Ye Qiu was about to strike when, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, five figures sped in from the distance.
The aura each one radiated was far from weak, instantly drawing Ye Qiu’s attention.
In the next moment, five people appeared beside Wuhua: four men and one woman, every one of them at the peak of the Cave Heaven realm.
Mo Tianji’s expression darkened. He swiftly sent a sound transmission to Ye Qiu, introducing them.
“Xuanbing Sect, Lin Yi!”
“Blazing Sun Manor, Xie Feihua!”
“Chixiao Sect, Gu Yihan!”
“Jinshan Temple, Wei Yue!”
“Seven Stars Sect, Du Tianning!”
“Though the forces behind them are not as strong as the three holy lands, these five are genuine geniuses. Their strength is only a notch below An Ruoxi and the others.”
“They must have come for the supreme opportunity as well.”
“Big Brother, be careful.”
Ye Qiu’s face remained calm, utterly unmoved. He said coldly, “They had better not try to snatch that golden coffin from me, or I will send them straight to hell.”
After the five arrived, Wei Yue from Jinshan Temple gave Wuhua a salute and asked, “Buddha-son, we are not too late, are we?”
“Not late at all. You have arrived at the perfect moment.” Wuhua smiled broadly.
Before entering the Mountain of Undying, Wuhua had secretly formed an alliance with these geniuses, offering benefits and applying both carrot and stick to secure their help in seizing the supreme opportunity.
Overhearing their conversation, Ye Qiu understood they were Wuhua’s accomplices. He sneered, “What, couldn’t beat me on your own, so you called for backup?”
A chilling killing intent surged from Wuhua as he stared at Ye Qiu. “I seem to recall you saying my time was up. Now it looks like yours has come.”
Instantly, powerful killing intent erupted from all five of them as they glared at Ye Qiu with hostile eyes.
“I’ll give the lot of you one piece of advice.”
Ye Qiu looked at the five and said, “If you know what’s good for you, do not make an enemy of me. Leave now.”
“Otherwise, you will leave your lives here.”
“What arrogance!” Du Tianning of the Seven Stars Sect snorted coldly, then asked Wuhua, “Buddha-son, who is this fellow? I have never seen him before.”
At those words, the others chimed in with the same question.
“Yes, I have never seen him either. Where did he spring from?”
“What is this guy’s background?”
“How dare he contend with the Buddha-son for the opportunity?”
Wuhua smiled. “His name is Ye Changsheng, a genius who appeared out of nowhere. Do not underestimate him. His strength is no less than yours. If you are not careful, you might not be his match.”
As everyone knew, geniuses were prideful by nature.
Hearing this, Du Tianning and the others grew displeased.
“Ye Changsheng? Some nameless nobody we have never even heard of,” Xie Feihua snorted.
Seeing their dissatisfaction, Wuhua pretended to advise them kindly. “Ye Changsheng truly is formidable. You must not be careless. If you cannot beat him, flee at once. I will not blame you.”
“Buddha-son, I do not like hearing that. How can we dampen our own spirits and boost the enemy’s?” said the only woman among the five. “The five of us together can kill even an early Nascent Soul cultivator, never mind someone of the same realm.”
“As for this Ye Changsheng, slaughtering him will be as easy as butchering a dog.”
“Buddha-son, go seize the opportunity. Leave this person to us.”
“Rest assured, we will not let him live.”
Ye Qiu recognised the speaker as Gu Yihan of the Chixiao Sect.
Gu Yihan appeared to be in her mid-twenties, of average beauty, wearing a Taoist robe and holding a horsetail whisk, yet she carried none of the bearing of a Taoist and was instead overbearingly arrogant.
Ye Qiu pointed straight at her. “Wench, come here and meet your death.”
Gu Yihan flew into a rage. “Insolent cur, you…”
“You what? Die!” Ye Qiu shot towards her without hesitation.
Since they were not on his side, he would simply eliminate them.
“Kill!” Gu Yihan, still unaware of Ye Qiu’s true strength, charged straight at him.
“Quick, help her!” Wuhua knew Gu Yihan was no match for Ye Qiu and hurriedly ordered.
At once, Du Tianning, Wei Yue, Lin Yi of the Xuanbing Sect, and Xie Feihua of the Blazing Sun Manor all followed behind her.
As for Wuhua himself, he remained where he was, eyes fixed upon the golden coffin.
“Ye Changsheng, oh Ye Changsheng, those five can keep you busy for a while. That coffin will definitely be mine.”
Wuhua grinned widely and stepped towards the golden coffin.
At that very moment,
“Ah…” A blood-curdling scream rang out.
Wuhua whipped his head around and saw Gu Yihan’s skull explode under a lash from Ye Qiu’s God-Beating Whip. She perished on the spot.
The remaining four hurriedly retreated, thoroughly intimidated by Ye Qiu’s dominance.
“Useless trash!”
Wuhua cursed inwardly, then shouted, “Quick, attack together! Kill him!”
Yet Du Tianning and the others hesitated, clearly terrified by Ye Qiu’s methods.
After all, Gu Yihan had been their equal, yet Ye Qiu had shattered her with a single strike. Fear now gripped their hearts.
“Worthless fools.” Wuhua cursed again silently before shouting once more, “Do not be afraid! Use your trump cards immediately and hold him back. Once I obtain the opportunity, I will deal with him myself.”
“As long as I secure the opportunity, I will double the rewards I promised you.”
“I will never go back on my word.”
Hearing that the rewards would be doubled, Du Tianning seemed to be injected with chicken blood. He drew a long sabre and slashed straight at Ye Qiu.
Wei Yue, Xie Feihua, and Lin Yi also attacked.
All four were peak Cave Heaven cultivators. Acting together, their murderous intent blanketed the sky and engulfed Ye Qiu.
Far from showing fear, Ye Qiu strode boldly forward.
“Since you are so eager to die, I do not mind sending you all to the underworld.” Ye Qiu swung the God-Beating Whip and snapped Du Tianning’s sabre in two.
The next instant, the whip landed on Du Tianning’s body.
Pfft! Du Tianning’s flesh exploded, his primordial spirit turning into a bloody mist.
Seeing Ye Qiu casually dispatch Du Tianning as well, Wei Yue, Xie Feihua, and Lin Yi panicked and tried to retreat, but Ye Qiu struck even faster.
Crack!
The God-Beating Whip descended once more. Lin Yi perished body and soul.
Witnessing this, Wuhua realised the situation was dire. He had planned to use the five to stall Ye Qiu while he claimed the golden coffin, but none of them were Ye Qiu’s match.
“I cannot wait any longer. I must seize the golden coffin now.”
With that thought, Wuhua shot forward, appearing before the golden coffin. He reached out with his right hand to touch it.
Unexpectedly, before his fingers made contact, a heart-stopping surge of killing intent locked onto him.
Wuhua hurriedly looked up. A dragon-marked spear, wreathed in towering demonic qi, came whistling towards him.
