Chapter 831: Assassination by the Wen River
There were many crevices among the rocks beneath the bank, and one of them connected to the sewers beneath the Dao Hall.
During the day, the Tang family had sent people to destroy the formation there and spread a great deal of black, viscous, oily substance inside.
That mass, like slush, slowly flowed through the crevice, entered the sewers of the Dao Hall, and continued forward, still making no sound. Moreover, it was unclear what substance composed its surface, as it did not even stick to a single bit of that sticky black oil.
Chen Changsheng's gaze fell on the opposite bank.
He did not know that during the day, the opposite bank had been very lively, with many yamen runners, street vendors, and fortune-tellers. By the water's edge, there was a blind zither player, and the tavern was bustling, where Luo Bu had drunk two jars of fine wine.
He did not notice that the ground behind him was slightly bulging, and two frost-covered wild grasses had already risen past the backs of his feet.
The black soil parted like silently blooming flower petals, and an ugly hand covered in scales and fur reached out from beneath the earth.
The flow of qi between heaven and earth underwent an extremely subtle change. Chen Changsheng's perception was exceptionally keen, and he immediately sensed something amiss.
Yet his reaction was ultimately a step too slow.
He did not have time to use his fastest Yecha Step or send himself far away with the Evening Cloud Hook.
That ugly and terrifying hand had already emerged from the ground and firmly grasped his ankle.
An indescribable aura emanated from that hand, traveling up his ankle and invading his body.
Chen Changsheng felt as if he had fallen into a volcanic crater, wrapped in scorching lava. Every inch of his skin stung unbearably, even going numb in places.
This was an illusion, for that aura was not hot but extremely cold.
That intensely cold and filthy aura surged into all his meridians, then began to erode his flesh and blood.
More terrifyingly, that cold and filthy aura seemed to possess a kind of vitality, forming into a membrane-like substance that sealed all three hundred and sixty-five of his qi apertures. This meant that the starlight power within those apertures could not break free in a short time.
The next moment, that aura directly rushed into his chest and abdomen, freezing his Nether Palace into a snowy mountain.
All of this happened in an extremely brief span of time.
The yellow leaf falling from the tree had just left the branch by less than an inch, and the starlight had no time to even flicker.
Chen Changsheng was subdued; his breathing and heartbeat seemed on the verge of freezing solid.
Not only could he not fight back, but he could not even make a sound.
The ambusher's methods from beneath the ground were too insidious, and that aura was too cold and venomous.
If it had been any other cultivator, even a peak Star Gathering powerhouse, caught off guard and suddenly facing such a terrifying ambush—a venomous technique that had not appeared in the world for countless years—they might have met their end, dying silently.
Would Chen Changsheng die like this? Under the protection of countless experts, within the Dao Hall of the National Religion, beneath this silver starlight?
Guan Feibai walked out of the Dao Hall with his sword, still over ten zhang away from Chen Changsheng.
Most critically, aside from feeling that the night breeze had suddenly turned slightly chilly, he detected no problem at all.
The Dao Hall's formation had also failed to sense the arrival of that insidious ambusher.
Chen Changsheng's breathing slowed. Counting from the moment of the ambush, the interval before his second breath was seven times longer.
At the same time, his heartbeat also slowed. Again counting from the ambush, his second heartbeat came much later than the first.
If this continued, perhaps his next breath would never come, perhaps his heartbeat would stop altogether, and he would die.
This was one of the closest times Chen Changsheng had come to death, but not the closest.
Since the age of ten, his life had always been accompanied by the shadow of death. Whether at the bottom of Beixin Bridge, by the Cold Mountain Lake, or atop the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, he had faced even more dangerous situations. So even though he could see the threat of death so clearly, he still did not panic.
More importantly, he had many similar experiences in dealing with cold auras.
He had been blasted by Zhi Zhi's dragon breath many times. Over the years, he had sometimes turned into a snow sculpture at the bottom of a cave, sometimes into an ice block in the Cold Palace Lake.
The Frost Dragon's dragon breath was the coldest thing in the world. Although the ambusher's aura was more filthy, it was somewhat inferior in this regard.
In a sense, Chen Changsheng was the person in this world who had fought against cold auras the most. Both in spirit and body, his endurance far exceeded that of normal people. Even those in the sacred domain might not surpass him in this aspect.
In the ambusher's view, Chen Changsheng should have had both his physical body and divine sense completely frozen by now, even his thoughts should have stopped, let alone counterattacking.
Chen Changsheng indeed could not move at this moment, but he could still think.
As long as he could think, no one could trap him.
In the midst of his extremely slow, nearly stopping breath and heartbeat, he stirred his thoughts slightly.
Countless swords streamed out from the Sheathed Sword!
Countless sharp sword intents enveloped the rear garden by the Wen River.
Countless sword lights slashed wildly in all directions. Starlight shattered, frost-covered grass snapped, and countless deep sword marks appeared on the ground, with slightly hard soil splattering everywhere.
The formation within the Dao Hall was finally triggered. A clear light emerged from the eaves of the hall, enveloping the entire Dao Hall and its rear garden.
Amid the countless sword lights, a muffled grunt was faintly heard, accompanied by a tearing sound, as if something had broken.
The grass continued to bulge, as if something beneath the ground was trying to flee.
That filthy aura lost its source. Chen Changsheng was no longer in mortal danger, but he still could not move and remained at risk.
The swarm of swords flew back, hovering around him, forming an impenetrable sword formation with a buzzing hum.
……
……
From afar, watching Chen Changsheng standing by the water, Guan Feibai had already sensed something wrong.
The changes in Chen Changsheng's breathing and heartbeat could not escape his Clear Sword Heart.
Then, he saw the black soil on the grass and that strange hand gripping Chen Changsheng's ankle.
His long sword left its sheath, and he dashed over, but his heart was tense to the extreme, for he realized he might not make it in time.
Just then, countless sword lights appeared on the grass, shattering both starlight and frost-covered grass while forcing the ambusher to reveal himself.
Seeing the bulge on the grass, Guan Feibai released his long sword, letting it slash down.
A white sword light blazed in the night by the Wen River.
The full sky of stars instantly dimmed by several degrees. The frost-covered grass lay flat, and the yellow leaves shattered.