65: Chapter 65 Bloodbath at Nine Cages Mountain! The Phantom's Triple Kill Finally Takes His Life!

[You look up, staring at the two figures atop the watchtower, your chest heaving violently.]

["Clan Master Zhao!"]

[Your voice is raspy.]

["You two old geezers playing dirty tricks, kidnapping someone to this godforsaken place—what kind of skill is that!"]

[You lean on your sword, your body swaying slightly.]

[Atop the watchtower, Clan Master Zhao looks down at you.]

["Shopkeeper Shen, you certainly have quite a temper."]

[Clan Master Ling says nothing, merely staring at your unsteady footsteps.]

[Grit your teeth, you take two steps forward.]

["Where is she?"]

["Let me see Qin Yao, otherwise, if you have the guts, come down and fight me head-on."]

[Clan Master Zhao and Clan Master Ling exchange a glance.]

[Clan Master Ling nods slightly.]

[A Ling Family guard escorts Qin Yao out from the side hall of the fortress.]

[Qin Yao's hands are bound by spiritual energy chains, and a Spirit-Sealing Talisman is plastered over her mouth.]

[Her eyes are clear and bright, and there are no wounds on her body.]

[You breathe a sigh of relief.]

[She is safe; that is enough.]

["Seen enough?"]

[Clan Master Zhao looks down from his high vantage point.]

["She hasn't lost a single hair."]

["If you have the guts, release her."]

[You point a single finger at Qin Yao, your voice trembling.]

["She was merely the bait to lure you out of the city. Now that the person has arrived, the bait is useless."]

[Clan Master Zhao sneers.]

["What if I release her?"]

["Do you really think you can still walk out of Jiulong Mountain?"]

[Clan Master Ling's voice is very indifferent.]

["Untie her."]

[Clan Master Zhao tilts his head.]

["Brother Ling?"]

[Clan Master Ling's gaze is cold.]

["A useless woman with no spiritual energy—can she run?"]

["He can't even protect himself; with a burden like her, he'll only die faster."]

[The guard unfastens the chains.]

[Qin Yao rubs her wrists and immediately looks toward you.]

[You shake your head slightly at her.]

[Don't move, stay on the fortress.]

[Qin Yao takes two steps back, leaning against a stone pillar of the watchtower.]

[You look up directly at Clan Master Zhao.]

["The thirty-seven lives of the Qin Family—when you killed them, were you also looking down like this?"]

["Come down if you have the guts."]

[You repeat yourself, your voice raspy.]

["A Foundation Establishment Level 2 fighting a green kid who just reached Foundation Establishment—are you afraid?"]

["Is the reputation of your Zhao Family in Chishui City really that worthless?"]

[Clan Master Zhao's face turns livid.]

[Clan Master Ling frowns.]

["Brother Zhao."]

[Clan Master Zhao flicks his sleeve.]

["No need to persuade me."]

["A half-dead thing—should I be afraid of him?"]

[He leaps down from the watchtower.]

[The moment his feet hit the ground, the earth cracks into a spiderweb pattern.]

[Earth-attribute spiritual energy surges out, condensing into a thick layer of rock armor over his entire body.]

[The pressure of Foundation Establishment Level 2 booms outward.]

[Your body sways.]

[The soles of your feet are pressed into the dirt.]

[The swaying looks very real.]

[Clan Master Zhao clenches his fist and throws a punch.]

[You draw your sword to block.]

[The shuangluo sword meets the rock fist, and your arm is jolted backward.]

["That's it?" Clan Master Zhao sneers.]

[You grit your teeth and retreat.]

[One step, two steps, three steps.]

[Retreating toward the narrow path from which you came.]

[Clan Master Zhao presses on relentlessly.]

[Every punch is wrapped in heavy earth-layer spiritual energy, smashing rocks into flying debris.]

[Your retreat path leads straight toward that rock crevice, only wide enough for one person.]

[Atop the watchtower, Clan Master Ling speaks up.]

["Brother Zhao, do not pursue too deep."]

[Clan Master Zhao turns a deaf ear.]

[He sees the hand holding your sword shaking; he sees your pace slowing down.]

[When a dying prey is fleeing for its life, what hunter wouldn't give chase?]

[The corner.]

[The narrow path suddenly constricts to three feet wide here.]

[The moment Clan Master Zhao chases around the corner, your stumbling figure abruptly vanishes.]

[Phantom Raid, activated.]

[Your figure turns into a blur, appearing in Clan Master Zhao's right-side blind spot.]

[The shuangluo sword does not probe.]

[Extreme cold sword qi is poured into the tip, precisely cutting into the only gap at the back of the rock armor's neck.]

[Water overcomes Earth.]

[As the sword enters the gap, the rock armor suddenly shatters.]

[The shuangluo sword pierces through Clan Master Zhao's throat.]

[Cold air spreads, freezing the gushing blood.]

[Clan Master Zhao looks down, staring at the sword tip protruding from his chest.]

[Only blood foam bubbles out.]

[You withdraw the sword.]

[Clan Master Zhao's body collapses heavily, the rock armor peeling off in layers.]

[You snatch his storage bag and take an earthy-yellow bead from his waist.]

[The earth spirit bead, Clan Master Zhao's lifebound dharma treasure.]

[This item must be kept to give Qin Yao closure.]

[You straighten up.]

[Dense footsteps and furious shouts of command come from behind you.]

["Brother Zhao—!"]

[Clan Master Ling's voice comes from deep within the mist, laden with killing intent.]

[You turn around, facing the way you came.]

[Clan Master Ling leads eight Ling Family experts, charging in from outside the narrow path.]

[He sees Clan Master Zhao's corpse on the ground, his face turning livid.]

["What a fine display of 'exhaustion'."]

[His hands form a seal, and golden spiritual light rises simultaneously from beneath the feet of the eight experts.]

[A Metal-attribute Grand Array.]

[The eight serve as the array nodes, with Clan Master Ling as the array heart.]

[Golden light converges, forming a golden screen in the narrow mountain path that pushes through everything.]

[A foundation establishment level 3 fully activating an array; the pressure increases sharply.]

[You raise the shuangluo sword to meet it.]

[The first strike.]

[Water-attribute spiritual energy clashes head-on with the golden screen.]

[A crack appears in the light screen.]

[You take the opportunity to cut in, slashing three times in succession, tearing a larger hole in the screen.]

[Clan Master Ling retreats half a step, fine-tuning the array.]

[The golden light screen begins to mend.]

[The eight node cultivators continuously output spiritual energy, and the array becomes increasingly stable as it rotates.]

[You are gradually pushed back by the counter-force.]

[One step back, then another.]

[Clan Master Ling sees your retreat and pushes the array forward.]

[He steps out of the narrow path's entrance.]

[Now is the time.]

[Phantom Raid, second activation.]

[Your figure disperses.]

[One second of absolute invisibility.]

[You bypass the golden light screen and appear beside the third person on the array's left wing.]

[The shuangluo sword slashes horizontally.]

[That person didn't even have time to turn his head.]

[A head flies off, while the body still maintains the posture of outputting spiritual energy.]

[A corner of the array collapses.]

[The golden light screen trembles violently.]

["He has an invisibility technique! Disperse the array!"]

[Clan Master Ling shouts sharply.]

[He flips his right hand, and a three-inch-long golden flying sword shoots out from his sleeve.]

[A lifebound flying sword.]

[Golden light surges as the flying sword turns into a shooting star, chasing after your back.]

[You run.]

[Greased Soles is activated, increasing movement speed by twenty percent.]

[You dodge left and right through the jagged rocks of the narrow path.]

[The golden flying sword bites at your heels, less than three feet from your heart.]

[You turn into the next narrow opening.]

[The flying sword catches up.]

[Clan Master Ling's voice explodes behind you.]

["Metal-attribute Forbidden Art—Burning Gold Finger!"]

[The golden flying sword erupts with blinding light, turning into a pillar of golden light that pierces through the narrow path.]

[You don't have time to fully dodge.]

[The Dark Iron Shield is deployed in front of you.]

[The golden light pillar slams into the shield's surface, and the protective light screen shatters instantly.]

[The aftershock strikes your chest.]

[Blood spills from the corner of your mouth, a dull pain comes from your ribs, and your spiritual energy is jolted and dispersed by ten percent.]

[A Rank 3 Shield is no problem for blocking Foundation Establishment Level 2, but it's not enough to block a foundation establishment level 3 forbidden art.]

[You stumble to a steady stance but do not stop.]

[Continue running.]

[Clan Master Ling pursues from behind.]

[You run for thirty breaths.]

[The cooldown for Phantom Raid is up.]

[You suddenly turn around.]

[Clan Master Ling is chasing too closely; there are less than five zhang between you.]

[He sees you turn and immediately drives his flying sword to protect his front.]

[But you don't come from the front.]

[The twenty percent speed boost from Greased Soles is fully stacked.]

[You first shift one step to the left.]

[Clan Master Ling's flying sword chases toward the left.]

[Phantom Raid, third activation.]

[You disappear.]

[A second later, you appear behind Clan Master Ling.]

[The shuangluo sword enters from the back of his neck, and extreme cold sword qi freezes his central meridians.]

[Clan Master Ling's body stiffens.]

[He slowly lowers his head, looking at the cold, shining sword tip protruding from his chest.]

["You... were acting all along."]

[You do not answer.]

[Withdraw the sword.]

[Clan Master Ling falls.]

[The golden flying sword loses its spiritual energy supply and falls onto the gravel.]

[The remaining seven Ling Family cultivators, having lost their array heart, suffer spiritual energy backlash and all collapse to the ground.]

[You walk over, holding the shuangluo sword.]

[No nonsense.]

[Seven strikes, seven people.]

[You take everyone's storage bags and sheathe the shuangluo sword.]

[The thick mist of Jiulong Mountain still rolls.]

[But in the valley, you are the only one left standing.]

[You look down at the wound on your chest, tearing a piece of cloth for a simple bandage.]

[It's not fatal; it will heal in three days.]

[You pull that earthy-yellow earth spirit bead from your waist and turn it over in your palm.]

[Then you turn around and walk toward that black stone fortress.]

Shen Ji stares at the images on the light screen.

Three Phantom Raids, three sword strikes, three lives.

Clan Master Zhao, Clan Master Ling, plus that expert in the array.

Every strike landed precisely within the time window he had calculated.

The text on the light screen is still flickering.

[Atop the fortress watchtower, Qin Yao is standing by the stone pillar.]

[She gazes from afar at the figure walking out from the depths of the thick mist.]

[You step onto the fortress stairs.]

[In your hand is Clan Master Zhao's earth spirit bead.]

[Behind you is a ground full of corpses.]

Shen Ji leans back.

It's time to close the net on this Jiulong Mountain game.

He wonders what expression Qin Yao will have when she sees that earth spirit bead.