Chapter 673: Like Turtles in a Jar
Everyone’s expressions changed when Wei Wuying finished his acidic words; their sect head had just gone and admitted that they were surrounded. Everyone in the Walkabout Sect turned pale with fright.
The Dark North Sect’s members all scanned Honored Master Tian Ming’s face, trying to glean some clues. Honored Master Tian Ming’s lips moved silently, but said nothing in the end. Instead, he turned to look at Xiang Wentian. Xiang Wentian was the strongest person in the Myriad Domain. Naturally, his instinct was just as powerful. Looking at Dan Chi’s hasty retreat, Xiang Wentian had in fact more than half believed his claims already. He was just about to speak when several figures suddenly appeared from a path to the west. They were moving at an incredible speed, and each one cut an incredibly sorry figure. They sprinted furiously towards the crowd. The crowd noticed them as they drew closer, only to discover that they were actually the Sacred Sword Palace!
The person at the head of the group was none other than w.a.n.g Jianyu. His hair was dishevelled, and his face and head were covered in blood. His chest, his thighs and several other parts of his body also looked like they’d been grievously injured. All in all, he looked an absolute mess. Several cultivators followed close behind him. They too were revealed to be the strongest elders of the Sacred Sword Palace, as well their number one genius, w.a.n.g Han. Of the hundred people delegation the Sacred Sword Palace had boasted of, there remained only eight. Furthermore, each of those remaining eight seemed injured in some way too. It was obvious they had just gone through a difficult battle. Their arrival stunned everyone present.
“w.a.n.g Jianyu, hadn’t you returned to Sacred Sword Palace already?” Xiang Wentian frowned.
w.a.n.g Jianyu could only suffer in silence. If he had returned to Sacred Sword Palace back then, he might not have encountered this disaster at all. The problem was that they hadn’t left. Instead, they’d lain in hiding and waited, wanting to ambush the Regal Pill Palace’s people once they left. However, they themselves had been ambushed by an unknown force not long after they’d settled into a hiding place.
This time, not even w.a.n.g Jianyu’s presence was enough to safeguard his sect. The Sacred Sword Palace’s people were slaughtered like someone reaping wheat. In the end, only sage realm experts managed to survive that first onslaught. Under w.a.n.g Jianyu’s protection, the sect’s strongest powers joined hands together and barely managed to cut a b.l.o.o.d.y path out towards safety. That was how they’d escaped back to the ceremony grounds. The rest of the Sacred Sword Palace disciples had already been annihilated.
“Return to Sacred Sword Palace?” w.a.n.g Jianyu laughed like a maniac. “Can we still return?” His tone was crazed and filled with a thick sense of malice. His maddened eyes swept across the scene and narrowed, “Where is the Regal Pill Palace? Have they already run away with their tails between their legs?”
“w.a.n.g Jianyu, we’re asking you a question. Why do you want to know about the Regal Pill Palace? Look at your sorry self! Don’t tell me you still want to fight the Regal Pill Palace in your state?” The Walkabout Sect’s Wei Wuying said with a fed up tone.
w.a.n.g Jianyu grew livid, “You idiots! Do you still not understand what’s going on? We’re trapped! We’re surrounded, and the few of us have barely managed to fight our way back inside! The rest are all dead!”
“What?!”
“That can’t be. You’ve brought a lot of your people with you this time, haven’t you?”
“Doubt all you want! So what if you have a lot of men? Our enemies are stronger than even my Sacred Sword Palace, and we were almost completely annihilated! Your turn will come soon!” w.a.n.g Jianyu laughed crazily and pointed at the crowd, “Didn’t you want to play the good guys? Didn’t you want to stand for the Regal Pill Palace? But where are they now? The Regal Pill Palace must’ve made an excuse and left, haven’t they? Do you believe now that Regal Pill Palace have colluded with our enemies?”
One could see just how much w.a.n.g Jianyu hated Regal Pill Palace. Even now, he still wanted to drag Regal Pill Palace’s name into the mud.
Honored Master Tian Ming frowned, “If you have something to say then say it, but save us all this nonsense, w.a.n.g Jianyu. Ole brother Dan Chi had just advised us to leave now. It’s just that none of us believed his words.”
He suddenly felt a bit of regret as he finished his words. Before this, he’d thought that Dan Chi had misplaced his trust and had been foolish to listen to the mysterious stranger’s alarmist warning. However, it would seem that Dan Chi had ultimately made the right bet.
“Sect Master, Palace Head Dan Chi said that we still have fifteen minutes. We should still have a bit of time to do something.”
Honored Master Tian Ming’s wrinkled face distorted into a grimace, “It’s too late, it’s already too late. Our enemies are already here.”
Xiang Wentian abruptly boomed out to his sect, “Do not panic. Great Cathedral, lay down our defensive formations and prepare to engage the enemy!”
The Great Cathedral were indeed a well trained fourth rank sect. Their movements were urgent but orderly as they obeyed their sect head’s orders.
“Walkabout Sect, heed this order! Activate the Infinite Poison Walkabout Formation and coordinate with the Great Cathedral’s defensive setup!”
Honored Master Tian Ming also ordered, “Everyone, form up and a.s.sume the Dark North Sky and Sea Formation!”
However, w.a.n.g Jianyu laughed crazily with bloodshot eyes. “It’s useless; it’s all useless. We’re all dead this time. Hahaha, we’re all dead!”
The terrible, sudden disaster had dealt a huge blow to w.a.n.g Jianyu’s psyche. He was currently lost in a state of extreme madness.
“w.a.n.g Jianyu, you can either help us or screw off to another corner.” Xiang Wentian was fed up. He was partially regretting not listening to Dan Chi and retreating with the Regal Pill Palace. While they might not necessarily have been able to break through the enemy’s encirclement even if they had retreated back then, it was still a better choice than being forced to erect a defensive palisade here to engage the enemy. Their retreat had been cut off the moment they chose to stay and defend. They would either successfully defend themselves, or fight their enemies to the death. Most importantly, most of their elites had followed them to this ceremony. If the enemies had sent a detachment to attack their sects as well, then their sects’ inheritances would most certainly be destroyed. This possibility made Xiang Wentian feel incredibly anxious.
However, it wasn’t something he could spare a thought on in the current circ.u.mstances.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoos.h.!.+
A vast sea of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere, shooting through the air and surrounding the Myriad Domain sects. Four figures, instantly recognizable as their leaders, stood to the forefront. Each of those four figures looked extraordinary and incredibly imposing.
Like four great mountains, the four figures descended to the ground. An invisible pressure pushed down on everyone’s shoulders, even Xiang Wentian. Those whose cultivations weren’t up to par dropped to their knees, vomiting violently. The pressure squeezed every inch of their bodies; it was almost like they were throwing up their hearts. Xiang Wentian’s expression changed as he cautioned the crowd in a low voice. “Be careful. All four of them are emperor realm experts.”
Emperor realm experts! Everyone who heard this turned as white as paper in an instant. They felt as if the apocalypse had befallen them. Four emperor realm experts at once? Are they trying to raze the entirety of the Myriad Domain?
Woosh, Woosh, Woos.h.!.+ Many more of the hovering figures dropped down in formation, completely surrounding the cultivators of the Myriad Domain. A quick glance was all they needed to reveal a troubling fact. Their enemies were at least several thousand strong, while the Myriad Domain cultivators only numbered a thousand or so. Every fourth rank sect had brought a hundred or so in their delegation, and combined with the fifth rank sect, they barely scratched two thousand in number. However, when faced with four to five thousand enemies, they were obviously starting with a disadvantage. To make matters worse, the enemies were obviously stronger as well.
“Keep calm, everyone. We must walk right up to gates of death in order to find the sliver of hope we need to survive.” Xiang Wentian might be old, but he still had great aspirations and ambitions. It was obvious that he wasn’t planning to beg for mercy in this kind of situation. It didn’t even seem like he would have the chance to, given the atmosphere. After all, their opponents had arrived with such an aggressive air. There was no way they would’ve killed so many Sacred Sword Palace disciples if a compromise could be reached. They had undoubtedly come to eliminate the Myriad Domain.
“Family Head, who are these people?” Someone from behind sent him a silent message.
Xiang Wentian was actually observing and pondering that question himself. Suddenly the answer flashed across his mind, followed by a sense of despair. He had figured out who their enemies were. “Everyone, cast out any wishful thoughts of peace or compromise. Our enemies do not hail from the Ninesuns Sky Sect,” Xiang Wentian’s tone was heavy. “They come from the Great Scarlet Mid Region!”
The Great Scarlet Mid Region? A clap of thunder seemed to strike above every Myriad Domain citizen’s head, as they were mentally rocked back a few paces. This news was just too shocking. They’re actually from the Great Scarlet Mid Region? The Great Scarlet Mid Region had always been a curse; a butcher’s knife that hung over everyone in the Myriad Domain for the past six hundred years. One could say that everyone in Myriad Domain had been living in the shadows of infinite anxiety for the past six hundred years, fearful of none other than the residents of the Great Scarlet Mid Region.
The Great Scarlet Mid Region was the Myriad’s Domain’s eternal nightmare! They naturally hoped that this nightmare would never return to Myriad Domain. However, their biggest fear had now manifested before them.
There was at least be a chance to compromise with the Ninesuns Sky Sect, even if the Myriad Domain didn’t measure up to them. However, the Great Scarlet Mid Region and the Myriad Domain shared a blood feud that was as deep as the sea. Not a single shred of possibility existed for a compromise. Everyone’s heart sank in that moment. However, the revelation had also caused their fear and shock to gradually fade away. Instead, the determination to fight to their deaths slowly welled up inside everyone. To put it bluntly, their opponents had come with nothing but the intention to slaughter them. They could either stand and accept their deaths, or grasp that slim hope to survive by lining their path with the bones of their enemies. There was no other choice. .
…...
The four leaders of the Great Scarlet Mid Region all wore confident smiles on their faces. In fact, barely hidden beneath that smirk was the ridicule that a person might have when toying with their prey.
“Brother Xing, your Qitian Sect is most versed in prolonged offensive tactics and siege battles. Why don’t you and your sect take charge in this battle to break through the formation?” A man clad in golden robes smiled merrily at another tall and thin man dressed in black robes.
“Brother Fu, I think it be better if your Golden Glyph Sect takes the lead. Whoever leads the siege will undoubtedly suffer some injuries, and your sect is unmatched when it comes to talismans. At worst, you might use up a bit more resources than expected.” The black dressed man obviously hadn’t fallen for the golden clad man’s words.
These two men were the heads of the Great Scarlet Mid Region’s fourth rank sects: the Qitian Sect and the Golden Glyph Sect. They were both second level emperor realm cultivators. It was obvious that no one here was willing to take the lead in this battle. Although they all knew that they held the advantage, the ones who led the charge would obviously bear the brunt of the cost.
They were here under orders, and were motivated more by the pillaging and plundering to come. No one wanted to suffer too much of a loss from this battle. As the emperor realm cultivators conversed, the blue robed man with blue eyebrows suddenly frowned, “Brother Xing, Brother Fu, haven’t you noticed something? There are only four out of the six great fourth rank sects of Myriad Domain here. Where did that last sect go?”
This blue robed man had a long beard and a dark, cold countenance. He stared at the Myriad Domain cultivators like a venomous snake, as if unwilling to let a single morsel of prey slip through his hands.