Chapter 19: The Ferocity of Evil Cultivators, the Zifu's Trump Card

“Jiang Sheng! Die!”

Seven iron chains, bristling with barbs and sharp hooks, sealed off all of Jiang Sheng's room for maneuver from every direction, while a faint, eerie green light silently followed close behind!

It was clear that the Eight Wolves of East County intended to bury both Jiang Sheng and Tian Ming'an here together.

Even facing such a perilous situation, Jiang Sheng remained calm, his every movement devoid of haste or urgency.

Seeing the seven iron chain dharma treasures closing in, Jiang Sheng beckoned with his right hand: "Absorb!"

Under the influence of his spiritual power, the candlelight atop the incense altar was drawn into his palm. As he rotated his hand, the points of light grew increasingly bright, transforming into dancing sparks.

"Rise!"

With a soft shout from Jiang Sheng, the sparks instantly expanded, transforming in an instant into dozens of fire sparrows that swirled around him, illuminating the front hall of the Taoist temple with brilliant light.

"Mere parlor tricks! Break!" The alpha wolf sneered, driving his iron chain dharma treasure forward to meet him.

"Go!" Pointing with his fingers, Jiang Sheng caused the dozens of fire sparrows surrounding him to scatter instantly. Each moved with incredible agility toward a different direction before exploding violently.

In an instant, a continuous succession of explosions roared!

Smoke billowed and sparks flew everywhere. The front hall of the Qingxuan Temple was partially collapsed by the exploding fire sparrows; blue bricks and broken tiles fell incessantly, leaving the entire hall in total disarray!

The alpha wolf of the Eight Wolves of East County retracted his dharma treasure with a grim face; the explosion of the fire sparrows had interfered with his perception, preventing his weapon from succeeding.

Furthermore, the poisonous needles—the discarded, filthy bodies of cultivators—had been completely destroyed in the blast!

It wasn't just the alpha wolf; the others had also failed to make any headway.

Looking at the front hall filled with billowing smoke and dust, the expressions of the Eight Wolves of East County were extremely unsightly. Jiang Sheng's strength was clearly beyond their expectations.

A few mere points of candlelight could possess such immense power in his hands; this boy was indeed extraordinary!

Snowflakes fell incessantly from the sky.

Tian Ming'an stood frozen on the spot, his eyes wide. He watched as the iron chains, as insidious and venomous as vipers, suddenly dropped as if their spines had been snapped before him.

Looking up again, Tian Ming'an found that Jiang Sheng was already standing in front of him, and right beneath Jiang Sheng's feet was that very same sinister iron chain.

"Dao... Daoist..." Tian Ming'an was at a loss. Having witnessed such a grand spectacle for the first time in his twelve years of life, he felt as if his heart might leap out of his throat.

Jiang Sheng smiled and said, "It is well that you are safe. Truth be told, this poor Taoist has implicated you. I should have let you descend the mountain much earlier today."

Tian Ming'an hurriedly said, "Daoist, I am not afraid! I believe you can deal with those evil cultivators!"

"You certainly have faith in me," Jiang Sheng smiled. He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and a three-foot green blade appeared in his palm.

"This poor Taoist does not wish to meddle in the affairs of the mortal world, yet there are always those with eyes that cannot see, coming here to seek death. You are lucky, boy. Stay right here; I shall return shortly."

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng swung his long sword downward, severing the iron chain beneath his feet before leaping into the air.

"You visit in the dead of night and show such enthusiasm the moment we meet; it seems my hospitality has been insufficient!"

Jiang Sheng's voice reached the ears of the Eight Wolves of East County with absolute clarity. They stared intently at the green figure soaring through the swirling snow.

A streak of green light sliced through the falling snow, arriving before them in an instant!

"Brothers, watch out!"

The alpha wolf roared. His movements were not slow in the slightest as he struck out with his palm, unleashing a blood-red palm print.

The blood-colored palm clashed with the green sword qi. The seemingly thick blood-colored palm was shredded by the sword qi in an instant, and the green sword qi followed immediately with undiminished momentum, approaching the alpha wolf's front within a single breath.

The sharp chill made the alpha wolf feel a stinging pain between his brows, and the hair on his body stood on end!

"Big Brother!"

The other seven members of the Eight Wolves of East County struck simultaneously, and in the blink of an eye, seven or eight layers of spiritual power barriers appeared before the alpha wolf.

The green sword qi broke through six layers of spiritual barriers in succession before finally losing its sharpness, dissipating in front of the alpha wolf only after barely breaking through one more layer.

By this time, the alpha wolf was drenched in sweat!

With just a single sword strike, they had been forced into such a predicament!

"You do possess some skill, being able to block this strike of mine. It seems you are no ordinary evil cultivators."

Jiang Sheng's clear voice drifted over once more. The Eight Wolves of East County looked up together to see Jiang Sheng standing atop the ridge of the partially destroyed front hall.

Clad in green robes and wearing a jade crown, his left hand was held behind his back, while his right hand held a long sword that was entirely jet-black but covered in green lotus patterns, pointing diagonally downward.

Above, snowflakes drifted; below, flames soared toward the sky. Standing upon the roof ridge amidst this fusion of ice and fire, Jiang Sheng appeared exceptionally extraordinary.

"Disturbing one's peace in the middle of the night, striking with lethal moves from the very start, and even destroying my Taoist temple. This poor Taoist is curious: exactly what kind of deities are you, to dare come to Qingping Mountain to seek trouble with me?" Jiang Sheng's expression was calm, a hint of a smile even touching the corners of his mouth.

But the more he acted this way, the more vigilant the Eight Wolves of East County became.

Jiang Sheng's opening move had already brought them heavy pressure. This was completely different from those so-called geniuses or the sect cultivators who claimed they would surely reach the Purple Mansion realm or had prospects for the Golden Core!

"We have long forgotten our names, but the people of Qingzhou call us the Eight Wolves of East County!"

The alpha wolf's voice was grim. The blood-colored chains coiled around his right arm, writhing like venomous snakes.

"The Eight Wolves of East County? This poor Taoist has never heard of them, but I suppose it doesn't matter. After tonight, the name 'Eight Wolves of East County' will be erased regardless."

As Jiang Sheng spoke, he soared into the air like a flying eagle. With a tremor of his long sword, over a dozen streaks of green sword qi whistled forth in an instant.

"Brothers, block it!"

Seeing the dozen or so intersecting sword qi that resembled a celestial net, the alpha wolf felt his scalp go numb!

He was already secretly regretting his actions: everyone knew there was a Taoist from Penglai on Qingping Mountain, and everyone knew such a Taoist must be incredibly wealthy, so why was he still able to cultivate in seclusion here?

Thinking of this now, the alpha wolf felt he had been blinded by greed. The Eight Wolves had not encountered a tiger this time, but a true dragon crossing the river!

"Attack!" The other seven members of the Eight Wolves of East County also realized the gravity of the situation, and each of them exerted their full strength with desperate ferocity.

The fallen snow in the courtyard of the Qingxuan Temple flew into the air once more under the agitation of the surging spiritual power. The Eight Wolves of East County struck together, unleashing various spells to meet Jiang Sheng's net of sword qi.

For a moment, above the Qingxuan Temple, a green net composed of sword qi collided with various spells such as fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and golden spears.

Explosions rang out continuously. The dense spells, like moths to a flame, constantly intercepted the green net until they finally eroded it completely.

By this time, the Eight Wolves of East County had already consumed nearly half of their spiritual power!

The eight men looked at one another, hesitation appearing in their eyes.

"Big Brother, this opponent is too difficult to handle. If we keep fighting like this, I fear his spiritual power won't run out before we are completely exhausted!"

Hearing his brothers' desire to retreat, the alpha wolf's face became distorted with ferocity: "I want to leave too, but can we? Don't forget, he is a sword cultivator."

"His sword qi wounds you if it grazes you, and kills you if it hits you. If he pursues us, where can we run?"

"If we want to live, we can only gamble with our lives! This opponent is tough, but no matter how tough, we must bite through! As long as we kill him and obtain his cultivation inheritance, where in this vast world could we not go?!"

Hearing their leader's words, greed surged once more in the hearts of the other seven wolves.

They were not truly fools; a wolf pack is always rational.

But given the current situation, there was no retreat; Jiang Sheng clearly would not let them go.

Since that was the case, they could only fight for their lives, hoping the pack could hunt this dragon!

"Brothers, unite!" The alpha wolf let out a violent roar. The blood-colored iron chains coiled around his right arm writhed and circled continuously, as if searching for something.

The other seven members of the Eight Wolves of East County nodded, and the blood-colored chains on their arms also began to vibrate.

They were brothers by nature, practicing the same cultivation technique and wielding the same type of dharma treasure.

Thus, they could be considered as one body; not only did they have combined attack spells, but their dharma treasures could also merge!

The iron chains on the arms of the Eight Wolves of East County seemed to come fully alive. While absorbing the spiritual power and blood essence of the wolves, the chains expanded and extended continuously. The eight chains quickly met and began to coil and swirl like a real swarm of snakes.

In the end, the eight chains had entwined into a single blood-colored venomous snake dozens of feet long. The individual barbs became the snake's scales, and the sharp spearheads became its fangs.

The massive blood-colored snake protected the Eight Wolves of East County in its center, coiling and slithering, constantly flicking its tongue at Jiang Sheng.

The alpha wolf had already had most of his spiritual power and blood essence drained by this blood snake, and his aura was visibly unstable, but his face was full of grim satisfaction: "Daoist Jiang, very few people have ever seen our brothers' ultimate move!"

"The last person to die under this move was a true disciple of the late Foundation Establishment stage from the Qingyun Sect!"

"Our move is enough to contend with the Purple Mansion realm! No matter how much of a genius you are, Daoist Jiang, can you truly slay a Purple Mansion cultivator?!"

Looking at the massive, hideous dharma treasure snake and feeling its authentic spiritual power fluctuations equivalent to the early Purple Mansion stage, Jiang Sheng simply laughed: "Purple Mansion? Why should I not be able to slay one?"

"Bring the fire!"