The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 195 Four people and three skeletons join forces to besiege Tang Jin

As Ye Fan and Mu Qingluan disappeared, the surrounding blue sky and green trees began to shake violently, clearly indicating that the illusion had been interfered with and become extremely unstable.

......

In the lobby of the Willow Spring Inn in Tiandu City, Wuzhong Kingdom, on the Illusionary Continent, everyone enjoying breakfast seemed to be frozen in place, all stopping what they were doing. Only one old man released his chopsticks, which were holding a steamed bun, and the chopsticks and bun also froze in mid-air. The old man slowly reached out his hand towards the brow of the young man named Lin Feifan.

At the same time, Ye Fan, within the illusion of his consciousness, also sensed the approach of some kind of danger. He said urgently to Luo Yifei beside him, "We need to speed things up."

Then, another illusion appeared before Luo Yifei's eyes. As the white mist gradually dissipated, a jade platform seven or eight feet wide came into view. This teleportation array was not unfamiliar to him; it was the same teleportation array that Senior Qingluan had used to send him and the others away not long ago.

At that moment, the figure of Song Qiao, the noodle shop owner, appeared prominently on the teleportation array.

......

The moment the white mist dissipated, Song Qiao swiftly pulled out a talisman and concealed himself. This jade array platform was located in the forbidden area of ​​the Tang Clan's back mountain in Qinglan Valley. However, at this moment, only two Tang Clan swordsmen were on duty at the entrance; no one else was present.

"Did you hear anything? It seems to be coming from deep within the forbidden area," a tall, thin swordsman asked the short, stout swordsman beside him.

"No, you must have misheard. There's no one else here besides the two of us," the short, stout swordsman replied.

“Well, perhaps I misheard. I heard that the Song family from Jialan City has arrived and is discussing important matters with the elders in the council hall,” the tall, thin swordsman continued.

“It’s not just the Song family that’s come; members of the Phantom Pavilion behind them are also here. In addition, the Tang family from Wanghe City has also come,” the short, stout swordsman added.

"The Phantom Pavilion people are all here? I heard that the Tang family is backed by the Star Palace. Will they send people here as well?" the tall, thin swordsman asked doubtfully.

Song Qiao held his breath and, with the help of an invisibility talisman, silently slipped past the two of them.

Song Qiao suppressed his curiosity and did not rush to the council hall. He knew that the invisibility talisman could not fool the eyes of those elders and powerful figures.

Once outside the area covered by the Tang Clan's protective mountain formation, Song Qiao increased his speed to the maximum and rushed towards the western mountains and forests.

......

On the battlefield in the western mountains, as Ye Fan and Mu Qingluan concealed themselves, the three skeletons rose again and charged towards Tang Jin. Although these three skeletons possessed immortality, Tang Jin was unable to kill them, and they were powerless against Tang Jin.

At this moment, Tang Jin became increasingly agitated by the continuous attacks from the three skeletons, so he once again manipulated the killing formation and launched a fierce attack on the injured Wu Cheng and Xiao Lian.

"Come out!" Tang Jin shouted, trying to force Ye Fan and Mu Qingluan to show themselves by using Wu Cheng and Xiao Lian's lives. He raised his hand, ready to launch another attack.

However, this attack was blocked by a golden robe that suddenly flew out. In the distance, an old monk appeared; it was none other than Abbot Puhui of Qingyun Temple. "Puhui, you're not dead yet!" Tang Jin turned his gaze to the old monk and said coldly. Abbot Puhui put his hands together and smiled slightly, saying, "Amitabha, Benefactor Tang, it's been a long time."

Tang Jin's face darkened. "Pu Hui," he said, "how dare you ruin my plans!" The old monk Pu Hui replied, "Benefactor Tang, lay down your butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. Why kill innocent people for a mere selfish desire?"

Tang Jin sneered, "Becoming a Buddha? That's nothing but the delusion of you bald monks. I, Tang Jin, have pursued power all my life, how could I be bound by such vain thoughts?"

The old monk Puhui said, "Benefactor Tang, your stubbornness will only plunge you into deeper suffering." Tang Jin said nothing more, and with another movement, he charged towards the old monk Puhui. Seeing this, the old monk Puhui quickly formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and then struck forward with a powerful blow. A golden beam of Buddhist light shot out from his palm, colliding with Tang Jin's blood energy and producing a deafening sound.

Ye Fan and Mu Qingluan remained hidden to one side, closely observing the changing tides of battle. They knew that the appearance of the old monk Puhui might be the key to turning the tide of the war. However, Tang Jin's strength was extremely formidable; even the old monk Puhui would find it difficult to subdue him easily.

At this crucial moment, Ye Fan had a flash of inspiration and whispered to Mu Qingluan, "Miss Mu, I remember you once mentioned that your family possesses a supreme treasure that can subdue the demon race. I wonder if I could borrow it?" Upon hearing this, Mu Qingluan was slightly taken aback, then nodded in agreement, took out a jade pendant emitting a blue light from her bosom, and handed it to Ye Fan.

Holding the jade pendant, Ye Fan resolutely charged towards Tang Jin. Mu Qingluan followed closely behind, striking with her sword once more. However, the next moment, Tang Jin merely sneered, once again drawing upon the power of the killing formation. His blood energy surged, rushing straight towards the two. "No, if the formation isn't broken, he's invincible," Ye Fan said in a deep voice.

Before Ye Fan could finish speaking, Song Qiao, who had just arrived, abruptly stopped outside the killing formation. His sharp gaze swept across the surroundings, searching for an opportunity to break the formation. Song Qiao's hands moved rapidly, and he chanted incantations, seemingly casting some kind of powerful spell.

"Brother Song, is there any way to break this killing formation?" Ye Fan asked anxiously.

Song Qiao's expression was solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "This formation is extremely powerful, but it is not invincible. We need to find the location of its core before we can break it."

Ye Fan felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this. He looked around, trying to find traces of the array's core. Meanwhile, Mu Qingluan continued to stall for time, dealing with Tang Jin.

Meanwhile, the fierce battle between the Venerable Master Puhui and Tangjin intensified. Golden Buddhist light intertwined with dense blood energy, erupting with deafening sounds. However, despite Venerable Master Puhui's profound Buddhist teachings, Tangjin's strength was equally formidable, and for a time, the two were evenly matched.

Ye Fan was extremely anxious. He knew that if he couldn't break the formation quickly, both Mu Qingluan and the old monk Puhui would be in danger. Just then, he suddenly noticed a corner of the killing formation where the blood energy fluctuations seemed relatively weak.

"Could that be the core of the formation?" Ye Fan wondered to himself, then flashed and rushed towards that corner.

Seeing this, Tang Jin snorted coldly, his blood energy surging forth in an attempt to block Ye Fan. However, Ye Fan held a jade pendant in his hand, which emitted a faint blue light, repelling the blood energy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Fan rushed to a corner and carefully observed the surrounding runes and blood energy flow. Finally, he discovered the location of the array's core—a spirit stone heavily enveloped in blood energy.

"This is it!" Ye Fan shouted, quickly forming hand seals and raising the jade pendant high. A dazzling azure light shot out from the jade pendant, striking the spirit stone directly.

With a loud "bang!", the spirit stone shattered instantly, and the killing formation collapsed. Blood energy scattered, and Tang Jin's face turned deathly pale.

"Damn it!" Tang Jin roared and retreated rapidly.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan, Mu Qingluan, the old monk Puhui, and Song Qiao, who had just arrived, seized the opportunity to launch an offensive. The four of them joined forces to launch a fierce attack on Tang Jin.

"Very well, everyone who's supposed to be here has arrived. Today, you will become the nourishment for Tang Yan's resurrection," Tang Jin said with a cold smile.

"Tang Yan's attempt to ambush me failed, and I killed her instead. We are now mortal enemies, and it has nothing to do with anyone else," Mu Qingluan replied coldly.

"Hmph, Mu Qingluan, do you think you can stop me with just the four of you?" Tang Jin said with disdain and confidence.

Upon hearing this, Song Qiao's eyes hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "Tang Jin, the hatred for killing your wife is irreconcilable. Prepare to die."

Mu Qingluan chimed in, "That's right, today is your doomsday."

The old monk Puhui put his hands together, chanted Buddhist mantras, and said, "Benefactor Tang, put down your butcher's knife and turn back to the shore."

"What an annoyance is you, you bald monk, spouting all that benevolence and morality, yet how many lives have you taken?" Tang Jin said, conjuring a giant sword from the void and slashing at the old monk Pu Hui.

The old monk Puhui tried to block the attack with his kasaya, but as the kasaya flew out, the giant sword deflected and slashed at Wu Cheng and Xiao Lian, who were originally protected by the kasaya.

As the giant sword fell, Wu Cheng's waist token flew out, transforming into a circular light screen that protected the two of them.

The next moment, the waist tag shattered in two and lost its luster.