One man and one sword darted through the water. Wherever Niu Youdao passed, the cold gleam in his hand carved out clouds of blood-red water.
The interceptors descended into chaos. Blood blossomed from some of them as they clutched their wounds in panic and hurried toward the surface. Others flailed their limbs briefly, then went still, their bodies floating and sinking helplessly in the water.
Some who had surfaced slowly sank back down. The remaining interceptors ahead were so frightened that they scattered aside.
Niu Youdao had already broken through at high speed.
The Origin Return Sect's five Supreme Elders were greatly shocked. In a single clash, Niu Youdao had caused seven or eight Golden Core disciples of the Origin Return Sect to be killed or injured. What cultivation did this Niu Youdao possess?
The five immediately attacked at full speed in person.
Yet after chasing for a while, they discovered that, even with the cultivation of all five of them, they could not catch up to Niu Youdao underwater.
With a hand signal, two Supreme Elders continued the pursuit while the other three shot out of the water, flashed across the surface in the direction Niu Youdao had fled, then plunged back underwater to cut him off.
Several hundred cultivators also rose and fell across the lake's surface, joining the interception.
The old men, fellow sect members for many years, worked together with flawless coordination. A casual sound underwater was enough for them to know how to shift position and intercept.
Before long, the five men blocked Niu Youdao again. A group of cultivators appeared around and above him as well, floating there with tigerish gazes.
Though he was somewhat wary of the five, Niu Youdao did not dare delay. He charged headlong in one direction.
The five thrust