Chapter 134: A Smile of Contentment

Silence!

The entire battlefield fell silent. Both sides ceased fighting and retreated. Every gaze turned toward Thunder Echo, yet all hearts were shaken. How could this unremarkable young man possess such power to turn the tide of battle? Even Daoist Unruffled could scarcely believe his eyes.

Originally, the disparity between the two sides had been enormous. Including Daoist Unruffled, the Great Wisdom Sect had only four Core Formation cultivators, whereas Laughing Fang had sent twenty-five cultivators at the Core Formation stage or above, giving them an overwhelming advantage. But after Thunder Echo unleashed his Nine-Nine Immortal-Slaying Spear, the situation had changed. So far, the spear had slain six Core Formation members of Laughing Fang, and only two of their souls had managed to escape.

Thus, the ratio had now become nineteen to five. If things continued this way, it was impossible to say whether any of Laughing Fang’s people would survive. Granny Whitehair had recognized this, which was why she had attacked Thunder Echo. Yet she had managed only a draw. Things had become troublesome indeed.

Daoist Unruffled, who had lived for countless years, saw it just as clearly. How could he let such an opportunity pass? Raising the Supreme Great Wisdom Sword, he shouted, “With Young Master Thunder’s help, victory is ours today! Everyone, kill without restraint!”

As he spoke, he was the first to cast out the Supreme Great Wisdom Sword. It circled once above his head before shooting forward. Seeing that the situation had turned bad, Granny Whitehair hurriedly summoned White Fang back to defend her. The Great Wisdom Sword and White Fang immediately clashed.

Thunder Echo knew this was the moment to destroy the enemy. He pulled out the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff and gripped the Nine-Nine Immortal-Slaying Spear with his other hand. Transforming into a streak of blue light, he charged into the ranks of Laughing Fang. At the same time, Daoist Unruffled’s voice reached his ears through telepathy.

“Young Master Thunder, strike quickly. I’ll keep the old hag occupied. Deal with her followers as fast as you can. Today’s battle depends entirely on you.”

“Bang! Bang!”

Two more gunshots rang out, and two more members of Laughing Fang collapsed.

Granny Whitehair truly grew desperate. At this rate, everyone she had brought would be dead within fifteen minutes. Abandoning Daoist Unruffled, she flew directly to within thirty yards of Thunder Echo. The incantations in her hands never ceased, and every spell was hurled toward the Pink Rose Sword.

The Rose Sword had already turned blood-red, its color deepening by the moment. At the same time, Granny Whitehair’s face grew paler and paler.

Behind her, Daoist Unruffled’s Supreme Great Wisdom Sword caught up and struck fiercely against White Fang, which Granny Whitehair had summoned back. Because she was distracted, the Supreme Great Wisdom Sword gained the upper hand, forcing Little White Fang back step by step.

Granny Whitehair paid no attention. She continued pouring her spiritual power desperately into the Rose Sword. The Pink Rose Sword had become completely crimson, and its entire length was wrapped in a dense blood mist.

“Die!”

With a twisted expression, Granny Whitehair forced the word through clenched teeth. Wrapped in blood mist, the Pink Rose Sword shot toward the top of Thunder Echo’s head.

At that moment, Thunder Echo had just slain another member of Laughing Fang and had not yet concealed his figure. With a thought, he used the Blue Lotus Disk to seal off the sword’s path of attack.

Unexpectedly, the Rose Sword did not descend. Instead, the blood mist around him suddenly dispersed, and a rain of flowers scattered across the sky. The Pink Rose Sword itself vanished without a trace.

Blood-red roses!

Every rose was鲜— No, every rose was bright crimson, glistening with an alluring, demonic radiance. Eight hundred roses descended at once, covering an area ten miles across with Thunder Echo at its center. Everything was shrouded in blood-colored light.

Thunder Echo felt no fear. He gathered spiritual power in his right hand, intending to swing the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff and break through the encircling field of blood-red roses.

But the spiritual power within his body had become strangely sluggish. He could not gather even the slightest trace of it, much less swing the staff, which weighed tens of thousands of pounds.

Only then did Thunder Echo realize how formidable Granny Whitehair’s restriction was. He could not even muster the strength to move a finger. The Nine-Nine Immortal-Slaying Spear had become useless as well.

Yet his powerful state of mind forced him to remain calm. Countless thoughts spun rapidly through his mind, and at last he came up with a solution.

He sent a mental message to Tian Rui within the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff.

“At a time like this, are you still refusing to help? If I die, none of you will escape this rose restriction.”

Since he could no longer break through the encirclement himself, he could only seek help from Tian Rui, the staff’s spirit. She was the only one capable of wielding the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff, and he believed she would certainly help him this time.

Sure enough, Tian Rui’s voice reached his sea of consciousness.

“Very well. I’ll help you this once, but I won’t do it for free next time.”

The Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff suddenly rose upright without warning. Accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, it smashed toward the nearest rose.

There was no sound.

Not the slightest sound was made. The rose was like a soft mass of sponge, gently bouncing the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff away.

Thunder Echo froze. This was something he had never imagined. How could the indestructible Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff fail even to break a tiny rose?

Granny Whitehair, who had been frantically forming hand seals, was likewise startled. Thunder Echo had already been completely trapped by her restriction—where had he found the strength to wield that enormous staff?

But now her heart settled. The staff was nothing special after all. It could not even smash a single rose. It seemed Thunder Echo had exhausted his strength.

With renewed confidence, she formed incantations even faster, hurling them into the blood-colored restriction.

The restriction trembled violently and began shrinking at tremendous speed. In an instant, its radius contracted from ten miles to less than half a mile.

Thunder Echo felt the oxygen around him growing thinner, while the pressure pressing in from every direction became heavier and heavier. His body seemed on the verge of being crushed.

Just as he was utterly helpless, a crisp sound like shattering glass came from behind Granny Whitehair.

A sword wrapped in twisted currents of air stabbed toward her. Caught completely off guard, Granny Whitehair could only leap backward and plunge into the blood-colored restriction.

Even so, the Supreme Great Wisdom Sword slashed across her back, leaving a half-foot-long wound. Blood poured freely, and the flesh gaped open.

She let out a shriek like a ghost and shuddered violently. Spreading her arms, she gave them a fierce shake, and the roses filling the sky suddenly gathered together with a soft rush.

The Pink Rose Sword appeared once more.

Granny Whitehair pointed at it, and it clashed head-on with Daoist Unruffled’s Supreme Great Wisdom Sword.

Once the eight hundred roses had been withdrawn, the pressure around Thunder Echo vanished as well. He did not pause for even an instant. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff, slapped a Concealment Talisman onto his body, and raised the Nine-Nine Immortal-Slaying Spear in his left hand.

He vanished from where he stood.

Since Daoist Unruffled had once again entangled Granny Whitehair, Thunder Echo continued his killing strategy.

In the blink of an eye, Granny Whitehair and Daoist Unruffled had exchanged more than a dozen blows. On the other side, Thunder Echo’s Nine-Nine Immortal-Slaying Spear had fired nine times, and nine Laughing Fang experts had lost their lives.

The balance of power had undergone a tremendous transformation. It had gone from twenty-five to five, then nineteen to five, and now stood at nine to five. The two sides were nearly evenly matched.

Granny Whitehair grew increasingly anxious, but she could not escape Daoist Unruffled’s entanglement. She sighed inwardly.

It seemed that today’s mission had failed completely. She had better withdraw first. Otherwise, every person she had brought would be quietly eliminated by Thunder Echo, one after another.

With this thought, she recalled the Pink Rose Sword before her. It transformed into a vast sea of roses, and Granny Whitehair leaped into it, preparing to order a retreat.

Suddenly, another change occurred in the sky.

A black cloud covering more than an acre appeared without warning, enveloping everyone below.

Thunder Echo felt intensely uncomfortable, as though something had bound him, yet at the same time he seemed completely free. Although he could still control his spiritual power at will, the pressure around his body had increased tenfold—twenty times stronger than Granny Whitehair’s own oppressive force.

Clearly, the figure hidden within the black cloud was no ordinary person.

Granny Whitehair sensed it as well. Delighted, she released the Pink Rose Sword once more, showing no sign of retreating.

The black cloud suddenly split open, and a hundred shafts of white light shot through the gap. Black clouds and white light formed a stark contrast as the rays spread toward the people of the Great Wisdom Sect at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

“Not good!” Daoist Unruffled shouted. “Everyone, flee! Quickly—”

But it was already too late.

The hundred beams of white light had entered the bodies of those people. They all trembled at once, then began shaking violently like sieves.

Strangely, however, their faces wore expressions of blissful satisfaction. The more violently they shook, the more satisfied their smiles appeared.