Chapter 162: The Arrival of Xiao Yu

At this moment, Gu Jian slowly rose to his feet, gripping the Immortal-Slaying Sword tightly, and remained entirely silent. Yet, the boundless murderous intent in his eyes laid bare just how furious he was at this very second.

"Second Junior Brother, protect them!"

Gu Jian turned his head to look at a young man behind him, speaking in an icy tone. In a flash, his figure vanished from the stone steps. When he reappeared a moment later, he had already plunged straight into the midst of the Execution Hall's executioners.

Gu Jian's silhouette flickered continuously through the crowd, leaving a trail of bloody mist in his wake wherever he passed. The overall strength of these charging cultivators was not particularly high; their strongest member was merely at the Nascent Soul stage, while the rest lingered mostly in the Golden Core stage.

As a Martial King—and an extraordinarily formidable one at that—Gu Jian cut through them effortlessly. Every single strike and movement claimed one or two lives. With the Integration-stage elders yet to make a move, the scene across the plaza instantly became one of absolute slaughter.

In the blink of an eye, the entire plaza was littered with the corpses of the Execution Hall disciples. Witnessing Gu Jian's terrifying prowess, the several Integration-stage elders could finally no longer sit still. Elder Gu exchanged glances with an elder dressed in green robes, and together, their figures flashed directly toward Gu Jian.

Within a few bounds, the two elders reached Gu Jian and immediately engaged him in fierce combat upon landing. Trapped in a pincer attack from front and rear by the two Integration-stage elders, terrifying waves of spiritual energy and sword Qi instantly surged in all directions.

"Boy, stop making futile resistance! Today, your Myriad Swords Sect is destined to perish at the hands of our Execution Hall!"

Elder Gu lashed out with a fierce palm strike toward Gu Jian while speaking in a chilling tone.

Gu Jian’s eyes narrowed sharply as he also thrust out a palm in retaliation. As their palms collided violently, both men were instantly repelled. Just as Gu Jian managed to steady his footing, the green-robed elder's attack closed in from behind.

Feeling the oppressive aura rushing toward his back, Gu Jian did not hesitate. He whirled around in an instant, swinging his longsword with a sweeping motion. A ferocious surge of sword Qi erupted, hurtling fiercely toward the green-robed elder.

The green-robed elder had not expected Gu Jian to react with such astonishing speed. Sensing the terrifying lethality of the sword Qi, he was forced to abort his attack and hastily dodge to the side.

However, Gu Jian had no intention of letting him off so easily. With a sudden flash of his figure, he charged straight at the green-robed elder.

"Entangling Immortal Palm!"

The green-robed elder’s expression shifted drastically. He unleashed a palm strike on the spot, unleashing a torrential wave of spiritual energy that swept overwhelmingly toward Gu Jian.

Faced with this overwhelmingly lethal counterattack, Gu Jian neither evaded nor retreated. Instead, he continued to thrust his sword straight at the green-robed elder. Seeing that this lunatic was bent on mutual destruction, the elder felt a jolt of panic. Just as he tried to dodge, he realized it was already far too late.

Gu Jian pushed his speed to the absolute limit, closing the distance to the green-robed elder in the blink of an eye. Even as a massive surge of spiritual energy slammed into his own body, the sword in his hand successfully pierced straight through the green-robed elder’s chest.

The green-robed elder looked down in sheer disbelief at the blade protruding from his chest; never had he imagined that this mission would cost him his life.

As Gu Jian was blasted backward by the impact, the sword was yanked violently from the elder's chest, trailing a spray of blood. The green-robed elder slowly collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide with undying resentment.

Although he had slain an elder with a single sword strike, Gu Jian’s condition was far from optimistic. Having taken a full-force palm strike square in the chest, the moment he struggled to his feet, a mouthful of blood sprayed uncontrollably from his lips. His body swayed precariously, and had he not used his longsword to prop himself up, he likely would not even have had the strength to stand.

The death of the green-robed elder incited intense rage in the remaining three elders. The two who had remained idle thus far instantly moved: one surged toward Gu Jian, while the other flashed directly toward the Myriad Swords Sect disciples standing before the grand hall.

"Go to hell!"

Elder Hu roared furiously, a majestic surge of spiritual energy erupting from his body. It rapidly gathered within his palms before he brought them down ruthlessly toward the area in front of the hall.

"You're courting death!"

At that exact moment, a sharp cry echoed from the void above. Following that, the onlookers experienced a momentary blurring of their vision as a figure flashed past. A terrifying pressure instantly swept Elder Hu away, sending him hurtling backward out of thin air.

"Brother Xiao!"

Catching sight of the newcomer, Gu Jian called out in overwhelming excitement. Hearing the cry, Xiao Yu slowly turned his head to look at Gu Jian and grinned broadly.

"How is it? Can you still fight?" Xiao Yu asked with a smile.

Hearing those words, Gu Jian froze for a split second before throwing his head back in a long, resounding roar. The previously frail Gu Jian—who had needed his sword just to remain upright—sewingly transformed into an entirely different person. A ferocious, overwhelming aura instantly erupted from his body. Without another word, he gripped his sword and charged directly toward one of the Integration-stage elders.

Seeing Gu Jian charging right at him with a drawn sword, the elder’s expression shifted. He had witnessed with his own eyes just moments ago how this prodigy of the Myriad Swords Sect had taken the life of another elder. Knowing that the fallen green-robed elder’s cultivation had been slightly superior to his own, he knew he stood no chance in a one-on-one duel.

"Die!"

While the elder was momentarily stunned, Gu Jian closed the distance in a few swift blurs. With a low shout, he thrust his sword—laden with ferocious sword intent—straight toward the elder. Lacking the composure to counterattack, the elder narrowly evaded the strike by flashing high up into the vault of the sky.

Seeing his target take to the air, Gu Jian vanished and instantly materialized behind him, slashing out with his sword without a moment's hesitation.

The airborne elder felt a chill run down his spine. Sensing the destructive force closing in from behind, he frantically dodged aside once more. Yet Gu Jian showed no intention of letting him go; no matter which direction the elder bolted, Gu Jian pursued relentlessly, creating a relentless game of cat and mouse across the open sky.

"Elder Gu! Elder Hu! Join forces to kill this intruder first, and then come help me!" Realizing he was utterly outmatched by Gu Jian, the elder had no choice but to shout out to his two remaining comrades.

Hearing the plea, Elder Gu and Elder Hu nodded in unison, leaped forward, and landed directly before Xiao Yu.

Seeing the two elders charge at Xiao Yu, the cornered elder abandoned his evasive maneuvers, whirled around, and unleashed a torrent of formidable spiritual energy toward Gu Jian.