Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 971: Departure and Return

Song Qingshu snorted, took a step forward, and immediately seven daoists brandishing swords blocked his way.

At that moment, he was holding Xiao Longnu in his arms and had no time to fight back. He could only stomp his foot on the ground. The seven men instantly felt as if an earthquake had occurred; the originally hard marble floor seemed to ripple like waves. They immediately lost their balance and fell to the ground, their swords scattering everywhere.

Seeing the tremendous power of his stomp, even though the members of the Quanzhen Sect had faced many formidable foes, they had never witnessed anything like this before. Zhang Zhiguang shouted, “Xuanji, Yaoguang, strike from behind!”

Although Zhang Zhiguang belonged to the anti-Yin faction, he was also a disciple of Quanzhen and understood the principle that without the skin, where would the hair attach? Moreover, with Yin Zhiping in dire straits, if he could seize this opportunity to achieve great merit, he would undoubtedly be the next leader.

Song Qingshu thought to himself, no matter how much you shout, I will just break through. As for Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren, their martial arts were high; escaping would not be difficult for them, so he did not need to worry about that.

He stepped forward two paces while holding Xiao Longnu, only to find another seven daoists blocking his way. He immediately used the same trick again, stomping his foot on the ground. However, this time, the seven daoists had learned from the experience of their fallen companions and did not rush in with their swords. Instead, they swiftly maneuvered, crossing positions and darting past him.

Even though the seven were well-trained in formations and their movements were quick, they still let out a few cries of “Ah! Ah!” It turned out that two of the daoists had been affected by the force from the ground; one injured his waist, and another broke his leg, rolling over on the ground.

At that moment, fourteen long swords were already pointed at the backs of Song Qingshu and Xiao Longnu, with seven aimed at Song Qingshu and seven at Xiao Longnu.

Song Qingshu frowned. Although he could deflect most of the fourteen swords, with so many Quanzhen disciples around, as long as one sword remained, Xiao Longnu would surely be injured. He hesitated slightly, and then another seven swords were pointed at the right side of Xiao Longnu. The situation became even more critical.

Just then, a sharp voice rang out; it was Pucha Qiucao who had made her move! Although she did not like Xiao Longnu because of Yang Guo, she was an upright person. Her earlier careless mistake had caused Xiao Longnu to be seriously injured, and she had been feeling guilty about it.

Thus, when she saw Xiao Longnu in danger, she did not have time to care about the dozen swords aimed at her and directly swung her sword to block the attacks directed at Xiao Longnu.

In a hurry, Song Qingshu held Xiao Longnu tightly against himself with one arm, freeing the other hand to sweep his sleeve, shattering the dozen swords attacking Pucha Qiucao.

Pucha Qiucao, her heart still racing, looked at the fallen sword tips just an inch away from her and began to feel a sense of dread. “Thank you!”

Despite her longstanding dislike for this prince consort, this time her gratitude was sincere.

Song Qingshu shook his head. “Let’s get out first.”

At that moment, another twenty-one long swords flashed and attacked, surrounding them completely.

Daiqisi had just taken advantage of the chaos to use her Qinggong to reach the entrance of the main hall. Previously, she had been captured by Song Qingshu, and after being subjected to his psychological tactics and shameless methods, she had lost her senses. Although she had to admit that this little man, Song Qingshu, was quite charming, she had been in the wulin for many years and yearned for a carefree life. How could she be willing to be another man’s plaything for life?

As for the entanglements between Xiao Zhao and Ming Zun, they seemed too distant to her and were not an immediate concern.

Thus, she had always harbored thoughts of escape but had disguised them well, not allowing Song Qingshu to notice even a hint. Until just now, she had finally waited for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Whether it was Song Qingshu or Ouyang Feng, they were too preoccupied with their own troubles to pay her any mind.

As long as she stepped out of the main hall and found a small path down the mountain, she would be free as a bird in the sky and a fish leaping in the sea. She could become the Purple-robed Dragon King or the Golden Flower Granny, all according to her own wishes, without needing to consider anyone else’s opinions.

However, just as she was about to take that step, for some unknown reason, she turned back to take a look and happened to see Song Qingshu surrounded, dozens of swords thrusting towards him.

“This man is at a life-and-death moment and still clings to that woman. Is he so lustful that he would risk his life for her?”

Daiqisi’s expression changed as she realized Song Qingshu’s martial arts skills. Even if she distanced herself from him, he would not be in any danger. But now, with a woman in his arms and continuously channeling internal energy into her, the outcome was uncertain.

She glanced over at Ouyang Feng, hoping he would free himself to save Song Qingshu, but what she saw was Ouyang Feng’s belly swollen like a toad, engaged in a palm clash with Qiu Chuji, while behind Qiu Chuji were the remaining members of the Quanzhen Five.

The Gathering of the Seven Stars faced the Toad Style Martial Art!

It turned out that just a moment ago, Ouyang Feng had severely injured Wang Zhitan and broken the Heavenly Big Dipper Formation. He had intended to take the lives of the Quanzhen Five, but unexpectedly, they had used the Gathering of the Seven Stars to withstand his lethal palm strike. Feeling the overwhelming force from their hands, even Ouyang Feng did not dare to be careless and hurriedly employed the Toad Style Martial Art to counter.

Ouyang Feng’s power was far superior to any one of the Quanzhen Five, but the Gathering of the Seven Stars was indeed quite remarkable, managing to stack the powers of five individuals onto one. Ouyang Feng found it somewhat strenuous to contend against five with just one.

It should be noted that martial arts are a combination of various skills, and internal energy is just one aspect. For instance, Xiao Longnu’s internal energy is far inferior to that of the Golden Wheel Dharma King, Nimo Xing, or Xiaoxiangzi, and even Qiu Chuji is better than her. Yet, with her dual swords in hand, she could defeat many experts whose internal energy far surpassed her own.

In the original novel, Yang Guo had directly killed Nimo Xing, Xiaoxiangzi, and Yin Kexi with a heavy sword. At that time, the disparity in their martial arts was not that great, but due to various factors, the battle turned overwhelmingly one-sided.

Later, when Yang Guo was forced to compete in internal energy by the Golden Wheel Dharma King, if it weren’t for Xiao Longnu’s Yuheng Needle helping him, he might have faced a tragic end on the spot.

Thus, in the wulin, experts would never easily compete in internal energy unless they were completely confident. After all, competing in internal energy meant giving up all other advantages and only hoping to win through internal energy.

If Ouyang Feng had not underestimated the Gathering of the Seven Stars of the Quanzhen Five and had taken advantage of the broken Heavenly Big Dipper Formation, with his cultivation, there were countless ways to annihilate the Quanzhen Five. Unfortunately, he was caught off guard and dragged into a contest of internal energy. Although his internal energy was profound and he had the Toad Style Martial Art at hand, he was certainly not afraid, but in a short time, he could not determine a victor, making it impossible for him to rescue Song Qingshu.

As for Qiu Qianren, he was also surrounded by several Heavenly Big Dipper Formations. Although he roared repeatedly, he was also stretched thin.

Daiqisi stamped her foot, picked up a long sword from the ground, and with a light push of her toes, her figure returned to Song Qingshu’s side like a fleeting swan.