Chapter 134: Ten Thousand Plum Blossoms Reversing the Universe

The middle-aged man, Zhao Sanduo, sneered coldly, "Good! Ha! Didn't Duan Zhiquan long secretly scheme to eradicate the Accord Sect? That ambush in North Spirit Mountain against our fellow Daoist Han Shu of the Jue-script Red Gate last time was surely your doing! To think you are merely a running dog beneath his knees—you truly obey your master's every command without a murmur!"

Xue Tieshan's expression shifted slightly before he said with gloomy wrath, "Zhao Sanduo, spare your wild accusations! We of the Six Divisions of Beixi have always been upright and transparent! On the contrary, your Accord Sect's five founding patriarchs ambushed and slaughtered more than a dozen cultivators from the Western Regions' Lanshi Realm at the Xiaonan Station in Jiujin City a month ago! Hmph, that showed utterly no regard for Grand Commander Duan!"

Xue Tieshan paused momentarily, his complexion growing even darker. "We have yet to call upon your Accord Sect to demand accountability, and yet you have the audacity to question me! How utterly laughable! Today, I shall take you all captive and hand you over to Commander Duan for punishment!"

Zhao Sanduo laughed heartily. "Then let us see if you have the ability!" He waved his hand sharply, and a flash of red glow appeared in the sky as thousands of purplish-red blossoms abruptly emerged, drifting in mid-air and transforming into a torrent of petals that surged toward Xue Tieshan and his group.

Xue Tieshan sneered coldly from afar. "I have long heard that you are the fourteenth-generation successor of the Plum Blossom Fist from Shaliu Village. Today I shall witness for myself whether your Plum Blossom Fist lives up to its reputation! Do not disappoint me."

He reached behind his back and drew forth a dao blade stretching over a zhang in length. The blade gleamed with piercing brilliance, its spine measuring some five to six inches thick—extraordinarily heavy and imposing. He shouted to the troops behind him, "Fall back!"

With that, he took a fierce step forward, his figure instantly appearing right before the floral torrent. Wielding the heavy blade in both hands, he slashed fiercely downward against the rush of plum blossoms. An illusory blade qi swept forth; though the mountain rocks on the ground were dozens of zhang away, they were sliced open by the sheer pressure of the blade aura, silently revealing a deep, gaping chasm!

Zhao Sanduo's expression remained unchanged. With a slight spin of his body and a fierce strike of his fists, the plum blossom torrent in mid-air suddenly scattered, dodging the opponent's strike and transforming into a sky-full of floral rain that obscured half the firmament. Driven as if by a spring breeze, misty and ethereal, it drifted in a grand scatter toward the enemy, completely enveloping the entire company of the Beixi Six Divisions along with the Western Regions cultivators!

Seeing such an offensive maneuver, Xue Tieshan felt a slight flicker of alarm and suspicion. "What is this old fool up to? Does he think this alone can trap me?" He shouted aloud, "All troops, be on guard! Form the Tixuan Defensive Formation!"

The troops behind Xue Tieshan responded in unison, each taking their respective positions. Amidst flashing rays of light and various deployed magical treasures, they formed a peculiar blood-cloud array that slowly rotated. Before the crimson plum blossom rain could even draw close, the rolling blood-cloud swallowed them up entirely, making them vanish without a trace!

Xue Tieshan stood at the vanguard, his heavy blade spinning rapidly around his body to generate a thin barrier of light. When the floral rain struck it, a series of piercing, metallic clangs resounded. Though each individual petal appeared weightless, the force behind every single strike was immense; upon striking the light barrier, each petal instantly dissolved into a plume of crimson mist—a most eerie sight indeed.

Xue Tieshan withstood the onslaught for a brief moment, only to find that the floral rain seemed utterly inexhaustible, persisting without end. A trace of impatience crept into his mind, and he muttered inwardly, "This floral rain has some unusual tricks to it! But if he thinks to trap the likes of us with this alone, he vastly underestimates Xue!"

With this thought, he let out a fierce roar. Tumbling through the air, he spun his blade rapidly behind his back. Amidst wild flashes of blade shadows and blazing silver radiance, nine long sabers suddenly emerged from behind him, spinning frantically above his head to form a nine-bladed dao wheel that grew larger and larger.

Xue Tieshan then let out another piercing cry, and the nine-bladed dao wheel erupted with a shrill, deafening roar. Countless blade phantoms scattered outward in all directions, crashing violently against the boundless floral rain. Everyone present heard a succession of explosive roars and continuous, rumbling echoes.

After a moment, as the floral rain faded, the crimson mist dispersed, and the firmament gradually cleared, Xue Tieshan wore a faint smile, preparing to shout, "Old Zhao, your Plum Blossom Fist is nothing special...!" Even as he anticipated the gloomy and frustrated expression Zhao Sanduo would surely wear, he suddenly found that the space before him was completely empty! Zhao Sanduo and his entire group had vanished without a trace!

Xue Tieshan's expression shifted slightly. He remained sullen and brooding for a long while before murmuring, "He actually used the cicada shedding its shell technique to escape! Heh, this must be that famous 'Ten Thousand Plums Reversing the Cosmos' of the Plum Blossom Fist technique! I have long heard of its name, and it truly possesses some profound mystery." He looked up at the sky for a long moment, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Does he truly think he can escape the palm of my hand with just this?"

After pondering for a brief moment, a thought suddenly struck Xue Tieshan: "The young cultivator who was locked in fierce combat in the sky just now bore a striking resemblance to the Haiguang Temple disciple mentioned by my nephew from the Duan family. Could it be him? Though I am not entirely certain, if it truly is him, and I casually snatch him up along the way, wouldn't that be yet another great merit achieved? Ha! Fortune truly smiles upon me these past few days!"

With this resolved, he beckoned to those behind him, "Let us return to the camp to gather reinforcements!" With that, he leaped aboard the gigantic white warship. The rest of the troop filed in after him, and within moments, the colossal vessel let out a low hum, shooting away like a streak of lightning to vanish at the edge of the sky!

Meanwhile, as Ye Hua was engaged in fierce combat with the two young cultivators, he saw the white warship depart and return, a wave of quiet joy welling up within him. He had long heard that the Beixi Six Divisions and the Accord Sect were at odds, having fought secretly for a long time with mutual casualties. Now that the forces of the Beixi Six Divisions had arrived—though he knew not which division they belonged to—he might perhaps seize the opportunity to escape while the two factions fought, thereby averting a catastrophe!

Sure enough, the middle-aged man had grown intensely furious upon spotting the figures clad in purple-cloud armor aboard the white warship. From their exchange of words, Ye Hua learned that the middle-aged man was named Zhao Sanduo, a successor of the Plum Blossom Fist from the Shaliu Village of the Accord Sect. While he was still inwardly astonished, the two sides broke into a violent brawl, instantly raising Ye Hua's spirits!

He deliberately slowed the movements of his Scarlet Crow Dagger. His two opponents also experienced a slight distraction of mind, dividing their attention to closely monitor the battle between their grand patriarch and Xue Tieshan; the speed of the magical treasures in their hands correspondingly slowed by quite a bit. Seeing this, Ye Hua felt an even greater surge of joy, maintaining his inward vigilance and waiting only for a chance to make his escape!

Glancing sideways, he happened to witness Zhao Sanduo unleashing the wondrous spectacle of dancing flower petals, and could not help a secret shudder of awe. "Such might is truly terrifying! I had only heard tell of this Plum Blossom Fist, but never imagined its power to be so immense!"

When he saw that the sky-full of petals had completely enveloped the enemy group, sealing off all view of the situation inside and trapping them all within, Ye Hua felt a profound shock. Seeing that Zhao Sanduo was fully occupied with his spellcasting, he hardened his heart and thought to himself, *If not now, when?* Suddenly, his Scarlet Crow Dagger flashed with brilliant silver light, transforming into several rays of illumination that slashed outward!

Zhitao and Zhiyuan were startled, hastily dodging backward to evade the incoming magical sword. As their figures flickered and they prepared to step forward to surround him, they heard their opponent laugh aloud, "Fellow Daoist brothers, farewell for now!" With a flash of his figure, he bolted straight toward the outside.

Zhitao and Zhiyuan grew furious, shouting angrily and preparing to give chase, when they heard Zhao Sanduo urgently call out from afar, "My two worthy nephews, fall back at once!"

As the two of them paused in slight bewilderment, they saw Zhao Sanduo strike out with his right fist from afar. The floral rain in the sky instantly parted a section, surging rapidly toward the direction of Ye Hua's escape! A trace of joy arose in both their hearts as they thought simultaneously, *With our Grand Patriarch's execution of the Ten Thousand Plums Reversing the Cosmos, this little thief has no hope of escaping!*

Just as Ye Hua broke free from the entanglement of the two and prepared to take flight at top speed, a red flash bloomed behind him, and he felt an invisible, colossal force envelop him, rendering his body nearly immobile. Turning his head to look, he saw a hazy expanse of floral rain closing in. His expression turned ashen with terror. Just as he attempted to circulate his Great Brightness Body Technique to forcefully break free, the sky suddenly plunged into pitch darkness like thick ink, followed by a violent spinning of the heavens and earth! Wave after wave of blackness surged before his eyes, and after enduring for a brief moment, he could hold on no longer and finally fainted, plunging into unconsciousness right upon the ground!

Seeing the adversary lose consciousness, Zhao Sanduo let out a cold snort. With a virtual grab of his hand and a flash of red light, Ye Hua was already captured within his grasp.

Zhao Sanduo glanced at him several times, took a deep breath, and muttered a string of incantations. With a flash of blood-light above his head, he slowly conjured several five-colored plum blossoms.

Each time he summoned a five-colored plum blossom, Zhao Sanduo's complexion paled noticeably. After gathering his breath for a moment, he pointed a finger, and the five-colored plum blossoms spun rapidly, casting multiple streams of five-colored radiance that enveloped his entire group. When the five-colored light dissipated, the place was entirely empty, devoid of any trace of human presence!

Ye Hua knew not how long he had slept before he began to perceive the sound of murmuring voices in his ears. Forcing his eyes open, he found his surroundings hazy and indistinct, while a splitting, agonizing pain tore through his head, almost unbearable. Forcing himself to steady his mind, he slowly recalled the events that had transpired, and a sudden wave of shock gripped his heart: *I only saw those countless red plum blossoms close in, and amidst the spinning of heaven and earth, I lost consciousness. Could it be that I have been captured by the Accord Sect faction?!*

With this thought, his terror deepened. He attempted to move his hands, but with a sudden clatter of metal, he found he could not budge them by even a fraction of an inch. Turning his head to look, he discovered that his wrists were secured within two iron rings connected to heavy chains.

At this sight, Ye Hua let out a startled gasp. Following the extension of the chains with his gaze, he saw that their other ends were anchored to a pair of stone pillars, atop which raged fierce, roaring flames!

"Caw, caw! You're awake! Our blood-sacrifice grand ceremony is about to begin!" a sharp, shrill voice cackled...

To discover how the Ancient Tripod manifests its sacred spirit, how Ye Hua engages in spell-combat in Jiujin, his initial encounter with the Four Young Masters of the Capital at Xiaonan Station, his accidental entry into the Myriad Realms realm, and his eventual resumption of the journey toward Cold City—all these wondrous marvels will be unraveled in the next chapter. Dear readers, please read on at your leisure!