Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Chapter 205 I fear I'll have to repay it someday

The oppressive life he had lived in the mine for so long made it impossible for Zhang Liao to adapt to the struggles between cultivators, while the comfortable life he had enjoyed outside the mine for the past few months had greatly diminished his fighting spirit.

The most important thing is—

When he chose to betray and submit, the cultivator's indomitable spirit of fighting against the heavens was completely destroyed.

But Zhang Liao was, after all, a Golden Core cultivator.

As the rebel before him lunged at him with a sword, Zhang Liao swiftly adjusted his stance, accelerating his descent.

He was thankful that he was still afraid of death; even if his humanity was extinguished, his survival instinct was still enough to support him in making a decision.

The moment the sword was pressed against his chest, his bestial instincts allowed him to barely dodge. Only a minor wound remained on his shoulder, which was then blocked by the concentrated protective aura.

Zhang Liao narrowly avoided a sword strike that could have injured him.

This also means that Zhu Wuyao failed to capitalize on his first-mover advantage.

She didn't feel too much regret.

Or rather, at such a critical juncture of life and death, she had no time for regrets.

Having failed to land her first strike, she immediately sheathed her sword and returned to defense.

Zhang Liao's sword energy, tinged with lingering fear and anger, retaliated.

Fortunately, Zhu Wuyao was prepared and immediately activated the Concealing Breath and Wind Movement Technique the moment he sheathed his sword.

A strand of severed black hair fluttered in the air, but before it could land, it was crushed by the raging sword energy.

What made Zhu Wuyao feel helpless was that, besides Zhang Liao, there were four other Foundation Establishment stage cultivators who were attacking Hu San and his group.

Life is like weeds cut down by a sickle.

In the short time that Zhu Wuyao and Zhang Liao were locked in a standoff, nearly half of the people lost their lives.

Even as Hu San and Rong Si desperately shouted and rallied their troops to retreat, trying to squeeze out the last bit of potential from their bodies to deal with the cultivators whose strength far surpassed their own.

Even if all the Foundation Establishment cultivators were to attack unharmed, these people still wouldn't be able to handle them.

Zhu Wuyao didn't have time to treat his injuries.

She needed to severely injure the Foundation Establishment cultivators while being pursued by Zhang Liao and fleeing, in order to reduce casualties among those following her.

I don't know how many times this has happened.

When Zhu Wuyao reappeared and attempted to strike the head of the cultivators besieging his companion with his sword, Zhang Liao finally locked onto the fleeing rebel.

Zhu Wuyao sensed the intense killing intent that enveloped her, but this time she did not dodge.

Just before the attack came, the bladeless sword spun past the cultivator's head.

Before her head, which was about to fall, could even hit the ground, Zhu Wuyao, locked in by the qi, forcibly shifted her body. The sword qi that should have pierced her heart only passed through her left shoulder.

She heard her companion's barely audible gasp.

She stepped back, concealing herself once more, leaving only splattered blood on the ground, before escorting one of her companions, who was about to become a dead man, to safety.

The survivors are still in shock.

I heard a voice in my ear saying, "I'm fine."

These three words seemed calm and steady, greatly stabilizing the beliefs of the survivors.

Zhu Wuyao knew, of course, that he shouldn't have been seriously injured, at least not in front of everyone, as that would severely damage everyone's will to live.

But her current condition is not very good.

The disarray and rout of her companions, along with the intense pain emanating from all parts of her body, greatly stimulated her nerves. She could almost see a patch of bright red blood as soon as she opened her eyes.

Zhu Wuyao could hardly distinguish whether the blood belonged to the enemy, his comrades, or himself.

I don't know how many people have survived and how many have died in this battle.

The intense pain left her little time to think, but it also kept her remarkably calm. She focused almost all her attention on dodging, escaping, taking advantage of the chaos to launch attacks, and calculating the optimal solution of trading blows.

What is pessimistic is—

Zhu Wuyao even deduced that if he stepped out of that gate of light now, he would have no more spiritual power left to escape.

Even if Zhang Liao were to die, the chances of the remaining survivors escaping would be zero.

The advantage of having a large number of people is that if they can escape in different directions, and with limited manpower for the pursuit, there will always be a few who escape.

It can share the risk.

But now... she doesn't even have the confidence to lead people out of that gate of light.

The metallic taste of blood churned in their throats. After Zhu Wuyao paid the price of serious injury to bring about two deaths and two injuries, the group finally joined forces and sent the two injured men back to the earth.

The small victory greatly boosted the confidence of these defeated soldiers.

They forgot that this was also an "internal strife".

The true mastermind, the mastermind behind all the tragedies, remained unscathed and stood by as a spectator.

From beginning to end, they were rebels who had betrayed the mine, and they were dealing with newly emerged rebels from the mine.

They were battered and bruised, yet they had not yet reached the true enemy.

For Zhu Wuyao, his companions' joy was nothing more than a bucket of cold water poured over his head.

She appeared before Zhang Liao, seemingly staggering slightly. Zhu Wuyao steadied herself and said:

“I may die, but before I die, I may still be able to kill you. Since it is controlled by the pill, why do you have to work for it to the very end?”

Zhang Liao's face seemed somewhat distorted. The chase had lasted for a long time, and he had realized that the rebel in front of him was not as strong as him, but he was indeed difficult to kill.

But he doesn't intend to choose kindness.

If he backs down now, what was the point of his previous betrayal?

Seeing Zhang Liao grip his sword tightly again and assume an offensive stance, Zhu Wuyao sighed almost imperceptibly. It was already a great stroke of luck that they had made it this far.

But good fortune won't always be on her side.

Zhu Wuyao had no way to escape anymore.

Zhang Liao is an unavoidable obstacle blocking the path to the gate of light.

Zhu Wuyao finally made her decision. She took a deep breath, her fingers gripping the sword almost numb.

Zhang Liao launched an attack almost like a madman. His face was contorted with rage, bordering on obsessive. His speed was astonishing, but while his attacks were fast, the speed of the bladeless sword was even faster.

He could barely pinpoint the sword's location, unsure where it would appear from to launch a futile attack, but he couldn't care less, because the sword couldn't harm him at all.

He stared intently at where that exceptionally resilient insect might emerge.

Until, a sharp pain came from my back.

Zhang Liao looked down in astonishment and saw the blunt black sword piercing through his chest.

impossible! ! !

This sword couldn't hurt him at all!

In utter disbelief, Zhang Liao heard a barely audible sound.

"Crack——"

Tiny cracks, like spreading spider silk, gradually covered the black broken sword.

It pierced through Zhang Liao from behind, carrying a cold, frenzied killing intent.

That was... the spot where he inserted the dagger into Mu Changying's body.

In Zhang Liao's eyes, which were filled with anger and fear, there seemed to be a moment of realization and self-mockery.

The bladeless sword shattered inch by inch. The spiritual power that originated from it, carrying a destructive will, exploded within the sword from the inside out, scattering into countless points of light until it vanished into nothingness.

Zhu Wuyao watched silently as the Wufeng Sword was destroyed.

Then, it fell.

The spiritual power attached to the Wufeng Sword originated from the same source as her, almost like an external body. The self-destruction of the Wufeng Sword caused Zhu Wuyao's spiritual power to stagnate instantly, followed by chaos and violence.

The intense pain nearly made her lose consciousness, and her vision blurred.

Suddenly, a prophetic note appeared in the storybook beside Zhu Wuyao's mind when he obtained the stone to refine the Bladeless Sword—

I dare not take all the credit, for I fear I will have to repay it someday.

She crashed heavily to the ground.

His hands were empty.