Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Eight people set out from the sect, heading towards Gold Peak Mountain.

However, Gold Peak Mountain was very far away, nearly two thousand miles of journey lay ahead, and the road was extremely dangerous. The name of Yunliu Sect could reduce some trouble for them, but because Yunliu Sect was not actually considered a super sect in Tianhe County, too many forces might not give them face.

Besides, if they really encountered a treasure and a conflict arose, nobody would care which family's disciple or clansman you were. The treasure would be seized first, and mouths might even be silenced inevitably.

All in all, traveling outside was quite dangerous, which was why this time only eight people from River Down Courtyard set out.

Travelling during the day and resting at night, three days later they arrived at a small town, found an inn to stay for one night, planning to continue the journey the next day.

"Eh." As they were going upstairs, Mu Xinyue suddenly slowed down, speaking in a low voice, "Boss, look at the person sitting over there, isn't that Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba?"

All of them looked in the direction she indicated, seeing a ferocious-looking middle-aged man whose face bore a deep scar, stretching from the corner of his left eye to the side of his mouth.

"Don't stop walking." Zhao Huan also lowered his voice, and it wasn't until they reached the third floor that he said, "Yes, that's definitely Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba. That scar on his face is practically a trademark."

"Should we strike now?" Pan Zhengtong asked somewhat excitedly.

"Not today," Zhao Huan waved his hand, saying, "Luo Ba is not weak, according to the information he possesses the cultivation of Five Meridians, and only I can match him here. But we've been on the road all day; we are very tired and simply cannot wield a hundred percent of our strength."

He paused and then continued, "Rest well tonight, and we'll kill him tomorrow."

"Mhm." The other six all nodded in agreement, except for Chu Hao who asked, "Who is this Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba?"

"A villain who commits all kinds of evil deeds," Zhan Yaqi gritted her teeth, appearing very angry, "He kidnaps and plunders, utterly sinful. It is said that he even ate children alive, he is simply a devil."

"The sect issued a mission, bringing back the head of Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba will earn 100 points, quite a good reward," Wei Lingyun said.

Only then did Chu Hao nod, a murderous intent arising within him.

He would never kill recklessly just to earn sect points and become an enforcer for the sect. Although he couldn't break away from Yunliu Sect's control for the moment, he definitely wouldn't befoul himself.

No matter when or what, he had to stay true to his own heart.

To face the heavens without shame and face others without guilt.

"Let's all rest in the same room tonight. Blood Shadow Hand must have some ability to have lived until now; he might have noticed our conversation earlier," Zhao Huan thought for a moment and then said, "Besides having someone stand watch tonight, we also need to keep an eye on Luo Ba to prevent him from escaping in the dead of night."

"Mhm." Everyone nodded in agreement, their fighting spirit was high.

Even though Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba was strong, they had Zhao Huan who was a match for him, plus the advantage of numbers—couldn't they be assured of victory?

The night passed, and early in the morning, Bai Shengjin urged everyone to get up, saying, "Everyone hurry and get ready; Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba is already packing his luggage, looks like he is about to leave."

Hearing this, they all quickly rose.

They had taken turns standing watch over Luo Ba last night, and even though none of them had slept well, their strength had mostly recovered, enough for a battle.

They hurriedly washed up, had breakfast, and just as Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba was leaving the inn, they followed behind, waiting to take action after he had left the town—to avoid harming innocent townspeople in the fight.

Soon they left the small town, and the road immediately became quiet; now only Blood Shadow Hand and Chu Hao's eight men remained.

Zhao Huan was about to give a signal to encircle him when Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba suddenly turned around sharply, facing them head-on with eyes full of murderous intent, the scar on his face looking particularly ferocious, as if it could devour people.

Zhao Huan and the others were startled. Although each of them was a martial artist with notable cultivation, they certainly would not be a match for Blood Shadow Hand Luo Ba in terms of the number of people they had killed; his aura of brutality took them by surprise and they appeared momentarily flustered.

Only Chu Hao was the exception. He had once singlehandedly stormed into Seven Wolf Stockade, and the blood on his hands might not be less than Luo Ba's. But in killing evildoers, he believed himself to be acting for heaven, leaving no shadow in his heart.

"You bunch of little brats have been eyeing me all night, you think I didn't know?" Luo Ba said viciously, "I deliberately led you out here so that unnecessary people from the town wouldn't come out and cause trouble."

Indeed, the old rogue had noticed early on.

Zhao Huan took a step forward and said, "Luo Ba, you have committed many evils, today shall be the day you are beheaded."

"You want to kill me with a few kids who haven't even grown all their hair?" Luo Ba laughed loudly, pointing at the eight of them one by one, "I've killed too many sect disciples like you with more guts than ability, and today will be no exception."

"Men get the chop right away, and women... heh heh, I didn't expect them to be quite pretty; I just wonder if they are still chicks." Luo Ba leered at Mu Xinyue and Zhan Yaqi, his face revealing a lascivious smile.

"How dare you!" Everyone shouted in unison; this Luo Ba really had some guts, being so arrogant one against eight.

Zhao Huan said, "Junior Brother Chu, you stand aside and watch; the seven of us are enough for this." He knew that Chu Hao had just made a breakthrough and his combat power definitely couldn't compare to theirs.

Chu Hao nodded, not showing off.

"Bringing a brat who has just broken through to court death? Hahaha!" Luo Ba shook his hands vigorously, and his large hands instantly turned a bloody red, so disgusting at the sight that it made people queasy. Clearly, he had cultivated some kind of evil technique.

"I'll take the lead, and you guys assist from the sides," Zhao Huan said, with a clang as the long sword at his waist was also drawn from its scabbard.

"Yes, boss," the six, including Bai Shengjin, responded in unison.

"Take this!" Zhao Huan charged forward and thrust out his sword, with a fierce Sword Qi shooting up into the sky.

"Hahahaha, does Lao Tzu look scared to you?" Luo Ba's hands transformed into claws, meeting the long sword head-on.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As the long sword struck his palms, it made a series of muffled sounds. Chu Hao observed carefully and saw that there seemed to be a transparent film on Luo Ba's hands, which provided protection, preventing even the Sharp Sword from cutting through.

Star Force.

Chu Hao thought to himself that Star Force could become an invincible spear as well as an impregnable shield. Whether the spear was sharper or the shield was stronger depended on whose Star Force was more profound and of higher quality.

The profundity depended on the Realm, and the quality depended on the Cultivation Technique and physique.

"Attack!" The six, including Bai Shengjin, each wielding a weapon, also charged forth. The seven of them clearly had experience fighting together. Their weapons' attacks were coordinated such that they didn't appear chaotic. Otherwise, not only would they fail to injure the opponent, but they might even damage each other first.

Luo Ba was fearless. His hands danced at an astonishing speed, and those with lesser vision could only see flashes of red light, unable to see that these were actually movements of his hands.

Chu Hao stood on the side, watching carefully. His brain was already in high gear, processing a large amount of data and gradually forming an attack model for Luo Ba.

"You little brats, it's time for Lao Tzu to show his power," Luo Ba laughed loudly, suddenly breaking away from Zhao Huan to launch a fierce attack on the six, including Bai Shengjin.

His strength was far above that of the six others who were outmatched by Zhao Huan. Who would dare to block his strong assault head-on? The six hurriedly scattered to avoid a direct conflict, planning to retreat slightly before regrouping for a counterattack.

But Luo Ba seized the opportunity to pursue them relentlessly, moving his hands rapidly and launching a powerful assault on Wei Lingyun.

"Blood Shadow Hand, your opponent is me," Zhao Huan quickly followed with his sword. Their formation was designed with him as the spearhead, acting as the main attacker, while the other six were merely in supporting roles. None of them had the capability to confront an expert like Luo Ba head-on.

"Hahahaha, anyone who comes at Lao Tzu is Lao Tzu's enemy," a battle-hardened and tricky veteran like Luo Ba certainly wouldn't choose to clash with Zhao Huan and allow the other six to become effective.

When facing a siege, one should naturally break through from the weakest link first, defeating them one by one.

Whoosh!

Just as Zhao Huan made his move, Luo Ba suddenly shifted his stance and abandoned his attack on Wei Lingyun, turning instead to launch a fierce assault on Zhang Yunshen.

Zhao Huan roared in anger, but could only follow with his sword toward Luo Ba once again.

At this moment, the rhythm was completely under Luo Ba's control. Zhao Huan's strength couldn't be utilized at all, as he was constantly struggling to put out fires, while the six, including Bai Shengjin, were effectively rendered as mere targets, even more useless.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Aside from Zhao Huan, the six were frequently in danger; their clothing was torn to shreds by Luo Ba's claws, and wounds appeared on their waists, legs, and arms. Mu Xinyue and Zhan Yaqi were in even worse shape; their long, fair thighs were exposed, causing them both immense shame and anger and further plummeting their combat power.

This was clearly intentional on Luo Ba's part.

If this continued, the six, including Bai Shengjin, would surely be taken down one after the other; then Luo Ba could feign a weakness to escape. After recovering his strength, he could engage Zhao Huan in combat, potentially resulting in a total annihilation.

"Senior Brother Bai, your next slash should be half a foot to the left, then step back one step."

"Senior Sister Zhan, you step diagonally to the left,"

"Senior Brother Wei, step forward one step."

Just then, Chu Hao suddenly spoke up, his speech rapid as he assigned tasks to the seven of them.

At this point, the seven were in disarray, but upon hearing their companion's voice, they didn't have time to think and involuntarily moved according to Chu Hao's instructions.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

This sudden change in strategy caught Luo Ba off guard. The deadly claw strikes he threw were blocked by Zhao Huan, and his left flank was hit by a punch from Zhang Yunshen, while his right arm was struck by a sword thrust from Mu Xinyue.

"Damn it," Luo Ba bellowed in rage. Although he was hit, his strong Star Force protected him, and he wasn't severely injured. But most of his Star Force was concentrated in his hands for defense, so other parts of his body were naturally more vulnerable, and these two strikes still hurt him significantly.

Who could have imagined that just when he had the upper hand, the situation would suddenly be reversed?

He couldn't believe it.

Luo Ba attacked fiercely again.