Chapter 134 - Unexpected Sneak Attack
"Go out openly and aboveboard? Hahaha!" Ding Rui sneered at Gu Hai.
"Gu Hai, are you dreaming? You think you can escape, with your meager abilities?" Ding Tong continued to berate Gu Hai mercilessly.
Gu Hai stepped forward and glanced about at the cultivators in the vicinity and spotted the Butcher King. The Butcher King had a black-robed woman in his arms. He wasn"t saying a word.
"Ding Tong, do you want to make the Ascendant Hall your enemy? Do you want to make an enemy out of Hall Lord"s grandfather? Do you think that all the Ding Long Clan disciples have the same ideas as you?" Gu Hai asked coldly.
Hearing this, the Ding Long Clan disciples suddenly started whispering to each other.
"Gu Hai, first, you made Ding Tong defect, now, you want to incite the Ding Long Clan disciples? Do you only have this trick?" Ding Rui said, sneering.
All the Ding Long Clan disciples sank into silence for a while. They didn"t utter another word, none at all.
"I don"t want to incite the Ding Long Clan disciples. At this moment, I need to know who should I treat as my enemy, and who I should let go!" Gu Hai answered in an equally merciless tone.
"Huh?" All the cultivators were suddenly started.
What does Gu Hai mean? Who should he let go? Does he think that he has the initiative?
Ding Tong, on the other hand, looked panic-stricken. With Gu Hai showing no fear, he could not help but wonder if Long Wanqing"s grandfather was really here!
"Let go? You think you are in the position to let go of someone? Are you scared silly?" A dumbfounded Ding Rui stared at Gu Hai.
Long Wanqing was also looking at Gu Hai in confusion.
"Ding Long Clan disciples, Fire Throne disciples, and my fellow cultivators, today, it"s a grudge between Ding Rui and I. If you don"t want to drown in this muddy waters, please stand on either side, to avoid becoming an accidental casualty. I can a.s.sure everybody that no matter what the result is, you will be fine!" Gu Hai suddenly started addressing everybody.
Hearing Gu Hai"s speech, confusion was clearly written on the faces of all the cultivators.
The more than a thousand cultivators who had come inside with Gu Hai looked at Gu Hai with weird gazes. After a moment of silence, they slowly retreated to either side.
That they could enter the Ding Long Clan was all thanks to Gu Hai. However, their grat.i.tude had still not reached the point where they would die for Gu Hai. This was an internal conflict of Ascendant Hall, and n.o.body was willing to drown in this muddy water. One by one, all the cultivators retreated to either side.
The Butcher King also slowly retreated to one side with his disciples.
Ding Rui and Ding Tong looked at Gu Hai in perplexion. The Ding Long Clan disciples and the Ascendant Hall Fire Throne disciples remained where they were.
"Well, do you really have reinforcements?" Ding Rui asked in a cold voice.
Long Wanqing looked at Gu Hai, her eyes flickering with worry.
"Hall Lord, can you bring those three tables here to me!" Gu Hai spoke in a calm and poised manner.
"Well?" Confusion was clearly written on the faces of everyone. Move the tables?
Although Long Wanqing"s cultivation was sealed, she still had some strength. The three tables weren"t exactly heavy for her. Very soon, she had brought them over to Gu Hai.
Slowly, Gu Hai started placing the three tables on top of each other.
While everyone was gazing at Gu Hai with an incomprehensible look, Gu Hai slowly stood on the topmost table.
"Has Gu Hai gone crazy? What does he want to do?"
"Why is he playing with the tables?"
"Where in b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l is all that confidence coming from?"...
All the cultivators had perplexed looks on their faces.
Standing atop the stacked tables, Gu Hai coldly stared at Ding Rui and Ding Tong.
Ding Tong had been a bit tense all along. Even with Ding Rui standing next to him, his heart was still pounding in panic. Did I choose the wrong team?
In the end, the Ding Long Clan disciples chose to follow Ding Tong. For a moment, there was a complex look plastered on their faces.
Ding Rui, on the other hand, had her guard raised against Gu Hai. Although she could feel that Gu Hai"s cultivation was weak, the Golden Tong and Song Jia Sect had been destroyed by him in the end. She had no choice but to be careful. His every action may have deep significance...
However, all she saw was Gu Hai climbing on top of the three tables. Ding Rui really could not see through him. What does he want to do?
"Gu Hai, you have been bluffing all this while, capture him immediately, otherwise...!" Ding Tong shouted, staring at Gu Hai.
"Patriarch Ding, do you know that in the beginning, the Golden Tong"s Li Wei spoke in the same tone, and later, Song Jia Sect"s Song Shengping also spoke in the same tone. Clear River Sect"s Li Qinghe too had the same tone, but do you know what happened to them?" Gu Hai chided Ding Tong coldly.
"Huh?" Ding Tong"s countenance changed. "The Clear River Sect was also decimated by you?"
"I personally took Clear River Sect Chief"s head!" Gu Hai answered indifferently.
"Impossible, how could you possibly be Li Qinghe"s opponent?" Ding Tong rebuked coldly.
Suddenly, a head appeared in Gu Hai"s hand with a flip of his palm.
At the sight of this, all the cultivators" expressions changed. No one had imagined Gu Hai to suddenly take out a human head!
"That..that is Li Qinghe!" someone cried out in shock.
"Why are there so many snakes on Li Qinghe"s head?" someone else could not help but shout out in revulsion.
"Demonized? Fu Xue actually demonized Li Qinghe?" Ding Rui blurted out in surprise.
"Patriarch Ding, do you still don"t believe me?" Gu Hai asked as a smile appeared on his lips.
Ding Tong"s eyelids started to twitch madly.
"If you still don"t believe me, you can ask Li Qinghe yourself. He will answer you. You can ask how he was insolent to me in the beginning, and tell you I beheaded him later, okay!" Gu Hai said as a sinister look crept up on his face.
"Ask?" Everyone was completely perplexed.
You have already beheaded him, how can anyone ask him?
Even Long Wanqing was gawking at Gu Hai with widened eyes. Gu Hai has really not gone crazy, right?
"Li Qinghe, tell them!" Gu Hai shouted aloud.
With a hum, those snakes on Li Qinghe"s head slowly started to move.
Under the push of Gu Hai"s True Qi, the little snakes started to move, making wriggling like noises.
Li Qinghe"s facial muscles also started quivering.
"He is alive! How is that possible?"
"Those snakes...those snakes look really sinister!"
"Li Qinghe has been beheaded, why is he still alive?"...
Countless cultivators in the vicinity were terrified by this intimidating scene. Some of the cultivators couldn"t help but take a step back. The scene was incomparably strange.
Ding Tong and all the Ding Long Clan disciples had gooseb.u.mps exploding all over their bodies. They kept on staring at Ling Qinghe"s snakes.
Ding Rui and her subordinates also had suspicious looks on their faces.
"Li Qinghe"s head has been cut off, it"s impossible for him to still be alive!" Ding Rui said as a glum look took over her face.
"Look clearly whether he is still alive or not!" Gu Hai shouted aloud.
"Hmph, you are clearly deluding the public with wild tales!" Ding Rui coldly snorted. It looked as if she was just about to take action.
Suddenly, Li Qinghe opened his eyes.
"He has opened his eyes!"
"So much red light, why are Li Qinghe"s eyes shooting red light?"
"Li Qinghe is still alive?"...
All the cultivators were immediately taken by surprise.
The snakes also started radiating a red glare in the opposite direction, towards Ding Rui, Ding Tong, and their subordinates" directions. As for the wandering cultivators, they had already withdrawn to either side thanks to Gu Hai"s suggestion, therefore, they were out of range of the red rays.
In fact, Gu Hai was standing on the three tables in order to have the best line of sight. He wanted to make sure that Li Qinghe"s eyes could cover the few thousand people in the chosen direction. If he stood any lower, Li Qinghe"s gaze would be blocked by the people standing in the front.
And he was speaking all the pompous c.r.a.p because he wanted to gather everyone"s attention.
For a moment, everything in front of Gu Hai was drowned in red rays.
In the blink of an eye, countless cultivators were affected, just as the three thousand men of Gu Hai had been.
"Not good, there is something wrong with these red rays!" Ding Rui shouted aloud as her expression changed.
Ding Rui and Ding Tong were watching most vigilantly. Nonetheless, it never crossed their mind that Li Qinghe"s eyes could still be opened! Nor had they imagined that it would shoot red rays out to curse them. In a few seconds, the two were also affected.
"Ah~!" the crowd of Ding Long Clan disciples screamed miserably.
Countless Ding Long Clan disciples bodies started to stiffen as they turned gray. They were quickly petrifying.
"No, no, no!" Ding Tong screamed in horror. He was trying to resist. However, Ding Tong"s cultivation was clearly insufficient. He too soon turned into stone.
The whole crowd of Fire Throne disciples was also petrified.
After shooting red rays for a short while, Gu Hai withdrew the head, and jumped down from the tables.
Long Wanqing was gawking at the petrifying cultivators in shock.
For a short while, the Entertainment Valley sank into silence. Everyone drew in a cold breath of air as they looked about. Almost everyone had turned into satues!
"This... what"s going on?" Long Wanqing asked in surprise.
In the end, there were still thousands of cultivators who had escaped the red blight. They looked at the person standing next to them immediately.
"What"s the matter? Senior Brother, Junior Brother, why have you all turned into stone?"
"Stone? No...no...how could they turn into stone?"...
The people who had escaped looked about in shock and horror. Just a moment ago, they had occupied the advantage in numbers. Now, a majority of them had turned into stone in the blink of an eye. Petrified? How is this possible? At the sight of this horrifying scene, a terrified chill ran down their spine.
The cultivators who had been asked by Gu Hai to move to either side continued to retreat in horror. Everyone has turned into rocks? How is this possible? For a moment, everyone was looking at Gu Hai, panic clearly was written all over their faces.
Having jumped down to Long Wanqing"s side, Gu Hai coldly looked at Ding Rui and Ding Tong. These were the two biggest threats.
Ding Tong had already been turned into a statue. Ding Rui, on the other hand, hadn"t. Only half of her had petrified. She seemed to be resisting the curse using all her strength.
"Gu Hai, you deceived me, ah~!" Ding Rui let out a forlorn howl.
"Not good, Ding Rui"s petrification is receding!" Long Wanqing"s countenance changed.
"Hall Lord, stay here, I will go and kill Ding Rui!" Gu Hai"s eyes widened on watching Ding Rui"s condition. He was just about to make his move.
But suddenly, Ding Rui shouted aloud, "You want to kill me? Hmph!"
With a flip of her hand, she took out an old zither from the small pocket of s.p.a.ce in her token.
"Be careful! Don"t go!" Long Wanqing"s face suddenly changed.
The Guqin only had one string. It had already been plucked, and it was held down by a fine needle in a skewed position.
Having taken out the Guqin, Ding Rui plucked the fine needles immediately.
As the zither string returned to its position instantly, a musical note suddenly emerged.
Along with the note, endless sword qi materialized out of thin air.
BOOM!
Just like a storm, the sword qi rushed in every direction.
The statues in the vicinity were blasted into countless pieces in the blink of an eye.
The cultivators in the vicinity quickly withdrew. Ding Rui, who was holding the zither, was the center as dense sword qi rolled out, creating a circular region that spread in all directions, destroying everything in its path. The mountains, trees, and statutes in the surroundings were cut to pieces.
Gu Hai immediately took out his long saber and swung it at the oncoming sword qi.
In the next moment, the long saber was smashed apart by the sword qi.
Seeing this, Gu Hai"s expression changed as he quickly escaped to the outer ring with Long Wanqing.
"Ah, Throne Master!"
The subordinates who had not turned into rocks cried miserably as they fled to the outer ring.
A majority of the Ding Long Clan disciples had already been turned into statues, which were sliced into nothing in the blink of an eye. The few who somehow escaped, looked at this scene in horror.
"Master!"
"Patriarch!"
"No!"...
Everyone broke into miserable screams. In this short moment, all the Ding Long sect disciples had been cut into nothing, including Ding Tong.
The sword qi storm was just too strong!
In just a moment, out of that dreadful and imposing crowd of a few thousand people, only a hundred or so remained in the blink of an eye.
When it came to her own safety, Ding Rui simply didn"t care whether these statues could be brought to life again or not.
"A zither note was already sealed inside that Guqin. The zither chime had endless sword qi stored inside, and is protecting her for a short time. We are unable to approach her! It wasn"t sealed by Ding Rui, it impossible for her to have such ability!" Long Wanqing"s explained as her lip curled at the sight before her.
Gu Hai took out a longbow and fired an arrow wrapped in True Qi at Ding Rui.
The long arrow was also smashed into nothing by the countless sword qi.
"It"s useless! The zither string is still vibrating, creating an extremely powerful sword qi field!" Long Wanqing said as her face twisted in hate.
"Anyone who is alive, take Gu Hai down for me! I will soon be rid of the curse, don"t let them escape!" Ding Rui shouted aloud.
The few dozen Ding Long Clan disciples remaining didn"t make any move. On the other hand, a tinge of worry appeared on the faces of a couple dozen Fire Throne disciples as they prepared themselves to step out.
"Mister Gu, we will help you!" Suddenly, some cultivators jumped out of the crowd.
After all, Gu Hai hadn"t asked anyone to partic.i.p.ate in the scuffle. The only reason they didn"t turn into statues was that everyone had retreated to the sidelines at his suggestion. Otherwise, they would also have ended up dead a moment ago. With their ident.i.ties, it was impossible for them to not return the saving grace.
Without a moment of hesitation, three hundred cultivators jumped out, blocking the oncoming team of Fire Throne disciples.
"Thank you, everyone! It"s not necessary, they don"t dare to do anything!" Gu Hai said indifferently.
As expected, the Fire Throne disciples" faces were laced with hesitation. After all, they had personally seen the tragedy of Song Jia Sect. Moreover, Li Qinghe"s head, that disastrous thing was still with Gu Hai! The Fire Throne disciples only dared threaten Gu Hai from far away.
"Gu Hai?" Long Wanqing looked at Gu Hain anxiously.
Gu Hai looked at the nearby Butcher King. The Butcher King, on the other hand, remained indifferent to the whole fiasco. He didn"t make a move.
"Hmph!" Gu Hai let out a cold snort upon seeing this.
Suddenly, Gu Hai reached out, grabbing Long Wanqing by her waist.
"What do you want to do?" Long Wanqing"s expression changed into that of anger and shame.
"Hug me tightly!" Gu Hai stated in a calm voice.
While speaking, Gu Hai squatted down slightly before he fiercely leapt forward.
With a thunderous bang, countless cracks appeared on the ground. Gu Hai, on the other hand, soared directly towards the floating island like a bullet. His jumping force was too strong. In the blink of an eye, Gu Hai had jumped high up in the air.
"Ah~!" Long Wanqing grabbed Gu Hai tightly in panic.
At the sight of this, Ding Rui, who was still desperately holding onto the Guqin, had a furious look cross her face.
Slowly, the petrification of Ding Rui"s body subsided. Meanwhile, her face only grew colder and colder. "Gu Hai, you can"t escape!"
All the cultivators raised their heads to look at Gu Hai. The few dozen remaining subordinates of Ding Rui struggled with heaven and human desires for a while. Ultimately, they didn"t give chase.
The ground was completely littered with the fragments of statues already. Even if they could recover, these men were already dead for sure.
When her would-be subordinates looked at Ding Rui, they had complex exprssions on their faces.
High up in the air, Gu Hai landed on the barrier of the floating island.
"Where are we? The dragon vein?" Long Wanqing"s expression changed as she looked at the scene underneath her feet.
Underneath her feet was a transparent boundary. The floating island was surrounded by endless rolling clouds. There were also six hundred endgames circling around the floating island. At the edge of the barrier, there was a huge weiqi board.
Having arrived here, Gu Hai quickly stepped forward, carefully studying the weiqi board as he did.
Tok! Without a moment of hesitation, Gu Hai picked up a black piece and placed it on the weiqi board.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the clouds around the floating island were in roiling in turmoil.
"What does Gu Hai want to do up there?"
"It seems he is playing weiqi!"
"Playing?"...
The crowd of cultivators had an urge to cough up blood. At this moment, he still has the time to play a game leisurely?
"Not good, Ding Rui is about to get rid of her petrification. Only her feet are left!" someone cried out in fear.
Tok! High up in the sky, Gu Hai placed another piece.
BOOM!
Suddenly, ten endgames collapsed with a loud bang!
"Huh?" Ding Rui"s face sank upon seeing this.
Gu Hai is solving the endgames?!