Meteorite Tokens from the waists of the three rogue cultivators in his hand.
Although those poor bastards didn't have anything good, even a small amount of points is still something, and he couldn't bear to waste them.
When Su Hongxiu was cleaning up the battlefield, she noticed that the other rogue cultivators had empty waistbands. She assumed that they had all given their points to their leader and did not suspect anything.
After a minor incident, the four continued on their way.
Along the way, the vast, desolate wasteland of withered bones was fraught with danger.
Despite their careful attempts to conceal their tracks, they inevitably encountered several small-scale attacks, but they all survived unscathed thanks to the strong suppression of Nangong Yue and her two companions.
Gu Yan played the role of a mascot all the way, doing nothing but shouting slogans, and occasionally stealing a few unclaimed meteorite tokens when others weren't paying attention.
It took about two hours to walk.
The terrain ahead began to change.
The once flat, yellow sandy wasteland was gradually replaced by a massive, undulating mountain range of black rocks.
These black rocks, like sharp swords piercing the sky, exude a heavy sense of oppression.
Deep within the mountains, a faint, precious light shimmered, clearly indicating the brewing of some kind of opportunity.
"Go into the mountains."
Nangong Yue took the lead, her eyes burning with passion.
As long as a few fragments of stars can be found in the outer area, the Flowing Cloud Sect's points will definitely remain among the top.
However, just as the four of them stepped into the Black Mountain Range...
The canyon, which had been filled with eerie winds, suddenly fell into absolute silence.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had gripped the throat of this world.
The hazy, malevolent aura in the air visibly transformed into a rich, blood-red color.
A terrifying killing intent, so palpable that even the soul trembled, poured down from the cliff face above the valley as if it were a tangible force.
Shen Youwei suddenly drew her longsword, shielding Gu Yan behind her, her usually cold eyes now showing extreme seriousness for the first time.
Su Hongxiu's expression also changed drastically. She held her long sword horizontally in front of her chest and her breathing became rapid.
Nangong Yue stopped, looked up, and stared intently at the top of the cliff.
There, a phantom river of blood, hundreds of feet wide, appeared out of thin air.
Blood churned in mid-air, and countless broken bones floated and sank in the blood waves.
A figure dressed in a blood-red robe and wearing a hideous demon mask was standing on a huge monster skeleton, slowly drifting down the river of blood.
The look in his eyes beneath the mask revealed an extreme malice and arrogance that needed no disguise.
That was the Blood River Sect's killing god, the Blood Swordsman.
"You are Gu Changsheng."
The Blood Swordsman's voice was hoarse and grating.
His gaze swept past Nangong Yue and the other two, fixed on Gu Yan, who was hiding at the back of the group, his eyes filled with greed and mockery.
Gu Yan pretended to be scared, his body trembled, and he stammered.
"You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not Gu Changsheng."
"Hehehe."
The Blood Swordsman let out a chilling laugh and slowly drew the dark red longsword from his back.
"Mistaken identity? I accepted a seventh-grade blood lotus from that old bastard Zhao Wuji, and he even gave me his portrait. Even if the sect leader of the Flowing Cloud Sect were here today, you would still have to leave your life behind."
Upon hearing this, Nangong Yue and the other two were all deeply shaken.
The Grand Elder Zhao Wuji actually spent a fortune hiring demonic thugs to hunt down core disciples of his own sect; it was utterly despicable and shameless.
If this were to happen outside, it would be a major taboo within the sect.
But in the lawless Meteor Abyss, even if someone dies, who can find out the truth?
No, we must get out alive and expose the Grand Elder's true colors.
"How dare you be so arrogant! This demonic monster dares to act so presumptuously in front of my Flowing Cloud Sect."
Knowing that things couldn't end peacefully today, Nangong Yue let out a cold shout and unleashed her early-stage Golden Core cultivation without reservation.
A beam of purplish-gold light shot into the sky, dispelling the surrounding blood energy.
She swung her longsword, and a purple-gold full moon, ten feet in size, condensed in mid-air, carrying the power to cleave mountains, and slashed fiercely at the Blood Swordsman.
This strike was the Flowing Cloud Sect's top-tier killing technique, Purple Moon Illuminating the Sky.
Faced with this earth-shattering attack, the Blood Swordsman showed no intention of dodging whatsoever.
He simply swung the blood-stained sword in his hand.
The blood river below surged instantly, creating a crimson wave tens of meters high that crashed violently against the purplish-gold full moon.
The purplish-gold sword energy melted and disintegrated the moment it came into contact with the blood, just as ice and snow met boiling water.
Nangong Yue was impacted by the backlash, let out a muffled groan, blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, and she staggered back more than ten steps before barely managing to regain her footing.
In just one exchange, this usually aloof and arrogant prodigy of the Flowing Cloud Sect was completely outmatched.
"Too weak."
The Blood Swordsman coldly uttered three words, stomped his foot, and transformed into a streak of blood-red light, carrying an overwhelming murderous aura, rushing straight towards Gu Yan.
"Protect Junior Brother Gu."
Shen Youwei shouted, and the long sword in her hand transformed into a blizzard, attempting to stop the Blood Swordsman's advance.
Su Hongxiu gritted her teeth and slashed out a dazzling fire dragon with her long sword.
However, all of this was meaningless in front of the Blood Swordsman who had reached the Golden Core realm.
The blood-red light brutally tore through the wind, snow, and fire dragon.
The shockwave rippled, and Shen Youwei and Su Hongxiu were both thrown back, crashing heavily into the black rock wall, their blood churning.
In the blink of an eye, the Blood Swordsman had arrived in front of Gu Yan.
The hideous demon mask was less than three feet away from Gu Yan's pale face.
The dark red longsword was raised high, carrying the shadow of death.
"Junior Brother Gu."
Shen Youwei's eyes were brimming with tears, but there was no time to help her.
Nangong Yue gripped her sword tightly, her eyes icy cold.
In her opinion, Gu Yan was already a dead man, and it wasn't worth risking her life for a good-for-nothing.
At this critical moment.
Gu Yan seemed to have gone mad with fright, flailing his arms and legs wildly.
Somehow, his heel tripped on a protruding black rock.
He lost his balance and fell backward.
Behind him, what was originally a flat ground had been cracked open by the violent pressure from the Blood Swordsman, creating a deep, bottomless, and dark underground cavern hundreds of feet deep.
"ah."
Gu Yan let out a heart-wrenching scream, and like a kite with a broken string, he plummeted straight into the bottomless pit.
As he fell, the Blood Swordsman's longsword slashed down fiercely.
The violent, blood-red sword energy slashed at the edge of the cave, shattering all the rocks in that area.
A massive amount of black boulders, accompanied by rolling waves of blood, crashed into the depths of the cave, completely burying the crevice.
Everything happened so fast that even Nangong Yue didn't have time to react.
Below the cliff, tranquility returned.
The Blood Swordsman stood above the buried cave, sheathed his sword, and glanced down coldly.
He then turned his head, his murderous gaze sweeping over the heavily injured Shen Youwei and Su Hongxiu.
"That kid was unlucky to fall into a spatial rift and die a horrible death. Fine, I'll spare your lives today. Tell Zhao Wuji for me: I've killed the men, and the spirit stone mine is ready. I'll go and get it myself."
After saying this, the Blood Swordsman let out a wild laugh, stepped on the Blood River, transformed into a streak of blood light that shot into the sky, and disappeared into the depths of the mountains in a few flashes.
Only the three members of the Flowing Cloud Sect remained inside the canyon.
Shen Youwei collapsed to the ground, staring at the completely closed underground cave, her lips trembling and her eyes reddening.
In the end, she couldn't protect her grateful junior brother.
Su Hongxiu stood up, supporting herself with her long sword, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her face was extremely pale.
"Elder, you are truly heartless."
Nangong Yue stepped forward, took a deep breath, and suppressed the shock in her eyes.
She quickly calmed down, began to heal her injuries, and coldly offered her words of comfort:
"When a person dies, the light goes out; stop looking. Falling into the spatial cavern, even a Golden Core cultivator has no chance of survival. As for the Grand Elder's matter, the Sect Master will decide after we leave the secret realm."
Nangong Yue turned around, her voice completely flat.
"With one less burden in the team, we can travel much faster. Let's go, hunting for star fragments is our top priority."
After saying that, she walked forward without any hesitation.
Shen Youwei took one last look at the ruins, silently sheathed her sword, and followed Nangong Yue.
The faint light belonging to the Liuyun Sect gradually faded into the distance.
At this time.
Hundreds of feet deep underground, in a naturally formed karst cave.
The underground river made a gurgling sound.
On a flat, black boulder.
Gu Yan stood steadily.
His dark Taoist robe was spotless, and the panic and weakness he had shown earlier were completely gone.
His spine was ramrod straight, and the worn-out folding fan in his hand twirled nimbly between his fingertips.
In those deep eyes, the left eye shone brightly, while the right eye exuded a sinister aura, revealing an absolute composure that commanded everything.
The Blood Swordsman, the Demon Sect's Killing God who had just been rampaging across the battlefield, was now standing quietly in front of Gu Yan.
Gu Yan looked at the clone in front of him, reached out and gently touched the Blood Swordsman's brow.
The Blood Swordsman's body turned into a pool of red sand and merged into the shadows behind Gu Yan.
More detailed memories began to be shared.
"Zhao Wuji's intelligence is indeed detailed, even clearly stating the flaws in Nangong Yue's sect's techniques. That old dog really went to great lengths."
Gu Yan smiled and shook his head, satisfied with his role in the play.
Not only did he take advantage of the assassins sent by Zhao Wuji to smoothly break away from the group in this dangerous secret realm, becoming someone who was already dead in the eyes of others.
Furthermore, through the words of the Blood Swordsman, Nangong Yue and others planted an important clue for exposing Zhao Wuji in the future.
Now, no flies are watching him anymore.
Now, no flies are watching him anymore.
He no longer needed to pretend to be weak, no longer needed to hide his abilities, and no longer needed to cater to the feelings of those proud and arrogant women.
This vast Meteor Abyss is no longer his testing ground.
It was not a slaughterhouse that belonged solely to Gu Yan.
Gu Yan tossed the Meteorite Token in his hand, looking at the pitiful twenty points it held.
He flipped his wrist and shook it.
Two thin pieces of paper fell from my wrist and, without any wind, expanded rapidly in mid-air, transforming into two life-sized paper figures.
A figure dressed in white robes, exuding a sacred aura of compassion and mercy.
A figure clad in a black robe, surrounded by an aura of extreme karmic obstruction that freezes the soul.
This is the complete form of the Yin-Yang Paper Sword Servant.
Gu Yan unfolded the folding fan in his hand and pointed it towards the enormous aura located at the deepest part of the Meteor Abyss.
That was the fluctuation emanating from the fragments of the Taixu Demon-Suppressing Tower, and it was also the source that was causing the golden core of gods and demons within his body to tremble continuously.
"Go."
Gu Yan's voice echoed in the dark cave, cold and devoid of warmth.
"Apart from members of the Flowing Cloud Sect, kill any living creature you encounter without mercy."
"Points, treasures, and the lives of those high and mighty geniuses—I want them all."
Two figures, one in white and one in black, bowed deeply to Gu Yan, then transformed into two terrifying streaks of light, soaring into the sky and smashing through the rock layers at the top of the cave, entering that brutal battlefield.
Gu Yan turned his head, gently shook his folding fan, and leisurely walked into the depths of darkness, stepping on the waves of the underground river.