Martial Cultivator

Chapter 581: Red Threads Encirclement

A killing plot had long been in the works, with nearly all scenarios already thought out. Although the previously arranged sword cultivator had failed to severely injure Chen Chao with his strike, they had nonetheless managed to trap him in this courtyard, preventing his escape.

After drawing his saber, Chen Chao took a deep breath, and the qi within his body continuously surged, reaching its peak in an instant.

In front of him, there were initially ten martial artists, each holding a saber in one hand. Behind these ten were a group of cultivators, each forming seals and mobilizing their qi, unleashing their respective spells with impressive momentum.

However, no matter how big the commotion was, tonight, it was limited to this small courtyard.

The leader, a tall martial artist, stepped forward first. His blood vitality surged like a deep abyss, indicating he had stepped into the Great Beyond Realm many years ago, and his body was tempered until it was incredibly tough; far from being an ordinary martial artist. As he approached this young martial artist who had already gained fame across the world, he had already formulated a plan in his heart. Thus, when he slashed out with his saber, he did not expend all his strength. Instead, he held back some power, intending merely to force Chen Chao back a few steps, which would be sufficient.

However, as this saber strike was unleashed, the overwhelming saber qi surged toward Chen Chao in an instant, only to dissipate completely within a few feet of him, failing to make any progress whatsoever. After that, it instantly dissolved, and ceased to exist between heaven and earth.

Although martial artists of this era could not wield magic spells, the qi of martial artists could still extend several feet or even dozens of feet as their cultivation realms increased. Chen Chao had not yet stepped into the Nepenthe Realm, so the external release of qi was not as terrifying, and he had no intention of excessively releasing his qi. Thus, that powerful qi only extended a few feet before coming to a halt.

The tall martial artist who originally intended to withdraw after failing with his first strike looked grim upon seeing this scene. Disregarding his previous thoughts, he stepped forward and slashed out again. But this time, he put in about 80% to 90% of his strength.

Chen Chao glanced at him, not avoiding the attack. Facing this sturdy martial artist, Chen Chao advanced instead. He sidestepped the saber strike and delivered a powerful punch to the chest of this martial artist, whose cultivation realm was not low.

The latter countered with a return slash aimed at Chen Chao's arm. However, Chen Chao remained unfazed. As the blade descended and was only a few feet from his arm, it once again failed to press down like before. Chen Chao's arm shook, causing this fellow martial artist who was also at the Great Beyond Realm, to have the webbing between his thumb and index finger split apart at the moment of impact.

Afterward, Chen Chao sent him crashing into the crowd.

Before the other martial artists could surround him, Chen Chao charged into the crowd first.

Instantly surrounded by several people, Chen Chao grabbed one martial artist, yanked him forward, and blocked the incoming saber strikes from the others. In an instant, the unlucky martial artist met his end beneath the chaotic saber strikes of his companions. Seizing the opportunity, Chen Chao swept his saber and decapitated the nearest martial artist beside him.

Taking advantage of the falling head, Chen Chao kicked it toward the group of cultivators behind him. Just as the head soared through the air, it suddenly exploded, splattering red and white everywhere.

At that moment, the body of the decapitated martial artist had just collapsed to the ground.

Now Chen Chao found himself surrounded. Although the realms of the surrounding martial artists fell just short of his, they were all sturdy fighters, and with their overwhelming numbers, they firmly believed they would not let Chen Chao escape.

Chen Chao remained expressionless as he struck the chest of a Bitter Sea martial artist with the blade, directly shattering his ribcage. However, at the same time, several others charged at Chen Chao with saber strikes. The overwhelming saber qi surged toward Chen Chao like giant pythons, intent on devouring him alive right there.

Just as Chen Chao sliced through the incoming saber qi, the remaining martial artists suddenly retreated simultaneously and lowered their heads. A boundless qi swept across in an instant, slashing horizontally toward him like a sharp weapon.

Chen Chao stood with his blade raised, as if a nearly invisible thread bound itself to the body of Chen Chao's Cloud Mud.

Chen Chao gripped the sword hilt tightly and pulled forcefully, while the group of cultivators behind him firmly held onto the thread.

Not far away, a daoist threw out several talismans. These talismans glowed green, with arcs of lightning swirling around them, floating toward him. Soon, lightning filled the sky and struck directly at Chen Chao.

The daoist's lightning spell harnessed the might of heaven and earth to eliminate enemies. However, since they aimed to keep this battle confined within the courtyard, they could not invoke heavenly lightning for killing. Thus, these talismans became the preferred choice.

In reality, these talismans had a specific name: lightning talismans!

Several talismans continued to bombard Chen Chao, illuminating the small courtyard as if it were daylight.

Chen Chao quickly found himself engulfed by countless bolts of lightning, as if he had already been buried in this lightning pool.

However, the several daoists in the distance exchanged glances and did not retreat. Instead, they formed seals and summoned several lightning spears that hovered ominously above the lightning pool. Then, it absorbed the scattered lightning and prepared to strike down, intending to nail Chen Chao dead here.

Chen Chao's figure which was already submerged in the lightning pool was no longer visible. The cultivators controlling the nearly invisible thread felt a loss of strength within it. Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, the thread that was barely visible to the naked eye suddenly tightened. Two of the cultivators were yanked by an immense force and were pulled straight toward the lightning pool.

The two struggled mid-air, but it was futile.

As they neared the lightning pool, a hand reached out, dragging the two of them directly into the pool.

Two miserable screams followed.

The two cultivators were instantly engulfed by the lightning and annihilated!

Seeing this scene, everyone felt a wave of terror. The power of the lightning pool was evident, and the fate of those two cultivators was sufficient to demonstrate that. Yet despite this, why was the young martial artist not yet struck dead?

While everyone understood that the young martial artist had an incredibly tough body, there was no reason for it to be so resilient, right?

Just as everyone stood there, dumbfounded, a figure rushed out from the lightning pool, arriving at the center of the courtyard. He raised the hilt of his saber, Cloud Mud, which had turned from black to white, and slashed down.

A terrifying saber beam appeared between heaven and earth.

The red threads around the cultivators standing around the courtyard swayed violently, and the bells atop them jingled incessantly.

Their expressions turned ugly, but they quickly grabbed the red threads and pulled them taut in an instant!

Under Chen Chao's slash, several cultivators failed to dodge in time and were directly cleaved in half.

A few martial artists were also affected by this attack. However, their bodies were tough enough to narrowly escape disaster.

After the slash, Chen Chao landed on the ground, his chest heaving as he prepared to catch his breath. Suddenly, the heavily injured Great Beyond martial artist from earlier suddenly got up, and charged at Chen Chao, grasping his long saber tightly.

In the moment of transitioning between old and new qi, a cultivator is at their most vulnerable.

He intended to take advantage of this moment to kill Chen Chao.