Chapter 395. The Dark Heavens of the Murim (2)

Lu Fan was a typical opportunist, a type of person commonly found among the Evil Faction martial artists. Evil Faction martial artists were known to prioritize their personal benefits above all else, after all. They didn't care about feeding other people's trust in them to the dogs if the potential profit made it worth the trouble.

This time was no different. While thinking that the Evil Valley was basically done for, all thanks to the rebellion of the Four Gates, Lu Fan figured he might as well throw his lot in with the potential winning team.

I just have to make a name for myself in this war, and I will get my hands on a top-tier cultivation technique! When that happens, this rubbish life of being stuck in Second and First Class will finally be over!

No matter how talented one was, their cultivation techniques were eventually going to hold them back; Lu Fan had always been dissatisfied with his cultivation technique, which was only good for First Class experts. He genuinely believed that, had his cultivation technique been better, he would have become one of the famed One Hundred Experts Under Heaven by now.

Knowing the Evil Valley Master's personality, it's too late to go back, anyway.

Ever since that rebellion, the Evil Valley Master had been ruthlessly executing anyone suspected of being a traitor or a spy. Not only that, but he even threatened the others about how he'd never forgive any bastard daring to harbor foolish thoughts against him.

In other words, Lu Fan couldn't back off now or afford to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. And this opportunity certainly sounded like a sweet deal.

When Present Darkness Liu Shao accurately saw through the alliance forces' strategy and left Zhuge Xiuluan utterly speechless, Lu Fan cried out in elation inwardly. This had to be the end of the road for both the Righteous and Evil Factions, two groups that looked as if they would last for all eternity.

At least, that was what he thought.

"N-no, this can't be...!" Lu Fan muttered in disbelief.

"

Aaaaargh!

"

"

Aaaaargh!

"

"Show those bastards from the Dark Heavens the combined might of the Righteous and Evil Factions!"

As a torrential downpour pelted the battlefield, the wretched screams of the Seven Stars Division warriors rang out everywhere.

Splat!

Drops of blood splashed on Lu Fan's face, but the rain quickly washed them away.

"W-what?!" Lu Fan's joy didn't last for long. The flow of the battle had flipped around far too rapidly, after all. The Domination God Monarch shouted something, and then, a dragon jumped out of the Yangtze in the distance and went on a rampage.

Even if the river bandits were nothing more than criminal scum, they were supposed to be dependable allies capable of instilling hope. However, they were hopelessly swept aside by the dragon!

That wasn't the end, either! The Domination God Monarch displayed god-like martial prowess on the battlefield as if saying that he

really

was one of the Six Empyrean Overlords.

"We... We can't back down now!" Lu Fan shouted desperately. "Zhuge Xiuluan! Yes, kill her! Kill her, and we will win!"

He believed that the alliance forces' strategist was the root cause of all his problems. Since she was smarter and more capable than Present Darkness, he believed that killing her would resolve everything.

"Kill the Tactician Phoenix, and you'll at least become an executive in the Seven Stars Division!"

"An executive?"

The rear of the army, where the traitors were located, responded to Lu Fan's instigating roar. Most of these traitors were like him—they were all opportunistic figures. Their rational minds suddenly grew not-so-rational anymore ass greed took over their hearts.

Despite the thick raindrops pelting them from above, the blood rushing to their heads didn't want to cool down at all! As a matter of fact, the negative side effects of falling rain had gripped them tightly instead. The roar of the relentless rain drowned out the urgent yells of their allies telling them to get a hold of themselves.

Had Liu Shao been here, he would have been able to stop them using the Great True Sound Art, but he simply had no leeway of doing that right now.

"Get out of my way!"

"Zhuge Xiuluan is mine!"

The agitated traitors went on the offensive. Even if they got sucked into the trap, the Dark Heavens Association army had surrounded their enemies, and it gave them enough confidence to attack.

However, their confidence triggered the collapse of the traitors' formation instead.

"Do it, now! The traitors have finally lost their patience!" exclaimed the Seventh Young Master of the Diancang Sect, Duan Hecheng.

"

Uwaaaahk!

"

"The S-Sunshooting Sword Art?!"

"It's the Diancang Sect!"

The Diancang Sect was originally positioned on the right flank, but that was only at the beginning. They had been acting independently from the rest of the right flank since the battle began.

"As expected of the Diancang Sect, famed for their battle prowess!"

"To think that Duan Hecheng was this strong!"

"They didn't rely on luck to conquer the Ailao mountains, did they?"

It was no accident that the name of the Diancang Sect had become synonymous with practical combat martial arts. It had been battling its natural enemy, the Evil Faction, for a very long time, after all. They remained locked in battle even in the age of peace and prosperity.

Not only was the Diancang Sect not tied down by the antiquated mindset prevalent in other Righteous Faction sects, but its martial arts somewhat resembled the Evil Faction's, even though they were a follower of the righteous ideals of the

Dao

.

Duan Hecheng led two hundred Diancang Sect disciples away from the right flank and re-positioned behind the traitors.

"

Aaaah!

" Lu Fan screamed at the sight of a blade penetrating his chest. "T-this can't be..."

"This is what happens when you let your greed blind you!" Duan Hecheng grunted before kicking Lu Fan's gut to push the dying man away.

*

While the center of the alliance forces charged ahead with great momentum, and the traitors at the rear were being taken out by the Diancang Sect, the right and left flanks were also achieving outstanding success in the battle.

On the left flank, the Miao Family Sword Gate and the Four Poisons Gate stood out.

"

Keo, keo-heuk!

I've already taken antidotes, so how...!" A poisoned Seven Stars Division warrior was gasping with his eyes wide open and his face pale blue.

Min Xiao ridiculed the dying soldier for his foolishness. "Even if you've taken Tang Mingren's antidotes, did you really think a mass-produced antidote given to lowly grunts like yourself is going to be top-tier? Maybe you stood a chance against the Poison Manipulation Art, but not when struck directly by our poison art!"

The enemies' target quickly shifted to Min Xiao. "Kill the Four Poisons Gate Master first!"

"

Hmph!

"

While scoffing derisively, Min Xiao brought his fingers together. He folded his index, middle, ring, and little fingers. Then, he bent his thumb over them, as if to embrace the other fingers, and circulated his poison qi.

The ends of all five fingers instantly turned dark blue.

"You all seem to be underestimating me!" Pale-blue veins bulged all over his shaven scalp. "In that case... Die!"

Whoosh!

He flicked all his fingers. He wasn't playing around with his hand; he was performing the deadly Five Poisons Finger, which was the Flicking Finger technique with the poison art added on top of it.

When his fingers straightened, the poison qi gathered in his fingertips shot out like arrows, leaving behind afterimages in the air.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

"

Keo-heok?!

"

"

Kheck?!

"

"

Kuh-heuk!

"

The Five Poisons Finger was a famous poison art of the highest tier in the

murim

. It didn't matter where the projectile landed, as the poison would instantly spread within the victim's body. Detoxification was practically impossible unless the victim was a top expert or had a unique constitution.

Immediately circulating qi still wouldn't be enough to guarantee the victim's life, but on a chaotic battlefield? That was doubly impossible. Black blood spewed out from the mouths and nostrils of the Seven Stars Division warriors.

Their skin from head to toe turned pale, resembling corpses. The poisoned warriors shivered pitifully, like a lone leaf against storm winds, before collapsing lifelessly in mere minutes.

"As expected of the Four Poisons Gate Master!"

"Let's show them Four Poisons Gate's poison!"

The disciples of the Four Poisons Gate threw hidden daggers, shortswords, or other envenomed weapons of similar sizes to poison their enemies and kill them slowly.

"Fat chance!"

"Cheap tricks like this will not work on us, the warriors of the Warped Valor!"

The Four Poisons Gate certainly enjoyed greater momentum in the battle, but it wasn't decisive enough. One only had to be Second Class or better, not some famous top-tier expert, to deflect or defend against such attacks, after all. However, that only applied when one wasn't fatigued or had no worries about other attacks coming in simultaneously.

"Let's wrap this up!"

"

Hahaha!

You got distracted!"

If they were the Righteous Faction martial artists, they wouldn't exploit the opening created by poison arts or hidden weapons, as doing so would leave an unpleasant aftertaste in their mouths. However, these warriors were from the Evil Faction.

Their enemies were preoccupied with defending themselves from the poison and various hidden weapons. The Evil Faction martial artists would be idiots if they were to refuse to take advantage of this situation.

Thus, they gleefully exploited the opening and started toying with the enemy.

"Y-you cowards! Lowlives!"

"Aaaand that's why you're going to die today!"

Slice!

Stab! Staaab!

"

Hahahaha

! Let me show you the evil Dao swordsmanship!"

Miao Zhidan smirked while swinging his sword around.

*

The left flank wasn't the only one achieving outstanding success in the battle. When viewed from the above, the right flank was also clearly on the path to victory.

"

Keh-heck

!"

A Transcendent class expert from the Dark Heaven's Warped Valor division flew back while vomiting a mouthful of blood. He barely regained his balance during his flight and landed on his feet, but soon clutched his chest before toppling over, lifeless.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"

Heu-euph!

"

Jingchu Shitai used Vajra Samadhi Palm to utterly demolish her enemies. Her profound force shattered bones and ruptured internal organs. At a casual glance, it looked as if she was only focusing on attacking while relying on her brute strength, but rather unexpectedly, she was also being defensive.

"It's Vajra Eighteen Footsteps!"

While Shaolin boasted Vajra Immovable Body Art, the Emei Sect proudly possessed the Vajra Eighteen Footsteps. Although the two shared a similar name, the nature of the two arts differed.

Shaolin's Vajra Immovable Body Art allowed one to maintain an unmoving posture as if they had become a large tree or a sturdy pillar with roots buried deep into the ground, but Vajra Eighteen Footsteps boasted an ever-changing nature similar to Heaven Altering Divine Art.

It allowed the practitioner to freely switch between attack and defense, and even helped with unleashing a variety of attacks on top of that, too.

Jingchu Shitai had nothing to fear when relying on the harmonious combination of her strength and the ever-changing nature. Even when many enemy combatants sneaked closer to stop the rampage of this boar... No, bear-like nun, she noticed them immediately and responded, which drove her enemies nuts from frustration.

"Boundless Dragon!" Jingchu Shitai roared while extending her arm horizontally.

Blood, mixed with the falling rain, trickled down her calloused palm.

"Coming!"

Tap, tap, tap!

The Boundless Dragon, Nangong Shanxu, dashed forward. Mud splattered everywhere, but he didn't care. His clothes were already ruined, after all.

The muddy ground made his dash a little more laborious than usual, but it posed no impediment at all. He ran and ran before kicking the muddy ground to leap up high.

When his figure reached around the height of Jingchu Shitai's knee, he descended, and his feet soon landed on the nun's palms.

"

Wuoooooh!

"

Deep wrinkles formed on her face. Her wide-open mouth let out a roar instead of a Buddhist scripture. Starting from her forearm, the muscles on her entire arm bulged and ballooned before she tossed him like a rock.

"

Haaaaaahph!

"

Nangong Shanxu flew forward like a bird before landing like a meteor in the middle of the enemy formation and swinging his sword powerfully. Although his attack wasn't as destructive as the Domination God Monarch's attacks, which were capable of altering even the topography, it was still accurate enough to target the enemy commander's life!

Clang

!

"

Keuh-huhuk!

"

The head of the enemy commander, Guan Huqing, almost shattered just then. He raised his sword just in time to block the incoming attack. However, he almost lost his grip on his weapon in the process. He couldn't help but think that the title of "Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes" was well deserved.

"You're here, the scion of the hypocrites! The Nangongs!"

Guan Huqing's voice boiled with hatred. His attitude proved that his prior speeches weren't merely done for the purpose of instigation, after all. His glare was as intense as a man glaring at the murderer of his parents.

"How does it feel to be called the son of hypocrites instead of a son of a famous clan?!"

Guan Huqing's hatred-filled glare burned icily. A just-as-icy sneer was etched on his lips.

"Don't ever think Nangong Weiwu has sacrificed himself for your cause! He merely paid for the crime of turning a blind eye and letting it happen under his watch, after all!"

Thick water drops fell from each man's cheeks. It was hard to tell if they were tears or merely rainwater.

"Don't think it'll end like this!" Guan Huqing growled menacingly while pointing with his sword. "This... This is a curse placed upon you! The curse from all those who got ignored, sacrificed, and tortured by the unfairness! Yes, this curse is from everyone deemed inferior by you lot!"

The eyes of the man leading the traitors burned in intense yearning just then.

"For the longest time, I've blinded myself from the truth. I believed that, no matter how poor my background was, putting in enough effort would one day reward me. I told myself to endure and uphold the virtues extolled by the sages of Buddhism and Taoism, and that I should try to resolve conflicts through dialogue, not violence!"

Smirk!

"What a fool I have been! Who cares about dialogue in the world of contradiction called

Murim

, where violence and strength lord over everything?!"

Guan Huqing declared in no uncertain terms at Nangong Shanxu.

"The people of the

murim

... No, all humans are self-righteous. You can talk to them all you want, but they will close their eyes and block their ears. They'll pretend that they can't hear you. In that case, there can only be one way to make them listen!"

This warrior, who used to adhere to the Righteous Faction's doctrine with all his heart... cried out as if to announce his despair to the world. "And that is through violence! To plead with them to listen to you! To listen to your voice! This is the only way to start the dialogue! Now, behold!"

Guan Huqing roared, "I come from a humble, nay, ignoble background! I used to be a nobody, some random warrior in the Martial Alliance! Yet look at you! Look at how intently you're listening to me!"

With every passing minute, the Dark Heavens Association army was crumbling more and more.

"I am!"

Whether it was the primary army, the reinforcements, or even the reinforcements of the reinforcements, they were all being pushed back.

"Guan Huqing!"

The outcome of this war was tilting in the other side's favor. The bandit's ships were capsizing and sinking.

"The former Martial Alliance-affiliated warrior!"

Once the signs of defeat became much more noticeable, the opportunists among the Dark Heavens Association army began urgently looking around for a chance to escape. Those who valued their lives surrendered, while some hid within the corpses and pretended to be dead.

They were doing everything in their power to survive.

"I am! Guan Huqing!"

The storm winds and rain slammed into the world below. Without sound arts, people wouldn't be able to hear each other even at a stone's throw away.

"Now, listen up, the Righteous faction! Listen up, the Evil faction!" However, for some unknown reason, every martial artist listened to one man's roar, his testimony. "Listen up, O

murim!

"

His vocal cords threatened to rupture as he roared, "You are! The true dark heavens!"

His heart pounded away madly. "You, who discriminate! You, who sneer! You, who hate!"

The rain pelted him mercilessly.

"You, who fight tooth and nail over trivial nonsense! You, who never yield, you who know nothing of love! All of you are...!"

A loud thunderclap cracked in the air just then.

"You are the true blackened heavens!"