Chapter 24: Ambush

With Lord Liu taking the lead, Qin Hong, Daoist Changqing, and Xu Qingzhi followed closely behind. A group of nearly a hundred people marched impressively out of the camp. According to the original plan, tonight's operation would be divided into two fronts. Lord Liu and Qin Hong would lead half of the cultivators to attack the Zi sector, while Daoist Changqing and Xu Qingzhi would take the remainder to assault the You sector. Gu Xian and Xia Qinghe were to accompany the latter group.

Soon after leaving the camp, the two parties separated and headed in different directions. Every person carried a Breath-Concealing Talisman—a rare and precious item that, when activated by spiritual energy, enveloped the cultivator's entire body to achieve an invisibility effect. These talismans were sourced half from the Demon-Slaying Division's reserves and half contributed by Daoist Changqing. Furthermore, these talismans were difficult to detect; only high-level cultivators with significantly greater cultivation bases might perceive any anomaly.

With the aid of these talismans, Gu Xian and his group soon appeared beside the array base in the You sector, not far from the city walls. The array base was hidden in the void, rendered invisible. Even after Gu Xian activated his True Sight, he could only vaguely discern a circular high platform engraved with mysterious seal scripts, with six black array flags floating around it.

Daoist Changqing whispered, "Now, we wait for news from the other side."

A few moments later, the token at Xia Qinghe’s waist trembled gently. After checking the message, she whispered to the two leading cultivators, "Lord Liu’s side is in position. We can begin."

At this, Daoist Changqing and Xu Qingzhi exchanged a look. Their auras surged violently. Daoist Changqing flicked his wrist, sending twelve talismans floating silently in the air before him. As he chanted a spell, the talismans began to form a circle, rotating slowly and then accelerating. The old Daoist bit his fingertip and sprinkled a drop of crimson blood onto each talisman. As the blood seeped into the paper, the speed of rotation increased further, quickly coalescing into a lifelike red fire dragon.

Daoist Changqing softly uttered a single word: "Command."

The entire fire dragon seemed to come to life, lunging fiercely at the array base before them. Watching this, Gu Xian’s eyes glinted. He, too, practiced the way of talismans, but he knew it would take him immense effort to reach the proficiency of Daoist Changqing. Simultaneously, Xu Qingzhi drew his sword, and a frigid, piercing sword aura permeated every inch of the surrounding space. Had this expert swordsman not exerted careful control, the sheer terror of that aura would have been enough to blind anyone nearby.

The cold-eyed swordsman made little movement; he merely flicked his sword lightly, and a sword aura as thick as a thumb whistled forth.

In the next instant, the fire dragon of talismans and the sword aura struck the array base almost simultaneously. The void trembled slightly, emitting a violent roar like a clap of thunder. Ribbons of black, intertwined yin energy materialized before them, revealing a circular platform.

On the city walls, someone suddenly cried out in alarm, "It's bad! The Demon-Slaying Division is attacking!"

Daoist Changqing shouted, "Everyone, attack together!"

Immediately, spiritual energy surged like a tide, and the brilliance of various artifacts flared as they rained down upon the platform. At the same time, the other team led by Lord Liu and Qin Hong faced the exact same scene.

Just as everyone was pouring all their strength into the assault, neither party noticed that threads of highly concealed black energy were slithering out from the ground, constantly permeating their surroundings. By the time cracks appeared on both array bases and they were on the verge of collapsing, the four high-level cultivators were the first to sense that something was wrong.

But it was too late. In the next moment, the black energy completely engulfed them. The scenes before every cultivator suddenly shifted.

Lord Liu murmured to himself, "That kid surnamed Gu was actually right."

Looking up, he saw a burly figure standing two zhang tall, with skin as black as ink, clad in dark, precious armor, and flowing with yin energy. The figure held a great spear and wore a majestic, stern expression.

The surroundings for everyone had turned pitch black. Gu Xian looked ahead, and ten paces away stood a young scholar—it was Lu Zhi, the cultivator from Dyeing Lane he had encountered in the ruined temple at White Tiger Ridge.

The man in the green shirt whispered to himself, "Is this an illusion?" He shook his head. "It seems that if I want to escape this illusion, I must slay the person before me."

With a thought, his long sword leaped from its scabbard, transforming into a brilliant stream of light as he lunged at his opponent. The "Lu Zhi" formed by the illusion curled his lips slightly. From his sleeves, he produced numerous paper cutouts, throwing out two that depicted beautiful women. Upon hitting the ground, they expanded rapidly, transforming into two lifelike, exquisite ladies whose long, flowing sleeves moved to form an impenetrable barrier around "Lu Zhi."

The flying sword pierced straight through the obstruction of the two women. In an instant, it arrived before "Lu Zhi," who made no unnecessary movements; he simply tilted his head, dodging the strike with perfect precision.

Seeing this, Gu Xian felt a pang of relief. He was fortunate that he had set up the Heaven and Earth Six Harmonies Array early on; otherwise, he and his senior sister would have been in grave danger back then. Even though the opponent's movement had been a simple tilt of the head, his sensitivity to the flow of energy had reached an incredibly high level.

At this thought, Gu Xian's mood grew heavy. He took a deep breath, and his flying sword was suddenly veiled in a faint murderous aura—a swordsmanship technique he had learned in the Mirror of No Delusion.

Killing intent filled the air, and sword light crisscrossed. In an instant, nine distinct sword auras slashed toward Lu Zhi. The sword light traced eerie arcs in the air, weaving into a fierce net of swords tinged with a faint crimson hue.

"Lu Zhi" smiled slightly, and another nine paper cutouts were cast out. They transformed into nine different figures: a young swordsman, a seductive woman, a middle-aged Daoist, an aged scholar... each with vivid, lifelike expressions and terrifying auras. They each met one of the fierce sword auras, employing their own methods to wear down the blades.

After doing this, "Lu Zhi" did not stop, instead casting four more paper cutouts. As they hit the ground, they expanded into four burly men in precious armor, each wielding a weapon and exuding a long, steady breath. They flashed forward, attacking Gu Xian from different directions.

The man in the green shirt quickly recalled his flying sword, gripping it tightly. The sword light flickered as his expression turned solemn, his internal energy already pushed to its peak. Just as one of the burly men reached him, he struck out with a horizontal slash. The opponent swung his own sword to block, but was still sent flying by the force of the blow.

The next moment, Gu Xian felt a chill down his spine. He saw another burly man wielding a long staff, smashing it viciously toward the top of his head. He instinctively raised his sword to block.