Chapter 44: The Hidden Betrayal

The battle erupted the moment the formation completely sealed the area.

"Kill!"

Han Tianxiong roared. The Blood Eagle Gang members surged forward like a tide.

At the same time, Gu Chen’s figure flashed.

"Your opponent is me!"

His sword tore through the air, carrying a terrifying sword intent as it slashed directly toward Han Tianxiong.

Han Tianxiong’s expression changed. He immediately raised his weapon to block.

"Clang!"

The two weapons collided and a powerful shockwave spread outward.

Han Tianxiong’s arm trembled, and he was forced several steps backward. His eyes flashed with surprise.

"Such strength!"

He was a third level of Nascent Soul cultivator, yet he had been suppressed by Gu Chen in their first exchange.

Gu Chen didn’t give him any chance to breathe. His sword moved continuously, each strike faster and more powerful than the previous one.

"Blood Eagle Slash!"

Han Tianxiong roared and counterattacked.

A huge blood-red eagle condensed above his weapon before diving toward Gu Chen.

"Break!" ℴℴ𝘮

Gu Chen shouted. His sword flashed with terrifying energy and enormous blood eagle was split apart.

Boom!

The remaining sword light continued forward.

Han Tianxiong hurriedly dodged, but the sword energy still tore open a wound across his shoulder. Blood flowed down his arm.

Han Tianxiong clicked his tongue.

"As expected of a core disciple of a major sect."

He looked at the weapon in Gu Chen’s hand. The sword radiated a sharp spiritual aura that clearly wasn’t ordinary.

If he was not wrong, then this weapon in his hand, was above the Earth Rank.

Perhaps his cultivation techniques was also higher rank than him, This was the advantage of being a disciple of a major sect.

But Gu Chen didn’t give him much time and attacked with his sword again.

However, several Golden Core Realm cultivators immediately rushed toward him.

They didn’t attack Gu Chen directly. Instead, they launched attacks from the side, forcing Gu Chen to divide his attention.

At the same time—

"Come!"

Mu Yan’s figure flashed toward Puppet Wang. Her long sword was covered in frost. The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.

"Frost Moon Sword!"

A huge crescent-shaped sword light condensed in the air and descended toward Puppet Wang.

Boom!

Puppet Wang raised his arm and blocked the attack. The ground beneath his feet cracked.

Mu Yan’s eyes narrowed after feeling his strength.

"He’s stronger than Gang Leader."

Puppet Wang also counterattacked. His fist struck toward Mu Yan’s chest. She hurriedly raised her sword to defend.

Clang!

The terrifying force sent her backward. Her feet dragged across the ground, leaving two deep marks.

Mu Yan’s expression became serious.

Taking advantage of her condition, many gang members attacked her from numerous sides.

She moved quickly, dodging one attack after another while counterattacking with her sword.

Although she was surrounded, she didn’t panic. Her sword technique was extremely profound. Every time she swung her sword, a layer of frost spread across the ground.

Several Blood Eagle Gang members were forced back. One careless cultivator was struck by the sword light and was sent flying.

"Don’t get close!"

Another member shouted.

"Attack from a distance!"

The Blood Eagle Gang quickly changed their tactics. They knew that they couldn’t fight these disciples individually. Their only advantage was their numbers.

As long as they supported their strongest fighters, they could slowly wear down the three disciples.

On the other side, Su Qingxue was also surrounded.

More than twenty Blood Eagle Gang members rushed toward her.

"Kill!"

Su Qingxue’s beautiful eyes became cold. Several ice crystals appeared around her body and shot outward.

Whoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several cultivators were struck and thrown backward. But more attacks immediately followed.

Su Qingxue continuously moved through the crowd.

Although her cultivation was only at the early Golden Core Realm, her combat strength was far beyond an ordinary cultivator of the same realm.

Her ice techniques were extremely powerful. Combined with her superior weapon, she was able to fight several Golden Core Realm cultivators simultaneously.

Yet she couldn’t completely ignore the numbers.

Every time she injured one opponent, another immediately attacked from behind. She had no choice but to keep moving.

"Surround her!"

"Don’t let her escape!"

Many experienced Blood Eagle Gang members saw through her weakness and shouted at their companions.

Su Qingxue’s expression became increasingly serious. She understood their plan. They were trying to exhaust her.

As long as they could drag the battle out long enough, their numerical advantage would eventually become meaningful.

But she didn’t let them success. In the next moment, hundreds of ice crystals condensed together into a powerful slash attack.

"Frozen Heaven!"

Boom!

Her attack forced several Golden Core Realm cultivators backward.

She immediately moved toward Gu Chen and Mu Qingyan to help them. But just as she entered the middle of the battlefield, a figure suddenly appeared before her.

Bang!

A fist struck her chest causing her pupils contracted and she was sent flying backward.

"Qingxue!"

Mu Yan’s expression changed as she called her loudly.

"I’m fine."

Su Qingxue quickly stood up. Although the attack had injured her, she wasn’t seriously wounded.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked toward the formation. Luckily, she reached out of the formation’s area from that attack.

"I’ll come back."

She was about to enter but Gu Chen immediately shouted.

"Don’t come in! It would be easy to break such formation from outside!"

Gritted his teeth, he pushed his opponent backward. Su Qingxue immediately understood.

"That’s good idea."

She turned her attention toward the formation to found its weak point.

But at that moment, Han Tianyu rushed out with several gang members and stopped her attacking the formation.

"Don’t even think about it!"

Su Qingxue’s expression became cold. The ice crystals around her body began to rotate.

"You’re seeking death."

Han Tianyu roared.

"Kill her!"

The battle outside the formation erupted again.

Su Qingxue fought Han Tianyu and several weaker cultivators alone.

Her cultivation was only at the early Golden Core Realm. Yet she wasn’t afraid.

Inside the formation, the battle became even more intense.

The four Nascent Soul Realm experts continued fighting. The Blood Eagle Gang members fell one after another.

The entire sealed area had turned into a battlefield.

The two Azura Heaven Sect’s disciples were clearly stronger individually.

However, the Blood Eagle Gang had the advantage in numbers and Sealing Formation.

Every time they tried to break through one direction, several Blood Eagle Gang members would immediately intercept them.

The battle gradually entered a stalemate.

Time passed quickly, yet three disciples began showing signs of exhaustion. Their spiritual energy consumption was enormous.

Even their powerful physiques couldn’t completely ignore such prolonged fighting.

But the Blood Eagle Gang had also paid a terrible price.

Those below the Golden Core Realm had almost all died. Even the Golden Core Realm cultivators were heavily injured.

The ground was stained with blood. Still, Han Tianxiong gritted his teeth and continued fighting.

"As long as we continue, they will eventually run out of spiritual energy!" He shouted. "Don’t give them any chance to recover!"

The Blood Eagle Gang members became even more aggressive.

Gu Chen’s eyes flashed coldly.

"So you think numbers alone can defeat us?"

His sword intent suddenly erupted.

"Then I’ll show you the difference between us."

He unleashed another powerful sword technique. Han Tianxiong hurriedly tried to block it.

Boom!

The impact forced him backward, blood surged inside his body. He forcefully swallowed it back, but his expression became increasingly ugly.

’These disciples really are monsters.’

Even after fighting for so long, their combat strength remained terrifying.

But it didn’t mean that the situation of these disciples was better. Gu Chen’s robe was torn, blood flowed down his arm. Mu Yan’s face had become pale. A deep wound stretched across her abdomen.

Gu Chen looked around the battlefield. His eyes became cold.

"We can’t continue like this."

Mu Yan also nodded. "The longer this continues, the more dangerous it becomes."

Gu Chen took a deep breath. His spiritual energy began to surge violently. The spiritual energy in the surrounding area began to tremble.

Feeling the oppressive power, Mu Yan’s expression changed.

"Senior Brother Gu, don’t tell me you’re going to use that?"

Gu Chen didn’t answer. His sword slowly rose. A terrifying pressure spread throughout the sealing formation.

Han Tianxiong’s expression changed.

"Everyone, retreat!"

But it was too late. Gu Chen’s eyes became extremely sharp.

"Earth Rank Martial Art—Heaven Splitting Sword!"

Boom!

A gigantic sword phantom appeared above the battlefield. The pressure made everyone’s hearts tremble, even Puppet Wang’s face turned pale.

"This power..."

The sword descended.

Boom!

The entire sealing formation trembled violently. Puppet Wang immediately retreated. Han Tianxiong, however, had no time to escape.

"Ah!"

The sword energy struck him, blood sprayed through the air. His entire arm was severed.

Han Tianxiong’s body was thrown backward and crashed heavily into the ground.

"Leader!"

The remaining Blood Eagle Gang members shouted in shock.

Gu Chen landed on one knee. His breathing was extremely heavy. Using an Earth Rank martial art after fighting for so long had consumed nearly all of his spiritual energy.

Sweat covered his forehead, even his hands were trembling slightly.

But when he looked toward Puppet Wang, a smile appeared on his face.

"Your companion is quite troublesome."

Puppet Wang didn’t answer and continue to attack. His fist struck toward Gu Chen.

Gu Chen’s expression changed. He immediately moved aside. But Puppet Wang’s attack suddenly changed direction and struck injured Han Tianxiong.

Bang!

Blood sprayed from Han Tianxiong’s mouth as his already injured body was blasted backward. He crashed into the ground, creating another crater.

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Everyone froze. Gu Chen stared at Puppet Wang in shock, Mu Yan was also stunned.

Even though they had already noticed that the two people from the Blood Eagle Gang weren’t exactly cooperating perfectly, they had never expected one of them to directly attack his own leader.

"Are you crazy?!"

It took some time to Han Tianxiong regain his senses. He struggled to stand inside the crater. But his face was flushed red, he was extremely furious at this moment.