Chapter 135: Astonishment

Meeting Lin Hao's gaze, the two of them inexplicably felt a trace of dread rising from the depths of their souls.

Shortly after, a flash of surprise and solemnity crossed the eyes of the red-robed elder from the Red Lotus Sect. With a sharp glint, she asked meaningfully, "We haven't seen each other for more than a brief moment, yet your strength has grown considerably. We'd love to know what exactly happened to you within the borders of Mount Tianyu. And why are you able to leave, while members of our sects remain trapped inside Mount Tianyu?"

These few casual remarks also brought a look of suspicion and burning greed into the eyes of the middle-aged man beside her.

Clearly, the female elder of the Red Lotus Sect was implying that the enhancement of Lin Hao's strength was entirely due to some fortuitous encounters he found within Mount Tianyu.

She was also insinuating that Lin Hao was hiding something from everyone and might have secured some great opportunity inside the mountain.

At this thought, the middle-aged man's eyes darted around restlessly as he hatched some malicious plot, occasional flashes of ruthlessness crossing his features.

Seeing this, the female elder of the Red Lotus Sect curled the corner of her lips.

She looked at Lin Hao with deep, shimmering implications in her eyes.

Hearing their conversation, Lin Hao frowned slightly.

He stepped forward, stood out, and said, "Is this the only reason you dare to attack the Qingfeng Sect? Whatever happens, I will not let you succeed today!"

"This isn't something for you alone to decide, brat! Even if you have some tricks up your sleeve, I refuse to believe you can fight a hundred single-handedly with the major sects all present here today! Hmph!" Hearing Lin Hao's words, the middle-aged man sneered in blatant disdain.

As for Lin Hao, the only thing he cared about was the hidden meaning behind the Red Lotus Sect elder's words.

He looked down upon everything else entirely.

A mere Lin Hao was simply not worthy of his serious attention.

Moreover, although he could not sense Lin Hao's true cultivation level, he assumed Lin Hao must merely possess some treasure capable of concealing his strength, and that it definitely could not surpass his own power.

Thus, he maintained a high and mighty attitude toward Lin Hao.

Seeing his demeanor, Lin Hao fixed him with a cold, piercing stare.

As the man's voice faded,

Lin Hao's fingers flicked slightly. Then, with a sharp "Whoosh!", something cold and chilling hurtled straight toward the man.

The man's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively dodged.

Even so, he felt a chilly breeze graze his ear.

Raising a hand to touch the spot, he felt a droplet of cool liquid, followed by a trickle of blood as a lock of his hair drifted down.

He instantly sucked in a cold breath, looking around to gauge the direction, and acutely realized that only Lin Hao's position could have launched a projectile at that precise angle.

Deep shock flashed through his eyes; he hadn't even caught sight of what had flown past him.

He had only dodged the attack purely on instinct, and even then, he had only managed to evade half of it.

Touching his ear, his heart pounded wildly as he imagined how a fraction of a second slower would have meant that hidden weapon piercing straight through his brain.

In an instant, a wave of caution toward Lin Hao took root, sweeping away his previous contempt.

This was immediately followed by a surge of intense fury.

With his own sect's disciples watching, he had made a fool of himself. Sensing their strange, sidelong glances, his face burned with humiliation. Though he no longer dared to openly mock Lin Hao as he had moments before, he harbored a hidden murderous intent, gritting his teeth as he demanded, "Was that your doing just now?"

"Yes, it was indeed my doing. I simply have no patience for people whose mouths spew filth. If you don't know how to speak properly, you'd better keep your mouth shut. Consider this merely a lesson.

"If you get your people and get the hell out right now, I might spare your life," Lin Hao replied.

In truth, Lin Hao's action was not a rash impulse, but a calculated move to kill a chicken and scare the monkeys—a way to intimidate him.

As he well knew, if there were indeed other sects waiting outside, he alone could not fight an army of a hundred, and even a war of attrition would wear him down.

Furthermore, while ensuring his own survival was not an issue, protecting the safety of everyone in the Qingfeng Sect would be extremely tricky.

Therefore, Lin Hao was currently playing a strategic game with them.

Hearing Lin Hao's words, the man immediately retorted, "Impossible! Today I am going to settle this with you to the end, brat. If you have the guts, let's fight blade-to-blade and spear-to-spear! What kind of coward relies on sneak attacks?"

Believing that Lin Hao was deliberately humiliating him in front of everyone, the man flew into a rage.

With a flash, he drew his weapon—a silver spear.

The entire shaft was now glowing with a reddish hue.

The spearhead blazed with roaring flames, looking at a glance like an extraordinary divine artifact.

As soon as it was drawn, the disciples of his sect looked at Lin Hao with gloating schadenfreude.

Clearly, the weapon in this man's hand was far from ordinary.

Even the female elder of the Red Lotus Sect wore a faint, meaningful look in her eyes.

With that, the man hefted his spear, lightly tapped the ground, and charged straight toward Lin Hao on the grand hall's dais.

Seeing this, Qingyun instinctively stepped in front of Lin Hao, attempting to shield him from the blow.

However, Lin Hao gently pressed a hand onto Qingyun's shoulder. "No need, Senior Brother Qingyun, leave this to me!"

With those words, Lin Hao pushed Qingyun aside.

He took a few steps forward and, with a resonant "Clang!", drew his own Cloud-Swallowing Sword.

The blade shimmered with a golden light, meeting the man's spear just as the tip was about to crash down onto his head.

With a sharp "Clang!", Lin Hao parried the strike with his sword.

Yet, the look in the man's eyes carried a strange, eerie glint, as if he did not care in the least that his attack had been blocked.

"Boom!" With a deafening blast, the spearhead directly exploded.

Sensing something flying outward amid the detonation, Lin Hao instantly bent his torso backward and swung the Cloud-Swallowing Sword with all his might.

With a resounding "Bang!", he batted the flying debris directly away.

Golden light radiated from his entire body, forming a protective barrier right in front of him.

Thud, thud, thud! The projectiles rained against the barrier and were completely blocked.

Taking a closer look at the spear, he realized the spearhead had transformed into countless tiny, explosive fire-arrows that shattered outward.

Fortunately, Lin Hao's reflexes were fast enough, and the fire-arrows were successfully intercepted.

Seizing the moment while leaning backward, Lin Hao executed a counter-attack. With his free hand, he materialized a cluster of icy floral frost and slammed a palm straight into the man's chest.

"Whoosh!" The man was sent flying backward.

With a heavy thud, he crashed hard onto the floor of the grand hall.

"Puh! Cough!" He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood as the ice frost on his chest detonated with a "Bang!"

A moment later, with a clatter, his spear also fell to the ground.

Lin Hao had crippled an elder of their sect in a single move.

Dead silence fell over the grand hall.

Everyone was struck dumb with astonishment.

It took a long while for them to snap out of their stupor, only when the man's coughing broke the stillness.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Two disciples hurriedly rushed forward to help him up.

By this time, however, the man was utterly feeble. Seeing his condition, the disciples quickly produced a few medicinal pills and fed them to him.

After a short while, the man finally caught his breath.

Yet, after the events that had just transpired, everyone fell silent; no one dared to act rashly again.

They looked at Lin Hao with eyes filled with profound shock.

The members of the Qingfeng Sect were no exception, though their shock was swiftly followed by overwhelming joy.

By this point, the Qingfeng Sect had been under siege for three full days. They had held out for three days straight.

Countless Qingfeng Sect disciples had already perished; Lin Hao had seen their corpses all along his way here.

The major sects had chosen to besiege the Qingfeng Sect with the absolute determination to swallow it whole.

Therefore, over the past three days, the Qingfeng Sect had been brutally suppressed, and very few outer sect disciples remained.

As for the inner sect, only those currently standing in the grand hall were left.

Furthermore, internal traitors had emerged within the Qingfeng Sect, causing the Sect Master, elders, and all other high-ranking figures to be poisoned.

That was why the Qingfeng Sect had fallen into such a desperate plight so quickly.

Having endured relentless suppression and sieges over the past few days, everyone had been harboring a pent-up grievance.

Gradually, a sense of despair had settled over them, but Lin Hao's sudden appearance completely stabilized the situation.

It was as if his presence had rekindled hope for everyone.

Standing to one side, Qingyun cast a glance at Lin Hao, a gratified smile blooming at the corner of his lips.

Mixed with it was a hint of profound relief.

Just as the two sides remained locked in a stalemate, a loud shout suddenly echoed from outside: "Old Hong, Old Wei! How are things out there? Has everything inside been settled?"

As the voice spoke, a man strode boldly into the hall.

Everyone looked toward the entrance and saw yet another group of people from another sect walking in.

The newcomer possessed a carefree air, though a ruthless demeanor could be discerned between his brows.

He had a bulky, rugged build and appeared somewhat advanced in years.

Compared to the two elders inside the hall, he seemed to be the eldest of them all.

As soon as he stepped inside and found the grand hall dead silent, he paused in surprise.

Stopping in his tracks, he looked up at the dais and saw the members of the Qingfeng Sect, realizing to his astonishment that the situation had not been completely resolved yet.

A look of displeasure crossed his features. Then, spotting the Red Lotus Sect elder and the man she called Elder Wei,

he immediately walked over and demanded, "What is going on here? We've practically cleaned up everything outside, leaving only a few puny stragglers for cleanup. Why hasn't this place been settled yet?"

As he spoke, he shot a murderous glare toward the Qingfeng Sect members.

Right beside him stood another person, who was dressed in the garments of the Qingfeng Sect.

Lin Hao recognized him. He should be one of the minor outer-sect elders allied with Elder Zhou's faction within the Qingfeng Sect. His surname was likely Wu. At the sight of this man, the eyes of all the Qingfeng Sect members turned bloodshot with hatred. Especially upon hearing the newcomer declare that the outside had been mostly cleaned up, a wave of profound sorrow washed over everyone.

With a fierce, ruthless expression, Qingyun pointed straight at Elder Wu and denounced him: "Elder Wu, is this how you treat the Qingfeng Sect? No matter what, you are still a member of the Qingfeng Sect! How dare you turn traitor?"

"Hmph! In this day and age, men climb to higher places just as water flows to lower ones. What is the Qingfeng Sect anyway? Aren't they just a bunch of homeless wretches now? I advise you all to hand over everything obediently. Otherwise, those stubborn old fools of Sect Master and elders are definitely not going to have a good end today!"