‘How amazing!” exclaimed Tiger Taoist. He was startled by how powerful Clear Wind had become. Should the sword spirit want anyone dead, his Sword Intent would be able to strike down anyone within a thousand feet radius when unsheathed.
Tiger Taoist subconsciously touched his own neck to make sure his head was still attached to his body.
That was actually frightening.
Clear Wind was able to slice through the sand dome using his Sword Intent. When the sword finally arrived, it pierced through the sand formation like a hot knife running through butter.
Since Lin Jin had given him an order Clear Wind would carry it out.
Once inside the formation, the sword shone brightly before a voice resonated.
“Whoever surrenders lives, whoever resists shall die!”
It was a simple sentence, and yet it carried a surprising degree of intimidation. It felt to them as if the sword would come slashing down if they ignored his ultimatum.
Most of the cult members were so frightened that they froze up. However, there were also arrogant fools who insisted on doing things their way.
This was especially so for Black Water, Ghost Water, and Red Water Taoist. The three cast their spells against Clear Wind.
“Slay!”
Clear Wind reacted without hesitation. Following a blinding flash, the sword swung down, carving a crevasse that was a thousand feet long and a hundred meters deep. Not only had he split the Water God Cult in half, but he had also cut down many stubborn cult members.
The one who suffered most was Red Water Taoist and his pet beast.
Red Water Taoist and his pet beast were both been split in half. A fountain of blood was sent spraying from their corpses and Red Water Taoist still had a look of disbelief in his eyes.
However, he couldn’t seek an answer anymore.
He had been killed in a single slash. Both his soul and mind had perished within that split second.
“Ah!” Not too far away, Black Water and Ghost Water Taoist were trembling in fear. The Three Water Beast Combination they planned to perform immediately failed too.
With one of the pet beasts dead, how could they even combine?
“Stop that sword!” roared Black Water Taoist. Many cult members rose to challenge Clear Wind. Together, they invoked a variety of offense spells, but it was clear that they were inferior to the lone sword. Their attacks were immediately overwhelmed by Clear Wind’s second slash.
A cult member sent a rhino beast that appeared to be clad in steel armor. It charged at Clear Wind in an attempt to knock it away.
The sword simply swept across the air, splitting the rhino in half. As it collapsed, its innards poured out onto the ground.
The same scenario continued to happen a few more times.
The members of the Water God Cult had enjoyed playing tyrant all these years, bullying the common folk in any way they could. There was no denying that they were somewhat capable combatants. Most cult members owned Rank 3 beasts, and higher-ranking members had Rank 4 beasts too.
Still, none of them could stop Clear Wind’s onslaught.
The people were shrieking, cursing, shouting, as the whirring sound of a blade slashing around filled the air. In mere moments, the Water God Cult’s base was littered with corpses.
Red Water Taoist died in action, killed by Clear Wind. Ghost Water Taoist may have survived, but one of his arms sliced off. As for Black Water Taoist, being the most cunning of them all, he chose to stay still so Clear Wind didn’t attack him.
“Master, what do we do?” asked the panic-stricken Ghost Water Taoist. As he spoke, he covered his wound with his remaining hand.
They had obviously lost the battle.
There was no means of fighting back. The instant his disciple, Red Water Taoist was killed, it became impossible for them to use the Three Water Beast Combination skill. In seconds, the monster blade harvested countless lives, as if it was the grim reaper. Many of their followers died and the Water God Cult was dealt a terrible blow.
It didn’t take much to figure out what would happen if they continued resisting, so Ghost Water Taoist suggested that they should retreat.
After all, where there was life, there was hope.
Of course Black Water Taoist could understand that.
However, he also knew that Ghost Water Taoist could probably survive for another decade without the gourd but he couldn’t.
He would have been fine if he hadn’t used mana earlier. Now, it would have been wishful thinking if he thought he still had a few more months left to live.
Whether or not he could live for a few more days was questionable.
It didn’t make any difference whether or not they escaped.
Of course, Black Water Taoist didn’t plan on letting everything fall to destruction either. Being a cautious man, he would always reserve an escape route for himself. In fact, he probably had prepared a number of routes.
This was Black Water Taoist’s way, or his ‘Dao’.
His willingness to take in a disciple was an escape route.
The Three Water Beast Combination had been his plan, and besides this taboo art, he actually had another taboo art. However, he never told anyone about this, not even his disciple Ghost Water Taoist.
“Ghost Water, I’m old. Even if I run, I can’t live much longer. Go on. I’ll hold the enemy back for you,” Black Water Taoist said before patting Ghost Water Taoist on his shoulder.
The latter felt touched, but before he could respond to his master, he felt his body stiffen and found himself unable to move.
‘What’s going on?’ Ghost Water Taoist seemed startled but his mouth failed to produce any words. He only felt chills all over his body, as if something was invading it.
He struggled to cast a sidewards glance at Black Water Taoist. He was shocked to see dark water flowing from his master’s hand into his body.
Immediately, Ghost Water Taoist realized something was off, and he tried hard to resist. No matter how hard he tried to invoke spells or move his body, he couldn’t throw off his master’s hand.
It felt as if his body was being irrigated with lead, and something cold entered his flesh, organs, and bones, robbing him of all his senses.
“Ma-… Ma-…” Ghost Water Taoist tried to speak but finally fell silent.
A sinister smile appeared on Black Water Taoist’s wrinkled face. “Ghost Water, please don’t blame me. I only took you in as a disciple and passed the knowledge of my secret art as an escape route. I initially planned to use Red Water’s body because he’s much younger but it’s a shame he died in battle. That’s why I have no choice but to use your body now.”
Having said that, more black water poured out of Black Water Taoist’s seven apertures, rushing into Ghost Water Taoist’s mouth and nose. Once everything fell silent, Black Water Taoist’s body shuddered before falling to the ground while Ghost Water Taoist stood up instead.
Ghost Water Taoist wore an eerie grin, a characteristic of Black Water Taoist’s.
“It’s a pity that an arm was lost, but it doesn’t matter. So long as I can escape with my life, I can always return.” Having said that, Ghost Water Taoist glanced at his corpse before diving into a hole in the ground, disappearing without a trace.
The sand formation broke.
Clear Wind killed a dozen cultivators who were tasked with maintaining the formation. Once a few crucial points of a formation was destroyed, the entire formation would come crashing down. It was like blasting away the pillars of a great building – the entire structure would collapse in seconds.
