Chapter 268 A Head-on Clash Between the Old and New Systems

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood, burnt smell, and the pungent odor of engine oil being burned at high temperatures.

Deep within the Pill Pavilion, in front of the quiet room half-buried in the ruins, two groups of people stood facing each other across an open space filled with broken bricks and tiles.

Neither of them made the first move.

Because everyone knows that the truly valuable things are mostly behind that stone door.

That's why whoever touches the door first is likely to be the one to step on a landmine for the other side.

The leader of the Wang family cultivators was named Wang Chong. At this moment, his once spotless pure white nano-robed robe had been torn in several places by the demonic wolf, and there was a charred burn mark on his chest, which was the mark left by the exploding burning lightning earlier.

He stared intently at Lao Ding's bulging tactical vest, his eyes twitching slightly with extreme anger.

The purple-gold gourd and those ancient pills are all inside.

As a direct descendant of the prestigious Wang family, he led his men all the way into the Sword Tomb of Mount Shu, only to be first entangled by demonic wolves and then outmaneuvered by several unorthodox individuals from the Yellow Zone. If this were to reach the Green Zone, he would never be able to hold his head high again.

"Hand over the items."

Wang Chong spoke, his voice chilling as if squeezed out bit by bit from between his teeth, "Hulu, pills, and everything you just took, hand them all over."

He slowly raised his hand, and two spare flying swords were already vibrating gently beside him.

"While I'm still willing to leave you with a complete corpse."

After hearing this, Old Ding suddenly grinned.

His face was covered in ash, and there was still some demon blood stuck in the corner of his eye. His smile was not relaxed at all, but rather made him look ferocious and terrifying.

He didn't respond to Wang Chong's words, but instead slowly lowered his center of gravity.

The dark red mutated scales on his left arm began to open and close, as if breathing. At the same time, the bio-chemical pseudo-spiritual root on his back emitted a low rumble.

"Did you hear me?"

Old Ding tilted his head and grinned at the hunters in the yellow zone behind him.

"This pretty boy wants to leave us with our bodies intact."

With a flick of his right hand, the high-frequency vibrating blade instantly emitted a piercing buzzing sound, and the high-frequency vibrations on the blade even caused the surrounding gravel to tremble slightly.

"Then give him a good beating."

The moment the last word was uttered, Lao Ding had already rushed out.

There was no probing, no idle chatter, and none of the usual courteous-before-the-fight tactics common among cultivators.

This is the rule for hunters in the yellow zone.

When it really comes down to a fight, whoever talks first will die first.

"court death!"

Wang Chong shouted and pointed.

Two flying swords transformed into two streaks of silver light, intertwining and slicing towards Old Ding's neck and heart. At the same time, two Wang family cultivators behind him simultaneously formed hand seals, one slashing diagonally with a wind blade, the other thrusting straight with an ice cone, while the third erected a spiritual energy shield to seal off the gap in front of the meditation room.

His first move was the fighting style most familiar to orthodox cultivators.

Spread out, take control, strangle.

As long as the distance is maintained, these monsters, which are made from demon blood and prosthetic bodies in the wasteland, will not even have a chance to get close.

But Lao Ding didn't back down at all.

He didn't even blink.

"break!"

With a roar, the power of his pseudo-spiritual root was pushed to its limit in one go. The scales on his left arm tightened instantly, and he raised the arm that could no longer be considered human, and fiercely attacked the flying sword!

clang!

The sparks exploded.

The first flying sword sliced ​​through the outermost layer of scales, tearing away large chunks of flesh. The second sword cut straight through the gaps in the scales, carving a deep, bone-revealing wound into Old Ding's arm.

However, the two flying swords were also slowed down by half a beat in this instant.

For a cultivator, even half a beat is fatal.

Old Ding simultaneously slashed down with his right hand, the vibrating blade leaving a trail of sparks as it skimmed the ground, striking fiercely at Wang Chong's protective aura.

boom!

The spiritual shield trembled violently.

The ripples spread out instantly.

On the other side, the three hunters from the yellow zone who rushed up with Lao Ding also moved at the same time.

One of them raised a psionic machine gun and unleashed a barrage of close-range fire at the two cultivators who were forming hand seals. The dense bullets, trailing blue light, slammed into the protective spiritual shields, causing ripples to spread wildly across the surface and forcing the two cultivators to abruptly abandon their spells.

Using the broken wall as cover, the other person unleashed a burst of hydraulic pressure, propelling himself across the distance of over ten meters like a steel nail launched from the ground, his alloy dagger aimed straight at the throat of one of the cultivators.

The last hunter was even more decisive, disregarding all rules and techniques, and unleashed two shock grenades, striking the Wang family cultivators' formation from the left and right.

Boom! Boom!

A burst of white light suddenly erupted from the ruins.

Debris, flames, and ear-piercing shockwaves exploded together.

Wang Chong's expression changed immediately.

The way these yellow zone hunters fight is absolutely disgusting. They don't give you a chance to create distance, they don't give you the rhythm to complete your attack, and they even ruthlessly cut off the trajectory of your flying sword.

Unfortunately, this place is still in ruins.

Stone beams, broken walls, column bases, deep pits—everywhere there was obstruction.

The advantages of sword control and magic are still there, but once these mad dogs get close, those advantages will shrink by a lot.

"Retreat! Create space!"

Wang Chong roared and retreated gracefully, simultaneously exhaling a wisp of his vital energy, which entered the two stuck flying swords.

The flying sword shone brightly with silver light, forcefully tearing apart the flesh of Old Ding's left arm. It broke free from its restraints, twisted in mid-air, and stabbed straight at Old Ding's back.

Old Ding seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He swung his knife backhand and slashed one of the blades away, but the other blade still grazed past his ribs, leaving a trail of blood.

At the same time, the hunter in the yellow zone who rushed the fastest also paid the price.

The dagger in his hand had just pierced through the opponent's protective spiritual shield when a wind blade slashed diagonally from the other side and struck his thigh hard.

puff!

Flesh and blood rolled up.

The entire leg was almost completely severed.

He groaned and fell to the ground, but his hand moved even faster, grabbing the other cultivator's ankle with his other hand.

"Stay here, you bastard!"

The Wang family cultivator's expression changed drastically; he tried to pull his leg away, but it was too late.

The hunter had already ripped off the fuse of a high-explosive mine with his other hand and shoved it forcefully into the gap between the two men.

"No--"

Boom!

With a deafening roar, flesh, shattered armor, and half a severed leg exploded simultaneously.

The hunter was instantly engulfed by the explosion, and the Wang family cultivator was also brutally killed, losing half of his body and rolling into the pile of rubble with a scream.

The situation spiraled out of control in that instant.

This is no longer a sparring match between cultivators, nor is it a battle formation.

It was a group of people who were all bloodthirsty and were fighting fiercely in the ruins of the ruins.

Wang Chong's face finally turned completely ugly.

It wasn't until this moment that he truly realized that these hunters from the Yellow Zone were nothing like the "low-level loners" he had encountered before.

They don't want to win.

They're there to fuck you to death.

"Oh shit……"

Old Ding spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, blood streaming down his left arm, and the pseudo-spiritual root on his back emitted a piercing alarm due to the forced overload.

But the fierce glint in his eyes only intensified.

When Wang Chong retreated, he pressed forward.

The vibrating blade slashed down fiercely.

Wang Chong's protective aura trembled again.

The remaining hunter from the yellow zone had also switched to a short-range psionic gun and was firing at another Wang family cultivator at close range, forcing the man to roll around in a sorry state, unable to free his hands to provide support.

Seeing that the pace of the game had been completely dragged into close-quarters melee, Wang Chong could no longer suppress his anger.

"You bunch of scum, cobbled together from demon blood and scrap metal, dare to run wild in Mount Shu?!"

He bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and instantly formed an extremely complex ancient sword seal with his hands.

The surrounding spiritual energy surged wildly towards the top of his head.

A phantom lightsaber, over ten feet long, slowly took shape above him.

Before the sword's edge had fully solidified, the surrounding ground was already being cut with fine cracks by that sharp energy.

Old Ding paused in his tracks.

He could tell that this attack was on a completely different level from the flying swords, wind blades, and ice spikes he had just used.

This is a technique that truly requires ruthless and deadly force.

The pseudo-spiritual root behind him had also reached its limit, with fine blood vessels seeping from his skin, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

But Lao Ding still didn't retire.

He was just panting heavily, slowly holding the vibrating knife horizontally in front of him, his knees sinking little by little, like an old wolf crouching low in a desperate situation.

Further on is the quiet room.

If we back down now, all the hard work we've put in will have been for nothing.

"Come."

Old Ding stared at Wang Chong, his voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding iron.

"I'll go see what kind of trouble you, this 'master' of the Green Zone, can really cause."

Wang Chong's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he was about to cleave the lightsaber down fiercely.

But at that very moment—

Another Wang family cultivator, who was forced into a frantic state, stumbled backward in an attempt to dodge the close-range attack of the Yellow Zone hunter.

boom!

His back slammed hard against a broken stone pillar.

The immense impact caused his spare flying sword to slip from his hand.

The flying sword spun in mid-air, deviating from its original trajectory, and at an extremely coincidental angle, it struck the half-buried stone door of the quiet room with a loud "clang".

The entire ruins seemed to fall silent for a moment.

Immediately afterwards—

Click.

A very thin, very light, yet clearly audible cracking sound slowly emanated from inside the stone gate.

clack clack...

Dust fell from the surface of the stone gate.

Ancient, intricate patterns, so complex they sent chills down one's spine, began to slowly illuminate the door panel. A bluish-white light meandered along these patterns, as if something that had slumbered for countless years had been violently awakened by this battle.

next moment.

An indescribable, terrifying sword intent surged out from the crack in the door.

No sound.

Everyone present felt as if a cold, ancient sword was pressing hard against their back, and even their breathing suddenly stopped.

thump.

The enormous light sword that had just condensed above Wang Chong's head was crushed by an invisible hand the moment that sword intent swept over it, scattering into countless points of light.

Meanwhile, the several Wang family flying swords that were suspended in mid-air simultaneously let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground with a few clangs.

No matter how much Wang Chong tried to rouse his spirit, he could no longer summon it.

Ten thousand swords bowed their heads.

Old Ding, Wang Chong, and the few others who were still alive froze on the spot almost simultaneously.

The stone gate did not burst open.

It simply starts from the middle, turning into fine stone powder layer by layer, falling down in a soft rustling sound.

The scene of the quiet room behind the door was finally fully revealed.

There were no mountains of magical treasures or rows of elixir bottles inside.

There was only a dusty futon.

On the futon, a skeleton dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe sat cross-legged.

On the skeletal knee lay an ancient sword, rusted and without a scabbard.

The terrifying sword intent that pressed down on people, making it hard to breathe, was slowly emanating from that skeleton and that rusty sword.

No one spoke in the ruins.

The two groups that had just been fighting to the death now felt like they had been choked at the same time.

Because everyone could sense that what they were really fighting fiercely with just now was each other.

The real thing is only now beginning to show its fangs.

Old Ding stared at the rusty sword, the hairs on the back of his head standing on end.

Wang Chong's face gradually turned pale, and the anger in his eyes was suppressed by an instinctive fear.

next moment.

The rusty sword lying across the withered bone's knee trembled very slightly.