Chapter 309: Pressing Forward

Dongbo Xueying did not tangle with him further. His figure transformed into a streak of light, swiftly rushing beyond the Meteorite Bridge.

Whoosh.

The silver-armored swordsman was also extremely fast. Facing Dongbo Xueying, he seemed to flicker forward in a flash. The two swiftly closed the distance, and then came a crescent-shaped blade of icy coldness, like a waning moon! Indeed, this blade was incredibly frigid. When the crescent blade lit up, even the space within the Void Realm began to freeze. This freezing crescent blade directly slashed toward Dongbo Xueying’s throat.

“Get back!” A long spear suddenly roared forth, as if a massive star had abruptly expanded, bursting forth with dazzling brilliance, then collapsing inward, its radiant glow suddenly condensing into a singular “point.”

This single point.

Transformed into the spearhead of this long spear!

The spearhead also contained a swirling vortex-like force, drawing the crescent blade toward it. The terrifying chill radiating from the crescent blade also surged forth.

The vortex’s pull abruptly shifted into a repelling force! Under the rapid transformation between attraction and repulsion, the crescent blade’s trajectory was affected.

“Chi!” The spear shaft brushed past the blade, and the spearhead directly pierced the silver-armored swordsman’s chest.

“Clang!”

The silver-armored swordsman staggered backward. He couldn’t help but glance in astonishment at this Transcendent. Although the Void Realm differed from the real world, with everything affected and his speed and strength slightly weakened, he could only exert about seventy to eighty percent of his full power. Still, he had to admit—the subtlety of that spear strike had already surpassed his sword techniques!

Dongbo Xueying also felt the Star True Intent on his body tremble slightly under the cold invasion, but it was fine. His protective Star True Intent had not collapsed, not to mention he also had the armor formed from the Azure Guard.

“Yin, the ultimate darkness and coldness! Just the outward chill is this shocking. If I were truly struck, I might actually freeze to death,” Dongbo Xueying mused briefly, but his movements never faltered. He continued speeding toward the Meteorite Bridge.

“You won’t escape.” The staggering silver-armored swordsman immediately lunged again, swinging his blade. He had been inexperienced before, but now that he understood the spear’s peculiarity, he was prepared.

“Fu Shu, Old Bandit, hurry, hurry, both of you escape!”

Chen Jiu had eight arms, and in an instant, all eight gray metallic arms faintly revealed dragon-head illusions. His attacks were exquisitely refined. From Dongbo Xueying’s judgment, the “Eight Dragon True Intent” should be a variant of the “Life and Death True Intent.” After all, the rules of Heaven and Earth are infinitely profound, and countless mysteries ultimately combine into the complete laws of the universe!

Therefore, in theory, any mystery can be fused.

This leads to the emergence of some uniquely rare True Intents, though usually, one can find similar ones. The Eight Dragon True Intent was similar to the Life and Death True Intent. Although each move carried deadly intent, they faintly contained boundless vitality, making his techniques perfectly balanced. His eight arms seemed like an endless cycle of life and death.

The other three silver-armored swordsmen, after a brief clash, immediately realized that although they had the advantage in strength and speed, Chen Jiu surpassed them in the subtlety of the Dao. With his eight arms, even if the three of them attacked together, they could only suppress this Demigod, unable to decisively defeat him. So they immediately turned to attack Fu Shu and Old Bandit.

“You won’t escape.” Chen Jiu was valiant and fearless, rapidly approaching Old Bandit and Fu Shu, while his eight arms entangled the silver-armored guards.

The silver-armored swordsmen wanted to kill Fu Shu and Old Bandit, and with Chen Jiu nearby, a clash was inevitable!

The two sides clashed fiercely.

Although the silver-armored swordsmen were weakened in the Void Realm, their full strength remained in the real world. With every strike, Chen Jiu’s arms were pushed back. For now, he could barely manage to entangle two silver-armored guards. One of them still surged toward Fu Shu.

“Hua!” A flowing black glow surrounded Fu Shu’s body, and in his hand was a shield.

“Block!” He used the shield to withstand the silver-armored swordsman’s strike.

Under the impact, Fu Shu instead used the force to propel himself faster toward the other end of the Meteorite Bridge.

“You want to escape?” The silver-armored swordsman sneered, chasing swiftly. His blade swung again. Although Fu Shu desperately used his shield to block, the swordsman’s blade techniques were unpredictable and swift. Soon, three strikes landed on Fu Shu. The protective black glow around his body began to tremble. After the third strike, the protective glow completely shattered.

“Old Baldy!” The bearded elder, Old Bandit, conjured illusions to distract the silver-armored swordsman.

But it was useless. The silver-armored swordsmen focused only on Fu Shu, ignoring him completely.

“Boom!” Fu Shu’s Demigod-tier shield was directly cleaved and sent flying. His hands were numb. Indeed, his body had already taken three strikes, but the shield had endured over ten hits. Each blow was more powerful than the attacks from Chen Jiu or Lord You Lan! Fortunately, Fu Shu’s True Intent was strong enough to continuously block multiple strikes using the shield, but finally, he could no longer withstand it.

“Hua!” Another slash came!

Fu Shu’s face turned desperate.

Too fast!

He couldn’t even use a Divine-tier scroll in time. Using a Divine scroll required taking it out, tearing it open, and channeling mana! Under the silver-armored swordsman’s lightning-fast strikes, after the previous slash sent his shield flying, the next strike followed immediately. How could he possibly react in time?

“Am I going to die like this? No, I still have a Divine-tier scroll on me!” Fu Shu was anxious. He was the only Transcendent mage among the trio.

“Fu Shu!” Chen Jiu rushed anxiously, but it was too late.

“Not good!” Dongbo Xueying, still within the Void Realm, saw this but couldn’t arrive in time—the battle was too fast.

At this moment, suddenly, a figure appeared before Fu Shu.

It was the bearded elder!

Only he could instantly switch using illusions, arriving in time to save.

“Ha!” The bearded elder, Old Bandit, wielded a dagger like lightning to block the slash.

Boom!

He blocked it!

The crescent-shaped saber struck the dagger, but then the terrifying power within the saber erupted, pressing down on the dagger and continuing to slash into the bearded elder. Although he wore Demigod-tier robes, the terrifying force within that slash still pierced through the robes, impacting his entire body. He was sent flying backward, his eyes wide.

This time, it was his true self that blocked the attack. Because illusions could never withstand such a strike.

Chen Jiu, rushing forward, immediately swung his arm furiously, slamming it toward the silver-armored swordsman. The swordsman blocked but staggered back.

At this moment, Fu Shu, cradling Old Bandit, immediately dashed toward the other end of the Meteorite Bridge. In this brief moment, they had already escaped.

“Go!” Chen Jiu also fled swiftly.

…

At the other end of the Meteorite Bridge, they stepped onto muddy earth.

Dongbo Xueying arrived first, followed by Fu Shu, who was carrying Old Bandit.

“Old Bandit.” Fu Shu held Old Bandit, his voice filled with anxiety.

“Old Bandit, how are you?” Chen Jiu hurried over.

The bearded elder smiled faintly: “Help the Young Master…” Before he could finish, his entire body disintegrated into nothingness. Under that terrifying strike, Old Bandit’s body couldn’t withstand the impact. Even at the particle level, he was completely destroyed. Only his powerful soul had kept his body intact for a moment, but once he spoke, his body collapsed into oblivion.

“Why, why were you so foolish?” Fu Shu, the bald elder, had tears in his eyes. “You knew you couldn’t block it, yet you still tried! Old Bandit, Old Bandit!”

Old Bandit mastered the Illusion True Intent.

This True Intent meant that Old Bandit’s own power wasn’t strong, nor was his strength dominant. Just like the Void Realm weakening attacks, illusions were slightly better, but still weak! Old Bandit’s offensive power was only comparable to the top three Demigods of the Xia Clan. However, his illusions and transformations made him exceptionally skilled at survival and assassination.

“I know, I know. He thought I was a Transcendent mage, and that I was more useful to the Young Master.” Fu Shu wept. In the Flying Sword Manor, he and Old Bandit were like brothers.

Chen Jiu’s eyes also turned slightly red.

Fu Shu was his elder, and Old Bandit was also his elder.

Who would have thought they would die here! If only they had been stronger, if only they could have held off the three silver-armored swordsmen!

…

The remaining members of the team also arrived one by one.

The Mei Shan Master’s team had split up. The black-robed man used a Divine-tier scroll and acted alone, successfully passing through. The Mei Shan Master, accompanied by the white-robed girl, also passed successfully. Their team remained intact.

The golden-robed youth, Sword Emperor, went alone and naturally passed through.

Finally, Wu Ma Hai. His companion, the tall thin man “Ba Han,” also died under the silver-armored swordsman’s blade! Wu Ma Hai, after all, didn’t have eight arms, nor was he skilled in long-range combat. He could only handle one silver-armored swordsman. Although Ba Han was quite strong, he was slain in a single strike just as he was about to reach the bridgehead!

Four teams.

The Mei Shan Master’s team remained intact.

Dongbo Xueying and Chen Jiu’s team had lost one member.

Wu Ma Hai and the golden-robed youth Sword Emperor’s teams were left with only themselves.

“They’ve all arrived.”

The atmosphere was clearly somber.

The Mei Shan Master, the only one whose team remained intact, spoke: “Everyone understands, entering the Red Stone Mountain is a matter of life and death, a gamble with our lives! Now that we’ve passed the Meteorite Bridge, ahead—beneath the towering Heaven-Connecting Vine, we should be able to obtain something we need.”

The master of Red Stone Mountain…

In the Divine Realm, he used the Red Stone Mountain to recruit disciples, attracting countless Demigods to attempt the trial! This first stage was actually a form of blessing!

As long as one came, any Demigod with decent strength or good luck would receive some reward after passing the Meteorite Bridge! As for the “Heaven-Connecting Vine”… that was the truly ruthless trial for selecting disciples.

“Let’s go.” Gazing at the dark, gloomy land ahead, and the towering Heaven-Connecting Vine whose top could not be seen, Dongbo Xueying spoke.

“Let’s go.”

The Mei Shan Master, Dongbo Xueying, Chen Jiu, the golden-robed youth Sword Emperor, Wu Ma Hai, the white-robed girl, the black-robed man, and Fu Shu—all proceeded toward the Heaven-Connecting Vine. Although they had suffered great losses, they had anticipated this before coming. Since it had happened, they could only accept it and continue forward!