Chapter 27: The Power of the God-Slaying Bow
At the heart of the Nine Nethers Secret Realm lay a vast lake.
Every stream and river within the secret realm flowed toward this place.
Had Lin Feng not found the Bianhua Flower and simply followed the river, he would have eventually arrived here as well.
At this very moment, over a hundred people converged on the lake, surrounding it completely and swiftly setting up an Array Formation.
In no time, a barrier sealed the lake within its confines.
These were none other than the black-robed figures who had been hunting Leng Hanshuang.
"Leng Hanshuang, I told you — you cannot escape. Come out and accept your death! You've chosen quite a fitting burial ground for yourself." The great leader of the black-robed figures gazed at the calm surface of the lake and spoke.
No one answered.
The lake remained still.
"Since you won't come out on your own, I'll just have to drag you out. Attack!!!"
A red energy orb condensed upon the barrier and was launched into the lake's surface.
Boom!!!
Enormous waves erupted instantly.
Countless creatures within the lake lost their lives in that single strike — fish over ten meters in length, crab-shelled creatures the size of cars, and octopuses with tentacles stretching four to five meters long.
Roar!!!
A piercing cry rose from the depths of the lake.
Slowly, what appeared to be a small mountain rose from the center of the lake.
When its full form became clear, the surrounding black-robed figures were all stunned.
It was no mountain at all — it was a colossal turtle.
The great leader of the black-robed figures furrowed his brow.
He had known Leng Hanshuang was at the bottom of the lake and had intended to force her out. Instead, no person emerged — only a giant turtle.
Judging by the creature's sheer size, there was no telling how many years it had spent cultivating.
Powerful exotic beasts like this were always fiercely territorial.
Yet Leng Hanshuang's strength was formidable — how could she have gotten close without the turtle noticing?
Having its rest disturbed, the giant turtle seemed furious.
Roar! Roar! Roar~~~
Several thunderous roars shook the Array Formation the black-robed figures had just laid down, leaving it on the verge of collapse.
"Wretched beast, are you looking to die?!" the great leader of the black-robed figures bellowed in rage.
Roar~~~
An even louder howl answered him.
Pfft…
More than a dozen black-robed figures who had fought Leng Hanshuang in the valley and had yet to recover from their wounds could no longer endure. They spat blood and collapsed unconscious.
The great leader of the black-robed figures was incensed.
He knew that without dealing with this giant turtle, there was no way to force Leng Hanshuang out.
"Attack!!!"
The Array Formation began condensing red energy orbs, which rained down upon the turtle's shell one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
After a series of violent explosions, the giant turtle was left almost entirely unscathed.
Its shell was its hardest part. Ordinary attacks couldn't even breach its defenses, let alone wound it.
"A bunch of useless fools! What are you thinking?! Attack its weakest points — the head and limbs!" the great leader of the black-robed figures roared.
The Array Formation gathered its power once more.
This time, the energy orbs did not fall on the shell but were aimed at the turtle's head and limbs.
Boom!!!
Roar!!!
The first energy orb struck the head squarely. The giant turtle cried out in pain and immediately retracted its head and limbs into its shell.
With no target left, the energy orbs either missed entirely or struck the shell.
Only when the assault paused did the turtle extend its head and limbs again — and the moment the attack resumed, it would withdraw once more.
Even so, a few energy orbs managed to slip through the gaps where the head and limbs emerged, detonating inside the turtle's body.
The turtle bellowed in agony.
To prevent being wounded again, it began spinning its body, making it impossible for the energy orbs to penetrate its interior.
After several rounds of attacks, the damage dealt to the giant turtle was minimal.
It had to be said — an exotic beast that had awakened its spiritual intellect was vastly different from a mindless wild creature. Not only were they far more powerful, but they also knew how to fight in the manner most advantageous to themselves.
The giant turtle understood that its greatest asset was its defense. So it chose to wage a war of attrition — waiting until the enemy's strength was spent before launching its own counterattack.
The great leader of the black-robed figures scowled deeply.
This could not go on.
He had to deliver a killing blow to the giant turtle.
Otherwise, if they exhausted too much of their strength here, dealing with Leng Hanshuang might lead to unforeseen complications.
No one dared underestimate the wielder of one of the Seven Swords of Shenxiao — not even when she was already seriously wounded.
A swift and decisive end was needed.
With that thought, the great leader of the black-robed figures reached into his Qiankun Pouch and withdrew a bow.
The bow was crimson red from end to end, covered densely in carved runes. The moment it appeared, a wave of killing energy surged forth.
The God-Slaying Bow!!!
A weapon that, when used in conjunction with the God-Slaying Decree, could unleash devastating power.
He held the bow in his left hand, drew the string with his right, and aimed at the giant turtle in the lake.
The God-Slaying Decree circulated within him.
An arrow forged entirely from condensed killing energy materialized upon the bow.
Kill!!!
The great leader of the black-robed figures roared inwardly, and his right hand released.
Whoosh!!!
The God-Slaying Arrow shot toward the giant turtle.
Just as it was about to reach the barrier, a hole appeared in the barrier — and the God-Slaying Arrow passed cleanly through it.
Once inside the barrier, the arrow halted its advance and hovered in midair, absorbing the energy gathered by the Array Formation.
When the God-Slaying Arrow had turned semi-transparent and radiated a world-shaking killing energy, the giant turtle sensed that something was terribly wrong.
It swiftly submerged its body to the lake's bottom, no longer daring to take the blow with its shell.
Whoosh!!!
The fully charged God-Slaying Arrow was released once more.
It pierced through the water, reached the lake bottom, and struck the giant turtle's shell.
Roar!!!
The giant turtle let out a howl of anguish.
The shell it had always been so proud of was breached by the God-Slaying Arrow, which drove straight through its body and destroyed all of its internal organs.
The lake itself erupted under the God-Slaying Arrow's impact, sending towering waves dozens of meters into the air.
When the storm finally subsided, part of the lake had been dyed crimson with blood.
The massive carcass of the giant turtle floated on the surface.
And all around it lay the bodies of countless aquatic creatures.
A single arrow had slain the giant turtle exotic beast — renowned for its unmatched defense. The combined might of the God-Slaying Bow and the God-Slaying Decree was plain to see.
Though the turtle had been dealt with, the black-robed figures continued to maintain the Array Formation.
Their true target was not the turtle — it was Leng Hanshuang, Master of the Bingpo Sword, one of the Seven Swords of Shenxiao.
The reason they were certain Leng Hanshuang was at the bottom of the lake was this: in the valley battle, she had been corroded by the killing energy of the God-Slaying Decree, and there was no way she could have fully purged it in such a short time.
It was precisely because of this that the black-robed figures had been able to track her here.
With the giant turtle eliminated, it was time to attend to the real business.
Killing Leng Hanshuang and seizing the Bingpo Sword — that was the true mission of the black-robed figures in entering the Nine Nethers Secret Realm.
Beneath the deepest silt of the lake, an ice coffin lay buried.
Inside the ice coffin was a woman.
Who else could it be but Leng Hanshuang!
Her eyes were tightly shut.
A faint expression of pain crossed her face.
She appeared to be healing her wounds.
In the valley battle, Leng Hanshuang had been gravely wounded by the well-prepared black-robed figures and had fled all the way here.
She cultivated extreme-cold True Essence, and in a place with such an abundant water source, her recovery would be twice as effective with half the effort.
Moreover, the giant turtle exotic beast dwelling beneath the lake was no weakling — perhaps it could buy her some time by holding back the black-robed figures.
And so she had decided to stay.
Leng Hanshuang had sealed herself within ice, slipping past the giant turtle's senses, and sunk to the deepest part of the lake to hide and heal.