Chapter 171 - 168: Strange Tactics

Chapter 171: Chapter 168: Strange Tactics"Kid, you’ve crossed paths with our Sacred Church time and again, and I haven’t even started looking for trouble with you, yet here you are, delivering yourself to my doorstep?" the puppet Demon General’s gaze was icy as he stared at Ye Xuan, speaking in a chilling tone. While speaking, the puppet Demon General’s gaze also subtly swept across the surrounding forest—if everyone from the Heavenly Martial Hall had come, the situation would indeed be difficult to predict. "I’m not so idle that I go around picking fights with your Black Demon Sect all the time; it’s just that every time, your schemes fall upon my head, and I have no choice but to fight back. I think today your Black Demon Sect won’t be able to annihilate Green Leaf Valley either, so why not just retreat now? It’ll save us both a fight." Ye Xuan’s face was calm, and he appeared composed, but inside, his heart was anything but still. At the moment, the forces of Green Leaf Valley had been decimated, leaving only a few straggling survivors, while the Black Demon Sect still had an overwhelming number of followers. If a fight really broke out, he could at most protect himself. "Haha, just like that, retreat? Kid, you’ve killed the Yama Ghost General of my Sacred Church and still dare to show yourself so arrogantly before the Black Demon Sect. Now that you’ve crossed my path today, do you think you can still escape?" The puppet Demon General let out a cold laugh. Realizing that Ye Xuan had come alone, his killing intent surged. Ye Xuan was a highly sought-after fugitive within the Black Demon Sect—if he could be slain here, it would indeed rid them of a significant thorn in their side. "What, Ye Xuan actually killed the Yama Ghost General?" Song Peifeng and Elder Zhao looked at each other from not far behind, their faces showing a hint of shock. The Yama Ghost General was an even more troublesome entity than the puppet Demon General and had actually fallen at the hands of Ye Xuan? But what they didn’t know was that Ye Xuan had killed the Yama Ghost General back when he was still a Seventh Grade Martial Master. It was only possible because the latter’s strength had been exhausted due to a seal, allowing Ye Xuan to succeed. If it had been in his prime, even the current Ye Xuan would likely not be a match. Seeing the surge of aggressive energy in the puppet Demon General, Ye Xuan’s face also quickly became solemn. He then turned to look at Song Peifeng and the others and shouted, "You all go first, I’ll cover you!" Green Leaf Valley was comprised of the wounded at this point, staying behind would only hold Ye Xuan back. Once they all retreated, Ye Xuan would find an opportunity to escape, which wouldn’t be too difficult. "But..." Song Peifeng and Elder Zhao hesitated. The enemy was the puppet Demon General, and there were also dozens of Black Demon Sect followers. Leaving Ye Xuan alone here would make his chances of survival extremely slim. "Hurry up!" Ye Xuan turned around, his voice booming loudly through the camp once again. "Go!" Knowing that Ye Xuan had made up his mind, Song Peifeng no longer hesitated. He immediately helped the injured Elder Zhao and led the Green Leaf Valley disciples, quickly retreating toward the forest behind them. "Thinking of running? Everyone must die for me, attack, leave no survivors!" The puppet Demon General sneered. With a wave of his hand, the throng of black-clad shadows burst forth, their cold weapons cutting through the air toward Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan ignored the Black Demon Sect followers charging at him, his gaze locked solely on the puppet Demon General. As those followers moved within several meters around him, Ye Xuan’s figure suddenly leaped into the air, and the Spiritual Edge Sword on his back unsheathed aggressively. As he spun in mid-air, sword Qi swept out like a fierce snowstorm descending from the heavens, landing amidst the swarm of black-clad shadows. In an instant, blood splattered, and the ten or so leading men were either dead or injured, the formation instantly collapsing. "Kid, you’re courting death!" A glint of darkness flashed in the puppet Demon General’s eyes. Stepping forward, he left multiple afterimages and approached within a dozen meters of Ye Xuan. He then struck out with his palm, and a dozen extremely fine black gleams transformed into needles of light, silently shooting toward Ye Xuan from the air. True Qi was compressed into thin lines with terrifying penetrative power. Seeing this, Ye Xuan’s pupils slightly contracted, and then his hand left the sword hilt, pinching it only with his thumb and index finger, the blade shaking rapidly as if twirling, impenetrable, and a dozen light arrays were all blocked right in front of him, igniting sparks successively. "Bloodthirsty Palm!" With a loud shout, the puppet Demon General struck fiercely, True Qi crazily condensing on his right palm. Faintly, a Blood Seal appeared in the center of his palm, emitting bloodthirsty fluctuations, and then he slapped out aggressively. The Blood Seal swelled against the wind and grew to about a meter in size, smashing fiercely towards Ye Xuan. Before his body had completely fallen, upon seeing the Blood Seal coming straight at him, Ye Xuan cut vertically through the air with his sword. The sharp Sword Qi expanded into an enormous sword and cleaved into the Blood Seal. Boom! Ye Xuan’s all-out strike hacked heavily upon the Blood Seal, followed immediately by an extremely powerful surge of violent energy. It swept out like a storm, even splitting the ground beneath with several fissures, and the dust and pebbles whirled up and around. At this time, in the forest behind them, Song Peifeng, Elder Zhao, and the others had already escaped some distance. And even though they were quite far away, they could still faintly sense the trace of the battle, which was particularly terrifying. "Peifeng, it seems you know this friend Ye Xuan? What exactly is your relationship with him that he would risk such great dangers to save us?" Elder Zhao was somewhat puzzled. Although the Six Great Sects belonged to the righteous path and were at odds with the Black Demon Sect, they were not a united front; instead, there were conflicts. Ye Xuan going to such lengths to save them was beyond his expectations. Seeing that Song Peifeng seemed to know Ye Xuan, he asked this question. "I think it must be because of Elder Xi from before." Song Peifeng was also able to guess the reason, and immediately he recounted what had happened at Panlong Mountain. After he finished speaking, Elder Zhao suddenly looked enlightened and nodded, "I didn’t expect Elder Xi’s momentary fondness for talent would actually help us resolve a deadly crisis. This Ye Xuan is truly loyal and righteous." "Indeed, I hope he can turn danger into safety." With a sigh, Song Peifeng turned his gaze toward the direction of the battle, his eyes revealing a trace of worry. Facing the puppet Demon General and so many Black Demon Sect disciples alone, the odds were not in his favor. Whoosh! Suddenly, a bright light flashed not far ahead, and then several figures swiftly soared towards them, surprising Song Peifeng. He cried out loud, "Who’s there?" With an alert expression, Song Peifeng drew the long sword from his waist and aimed it at the approaching figures. "It’s us, disciples of the Heavenly Martial Hall." Under the watchful eyes of the Green Leaf Valley disciples, the figures revealed themselves. Leading the way was the slender figure of Ling Qianxue, followed by Leng Ruofeng, Lu Yan, and other Heavenly Martial Hall disciples. Recognizing Ling Qianxue and the others, Song Peifeng and Elder Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, it was a false alarm. "You all managed to escape?" Surprise flickered in Ling Qianxue’s beautiful eyes as she scanned the Green Leaf Valley people, and then her expression changed, "Where’s Ye Xuan?" She had gone back for reinforcements. Ye Xuan had said he would go to take a look first. Now, seeing the state of the Green Leaf Valley people after a fierce battle, the survivors must have escaped. But where was Ye Xuan? "Ye Xuan, that’s right, you must hurry to save him. He stayed to cover our retreat, and now he’s alone, fighting the puppet Demon General and leading over a hundred Black Demon Sect disciples. You need to get there fast; it might be too late otherwise." Song Peifeng’s eyes shifted as he urgently said. "What? Is this guy out of his mind!" Hearing this, Ling Qianxue’s pretty face changed dramatically, and a surge of anger followed. This guy, he said he was just going to take a look, yet he acted recklessly without even waiting for reinforcements. The puppet Demon General’s methods were sinister and unpredictable. An ordinary Martial Artist couldn’t guard against them; you could become the puppet controlled in the palm of the general without realizing it. Even she, a Second Grade Martial Sect, was very wary of the puppet Demon General’s power, and Ye Xuan had dared to face him alone, along with over a hundred Black Demon Sect disciples. It was an act completely disregarding his own life. She had always seen him as quite shrewd. Why did he act so recklessly this time? "I will lead the way for you, let’s set out immediately," said Song Peifeng, stepping forward to offer. "Good." Ling Qianxue nodded and waved her hand, "Leave a few disciples to escort the people from Green Leaf Valley. Everyone else, follow me at once!" With that, she stamped her foot, her figure darted like a snow lotus into the forest canopy, stepping on tree branches as she hurried in the direction pointed out by Song Peifeng. Green Leaf Valley camp. "Great Corpse Control Skill!" The puppet Demon General spread his ten fingers as if countless black threads extended from their tips. These threads were extremely eerie, like parasites; once they touched flesh, they could stick tightly to it with formidable adhesion. Creak, creak! The moment his palms reached out, all the corpses around Ye Xuan, which had been silent until now, quivered and rose to their feet. Like zombies, they flailed and pounced towards Ye Xuan. Bodies surrounded him on all sides, at least thirty or forty in total, and as they did, the Black Demon Sect disciples began to stir. They followed the puppet corpses, waiting for Ye Xuan to make a move and then, like poisonous snakes, to deliver a lethal bite. Faced with such a dense offense, Ye Xuan’s expression grew solemn. When the zombie puppets were mere meters away, he suddenly grasped his sword with both hands, then unleashed fearsome Sword Qi, driving his Spiritual Edge Sword fiercely into the ground. Crack! The ground split open, and the vast sword pressure swept out in all directions, instantly blowing all those zombie puppets away. "Kill!" However, at that moment, the Black Demon Sect disciples used the bodies of the puppet corpses to leap out from every direction, encircling him in a formidable array, all attacking Ye Xuan at once.