"The one in red is from the Scarlet Cloud Sect,"
Lin Zhao said calmly, "They chased us from Cuiwei Mountain all the way here. It seems they are truly persistent."
"The black-clad assassins are from the Prime Minister's manor,"
Han Wangshu said, "They are merely a group of pawns raised by Imperial Advisor Zhao Qian. These assassins might not have high cultivation levels, but their killing techniques are extremely refined and they stop at nothing. They can often kill opponents of higher realms."
He then looked at Lin Zhao and said, "Whether to flee or fight, the decision is yours. If you wish to fight, Han Wangshu is willing to lend you a hand."
"How?"
Lin Zhao frowned, "Although your Dharma body is still a ninth-realm sword cultivator, the incense offering to Wangshu Mountain is sparse. You can at most exert half of a ninth-realm's combat power."
Han Wangshu chuckled softly. He raised a fingertip, and a surge of potent mountain and river destiny flowed forth. The group of assassins rushing up the mountain below was instantly enveloped by a thick fog. When they emerged from the fog, they found themselves back at the foot of the mountain, as if trapped in a ghostly maze. Han Wangshu looked at Lin Zhao, "I am, after all, still the mountain god of Wangshu Mountain. I control the roots of this mountain and its waterways. I believe you, Lin Zhao, must also have many means to kill enemies, right?"
"I do."
Lin Zhao took out talismans from his懷. First were four Heavenly Thunder Talismans, followed by several Iron Cavalry Killing Formation Talismans and Spears Like a Forest Talismans. He asked, "Can you use these?"
Han Wangshu took a Heavenly Thunder Talisman into his hand, and his heart trembled, "Such dense and pure martial killing intent!"
"You have good taste."
Lin Zhao gave him a thumbs-up. "Can you control these talismans?"
"Yes."
Han Wangshu suddenly became confident, smiling, "With the mountain roots and river destiny to bolster the talismans, I can push the advantages of time and place to their absolute limit. Leave these few talismans to me. Lin Zhao, you focus on killing enemies; I'll handle the rest."
"Alright."
...
Mid-mountain, a powerful flame slowly rose. It was Elder Jin, a cultivator close to the Great Dao of Fire, who had arrived. Not far from him stood another Elder in the Golden Core realm, close to the Great Dao of Water. With a sweep of his palm, the world instantly turned freezing cold. Drops of water hung suspended in the air, freezing into ice. The area around him transformed into a world of ice and snow.
"Lin Zhao, surrender and die!"
Elder Jin's eyes were ferocious, and he laughed, "Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you cannot escape the grasp of my Scarlet Cloud Sect!"
"All cultivators on the mountain, listen!"
Another Golden Core Elder roared, "The Scarlet Cloud Sect acts on its own accord. This has nothing to do with you. Remain where you are and do not make any rash moves, lest you bring ruin upon yourselves!"
Immediately, the group of sword cultivators on the mountain peak, who were observing the inscriptions and comprehending sword techniques, dared not move.
Mid-mountain, a figure gracefully ascended. It was Lin Zhao. He no longer concealed himself, reverting to his true appearance. Clad in a white robe, with two swords on his back, he rode his flying sword, Red Leaf. His cloak billowed like snow, one hand hanging loosely by his side, the other behind his back. He exuded an air of transcendent sword intent. He slowly drew the divine sword, Lique, and smiled, "Who said I was going to run?"
At that moment, Han Wangshu in the distance watched, dumbfounded. Although he had been a sword cultivator in his past life, he was utterly outmatched compared to Lin Zhao. Dressed in white, with dense sword intent, Lin Zhao stood out from the crowd. What else could he be but an immortal descending to earth!
"You court death!"
Elder Jin roared, raising his palm. A fiery cloud swept out, filling the sky with smoke and fire. Truly befitting a Golden Core cultivator close to the Great Dao of Fire, this attack was extremely potent. Lin Zhao had no choice but to evade its sharpness, his body sinking as he steered his flying sword to dodge the fire cloud. But the next moment, Elder Jin raised his hand and shot out a flaming arrow, one of his offensive innate treasures!
Lin Zhao was faster. With a "whoosh," he ignited a Speed Talisman. Instantly, the speed of the opponent's innate treasure seemed to slow down considerably. The next second, Lin Zhao transformed into a cold wind, charging before Elder Jin. With a flick of his sword, he unleashed a Rising Dragon Slash, lifting Elder Jin's body into the air. Simultaneously, he slammed backward, his body imbued with fist intent, using his shoulder to strike the flank of the other Golden Core Elder who was attacking.
"Boom!"
The Golden Core Elder close to the Great Dao of Water staggered backward. Just then, a surge of mountain and river destiny swirled in the air. Following that, streaks of golden heavenly lightning descended, striking directly at Elder Jin, who was perched on a branch.
"Ah!?"
Elder Jin cried out in alarm, hastily conjuring an innate treasure, a red embroidered pouch. However, in the next instant, the pouch could not withstand the potent martial killing intent of the Heavenly Thunder Talisman and was split apart. Elder Jin then fell a realm, his expression one of horror. Thunder still fell from the sky. He hastily recalled his flaming arrow innate treasure. In his panic, he used his offensive artifact for defense, but the flaming arrow shattered in response. Elder Jin instantly fell to the Purple Mansion realm, and then, under a flash of lightning, he let out a mournful cry as his body turned to ash, vanishing into thin air.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
From the woods, figures of assassins emerged, and countless poisoned sleeve darts rained down. Lin Zhao saw them and dared not casually take them with his bare body, as that would be too reckless. He swiftly twisted his body and unleashed a Horizontal Sword Slash to move sideways, leaving behind a trail of "miss" notifications. The very next second, mountain and river destiny surged again. From the woods, pale golden iron cavalry figures charged out. Spears pierced the bodies of the assassins. It was the Iron Cavalry Killing Formation Talisman.
However, this Iron Cavalry Killing Formation Talisman was used by the mountain lord Han Wangshu. Its brilliance lay in the fact that if Lin Zhao himself had used it, there might have been inaccuracies, such as the direction from which the iron cavalry emerged, the angle of the formation, or the control of the range. It was difficult to execute perfectly. But with Han Wangshu, the mountain lord, using it, it was completely different. He directly used the mountain and river spiritual energy to deliver the talismanic killing intent of the Iron Cavalry Killing Formation Talisman to the assassins' faces. The moment the iron cavalry charged out, the opponents had no time to react, and they were immediately thrown into chaos.
More than ten assassins were reduced to corpses in an instant.
"Lin Zhao, you son of a thousand cuts!"
The other Golden Core Elder roared, raising his palm. An ice ring, one of his innate treasures, imbued with the aura of glaciers, hurtled towards Lin Zhao's back with a rather fierce attack.
But Lin Zhao was unfazed. In fact, when it came to fighting NPCs, he was not afraid of those of the same realm. If his own cultivation level was higher than the opponent's, they might get to witness Lin Zhao's "arrogant" side. The next moment, as Lique's sword was thrust forward, five flowing brush strokes of "Sword Cut Immortal" appeared beside Lin Zhao. High-level skills had accompanying text jumps upon activation. With "Sword Cut Immortal," all things in heaven and earth seemed to tilt. The ice ring thrown by the Golden Core Elder was repelled by the sword energy in mid-air. Then, his body took a strike from "Sword Cut Immortal." Although he was not an immortal, the sword strike hurt, leaving his shoulder bloody and entering a state of attack weakness for seven seconds.
"Again!"
Lin Zhao's sword light turned cold. As the Divine Throw of Heaven and Earth landed above the opponent's head, the swords Mingyue and Haoran flew out together. Coupled with the Five Immortal Swords and Twelve Great Desolation Ancient Swords, a pile of long swords hung in the air, their tips pointed at the opponent. For a moment, the Golden Core Elder's eyes saw a great terror. What kind of sword cultivator was this? He had roamed the Hundred Flowers World for hundreds of years and had never experienced such a feeling of being on the brink of death!
"Chiss... chiss..."
Sword light continuously flashed and fell. Lin Zhao's attacks still followed the rules of offense and defense, so the lethality of these flying swords was not fatal. They merely chipped away at the opponent's health. However, such a fierce assault was truly terrifying!
At this moment, a wisp of mountain and river spiritual energy appeared on the branch, and the second Heavenly Thunder Talisman was ignited. The Golden Core Elder, who had already had his Dao heart shattered by the preceding attacks, let out another mournful cry and turned to ash within the Heavenly Thunder Talisman. On the ground, spears erupted, and a group of assassins attempting to retreat cried out in agony, having been subjected to Han Wangshu's Spears Like a Forest Talisman. They suffered heavy losses and fled in disarray. Down the mountain, they encountered two more Iron Cavalry Killing Formation Talismans, and of the nearly a hundred assassins who had gone up, less than half remained when descending.
And throughout this entire ordeal, Han Wangshu had not even shown himself.
...
At the Mountain God Shrine, the moonlight was clear.
Lin Zhao returned after leaving and cupped his fists towards Han Wangshu, smiling, "Thank you, Mountain Lord."
"It was a small favor, no need for thanks," Han Wangshu maintained his gentlemanly demeanor.
"I'm about to leave with Chen Changsheng,"
Lin Zhao frowned, "I've just killed two elders of the Scarlet Cloud Sect. I fear Patriarch Qin Fei will personally come to kill me. Moreover, what happened today occurred on Wangshu Mountain. It could very well implicate you, Mountain Lord."
"Han's life is insignificant and nothing to fear," Han Wangshu said with a smile.
"That's beside the point."
Lin Zhao continued, "Whether the Mountain Lord fears death, and whether it is necessary for the Mountain Lord to die, are two different matters. There's not much Lin Zhao can do, other than to leave immediately to avoid implicating you, Mountain Lord, as much as possible. Secondly, I will leave some talismans behind. This way, even if someone tries to make things difficult or harm the Mountain Lord, you won't be completely defenseless."
Saying this, Lin Zhao presented a stack of talismans. There were as many as six Heavenly Thunder Talismans alone, along with numerous Shattering Evil Talismans, Speed Talismans, Immobilizing Talismans, Spears Like a Forest Talismans, and Iron Cavalry Killing Formation Talismans. There were well over fifty talismans in total. Coupled with Han Wangshu's status as a ninth-realm deity, ordinary people would have no way of dealing with him.
"In that case, Han accepts them."
Han Wangshu looked at the young sword cultivator before him and said, "Lin Zhao, come back and have a drink with me sometime. Your wine... has a very potent flavor..."
"I will."
Lin Zhao smiled and waved his hand, woke up Chen Changsheng, and hurried down the mountain.
...
Two days later.
At a rural inn on the border of the ancient Shu Kingdom, Lin Zhao and Chen Changsheng made a brief stop. The dinner was extremely simple: a plate of coarse grain steamed buns and a bowl of wild vegetable porridge. The taste was not worth mentioning; being able to eat one's fill was already good enough. Just as Lin Zhao finished a steamed bun, his spiritual aperture suddenly trembled, and an extremely intense sense of danger washed over him.
"Careful!"
Lin Zhao took a step forward, drawing his sword and thrusting it forward. At the same time, his flying sword Haoran protected him with its innate divine ability of "Enlightenment," and he shielded the young Chen Changsheng with his entire body.
The next moment, with a thunderous roar, the entire living room vanished before their eyes, completely razed to the ground by a colossal force. In the air stood an elder in red, spiritual energy swirling in his right palm, and a bundle of something in his left hand. He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Lin Zhao, do you truly believe you can protect everyone whose lives are as insignificant as grass? Chen Changsheng, if you were truly filial, you wouldn't have fled..."
Saying this, he threw the thing in his left hand down. It rolled onto the ground, revealing the head of an old woman.
"Mother!"
Chen Changsheng fell to his knees, his cries filled with unbearable sorrow.