Aspiring to the Immortal Path
Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 706: Sudden Shift

"Strike now!"

This command came from both Sang Hongmei and Xu Miaoran.

Sang Hongmei instantly felt an ill foreboding.

She immediately stopped trying to recover, turning around and thrusting out a palm.

There was a burst of blood as a figure was forced out of hiding: Xi Canhen.

Xi Canhen had not once taken part in this battle, nor even showed himself, precisely so he could attack at this moment.

In truth, he could have attacked before, but Sang Hongmei had been at her peak. The Sacrificial Sword was a move that resulted in either the enemy's death or the user's death. Sang Hongmei was so powerful that Xi Canhen wasn't confident in his chances of killing her, so he could only wait until she was weaker to strike.

Even so, he had still failed to kill her in a single blow. Fortunately, the sword strike had greatly weakened Sang Hongmei so that her palm strike hadn't killed him, But he wouldn't be able to dodge the follow-up blow.

Alas, if it had been the Immeasurable Sword, she would have been dead for sure, Xi Canhen thought to himself right before he fainted.

A distorted figure emerged from the void—Zuo Quanming. As he grabbed Xi Canhen, he thrust out a palm to block Sang Hongmei's second attack, then retreated with Xi Canhen.

At the same time, a small silver sword was stabbed into Sang Hongmei's body.

The sword wasn't a big deal, but the immense energy it contained was sent straight into her body, almost obliterating her organs.

Up until now, Sang Hongmei had been wounded forty-some times, but all of them were minor wounds. The most serious wound was when Cai Junyang had slashed at her arm, almost cutting it off.

But this sword's power was so immense that it surpassed the total damage done by all the other wounds, so painful that Sang Hongmei felt like her heart had been torn apart.

"Awoooo!" she crazily howled.

At the same time, another howl erupted from the crowd.

This one was from Zhou Peng.

"Zheng Ran, you!" Zhou Peng stared in disbelief behind him.

That cultivator called Zheng Ran had stabbed a black dagger into his heart, from which a powerful energy was bursting out, swiftly destroying his life force. Zheng Ran said with a savage expression, "Apologies. I must obey my superior's orders!"

He kicked aside Zhou Peng and flew toward Sang Hongmei.

Zhou Peng's body flew through the air, blood turning black as it spilled out from the wound.

The blood painted the sky.

"Uncle Zhou!" Xu Miaoran cried out in grief.

Zhou Peng was an elder who had followed Xu Guanghua for many years, and it was only because of his relationship to Xu Miaoran that he had acted against Sang Hongmei. While he hadn't put on a conspicuous performance, he was a very reliable person who had firmly executed Xu Miaoran's orders. Without him, Xu Miaoran's side would never have gotten to this point with only two deaths. It was precisely because he had held down Sang Hongmei without complaints and protected everyone that Xu Miaoran had been able to minimize the losses.

His death wasn't just the third loss on Xu Miaoran's side, it was also a major loss in combat power.

The advantage brought about by Xi Canhen's attack had instantly been undone, and with Zheng Ran's betrayal, the balance of power had tipped to the other side.

"Zheng Ran!" Hugging Zhou Peng's corpse, Xu Miaoran venomously glared at Zheng Ran, the only Heart Demon True Person she had been able to hire.

"Hahaha, you didn't expect that, right? Little girl, you're still far too young to fight with me!" Sang Hongmei crowed. "You thought this fairy would just let you do what you want and not make any plans? Zheng Ran was someone I supported, but very few people know this, since he isn't part of the Internal Affairs Hall. Without my encouragement, he would have never accepted your offer. However…"

She suddenly turned to Zheng Ran and shouted, "Why didn't you tell me about this expert assassin bastard!!!?"

Xi Canhen's sword had obliterated her organs, and if she hadn't possessed a profound cultivation, she would already be dead. Though she was still holding up right now, her injuries would take some time to heal.

Alarmed, Zheng Ran hastily replied, "Xu Miaoran has always concealed the identities of the people from the Basking Moon Sect, and only a few people know who they are. As for that person skilled in concealment, I've never even seen him before. I really didn't know!"

"Useless thing!" Sang Hongmei rebuked. "It's one thing to not find the teleportation formation, but you couldn't even dig up the secrets of the Basking Moon Sect! It's all because of you that this fairy has become so weak! What are you still standing around for? Kill everyone except Xu Miaoran!"

"Yes!" Zheng Ran affirmed, upon which he began to attack the others.

"Zheng Ran, you beast!" Fan Chenglong angrily roared as he charged in.

"You juniors!" Sang Hongmei's eyes gleamed with ruthlessness, and she threw her head back and let out another Haunting Demon Screech.

Although she was heavily wounded, her Divine Soul remained powerful, so she once more used up her Divine Will to unleash this move.

Both sides had been badly wounded, but because of Zheng Ran, the tables had been completely turned.

As the Haunting Demon Screech was being activated through Divine Will, it could be targeted. Sang Hongmei naturally didn't target Zheng Ran, making it so that he was the only one unaffected.

In a flash, he became a pivotal force on the battlefield.

He thrust a palm at Fan Chenglong, sending him flying, at the same time stabbing that black dagger into Fan Chenglong's belly.

"Chenglong!" Xu Miaoran shouted, throwing out a stone lock at Zheng Ran. But as she was affected by the Haunting Demon Screech, she couldn't use the full power of this treasure, and Zheng Ran was able to block it with a chop of his hand. He then turned and thrust his dagger at Cai Junyang.

By this point in the battle, he was already clear on what to do. The biggest problem was Zhou Peng, who was the strongest, and this problem had already been taken care of. The second problem was Xu Miaoran, who had numerous treasures that could suppress them, but he wasn't allowed to kill her. The third problem was the unexpected Xi Canhen, but he no longer had the ability to fight. The fourth problem was Cai Junyang.

Almost half of the forty-some wounds on Sang Hongmei's body had been inflicted by him. The power brought by the Dao of Slaughter was just too great, and even Fan Chenglong and Zuo Quanming—Heart Demon cultivators—couldn't match it. Thus, Zheng Ran chose to kill him first.

Cai Junyang was about to raise his sword to block, but then the screeching pierced through his mind, momentarily paralyzing him.

As Zheng Ran's sword was about to strike true, two puppets charged in, commanded by Wei Tianchong to help. He was also affected by the Haunting Demon Screech, but the advantage of puppets became evident here, as they were unaffected.

But the puppets couldn't completely block the charge of a Heart Demon True Person. Zheng Ran pushed aside the puppets, and then he thrust his dagger once more. At this moment, Li Yunfan lunged at Zheng Ran, and the black dagger plunged into his chest.

"Yunfan!" everyone shouted.

Li Yunfan trembled once, and then he stopped moving.

Dead in one strike!

"NO!" Bei Canghan and his comrades were enraged.

The Basking Moon Sect had finally lost someone in this battle.

"Zuo Quanming, what are you still waiting for?" Peng Yaolong shouted.

Zuo Quanming suppressed the pain he was suffering and shouted, "I know! I'm being affected by the screech, so my reaction is slow. Damn, I exposed myself to save this kid!"

To save Xi Canhen, Zuo Quanming had finally revealed his true strength. Sang Hongmei had realized that this old man wasn't what he seemed, so she had focused more of the Haunting Demon Screech on him, which made his reaction much slower.

Now, he took out the jade tablet Ling Xiao had given him.

Sang Hongmei instantly felt an immense power from it, and she paled. She also took out a jade tablet! It even seemed to have the same design.

Two jade tablets were raised up and aimed at the opposing side.

On Zuo Quanming's side, a golden hand appeared out of a vortex of light, pressing toward Sang Hongmei. The moment it appeared, it unleashed a destructive aura that struck fear into everyone's hearts.

On Sang Hongmei's side, a slender jade finger appeared. Although it was only a finger, it was like a pillar of heaven, capable of holding up the skies, as it thrust toward the golden hand.

As finger and palm clashed, a powerful shockwave ripped through the world.

Such was the force of the shockwave that everyone was blasted back by it.

They were sent flying tens of thousands of meters, and in the distance, clouds churned and waves roared. These waves were a thousand meters tall, like a wall of water, and when these majestic walls fell, they unleashed a tsunami.

That immense shockwave cleared out everything within a ten-thousand-meter radius of the center, scattering all clouds, obliterating all birds, and even almost turning the place into a vacuum.

After the shockwave had passed, air rushed back in, forming a powerful vortex.

"The Jewel Celestial Sovereign!" Xu Miaoran squeezed out.

Just like Zuo Quanming, Sang Hongmei was also hiding a jade tablet from the Jewel Celestial Sovereign.

Both sides were loath to use up this power, but then they had decided to use it at the same time. The result was like they hadn't used it all, the attacks having canceled each other out.

Though the attacks had been canceled out, that didn't mean the fight was over.

Sang Hongmei and Zheng Ran flew over once more.

The screeching resumed. Sang Hongmei was clearly willing to use up her life to take down the group.

Clenching his teeth, Zuo Quanming threw out the golden hoop Ling Xiao had given him.

The golden hoop was a defensive treasure, and the moment it was used, it covered everyone in a golden light, creating a sturdy defensive barrier between them and the outside world.

Sang Hongmei's palm struck the golden light, but it failed to shake it.

Everyone sighed in relief. Xu Miaoran ordered, "Use this time to recover. The fiend granny is badly wounded, so she won't be able to recover as quickly. The moment we've fully recovered, she's dead!"

Everyone obeyed and sat down to rest and recover.

Sang Hongmei knew that this was bad. She was badly wounded and had also consumed a great deal of Divine Will, so it was impossible for her to match their recovery speed. If she let them recover to their peak, then even with Zheng Ran helping, she couldn't guarantee her victory. Moreover, the golden hoop wasn't like the jade tablet and could be used more than once. If they felt like they were in trouble, they could use it again, repeating the cycle. Given all the resources Xu Miaoran had, there was no way Sang Hongmei could outlast her.

Worst of all was that this area was close to Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and she was basically a wanted fugitive. That the Four Seas Hall had yet to catch her was probably because they were intentionally ignoring her, but after such an earthshaking battle, it would be very difficult for Horizon Ocean Pavilion's people to keep playing dumb.

She didn't have much time left, so she needed to force them out as soon as possible.

Of course, she could try and break the golden barrier, but that was bound to cost her a lot of energy, weakening herself while the enemy grew stronger—certainly not a wise move. Thus, after some thought, Sang Hongmei waved a hand, and the figure of Hong Yuan came flying out of the distance.

Placing a hand on Hong Yuan's head, Sang Hongmei shouted, "Come out, or else I'll kill her!"