Zhong Wanshan was incredibly powerful.
It had been a hundred years since he had reached Convergence-tier, and while he had yet to reach Convergence-intermediate, he was not far from it. Moreover, he was a sword cultivator whose combat strength was no weaker than Convergence-intermediate.
Jiang He responded then and retaliated with the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array.
Clang!
The skies shook with the hum of swords.
Jiang He’s Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array was shattered and his two new sage-class flying swords were sent flying too, though Zhong Wanshan’s own Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array crumbled as well.
Extending his hand to beckon and retrieve both flying swords, a hunch occurred to Jiang He then…
Though both attacks were Ice and Fire Duality Sword Arrays, his was a little stronger.
Moreover, he was only Yuan-Spirit advanced, whereas Zhong Wanshan was Convergence-tier, just as the flying swords he used to cast his sword array was inferior-grade sage weapons as well… for them to fight out equally meant that ‘Three Thousand Calamities’, his sword cultivator technique, was a class above the Ten Thousand Swords Sect’s sword array technique.
“No, it’s not a class above—it’s overwhelmingly stronger!”
But even as that thought occurred to Jiang He, Zhong Wanshan landed on the island.
Behind him was the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun, the bottle-gourd shouldering Hong Shanze, as well as the six full-fledged Yuan Spirit cultivators from either sects.
They promptly spread out once they landed on the island, surrounding Jiang He within.
Jiang He, however, was not panicking at all.
In fact, he was getting a little excited…
With this, he had acquired targets for his Five Thunder Talisman.
“Jiang He!”
Zhong Wanshan’s eyes were bloodshot and he was clenching his teeth, staring tightly at Jiang He and seething hoarsely. “You will die today! I shall tear out your flesh and crush bones, hence sealing your Yuan Spirit and torment it with hellfire for thousands—no, ten thousand years!”
Jiang He appeared taken aback.
Frowning, he said unhappily, “Dear Daoist, I might have developed a grudge against the Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect and killed one of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect elders, but there is no need to hate me so much, is there?”
“We cannot coexist after you killed my wife!” Zhong Wanshan bellowed.
His killing intent thickened. Mystic energies around his body were dyed blood-red and his sheer presence stirring, clearly a sign that he was charging a mystic art.
Jiang He blinked.
Are you having problems in the head?
When did I even kill your wife?
Could it be…
A look of shock appeared over Jiang He’s face then… Elder Fate?
After all, he had only killed one person from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, and that was Elder Fate. And yet here Zhong Wanshan was, claiming that Jiang He had killed his wife… could Zhong Wanshan and Elder Fate share some unspeakable secret?
“No… Zhong Yue would definitely not been born if it was Elder Fate… could the array around my house have killed them instead?”
Jiang He realized with a start then—it was the only possibility.
Meanwhile, as Zhong Wanshan charged his killing stroke, Hong Shanze, the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun and the other six full-fledged Yuan Spirit cultivators or came closer.
Each of them revealed killing intent, looking at Jiang He as if he was dead meat.
“Are you really going to kill me, fellow Daoists?”
Jiang He looked around at them and said somberly, “I may have conflicts with the Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, but do you have to go so far? I captured the True Habitant of Nine Dragons and Zhong Yue because they were the first to provoke me, and since you people have invaded my house, we are now equal… but you are still intending to kill me now?”
“Do not even speak of your house!” Zhong Wanshan roared, and he was shaking in rage. The aura brewing over his body became even more horrific then as he said somberly, “Vice-chieftain Hong, Scarlet Sun, keep him contained. My killing stroke shall be charged in five breaths.
The True Habitant of Scarlet Sun traded glances with Hong Shanze then, as their very presence shook as they each invoked their mystic treasures…
“Five breaths?”
Jiang He could not help laughing. You had already been charging for ten breaths, and you still need five breaths? This is a life-and-death struggle, not a joke—and you were taking such a long time your opponent could cut you down dozens of times over.
With that, Jiang He ignored Zhong Wanshan and the others, and did not even bother to invoke his own mystic treasures.
He hence took out a yellowed paper talisman with a turn of his hand. It appeared ancient and worn, and was written with the three words ‘Five Thunder Talisman’ in tadpole script.
And once his paper talisman was revealed, a threatening presence extended immediately.
Thought they were charging towards Jiang He just now, both the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun and the Hong Shanze paused then. They appeared wary, although they could not help laughing out loud when they saw the paper talisman clearly.
Was that supposed to be a paper talisman?
Are you kidding us? You write your paper talismans like that?
Then, they saw Jiang He threw that—let us call it a paper talisman for now—at Zhong Wanshan.
While it seemed to take an eternity, it merely took a few breaths.
Zhong Wanshan had just finished charging his ultimate move right then. Pebbles were rolling away from the tremors his aura caused, while the distant oceans parted… but in the next instant, the light, floaty Five Thunder Talismans had flown within the range of his aura.
Swish.
The paper talisman ignited.
And then, kaboom…
A dull rumble.
Dark clouds cascaded through the skies though it had been clear over thousands of miles just an instant ago, and one thunderbolt that was over a dozen meters thick descended from it with a cracking rumble.
“No!”
Zhong Wanshan promptly looked up, his eyes reflecting the purple hue of the thunderbolt.
And in the next split second, he was consumed by it.
The thunderbolt then spread out, engulfing every direction like a tidal wave.
“What the hell.”
Jiang He cried out in surprise as well, promptly clutching his head and dropping to a crouch. As he looked around him with the corner of his eye, he could see the unfurling thunderbolts extending and striking the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun, Hong Shanze, as well as the six full-fledged Yuan Spirit cultivators…
The purple bolts were cracking loudly over their bodies, and they were twitching and convulsing as if jolted.
And three breaths later, the thunderbolts faded.
“Jiang He…”
The True Habitant of Scarlet Sun’s whole body was charred black and every strand of his hair standing upright as he shambled to his feet and breathed a heartrending bellow.
Hong Shanze was electrocuted heavily as well, his hands shaking even as he invoked his Sword Cultivating Bottle Gourd.
On the other hand, only a scorched black corpse was left of Zhong Wanshan, whereas the six full-fledged Yuan Spirit cultivators were all lying on the ground, their bodies twitching from time to time.
Their eyes were completely blank and they were foaming from the mouth.
Even if they were struck by the weaker unfurling bolts, they were a little overwhelmed.
On the other hand, Jiang He was still crouching and clutching his head. The terrible bolts did not hurt him and he maintained his posture while he turned to look at the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun as well as Hong Shanze, and then at the skies.
The dark clouds were still rolling and thunderbolts flashing from up in the air.
Boom-crack!
Another sky thunder descended.
This time, it was several times more powerful than the thunderbolts a while ago, and faint golden glimmer sparkled in the purple thunderbolt.
‘There was a green hue in the thunder just now so it must be the Second Wood Vertical Thunder, whereas this one would be the Heptaurum Calamity Thunder…’ Jiang He thought nonchalantly as he remained crouched and clutching his head, maintaining his perfect guard.
On the other hand, Hong Shanze and the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun were scared out of their wits.
They had used almost all of their moves.
Attacking the thunderbolts, shielding themselves with mystic treasures, igniting their own Yuan Spirits, unleashing their incredible secret techniques… but they were all useless.
The Heptaurum Calamity Thunder struck Hong Shanze with incredible ease.
As the thunder unfurled, the True Habitant of Scarlet Sun ‘danced’ within the thunderbolt. At the same time, the aura and Yuan Spirit of the six full-fledged Yuan Spirit cultivators lying on the ground had all faded, their every living sign disappearing…
Then came the third thunderbolt, the Third Fire Yang Thunder. It arrived much quicker than the second bolt—even before the Heptaurum Calamity Thunder had completely dispersed, it had already descended, followed by the fourth thunderbolt.
“Damn it!”
Jiang He, who was still clutching his head and crouching, took the time to throw some purple-golden sunflower seeds down his throat, even complaining, “The Five Thunder Talisman is ridiculous. Everyone is already dead and even the island is in pieces, but it is still continuing?”
“Five Thunder Talisman… does that mean that there would definitely be five thunderbolts?”
That was soon proven to be the case.
By the time the fifth thunderbolt faded, the several kilometers-squared isle was split into different pieces. The seawater within several hundred kilometers boiled from the thunderbolt, with bolts cracking underwater.
Standing up in the air and looking at the many charred, blacked corpses, Jiang He breathed a long sigh. “I had already asked whether you people really intend to kill me, and I would not resort to killing if any of you had even said one word in response.”
Sighing emotionally, he took out a jade charm and ‘called’ Elder Mo again, asking, “Did you have something to add just now, Elder Mo?”
When Elder Mo answered the communications to find Jiang He unscathed, he could not help breathing a sigh of relief. “Brother Jiang He, did you manage to escape the Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect?”
“Escape?”
Jiang he shook his head.
Taken aback, Elder Mo then quickly said, “Brother Jiang He, how did you manage to get the time to call me even when you’re being hunted? Anyway, the chieftain had said that if you could return to the Hua Nation and come to Mount Kunlun, the Taixu Sect shall offer you shelter. The chieftain would then speak for you and help calm things down—the Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect would not try to corner you after that.”
“Well…”
Jiang He mused to himself for several seconds before flashing a pained smile. “Too late, Elder Mo. That might have been possible a dozen minutes ago, but now… neither the Penglai Sect nor the Ten Thousand Swords Sect would spare me.”
Elder Mo smiled faintly and assured Jiang He confidently, “Are you not trusting the Taixu Sect now, Brother Jiang He? Three Mahayana-tier cultivators preside over our sect and the chieftain is a Sufferance-tier elite with eight calamities under his belt. He is also known as the best in arrays among all cultivators, something that even the old Mahayana founders had to admit—with our strength, the Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect might give us face.”
“For real?”
Jiang He appeared delighted.
After all…
Was there anyone who enjoyed being hunted?
There was nothing better if he could make peace. At worse, he would have to suffer some grief and not demand compensation from the Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect for invading the array guarding his house, as well as sending their people to hunt him.
“Many thanks, Elder Mo, Taixu Sect… I will return to the Hua Nation at once after I retrieved these corpses and spoils, and seek shelter at your Taixu Sect.”
“Eh?”
Elder Mo did a double take and asked in surprise, “Corpses? Spoils?”
Jiang He did not understand how the jade charm relayed communications, but it was more or less the same as a video call. He would hold it in front of himself like aiming the lens on himself, but since he was standing up in the air, Elder Mo could not see the tragic sight on the surface of the ocean.
He promptly twirled the jade charm to let Elder Mo see it, and explained, “There was a bunch of people all hunting me down, right? But I ended up turning the tables and killing them… Eh? Elder Mo? Elder Mo?’
Jiang He watched as the image of Elder Mo, conjured from mystic energies slowly faded. Scowling, he could not help cursing, “Damn it! You are an Elder of the Taixu Sect and a full-fledged Yuan Spirit cultivator… how could you just hang up at a moment’s notice?
After complaining a bit, Jiang He dived beneath the ocean and retrieved every corpse, Spatial Ring, and mystic treasure.
“Urgh…”
“The Penglai Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect definitely would not spare me after I’ve killed so many of their people… Really, that Elder Mo. He told me he would protect me and try to speak on my behalf, so why did he hang up just like that? At least make it clear whether you would play mediator, Taixu Sect!”
***
At the great temple of the Taixu Sect.
Thud!
Elder Mo’s jade charm had dropped to the floor and shattered into pieces. He was left stunned for over a dozen seconds before coming to his senses, and turned towards the Taixu Sect chieftain who looked equally baffled.
“Chieftain… should we refrain from getting involved?” he then asked.
The chieftain shook his head fervently. “Nope. We are definitely not getting involved. Out sect is not getting involved in this matter at all!”
