Chapter 325: To Kill with Killing

"This..."

Nian Yao hesitated.

Lan Xuan's Five Elements Banner could indeed make things much more convenient for them, saving them both stamina and Spiritual Qi.

But the thought of giving up an extra share of the treasure pained him.

Lan Xuan looked at Sima Jian. "Lord Sima, what are your thoughts?"

"If it can help us delve deeper into the City of the Martial Emperor, then giving you an extra share of treasure is fine. What do Fellow Daoist Qingfeng and Fellow Daoist Long Jian think?"

Sima Jian turned to look at Qingfeng and Long Jian.

"I agree."

Although Qingfeng was displeased, he couldn't say much. After all, the arrays here were extremely tricky, and he was completely unable to break them.

If they couldn't get inside, then everything else was just empty talk.

Next, the group turned their gazes to Long Jian.

Long Jian said expressionlessly, "I have no problem with it."

"Excellent!"

Lan Xuan said with pleasant surprise, "Since everyone agrees, leave the rest to me. Everyone, stand back!"

WHOOSH!

Lan Xuan summoned the Five Elements Banner. The banner immediately expanded, erupting with powerful Water Spiritual Qi to form a shield before them.

At the same time, Lan Xuan also sent out several streams of Earth Spiritual Qi to make doubly sure.

RUMBLE!

Countless bolts of Celestial Thunder struck the Five Elements Banner, but all were blocked by it.

Everyone relaxed.

Lan Xuan led from the front. "Keep moving forward!"

Afterward, the group encountered several more arrays, all of which Lan Xuan neutralized with the Five Elements Banner.

"The Five Elements Banner is truly amazing. It neutralized eight arrays for us in a row."

Everyone marveled at the power of the Five Elements Banner.

These eight arrays were all Tier Seven. Without Lan Xuan's Five Elements Banner, they would have been enough to wipe them all out here.

However, before they could celebrate for even a few minutes, another array appeared before them.

"Watch this!"

Lan Xuan activated the Five Elements Banner and sent it flying toward the array ahead.

The next second...

BOOM!

A beam of killing light descended upon the Five Elements Banner, instantly cleaving it in two.

In an instant, everyone was dumbfounded.

No one could have imagined that the ever-victorious Five Elements Banner would be destroyed by a single beam of killing light.

"My Five Elements Banner!"

Lan Xuan was so heartbroken it felt like a piece of his own flesh had been torn away.

Sima Jian turned and asked, "Fellow Daoist Qingfeng, what kind of array is this?"

"This..."

Qingfeng's face was a mask of confusion.

Sima Jian was so shocked his eyes almost popped out of his head.

Qingfeng, a Tier Seven Array Master, couldn't even recognize the array before them?

"It's a Killing Array!" Long Jian suddenly said.

Qingfeng asked in surprise, "A Killing Array?"

Long Jian nodded. "That's right. The killing intent in this array is extremely dense, and it has the aura of annihilation. It seems to be an Eight Directions Annihilation Array."

"The Eight Directions Annihilation Array?"

Realization dawned on Qingfeng. "So that's how it is. No wonder Fellow Daoist Lan's Five Elements Banner couldn't block this array. It's a Killing Array."

Sima Jian asked, "Fellow Daoist Long Jian, since you can recognize this array, you must have a way to break it, right?"

"It's simple," Long Jian said coolly. "Fight killing with killing!"

Hearing this, everyone understood.

A so-called Killing Array was one that contained boundless killing intent. To counter it, one simply had to use their own killing intent to push back.

It was a contest of whose killing intent was stronger.

Sima Jian said, "Among us, Fellow Daoist Long has the strongest killing intent. He even holds the title of Sword Dao Butcher. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Long would be willing to lead the way and clear a path for us."

"I am."

Long Jian decisively strode into the Killing Array.

WHOOSH!

Countless beams of killing light surged from all directions, but Long Jian cleaved them all apart with his sword, remaining completely unharmed.

"Fellow Daoist Long Jian is truly worthy of the name Sword Dao Butcher."

"Heh, with Fellow Daoist Long Jian clearing the way, we can pass through this Killing Array safely."

"A Killing Array? Nothing special."

The group followed Long Jian into the Killing Array.

But just then...

WHOOSH!

Tens of thousands of killing light beams suddenly appeared before them, densely packed as they shot toward the group, instantly scaring them stiff.

"Run!"

Long Jian turned and fled.

This was tens of thousands of killing beams; even he, the Sword Dao Butcher, couldn't withstand them.

"What?"

Startled, the group scrambled to run out of the array.

SHING SHING SHING!

Before they could escape the array, the myriad beams of killing light shot over, piercing through several of them.

Fresh blood splattered across the ground.

Nian Yao clutched a sword wound on his left arm. "That was close. One of those beams almost took my arm off."

"My abdomen's been sliced open," Lan Xuan said, enduring the intense pain.

Aside from Long Jian and Qingfeng, who were the first to flee, everyone else was injured. They were stained with blood, looking utterly wretched.

"Where's Han Ming?"

Everyone looked around and realized Han Ming was gone.

"He's dead!" Qingfeng said, pointing to Han Ming's corpse inside the Eight Directions Annihilation Array.

Hearing this, everyone's heart trembled. They quickly turned to look at the Eight Directions Annihilation Array and saw that Han Ming had indeed died inside it.

His physical body had been pierced by hundreds of killing beams, turning it into a sieve.

HISS...

A few of them couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

This was especially true for Nian Yao and Elder Hu. Their strength was comparable to Han Ming's; if they hadn't run fast enough, they would be corpses now too.

Besides Han Ming, there were several other bodies in the array.

They were all Patriarchs who had come seeking revenge on Su Mo. They had died violent deaths before even catching a glimpse of him.

"Long Jian, what the hell were you doing?" Nian Yao glared furiously at Long Jian.

Long Jian replied coldly, "Hmph. I already warned you to run. Those who died can only blame themselves for being too weak."

"You..." Nian Yao's face was filled with indignation.

Long Jian had warned them, but it had all been too sudden.

Thankfully, he had reacted quickly.

Sima Jian stepped in to mediate. "Now is not the time to assign blame. Long Jian, tell us, why did you suddenly run?"

Long Jian's face was pale, and he said with lingering fear, "That wasn't a Tier Seven Eight Directions Annihilation Array at all."

"Could it have been Tier Eight?" Sima Jian asked curiously.

Long Jian shook his head. "No. This is a Tier Nine Array."

"What?"

Everyone's faces were filled with shock.

Even if the array's flaws were fixed, it should have only upgraded from Tier Seven to Tier Eight. How did it suddenly become a Tier Nine Eight Directions Annihilation Array?

It seemed impossible.

Long Jian said, "If you don't believe me, ask Fellow Daoist Qingfeng."

Everyone turned to look at Qingfeng in unison.

Qingfeng nodded. "Long Jian is correct. This array is indeed Tier Nine."

HISS...

Hearing Qingfeng's confirmation, everyone gasped sharply.

A Tier Nine Array! That was an array comparable to a Martial Emperor!

And they had actually escaped it alive.

They didn't know whether to call themselves lucky or unlucky.

Long Jian gritted his teeth and said, "Thankfully, we were only at the edge of the array and hadn't gone deep inside. Otherwise, even if we had noticed something was wrong, we wouldn't have been able to escape."

Everyone nodded in unison.

If they had walked into the core of the array, forget about a group of Martial Emperors like them—even a Martial Venerable would die inside, and a full-fledged Martial Emperor would have to shed a layer of skin to get out.

Because the array here was simply unsolvable.

Sima Jian mused, "In that case, we have wronged you. We should also thank you for saving our lives with your warning."

Long Jian waved his hand. "There's no need for thanks. What I want to do now is withdraw from this place."

"What? You want to withdraw?"

Everyone present was stunned.

Nian Yao stepped forward. "Brother Long Jian, I truly did misunderstand you just now. But there's no need to be so angry that you want to quit, is there?"