Chapter 91 — The Oriole
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 7
Yuyang Zi summoned his divine might, one arm against three. The Yin-Yang Mirror in his hand was unfathomably wondrous, shifting black to white, sending out wave upon wave of mysterious light. The brilliant lights of the magical treasures Xiao Yichen and the others sent at him were either deflected by the mirror or tugged and drawn aside by Yuyang Zi, and could not get near him at all.
What was more, when the white face of the Yin-Yang Mirror turned over, it would actually rebound the three men's magical treasures back upon their owners. The three had not expected such marvelous power from the treasure, and each came within a hair of disaster; Li Xun's left arm was even grazed by his own magical treasure, the Nine Yang Ruler, and he very nearly became a one-armed man to match Yuyang Zi before him.
After that the three dared not be careless, and dealt with him warily. Yuyang Zi, one against three, facing these three outstanding talents of the righteous path, actually still held the upper hand—his cultivation was truly formidable.
Yet formidable as Yuyang Zi was himself, the cultivation of his disciples fell far short of his own. Facing this host of righteous-path disciples—every one of them outstanding in both innate talent and magical treasure—the Longevity Hall adherents, though greater in number, found themselves gradually losing the upper hand.
Apart from the monks of the Brahma Sound Temple, whose strikes were comparatively lenient, the disciples of the Canglan Sect and the Demonic Cult were bound by a hatred as deep as the sea, and every one of them struck with savage ferocity; nor did the Burning Cloud Valley yield much to the Canglan Sect in that regard.
Yuyang Zi, entangled by those three, held the advantage but could not break free for the moment. Casting his gaze around in the midst of battle, he saw that apart from Meng Ji and a scant few others still grimly holding on, the ordinary adherents had lost all will to fight and more than half had fallen.
Meng Ji drove back with a single move the Burning Cloud Valley disciple before him, his face anxious, and shouted to Yuyang Zi: "Sect Master!"
Yuyang Zi gnashed his teeth in bitter fury, but at last he knew the tide had turned; to fight on would be to expend the last remnants of the Longevity Hall here. He could only bellow: "All of you withdraw first—I will hold the rear!"
At these words the Longevity Hall disciples fled one and all toward the darkness behind them. On the righteous side, Xiao Yichen and the others were alert beyond measure; they struck as one, and a blaze of strange lights from their treasures came flashing toward Yuyang Zi.
Yuyang Zi gave a great roar and did not dodge; the Yin-Yang Mirror spun sharply in midair and darted straight upward, meeting with a clang the Wheel of Rebirth that Facheng had sent flying. In an instant the mirror shifted from black to white. Xiao Yichen's body jolted; the Seven Stars Sword dancing in midair had suddenly lost control and turned back to attack its master, its thrust so fierce that he was thrown into confusion, weaving hand seals again and again before he regained command of it.
In that brief moment Yuyang Zi had already dragged aside the Nine Yang Ruler that Li Xun sent at him, and the three righteous cultivators' assault faltered. Yet he did not seize the chance to flee; instead his form rose and dropped into the midst of the crowd.
The other righteous disciples were in hot pursuit of the fleeing Longevity Hall adherents and were caught off guard when Yuyang Zi came crashing in. With a series of thuds several were gravely wounded beneath his hand, and several more, struck full force by the Yin-Yang Mirror, were sent flying into the darkness—where their sudden screams fell silent moments later. Doubtless they had plunged into the bottomless pits of this place and perished there.