Chapter 167: Back at Full Health

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Although he was not particularly fast, his nearly two-meter leap made the ground tremble beneath me. I seized the chance to recover my strength, then twisted aside and avoided his attack.

The force of it sent my hair flying. Taking advantage of the opening, I brought my blade down on his waist once more—and this time, it worked.

A wide gash had been cleaved across his waist, blood pouring from it, though the wound was not deep.

What was going on? Sometimes my attacks worked, and sometimes they failed to connect. I frowned, my mind racing.

“Damn you!”

The giant in front of me roared and charged again. I retreated several steps, as though I had finally noticed something unusual.

Whenever he attacked, the protective layer around his body weakened—or even vanished—for a second. That was my opportunity.

So that was it. No matter how flawless a defensive technique might seem, it always had a weakness. I simply had not found his yet.

All I needed to do was wait for the right moment. His greatsword came crashing down again, but this time I did not dodge immediately.

Instead, I waited until the blade was almost upon me, then slipped lightly to the side. The greatsword scraped past my shoulder, and I drove my own blade straight into the giant’s lower abdomen.

“Ahhh!”

After that strike, the golden-bell shield surrounding him vanished as well. I was not the sort to hesitate. One more slash finished him.

I picked up the man’s ring, then turned to search for another target.

Chen Chen seemed to have already killed one expert of the Spirit Lotus realm and was now fighting another. Elder Yan was still locked in a fierce battle, but he appeared to be falling slightly behind.

After all, Elder Yan was old, and his stamina could not possibly be what it once was. I decided to go help him.

Taking two steps in one, I reached Elder Yan’s vicinity within seconds. The two Spirit Lotus experts were clearly startled when they saw me.

“Elder Yan, I’m here to lend you a hand!”

With that, I charged forward, brandishing the Snowblade. Elder Yan had been facing both opponents with an ordinary long saber, and both were first-rank Spirit Lotus cultivators. With my arrival, the situation instantly reversed.

At close range, I could see that Elder Yan had already suffered numerous wounds, yet he continued to wield his long sword without pause.

“Elder Yan, go back and rest for a while. I’ll handle this!”

After shouting, I deliberately pushed Elder Yan aside and gave him several meaningful looks, assuring him that I would be fine. Only then did he retreat.

After the slaughter I had already endured, dealing with these two first-rank Spirit Lotus lackeys of the Xia family was hardly difficult. The moment I unleashed the Wingshadow Blade Technique, neither of them could withstand me.

“Our leader was killed by you?”

One of the men, who wore a goatee, questioned me. I did not bother to lie.

“Yes.”

As soon as I answered, I brought my blade down with all my strength and killed one of them outright.

Only one remained, but I did not relax. Wave after wave of the Wingshadow Blade Technique left him no chance to retaliate. Before five moves had passed, I knocked his weapon from his hand.

Yet I still let my guard down. The moment he lost his weapon, he flicked a handful of powder from his sleeve.

I instinctively covered my nose and mouth, never imagining that the powder was meant to attack the eyes.

In an instant, my vision vanished. My eyes burned terribly, the pain almost unbearable.

I hurriedly retreated, but a blade pierced straight through my stomach. I opened my mouth in terror, trying to make out something—anything—but it was useless.

The blade was pulled free, and I crawled backward a few steps while hastily using spiritual energy to heal the wound.

But the injury was simply too severe. I could do no more than stop the bleeding. Clutching my wound, I rubbed my eyes hard, yet I still could not see clearly.

If I remained blind, I would truly be finished. The Xia family members outside could charge straight into the sect. In my current condition, I had no way to stop them.

With no other choice, I quickly searched through my ring, found a bottle of water, and poured it over my eyes.

Slowly, I began to make out vague outlines, though there was hardly any difference between that and seeing nothing at all.

I cursed bitterly. Then I felt the blood inside my body begin to churn of its own accord once more. I had no idea whether that was a good sign or a bad one.

There was nothing I could do to control it, so I could only let it torment me.

By then, my entire body had grown weak. I collapsed beside the wall. In a daze, I seemed to hear many people shouting my name.

My expression had already become vacant, and I hovered on the brink of unconsciousness.

As the blood within me changed, I felt my body grow hotter and hotter, as though it might set every hair on me ablaze.

I had no strength to resist. Yet, incredibly, the wounds on my body were slowly healing. I had never expected that.

Even so, I still sensed that something was wrong. Whenever I healed my wounds normally, I had never felt such intense heat.

Could it be because of the snow? No, that made no sense either.

The pain in my eyes gradually diminished, and soon I was able to see clearly again.

The battle was still raging. Elder Yan, who had only just returned to rest, had once again charged out with his long sword.

Everyone was wounded, some badly and some lightly. Several disciples of Mount Tianyang had even lost an arm, yet not one of them had cried out in pain.

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My eyes slowly regained their clarity, and the wounds covering my body healed completely. Even the spiritual energy within me was almost fully restored.

What was happening? I had not sensed Whiteflow Flower giving me another infusion of spiritual energy...

Suddenly, the blood within me began to boil violently again. I did not know why, but I had no time to concern myself with it.

I pushed off with both feet and shot forward. The man who had ambushed me was once again fighting Elder Yan.

For some reason, my speed and strength were greater than before, even though I had not advanced in rank.

In an instant, I reached the man’s side. He did not even have time to react before my blade rose and fell, severing his head.

I immediately infused my voice with spiritual energy and shouted,

“All disciples, heed my command! Wipe out every member of the Xia family!”

Everyone’s morale surged, and they shouted in unison,

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

After cutting down one man, I charged straight toward another. I had no idea what was happening to me, but this power was surely temporary.

That meant I had to finish the battle quickly. Whether they were of the Spirit Flower realm or the Spirit Lotus realm, I would kill every one I encountered.

Even Chen Chen, on the other side of the battlefield, shouted excitedly,

“Come on! Kill them!”

Everyone once again charged fearlessly at the enemy as though they had been injected with fresh blood.

At that moment, the three remaining Spirit Lotus experts gathered all the surviving members of the Xia family together, apparently preparing to perform some kind of ritual.

I summoned everyone back as well and stood at the very front. Chen Chen and Li Zijian stood to my right, while Elder Yan stood to my left.

“You people of Mount Tianyang are truly stubborn. In that case, we have no choice but to show you no mercy!”

After the man at the front finished speaking, all the remaining members of the Xia family sat down together. Their hands moved rapidly through the air, as though they were forming hand seals.

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