A death trap

The arrival of the Heavenly Venerable brought a brief lull to the savage battle in the rain.

The Heavenly Venerable, also known as the Heavenly Sect and the Netherworld Cult, was an assassin organization that had risen to prominence only in recent years. Its influence was vast, and countless people had died at its hands. So long as they were paid, they would kill anyone. Thus, the martial world also counted them among the Demonic Gate, condemned by the Righteous Path.

No one had expected the Sun Moon Holy Cult to collude with the Heavenly Venerable. No wonder they had suddenly attacked the inn at night!

The appearance of the Heavenly Venerable's assassins gave Dongfang Bubai a moment to catch his breath. His figure flashed as he landed beside them and seized the chance to circulate his internal energy and heal his injuries. The members of the Sun Moon Holy Cult hurried to gather behind him.

The holy monk Kong Jian and the other Righteous Path experts also drew together. Their expressions were grave as they looked at the dense mass of people opposite them.

"Heavenly Venerable, what are you trying to do?!"

Zong Weixia, one of the Five Elders of Kongtong, shouted.

At the front of the Heavenly Venerable's forces, their leader, a figure clad in red robes and a golden mask, glanced at Zong Weixia. Mockery flickered in his dark eyes as he sneered, "What do you think I'm trying to do?"

Song Yuanqiao said heavily, "The Heavenly Venerable is an assassin organization. You've never interfered in the struggles of the martial world. Why are you helping the Sun Moon Holy Cult?"

The golden-masked figure said coolly, "The treasure of the Great White Upper Kingdom rivals a nation's wealth. Even a tiny share would pay us to kill plenty of people. Why wouldn't we take this job?"

So they really had come for the treasure!

Everyone's expression darkened.

Just then, the golden-masked figure suddenly looked toward the Money Gang and said, "The Heavenly Venerable has given orders. Hero Jing, if your Money Gang is willing to work with us, once we obtain the treasure of the Great White Upper Kingdom, we will split it equally between your side, ours, and the Sun Moon Holy Cult. What do you say?"

Everyone grew tense and turned to Jing Wuming. No one had expected the Heavenly Venerable to try to win over the Money Gang.

The Money Gang had five innate experts listed in the Weapons Rankings, as well as Jing Wuming, its foremost assassin, whose martial prowess remained a mystery. If they truly joined forces with the Heavenly Venerable, it would be a devastating blow!

Under everyone's gazes, Jing Wuming was briefly taken aback. Then he said impassively, "The Money Gang did indeed come for the treasure, but we have no intention of working with anyone else."

Everyone immediately felt a weight lift from their hearts.

By contrast, the faces of the Heavenly Venerable and Sun Moon Holy Cult members turned cold.

The golden-masked man sighed. "What a pity. Chief Shangguan is a towering figure of his age. The Heavenly Venerable thought the Money Gang would be different from the other factions. Who would have guessed that you were just as hidebound as these so-called righteous martial artists, unable to see which way the wind blows!"

As he spoke, the golden-masked man's gaze gradually chilled. He waved a hand and said, "Cult Leader Dongfang, since Hero Jing refuses to see reason, let's kill them all. Once the treasure emerges, we can divide it between us!"

"Across heaven, earth, and the netherworld, we alone reign supreme!"

"Kill!"

The Heavenly Venerable's forces roared, instantly drawing their weapons and charging at the experts of the various schools around them.

The golden-masked man charged straight at Jing Wuming, brandishing a golden scepter with fearsome vigor. Several Heavenly Venerable experts followed behind him, attacking the Money Gang alongside him.

Clearly, in their eyes, aside from the experts of the Shaolin Sect, the Wudang Sect, and the other schools, the Money Gang posed the greatest threat and had to be eliminated first.

"You're courting death!"

At the sight, killing intent flashed in Jing Wuming's eyes. The sword at his waist abruptly left its sheath, and he advanced to meet the golden-masked man.

The rest of the Money Gang also sprang into action, and the melee erupted once more.

Elsewhere, after catching his breath, Dongfang Bubai attacked the holy monk Kong Jian and the others again.

This time, however, with the Heavenly Venerable's experts assisting him, Yu Lianzhou of the Wudang Sect and Daoist Chongxu could no longer intervene. Abbess Miejue was just about to join the attack when another Heavenly Venerable expert tied her down.

That Heavenly Venerable expert also wielded a longsword. Her sword moves were incisive, and her martial prowess was actually no weaker than Abbess Miejue's.

After only a few exchanges, Abbess Miejue sensed something wrong. She stared at the Heavenly Venerable expert and demanded, "Who are you? Why do you know our Emei Sword Technique?!"

The Heavenly Venerable expert made no attempt to hide her identity. With a cold laugh, she removed her mask, revealing the face of a middle-aged woman who still retained her charm. Yet her eyes brimmed with killing intent and hatred as she looked at Abbess Miejue and said:

"Junior sister, have you forgotten me so soon?"

"It's you?!"

Abbess Miejue started in shock and immediately recognized the woman.

Her name was Li Zhenzhen, known as the Rakshasa Fairy, and she was Abbess Miejue's senior sister. Years ago, she had lost to Abbess Miejue in the contest for leadership of the Emei School, then vanished. No one had expected her to join the Heavenly Venerable.

"To think you still remember me after all this time, junior sister. Your memory is quite good!" Li Zhenzhen sneered.

"Li Zhenzhen, how dare you join a demonic organization like the Heavenly Venerable! Today, I'll purge this disgrace from our school!"

Recovering from her shock, Abbess Miejue flew into a rage. With the Heavenly Sword in hand, she attacked Li Zhenzhen.

Li Zhenzhen showed no fear. "Perfect. I'd also like to see just how much you've improved over the years!"

As her words fell, the two instantly clashed, their sword light blazing.

Elsewhere, the holy monk Kong Jian and his companions had lost three allies. Fighting four opponents alone, Dongfang Bubai faced far less pressure and gained the upper hand within just a few exchanges. But Kong Jian and the others had not earned their reputations in vain. Knowing there was no longer any hope of turning things around, they held nothing back and unleashed their full strength. For the moment, the five remained locked in a stalemate.

Yu Huatian, Ding Xiu, and their third companion mingled with the crowd, fighting the Heavenly Venerable and the Sun Moon Holy Cult alongside the various martial schools.

Yet Yu Huatian's brow was tightly furrowed. Something felt wrong.

The Sun Moon Holy Cult and the Heavenly Venerable had joined forces, but what about Black Stone and the factions that had yet to show themselves?

Just how many camps had the forces that came this time divided into?

Acting now would indeed offer the best chance to catch the righteous and demonic factions in one net, but Yu Huatian feared that other forces were still lurking behind the scenes.

Moreover, according to the rumors, people from other countries had crossed the borders for this affair. Yet so far, only Murong Fu of Gusu had appeared. Could there really be no one else?

Leaving the others aside, the treasure of the Great White Upper Kingdom lay between Great Yuan, Great Song, and Ming. Yu Huatian did not believe Great Song and Great Yuan would stand by and watch Ming seize it.

So he could not reveal all his strength yet, lest someone else reap the fisherman's profit while the snipe and clam fought.

With that in mind, Yu Huatian restrained his attacks even further, posing as an ordinary swordsman. Unless someone came forward of their own accord to seek death, he would not deliberately kill members of the Heavenly Venerable or the Sun Moon Holy Cult. He intended to blend in and get through this battle first.

By now, Yu Huatian could already more or less foresee the outcome.

Though the Heavenly Venerable and the Sun Moon Holy Cult had more people, they could not match the quality of the righteous schools' forces. The gap between their top experts was also considerable.

On the Heavenly Venerable's side, only the golden-masked man possessed truly impressive martial prowess. Aside from him, they had a dozen or so innate experts, but they were probably no match for the Money Gang.

As for the Sun Moon Holy Cult, Dongfang Bubai was essentially holding everything up alone. Most of their other experts were tied down by experts from the righteous schools.

Once either Dongfang Bubai or the Heavenly Venerable's golden-masked man fell, the situation would inevitably reverse.

At worst, both sides would suffer grievous losses.

Thus, Yu Huatian planned to conceal his abilities for now and continue hiding his identity. Once the treasure was opened and every faction had shown itself, he would draw in the net.

But just then, a sudden sense of dread gripped Yu Huatian. Immediately afterward, fierce killing intent surged toward him from behind.

Swish-

Yu Huatian's expression shifted slightly. He immediately turned to defend himself, driving the dark figure back with a single sword strike.

Before he could even make out the figure's appearance, four more surges of killing intent came at him from all directions. At the same time, a powerful aura at the Grandmaster level locked onto him.

One Grandmaster and four innate experts formed a net spanning heaven and earth, trapping Yu Huatian within it.

This was a death trap laid specifically for him!

Yu Huatian understood in an instant, and his expression turned cold.

--

There may be a few hundred people following the latest updates now, but too few have invested. If you haven't invested yet, please click the investment button. Thank you, bosses!

(End of chapter)