Blades flashed and swords cast shadows amid a storm of blood.
Gong Cheng and Senior Brother whirled their sword and saber, darting and weaving as they fought several men dressed in Azure bamboo-colored robes.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Thin snakes slithered across the ground.
Crack!
Suddenly, a foot stamped down. True Qi roared and surged, bursting a swath of snakes apart!
The Tiger of North Mountain stamped down again, then swung his meteor hammer. True Qi billowed through his body, driving back the faint, foul-smelling breeze. Holding a breath in his chest, he shouted, "Gong, girl, all of you, hold your breath! Don't breathe in. The air around us is full of poison..."
Whoosh!
A fine needle shot through the air toward the back of the Tiger of North Mountain's neck. It came so fast that it was about to pierce his flesh.
Just then,
a faint breath of Buddhist energy swept over and blew the needle away.
"Thanks, monk!" The Tiger of North Mountain laughed and grinned at Monk Xinren behind him. Then he swept his meteor hammer across the area, knocking away more than a dozen people lying in ambush.
Two women in red descended with lilting laughter. They waved their sleeves together, and countless needles as fine as ox hair flew in from every direction, enveloping the Tiger of North Mountain and the others!
"The Yin-Yang Poison Maidens! What vicious needles! Monk, let's protect the girl and the others together..." As he spoke, the Tiger of North Mountain turned and planted himself in front of Gong Cheng and Senior Brother and the Young Novice Monk. Monk Xinren did the same.
Beyond them, fine needles fell like rain!
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!
All around them, more than a dozen figures were pierced by the needles at once. Their