Chapter 751: Chapter 751
Cui Yulong broke Wang Tian'an's previous move from above and did not slack in pursuit. To prepare for any further attacks from Wang Tian'an, he gripped the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade tightly and chased after Wang Tian'an closely, one slash after another, leaving Wang Tian'an no time to pull off that strange tactic again.
In fact, once his move was countered, Wang Tian'an immediately lost his fighting spirit. Continuing the battle drained his energy, and he was forced to retreat continuously by Cui Yulong's relentless attacks, showing signs of imminent defeat.
The members of Sha Men were once again exhilarated, while those under Wang Tian'an were utterly dejected. They had originally thought Wang Tian'an would be able to use that tactic to defeat Cui Yulong, but the outcome was still no match for Cui Yulong.
Just as Wang Tian'an was about to be cornered by Cui Yulong, he suddenly let out a loud shout, using the Five-Colored Spirit Snake Sword to deflect the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade in Cui Yulong's hand, while his other hand threw something forcefully at Cui Yulong.
This surprised Cui Yulong. What was Wang Tian'an trying to do with a hand that clearly couldn't reach him? As he watched Wang Tian'an warily, on guard for any hidden weapons, suddenly, a handful of white smoke flew out of Wang Tian'an's hand, enveloping Cui Yulong.
Seeing this turn of events, the previously thwarted members of Sha Men changed their expressions instantly, and Cui Yu urgently called out, "Yulong, be careful!"
Cui Yulong already felt something was amiss. He took several steps back in quick succession and swung the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade in his hand, turning the blade into a protective circle to block the white smoke.
Wang Tian'an, however, wore a cold smile. This was his last resort. Earlier, he had used this move to first incapacitate Old Madame Shen and then knock out both the Shen Family people and the members of Sha Men. The power of the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder was extremely fearsome; ordinary people couldn't possibly avoid it, except for someone as exceptional as Shen Tianjun. But Cui Yulong was nowhere near Shen Tianjun in strength, and Wang Tian'an didn't think he could escape this Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder.
Just when everyone thought Cui Yulong was about to fall victim to the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder, a miracle occurred. Cui Yulong took a few steps back but did not show any signs of weakness. Instead, the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade in his hand absorbed all of the white smoke onto its blade. The black blade, with its golden patterns, now took on a whitish hue. However, it quickly faded away as if the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder was completely absorbed by the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade.
And there stood Cui Yulong, unharmed. As the white smoke totally disappeared, Cui Yulong immediately shouted loudly, took a step forward, and slashed down at Wang Tian'an.
Wang Tian'an was stunned by the anomaly of the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade; he couldn't fathom how the blade could absorb the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder. How could this be possible?
In truth, it was simply that Wang Tian'an's knowledge was lacking. The Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade, known as the Evil Blade, had alarming murderous aura as well as some special features. For instance, after taking a life, it could slowly absorb the blood into the blade, making it appear even more sinister. On this occasion, absorbing the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder was not so strange, just another peculiar feature of the weapon.
Still in shock, Wang Tian'an was slow to react. By the time he tried to dodge, it was already too late. He managed to shift slightly, but was still struck by Cui Yulong's blade on the shoulder, leaving a deep wound and nearly severing his arm.
Wang Tian'an let out a stifled grunt and counterattacked with his sword towards Cui Yulong. Cui Yulong dodged to the side, and before Wang Tian'an could use real force, he immediately embraced his arm and turned to flee in a frenzy.
Seeing him run, Wang Tian'an's subordinates didn't dare linger either. They quickly followed Wang Tian'an and turned tail, leaving only the people of Sha Men at the scene.
The members of Sha Men were also completely dumbfounded. They had all suffered at the hands of the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder and understood the unusual nature of the poison smoke that would leave one powerless with a mere touch to the skin. Therefore, when they saw Wang Tian'an use the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder to sneak attack Cui Yulong, everyone almost lost all hope. But the ominous nature of the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade astonished them once more!
"Old Cui the Second, that blade of yours is damn impressive!" exclaimed the Netherworld Taoist. "It can even absorb poison smoke?"
Cui Yulong reached out to pat the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade lightly, and some white powder dispersed from the blade—the Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder from before. He flicked the handle, and the white powder scattered onto the ground, mixing with the soil.
"Every famous instrument has its uniqueness. The Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade has many tiny holes and contains magnetism which can absorb various powders and hidden weapons," Cui Yulong explained as he put the blade back into its wooden box. "Just like the Cold Moon Blade, if one channels True Qi into it, it will generate coldness, which is the special feature of the Cold Moon Blade."
"There's such a thing?" The Netherworld Taoist's eyes widened as he looked at the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade and then at Cui Yulong, adding, "You're not bullshitting me, are you? I've never heard of such things before."
Cui Yulong said, "It wasn't me who said this, it was the Purple Robe Lama!"
The Netherworld Taoist immediately shut his mouth. Having heard of the Purple Robe Lama's name, he naturally understood the weight of the man's words.
"So what's so special about the Seven-Star Ancient Sword then?" asked the Black Asura, who was eager to snatch the Seven-Star Ancient Sword for himself. But it had been taken by Ye Qing, and moreover, the sword had acknowledged Ye Qing, which made him very envious, and he still couldn't forget about the blade.
Cui Yulong said, "I remember the Purple Robe Lama commenting on the famed instruments of the world, including the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. However, he didn't say much about it, only that there was an earth-shattering secret associated with the sword, but as to what that was specifically, he did not reveal."
"The Purple Robe Lama has also commented on the famed instruments of the world?" The Netherworld Taoist immediately perked up and asked, "How did he comment on them? And where does this Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade of yours rank among the famed instruments?"
"I don't know about that…" Cui Yulong paused, then said, "But I heard him say that although the famed instruments are indeed precious, throughout the history of Huaxia, many such instruments have been passed down. And from ancient times to the present, the only one that could truly be called the number one instrument is the Xuanyuan Sword, which has been missing for nearly two thousand years!"
"Xuanyuan Sword!" The members of the Sha Men exclaimed in shock; these three characters were familiar to everyone present. In Huaxia, it was the foremost among the Ten Famous Swords and on top of all famed instruments, unchallenged from antiquity to the present, a sword of the emperor's calibre. Despite this glory, it was now a relic of the past. The Xuanyuan Sword had not been seen for two thousand years, and in fact, many treated it as a mythical legend, not believing that this famed instrument truly existed!
"So what you're saying is, the Purple Robe Lama believes that the Xuanyuan Sword really exists?" The Black Asura asked.
"He merely made such a comment, but whether it truly exists, he did not say," replied Cui Yulong, glancing around at the others. "I see you all suffered injuries; let's head back to the city to get bandaged up first. Although Wang Tian'an ran off, this place might still not be safe. If he brings more people over, we will be in trouble!"
Everyone was still shocked by the Purple Robe Lama's comments on the famed instruments of the world, and upon hearing this, they were reminded of their current predicament. Without delay, they helped each other up and left the outskirts of the Shen Family Manor with Cui Yulong.
On the other side, Wang Tian'an suffered a significant setback tonight and had taken a huge loss. He didn't dare linger near the Shen Family Manor and went straight to the villa in the suburban area with his followers.
In the villa, Xu Cunxiao and the others had already returned. After leaving Shen Family Manor, they had parted ways with Wang Tian'an because they had realized he was merely using them.
The people gathered in the living room, and upon Wang Tian'an's return, they immediately came out and surrounded him and his followers in the middle.
"Wang Tian'an, so you are Ning Qianshu's disciple!" one man said through clenched teeth. "No wonder you were so keen on winning us over to betray the Chen Family. We thought you wanted to lead us to carve out a new territory and truly escape the fate of being household slaves. Now I understand, you just used us as pawns. Wang Tian'an, we treated you like a big brother; how could you do this to us?"
Hearing these words, the others also began to voice their accusations against Wang Tian'an. Among them, Xu Cunxiao's expression was particularly cold, his eyes filled with resentment as he stared at Wang Tian'an.
"Everyone please quiet down, listen to me, just listen to me, will you?" Wang Tian'an waved his hands repeatedly, finally managing to quiet the crowd. He looked at them all and said, "Yes, I am indeed Ning Qianshu's disciple, and yes, the things I've been doing here are all under the Master's instructions. But think about it, over these years, have I treated you the same way as the Chen Family did? Don't forget, you were nothing but household slaves in the Chen Family, it was I who led you away from there. These twenty years, who has dared to reproach you, who has dared to say you've done something wrong? If you were still household slaves, would you have received such treatment?"
Hearing this, the crowd fell somewhat silent. The life of a household slave indeed involved a lot of scorn, a feeling they did not cherish.
Seeing their expressions, Wang Tian'an's heart steadied a bit, and he assured them, waving his hand, "Though I've been acting on behalf of my Master, I can promise you all, if we succeed this time, you'll never have to be household slaves again, and you will each head your own family, no longer under anyone's control, no longer needing to look at anyone else's face to do your business!"
The people looked at each other, clearly tempted by Wang Tian'an's words, and the anger in their hearts gradually began to wane.
Just at that moment, Xu Cunxiao suddenly said, "Hmph, Wang Tian'an, your words sound nice, but how can we trust you?"