Chapter 944 - Black Plume Pavilion's Assassins

They had appeared without warning, catching Liu Wuxie off guard. Their footsteps were as light as feathers, and they had concealed their cultivation, making them look like ordinary mortals.

"Assassins!" Liu Wuxie immediately guessed their identity.

Only assassins would possess the skills to blend so seamlessly with the night. After all, every assassin's first lesson wasn't how to kill but how to hide.

A formidable assassin could even stand within a meter of a target, going completely unnoticed.

Undoubtedly, these four black figures were at the peak of their trade.

The moment they struck, they always landed a lethal blow, leaving no time for their target to react. Their attacks focused on speed, precision, and ruthlessness.

The attacks were aimed at Liu Wuxie's throat, heart, arms, and legs.

These four assassins were different. Liu Wuxie could tell that they had teamed up countless times. They each had their role, allowing them to strike with perfect synchronization. Their coordination was flawless. Unlike other cultivators who lacked coordination, their assault had no flaws.

The assassin in front aimed for Liu Wuxie's heart, the one behind aimed for his neck, the one on the left for his arms, and the one on the right for his legs.

Not even a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm could survive such a strike. And to make matters worse, these assassins were all at the higher levels of the Spirit Profound Realm.

Liu Wuxie was trapped, at the risk of being cut into pieces if he didn't act fast. It was dangerous because there was no time for him to think—they were too fast.

When Liu Wuxie stood up, the assassins' swords were already a meter away from him. At such a close range, there was nothing he could do except wait for death to arrive. This further proved how terrifying the Black Plume Pavilion's assassins were.

His mind went blank, a sure sign that death was near.

"Demonic Purgatory Chains!" Liu Wuxie roared. Demonic chains erupted from the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, weaving into a dense web.

These chains weren't meant to trap the assassins—they never could. They were meant to wrap around him like a cocoon to protect him.

The sounds of metal clashing rang in the night, but no sparks flew from the impact. The demonic chains had wrapped around Liu Wuxie.

Though the chains managed to stop the swords, the sword aura had pierced through the gaps between them and reached him. The pain was immediate as the sword aura began wreaking havoc in his body, causing blood to spurt from Liu Wuxie's lips and staining the air.

"You're all courting death!" Liu Wuxie growled. Even though he was injured, he was still alive.

After blocking their assault, Liu Wuxie summoned the Heretic Blade and swung it down. He had to end it quickly before the divine race caught wind of the commotion.

The four assassins were powerful, and Liu Wuxie knew he needed to escape as he had been injured.

The assassin in front chose to dodge the Golden Flame Strike rather than facing it head-on. They had received news that Liu Wuxie could slay someone at the sixth-level Spirit Profound Realm. This was why they didn't dare to confront him directly.

Moreover, the element of surprise was an assassin's greatest weapon, and they weren't Liu Wuxie's match if they fought him one-on-one.

A spatial rift opened, and Liu Wuxie shot out like a meteor, vanishing into the night. He endured the scorching pain and darted through several streets before coming to a stop. He immediately swallowed a handful of pills to contain his injuries.

The assassins did not pursue him and remained in the house.

"Did you collect the law from his body?" one of the assassins asked.

"Got it!"

Earlier, when Liu Wuxie had executed the Golden Flame Strike, it had left behind a trace of metal law in the air. They had collected it.

"With this law, we can track him even if he runs to the ends of the world. Alert the other assassins to regroup with us!"

One of the assassins removed his mask, revealing a youthful face.

The other three shed their black robes and assumed the guise of ordinary cultivators. This allowed them to blend into the crowd, making it easier to track Liu Wuxie.

"Black Plume Pavilion, I swear I'll uproot and erase you from this world one day!" Liu Wuxie changed direction after stabilizing his injuries.

He knew the assassins likely had a way to find him fast, which meant staying in the city was no longer safe. He slipped out from the other end of the city and vanished into the night.

"That's Liu Wuxie's aura! Someone fought with him!" The divinekins arrived at the scene and picked up on the lingering aura left behind, confirming that it belonged to Liu Wuxie.

"It appears that we're not the only ones after him." The divinekins didn't linger around and continued their pursuit after Liu Wuxie.

In a canyon, Liu Wuxie trudged forward. He murmured, "I can't fall here...I must survive!"

He sat on the ground, leaning against a large boulder. His body had mostly healed thanks to the healing pills, but it would take him time to recover fully.

Circulating the Desolate Devouring Art, he began to draw the surrounding spiritual energy, converting it into liquified spiritual energy. As his wounds began to heal rapidly, Liu Wuxie remained vigilant for any dangers that might lurk in the surroundings.

Fiery lay down beside him to stand guard.

The Desolate Devouring Art would also benefit Fiery as liquified spiritual energy began flowing into its body.

As time passed, dawn broke over the horizon. Liu Wuxie had recovered most of his injuries after a night of recovery, but he wasn't ready for another intense battle.

When he stood up, he exhaled heavily and spat out a mouthful of blood clots. He mounted Fiery and pulled out the map.

On the left was a mountain range, and on the right was the plain where he found the sword spring. He knew returning wasn't an option with the divine race in the city searching for him.

Nothing was on the map straight ahead, and it appeared to be an uncharted zone. An uncharted zone was a place that had claimed the lives of many who entered, and little was known about it.

The outer region had been thoroughly explored throughout the years, and cultivators had begun venturing deeper in recent years, hoping to uncover hidden secrets.

"Go!" Liu Wuxie patted Fiery as they passed through the canyon, diving deeper.

By daylight, the city's cultivators had also left, heading toward the uncharted zone like Liu Wuxie.

It had been seven to eight days since the sacred ground had opened. Aside from the four assassins, Liu Wuxie had yet to face any actual life-threatening danger, but he spotted many figures on the distant hill.

"Why are there so many people in the uncharted zone?" Liu Wuxie frowned. It was unusual for everyone to start gathering in the uncharted zone in just under ten days.

The safe zones had long been marked on the map. They had long been searched thoroughly over the past thousand years, and more cultivators had started pushing into the uncharted zone over the past few centuries.

What was once uncharted might be explored during the next opening.

Sending Fiery back in the beast pouch, Liu Wuxie walked alone. The distorted spatial laws made his steps appear strange and uneven.

"Have you heard? Someone found a place where all four seasons appear at the same time, capable of changing freely," the crowd's discussion drifted from a few thousand meters away, reaching Liu Wuxie's ears.

"How is it possible? How could such a place exist? It sounds like pure fantasy," someone replied skeptically, refusing to believe it.

Teams had quickly formed among those who had entered this world, as traveling in groups greatly increased the chances of survival.

"I only heard about it. Someone discovered it five years ago, but that person ran out of time and could only mark it on the map without exploring the area. Apparently, they have been waiting for five years for the opening of the sacred ground."

No one knew how the news had leaked, but it had spread throughout the sacred ground.

"It doesn't matter if it's real or not. Let's check it out!" The large group surged toward the uncharted zone. Most people treated the sacred ground as a training opportunity; only a handful had ever found a real treasure.

If I can blend into the crowd, I should be able to conceal my aura from the divine race and Black Plume Pavilion's assassins.

Liu Wuxie wasn't the only one joining the group, which grew like a rolling snowball. It didn't take long before it swelled to over a hundred people. More than a third of them had heard rumors of the marvel ahead.

After crossing the mountain range, the terrain opened up into a vast wilderness with a shimmering light barrier at its center.

Within it, all four seasons could be seen. A towering tree bursting with lush green of spring, a sun-scorched region blazed like summer, a withered and golden tree with a few fruits representing autumn, and a snow-covered region blanketed in thick snow to represent winter.

All four seasons were present in one place, which was truly unusual.

They could only see it faintly from a distance. Seeing such a marvel, everyone executed their movement technique and flew across the wilderness.

However, everyone stopped at the edge of the barrier, no one daring to approach.

It's a spiritual array!

Liu Wuxie observed.

The barrier was a spiritual array that had preserved the four seasons inside it.

Thousands of cultivators had already gathered around the barrier, most of whom had arrived in the past few days, with many trying to break through the spiritual array.

Even if the other regions held no secrets, those fruits on the withered, golden tree were no ordinary treasures.

After ten-odd minutes of descent, Liu Wuxie slowly approached the barrier. Although it appeared small from afar, it stretched for tens of thousands of meters up close.

Even with thousands gathered, the area still felt spacious.

Standing at the edge of the barrier, Liu Wuxie peered inside. Even he was left astounded at the sight.

"It's the Four Seasons Mirage!" A name surfaced in Liu Wuxie's mind.