Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 317 - 317 316 The Killing of Black and White

317: Chapter 316: The Killing of Black and White 317: Chapter 316: The Killing of Black and White The man in black threw out this object, which was actually the simplest Formation Breaking Talisman.

Bandits prioritize cost above all when robbing; if the cost exceeds the spoils, it entirely defeats the purpose of their expedition, rendering it meaningless.

Therefore, it’s impossible to start with truly precious items, which is different from a fight to the death.

The Formation Breaking Talisman is the most basic tool for breaking formations; simple, yes, but its effectiveness still depends on the cultivator’s own power, understanding of, and familiarity with the array.

It is known that Quanzhen Sword Cultivators are not adept with external objects; arrays constrain their deployment of Flying Swords, so against such opponents, there is really no need to use overly sophisticated treasures.

There was also an intention to lure the enemy, making the sword cultivator underestimate his abilities.

The formation of this sword cultivator indeed was not ordinary; it was a high-end product available on the market, which further solidified the man in black’s desire to plunder.

The Formation Breaking Talismans were thrown out one after another, and under the guidance of the man in black, they sought weaknesses and attacked several critical nodes of the array plates.

This was the basic method of breaking formations, and since everyone was in the Tongxuan Realm, if they couldn’t overwhelm in one fell swoop, they had to resort to grinding away.

This process was also a way to test the opponent’s strength and character; typically, within a few exchanges, a sword cultivator would resort to using a Flying Sword, and that would be when the figure in the white robe appeared.

But the man in black noticed that the Quanzhen Sword Cultivator they faced was different from others?

The Flying Sword had not been deployed from the beginning to the end; instead, he was contending with him using formations!

At every array node the Formation Breaking Talisman located, a struggle ensued; the sword cultivator defending the formation spared no cost, blocking the array with mana and pouring in Spirit Stones recklessly, even substituting with spare array plates…

After a series of such actions, the consumption of the man in black’s Formation Breaking Talismans skyrocketed.

In less than a quarter of an hour, seven or eight talismans had been used up without any hope of breaking the formation in sight, and he had only a dozen or so talismans on him in total.

This situation was unexpected; it didn’t align with the style a sword cultivator should have.

Skulking the entire time, not showing even a hint of boldness, a Daoist tradition known for its vigorous spirit was actually grinding out formation techniques with him?

Although his own ability in formations clearly surpassed that of the sword cultivator, the latter relied on holding the home advantage of his own formation, engaging in a war of attrition regardless of cost, where resources flowed away like water.

Even though the cost of his Formation Breaking Talismans was far less than the opponent’s, it was still a drain on resources, and weren’t the sword cultivator’s resources essentially his own?

Watching the other waste resources so freely made the man in black’s heart bleed.

His Divine Sense transmitted upward, “Big brother, our combined show of force would be stronger.

Otherwise, I fear this sword cultivator won’t bow his head.”

He had his own worries; it was better not to kill Quanzhen Sword Cultivators to avoid endless troubles.

Even if they were to make a move, he felt somewhat insufficient alone; it’s easy for cultivators to fight for victory, but difficult to fight for life and death.

The vast sea offers no easy chase when the flight begins.

Amidst the clouds, the figure in white robes stirred and descended with a sway.

At present, the sword cultivator appeared limited in ability, likely not a match for either brother, but the perverse aspect of sword cultivators is that even at a disadvantage, they often possess self-destructive capabilities, making them unpredictable.

The two brothers could cover each other, possibly coaxing a concession from the opponent without revealing their trump cards; they wouldn’t make unreasonable demands first, but once a concession was made, many more could follow.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, there truly was only one person in the stone house and no companions, which was very important.

The coordination between the two was exceedingly veteran, a mutual understanding formed through countless battles.

Once the man in black spoke up, the other understood his intention.

Considering the array was a standard Hexagonal Star Formation, the man in black took his position at the Excitation point.

Of course, that meant he had to occupy the Submission point; these were the principles of formation, most conducive to breaking the array together.

The man in black stood on a rock, diagonally opposite him was a patch of grassland; that’s how formations work—when the Array is set and one Formation Breaker is in place, the optimal attack position for another Formation Breaker also becomes fixed.

Naturally, as the man in the white robe landed on the designated spot, before his feet could firmly touch the ground, he sensed something wrong, alarm flashing suddenly through his mind.

The descent of a Cultivator is a very instinctual process, which they will not alter unless deliberately intended.

Otherwise, a Cultivator withdraws their Escape Technique within a foot of landing as a principle of mana conservation, a habitual practice meant to save energy whenever possible.

Just as the man in white withdrew his Escape Technique, relying on gravity to land, he felt a warning in his heart and immediately tried to reactivate his Escape Technique to leap away.

This was not a wise choice.

A skilled close-combat fighter would not have done this; instead, they would have lunged to the side, taking out a close combat weapon to fend off an initial attack before planning their next move.

But the white-robed man was purely a Techniques practitioner; his first instinct was to rise into the air to escape this place.

Reactivating his Escape Technique took time, as did overcoming gravity, and he was also slow to adapt from being in offensive formation to close-quarters combat.

Sword light burst forth from the ground—not from a Flying Sword, but from a person brandishing a sword in a slashing motion.

When a longsword is in the hands of a Cultivator, its ferocity and variability far exceed that of a Flying Sword, especially in such close quarters.

The man in white let out a long, agonizing wail as his lower body was instantly pierced through; Sword Energy shattered his Lower Dantian and then his Purple Mansion, along with the meridians and Dantian, leaving him collapsed on the ground, breathing his last.

The shadowy figure pulled away swiftly, touching the tip of his foot to the top of the white-robed man’s head, shattering his skull, while at the same time controlling the sword mid-air.

A Flying Sword shot out, slashing towards the black-robed man who had just reacted.

The man in black was shocked, subconsciously believing there were two Sword Cultivators ambushing him—one from the stone house, another from beneath using Earth Escape.

The battle situation changed in an instant from two against one to one against two.

As a pirate with little to no faith, he certainly would not fight for his companion; self-preservation was his top priority.

Just like the man in white, he chose to disengage.

Pirates are not Fighting Cultivators; they can be unflinchingly loyal when there’s a profit to be made but will not hesitate to extricate themselves when there’s nothing to gain, taking the notion of “live to fight another day” to the extreme.

They won’t fight to the death because they are motivated by wealth, and will naturally leave if the wealth is unobtainable.

Such philosophy determines certain inescapable truths, resulting in even more dire consequences!

The worst part was that he only thought of defending against the Flying Sword and escaping, without considering a counterattack!

The Flying Sword descended with tremendous force, but still within his defensive capabilities.

The depth of one’s mana determined the outcome of the clash, and after his protective shield and Thick Earth Talisman were broken, the Flying Sword stopped before his Protective Qi, gathering momentum for another strike.

As he was about to launch into the skies with his Escape Technique,

a figure suddenly appeared before him, the longsword coming down in a fierce chop, effectively interrupting his momentum for escape!

The Shape-following Sword stuck close; because he had no intention to counter, the opponent overcame a brief moment of Shape-following Stiffness.

By the time the sword light closed in, it was nearly impossible to reactivate his Escape.

The sword light, like a shadow following form, a maggot on bones, forced the man in black to give his undivided attention to the immediate peril.

He drew his longsword, hoping to use his profound mana to fend off the opponent, needing only a slight opening to free himself with his Escape Technique.

He faced a dreadful realization: his more profound mana could not compete with the unmatched sharpness of the close-range sword techniques; he had never seen a Sword Cultivator so dangerously aggressive in close combat.

Each strike came from an angle he could not have anticipated, maintaining precision amidst frenzied ferocity.

He began to consider whether to exchange injury for a chance to escape, but his deliberation came too late.

In battle, such indecision is fatal; if you cannot make the hard choices, you can only end up with your head severed!

Blood stained the heavens.