Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Faced with this crisis, Xie Yuan acted decisively. He took a great leap into the funnel-like basin, sliding down the dune!

The four of them exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and jumped in together.

After the five of them jumped in, the phantom of the Treasure Tower suddenly shuddered, its light flaring and illuminating the area.

The basin began to shake again, like an aftershock.

As the earth began to move, the edges of the funnel basin caved in dramatically, while the sinkhole in the middle began to swallow the falling sand at an accelerating rate.

It wasn’t just them; the bandits closest to the edge were also swept up by the quicksand, sliding down with cries of alarm.

Lu Tianyong and the other bandits were alarmed and hastily retreated, not daring to get any closer.

Xie Yuan, caught in the sand, was tossed about until he was completely disoriented. He tried to struggle free and stabilize himself, or even fight his way back up against the flow.

But the pull of the quicksand was unusually strong. He was swept downward, completely unable to fight it!

The great pit, leading to some unknown destination, loomed ever closer and larger. It looked like a bottomless abyss, ready to swallow them whole.

’The entrance to the ruins?’

Seeing no way to escape, Xie Yuan activated his Golden Bell Shield to protect his entire body, his expression resolute.

Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath him. He plunged into the bottomless pit, carried by a massive torrent of sand.

...

The three Grandmasters in the sky noticed the strange phenomenon beginning anew in the basin. They eased their attacks slightly, diverting some of their attention to observe.

The Glazed Treasure Tower erupted in a multicolored light, its brilliance overpowering even the morning sun.

The earth dragon turned over, kicking up clouds of dust. Millions of tons of quicksand poured into the central pit, but it was like a chasm leading to the planet’s core—it showed no sign of ever filling.

After a moment, the tremors gradually subsided. The light from the Slaughter Tower dimmed, and the sun reappeared in the sky.

The Black Wind Elder cackled:

"Jye jye jye! This pit has a bigger appetite than my Black Wind! Lu Pei, all your little disciples went inside. Tell me, do you think they’ll ever come out? Jye jye jye jye!"

Lu Pei’s expression was grim as he said coldly:

"Disciples of my Sword Sect are deeply favored by fortune. The blessed have heaven on their side."

"’Heaven on their side?’ It looks to me like they’ve run into a heavenly disaster. They don’t seem so blessed after all."

The Black Wind Elder gave a malicious smirk.

"That pit is clearly the entrance to the ruins, but the ruins themselves haven’t truly opened. They exist in a state between the real and the illusory. Now that your disciples are inside, even if they manage to survive, they’ll likely be trapped forever in the gap between the ruins and reality, crying for their master! Who knows, when we finally get in, we might even find your disciples’ arms and legs, heads and torsos, half-stuck in one world and half in the other, no longer in one piece!"

Lu Pei’s face darkened. Without another word, he sent his six flying swords attacking with their full power.

"Jye jye jye! Did I strike a nerve? Don’t worry—"

The Black Wind Elder roared with laughter.

"I’ll send you to join your precious disciples right now!"

A storm that blotted out the sky rose behind him. With a push of his palms, a shrieking black cyclone erupted forth, forming a black dragon that lunged at Lu Pei!

Seeing his chance, Lu the Third raised his greatsaber high and swung down ferociously. He unleashed a brutal blade of light that sliced through the raging sandstorm, aimed at Lu Pei’s back.

Caught in a pincer attack, Lu Pei was instantly thrown into a dire crisis!

His expression grave, he took a deep breath and stomped his foot on the empty air.

CLANG! A flash of green lightning streaked across the sky as the final flying sword on Lu Pei’s back shot from its sheath!

The seven flying swords danced around him like lightning, arranging themselves like the stars of the Big Dipper. In a flash, they formed a Sword Array!

The expressions on the faces of the Black Wind Elder and Lu the Third changed at the sight.

Once formed, the Sword Array unleashed a flash of sword light that illuminated the heavens. One strike shot forward, shattering the black dragon and piercing through the Black Wind Elder’s protective gale. A second strike lanced backward, shattering Lu the Third’s blade of light before slamming heavily into his greatsaber.

Both Desert Grandmasters grunted in unison, clearly wounded!

Having wounded both men in a single exchange, Lu Pei stood encircled by his Sword Array, his robes billowing in the wind. For a moment, he looked like a true Sword Immortal descended to the mortal realm, and the bandits on the ground paled at the sight.

The Black Wind Elder clutched his chest, blood seeping between his fingers.

He stared intently at Lu Pei and sneered.

"Seven flying swords forming a Sword Array... all for show! Can you pull off that attack a second time?"

Despite his words, the black wind swirled around him as he circulated his power, forming layer upon layer of defense. He was clearly on high alert.

At this, Lu Pei smiled faintly and suddenly dispelled the Sword Array.

WHOOSH! The flying swords returned to their sheaths one by one. He kept only a single blade, holding it in his hand.

The Black Wind Elder and Lu the Third were stunned for a moment, then their faces lit up with joy.

"’See? Just as I thought, you couldn’t maintain it! Now, what are you going to do against the two of us?’"

Though both were injured, their wounds weren’t severe.

Lu Pei, on the other hand, had clearly expended immense energy. It was questionable how much combat strength he had left.

"’It’s true, I can no longer command all seven swords.’"

Lu Pei said calmly,

"’But I can still hold a sword in my hand.’"

The Black Wind Elder’s expression flickered. In the next instant, he saw a blade of light—immeasurably sharper than any of the flying swords—streaking toward him!

Deafening collisions echoed through the sky, like thunder rolling across the heavens.

The battle between the three Grandmasters reached a fever pitch. Lu Pei, wielding a Bamboo Sword, fought two against one and, astonishingly, held his ground. Countless green sword phantoms filled half the sky, perfectly matched against the black wind and the glint of the saber!

The bandits on the ground had long since retreated to a safe distance. They stared up at the unimaginable battle in the sky, where blades of light and sword phantoms clashed, where black gales and green radiance intertwined. They were utterly dumbfounded, as if they were watching deities fight.

After a long while, the green sword phantoms finally began to fade. Lu Pei, Lu the Third, and the Black Wind Elder stood facing one another in the air, all of them panting for breath.

In the fierce exchange, all three had sustained injuries. Lu Pei’s internal organs had been struck by the black wind, and a slash from Lu the Third had broken through his defenses and wounded his back. His condition was deteriorating. The biggest problem, however, was his immense energy consumption; he could barely continue the fight.