Chapter 196: Taichu Disciple Battles Rogue Cultivator

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The vanguard general of the enemy army was indeed holding an Immortal-Binding Rope, but it looked to be of low quality, not a high-grade item. Although it wasn’t a high-grade item, it was still not something a mortal like Su Wu could deal with. Qin Haoxuan had no choice but to say to him, “I will go and break his Immortal-Binding Rope.”

Su Wu’s face lit up with joy. He had been wondering how to ask Qin Haoxuan to intervene, and he had never expected him to offer on his own. He immediately cupped his hands in thanks. “The enemy’s Immortal-Binding Rope is an immortal’s treasure. We mortals are no match for it. With the High Immortal taking action, I can be at ease.”

Qin Haoxuan smiled faintly and spurred his horse forward, his heart secretly on guard for a sneak attack from the cultivator hiding in the enemy camp. As he rode onto the battlefield to meet the challenge, the soldiers cheered wildly, as if his presence alone guaranteed their victory.

The enemy vanguard officer did not recognize Qin Haoxuan’s status as a High Immortal and sneered, “To even send a sixteen or seventeen-year-old brat to the battlefield. You’re courting death!” He threw the Immortal-Binding Rope, intending to bind both Qin Haoxuan and Su Wu.

Although this rope has a grand name, its power is nothing special, Qin Haoxuan thought, judging its strength as it flew towards him. It transformed into a sky full of whip shadows, which wove themselves into a great net that descended upon him, seeming to leave no room for escape. The sight made Su Wu break out in a cold sweat. If Qin Haoxuan were also captured, his army would be finished.

Qin Haoxuan sneered and, condensing spiritual energy in his hand, formed a Heaven-Cleaving Slash. The slash was like a rainbow of blade qi, cutting through the air with a hiss as it struck the Immortal-Binding Rope. The rope, hit squarely by the attack, fell to the ground as if struck by lightning, and the net of shadows vanished. It had been severed in two.

Qin Haoxuan had broken the rope with a single, easy blow. The enemy officer’s face was filled with alarm. Even a fool could see that this young man was clearly an immortal. He quickly sent a man to summon the High Immortal from their own camp.

The soldier who received the order quickly ran to the tent where their immortal resided, knelt on the ground, and respectfully proclaimed, “High Immortal, there is an immortal in the enemy’s army. He has already broken the general’s Immortal-Binding Rope. The general asks for your aid.”

The cultivator in the enemy camp had already sensed the faint fluctuation of spiritual energy from the outside. When he heard the soldier’s report, his heart was in turmoil. There’s a cultivator in Su Wu’s army? Could it be one from the Taichu Sect? The name “Taichu Sect” was like a thorn in his heart. After all, to a rogue cultivator, the sect was a behemoth, and its disciples were all elites, not someone an ordinary rogue could contend with.

What should I do? Should I go or not? He pondered for a long time, his heart uncertain. But finally, he gritted his teeth and decided to go and meet this cultivator who might be from the Taichu Sect.

Qin Haoxuan saw the enemy cultivator ride out from the rear of their camp, and he also rode forward to meet him. After all, with the enemy cultivator now on the field, this was no longer a battle that mortal soldiers could handle.

The enemy cultivator’s name was Hao Xiu. He was an old man with a three-inch-long beard, his hair and beard both white, but his face was as smooth as jade, giving him the appearance of having a crane’s hair and a child’s face. He was dressed in a light purple long robe, with a purple jade belt around his waist, looking every bit the part of a transcendent immortal. His appearance was far more impressive than Qin Haoxuan’s. Seeing his immortal-like demeanor, Su Wu’s heart was filled with unease. Although he didn’t know how to judge the strength of an immortal, just by looking, he felt that this man was much stronger than Qin Haoxuan. There was a saying, “The older the ginger, the spicier it is.”

When immortals fought, mortals had no way to interfere. At this moment, both armies had stopped their shouting and were watching the two High Immortals in the center of the field with tense silence. Everyone knew that the outcome of this duel would decide the outcome of the entire battle.

In Su Wu’s army, besides the general himself, everyone else was also filled with worry. If Qin Haoxuan lost, their morale would surely plummet while the enemy’s soared, and they would be routed.

After Hao Xiu came out, he saw a calm-looking youth on horseback, standing proudly in the no-man’s-land between the two armies. Could he be the cultivator from the enemy camp? When Hao Xiu saw the jade talisman with the Taichu Sect’s insignia hanging from his neck, he confirmed his identity, and a firm resolve to kill him and seize his treasures immediately formed in his mind. After all, he was a rogue cultivator, and obtaining resources was extremely difficult. To him, this Qin Haoxuan, from a famous and orthodox sect, was a big fat sheep, surely carrying many good things on him. As for the retaliation from the sect, he didn’t care. He was already at odds with them anyway.

Hao Xiu rode his horse to a short distance from Qin Haoxuan, his sharp, snake-like eyes looking him up and down.

Qin Haoxuan cupped his hands towards him and said, “Fellow Daoist, you and I are both cultivators. We should not participate in these mortal conflicts and cause unnecessary bloodshed, which would only harm our own karmic virtue. Why don’t we both stand down and let the mortals resolve their own affairs? What do you say?”

Hearing his words, Hao Xiu sneered and shouted, “You suckling babe, you’ve only been cultivating for a few days, and you dare to lecture me? Has the Taichu Sect run out of people, to send you out?” If these words had been spoken by a cultivator stronger than himself, he certainly would have taken the hint and tucked his tail between his legs. But although Qin Haoxuan was from the Taichu Sect, his cultivation level was low. In his eyes, he was a big fat sheep. How could he possibly let him go?

Because Xing had transformed into a suit of armor and was attached to Qin Haoxuan’s body, Hao Xiu could not see his specific cultivation level. But judging from his age, he guessed that he had not been cultivating for long and his strength would not be too great. After all, he looked like a complete novice.

Hao Xiu’s gaze fell on him. “Surrender obediently, and I will spare your life!”

Facing his arrogance, Qin Haoxuan’s expression was cautious. He gathered the spiritual energy in his body, ready to fight at any moment.

Seeing him take a defensive posture, Hao Xiu sneered. “Since you are courting death yourself, you can’t blame this seat for it!” He reached into his robes, took out a spiritual talisman, and after infusing it with spiritual energy, it suddenly exploded, transforming into a rope that shot towards Qin Haoxuan.

Xing’s voice reminded him, “Be careful, he’s using a Binding Talisman. It’s much more powerful than an Immortal-Binding Rope.”

Already prepared, Qin Haoxuan unhesitatingly unleashed a Heaven-Cleaving Slash. The Binding Talisman came at him with incredible speed; the only spiritual art he had time to cast was this one. Seeing him use such a low-level art, the weakness of his strength was instantly exposed. Hao Xiu sneered, “With just this level of skill, you want to contend with me? Let’s see how I humiliate you after I’ve tied you up! What Taichu Sect? They only teach fools!”

He had originally thought that the Binding Talisman would be enough to restrain him, but to his surprise, the moment it reached him, Qin Haoxuan raised his hand-blade without a trace of fear. A ten-foot-long blade qi from his Heaven-Cleaving Slash viciously chopped down on it, actually slicing it to pieces.

“Heh, you have some skill,” Hao Xiu said, not angry, but with a strange, playful smile. He took a ball of paper from his robes, threw it on the ground, infused it with a stream of spiritual energy, and blew a breath of immortal qi on it. His ten fingers flew, and soon, the ball of paper unfolded, becoming a Talisman Beast.

He laughed arrogantly. “Kid, let this seat see what you’re made of, to dare to challenge me!” His ten fingers danced, and spiritual energy flew. Under his control, the Talisman Beast let out a mournful roar. It was a giant bear, apparently made from the soul of a slain adult bear, and its killing intent was palpable. The beast stood up and, with a stomp of its left foot, the ground shook and cracked open.

After Hao Xiu locked onto him as the target, the beast’s eyes stared at him, glinting with a cold light. It suddenly roared at him, a roar so loud the very earth seemed to tremble. The sound terrified the warhorses of Su Wu’s army, and it took a great deal of effort to calm them. The ferocious aura that emanated from the beast made even the most battle-hardened soldiers of both armies tremble.

Qin Haoxuan’s heart tensed. From the sheer power of its roar, he could tell that this was the strongest Talisman Beast he had ever encountered, aside from Zhang Kuang’s Talisman Dragon. Under Hao Xiu’s command, the giant bear lunged at him in a bear hug, bringing with it a demonic wind that seemed to freeze the very air on the battlefield. If he were to be caught by its thick arms, even a steel plate would be kneaded into noodles. Of course, he would not let it catch him. With a light twist of his agile body, he dodged, and as he did, he condensed another Heaven-Cleaving Slash and fiercely chopped it at the beast’s back.

CLANG! The sound of metal colliding rang out as the slash met the beast, and a shower of visible sparks flew. A three-inch-deep gash appeared on the beast’s back. This single blow made Hao Xiu’s heart ache with pain. It was not easy to create a Talisman Beast, and this one had cost him more than half of his resources. To have it damaged in the very first exchange, how could he continue the fight? His underestimation of Qin Haoxuan diminished greatly, and his expression turned serious, now treating him as an equal.

It had to be said, Hao Xiu’s skill in commanding the Talisman Beast was extremely skilled and sharp. Under the dance of his ten fingers, the giant bear roared again and leaped high into the air, pouncing on Qin Haoxuan.