Chapter 103: Capture!
"Teacher, who is he?" Looking at Protector Wu, who clearly did not look like a good person, Yun Yun now shielded Nalan Yanran tightly behind her. Recalling what Jiang Yun had just said, she already believed most of it in her heart. But she still hoped to get an answer from her own teacher in the end.
Such a bizarre manner of appearance already indicated he was no good thing. Yet he had actually appeared in the Yun Lan Sect and had dealings with her own teacher—and she, the Sect Leader, knew nothing of it.
In a short time, as thoughts churned in her mind, she felt a slight sense of unease. This teacher she had always deeply respected seemed, at some unknown point, to have changed.
"Protector Wu, what he just said—is it true?" Yun Shan now fixed his eyes firmly on Protector Wu, wanting to know the answer from the other's mouth.
"Jie jie jie, Yun Shan, the things of my Soul Hall are not so easy to take!" Protector Wu laughed eerily.
Hearing this, Yun Shan's body swayed. He stared at Protector Wu in disbelief, trembling as he said, "You... you... despicable!"
"Despicable? Back then, if not for me, you, Yun Shan, would have long since perished during your breakthrough! How then would you have been worthy of witnessing the vista of Dou Zong?" Protector Wu sneered coldly, looking coldly at Yun Shan. If the other dared to turn hostile and refuse to acknowledge the debt, he would let Yun Shan know the Soul Hall's methods.
In the end, Yun Shan ultimately did not have the courage to fall out and become enemies. With a disdainful glance at the other, Protector Wu now shifted his gaze to Jiang Yun's group at the side.
"To think you would be so bold. Knowing full well my Soul Hall is here, you actually dare to walk deep into the tiger's den. Truly, I don't know whether to praise your courage born of skill, or the fearlessness of ignorance!"
"Heh, a mere Protector cannot scare me!" Facing Protector Wu's threat, Jiang Yun sneered coldly, his face showing disdain. Then, under the other's watch, he retrieved a jade bottle and spoke icily.
"A Protector? It's not as if I haven't seen one before!"
Flames surged in his palm, and instantly, a miserable, agonized scream rang out from within the jade bottle.
"Ah!"
"This is... Protector Xuan?" Protector Wu's expression shifted. He glared furiously at Jiang Yun: "You actually dared to strike against someone of my Soul Hall? Such audacity! Today, this Protector will show you the consequences of offending my Soul Hall!"
"Clink—"
Amidst the surging black mist, Protector Wu moved his hand. A pitch-black chain, carrying a clattering sound, extended from his palm. Finally, with a light shake, it coiled beside him like a venomous serpent.
"Jie jie jie—"
"Yun Shan, capture those few little girls!"
The black chain quivered slightly. After a moment, Protector Wu let out a strange laugh. With a flick of his arm, the chain instantly tore across the sky, transforming into a black line that shot explosively toward Jiang Yun.
"The same old tricks again!"
Seeing this familiar attack, Jiang Yun's gaze flickered. Pure white flames churned in his hand, slowly coalescing into a bone-white long sword, which also shot forth directly.
"Get out of the way!"
Watching Yun Shan block her path, Zi Yan's body shifted slightly. She stared at him with a face like frost, a pair of purple eyes instantly surging with cold light. Deep within them, there actually seemed to be a purple giant dragon roaring.
"A mere Dou Huang, how dare you act so insolently!"
Watched by Zi Yan, Yun Shan felt his spirit tighten, as if being stared down by some ancient ferocious beast. Thinking of that faintly numb feeling still in his arm, he smiled sinisterly.
His sleeve robe shook. The vast, deep-cyan energy that surged from within him rippled for a moment, then quickly writhed. Moments later, it actually condensed into a cyan long sword fully three meters wide.
The moment the long sword took form, the surrounding space immediately began to ripple violently.
"Heh— petty tricks!"
Sensing the enormous energy long sword slowly rotating above Yun Shan's head, Zi Yan thought nothing of it and sneered coldly. Purple-gold radiance erupted. A dragon's roar resounded. A purple-gold great spear had already been grasped in her hand. Her entire being emanated a sky-piercing sharpness.
"Bai Ya, watch over Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian!"
Without looking back, Zi Yan instructed. Spear in hand, like a goddess of war, she charged within a few strides right in front of Yun Shan. The long spear in her hand, carrying terrifying force, smashed down toward him.
"Roar—"
After Zi Yan left, Bai Ya instantly transformed from a tiny bracelet into the enormous Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor. Coiling tightly around Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian, shielding them within, he watched the Yun Yun master and disciple pair warily.
"Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor!"
Bai Ya's appearance instantly drew the attention of everyone present. Seeing that there was actually another Dou Huang, Yun Shan's expression changed drastically. He roared furiously toward Yun Yun at the side.
At this moment, he had completely lost the composure from earlier. Zi Yan's strength far exceeded his imagination. Her physical body was terrifying, coupled with an endless array of powerful Dou Techniques and that elusive, unpredictable use of space.
He had actually, for a time, fallen into a disadvantage. This filled him with both anger and a sense of urgency.
"Yun'er, quickly notify the Yun Lan Sect disciples! Set up the Cloud Mist Sun-Covering Array and kill them!"
"Teacher, I..."
Hearing Yun Shan's roar, Yun Yun hesitated. Recalling Jiang Yun's words just now and looking again at the roaring black mist figure, she was more inclined toward Jiang Yun. The current Yun Lan Sect was already in extreme danger. One slight misstep and it would be eternal damnation.
So... she hesitated!
"You still dare to lose focus!"
"Taixu Punch!"
A delicate shout forced Yun Shan to pull his attention back, leaving him struggling to cope with Zi Yan's attacks.
"Heh heh, Protector Wu, it seems your attacks aren't as tough as your mouth!"
Easily blocking the blurry 'black line' before him, Jiang Yun looked at the other and teased.
"However, the commotion here is too great. We wouldn't want to damage anything!"
Jiang Yun's slender palm, wrapped in white flames, grasped that pitch-black chain that was flickering like a venomous snake's tongue. Instantly, upon the chain now enveloped in white flames, a series of sizzling sounds rang out, and wisps of white smoke rose.
"What—"
Seeing Jiang Yun catch his attack so effortlessly, Protector Wu's expression changed drastically. He stared in disbelief at that pristine palm. At this moment, a faint sense of unease began to rise in his heart. This suddenly-appearing genius alchemist seemed to defy common sense!
Generally speaking, alchemists were known for their alchemy skills, while their combat strength was relatively much weaker. Yet this terrifying fellow before him not only possessed a formidable physical body, but his sharp, fierce swordsmanship easily neutralized his attacks. It was truly bizarre.
At the same time as Jiang Yun pulled the chain, his other hand formed seals. Countless spirit seals flew out. In the blink of an eye, an enormous array shrouded the interior of the great hall.
If one were to look from the outside, they would discover that the Yun Lan Sect's main hall had weirdly begun to grow misty and hazy. That mist was formed from the surrounding energy, a thin layer that, if not looked at carefully, appeared almost transparent as it enveloped the great hall.
This was a trapping array Jiang Yun had researched and developed based on the Heaven-Refining Ancient Array. The mist could not be blown away at all, and it severely interfered with perception, making it impossible to discern direction.
This was the first time Jiang Yun had used it against an enemy. This type of array focused on trapping the enemy, only encaging and not attacking. To escape required expending tremendous energy. Once one's Dou Qi was exhausted before breaking the array, they would truly be at the mercy of others.
"What is this?"
Everyone present felt such a grand commotion, but arrays were somewhat unfamiliar to them, so for a moment, they couldn't identify the predicament they were now in.
"Nothing much. Protector Wu, Protector Xuan misses you dearly. How about... you go and keep him company?"
"You seek death!" Jiang Yun's repeated contempt had thoroughly enraged him. Sky-covering black fog swept out from his body. Those pair of blood-red pupils radiated a soul-shaking, ferocious light.
"Nine Forests Hundred Devouring Souls!"
An eerie, gloomy wind suddenly whipped up. The surroundings abruptly turned inexplicably chilling. Protector Wu's hands rapidly formed seals. Black mist surged, actually condensing in midair into a giant human face.
Looking closely, the face was composed of countless smaller faces, densely packed together in a mass—utterly horrifying.
"Li Fire Burns the Heavens!"
Accompanied by a light shout from Jiang Yun, the flames in his palm swelled at a terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a disk that blotted out the sky and covered the sun.
Looking from the side, the area where Jiang Yun and Protector Wu fought now only had a pure white flame barrier remaining. This made it so Xiao Yi Xian and Yun Yun's group, who weren't engaged in combat, could no longer clearly see what was happening inside.
"A heavenly flame—"
"You actually possess a heavenly flame—"
Sensing the terrifying fluctuations around him, Protector Wu immediately let out a startled cry. He had now confirmed: this white flame was indeed a type of heavenly flame, and it seemed to also harm soul bodies.
"Damn it—"
Realizing his predicament, Protector Wu cursed inwardly. Amidst the continuous clanking and clattering sounds, countless eerie chains around him, hidden beneath the giant face, shot explosively toward Jiang Yun with all their might.
"Burn—"
Jiang Yun's expression remained unchanged. Within the flame space, as if waves rising without wind, flaming tornado storms abruptly emerged from all around. The terrifying destructive aura was horrifying. Protector Wu felt a fatal threat from within.
He would die!
A voice sounded from the bottom of his heart. Protector Wu grew even more frantic. Forming seals with his hands, the black mist churned violently, erupting with a bizarre pulling force. After a moment, sensing the space completely sealed by flames, he gave up entirely and instead channeled his entire body's Dou Qi, converging it toward the human face.
With the infusion of Dou Qi, the face grew larger and larger, gradually solidifying. Finally, Protector Wu manipulated the solidified face, sending it to devour Jiang Yun.
"Break for me!"
As Protector Wu's shout fell, upon that already swollen, several-meter-wide, illusionary face, streams of exceptionally dense black light erupted from its seven orifices and crashed into the raging flame storms, violently exploding!
"Buzz—"
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a clear humming sound spreading out like ripples, echoing deep within the mind.
"Ah— No—"
The black mist human face was torn to shreds by the flame storms without any power to resist. And Protector Wu, accompanied by an unwilling, horrified shriek, was stuffed single-handedly by Jiang Yun into the jade bottle, joining Protector Xuan.
At the same time, outside!
"Wind Slaughter Annihilation!"
As the shout fell, an exceptionally mournful, piercing sword hum suddenly rang out within the great hall. As Yun Shan's hand seals shifted, the Dou Qi long sword spinning madly above his head shot forth explosively toward Zi Yan.
The long sword was so fast it could even penetrate the barriers of space. Thus, in just a few flickers, it appeared several meters before Zi Yan's throat.
"Ancient Dragon Reaches for the Claw!"
Zi Yan faced danger without fear. With a low shout, a giant dragon-shaped claw seal abruptly materialized!
And at the same time, the space around Zi Yan rippled rapidly, like waves. Yun Shan's attack, upon entering the range around Zi Yan, bizarrely began to slow down.
"Boom—"
In an instant, the two attacks, both containing utterly terrifying power, met ferociously. Then, a thunder-like explosion abruptly resounded.
At the point where the two ferocious attacks collided, wave after wave of virtually tangible energy fluctuations rippled madly. Even space itself became distorted under such a terrifying energy collision. From this, one could see just how horrifying the attacks both had unleashed this time were.
Were it not for the array Jiang Yun had set up, this Sect Leader's grand hall would have undoubtedly needed redecorating.
The distorted space dragged terrifying spatial energy, tearing toward the two. However, as a darling of space, Zi Yan naturally feared it not. She charged toward Yun Shan while enduring streaks of spatial rifts.
Yun Shan, naturally, couldn't do the same. On one hand resisting the spatial power, on the other struggling to cope with Zi Yan's onslaught, before long, his robes had become tattered and torn.
Shaken several times by Zi Yan's great spear, Yun Shan's withered palm gripping the sword trembled slightly. A trace of blood dripped along his palm, finally following his fingers and quietly dropping.
"Bastard! I didn't expect this Sect to still have underestimated you!" Yun Shan's expression was dark. He wiped his palm on his robe, smearing away the blood. Looking at the battle-eager Zi Yan ahead, he said in a deep voice.
"However, next, this Sect will show you the gap between Dou Zong and Dou Huang!"
"Pity..."
"Pity, your sword isn't as tough as your mouth!"
Facing Yun Shan's bold declaration, Zi Yan showed disdain. Fighting up to this point, she had already figured out the other's strength—about the level of Han Feng. She was merely a step behind in Dou Qi. For everything else, she completely outclassed Yun Shan.
"You seek death— Urgh—" Suddenly, a bizarre fluctuation was transmitted. Yun Shan immediately collapsed to the ground in agony. A somewhat illusory white soul body seemed as if it was about to drift out from within Yun Shan's body and fly toward the flame barrier.
At this moment, Yun Shan felt as if his very soul no longer belonged to him, about to detach from his physical body.
"Teacher~"
At the side, Yun Yun cried out frantically, at a complete loss, and hastily rushed to Yun Shan's side.
Zi Yan frowned as she watched this scene. Seeing Yun Shan no longer having the strength to fight again, she snorted coldly in bored disinterest and walked toward Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian. Yun Shan had already lost his threat; she disdained to kick a man when he was down.
"Hah~ Hah~" Fortunately, this fluctuation quickly vanished. Yun Shan now knelt collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath heavily, as if fished from the water.
"Damn Protector Wu!"
At this moment, no matter how foolish he was, he understood what had happened and roared furiously.