Chapter 274: Chapter 273: Fighting Solo and Ganging Up
"A Celestial Spirit Array Talisman has been triggered!"
"The Dragon-locking Light Curtain has been triggered!"
"The Dragon-Binding Iron Chains have been triggered!"
"Where?"
"The single-person dorms for the Registered and Outer Disciples."
"The target is still in the dorm."
"His Magical Power is strong. He’s broken out!"
BOOM!
The Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting was still quite formidable. Though he had yet to recover from his severe injuries and was nowhere near his peak, the mere localized array in a single dorm room was not enough to hold him.
He deflected the Celestial Spirit Gang Qi, snapped the Dragon-Binding Iron Chains, and shattered the Dragon-locking Light Curtain before bursting right through the roof of the dorm.
But the moment he flew out, a cold glint of light flashed before his eyes. A man in yellow had appeared before him, two short blades gleaming in his hands. One thrust straight for the spot between his eyebrows, while the other slashed at his ribs.
It was none other than Daluo Palace’s first Guardian Star Official, The Golden Dog of Bond Huang Yuan!
The Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Huang Yuan. Huang Yuan felt an obscure telekinetic force invade his Sea of Consciousness, plunging his mind into chaos. He felt muddled and weak, as if he couldn’t summon his strength, and an inexplicable sense of awe for the man before him washed over him.
This was a Divine Soul attack!
"Break!"
With a sharp cry, Huang Yuan swept his Divine Sense through his mind, instantly clearing away the obscure telekinetic force and regaining his clarity. "So you’re just an old ghost!"
"What?"
The Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting was also taken aback. A swirl of black smoke deflected Huang Yuan’s two daggers, and he retreated, hovering in the air above the destroyed dorm.
The opponent’s Magical Power was mixed with Demon Power, so the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting had assumed his Divine Sense would be weak. He had used his Forgetful Soul Technique directly, never expecting the man to break free in such a short time.
"Pathetic tricks!" Huang Yuan sneered. "That level of telekinesis is weaker than a casual strike from Elder Shen Hao. Your Refining God Technique is far inferior to the cultivation techniques of my Daluo Palace."
"How dare you!" the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting roared. He reached down and pulled Liu Jin out, then transformed into a wisp of black smoke and fled down Cuiluo Mountain.
"Stay where you are!" Clear shouts rang out in unison as Yang Chi and Lu Yue appeared on either side of the master. One attacked with his palm, the other with a sword, kicking up a gale to block the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting’s escape.
But their Dao Practice was ultimately weaker, and they couldn’t stop the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting. Then, the figure of a large man appeared behind them.
He focused his mind and gathered his qi, and a massive, transparent palm materialized. It slapped squarely against the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting, swatting him right back where he came from.
He Feng’s Magical Power was also on the verge of a breakthrough, so his true combat strength wasn’t much less than Huang Yuan’s.
BOOM!
Liu Jin was knocked back into the ruins of the dorm. The Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting protected his life but couldn’t avoid being injured again. He gritted his teeth. "If that Old Fire Corpse hadn’t destroyed my Ghost Body and injured my Divine Soul, I could obliterate Little Demons like you with a wave of my hand!"
"I was wondering who it could be. So it’s the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting."
A cold, crisp voice rang out, and then a woman in green robes floated lightly into the air above him. She looked down at him coldly, though her cheeks were still faintly flushed.
"Who are you?" The Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting hadn’t expected anyone else to recognize him.
Li Qingshuang’s eyes sharpened. "Wasn’t the lesson the Netherfire Sect Leader taught you enough? You actually dare to try this again at Daluo Palace?"
Meanwhile, the small courtyard was already surrounded by people. Qiao Hu cowered to one side, trembling, while the Inner Sect Disciple who had brought Liu Jin here looked sick to his stomach.
Gu Zhao also appeared at the courtyard gate. He straightened his clothes, then patted the Inner Sect Disciple on the shoulder and comforted him, "The intruder is an expert. It’s perfectly normal that you didn’t notice anything."
"Thank you, Sect Leader!"
"However, an unintentional mistake is still a mistake. The Law Enforcement Hall should have a standard procedure for this situation. Go and receive your punishment tomorrow morning."
"Yes!"
"Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be anything too severe." Gu Zhao thought for a moment. "What was it again? I forget."
Seeing that the enemy was surrounded, their side had the complete upper hand, and the Sect Leader didn’t seem concerned at all, another Inner Sect Disciple stepped forward to joke, "Scrubbing the latrines for a month, or hauling dung for a month."
The first Inner Sect Disciple’s face turned an even deeper shade of green.
Shortly after, Zhuo Qingyan, the Silk Embroideress, Bai Ke, Bi Yingying, Chen Zhi, and even He Cailian and Wang Yue, the head of landscaping, appeared nearby.
The reason was simple. Daluo Palace hadn’t faced an enemy in a long time. It was rare for an intruder to sneak in, so everyone had come out to watch the show.
Bai Ke pursed her lips. "He doesn’t know the first thing about Daluo Palace, yet he dared to sneak in."
The Silk Embroideress shook her head. "Even if he did, he wouldn’t know that Daluo Palace’s arrays would automatically identify him."
Daluo Palace’s arrays had gone through many iterations. Although it was still fundamentally the Five Thunders Dragon-Catching Array, its structure and intricacies were a world apart from the original version.
Take the Celestial Spirit Array Talismans, for example. To avoid friendly fire, they were no longer placed everywhere but were instead set up at key nodes, specifically to target enemies who sneak in.
The Firework Taoists’ quarters, the Registered Disciples’ dorms, the logistical kitchens, storage areas, and so on—all of these were key areas.
As it turned out, their preparations had paid off. The very first time the system was put to the test, it had caught a big fish.
Gu Zhao gave Zhuo Qingyan a thumbs-up. She had contributed a great deal to this.
Zhuo Qingyan smiled sweetly and watched as The Golden Dog of Bond Huang Yuan, Earth Badger of Di He Feng, and Jiaomu Flood Dragon Biyingying began to besiege the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting, with Golden Sheep of Ghost Yang Chi and Zhang Yuelu Lu Yue providing support from the sides.
The five Star Officials each had their own strengths. Without even needing help from the Daluo Palace’s arrays, they had the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting surrounded and were completely overwhelming him.
Liu Jin came to his senses amidst the rubble and saw his Harmony partner, the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting, being besieged by several opponents. A circle of Daluo Palace disciples stood on the periphery, watching the battle.
Bathed in the moonlight, a young man stood at the courtyard gate, surrounded by several beautiful women.
Although he had never seen him before, Liu Jin recognized the young man in a single glance. He had to be the Palace Master of Daluo Palace.
Seeing him surrounded by beauties, seeing his casual and elegant demeanor, Liu Jin was overcome with rage. He scrambled to his feet, pointed at Gu Zhao, and yelled, "What kind of skill is it to win by ganging up on someone? If you have any guts, fight me one-on-one!"
All eyes turned to Liu Jin, everyone looking at him with a strange expression.
Gu Zhao rubbed his chin and pointed to himself. "Is he talking to me?"
Bai Ke nodded. "He’s talking to you."
Li Qingshuang descended, landing beside Gu Zhao. She shot a sidelong glance at Liu Jin. "That’s the Harmony Mage of the Master of the Hall of Soul Forgetting. A few days ago, he was just an ordinary person. He must have lost his mind."
An Inner Sect Disciple nearby started to berate him, but Gu Zhao stopped him. He just waved his hand at Liu Jin and said, "Against sneaky, sinister villains and heretics like you, we don’t need to follow the martial world’s rules of one-on-one duels. The right way is to attack all at once, together!"
The crowd roared with laughter. Liu Jin’s eyes looked ready to pop from their sockets, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
