Chapter 8: Purple-Clothed Marquis
"Listening to the wind to discern positions, obstructing sight to kill." The leader of the black-robed figures outside the Solitary Void sneered, "If you think this alone can break the Solitary Void Formation, you're too naive." He drew a flute from his robe, and a chilling, eerie melody began to play, sounding particularly eerie on this cold night.
The two inside the Solitary Void Formation also heard this melody simultaneously. Tang Lian couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Lei Wuji suddenly felt the calm and soothing wind from earlier turn chilling, but it didn't seem like someone had torn through the wind formation. Just as he hesitated, several attacks came at him. Despite reacting quickly and blocking them, he still ended up with some injuries.
"Concentrate!" Tang Lian roared angrily, his voice booming with the power of the Lion's Roar technique from the Buddhist sect.
The flute's melody faltered with his roar, and Lei Wuji gasped for breath, punching back a sudden ghostly claw.
Tang Lian laughed, "Although this is indeed the Solitary Void Formation, compared to the one Senior Master and I encountered years ago, it's far inferior. It's said that during the Demon Cult's Eastern Expedition, the Solitary Void Formation they laid under Qilian Mountain covered an area of hundreds of miles, with myriad ghosts appearing, like hell on earth. At that time, Senior Master was only three years older than I am now, yet he managed to break such a strange formation. This small Solitary Void Formation, if I were to fail to break it, would be a disgrace to the teachings of Snow Moon City over the years."
"Senior Brother, do you have a way to break the formation?" Lei Wuji asked eagerly.
Tang Lian pointed with his toe and swiftly moved behind Lei Wuji. The two stood back to back, guarding each other's rear in the Solitary Void Formation. Like blind men, they faced attacks from all directions, reducing the possibility of surprise attacks.
"Senior Brother is amazing!"
"This is common sense!" Tang Lian reprimanded, "The key to breaking the Solitary Void Formation lies with the person who set it up. Right now, I need to find that person. Once we find him and drive him away, the formation can naturally be broken."
"But how do we find him when we're inside the Solitary Void?" Lei Wuji asked.
Tang Lian smiled faintly, "The flute's sound. The person who set up the formation shouldn't be playing the flute. They should maintain absolute secrecy, but he's impatient. You go and clear the formation for me!"
"Understood!" Lei Wuji replied loudly, swinging his fists to knock back the black-robed figures trying to approach. But at the same time, his breathing became heavier and heavier. He knew that with his current stamina, he could only hold out for a hundred moves at most. After that, if Tang Lian hadn't broken the formation yet, he might exhaust himself to death.
Tang Lian, with his eyes tightly closed, had the skill of discerning positions through wind slightly inferior only to top-level masters of hidden weapons like Granny Tang, Grandpa Tang, and Third Young Master Tang. After catching his breath for a moment, he finally detected the trace of the flute's sound. His mind followed the sound against the wind and finally found the black-robed person playing the flute. At this moment, he was sitting on a nearby withered tree.
"There he is!" Tang Lian suddenly opened his eyes wide. A Furious Buddha's Lotus burst forth from his hand, and with its emergence, the Solitary Void Formation seemed to tear apart, revealing bit by bit the normal surroundings.
The black-robed old man standing on the withered tree set down the flute in his hand. He watched as the enchanting and eerie seven-petal lotus flew swiftly towards him. He hastily leaped off the tree. However, the lotus suddenly exploded in mid-air, scattering into seven directions. One petal pierced directly through the old man's chest, and blood gushed out as he heavily crashed to the ground.
"The formation is broken!" Lei Wuji exclaimed joyfully.
"Yes, the formation is broken," but the answer came from a stranger's voice.
Lei Wuji was greatly shocked, and Tang Lian broke out in a cold sweat. Unbeknownst to them, a purple-clothed man stood between Tang Lian and Lei Wuji. He held a folding fan in his hand, his lips curved in a faint smile.
"You!" Tang Lian turned sharply, but the purple-clothed man swiftly turned the fan in his hand, knocking Tang Lian away. Tang Lian crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The purple-clothed man turned to the black-robed figures and asked, "Where is the White Hair? According to the agreement, he should have succeeded by now. Without him, how can you people be a match for Tang Lian?"
"You despicable!" Lei Wuji gritted his teeth and cursed.
"Oh?" The purple-clothed man turned back to look at him, "And who might you be? Why do you say I'm despicable, Marquis?"
"You took advantage of others' unpreparedness. How is that not despicable?" Lei Wuji retorted angrily.
Lei Wuji was greatly shocked, and Tang Lian broke out in a cold sweat, not knowing when, between Tang Lian and Lei Wuji, stood a man in purple robes. He held a folding fan in his hand, with a faint smile playing on his lips.
"You!" Tang Lian whirled around suddenly, but the man in purple robes swiftly spun his folding fan, sending Tang Lian flying out. Tang Lian crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Turning to the black-robed figures, the man in purple asked, "Where did White Hair go? According to the agreement, he should have succeeded by now. Without him, how can you people be a match for Tang Lian?"
"You despicable!" Lei Wuji gritted his teeth and cursed.
"Oh?" The man in purple turned back to look at him, "And who might you be? Why do you call this marquis despicable?"
"You took advantage of us being unprepared, how is that not despicable?" Lei Wuji retorted angrily.
The man in purple chuckled lightly, "Should I have shouted loudly, 'Tang Lian, I'm coming to kill you,' and then bowed to each other before drawing swords?"
Furious, Lei Wuji exclaimed, "You outnumbered us, and just after my senior brother broke the Solitary Void Formation, you attacked with hidden arrows. How is that not despicable?"
"You seem to have misunderstood. We're not here for a duel. We're here to kill," the man in purple suddenly fixed his gaze, and with a wave of his folding fan, he attacked Lei Wuji.
Lei Wuji met the attack with a punch, but he felt as though the force behind the fan was immense, despite the man in purple seemingly waving it lightly. Lei Wuji's punch, known for its dominance, was pushed back forcefully.
"The Art of Sevenfold Fire Burn, igniting the inner firewood, gaining temporary divine power. After Thunder Roar, it seemed like no one in Thunder Hall would practice this martial art anymore. You're quite good," the man in purple said as he continued to wave his fan, forcing Lei Wuji to retreat step by step. "However, after experiencing the Solitary Void Formation just now, you're already at the end of your strength."
The man in purple stopped and sighed, raising his fan into the air. With a swing, he sent Lei Wuji flying. Lei Wuji felt as though a tremendous internal force was pressing down on him, and the burning sensation inside him collapsed in an instant. After crashing heavily to the ground, his once fiery red pupils dimmed.
"When Thunder Roar unleashed the Art of Sevenfold Fire Burn in the past, it barely withstood the Purple Qi coming from this marquis. How can you fare any better?" The man in purple shook his head in regret and turned as if to leave.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" Lei Wuji was prepared to fight to the death.
The man in purple paused, "Even if I were willing to spare you, these people certainly won't let you live for the sake of the coffin behind you. But if you manage to survive, someday, I'll give you a fair fight."
"My master expelled me from the sect, and I didn't understand it at first. It wasn't until yesterday when I saw a sword and today saw your fan that I understood what my master meant by 'the world is vast,'" Lei Wuji clenched his fists, ignited his internal energy, and his pupils turned fiery red again. His red robes fluttered without wind. "However, seeing that the world is vast isn't enough. I also want to become a part of this world."
"You're quite an interesting kid," the man in purple smiled and glanced at the black-robed figures, "You all should be careful."
"Your Highness, these two are not to be underestimated. It's better to deal with them early to avoid future trouble," a black-robed figure advised respectfully.
"Can't you kill two severely injured people? The subordinates trained by White Hair are truly a bunch of trash," the man in purple didn't say anything more. With a slight step on his toes, a few ups and downs, his figure disappeared.
"He's quite an interesting person," Tang Lian finally managed to stand up with difficulty, "If he had stayed just now, we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Are you implying you have a chance now?" a leader among the black-robed figures sneered.
Tang Lian stepped forward and patted Lei Wuji's shoulder, "Killing a few like you is no big deal." Although Tang Lian pretended to be calm and composed, Lei Wuji knew that rather than patting his shoulder, Tang Lian was barely supporting himself from falling.
"Senior Brother..." Lei Wuji was about to turn around to support him but was stopped by Tang Lian, "Rui just received a signal. The contact person is already outside the city, and she's gone to assist. We must delay these people now until they return!"
"Alright," Lei Wuji nodded and shouted, "Come at us together!"
"Together?" a black-robed figure extended his pale hand, "Do you think this bluff can scare us off? But since you said 'together,' we'll oblige! Attack!"
In an instant, more than a dozen people attacked simultaneously. No, they were all attacking Tang Lian!
Tang Lian gritted his teeth, "They've seen through my injuries."
"No one understands the Palm Force of the Marquis as well as we do. After being hit by that palm, you're definitely seriously injured!"
At this moment, however, someone stood in front of Tang Lian. He was Lei Wuji, but at this time, Lei Wuji relied on his last breath of true energy, on the verge of collapse. A dozen palm forces struck him at the same time. He shouted in anger, and his pupils turned red.
"Retreat!" The leader of the black-robed people ordered hastily.
But it was too late. In just a moment, Lei Wuji had sent more than a dozen people flying. They crashed heavily to the ground. Lei Wuji's knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground. He shook his head and sighed, "I should have worked harder when learning martial arts with my master in those days."
"It's not time to relax yet," Tang Lian sighed. Looking up, he saw that although each of the black-robed figures was bruised, their injuries weren't serious.
Lei Wuji smiled bitterly, "I have no strength left now."
Tang Lian sighed too, "The Palm Force of that man in purple robes is indeed formidable. Even now, I can't muster my true energy."
The leader of the black-robed figures sneered, "It seems that tonight, the two of you will stay here."
"Whether we stay here or not isn't for you to decide," a lazy voice interrupted them. Lei Wuji turned around in surprise and called out, "Xiao Se!"
He saw a figure dressed in fox fur land steadily on the golden coffin. He yawned lazily. If it weren't for Xiao Se, who else could it be?
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