Chapter 3162, Don’t Run
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Who!?” Jiang Xue Song shouted as he jumped to his feet.
The figure strode into the great hall and stood in front of him in just two or three steps, and all of a sudden, Jiang Xue Song felt as though a huge Dragon was bearing down on him. He involuntarily took several steps back and fell back into his chair. At the same time, he heard a cracking sound coming from the Sword Heart he had been cultivating for 1,500 years as a fracture appeared.
[I’m feeling fear?] It wasn’t until this moment that he came back to his senses and realized what had happened to him just moments ago, shocking him greatly.
Having lived a perilous life, Jiang Xue Song had encountered countless powerful enemies before, but even so, he had never retreated in fear before, regardless of who his enemy was. No matter how famous his opponent was, or how powerful their cultivation might be, Jiang Xue Song would still pierce through them with his sword. It would be worth it even if his body was broken to pieces. It was such a determination that had allowed him to hone his flawless Sword Heart; however, just now, he felt paralyzing fear for the first time in his life, and that caused a chip to appear in his Sword Heart.
Yang Kai looked down and practically shoved his face in Jiang Xue Song’s face while grinning widely, “Boss Jiang, how can you be so forgetful? You even mentioned my name just now! Could it be that you forgot about me in just the blink of an eye?”
“You are…” Jiang Xue Song’s eyes bulged in their sockets as an extremely absurd idea came to mind, drawing a determined cry from his lips, “That’s impossible!”
“Anything is possible!” Yang Kai turned around and sat at the table. Then, he turned to look at Old Hawk and asked, “Are you from the Netherworld Sect?”
That casual posture of his did not look like he had just barged into an extremely dangerous place. Rather, Yang Kai made it seem as though he was visiting his neighbour’s house. Even Old Hawk, who had experienced many great storms before, couldn’t help feeling that it was absolutely absurd.
“Let me ask you something!” Yang Kai stared at Old Hawk, “Are you the Sect Master of Netherworld Sect?”
“No!” Old Hawk shook his head.
Yang Kai rubbed his chin and said regretfully, “I guess I came to the wrong place again.”
A Sword Intent surged without warning just then and a dazzling sword wave flashed out simultaneously, illuminating the entire great hall. At that moment, everything in the world seemed to have lost its brilliance and only the shining sword light remained.
Jiang Xue Song had made a bold move without any warning!
As a swordsman, he should never launch a sneak attack on another, and indeed he had never done so against any foe he had fought before in the past. He had always defeated his enemies in head-on clashes; however, Yang Kai’s pressure had made a sliver of fear sprout in his heart and corrupted his Sword Heart. As a result, the anger born from shame had made him disregard everything else other than the impulse to kill.
Before the Sword Qi struck its target though, Old Hawk raised his hand and a blood-coloured banner appeared in his palm. It was one of the two most common artifacts of the Netherworld Sect, the Blood Sea Banner. The Blood Sea Banner in Old Hawk’s hand was clearly better than all the Blood Sea Banners Yang Kai had encountered so far, its aura distinguishing it as a peak Origin King Grade Artifact. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Star Field’s World Principles did not allow for it, this artifact would have become a Dao Source Grade Artifact with just a few more sacrifices and refining.
Old Hawk waved the Blood Sea Banner and subsequently, a turbulent gush of Blood Qi blasted out, transforming into a Blood Sea that engulfed Yang Kai like a tidal wave.
At the same time, an unmatched sword wave slashed at Yang Kai.
Jiang Xue Song couldn’t help feeling disappointed and frustrated at that moment. He did not know how high this young man’s cultivation was, but there was no way that he could survive after taking on a Sword Technique initiated by a Swords Master like himself with only a distance of a single step between them. Not to mention Old Hawk had coordinated with his attack just now.
Although the two of them had been at odds with each other all this while, they worked together for a common cause at this moment, and their coordination was near perfect.
After the sword wave slashed downward, Jiang Xue Song’s expression changed drastically while Old Hawk could feel that something was wrong too. A shiver ran up their spines as they exchanged a glance, clearly seeing the shock in each other’s eyes. After that, they turned into two streams of light and rushed out of the hall without any hesitation, vanishing out of sight in a blink of an eye.
In the midst of the turbulent Blood Sea, a fist blasted out suddenly. The Blood Sea shattered into pieces and the residual sword light dispersed. Then, Yang Kai took a step forward and appeared outside the hall. He did not chase after those two, however, and instead just leaned against one of the pillars of the great hall and coldly watched the situation with mild interest.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xue Song and Old Hawk looked around and froze in place after rushing out of the main hall. Abandoned Lair, which they had regarded as secure and impenetrable, was now surrounded by more than a dozen black Starships. A huge fleet was besieging the entire Abandoned Lair and groups of people were constantly pouring out of these Starships, rushing into the asteroids of all shapes and sizes to hunt down all the wicked cultivators who lived here.
[Since when!?]
Abandoned Lair was extremely easy to defend while incredibly difficult to attack; additionally, it was guarded by Natural Spirit Arrays and terrifying Starry Sky Storms. Only those who were familiar with the patterns of this place could navigate a safe path of entry and exit. Despite how strong the Netherworld Sect was, even Old Hawk would have to pay a high price if he brought his men here to storm Abandoned Lair. The only reason he could enter this place safely was that Jiang Xue Song had taken the initiative to contact him more than 10 years ago; however, this seemingly safe place had been now breached without anybody knowing it. It was a nightmare, to say the least.
The powerful auras that washed over them from all directions clearly told Old Hawk and Jiang Xue Song a cruel fact, today was going to be a disastrous day.
A small figure flew towards them suddenly.
Jiang Xue Song focused on the figure and saw that it was a seven- or eight-year-old girl. Old Hawk seemed to have realized it too and his expression turned cold. Twisting the Blood Sea Banner in his hand, he swiftly rolled up that little girl into it.
In the next moment, Jiang Xue Song’s figure suddenly retreated explosively, quickly distancing himself from Old Hawk.
“What are you doing!?” Old Hawk glared at Jiang Xue Song furiously, “We must work together to get out of here quickly!”
[This guy must be insane. Why is he moving away from me at this point!? Don’t tell me he thinks he can break through this siege with that stupid sword of his!?]
Jiang Xue Song looked at Old Hawk earnestly and shook his head, “We each have our own destinies!”
Although Jiang Xue Song had not noticed anything peculiar about the little girl, the Sword Heart inside his body had sent out strong warning signals when she appeared, as if a voice in his heart was screaming. ‘Get away! Get away! Get as far away as possible!’
“Have you gone mad!?” Old Hawk raged, “In the current situation, we need to join forc… hm?” Halfway through, he suddenly lowered his head and looked at his Blood Sea Banner. A bright red flame had appeared at some point on it and was now swiftly spreading out in all directions, burning madly. The scorching aura made Old Hawk’s blood run cold as he desperately poured his Saint Qi into the banner, trying to extinguish the flame. Unfortunately, the fire remained unaffected regardless of what he did. In fact, his Saint Qi only seemed to make it burn faster.
“Pu…”
Old Hawk spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His artifact had been damaged, and he suffered from the backlash. Then, a small figure stepped out of the Blood Sea Banner. The little girl used her fair finger to lightly poke his head and he immediately collapsed to the ground limply like a balloon that had lost all its air.
Liu Yan picked the old man up with one hand and looked up only to see Jiang Xue Song had already merged with his sword light and turned into a streak that was soaring away with all haste.
[What the Hell!? What the Hell is that little girl!? Not only was she unscathed after being stuffed into the Blood Sea Banner, but she was even capable of escaping! She destroyed the Blood Sea Banner without any effort at all! She heavily injured Old Hawk with a single finger! That strength is beyond anything that I can imagine! I need to run! I need to run as far as possible!]
“Don’t run,” A voice that was as sweet and pure as a silver bell suddenly rang in his ears.
Turning his head to look, Jiang Xue Song saw that the little girl was now keeping pace with him. She looked like she was walking leisurely as she carried Old Hawk, who was half-dead, in one hand.
The corners of Jiang Xue Song’s eyes twitched fiercely as he almost had the urge to burst out cursing. Biting his tongue, he spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence which greatly enhanced the sword light around his body, increasing his speed dramatically.
Seemingly not even flustered by this increase in speed, Liu Yan simply tapped her delicate feet harder, stretched out her little hand, and grabbed Jiang Xue Song’s sword, causing the sword light coming from it to change from a brilliant glow to a dim hue as she snapped in annoyance, “I said… don’t run!”
The sharp and unmatched Origin King Grade Artifact longsword that could split mountains failed to inflict any damage on her whatsoever even though she held it in such a way.
“Wa…”
Jiang Xue Song spewed out a mouthful of blood again, but this time around, it was caused by the shock from his sudden change in momentum.
Turning to stare at the little girl, he almost wondered if he was dreaming.
A moment later, Liu Yan, holding Old Hawk in one hand and Jiang Xue Song in the other, strolled back a short distance, and threw them to the ground outside the great hall. Old Hawk’s aura was practically non-existent while his injuries were anything but light. Although Jiang Xue Song was in better condition, he no longer had any fighting spirit left, his eyes completely dull.
Yang Kai, still leaning against the pillar of the great hall with his arms folded across his chest, smiled slightly at this sight and called out, “Thanks!”
Liu Yan pouted, as if blaming him for making her do something so bothersome, and vented her frustrations by kicking Jiang Xue Song. Meanwhile, Jiang Xue Song did not dare to make a single sound nor speak a single word of protest.
Crouching down a bit, Yang Kai stared at Old Hawk and asked, “Where is the Sect Master of Netherworld Sect now?”
Old Hawk looked up at Yang Kai and answered in a trembling voice, “I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?” Yang Kai frowned in response as he suddenly raged, “Old dog, you better not lie to me! Your cultivation is pretty high so you must be an Elder at the very least. How can you not know where your Sect Master is?”
Old Hawk tearfully replied, “I really don’t know, he might be at Galaxy Ridge!”
“Might?” Yang Kai scowled, his expression turning savage, “Is he there, or is he not?”
Old Hawk trembled, “I… cannot be sure …”
“Useless!” Yang Kai cursed. Grabbing Old Hawk by the clothes, he threw him off into the distance. Old Hawk screamed as he flew out a thousand metres before suddenly exploding into a blood mist.
Grand Desolation Star Field had invaded Heng Luo Star Field, and the main culprit behind this invasion was Netherworld Sect; therefore, the Sect Master of Netherworld Sect was the one who all blame had to be laid upon. It was only natural for Yang Kai to seek out the Sect Master of Netherworld Sect to make that person pay. It was a pity that that person was nowhere to be seen.
It didn’t matter though as this battle was only Heng Luo Star Field’s first counterattack. The Sect Master of Netherworld Sect would appear, sooner or later, as long as he was still within Heng Luo Star Field.
Besides, the attack against Galaxy Ridge should have started by now, with Su Yan leading the battle. Galaxy Ridge wouldn’t be able to make any waves either with her assuming command.
At the same time, the passage between the two Star Fields was being guarded by Li Jiao. Li Jiao and his entire family had been sent by Yang Kai to guard this passage. Those from Grand Desolation Star Field would not be able to receive any reinforcements, much less think of escaping from Heng Luo Star Field.
The reason why Yang Kai had waited ten days to gather allies was that he wanted to wipe out Abandoned Lair in one fell swoop. He did not want to let a single enemy escape from his grasp. Although he and Liu Yan could run rampant in this place, Abandoned Lair was huge and a few rats would surely slip through their fingers without a corresponding force assisting him.
It was different now though. One of the two most powerful people in Abandoned Lair had died while the other was gravely injured. The entire Abandoned Lair was surrounded by Heng Luo Star Field’s forces, so it was simply a pipe dream for those cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field and these Star Pirates to even think of escaping from this place.
The sounds of massacre continued endlessly as Yang Kai lowered his head and glanced at Jiang Xue Song, a trace of disgust flashing across his eyes as he declared, “Let’s hear it if you have any useful information for me. If you can satisfy me, I will give you a swift death.”
