Ambush

The moment Shuobing's words fell, "Buzz, buzz..." a Sword Diagram spanning several acres surged forth from the surrounding sky like black clouds pressing down overhead, instantly blotting out the White Gazing Moon that Shuobing loved most. At the same time, hundreds of Flying Swords came whistling down, denser than rain battering banana leaves.

As the Sword Diagram appeared, the patch of heaven and earth where Shuobing stood immediately sealed shut. Seeing the Flying Swords rain down, Shuobing did not hesitate. With a flicker, she immediately ducked beneath the Flying Shuttle.

The instant Shuobing vanished, the Flying Swords struck the Flying Shuttle, ringing out with metallic clangs. After only a few breaths of ringing, a deafening boom sounded. The Flying Shuttle was pierced through, rapidly shrinking amid the explosion!

"Wooo..." A strange piercing cry arose beneath the Flying Shuttle. A green object over thirty feet long shot into the sky like a meteor, lunging straight at the Sword Diagram.

Before the green object could draw near, several Flying Swords had already plunged into it.

Brilliant light erupted from the green object. With a rumbling boom, the surrounding space cracked apart, and bolts of lightning flickering with icy flames crazily pounced upon the Sword Diagram.

"Buzz, buzz..." As the lightning struck the Sword Diagram, it too shuddered violently. All the Flying Swords instantly vanished, and the force of confinement swiftly receded.

"Whoosh..." Seeing this, Shuobing transformed into a streak of light and shot fiercely toward one direction!

Just as Shuobing was about to break through the Sword Diagram's blockade, a soft pop rang out. A red orb of light suddenly appeared in the sky. The moment it appeared, it radiated dazzling brilliance, then the light condensed into a Flying Sword that ignored the distance through space and stabbed directly at Shuobing's face!

The Sword Light of the Flying Sword was razor-sharp. The silver radiance around Shuobing shattered, and rippling sword shadows filled the surrounding thousand-foot space!

With a wave of her hand, Shuobing unleashed a Jade Shield several feet wide. It was engraved with numerous runes. As Shuobing breathed a mouthful of immortal breath into it, it expanded madly. "Puff..." The Flying Sword struck the Jade Shield, and countless cracks suddenly spread across it. Shuobing's body trembled violently as she retreated helplessly!

"Which immortal friend dares ambush this commander in Yunmeng Marsh..." Shuobing stopped proudly in midair. Watching a male immortal with an indistinct face emerge where the Sword Light receded, she said coolly, "You truly do not take my Azure Jade Gate seriously."

The male immortal steadied himself without answering Shuobing. Instead, he opened his mouth and spat out a sword pillar several yards thick, which shot into the heavens and struck the Sword Diagram overhead with a boom. The Sword Diagram flashed with sword radiance once more, sealing the surrounding space.

Only after doing all this did the male immortal turn his gaze toward Shuobing. "Why aren't you running now?"

"Among those under this commander's command, only petty scoundrels flee. Since when would this commander flee?" Shuobing looked at the male immortal, her tone still calm.

"Hahaha..." The male immortal laughed as though he had witnessed the funniest thing in the world. Then he raised a hand and pointed at Shuobing. "Do you think this is Helan Que? Do you think this is Azure Jade Gate?"

"It seems you came prepared. Speak. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Seeing Shuobing's aloofness, the male immortal grew somewhat ashamed and angry. "I merely came to take your life!"

"If you truly came to take this commander's life, you would not be standing here talking to me. Nor would people be stationed in all the other directions, would they?"

"Oh? You can see the other immortals within the Sword Diagram's space?"

"Why would this commander need to see them?" Shuobing said disdainfully. "This commander could figure it out with a single strand of hair."

"You..." The male immortal flew into a rage. Sword Light flashed around his body as though he were about to attack, yet after flying only several yards through the air, it suddenly withdrew. He laughed. "Do you think this old man would fall for your trick? If this old man attacked, would you seize the chance to escape?"

"So you are not a fool after all!" Shuobing smiled. "In that case, quickly explain your purpose! What do you need this commander to do? If it is simple and does not harm Azure Jade Gate's interests, this commander may not be unable to agree..."

"Hehe, had this old man known that Lord Immortal Commander was so easy to talk to, I would not have needed to go to such trouble!" The male immortal chuckled. "This old man asks you only one question: what was your purpose in coming to Helan Que?"

"Ah, immortal friend, you should have said so earlier!" Shuobing sighed even more deeply. "Wasn't my purpose in coming to Helan Que simply to find some good things in Yunmeng Marsh, pay filial respect to my master and the sect elders, and seek opportunities to obtain more cultivation arts and medicinal pills, so that I could step into the True Immortal realm earlier? Could it be that immortal friend has loftier ideals?"

"Lord Immortal Commander is quite cunning!" the male immortal said with a smile. "Do you think this old man went to all this trouble and trapped you just to discuss ideals? Lord Immortal Commander, stop avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial. Answer this old man's question quickly, and everyone can go home, wash their feet, and sleep."

"Ah..." Shuobing looked at the male immortal and sighed once more. Getting straight to the point, she said, "Since immortal friend has put it this way, this commander understands your purpose. Whether this commander answers your question or not, immortal friend cannot possibly let this commander leave alive, can you?"

"Ah..." The male immortal also sighed. "Clever Female Immortals never live long, Shuobing. You are so clever that heaven must envy such beauty. Do not blame this old man for crushing a flower with ruthless hands. But this old man still does not understand. Since you know this old man will not spare you, why have you said so much to me?"

"It is very simple, immortal friend. First, this commander did not know your purpose. If I could trade a small price for my life, would that not be better than anything?" Shuobing smiled. "Second, if I did not know immortal friend's question, how would this commander know that Captain Zhuo had leaked my whereabouts?"

"Ah? You... how did you know?" The male immortal was utterly shocked.

"Idiot!" At that moment, on Shuobing's other side, opposite the male immortal, another identical male immortal revealed himself and shouted in uncontrollable fury, "She was bluffing you!"

"Damn it!" Hearing this, the male immortal flew into a rage. He raised his right hand, and the Flying Sword in his hand shot forth with a thunderous crash, transforming into Sword Rain that stabbed toward Shuobing.

Seeing the Sword Rain tear through the air toward her, Shuobing mocked, "You trained your clone to such a state, and you still have the nerve to come out and make a fool of yourself?"

With that, Shuobing lightly swept her sleeve. "Boom, boom, boom!" Tens of thousands of ice spheres abruptly appeared within the nearby acre of space, precisely blocking every Flying Sword.

On Shuobing's other side, the male immortal who had just revealed himself slammed a hand against the crown of his head. With a boom, blue Sword Qi shot into the sky. He growled with a trace of savagery, "My clone may be somewhat stupid, but his swordsmanship is not!"

"Roar..." The male immortal with red Sword Light flew into a rage. Sword Light flooded his entire body, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a Flying Sword over a hundred yards long, crazily stabbing toward Shuobing. Space thundered, the Sword Diagram trembled, and countless silvery-white rays emerged around Shuobing!

"Kill!" The male immortal with blue Sword Light made the same move. Yet within the Sword Diagram's space, he ignored distance even more completely. Sword Qi powerful enough to pulverize a mountain ten thousand feet high swept over Shuobing like a gale, making her silver light sway unstably.

Seeing this, Shuobing's expression changed. She hurriedly swung out the Ice Shield she had previously unleashed. As Shuobing solemnly formed several layers of intricate Immortal Arts, the Ice Shield suddenly expanded with a boom, shielding Shuobing within. Its icy aura even forced open a separate space within the Sword Diagram!

"Boom, boom..." Almost at the same time, red and blue sword pillars struck the space protected by the Ice Shield! That space shook violently. At the same time, several thousand Golden Light Feathers suddenly appeared. Within these feathers were countless golden humanoid figures several feet tall, each clad in armor and resembling the two male immortals. They simultaneously raised Flying Swords and stabbed at the Ice Shield!

"Crack, crack, crack..." The immortal artifact Shuobing had been so proud of gave off cracking sounds and shattered piece by piece!

Yet at the very instant the immortal artifact shattered, Shuobing gave a soft laugh. A pair of transparent jade-colored Ice Wings suddenly stretched from the silver radiance. With a slight flutter, the artifact fragments fell into the Ice Wings. As strange colors blossomed from the wings, Shuobing flapped them once more. Her figure suddenly vanished, and the nearby Golden Light Feathers were swept clean away, leaving behind an invisible passage!

The male immortal with blue Sword Light roared furiously, "Chase her!"

"Buzz..." The male immortal with red Sword Light did not stop moving and vanished as well. At the place where the passage had just been cleared, countless sword glimmers seeped into the void like mercury.

The male immortal with blue Sword Light opened his mouth, sending another blue Sword Light several yards long into the Sword Diagram. "Boom, boom!" The Sword Diagram thundered as countless streams of Immortal Spiritual Energy from the high heavens crashed into it like rain. Sword glimmers surged through the surrounding space, and layer upon layer of barriers like walls of bronze and iron sprang up wildly on all sides.

"Puff, puff, puff..." Yet amid drumbeat-like impacts, holes were punched through the barriers one after another. Shuobing appeared at the edge of the Sword Diagram. She glanced back with some contempt, then opened her mouth and exhaled a stream of clear breath. It instantly blew outward for over a hundred yards. Then Shuobing waved a hand. "Crack, crack, crack!" The walls of bronze and iron turned into shattered ice and fell away in pieces.

"Hmph, with such schemes, you still wanted to plot against this envoy?" Shuobing snorted disdainfully, transforming into a streak of light as she charged into the passage. But at that very moment, a yellow Sword Light suddenly burst from within the shattered ice and stabbed into Shuobing's humanoid silver radiance with the speed of thunder before one could cover one's ears!

"Boom, boom, boom!" Where the Sword Light struck, the silver radiance was annihilated, and countless runes rolled and shattered.

"Hahaha..." Behind Shuobing, the two male immortals halted and threw back their heads in laughter. "Whose schemes are superior now?"

Yet before the male immortals could finish laughing, the two cried out miserably in unison, clutching their chests as they rapidly retreated.

Within the yellow Sword Light, a third male immortal revealed himself. Disbelief filled his eyes as he watched a diamond-shaped immortal artifact retract where Shuobing's wings had folded away. At that moment, a cyan pillar of light still flickered at the artifact's sharp tip with deadly might.

"You... you..." The yellow Sword Light around the male immortal had grown exceedingly dim. He clutched his chest as he spoke, while the other two male immortals behind Shuobing spoke in unison as well, making the scene sound exceedingly eerie.

"You think cultivating two clones makes you so extraordinary?" Shuobing sneered. "You even wanted to lay out a maze of deception here and lure this commander into the jar? You really are frogs at the bottom of a well..."

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