Sword Like Thunderclap

Cloud Canvas slowly descended from the sky. As they descended, the girls looked around and saw that the terrain of Beast God Ridge was steep and perilous, frighteningly so. Many places in the Great Wilderness seemed gloomy, and some seemed dangerous, but this place seemed strange and sinister, making even these cheerful girls grow solemn.

When Cloud Canvas landed, Tao Daier took out the small cloth pouch and began muttering an incantation. The clouds immediately slipped into the pouch, and after a moment, the Cloud Canvas spanning several dozen yards had all been collected inside.

Yu Feiyan strode forward and said, "Junior Sisters, the Sword Gate's reward for this mission is generous. Quite a few disciples have come to Beast God Ridge, and some of them set out before us. We mustn't delay any longer. Let's head straight into the depths of Beast God Ridge and kill the Demonic Beasts causing trouble!"

Ting Lanyue hurried to catch up. "Senior Sister, the elites of the Ten Great Clans have come down this time, and there are quite a few formidable figures among them, such as Shui Qinghe and Lei Gun. There are also remarkable women, like Li Xiuniang of the Lishan Clan and Mu Qingxuan of the Mushang Clan. Senior Sister, are you confident you can defeat them?"

Yu Feiyan shook her head. "It's said that the mental power of Li Xiuniang, Mu Qingxuan, and the others has already reached the level of transforming the void into reality. In terms of mental power, they're indeed somewhat stronger than me. They're core disciples of their respective clans, selected through severe trials and cultivated from childhood, with spiritual medicines piled into them. Naturally, they have extraordinary abilities. My Youyu Clan also has other core disciples who are no weaker than them. But if they want me to admit defeat, they'll have to fight me first! Junior Brother Zhong, you've fought Shui Qinghe before. Tell me, how does his strength compare to mine?"

One girl after another turned to look at Zhong Yue, clearly very concerned about the matter.

Zhong Yue thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Senior Sister, you're somewhat inferior to Shui Qinghe."

Yu Feiyan glared at him and snorted. "How can victory or defeat be decided without a fight? And Junior Brother Zhong, I'd also very much like to spar with you. After you fought Shui Qinghe, I became even more curious about what you're capable of!"

"Junior Brother Zhong, when did you become the number one in the Men's Court?"

Tao Daier smiled. "The current number one in the Men's Court is Senior Brother Han Qingmo, who is as famous as Senior Sister Yu. He's also an extraordinary figure. If you defeat him, you'll become the number one in the Men's Court."

Zhong Yue smiled. "Is an empty reputation really that important?"

"How could it not be?"

The girls chattered over one another. "If you obtain the title of number one in the Upper Court, you'll earn the admiration of the female disciples of our Women's Court and captivate ten thousand young maidens!"

"You'll also win the favor of the Sword Gate's Qi Warriors. All kinds of treasures, spirit pills, and cultivation arts will be bestowed upon you, more than you could ever use!"

"You'll even have people follow you and work for you! Raise your arm, and followers will gather from all directions!"

Zhong Yue was dumbstruck. He stammered, "There are benefits like that too? But captivating ten thousand young maidens can be left out. It's not much use to me. Right now, what I really need are spirit pills and cultivation arts..."

The girls all spat at him. "Senior Brother Han is as famous as Senior Sister Yu. There's no way you'll defeat him! If you want to become number one in the Upper Court, wait until next year!"

"Senior Brother Han is wise, mighty, and devastatingly handsome! Beat down that little devil of the Zhongshan Clan!"

Suddenly, Yu Feiyan's expression tightened. "Silence. There's a Demonic Beast nearby!"

The girls grew tense at once. They immediately stood back-to-back in pairs and took out their Totem Pillars, ready for battle.

Zhong Yue also gathered his spirit, but at that moment, he suddenly felt warmth against his back. A soft body pressed against him. He turned his head and saw a girl's hair and snow-white neck. Tao Daier turned back and smiled sweetly. With her red lips and pearly teeth, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her feminine fragrance drifted over, seemingly thinning the tense atmosphere around them.

Zhong Yue looked around and saw that the girls' Totem Pillars were only about a foot long and quite delicate. Yet the totem patterns on them were extremely complex, carved with phoenix patterns. They were clearly of a relatively high grade.

The ground trembled faintly. Suddenly, the vibrations grew denser and more violent. The earth rose and fell like waves, and in the next moment, one Feiyi after another appeared in their sight!

Hundreds of Feiyi looked like giant lizards. Their bodies were covered in scales, they stood taller than a person, and their legs were thick and powerful, but their bodies were six or seven yards long. They came charging over with thunderous howls.

"Don't sacrifice your soul weapons!"

Yu Feiyan spoke rapidly. "Feiyi eat metal and iron. Their bellies are full of acid. If a soul weapon is bitten, it'll be corroded immediately! Set down the Totem Pillars at once and activate the Phoenix Totem!"

Thud, thud, thud!

One Totem Pillar after another struck the ground. The phoenix patterns on them lit up, and the patterns on dozens of Totem Pillars linked together, transforming into a phoenix floating above the girls.

"This is an array formation?"

Zhong Yue was astonished. He examined the phoenix formed by the Totem Pillars and immediately sensed its terrifying power. It was equivalent to a cultivation art for visualizing a phoenix, while also gathering the girls' strength together to visualize that phoenix!

The phoenix was highly condensed, nearly solidified. Its power was certainly astonishing!

Whoosh—

The Phoenix Totem beat its wings. Balls of flame over three yards wide rolled out from beneath its wings and flew toward the onrushing Feiyi. When the fireballs fell into the herd, they suddenly exploded with booming blasts. Each fireball rapidly expanded dozens of times when it erupted, terrifying as an explosion, blasting the Feiyi into pieces. In an instant, countless numbers of them were dead!

The other Feiyi began shrieking wildly and fled in all directions. The girls sighed in relief, but then the ground suddenly trembled. Holes split open beneath their feet, and the girls cried out in alarm as fleshy red tentacles drilled out of the earth. They had no eyes, ears, noses, or tongues—only enormous mouths that descended over the girls' heads!

Before one girl could even scream, a fleshy tentacle's gaping mouth covered her little head. The tentacle wriggled and began swallowing her downward, shoulders and all.

"Don't panic. They're Great Mountain Earthworms! Flying Goose Startled Swan!"

Yu Feiyan gave a cold snort and threw out both arms. The Flying Geese she had visualized flew out one after another, skimming low over the ground. Their wings slashed repeatedly, severing the tentacles one after another. The girl whose head had been swallowed hurriedly tore the severed Great Mountain Earthworm off herself.

Ting Lanyue visualized rainwater to wash the filth from her body. The other girls cried out, "Many of our Totem Pillars have been swallowed!"

"The Great Mountain Earthworms are coming again! The Feiyi are coming too!"

The ground bulged. More fleshy tentacles shot out from underground, while the Feiyi fleeing in all directions came thundering back one after another. They opened their bloody maws and pounced on the girls!

Yu Feiyan's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly shouted, "You deal with the Feiyi. I'll cut down the Great Mountain Earthworms..."

Before she finished speaking, Zhong Yue suddenly stamped his foot hard. The earth rumbled and shook. A thunderous explosion erupted from underground, and electric light raced wildly beneath the ground!

Boom—

The earth split open, forming a crack six or seven yards long. Then a huge ball of flesh as large as a hill rolled out of the fissure, still smoking.

This charred ball of flesh was at least five or six yards across. It was covered in earthworm-like tentacles, scorched black by the thunder. It was so dead it could not possibly die any further!

At the same time, lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the sky. Bolt after bolt of thunder transformed into sword qi and shot in every direction. Then the countless streaks of Lei Sword Qi suddenly converged, leaving hundreds of Feiyi corpses strewn across the ground.

More than thirty girls turned in unison toward Zhong Yue. He held the Dragon Blood Sword Box at his feet, but the sword box itself had not moved. What moved was the Thunderclap Sword Art visualized through his mental power.

Beneath his feet, meanwhile, was a gigantic dragon claw, like the mark left by a giant flood dragon walking past.

"How terrifying..."

The girls sucked in breaths of cold air. Yu Feiyan gave Zhong Yue a deep look, astonishment in her eyes. Could Shui Qinghe be this strong too? If he really is, I'm afraid I wouldn't be his match either...

Ting Lanyue looked up at the ball of flesh, which was seven or eight adults tall, and exclaimed, "This is the true form of a Great Mountain Earthworm? Our Totem Pillars must be inside its belly, right? Should we cut it open?"

"Great Mountain Earthworms have astonishing digestive abilities. These Demonic Beasts can travel underground, eating soil when they encounter soil, stone when they encounter stone, and metal when they encounter metal. The Totem Pillars are only carved from wood. They've long since been completely digested."

Yu Feiyan composed herself and shook her head. "If Junior Sister Rou'er had been swallowed just now, there probably wouldn't even be bones left of her."

Junior Sister Rou'er was startled. She hurriedly patted her chest, still shaken.

Zhong Yue suddenly sensed something. He looked into the distance and saw a cloud of pink miasma several miles away, drifting like a giant mushroom. He could not help frowning slightly and said in a low voice, "Unsheathe!"

Click—

The Dragon Blood Sword Box at his feet suddenly opened. A black-gold sword light shot through the air with a hiss. The next moment, it had flown several miles away, slicing through the air like a startled swan and lightning!

Yu Feiyan and the others were startled and hurriedly looked over. The mushroom-like cloud of miasma was pierced by the sword light and suddenly shattered. Then the sword light flew back, while torrents of rain suddenly poured down from the place where the miasma had broken apart. Yet the sword light was not touched by even a drop of rain.

Then the rain vanished abruptly, as though it had never appeared.

The Dragon Scale Sword flew back. Zhong Yue raised his hand and caught the hilt, only to see a smear of blood on the blade. His thunderous sword strike had pierced through the miasma and wounded the creature hiding inside.

"Senior Sister Yu, something seems wrong. The Feiyi attacked us, and the Great Mountain Earthworms took the opportunity to ambush us from underground. No—they weren't ambushing us. They were pulling away our Totem Pillars. These creatures seem to be trying specifically to break our Phoenix Totem visualization array! Would ordinary Demonic Beasts possess such intelligence?"

Zhong Yue flicked the Dragon Scale Sword with a finger, shaking the blood from the blade without leaving behind a single drop. He raised his hand and returned the Dragon Scale Sword to its box. "Moreover, after I killed the Great Mountain Earthworm and the Feiyi just now, someone was secretly watching me. I sensed their gaze and sent out a sword strike. Now that there's blood on the sword, it proves that someone was secretly controlling the Great Mountain Earthworm and the Feiyi. That's why they attacked us!"

Yu Feiyan frowned slightly. Ting Lanyue nodded. "It is indeed strange. These Demonic Beasts also seem much stronger than before."

"Everyone, be careful."

Yu Feiyan spoke gravely. "There's definitely something strange about Beast God Ridge. We'll go in and investigate. If we encounter danger, Peachie, immediately summon Cloud Canvas and escape with everyone!"

Tao Daier nodded emphatically.

The girls put away the remaining Totem Pillars and continued forward. Before long, they reached the place where Zhong Yue's sword qi had fallen. The miasma had already dispersed, leaving fist-sized pits across the ground. They were clearly the marks left by the falling rain!

"This rain actually corroded the stone and soil into this state. Its poison is astonishingly fierce!"

Yu Feiyan's heart jolted. Then it jolted again when she saw a large hole where the miasma had been cut apart. The walls of the hole were smooth and rounded, and the opening was fully four or five yards across. No one knew what had left it, but there was also blood around the entrance.

Clearly, the thing Zhong Yue had wounded had escaped underground through this place!

The hole was so large that the creature which had burrowed away was clearly terrifyingly huge!