At this moment, the sixteen Seven Kill Sect death warriors fused with Sword Seeds each rushed to one of the sixteen Formation Flags, joining the Seven Kill Sect disciples guarding them as they quietly awaited the prey's arrival.
East of the city, beside a collapsed bell tower.
A black-clad man with a bloody sword scar between his brows stepped out of the shadows.
The Seven Kill Sect leader guarding this place glanced at him. His gaze lingered for a moment on the sword scar between the man's brows, a flicker of apprehension passing through his eyes, though excitement outweighed it.
"The Sword Seed has arrived," the leader said quietly, madness gleaming in his eyes. "Now we wait for the people from the Three Great Sects."
The black-clad man said nothing. He merely stood beside the Formation Flag in silence, like a mute statue.
Yet madness burned like fire in his eyes.
South of the city, before a Land God Temple stained red with blood.
Another black-clad man with a sword scar between his brows arrived here.
The Formation Flag here was planted atop the Land God Temple's roof. Six people guarded it, making this the most heavily defended of all the Formation Flags.
"The people from the Three Great Sects have entered the city." A sect member with a scar across his face licked his lips. "I wonder whether they'll find this place."
"And if they do?" another sect member sneered. "With the Sword Seed here, however many come will die."
The black-clad man remained silent. He merely stood beneath the Formation Flag, closed his eyes, and waited for that moment to arrive.
Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously at the sixteen Formation Flag sites throughout the city.
The sixteen death warriors with sword scars between their brows were like sixteen ticking bombs, lurking in the darkness as they awaited their prey.
South of the city, the ancestral hall ruins.
Tian Wei led his squad through two streets, cutting down seven or eight scattered Seven Kill Sect members before stopping in front of a collapsed ancestral hall.
"The blood mist is thickest here. The Formation Flag should be somewhere nearby." Tian Wei looked around. "Search together. Don't spread out too far. If anything happens, send a signal immediately. Don't fight head-on."
"Yes!"
The six team members scattered in response.
Chen Xuan walked toward the rear of the group, the Hanfeng Sword hanging at his waist.
"Junior Brother Chen, this is your first mission, isn't it? No need to be too nervous." Tian Wei patted his shoulder. "It's fine. With so many of us together, even if we run into an expert at the Fifth or Sixth Layer of Qi Casting, we can handle it."
"Mm!"
Chen Xuan nodded.
The six slowed their pace and cautiously felt their way forward.
At the end of the alley lay a relatively open patch of ground.
A large blood-colored flag stood planted in the clearing. Its pole was carved with bizarre runes and radiated an eerie red glow.
"The Formation Flag!" Han Song, walking at the front, brightened. "We found it!"
Tian Wei raised a hand to signal everyone to stop. They hid behind a ruined wall as his gaze swept over the clearing.
Six people stood in the open ground.
At their head was a middle-aged man in his forties, at the Qi Casting Realm Third Layer. Behind him stood four others: two at the Qi Casting Realm Second Layer and three at the First Layer of Qi Casting.
At the doorway of a ruined house on the edge of the clearing stood another person.
He wore black clothes and had an ordinary face, his cultivation only at the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering.
Yet there was a long, narrow bloody sword scar between his brows. Like a third eye, it emitted an eerie glow.
The skin around that sword scar was faintly red, as though something within it were stirring restlessly.
Chen Xuan's gaze settled on that Ninth Layer of Body Tempering martial artist. The man gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
"Seven people," Tian Wei said softly. "Perfect. One for each of us."
"A Ninth Layer of Body Tempering fighter dares guard a Formation Flag?" Han Song gave a disdainful laugh. "He's here to die, isn't he?"
"Don't let your guard down." Chen Xuan suddenly spoke. "That Ninth Layer of Body Tempering martial artist is somewhat wrong. There's a kind of... indescribable pressure around him. It makes one uneasy."
Han Song glanced at Chen Xuan but did not take it to heart.
What kind of pressure could someone at the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering possibly have?
"Since you're here, stop hiding."
The middle-aged man sneered and flicked his hand. A streak of bloody true qi shot from his palm and blasted into the ruined wall behind which they hid.
Boom—
The ruined wall exploded on impact, sending broken stones flying.
"Attack!"
With their hiding place exposed, Tian Wei did not hesitate. His broadsword left its sheath as he charged out first.
Han Song and the other four also drew their swords and followed.
"Die!"
At that moment, the black-clad man with the sword scar between his brows moved.
His body began to tremble violently. The bloody sword scar between his brows abruptly lit up, and demonic blood-red light surged from it, casting his face in the likeness of a ghost.
Then, an invisible force erupted from that sword scar and spread outward.
It was Mental Power.
It was not the overwhelming mental assault of a Seventh Stage of Qi Casting expert, capable of crushing an opponent, but a faint yet bizarre ripple, like ripples on water spreading soundlessly outward.
Chen Xuan felt a tightness between his brows, and a brief blankness filled his mind.
But it lasted only an instant.
His Vajra True Qi circulated automatically, dispersing the force that had invaded his mind. The Vajra Technique cultivated both inside and out; his Fifth Layer of Qi Casting cultivation, combined with his powerful physique, made his mind more stable than that of martial artists at the same level.
But the others were not so fortunate.
A trace of daze flashed through the eyes of Tian Wei, Han Song, and the other four. Their forward charge halted, as though something had frozen them in place.
It lasted only an instant.
Less than the time of a breath.
But in a life-and-death battle, a moment of distraction was enough to prove fatal.
"For the Young Master! For the Seven Kill Sect!"
The black-clad man shouted, his eyes overflowing with fanaticism.
Then, the space between his brows exploded.
It was not that the Sword Seed had been detonated. He had detonated the Sword Seed himself.
The bloody sword scar between his brows suddenly split open, and a streak of blood-colored Sword Qi shot out from within, soaring into the heavens like a scarlet flood dragon.
It was not an ordinary explosion, but an eruption of Sword Qi.
Blood-colored Sword Qi poured from between his brows and spread in every direction, transforming into countless fine strands of bloody Sword Qi that rained down like a violent storm.
Every strand carried razor-sharp force, tearing the air apart with piercing shrieks.
Those strands of Sword Qi were not mere true qi attacks. Each contained a thread of Mental Power. They did not merely pierce the flesh—they pierced the soul.
Tian Wei's lapse had lasted only an instant, but by the time he recovered, the blood-colored Sword Qi was already right before him.
He instinctively raised his broadsword to block, but that Mental Power struck again, leaving his mind blank once more.
Pfft—
A streak of blood-colored Sword Qi pierced through his shoulder.
Pfft, pfft, pfft—
Six more streaks of Sword Qi struck Tian Wei's right arm, left leg, abdomen, chest, and other places.
More importantly, one strand of Sword Qi pierced his heart.
Tian Wei let out a muffled groan. His massive body swayed twice, the broadsword in his hand clanging onto the bluestone slabs, before his body toppled to the ground.
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