Xiantian

"Enemy attack."

He gave a low shout immediately.

The other seven inner disciples had been resting in various positions, but upon hearing the warning from Li Gan, they all reacted instantly.

Thwip, thwip, thwip.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air followed.

"Argh."

Someone let out a muffled groan, followed immediately by an angry roar: "I've been hit! Damn it, the arrows are poisoned."

Everyone's heart sank.

A midnight ambush.

Using crossbows and poisoned arrows—the attackers were definitely no simple foes.

At this moment, aside from the lanterns in the courtyard, the surroundings were pitch black.

There was no telling how many enemies had arrived.

Li Gan had already drawn his sword.

Within his line of sight, black shadows leaped down from the rooftops.

Suddenly, one figure charged straight at Li Gan, the blade's light fierce, tearing through the darkness.

Li Gan narrowed his eyes and instantly channeled the sound of the chen bell.

Accompanied by a chime, it transformed into a mental attack, striking the opponent and causing a momentary disruption.

However, because he was too far from the main body of the chen bell, the attack formed by the chime was not strong; it only provided a slight interference.

Even so, it was enough to grant Li Gan a certain initiative advantage.

He flicked his sword, his internal qi erupting, and the blade's edge flickered as it slashed across the opponent's throat.

The man immediately clutched his throat, his long blade dropping to the ground. With a gurgling sound, his body convulsed before he collapsed to the ground.

At this moment, a flash of sword light suddenly lunged from the side.

A film of qi covered Li Gan's body. The sword light struck it as if hitting a layer of thick hide; it failed to pierce through and instead slid to the side.

He took the opportunity to deliver a backhanded strike, plunging his sword into the man's chest.

In less than a single breath, two enemies had died by Li Gan's blade.

The entire courtyard had descended into a slaughter.

"Quick, everyone, gather toward me!"

Ji Su shouted loudly.

Hearing this, the others retreated while fighting, moving toward Ji Su's position.

As the strongest among them, Ji Su had become the backbone of the group amidst the chaotic melee.

Once they gathered and formed a defensive formation, the situation of fighting individually finally came to an end.

Almost everyone was wounded.

The most severely injured was the inner disciple Wang Xiangyu. With an arrow lodged in his shoulder and his face deathly pale, he was already sitting on the ground against the wall, his condition looking grim.

Li Gan finally managed to gauge the number of enemies.

There were about seventeen or eighteen people in the courtyard.

On the rooftops, there were several more, holding repeating crossbows in their hands.

At this moment, they ceased their attacks and surrounded the seven of them tightly.

Such a commotion had long since awakened everyone resting in the merchant caravan.

Yet, no one dared to come out; they all hid inside their rooms.

Whoosh!

A figure leaped down from the roof.

It was a burly man in black with his face masked, wielding a ghost-head broadsword. The aura radiating from his body was terrifying.

"You should know that we have been showing mercy. If you stand aside now and watch, we will take the goods and leave. That way, it will be good for everyone."

The masked man in black swept his cold, sharp gaze over the seven of them and said in a deep voice.

"Delusional. If we let you take the goods, where would the Divine Sword Sect's reputation be?"

Ji Su flicked her long sword, pointed it at the masked man, and snorted coldly.

Although she did not know what the Yongcheng merchant caravan was transporting that had attracted so many enemies, she knew these attackers were not weak.

Especially the masked man before her, who gave her an intense sense of threat.

It indicated that the opponent was at least a martial artist of the postnatal realm seventh layer.

I thought this escort mission would be relatively simple, but I never expected the risks to be this high.

If they allowed the other party to snatch the goods away, it would inevitably damage the prestige of the Divine Sword Sect.

Upon returning, they would also face accountability from the sect.

"Heh, since you are all so foolish, don't blame me for being impolite. It's not like people from the Divine Sword Sect can't be killed."

The burly man in black with a masked face sneered. He moved instantly, the ghost-head blade in his hand erupting with a terrifying blade glow as he slashed fiercely toward Ji Su, who was standing at the very front.

Ji Su let out a sharp cry, her long sword trembling and flicking as layers of sword shadows bloomed like a peacock spreading its tail.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Blade and sword collided, triggering a violent surge of internal qi.

Accompanied by a muffled groan, the long sword flew from Ji Su's hand, and a terrifying blade aura struck her heavily.

Her protective qi shield could not withstand it at all and was torn apart in an instant.

Blood sprayed through the air.

Ji Su groaned as her body flew backward, slamming heavily against the wall before sliding down, knocking the already extremely weak Wang Xiang unconscious in the process.

"Postnatal realm ninth layer."

Ji Su spat out a mouthful of blood, staring fixedly at the masked man in black. She tried to climb to her feet, but she lacked the strength to do so.

A shocking blade wound had appeared on her chest, blood gushing out and staining her white clothes red.

If the protective qi shield hadn't weakened the power of the blade aura, Ji Su feared she would have been disemboweled.

Even so, she had suffered heavy injuries and lost all combat capability.

The other inner disciples were utterly shocked.

Senior Sister Ji Su was not even a match for a single blow before being heavily wounded.

"Senior Sister Ji is a personal disciple of the green-robed elder of Yuping Peak in our Divine Sword Sect. You dare to hurt her? The green-robed elder will not let you off!"

One inner disciple said, his voice stern and fierce.

Among the group, Ji Su not only had the highest cultivation but also the highest status.

Although she was only a personal disciple of an ordinary elder, her status was still far higher than that of an ordinary inner disciple.

It was equivalent to having an elder as a backer.

"Hmph, I gave her a chance, but it's a pity she didn't cherish it. In that case, all of you can just go to hell."

The burly man in black, his face masked, let out a cold sneer.

He hated these disciples of prestigious sects more than anything in his life. They were full of themselves, arrogant, and truly believed the pugilistic world was just a playground.

"Attack. Kill them all."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and his numerous subordinates swarmed forward.

Those standing on the rooftops seized the opportunity to fire crossbow bolts.

In an instant, the group found themselves in a desperate situation.

Li Gan swung his precious sword repeatedly, parrying the incoming crossbow bolts, but he also had to guard against the fierce close-quarters attacks of his enemies.

He had no choice but to circulate his internal qi, channeling it through the Chen bell to construct a protective qi shield to deflect the stray arrows.

However, the rate at which his internal qi was being consumed was far too fast.

Suddenly, Li Gan felt a chill run down his spine. His heart tightened, and he couldn't help but glance over, only to see the masked man in black, who was wielding a ghost-head broadsword, staring directly at him.

Clearly, his performance had drawn the man's attention.

Compared to the other inner disciples, Li Gan's situation was far better; not only had he blocked all the attacks, but he was also able to counterattack and wound his enemies.

"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect the Divine Sword Sect to have sent two elite disciples."

The masked man in black sneered and prepared to take action himself.

But just then, a cold snort echoed from the darkness outside. "How bold of you, to dare injure disciples of my Divine Sword Sect."

Following that, a figure soared out from the night sky like a nightingale. Streaks of sword light bloomed, as brilliant and resplendent as fireworks filling the sky.

When these sword qi strikes landed on the men in black, they pierced through them, leaving behind bloody holes.

In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so men in black who had been surrounding Li Gan and the other inner disciples all collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Xiantian."

Even the strongest masked man in black could not withstand a single streak of sword qi. It pierced directly through the top of his head, and blood gushed out in a truly gruesome fashion.

His eyes bulged wide, and he spat out two indistinct words.