Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Song Mingyue and Shangguan Yutong had no time to react. There was no warning of danger when Ling Xiao suddenly pulled them to the ground. If it had been anyone else, the two women would have likely resisted as their first instinct.

Ling Xiao wrapped his arms tightly around the two women, protecting them. He had no time to worry about exposing himself as he circulated all the True Essence in his body, forming an unbreakable protective shield that enveloped all three of them.

At the same time, they heard the sound of a dense volley of arrows, mixed with a shrill, piercing whistle as they tore through the air.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH...

The speed was so fast that many powerful experts had no time to react. Just as Ling Xiao had shouted and dropped to the ground, many people had subconsciously curled their lips in scorn. ’This guy’s a complete coward!’ they thought. ’Based on experience, the truly powerful and deadly traps in any Ancient Ruins are always found where the great treasures are stored! How could there be any major danger right here at the cave entrance?’

In fact, at the very instant they heard the sound of something slicing through the air, at least several dozen people in front of Ling Xiao had looked at him lying on the ground with disdain. ’How the hell did this coward get into our group?’ they thought. ’What a disgrace! Even the weakest person who dared to follow the crowd in here is at least a Mid-level Mad Sword Master, and most... are all Demon Sword Masters!’

Never mind arrows from crossbows that might have rusted in this cave; even heavy crossbow bolts fired by an army of thousands might not be able to harm them!

But... the mockery in their eyes had yet to fade, the disdain still hanging on their lips, when they watched helplessly as those arrows, with unstoppable momentum... viciously pierced through the bodies of everyone below the rank of Demon Sword Master!

THWACK THWACK... THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK! The muffled sounds of arrows brutally sinking into human flesh rang out continuously!

Even many disciples from prominent families and sects who were Demon Sword Masters were injured by these incredibly powerful arrows!

And that wasn’t all. After this volley of arrows, another one immediately followed!

After three such volleys... of the more than one thousand people who had entered, fewer than three hundred were still standing!

Three volleys of arrows had wounded or killed over seven hundred people!

It was impossible to tell for now how many of those seven hundred were injured and how many were dead. In any case, the cave was filled with wails of agony!

Song Mingyue and Shangguan Yutong’s faces were deathly pale, their bodies trembling slightly. In that instant, they had both truly felt as if the Death God himself was hovering over their heads! The killing intent was so tangible it was terrifying enough to scatter one’s soul.

Although Song Mingyue had faced life-and-death situations before, she still felt a profound fear. Right in front of her lay a rather handsome young disciple from a prominent family, who had been strutting arrogantly just moments before. He should have been a Demon Sword Master.

Now, his eyes were wide with disbelief. A black, thumb-thick arrow had pierced straight through the center of his brow, its tip protruding from the back of his head. He couldn’t be more dead.

Shangguan Yutong couldn’t help but gasp, then fought to keep her stomach from churning. She stared at the corpse in terror.

The stench of blood instantly filled the entire cave. Combined with the rising and falling groans of the wounded, the cave had become a living hell.

Ling Xiao raised his head, his eyes narrowed and glinting as he stared coldly at the unharmed group in front of the Stone Gate, led by Patriarch Qin Haoran of the Qin Family. A thought suddenly occurred to him. ’Could this... be another one of the Qin Family’s vicious schemes?’

However, Ling Xiao saw that the shock on Qin Zhaoran’s face didn’t seem feigned; he looked completely stunned. At the same time, the Gu Family disciple beside him was also deathly pale, never having imagined that a slight turn of his hand could have caused the deaths and injuries of over seven hundred people!

Thankfully, the arrows weren’t poisoned; otherwise, the casualties would have been even greater!

There was almost no one else with reflexes as fast as Ling Xiao’s. Those who were uninjured were simply absurdly lucky! Most of them probably had the people next to them to thank for acting as shields.

People were still streaming in from the cave entrance outside. Seeing this scene, they were completely terrified. Their first reaction was to turn and flee, but many more remained relatively calm and immediately began to rescue the survivors.

"Master, my master and the others..." Shangguan Yutong thought of a terrifying possibility. Her disguised, dark-complexioned face was now completely devoid of color as she frantically looked around.

Just then, Qiuyue Yao and Leng Qianqian suddenly entered from the mouth of the cave, leading several young women from Lengning Palace to help rescue the injured. Seeing them, Shangguan Yutong finally let out a long sigh of relief. It was only then that she realized she had been clutching Ling Xiao’s hand the entire time. Her face flushed, and she quickly let go, pretending as if nothing had happened.

However, because of Ling Xiao’s earlier warning shout, many people now focused their attention on him. In the sudden chaos just now, everyone around Ling Xiao had died, so naturally, no one had noticed the powerful aura he had just unleashed.

A few of the more powerful experts, however, did notice Ling Xiao. They eyed him suspiciously for a moment. Seeing that he wasn’t young, they assumed he was probably a relatively strong member of some third-rate sect. Coupled with the chaotic scene, their wariness toward Ling Xiao lessened considerably.

The Gu Family disciple had a look of utter disbelief, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "Impossible. How is this possible? This... this defies all common sense. Who would design such a ferocious arrow storm trap right at a side entrance? My Gu Family has been studying the art of mechanisms since the Ancient Era, but we’ve never encountered a situation like this..."

As the Gu Family disciple spoke, he was actually trying to relieve his own stress. Although it was understood that those who followed along to watch the show were out of luck if they died, heaven knew how many disciples from major families and sects were among the dead! Everyone had clearly seen him move his hand, and then arrows had filled the entire cave like a torrential downpour of locusts.

"Ancient Mechanician Gu, what... what in the world happened?" Qin Zhaoran came to his senses and asked the Gu Family disciple in a grave voice.

"Patriarch Qin, I... I don’t know what happened either. I swear... our Gu Family has absolutely, ab...solutely never encountered this... this kind of situation! It’s too horrifying... These Ancient Ruins, if they weren’t set up by a person of great evil, then... then..." The Gu Family disciple started stuttering in his panic.

Seeing the Gu Family disciple struggling to speak, Qin Feng, who was beside Qin Zhaoran, grew impatient and barked, "Then what?"

"Then... it means there’s a great treasure inside!"

After saying this, the Gu Family disciple seemed to let out a breath of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted. He then stammered, "Patriarch Qin, these two shares, my Gu Family... we don’t want them anymore... It’s too dangerous. Unless... unless the Qin Family can clear the area... It’s not that I’m being unreasonable, it’s just that my Gu Family has always... always kept to ourselves. I never thought that today, over seven hundred... l...lives would be lost indirectly because of me! If my Patriarch finds out, he will definitely... definitely punish me severely..." As he spoke, the Gu Family disciple continuously wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and his speech became much smoother.

Qin Zhaoran’s expression was troubled, but inwardly he was blooming with joy! Although this was truly an accident, to be able to eliminate over seven hundred disciples from various families and sects with a single volley of arrows... wasn’t that even more efficient than Lord Divine Dragon!

Therefore, Qin Zhaoran certainly didn’t want those people to stop following. It seemed that, just as the Gu Family disciple had said, the possibility of a great treasure inside these Ancient Ruins was extremely high! It would be strange if the people from the major families and sects were willing to stop now!

Sure enough, just as the Gu Family disciple finished speaking, someone snorted coldly and said calmly, "Anyone who can’t even withstand a mere arrow storm deserves to die! Hmph, did you not know that Ancient Ruins are dangerous? If you want to spectate, you should be prepared to get hurt! If you die, you can only blame your own lack of strength. How could anyone blame you? Who doesn’t know of the Gu Family, the family of Mechanicians? So, just focus on disabling the traps! We’ll just watch from here. Life and death are decided by fate. Those who are afraid of dying... should probably step back!"

This person’s words were extremely harsh, and many of the injured glared at him fiercely. But even though they were angry, they knew in their hearts that he was telling the truth.

Who could they blame but themselves for following behind, hoping to pick up scraps? If they had been a little further ahead, closer to the Stone Gate, they would have been fine, wouldn’t they?

At this point, a large number of people from the Qin Family and other prominent families and sects arrived and began carrying out the dead and wounded. The bodies of the dead also had to be identified and claimed.

In short, this was just an accident.

Qin Zhaoran gritted his teeth and said, "Ancient Mechanician, you continue! Just as Brother Gou said, life and death are fated, and no one will blame you! As for the Gu Family Patriarch, when the time comes, I will personally write a letter to explain!"

This Gu Family disciple’s status was clearly not low. After a brief hesitation, he said, "In that case, I’ll... do my best!" In truth, for a family of mechanicians, the allure of a previously undiscovered mechanism was in no way inferior to the allure a Celestial-level Sword Skill held for a Martial Artist!

These Ancient Ruins were simply too strange. In reality, no one could have ever imagined that a protruding patch of moss on a wall could trigger three dense volleys of arrows!

The Gu Family disciple paced back and forth in front of the Stone Gate, feeling around. By now, aside from a few powerful Martial Artists who had arrived late, few dared to enter. Of the roughly three hundred people who had been lucky enough to survive, more than two hundred had already retreated without a second thought!

What a joke. Experts were gathered here like clouds, with dozens of people at the Sword Sect and Sword Emperor levels combined! Under these circumstances, what chance did weaker people have to pick up any leftovers?

They had only come in with the mentality of watching a spectacle. After all, most people had never experienced the exploration of Ancient Ruins. To lose one’s life just for the sake of entertainment—unless you were a fool, no one would charge in any further.

This time, the Gu Family disciple finally lived up to everyone’s expectations. Following a series of deep rumbles, the Stone Gate slowly slid to one side, revealing... a mysterious world behind it! (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)