"Seek death~ Defend!"
Sensing the sharp sword intent behind him, Yang Hong immediately activated the "Guardian Sword Intent" without a word.
*Clang clang clang*
Caught off guard, even though Yang Hong had promptly used "Guardian Sword Intent," he was still struck squarely by three flying swords. With crisp collisions, he was sent flying.
Towards the space turbulence that was still erupting!
"Stop!"
In the critical moment, Yang Hong directly unleashed his time laws, freezing time around him.
Because the time laws he had comprehended were primarily focused on time acceleration, he could only pause time for a single breath at this point.
However, a single breath was enough for a cultivator at the Mahayana realm!
With his cultivation having advanced to the fourth layer of the Mahayana realm, Yang Hong completed his turn within this single breath, ascended into the air,
And then, he unleashed a sword strike!
*Boom*
Amidst a deafening explosion, the pursuing black-robed cultivator closest to him was directly cleaved into fragments by his sword energy.
It was then that Yang Hong clearly saw the attackers. There were seven in total, all wearing black robes that offered a certain degree of invisibility and concealment. No wonder he hadn't detected them even after half an hour of leaving the secret realm.
"Impossible! How could you be so fast?"
"Attack~ Kill him!"
"Fellow Daoist, it's a misunderstanding~"
"Fellow Daoist, I bear you no malice."
The remaining six individuals were clearly not a cohesive group, but rather a band that had decided to rob others on the spot. Upon witnessing Yang Hong powerfully dispatch one of their companions, discord immediately arose.
Four of them continued to attack him, while the other two rapidly retreated.
However, Yang Hong slashed out with his sword once more, repelling the four attackers instantly!
"Heh heh~ Whether it's a misunderstanding will be determined by the sword in my hand."
"Fellow Daoist, do not push your luck. We are all late-stage Mahayana cultivators. Six against one, you may not have the upper hand."
"Is that so?"
Facing the six, Yang Hong remained relaxed.
He was the one who had just annihilated seventy-three Mahayana demonic cultivators, and he didn't mind killing seven more.
"Heh heh~ It seems you are very confident, Fellow Daoist. Let's see what you've got. Four Symbols Array~ Rise!"
Without waiting for the agreement of the two retreating companions, the four black-robed figures who had rushed forward each held a formation flag and, with a flash, surrounded Yang Hong.
The Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the Black Tortoise of the North – the four spirit manifestations appeared within three breaths, encircling Yang Hong.
Concurrently, the two who had retreated each raised a massive hammer and slammed it down towards Yang Hong, with deep blue lightning preceding the hammers towards his head!
"Heh heh~ Late-stage Mahayana? I've killed several already."
"Sword Shatters City!"
Yang Hong's sword still slashed horizontally, his entire mana surging into the seventh-tier flying sword, which then exploded.
However, under the impetus of his formidable sword intent, the flying sword fragments turned to dust, condensing with the sword intent into a colossal sword a hundred zhang long.
A circular sword light flashed, and the four spirit manifestations slowly dissipated. The six black-robed figures vanished into dust in the air without even a chance to scream.
With just one strike, Yang Hong had instantly killed six late-stage Mahayana cultivators.
And he did so without even breaking a sweat.
Yet, he did not let his guard down. Instead, he took out another seventh-tier flying sword and, with a calm expression, looked towards the mountainside of a nearby broken sword peak.
"Fellow Daoist, you've been watching the show for quite some time. Won't you come out and show yourself?"
*Clap clap clap*
"Hahaha~ Fellow Daoist, your methods are impressive, your swordplay is superb, and you are ruthless!"
With a round of applause, a slender youth with jade-like temperament and a handsome face emerged.
He walked, step by step, through the air, exuding an air of uninhibited grace.
Seeing this fellow, Yang Hong couldn't help but inwardly praise: So handsome.
As for his praise, Yang Hong dismissed it as nonsense and immediately asked, "Fellow Daoist, are you with them?"
"Haha~ You jest, Fellow Daoist. How could I be with them? If I were, I would have attacked you just now."
"You didn't want to, but you didn't dare, did you?
Tell me your origin, and the origin of those seven idiots just now.
Don't tell me you don't know; you've been lurking here for half a day."
"Heh heh~ Naturally, there's nothing I can't say. I am Kang Lihua, an elder of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect and a disciple of an immortal from the lower realm.
The seven people you just killed were one elder from the Qian Yuan Sword Sect, two true disciples from the Shen Wu Sect, and the last four were elders from the Yun Duo Sect."
Kang Lihua, unafraid that Yang Hong would kill him, flew directly to within three zhang of Yang Hong before stopping.
Yang Hong asked with a hint of curiosity:
"A disciple of an immortal? No wonder you are so confident.
Do you know who I am? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"Your swordsmanship is so exquisite, and your sword intent so potent, that you must hail from a sword cultivation immortal sect, most likely the Qian Yuan Sword Sect. However, since you even killed an elder of the Qian Yuan Sword Sect, you clearly are not.
In the Tai Yuan Realm, the only sect with such high-level sword techniques is the ninth-rank sect, [Myriad Sword Sect]. Looking at your young age and your cultivation already at the fifth layer of the Mahayana realm, you must be a disciple of an upper realm immortal.
Therefore, you must be one of the newly appointed true disciples of the Myriad Sword Sect."
"Heh heh~"
Yang Hong suddenly sheathed his flying sword. He no longer wished to kill. This fellow truly didn't recognize him and had concocted a backstory for him that could save him a lot of trouble.
With a couple of light laughs, he collected the storage rings and equipment dropped by the seven after their deaths. His previous strike was focused on the head, incidentally eradicating their Nascent Souls. He had carefully preserved their equipment.
This skill was honed through the lives of eighty thousand demonic cultivators. He possessed quite a bit of equipment and wealth from them.
"Fellow Daoist~ May I have a look at the crystals you just retrieved from the spatial turbulence? Among them, there seems to be a World-Breaking Stone. I wonder if you are willing to sell one. I am willing to pay a high price."
Hearing Kang Lihua's words, Yang Hong couldn't help but look at him properly. This fellow truly had sharp eyes, discerning the World-Breaking Stones among the crystals within just three breaths.
"You have good eyesight, Fellow Daoist. However, this World-Breaking Stone has great utility, so I will not sell it."
"Since that is the case, I shall take my leave."
Kang Lihua felt the faint killing intent emanating from Yang Hong. He cupped his fists, bowed towards Yang Hong, and then shot away with incredible speed.
Yang Hong clenched his fist, suppressing the urge to intercept and kill Kang Lihua again. He then glanced around, formed a hand seal, and disappeared with an earth遁 (earth escape).
The sword intent he had unleashed when killing earlier had attracted the attention of many nearby cultivators, including those at the Mahayana realm. If he were to act again, while he wasn't afraid of a combined assault,
If some Mahayana cultivators were to leave and spread his reputation, it would still cause him trouble.
For instance, the major sects might besiege Clear Wind Villa.
In truth, Yang Hong's concerns were unfounded. The immortal infant of Immortal War Tiger had already reported back to the immortal sect's gathering place, spreading the word about Clear Wind Villa possessing a formation that could instantly kill immortals and practitioners.
Currently, no one was willing to offend Clear Wind Villa.
It was just that at the time this incident occurred, he was engrossed in expounding the "Tao Te Ching" and had not noticed.
With misgivings in his heart, Yang Hong proceeded with even greater caution and vigilance in his subsequent actions.