Chapter 216: Isolating Jun Xiaomo in Combat

Translator: Minotauruz

Du Yongxu was unaware of the fact that Jun Xiaomo had relegated his standing in her heart to no more than that of vermin. If he knew about this, his pride and self-image might even give rise to an urge to cleave Jun Xiaomo into countless pieces to rid himself of such a dissonant view.

Right now, all the Du Clan disciples concerned themselves about was how they could quickly dispose of the Heavenly Peak faction and complete the task entrusted to them by the Du Clan Head.

The Du Clan disciples were thoroughly confident of their own abilities. After all, there were only twenty disciples from the Heavenly Peak, and the strongest disciple there was only at the eleventh level of Qi Mastery. Even if there were three times as many such disciples from Heavenly Peak, the Du Clan disciples were still confident that they would have an edge over their opponents and be able to defeat them.

“I want you to draw the attention of all the other Heavenly Peak disciples away later. I’ll deal with Jun Xiaomo alone.” Du Yongxu instructed.

“Young master, Jun Xiaomo is only at the sixth level of Qi Mastery. Is there really a need for you to personally make a move?” one of the Du Clan disciples asked.

“You don’t understand. She’s the heart of the entire Heavenly Peak faction. Father says that she’s invented a form of group battle tactics that might make them much more difficult to deal with. The quicker we get rid of her, the smoother our path will be.” Du Yongxu calmly explicated.

“That makes sense. I can’t wait to get rid of these Heavenly Peak disciples. These competitions have nothing to do with us to begin with, yet we still have to remain in this god-forsaken place for three whole days. The other teams here are all so weak – it’s just too boring!” Another Du Clan disciple complained.

“Alright, Ah-Wu, that’s enough. This is the Clan Head’s decision after all. Are you casting aspersions on his decision here?” Du Yongxu questioned with some measure of irritation in his voice.

The disciple named “Ah-Wu” no longer dared to run off his mouth and grew taciturn. Who dared to cast aspersions on the Clan Head’s decision?! Had he given up on life? He was not Du Yongxu after all. Du Yongxu was the Clan Head’s son, and Du Yongxu was naturally able to speak far more callously because he knew that there would be immense indulgence given to him on account for the deep and profound backing behind him.

Besides, this disciple was only rather displeased with the uncomfortable and disgusting environment. After all, Ah-Wu had never left the Du Clan’s grounds, and he rarely ever came across such unforgiving environments where food was scarce, and the lands were filled with disgusting creepy crawlies and the ilk.

Du Yongxu retrieved an Array Invulnerability Talisman from his Interspatial Ring and applied it onto himself. Then, he gestured for the other Du Clan disciples to do the same.

The other Du Clan disciples naturally complied and did as they were instructed.

The effect of these talismans lasted for twenty-four hours, or one full day, and it would be more than enough for their purposes right now. That said, the Du Clan disciples felt that the use of such precious and valuables right now was too much of a waste, and their hearts ached slightly.

Yet they could only consider this as an investment for a far greater reward once they managed to complete the Du Clan Head’s task for them.

Naturally, the Du Clan disciples considered this to be an extremely simple task of killing off some inconsequential people that were hardly going to be worth any challenge to them.

Notwithstanding that, given that the task was directly ordered by the Du Clan Head, they knew that the rewards were going to be worth their while. They might even obtain several treasures that might seriously boost their cultivation efficacy and lend them a hand with their breakthroughs.

It was no wonder a great number of Du Clan disciples signed up for this task as soon as it was announced to the entire clan.

But what the Du Clan disciples didn’t know was that Jun Xiaomo had never intended to deal with them using formation arrays at all. At the very least, she did not intend to expend any further spirit stones setting up powerful formation arrays to deter their approach.

Her enemies were hidden and moving in the dark, while the Heavenly Peak faction was completely exposed in broad daylight. Jun Xiaomo knew that the Du Clan disciples had been observing their actions and she had already expected them to have come up with some countermeasures against her formation arrays.

In other words, the Du Clan disciples had practically wasted their Array Invulnerability Talismans.

While Du Yongxu was relaying his instructions to the other Du Clan disciples, Jun Xiaomo and the rest were also brainstorming the necessary countermeasures against their opponents.

Jun Xiaomo thought for a moment, and a fantastic idea crossed her mind. She walked over to where the leaders of the Dragontiger Sect and the Purple Hut Sect, Luo Xuyuan and Meng Huanqiu, were located, and she whispered some words into their ears. As she continued, the frowns on their faces slowly faded away and were replaced by an expression of realization and delight.

“Great idea!” Meng Huanqiu patted Jun Xiaomo’s shoulder as she laughed heartily, “As expected, the feeling of overcoming our opponents is great! I’m truly astonished at how sister Xiaomo could’ve thought of this countermeasure in such a short period of time!”

Jun Xiaomo raised her eyebrows in delight as she exchanged meaningful glances with Luo Xuyuan and Meng Huanqiu.

Outside the marshlands, the Du Clan Head, Du Ruiguang noticed the wicked smile on Jun Xiaomo’s face as well. It was evident that she had come up with some measures to receive the Du Clan disciples with. He had witnessed Jun Xiaomo’s proficiency with her strategies, and he couldn’t help but wish that her plans had been revealed to the audience as well. Yet to his dismay, Jun Xiaomo was far too vigilant. She had particularly made it a point to soften her voice to a whisper during their battle strategy discussions, and the members of the audience were completely kept in the dark as to the entire contents of their discussions.

A sense of frustration swelled up in the heart of the Du Clan Head. Yet even then, he could only communicate with Du Yongxu through his Transmittance Talisman and remind Du Yongxu and the others to be careful and mindful of what strategies Jun Xiaomo might be planning.

They had to be careful of any hidden cards in Jun Xiaomo’s hands.

“Mm, alright. I’ve got it, father.” After corresponding with his father, Du Ruiguang, using his divine sense, he removed the Transmittance Talisman from his hand.

“Young master, what did the Clan Head say?” The Du Clan disciples asked.

“Nothing much. He only wanted us to be mindful that Jun Xiaomo might still have some tricks up her sleeves.” Du Yongxu explained, causing the other disciples to find themselves slightly bewildered and respond rather disdainfully –

“She’s only a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Mastery...does the Clan Head really need to keep reminding us like that?” They simply could not wrap their heads around it, “If her countermeasures comprised solely of her formation arrays, we’ll practically be impervious to it since we’ve already applied on ourselves the Array Invulnerability Talismans.”

“Father’s never wrong.” Du Yongxu calmly responded, tacitly signifying his intentions not to pursue this line of discourse any further.

The other Du Clan disciples picked up on his intentions and immediately grew taciturn.

In the next few moments, Du Yongxu began to lead the Du Clan disciples and sneak towards the campsite where the Heavenly Peak disciples were located. The Invisibility Talismans on their bodies were still effective, so Jun Xiaomo and the rest were unable to see or sense the auras of the Du Clan disciples that were quickly approaching their location.

That said, the Heavenly Peak disciples had already adopted a defensive position as well – they huddled close together with their backs facing each other as they glanced vigilantly around at their surroundings, ready to respond at the slightest signs of an attack.

In fact, their lines of sight and divine sense had swept across the Du Clan disciples’ bodies several times, yet none of them had managed to discover their locations for now.

Even then, Jun Xiaomo had a hunch that their assailants were not too far away now. Her eyes gleamed coldly.

“Go!” Du Yongxu signaled to the Du Clan disciples, and all of them rushed out at the same time as they launched frenetic attacks and spells at the Heavenly Peak disciples who were huddled closely together.

The Du Clan disciples’ offensive abilities were far greater than those who had attacked the Heavenly Peak disciples some time ago. At the very least, whether it was the range or power of their attacks, the Du Clan disciples were undoubtedly far stronger than any of their contemporaries from the other Secondary Sects.

Despite being prepared for the attack, the countless spells that rained on them from all directions meant that the Heavenly Peak disciples would invariably sustain some damage and injuries.

Fortunately, the talisman that Jun Xiaomo had earlier handed to them blocked and absorbed a substantial part of the damage from these attacks. Otherwise, many of the Heavenly Peak disciples would find themselves severely wounded by now.

Once they launched the attacks, the cloaking effect on the Du Clan disciples were naturally lost as well. Nevertheless, the Du Clan disciples did not give the Heavenly Peak disciples any breathing room. Moments after the opening volley of attacks, the Du Clan disciples immediately sent another wave of attacks straight at the Heavenly Peak disciples.

Outside the marshlands, everyone watched as the Heavenly Peak disciples were enveloped by a never-ending barrage of powerful spells that covered the skies. The visual effects of this was nearly akin to what Jun Xiaomo had achieved earlier when she had tormented the cannon fodder with her formation array.

In fact, the parallel caused several members of the audience to think of the irony of the entire situation – the Heavenly Peak disciples were getting a taste of their own medicine right now.

Most importantly, how many of these Heavenly Peak disciples would still be able to stand after such powerful waves of attacks?

The members of the audience all watched on with bated breaths with a variety of different emotions in their hearts. Some were worried; some delighted in their misery; and yet some others simply relished in the fact that they were mere observers as they watched expectantly at the show that was unfolding before their very eyes.

Even though there were other teams that were still struggling at other parts of the marshlands right now, everyone’s attention was undoubtedly transfixed at the battle unfolding between the Eternal Summit Sect’s disciples and the Heavenly Peak disciples. Everyone could hardly wait to find out whether the Heavenly Peak disciples would rise to the occasion and overcome the greatest adversity they had faced thus far, or whether they would be defeated and be beaten to the ground.

However, the next development surprised everyone. While the Eternal Summit Sect’s disciples continued to launch wave after wave of attacks at the Heavenly Peak disciples without stopping, the Eternal Summit Sect’s leader suddenly rushed into the fray and plunged into the heat of battle.

His speed was incredibly quick – faster than anyone else in the competition. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at where the Heavenly Peak disciples were located.

The Heavenly Peak disciples were bitterly struggling to counteract and deal with the powerful waves of attacks that were battering hard against their shields and defenses, and nobody had the time nor ability to keep track of their opponents’ movements. Thus, none of the Heavenly Peak disciples managed to react on time when Du Yongxu rushed into their midst.

This included the person being protected by the encirclement of Heavenly Peak disciples, Jun Xiaomo.

Just as Du Yongxu had anticipated, Jun Xiaomo was the heart, soul and mind of this team of Heavenly Peak disciples. Naturally, these disciples would fervently protect the core of their team in the heart of their defensive formation.

Perhaps even Jun Xiaomo and the other Heavenly Peak disciples had not noticed this fact. They had simply moved according to their combat instincts and adopted the best formation for defending against these attacks. Thus, Jun Xiaomo found herself in the center of this encirclement where her exposure to these relentless barrages of attacks was the smallest.

Du Yongxu had precisely charged straight into the heart of this encirclement, where his eyes immediately met with Jun Xiaomo’s.

Jun Xiaomo was slightly taken aback by this sudden development, but she quickly composed herself. A cold gleam flashed across her eyes as she lashed out with her whip against the attack that had just been launched by Du Yongxu.

Du Yongxu had used only thirty percent of his power on this attack, but his attack made Jun Xiaomo’s entire arm feel numb. Jun Xiaomo even nearly lost grip of her whip.

So powerful! Jun Xiaomo clenched her fists and furrowed her brows as she looked at Du Yongxu in horror.

This person is definitely not the leader of the Eternal Summit Sect’s disciples...the real leader doesn’t possess such power...

She gripped her whip tightly as her vigilance surged and her battle intent burgeoned.

“Hah, not bad. Your reflexes are quick, and your temperament is pretty good.” Du Yongxu praised Jun Xiaomo in a somewhat mocking manner, “Your next opponent is me. Are you ready?”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and all of the Du Clan disciples instantly rushed straight into the fray. As soon as Jun Xiaomo managed to react to the sudden developments in this battle, she found that she had already been separated and isolated from her martial brothers.

In other words, amidst the chaotic conditions of this battle, she was suddenly isolated and left to deal with Du Yongxu alone!