Fang Shuwen swung the black-robed man in a wide arc, sweeping him savagely toward the people around him.
Their movement techniques were indeed extraordinary, but they could not escape Fang Shuwen's eyes.
His sweep cut straight across the path Feng Mantian and Guan Tianyue had to take.
Bang! Bang!
Two figures were sent flying backward. Both twisted in midair: Feng Mantian landed on his feet, while Guan Tianyue rolled across the ground.
At this point, whether he was willing to accept it or not, Feng Mantian understood that the tide had turned against him.
Although his martial arts were the strongest among this group, even he could not kill so many people in one go.
But Fang Shuwen could...
So he had no confidence at all against Fang Shuwen.
If this had been right after Li Nanchen's death, he would have fought Fang Shuwen to the death. But now he had recovered from that state of extreme agitation, and thought, As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood!
He had endured thirty years of keeping his head down. Could he not endure a little longer?
This fellow has already brought a great disaster upon himself. Sooner or later, he'll die. Why fight over a few more days?
With that thought, he turned and saw Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan.
He immediately reached out to grab them!
Xu Chongshan and Zuo Qingshuang had been watching the battle at all times. Seeing Feng Mantian suddenly attack them, how could they be willing to surrender without a fight?
They immediately drew their swords, ready to fight him until the fish died and the net split.
But just as they thrust their swords forward, Feng Mantian suddenly turned. Like a wisp of black smoke, he flashed past their side and hooked his five fingers toward Zhou Qingmei!
This was no hasty decision, but one he had thought through carefully.
Lu Xiaoqing was now gravely injured and would actually have been easier to seize.
The problem was that she could not walk at present.
Bringing her along would be a tremendous burden.
Zhou Qingmei was different... Fang Shuwen had come all the way from Julu City with her. It could be said that if he had not been protecting Zhou Qingmei, Fang Shuwen would never have waded into these muddy waters.
So threatening Fang Shuwen with anyone else would be useless, but Zhou Qingmei was certain to work.
She was the key to his escape!
Seeing this, Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan both cursed inwardly.
Zhou Qingmei was Zuo Qingshuang's disciple, and she knew full well how outstanding her disciple was. The problem was that, however outstanding a disciple might be, someone Zhou Qingmei's age could not possibly contend with an old devil like Feng Mantian.
She would surely fall into his hands in a single move.
It was already too late to turn back and stop him.
They could only watch helplessly as Feng Mantian's five fingers descended toward Zhou Qingmei's neck... But when they were less than an inch away, Feng Mantian's movement abruptly stopped.
It was not that he did not want to continue, but that he could not!
A hand broke through the Black Sha True Qi and landed on his shoulder without a speck of dust upon it.
The Black Sha True Qi twisted and struggled ceaselessly, seemingly using every bit of its power to resist the hand... Yet it could not budge it in the slightest.
Fang Shuwen's voice sounded beside his ear, carrying a chill that made Feng Mantian's scalp tingle:
"What are you going to do to my employer?"
At that instant, wisps of fear rose in Feng Mantian's heart.
It was no wonder this old devil was alarmed. Thirty years ago, he had roamed the martial world unchecked, prompting the seven great sects to join forces against him.
The main reason was that Fang Shuwen's record was truly astonishing.
The experts Feng Mantian had brought, himself included, could not even put up a decent struggle against Fang Shuwen.
Every time Fang Shuwen struck, someone died, each death more gruesome than the last.
He was ruthless and vicious, killing without so much as a blink.
If everyone on the righteous path were like him, there would have been no place for their demonic cults long ago.
Feng Mantian had just tried to seize Zhou Qingmei amid the chaos to make Fang Shuwen wary of harming her, but had failed. A counterattack was certain to follow.
I absolutely can't die here!!
Feng Mantian's heart sank. With a furious roar, he unleashed the [Black Sha Demonic Art] without the slightest reservation. Eerie demonic sounds rang out in the air, attempting to throw people's minds into chaos.
He could not break free of the hand on his shoulder, so he stopped trying.
He tapped the ground with his foot and slammed straight toward Fang Shuwen's chest.
The force of this charge was extraordinary. Although the [Black Sha Demonic Art] had its limits,
Feng Mantian had already been an expert back then, and had amassed thirty years of arduous cultivation. His charge was no less than a mountain toppling over.
An ordinary person, let alone blocking it, would have their True Qi choked off and their tendons and bones broken by even a glancing blow.
Though Feng Mantian did not hope to do much to Fang Shuwen with this all-out attack, he should at least have been able to break free and force Fang Shuwen back a little.
But in the next instant, his heart skipped a beat.
It did not budge an inch!!
Fang Shuwen's hand seemed to hold heaven and earth apart. No matter how much strength Feng Mantian exerted, he could not move it the slightest bit.
"How is this possible?"
Feng Mantian was horrified!
Even Lou Yuxiao would have had to step aside before the full force of that attack.
How could it have turned out like this against Fang Shuwen?
Where on earth had this freak come from?
"You want to ram me, do you?"
Fang Shuwen's voice drifted into his ears:
"Then I'll grant your wish."
As the words left his mouth, he swung his arm, and Feng Mantian felt a terrifying, irresistible force fling him behind Fang Shuwen.
Just as he staggered and lost his footing, Fang Shuwen suddenly rammed him with his whole body.
"I..."
Feng Mantian still wanted to say something, but it was too late. The next instant, he felt as though he had been struck by a mountain.
The immense force spread from his chest to his limbs in the blink of an eye.
Before he could fully feel what had happened to his limbs, his whole body vanished from where he had been with a whoosh.
Then came an enormous crash!!
The hall's inner wall was smashed straight through. Feng Mantian had not lived up to his title as the Black Sha Cult's leader for nothing: he was still alive. He rolled over and scrambled to his feet.
Before he could even spit out a mouthful of blood, Fang Shuwen was already in front of him.
Fang Shuwen clamped five fingers around his head, lifted him bodily, and slammed him hard into the ground!
"Wah!!"
Blood spurted from all seven orifices at once. Fang Shuwen raised his right fist, and the [Four Seas Dragon Fist] came crashing down.
Bang!
Bang!!
Bang!!!
After three successive punches, the light in Feng Mantian's eyes had completely and utterly vanished.
Having done all this, Fang Shuwen raised his head.
At that moment, everyone felt their scalps tingle and avoided meeting his eyes... So everyone appeared very busy.
Some scratched their ears and cheeks, while others looked this way and that.
As they glanced around, someone actually spotted something and pointed toward the hall entrance:
"Guan Tianyue is getting away!!"
When Guan Tianyue heard that, he felt like cursing someone's mother.
Which bastard had tattled?
If Fang Shuwen had not broken one of his legs earlier, he would have escaped long ago... He had finally managed to crawl this far while that fiend was not paying attention to him and everyone else was focused on Fang Shuwen and Feng Mantian, only for all his efforts to come to nothing!
He tried to speed up, not hesitating to use his internal force. Pushing off with both palms, he leaped up like a giant toad.
But a huge shadow suddenly fell over him. He looked up and saw Xu Chongshan, his face covered in blood, looking down at him.
P.S.: Today is the last time I'll post them separately. Starting tomorrow, I'll post both chapters together at six in the afternoon... so you won't feel like you've barely read anything after just two thousand characters...
This part really has dragged on a little too long, and I'm a bit embarrassed myself. Sigh, ultimately I was limited by the length. I'll put out the remaining two chapters to wrap it up for everyone.