The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 168: A sudden turn for the worse, the Ming Cult suppresses the six sects

Seeing that the tall, thin, bald man was unable to defeat Song Qingshu and was even at a disadvantage, the two people next to him rushed forward and the three of them surrounded Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu was proficient in the Great Shift of the Universe, so he wasn't afraid of a group fight. However, now was not the time to show off his abilities. He flashed out of their encirclement and shouted coldly, "Who the hell are you? How do you know the Shaolin Vajra Palm and Vajra Finger?"

The three men didn't answer, simply charging at Song Qingshu. Unsheathing his longsword, Song Qingshu charged at them fiercely. However, he cleverly utilized his exceptional Qinggong to avoid direct combat with the three men, avoiding being surrounded by them. This created a bizarre situation where one man was attacking three. While Song Qingshu's sword wasn't as powerful as the Heavenly Sword, it wasn't far behind. Unleashing his full power with the Dugu Nine Swords Palm-Breaking Style, he pierced the palms of the three men, severely diminishing their martial arts prowess.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and a rain of arrows fell towards Song Qingshu. Song Qingshu retreated quickly and used the arrow-breaking style to knock the arrows to the ground. He saw eight big men dressed as hunters, with swords on their waists, bows and arrows on their backs, and five or six falcons with black feathers and sharp claws. They looked extremely majestic.

"Alas, first there were five local dogs, and now there are eight birds. It seems that you are the minions of the Mongols." Song Qingshu moved forward and went straight to meet the eight newcomers. These eight big men were skilled in archery and horse riding, but how could the horses compare with the lightness skills of a master like Song Qingshu in a short distance? In a blink of an eye, they were killed by him and none of the arrows shot at them could hit Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu's sword flashed coldly, and eight people were stabbed in the wrists. Their bows and arrows fell to the ground. The falcons struggled to fly high, but were killed one by one by his finger magic. Song Qingshu knocked them off their horses, snatched their bows and arrows and two horses, and rode away. The three bald masters could not stop him and could only watch him go away.

"How could this boy's martial arts be so advanced? His internal strength, Qinggong, swordsmanship, and even his concealed weapon skills are quite impressive." The tall, thin, bald man looked at his bloody palm, his heart icy. He had fought him on equal terms with his bare hands (Song Qingshu had deliberately suppressed his strength, using only 30%), but with a sword in hand, the blade was so cold that it suppressed all three of his fellow disciples. "Wudang swordsmanship is truly terrifying."

"One person's martial prowess alone is of no use. The princess possesses immense talent and strategy. The six major sects and the demonic cult have already engaged in a fierce battle, with countless casualties. The outcome will soon be clear, and it's too late for him to return. During the siege of Bright Summit, every Wudang disciple performed exceptionally well. It's truly astonishing that Song Qingshu's father, Song Yuanqiao, was able to fight Yin Baimao on equal terms."

This group of people were busy discussing among themselves, and the two bald men who went to chase Wei Yixiao soon returned empty-handed. Wei Yixiao's lightness skills were beyond their reach. They could keep up with him in a short distance without being left too far behind, but they couldn't do that for a long time.

Song Qingshu went all the way to Guangmingding, but he saw many Tartar soldiers doing evil along the way, so he drew his bow and shot arrows to destroy the army alone. Well, it was a bit exaggerated, but if a Tartar team of thirty to fifty people did not flee immediately when they met the enemy, they would basically be wiped out.

Unlike their pursuit of Wei Yixiao, where they had chosen to hone their Qing Gong skills in treacherous terrain, the return trip, with two horses and one man, could only take the main road, requiring frequent stops to clear out the Mongol Tartars. Song Qingshu could easily tell that the Tartar army was nearly assembled. Along the way, he'd witnessed over a dozen villages being massacred by the Tartars, and he'd also destroyed seven or eight of their cavalry squads.

The large number of war horses he harvested were not wasted. He took seven or eight of them with him and gave the rest to the hidden Mingjiao disciples. He also got some information about the battle situation on Guangmingding from them.

Just two days ago, Song Yuanqiao, Yu Daying, Mo Shenggu, Kong Zhi, Kong Xing, Nun Miejue, and the Five Elders of Kongtong joined forces to attack Yixian Gorge. Unexpectedly, there was a sudden explosion and the mountains collapsed and the earth cracked. Several masters were ambushed by Huoyao.

Later, Yang Xiao, Yin Tianzheng, and the Five Wanderers led the Five Elements Flag masters in a charge, nearly breaching the camp. Wudang's Zhang Wuji bravely fought against his grandfather Yin Tianzheng, while the Wudang sword and shield formations defended the gates with a fierce fight. This saved them from destruction, but it was a tragic tragedy. Huashan Sect leader Xian Yutong, after failing to assassinate Yang Xiao with poison, was instead poisoned by the Golden Silkworm Gu himself. Before his death, he revealed the scandal of poisoning a fellow sect member, severely damaging the Huashan Sect's morale.

The two elders of Huashan used the Yin-Yang sword technique to fight against two of the five wanderers, Yin Liting and Wu Qingying fought against Yang Xiao together, Zhou Zhiruo and Yin Li each held back a wanderer, shocking countless people. It turned out that the people sent by Wudang were indeed elite, and each of them was extraordinary in strength, but there were too many young people and their fighting power was not long enough.

The absence of their top experts completely deprived the six major sects of their chance to capture Yixianxia and lay siege to Guangmingding. Instead, they were constantly harassed by the Ming Cult's army. Leaderless, the six major sects temporarily relied on the Wudang Clan as their leader. However, Yin Liting was not skilled in military tactics, and Zhang Wuji, a master of medicine, was ordered to step forward in the face of danger. He could only guard the gates and prevent them from being lost, watching helplessly as the Ming Cult flexed their muscles outside.

The army had gone on a long expedition but was short of food and fodder. The disciples who went out hunting and fetching water never returned. Most of them were captured or killed by the Ming Cult. The camps of the six major sects were in a state of panic. Every day, some disciples would sneak away at night, but it was hard to say whether they could actually escape.

The remaining masters of the six major sects gathered to discuss countermeasures. Although Zhang Wuji and Yin Liting knew the details, they dared not reveal them easily. Who knew how many of the remaining people were undercover Tartar spies? The acting had reached its limit. The next step was to find a safe evacuation. At that time, the most important thing was not the Ming Cult, but the Tartar army and masters lurking in the shadows.

"Retreat, this battle cannot be fought." The two elders of Huashan did not know the truth. Their leader was dead, and his disciples suffered heavy losses. Although not many people actually died, almost all of them were injured, and many were missing (they ran away in the middle of the night).

"I agree with retreating. The Demon Cult is powerful, and Master Kongzhi and my brothers and the others..." At this point, Yin Liting could only suppress his laughter, pinching his legs with his nails to make himself look a little sad. "Now the six major sects are leaderless, top masters are scarce, and morale and food are completely depleted. If this continues for a long time, I'm afraid we will collapse even without the Demon Cult taking action."

Zhang Wuji shook his head and said, "I don't agree with retreating immediately. A defeat at this point could easily lead to a rout. Then, the Demon Cult would chase us all the way back. I'm afraid only a few would be able to return to the Central Plains."

"Then tell me, boy, what should we do?"

"Wait!"

"What are you waiting for? Waiting for our food and supplies to run out, leaving us completely exhausted and vulnerable, so we can be captured by the demonic cult?"

"Wait for Senior Brother Song to come back, wait for the Demon Cult to relax their vigilance, and also wait for the full moon night to pass, when the wind is high and the moon is dark." Zhang Wuji is not an unlearned person. He was trained by Song Qingshu and Song Qingshan in Wudang Mountain, so he still has some skills.

"How can we retreat in the dark?" The two elders from Huashan were dismissive of his idea.

"When the wind is high and the moon is dark, the Demon Cult will launch a surprise attack on us. Before that, they will definitely relax their pressure to paralyze us. We can leave experts here as decoys, and the ordinary disciples can quietly evacuate in advance, but not too far away. We can set up a second and third simple secret camp. We will retreat step by step and then suddenly counterattack. This will definitely scare the Demon Cult away and they will not dare to pursue us. Then, we can abandon all our supplies, lighten our armor and quickly escape."

Zhang Wuji looked around and said solemnly, "But we must not disperse. Everyone should head straight for Kunlun Sect. Once we get there, it will be our home turf. Could they try to follow our previous example and lay siege to Kunlun Sect?"

Everyone looked at each other and carefully discussed the feasibility of this matter. Zhang Wuji pointed at the map and began to plan a route. Almost the entire route was in the wilderness, which was not conducive to the advance of the army. However, their speed would inevitably be affected. In addition, with so many people, supply was also a big problem.

At dawn the next day, the sound of horse hooves came from behind. The six major sects immediately fell into chaos like frightened birds. Zhang Wuji, Yin Liting and others immediately set up defenses. In the distance, a small group of horses came by, but there was only one person on them. When they saw who was coming, they couldn't help but cheer.

Song Qingshu, the first disciple of the third generation of Wudang, came back at the most critical moment.