Chapter 337 - 170: The Greatest Tragedy of All Time

Having learned from their previous experience, the group didn’t hesitate this time, leaping up and rushing into the courtyard.

Outside the previously deserted post station, a large crowd of people had appeared out of nowhere.

They were all dressed in red with sabers at their waists, exuding a murderous aura.

And yet, at this moment, they all looked bewildered and utterly at a loss.

Among them, a lone figure weaved through the crowd. Wherever he went, people were decapitated, though no one could see how he did it.

"It’s that old man!"

Ning Jiuyuan recognized him at a glance. Although the old man had somehow acquired a black robe to obscure his features, it didn’t completely hide his face. She immediately roared:

"Old scoundrel, where is my junior brother?"

With that, she made to charge forward.

But she was pulled back by Dao Wuming.

"Hold on!"

Ning Jiuyuan struggled instinctively, but she was no match for Dao Wuming.

She could only stand in place, fuming impatiently.

Dao Wuming could only say,

"First, let’s get a clear look at his methods. The ones besieging him should be masters from the Blood Saber Hall.

"The Hall Master of the Blood Saber Hall, Xuanyuan One Slash, is hailed as being peerless with both the saber and with arrays. He has extraordinary attainments in the art of arrays, so these disciples attacking the man must be using one as well.

"If you rush in rashly, you won’t be able to get to him. Instead, you’ll be trapped by the Blood Saber Hall’s array."

Ning Jiuyuan gradually calmed down upon hearing this, but her expression grew even more anxious.

"What are the Blood Saber Hall people doing here?"

Tang Huayi, however, glanced at Luo Qingyi.

They knew why the Blood Saber Hall had come. In fact, their arrival was a little later than expected.

Jiang Ran had killed Xuanyuan One Slash’s disciple, the Vice-Hall Master of the Blood Saber Hall, Chen Zixuan.

It would have been bizarre if Xuanyuan One Slash hadn’t come for revenge.

But the Blood Saber Hall had arrived at an inopportune time. If they had gone searching elsewhere it would have been one thing, but they just had to come to this strange post station and run into this old man.

Of course, no one could say for certain whether this was a coincidence.

The old man had likely been lingering outside just moments before, perhaps to avoid their search party, or for some other reason entirely.

He had run right into the men from the Blood Saber Hall, which is how the fight started.

However, Tang Huayi scanned the crowd several times without spotting Jiang Ran, and her brows furrowed in worry.

’Where on earth did he take Ruan Yuqing?’

’Surely they haven’t actually gone off for a romantic interlude?’

At this thought, she glanced at Li Tianyu again and said softly,

"Celestial Feather, get ready."

Li Tianyu nodded, took the large bow from his back, gave it a slight twirl, and planted it on the ground.

"Who do I shoot?"

"Wait for now..."

Tang Huayi was in no hurry.

After all, the ones who should be panicking weren’t her group, but the men of the Blood Saber Hall.

In the chaos of the courtyard, heads were falling like rain. The old man’s martial arts were utterly bizarre; his techniques looked ordinary, yet they produced extraordinary effects.

There was clearly some trick to his hands; every time they swept through the air, a head would fall to the ground.

Although the heavy rain obscured the details, they could faintly make out what looked like a thin, taut line stretching from the gap between two of his fingers.

"Between his fingers... is that a thread?"

Scholar Jingtan’s voice was laced with uncertainty.

"A thread..."

Dao Wuming’s brow furrowed.

’Could it be him?’

"Who?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned to look at Dao Wuming.

Dao Wuming just shook his head slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Just then, a voice thundered through the air:

"A fine den of ghouls and goblins, a true pandemonium!

"But today, I am here to avenge my disciple! Even if a true demon has descended upon this world, I will cut it down all the same!!"

As the voice fell, a figure shot into the sky.

By the time he was in midair, a saber was already in his hand.

He raised it high overhead, bringing it down in a two-handed slash.

This slash was devoid of flair, relying on the principle of ultimate skill appearing unadorned. It was pure, overwhelming force, enough to crush anything in its path.

This was Xuanyuan One Slash’s signature technique, "Force of a Thousand Jun"!

As the saber descended, it seemed to cleave the very curtain of rain in two.

Nothing in the blade’s path could withstand its might.

The old man, his face hidden by the black robe, parted his hands as his eyes peered out from a gap in the hood.

The onlookers were too far away, and with the rain obscuring their vision, they couldn’t discern the mystery behind his actions.

But they saw Xuanyuan One Slash’s figure suddenly falter in the air.

It was as if he had been struck by a covert attack the moment their eyes met.

Tang Huayi, who had been watching him intently, seized this exact moment to give a decisive command:

"Kill Xuanyuan One Slash!"

"What?"

Both Cheng Tianyang and Dao Wuming were stunned.

’They had, of course, seen Li Tianyu lying in wait, but they never imagined that when the moment came, his target wouldn’t be the old man, but Xuanyuan One Slash?’

Li Tianyu, however, paid no mind to their shock.

His bow, holding a Moon Chasing Arrow, was already drawn to its fullest. The arrowhead shimmered with a faint light. With a sudden release, the arrow instantly carved a clean line through the curtain of rain.

It was a strike that perfectly combined timing, positioning, and opportunity!

Even the old man hadn’t expected Tang Huayi to have Li Tianyu try to kill Xuanyuan One Slash at a time like this.

Let alone Xuanyuan One Slash himself?

But he was, after all, the renowned and powerful Hall Master of the Blood Saber Hall.

Just as the Moon Chasing Arrow was about to pierce his chest, he abruptly raised his head and twisted the Qianjun Saber in his hand.

In that hair’s breadth of a moment, he managed to knock the arrow slightly off course.

It was this slight deviation that prevented the arrow from achieving its full purpose.

Though it passed through his chest, it missed his heart.

Xuanyuan One Slash plummeted from the air, the momentum of his saber strike completely dissipated.

Surprisingly, the old man didn’t seize the opportunity to kill. His gaze swept the area, and with a turn, he gathered his long black robe around him. Moving low to the ground like a serpent, he broke through the encirclement of Blood Saber Hall disciples in the blink of an eye and retreated into the night.

"After him!"

Tang Huayi paid no mind to the others.

Her objective of heavily wounding Xuanyuan One Slash had been achieved. The priority now was to chase down the old man and find out where Jiang Ran was.