Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 325 - 325 324 Flee Hastily

325: Chapter 324: Flee Hastily 325: Chapter 324: Flee Hastily Equally proficient in Earth Element techniques, he certainly wasn’t foolish enough to burrow into the ground and play with mud like everyone else.

He possessed a treasure, named the Earth-locking Golden Lock, which wasn’t originally intended for use against human cultivators but to capture Earth Element beasts.

It could seal off the strata within a specific area, rendering the Earth Escape Technique ineffective.

Eventually, the lock would contract and form a cage-like net, extracting the Earth Element beasts from underground.

Using an artifact designed for capturing spiritual beasts against human cultivators might seem fanciful, but Cultivation is all about marvelous ideas and finding commonalities among differences.

Both humans and beasts are Cultivation creatures, so it didn’t seem entirely out of the question, did it?

As an expert in stealth and assassination, he was keenly aware of why sword cultivators would learn Earth Escape, a technique completely unrelated to flying swords.

Without a doubt, it was because they knew they had numerous enemies and were preparing an escape strategy—a rather imaginative idea.

Therefore, he surmised that the sword cultivator’s understanding of the Five Elements Skill was probably limited.

Having recently entered the Dao and practicing Earth Escape unrelated to flying swords, the cultivator certainly couldn’t have devoted much energy to mastering the transformations of the Five Elements but would have focused on the flying sword itself.

The Earth-locking Golden Lock had its limitations.

If it were another Daoist Sect cultivator, failing Earth Escape, they naturally would think of other methods.

After all, how could an artifact meant to trap an Earth Element beast possibly trap a practitioner of Magic Cultivation?

But a sword cultivator is not a practitioner of magic.

Most of them do not focus on that aspect, and that was his opportunity.

He could not be confined by the Earth-locking, nor could the golden lock restrain a person.

The greatest significance of using this artifact lay in pinpointing the underground location of the sword cultivator, so he could then use spells and techniques to strike from above ground.

For this purpose, he had prepared many different means of attack, including Artifact Talismans and targeted Wood Element Techniques.

He was confident that as long as the sword cultivator couldn’t release their flying sword, he could trap him underground like a dead rat.

The Earth-locking Golden Lock continued to tighten, and once the locked area shrank to within thirty feet, he could begin his assault.

In fact, he would have preferred for the sword cultivator to attempt a violent breakout, so he could pinpoint his exact location right now, and deal a devastating blow before the escape.

…Indeed, Hou Niao had no understanding of the generative and overcoming cycles of the Five Elements, nor any similar practical experience.

This was an inherent weakness of sword cultivators—human energy is limited.

After spending most of their time on flying swords, it becomes challenging to contemplate the principles of the Five Elements like the Daoist Sect cultivators do all day.

However, through his encounter with the underground cage, he keenly identified the weak point of the adversary’s technique: it had control to spare but lacked power.

The cage itself posed no harm to him, but it clearly marked his location.

The real assault would come from the surface.

He had another move to try, and if it didn’t work, he’d have to force his way out; his brief time in Cultivation and insufficient foundation were the true reflection of his current state.

He moved his body closer to the cage, mobilized the Qi from his Dantian, inserted his hand slowly, and then suddenly exerted his strength!

It wasn’t about destroying with brute force; the path of Five Elements Transformation couldn’t be changed by strength alone.

What he relied on was the thunder attribute he had painfully cultivated for half a year on Thunder Triangle.

Even though his own thunder power was still weak, if it was just to break through the generative and overcoming cycle of the cage…

After all, the Earth-locking Gold Chain was only designed to capture Earth Element beasts, and clearly, it hadn’t been made considering that an Earth Element beast might have thunder attributes.

Under the instant vibration of the thunder, the power of the golden lock dissipated, and Hou Niao regained his Earth Escape ability in that instant.

His body shot upward, ready to burst out from underground.

…The Daoist’s sense was very sharp; he knew that the sword cultivator was about to make a desperate move.

Everything was going as expected.

A human cultivator couldn’t be expected to surrender as obediently as a beast bound to the Earth Element.

Although he didn’t understand exactly how the sword cultivator had managed to break his Earth-locking Golden Lock, he could accurately determine the position where the opponent would emerge in that instant.

A Li Mountain Seal, a Golden Spear Talisman, and a Wood Thorns Skill were unleashed simultaneously.

The moment the Sword Cultivator broke through the ground, he would inevitably be struck by the triple spell attack.

The Li Mountain Seal pressed down, preventing the Sword Cultivator from gaining momentum; the Golden Spear Talisman was the main attack, sharp and peerless; and the Wood Thorns Skill entangled viciously — once it made contact, it would be relentless and everlasting.

As an experienced whale hunter, he was very precise with the timing and the combination of spells.

In this trade, brute force was the worst strategy; ambush and assassination were more valued.

Tongxuan Realm Cultivators had limited perception, which made such ambush tactics possible.

Once someone reached a truly high realm, stealth attacks on each other would no longer be feasible.

A sharp qi burst forth from underground with contempt for the three spells, heading straight for the low-flying Daoist.

Even before it drew close, its cold and sharp aura couldn’t be ignored.

The Daoist quickly mustered his defenses, with artifact talismans flying from his hands.

As they deployed, the Wood Thorns Skill naturally dissipated, and soon after, the Golden Spear Talisman lost its effect.

While successfully blocking the Flying Sword, a figure burst out from beneath the ground.

With a gesture of his hand, the Flying Sword circled back, slashing down once more in a seamless transition between circling and slashing.

With a sigh in his heart, knowing he had lost his best opportunity, the Daoist didn’t hesitate.

He summoned back several magic artifacts and, transforming into a rainbow shadow, turned and fled.

In this line of work, it was most important to know when to advance or retreat.

There was no point in desperately confronting a Sword Cultivator in a berserk state.

He was after resources, and resources required being alive to enjoy them.

… Hou Niao slashed with his sword, and, to his surprise, the opponent chose to flee without fighting.

He didn’t pursue, not because the opponent refused combat, but because it was a tactical retreat.

This was a God Sensing cultivator, with a realm above his own.

Watching the resolute departure of that rainbow silhouette, he couldn’t help but admire the way the Daoist excelled in the art of retreat.

It was also clear that the Daoist was there on someone’s behalf, not bearing much personal enmity towards him.

There was nothing strange about this attack.

Whether it was the accomplice of the Black and White Villains, a secret dispatch from the Wu Sect, or any other power he had inadvertently offended, it was all a matter of time.

It was a good thing.

Because it taught him a lesson: Earth Escape was not omnipotent, especially in such relatively confined environments.

He might be more familiar with it, but it could also give his opponents opportunities.

For areas that the Daoist Sect excelled in, he hadn’t spent nearly enough time, and he couldn’t dive into studying Five Elements Conversion just because of that.

Earth Escape could be a surprise tactic, but it should not be relied upon as a primary strategy.

His mistake lay in the Thousand-Mile Earth Map he set up under Crab Claw Island, which indeed allowed him to move effortlessly while using Earth Escape, but also indirectly exposed his Skill’s characteristics.

This gave the assassin a chance for exploitation, leading to the peril he faced.

His ability to turn the tables under his opponent’s siege lay primarily in the special way the Flying Sword was launched.

Since the Flying Sword was hidden within the Purple Mansion, which wasn’t a physical place, the sword didn’t necessarily have to emerge from within the body but could appear near the body.

However, for simplicity’s sake, Sword Cultivators usually emitted their Flying Swords from within their bodies, whether in conjunction with hand seals, or by spitting them out — these were just sleight of hand.

Hou Niao could control the Flying Sword to appear within a range of a zhang from his body, meaning he didn’t need to surface, and could launch the sword from just below the ground.

It was precisely because of this minor oversight that the assassin’s preparations were rendered useless.

This was a battle between cultivators, full of uncertainty.

Anyone could make a mistake, but the key was not to make one at the very end.