Chapter Ninety-eight: Golden Shadows Fill the Sky

A hum echoed as Tang Wan swiftly raised her hand, brilliant light gathering in her palm. In an instant, several greenwood arrows formed at her fingertips.

“Don’t act, Wan’er,” Jiang Yan hurriedly stopped her. The valley was thick with mist; a careless step could land one upon the poisonous grass that bewitched the mind. The toxins from these plants would seep through clothing and shoes, entering the cultivators’ bodies, turning them into mindless, soulless husks without their knowledge.

The cultivator who had just sped past him had already been tainted by the mind-shifting grass. Under its influence, though he was mere inches away from Jiang Yan, he failed to notice him. If Tang Wan were to attack, she would surely draw attention to them both.

Another figure darted past Jiang Yan, stirring the dense mist with their speed.

“Master Lu, have you found Jiang Yan of Mount Hua?” A disciple named Bai called out just ahead.

“No, the mist here is too thick,” came Lu Tiannan’s voice from within the haze. It seemed he was the first to enter the fog and had just passed by Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan slowly moved forward, careful with each step. Guided by his spiritual sense, he sought the next safe foothold, eager to traverse the valley and escape the cultivators of Jin Yan Sect and Tianshan.

Another silhouette flashed by. This time, Jiang Yan saw clearly—it was Lu Tiannan. The mind-shifting grass had left his face twisted, and he wandered near Jiang Yan, unable to see through the fog without a powerful spiritual sense. He could not even detect Jiang Yan, who stood mere feet away.

A sudden scream pierced the air, unmistakably from the Bai disciple of Jin Yan Sect.

The long, dragon-like sound of a sword being drawn rang out nearby.

Within Jiang Yan’s spiritual perception, a golden longsword blazed suddenly in the thick fog. Its radiance burst forth, pouring like molten mercury, illuminating the valley as sunlight breaking through clouds, shining directly above a white man-eating flower.

With the flash, Jiang Yan saw the Bai disciple in yellow robes, his arm ensnared by the flower’s blossom.

“Westward Sword!” The Bai brother’s furious shout echoed urgently through the mist. He was clearly wounded by the man-eating flower.

The golden sword descended with dazzling light, cleaving the flower in several pieces amid shrill cries. Yet the Bai brother’s arm was severed at the root, his body speckled with blood—uncertain whether it belonged to him or the flower.

With a thud, a white beast core rolled from the flower’s split body, tumbling across the ground.

Lu Tiannan rushed to Bai’s side, steadying him as he teetered on the brink of collapse. Seeing the Bai brother’s grisly state, Lu Tiannan’s mouth gaped in shock. In the blink of an eye, the Bai brother—at the peak of Qi cultivation—had lost an arm, and his face was darkened, clearly poisoned by something the flower had sprayed.

“Have you found Jiang Yan of Mount Hua?” Bai stared straight at Lu Tiannan, eyes blank and emotionless. With his injury, his blood surged, and the mind-shifting grass took hold, robbing him of consciousness.

“Where is Jiang Yan of Mount Hua?” When Lu Tiannan hesitated, Bai suddenly shrieked at him. The golden sword above his head shimmered threateningly; if Lu Tiannan dared say he did not know, Bai seemed ready to strike him down.

“Over there,” Lu Tiannan replied, though anger simmered within him. Seeing Bai’s poisoned state, he decided it wasn’t worth arguing with a madman. When Lu Tiannan had passed by Jiang Yan, he hadn’t seen him, but he had felt the spiritual pressure around Jiang Yan, as if hiding a monstrous being. Now, witnessing Bai’s misery, Lu Tiannan directed Bai toward that spot, shifting his attention without hesitation.

With a rush, Bai urged his sword forward, blood-stained, lunging toward the place Lu Tiannan indicated.

Jiang Yan inwardly cursed his luck. Lu Tiannan had sensed something amiss earlier but hadn’t attacked. Now, he had lured the Jin Yan Sect disciple toward him, which boded ill.

The golden sword sliced through the mist, plunging into the spot where Jiang Yan had just stood. Its energy swept away the fog, revealing Jiang Yan and Tang Wan nearby.

Bai’s sleeve flicked, his wide robe pointing; the golden sword rose from the ground, charging through the dissipated mist toward the revealed pair.

The golden sword tore through the air with a piercing hum, rushing at Jiang Yan, who was fully absorbed in seeking his next foothold.

An overwhelming force pressed down upon Jiang Yan, making his brow furrow. He hadn’t expected to avoid these pursuers after all. His spiritual sense circulated rapidly, striving to alleviate the pressure of the golden sword’s assault.

“Swift,” Tang Wan murmured. Seven greenwood arrows flew forth, linked end to end, forming a streak of emerald light—the first move of her Greenwood Archery, the Seven Stars in Succession—hurtling toward the descending golden sword.

A dense clang resounded as the arrows clashed with the sword, slowing the blade’s plunge just a fraction.

Yet the sword’s speed abruptly increased; the Bai disciple, furious at Tang Wan’s interference, unleashed a torrent of spiritual energy, hastening the sword’s attack.

Another volley of sharp clangs rang out as Tang Wan’s arrows, now a stream of light, wheeled around to strike the sword from behind, their speed like shooting stars, colliding with the blade.

The golden sword veered aside, its edge buried deep into the earth. Tang Wan’s attack had altered its trajectory, steering it far from Jiang Yan’s position.

Jiang Yan sensed every movement of the golden sword. He saw Tang Wan’s clever choice—not to clash head-on with the Bai disciple at the peak of Qi cultivation, but to shift the sword’s path from the side, avoiding the first wave of attack. Relieved, he turned his focus entirely to finding the next safe foothold.

The blackness on Bai’s face deepened, his mind growing ever more clouded. Only one thought remained: to kill the two youths before him. Beyond that, his mind was a fog.

“Ha! Golden Shadows Across the Sky!” Bai shouted, spiritual energy enveloping his sword as he wrenched it from the earth, sending it soaring above. At his cry, the golden sword blazed anew, countless sword-shadows raining down like the first drops of a storm, descending upon Tang Wan and Jiang Yan.

The sword-shadows tore through the air with a sharp hiss; though mere phantoms forged of golden light, they rivaled Tang Wan’s arrows in sharpness.

Tang Wan swiftly recalled her seven arrows, suspending them above Jiang Yan’s head. Watching the sword rain fall, her brows knit in concern. Her archery alone could not withstand so many sword-shadows, and her brother was too preoccupied to help.

“Block as many as you can that threaten my brother,” Tang Wan resolved inwardly. As long as she shielded him, even if she was injured, her brother would find a way to save her. Gazing up at the golden sword-shadows spilling across the sky, her delicate face steeled with determination.