Chapter 540 - 514: A Single Mystic Bow, Awing Formidable Foes

He had slain Wan Dapeng with a single slash, at the cost of grievous injury to himself.

This insane act sent a chill down the spine of everyone present.

After killing Wan Dapeng, Zhaang Ye was also grievously wounded, his figure now visible to all. Yet, of the hundred or so experts present, not one dared to step forward and challenge him.

Zhaang Ye’s display of formidable combat strength, coupled with his utterly insane actions, had thoroughly intimidated this group of experts. At this moment, no one wanted to be the one to stick their neck out; no one wanted to become Zhaang Ye’s next target.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!"

As the crowd stood in silence, several more loud bangs echoed from within the Ancient Cave Mansion. It turned out that the Fire Spirit, after collecting the Alchemy Furnace from the Alchemy Room, had started to bombard the stone door of the Artifact Refining Room, planning to take what was inside.

The commotion from the Fire Spirit bombarding the stone door instantly jolted everyone to their senses. In unison, they all turned their gazes toward the Ancient Cave Mansion.

"That guy has an accomplice in the Ancient Cave Mansion!"

"Yeah, that’s right! No wonder he’s blocking us and won’t let us in!"

"His accomplice is probably frantically looting all the treasures in the Ancient Cave Mansion right now, isn’t he?"

"That must be it! There have been several loud noises from the Ancient Cave Mansion. His partner must be making all that racket while collecting the treasures!"

Realizing someone was plundering treasures in the Ancient Cave Mansion, the crowd immediately grew restless. At that moment, Ma Xingkong’s eyes glinted as he shouted, "Everyone, this old bastard may be strong, but he’s only one man. If we attack together, he’s no match for us! The treasures are right in front of us! Let’s kill him together!"

"SWISH!"

With a wave of his Long Sword, Ma Xingkong sent a sharp Sword Gang flying straight toward Zhaang Ye.

At Ma Xingkong’s reminder, the crowd immediately came to their senses. Just as they were about to move, a golden light suddenly flashed before their eyes, and an extremely sharp Saber Gang tore through the void.

"BOOM!"

Zhaang Ye unleashed a fierce Saber Gang, shattering Ma Xingkong’s Sword Gang. His cold gaze then swept over the crowd as he said, his face devoid of emotion, "Men die for wealth as birds die for food. Any of you who aren’t afraid of death, feel free to make your move!"

Ma Xingkong shouted, "Don’t be afraid of him! Everyone, attack together! If we all strike at once, no matter how strong that old bastard is, he’s a dead man!"

"Kill!"

Heeding Ma Xingkong’s incitement, the hundred or so True Dao Experts snapped back to reality. They flew straight at Zhaang Ye, forming an encirclement and slowly closing in.

Seeing so many experts closing in, Zhaang Ye’s expression shifted slightly. He thought, ’I can’t possibly fend off a hundred True Dao Experts attacking at once. I have to go all out right now and use overwhelming force to kill a few of them. That’s the only way to intimidate them!’

"SWISH SWISH SWISH!"

Zhaang Ye’s figure suddenly vanished. The Profound Water True Bow in his hands fired in quick succession, and three long arrows tore through the void, transforming into three streaks of dark light that shot into the crowd.

"AHHH AHHH AHHH!"

Zhaang Ye’s three arrows were incredibly fast. They flew out and, in an instant, pierced the chests of three True Dao Experts. These three True Dao Second Layer experts barely had time to scream before they died, their bodies plummeting from the sky.

The crowd was stunned by these three shots. Zhaang Ye was a full sixty li away from those three True Dao Experts. To be able to so easily kill True Dao Second Layer experts from such a great distance—this terrifying Arrow Skill sent a tremor through the hearts of every expert present, making their scalps tingle.

Horrified, everyone became extremely cautious. They watched the empty air intently, their flight speed slowing to barely faster than a walk.

Seeing his threat was effective, Zhaang Ye was secretly pleased. His eyes scanned the void, locking onto three new targets. He drew the Profound Water True Bow, and another three arrows flew.

"SWISH SWISH SWISH!"

For these three arrows, Zhaang Ye used the "Three Dragons Raging in the Sea" Arrow Skill, targeting three True Dao Experts at the front of the group. These three experts were all at the Late-stage Third Layer of the True Dao, their strength considered quite decent. But against Zhaang Ye’s "Three Dragons Raging in the Sea" Arrow Skill, the three of them were completely helpless.

"PFFT PFFT PFFT!"

Three sounds of metal piercing flesh rang out. These three True Dao Experts were simultaneously struck by the long arrows, their life force instantly extinguished as they fell from the sky.

"HISS!"

Everyone’s faces paled as they drew a sharp, cold breath. The Profound Water True Bow was already incredibly powerful on its own. But with Zhaang Ye hidden from sight, the arrows he fired were even more terrifying. Despite their own impressive cultivations, they felt no sense of security whatsoever against Zhaang Ye’s ghostly arrows.

With Zhaang Ye’s figure hidden, they couldn’t see him attack at all. By the time an arrow reached them, it was already too late! Faced with such incomparably fast and sharp arrows, they were defenseless, able only to watch helplessly as one pierced through a body!

Who was Zhaang Ye’s next target?

Where would Zhaang Ye’s next arrow come from?

Under the shadow of death, a chill filled everyone’s heart. No one wanted to be the next target. The Ancient Cave Mansion was right before their eyes, yet not a single person dared to move.

Ma Xingkong saw that the crowd had halted and grew secretly anxious. He yelled, "Everyone! He only has one bow! He can’t possibly shoot all of us at once! If we charge together and get within attack range, we’ll win! The Ancient Cave Mansion is right there! We have to move now!"

Seeing Ma Xingkong instigating the crowd again, Zhaang Ye seethed with anger. He nocked three long arrows, aimed them at Ma Xingkong, and was about to let them fly. But after a moment’s thought, he held back. He had already used quite a few arrows and didn’t have many left. If he wasted them, he wouldn’t be able to control the situation.

Spurred on by Ma Xingkong’s words, two True Dao Fourth Layer experts in the crowd began to stir. Zhaang Ye, who had been watching the crowd’s every move, saw them. He abruptly drew his Profound Water True Bow, and three black long arrows shot out like lightning, transforming into three ferocious Black Flood Dragons.

Zhaang Ye was still using the "Three Dragons Raging in the Sea" technique.

"Three Dragons Raging in the Sea" contained hundreds of Transformations, making it unpredictable and illusory. Even experts as powerful as Wan Dapeng and Ma Xingkong would not have an easy time defending against it. These two restless cultivators were only at the Early Stage of the True Dao Fourth Layer. Faced with such an incredibly profound and powerful Arrow Technique, they were completely defenseless.

"PFFT!"

The first arrow instantly pierced the chest of one True Dao Fourth Layer expert. Before everyone’s eyes, the second and third arrows shot toward the other. One arrow tore through his chest, leaving a fist-sized, bloody hole. The other went straight through his head, blowing it to pieces!

"WHOA!"

Zhaang Ye had killed two True Dao Fourth Layer experts in a single move, stunning the crowd. If even experts at the True Dao Fourth Layer couldn’t escape his arrows, it completely extinguished their greed. A portion of the experts began to quietly retreat. Their retreat triggered a larger withdrawal, and in an instant, fifty or sixty experts had left.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Zhaang Ye suppress over a hundred experts with just a single bow, Ma Xingkong was furious. He clenched his fists tightly, desperately searching for any sign of Zhaang Ye.

"BOOM!"

Another loud BOOM echoed from the Ancient Cave Mansion. The Fire Spirit had smashed open the stone door to the Artifact Refining Room. Along with the sound, the Fire Spirit’s voice rang in Zhaang Ye’s mind, "Haha! There are over a dozen types of ore in this Artifact Refining Room, plus a furnace for Artifact Refining. Master, I’ll grab these things and we can get out of here right away!"

Hearing the loud bang, Ma Xingkong’s eyes turned red with fury. He knew that if he didn’t risk everything now, Zhaang Ye’s partner would pack up everything in the mansion, and they would just casually walk away!

"ROAR!"

Ma Xingkong roared and flew straight for the Ancient Cave Mansion. His action spurred on a large group of people. Behind him, a dozen or so True Dao Experts also flew toward the Ancient Cave Mansion in unison!

Seeing dozens of people flying desperately toward him, Zhaang Ye’s heart jumped. He frantically drew the Profound Water True Bow, instantly firing seven arrows. As the seven arrows flew, each one claimed the life of a True Dao Expert. In the blink of an eye, seven powerful True Dao Experts had fallen to Zhaang Ye’s arrows.

After firing the seven arrows, Zhaang Ye was about to continue shooting. But just at that moment, he discovered that he had run out of arrows!

"Hahaha! Old bastard, you’re out of arrows now! Let’s see you try to escape from me!" Ma Xingkong flew for a moment, and when no more arrows came, he instantly realized Zhaang Ye was out. Without the threat of arrows, Ma Xingkong’s speed increased dramatically, and in the blink of an eye, he reached the entrance of the Ancient Cave Mansion!

With his arrows spent, Zhaang Ye had no choice but to draw his Broken Wave Saber and block the entrance to the Ancient Cave Mansion. Seeing Ma Xingkong charge straight at him, Zhaang Ye’s eyes flashed and he bellowed, "Fine by me! Let’s die together!"

As he spoke, he completely ignored Ma Xingkong’s Long Sword. The Broken Wave Saber in his hand erupted with a seemingly-corporeal Saber Gang that slashed straight at Ma Xingkong!

"AARGH!"

Ma Xingkong’s face fell at the sight of Zhaang Ye’s ’take-you-down-with-me’ fighting style. He knew Zhaang Ye was likely wearing Treasure Armor, so his own sword strike might not be fatal. But if he took a hit from Zhaang Ye’s saber, he was a dead man!

Horrified, Ma Xingkong could only circulate the Innate True Qi in his body and desperately dodge Zhaang Ye’s slash.

After forcing Ma Xingkong back with a single slash, Zhaang Ye swung his Broken Wave Saber, instantly unleashing dozens of Saber Gangs. The crisscrossing saber energies tore through the void, filling a radius of thirty to forty li with terrifying killing intent. A few True Dao Experts who couldn’t dodge in time were instantly sliced in two by the Saber Gangs, dying gruesomely on the spot!

After unleashing dozens of slashes in a row, Zhaang Ye felt his Celestial River Righteous Qi rapidly depleting. Just as he was beginning to despair, another loud BOOM came from the Ancient Cave Mansion, followed by the Fire Spirit’s cheerful voice. "Got it! Master, let’s get out of here!"

Zhaang Ye was overjoyed. He summoned all his remaining strength to unleash one final, terrifying Saber Gang, then his figure dissolved into a gentle breeze and rapidly vanished into the distance.

-(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider coming to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets or Monthly Passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)