Divine Tang Era

Chapter 124 Heavenly Punishment: The Execution of Four Arrows

In the morning, the weather was relatively clear, and the fog outside the city seemed calm.

The sheer size of the fog enveloping the land resembled an ancient, colossal beast lurking in the abyss, poised to strike, exuding a terrifying aura that sent chills down one's spine. Ghostly figures flickered within the fog, and mournful howls, seemingly emanating from the deepest hell, echoed throughout the heavens and earth, sending shivers down one's spine.

However, this seemingly calm surface was completely shattered as the afternoon arrived.

The sky suddenly changed color.

In an instant, the situation changed dramatically, as if playing the prelude to an apocalypse.

Layers of thick, inky black clouds surged in from afar, like a high-piled curtain, obscuring the entire sky.

The low-hanging clouds, like an immeasurable abyss, hung down from the sky, heavy and oppressive, making it hard to breathe. The once calm, damp mist, now seemed to be driven by something, slowly approaching the city walls.

Within the mist, ghostly figures lurked, and countless souls struggled in agony, their mournful wails echoing endlessly.

An extremely terrifying aura emanated from it, like an invisible giant hand, gripping the mind of everyone present.

Although the eerie mist surged towards Jingning, it did not launch an attack, seemingly intimidated by the endless runes on the city walls. The people guarding the walls frowned, their eyes fixed on the surging mist, their hearts filled with doubt and unease.

It's hard to tell whether this brief calm is the calm before the storm or a harbinger of an even more terrifying risk.

Nobody knows the answer.

Time slipped away quietly in this tense and uneasy atmosphere.

As the hour of Shen (3-5 PM) approached, the surging, eerie mist suddenly ceased as if frozen in place. The ghosts that had been howling and wailing seemed to receive some kind of command, hiding themselves away, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

This sudden silence was far more terrifying than the preceding clamor.

Suddenly, two sharp, blade-like bull horns pierced the thick fog with overwhelming force.

A massive, golden-yellow, long-haired bull, as large as a small mountain, charged out, its heavy hooves causing the earth to tremble. Behind it followed countless other enormous, long-haired bulls. They surged forward with overwhelming force, one after another, charging alongside the golden-yellow bull, appearing like a raging torrent of steel, threatening to engulf the land.

Moreover, wild beasts unique to the plateau region, such as bears, snow leopards, mastiffs, and giant ground otters, also emerged from the mist.

Their eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light, and they emitted low growls. In the sky, countless vultures, rock eagles, and mountain eagles circled, like dark clouds sweeping down upon the city walls.

"Monsters are attacking!" The soldiers guarding the city couldn't help but shout in alarm.

"Release the arrows!"

He stared intently at the city's garrison commander ahead, his face grim as he shouted loudly.

In an instant, a barrage of arrows shot out from the city wall like a sudden storm, carrying the wind as they pierced the air, raining down on the horde of monsters below.

Xu Dan stood on the city wall, his hands steadily drawing the bow to its fullest extent, his eyes fixed on the golden, long-haired bull charging at the forefront. He fired an arrow, which struck the bull's body, but it seemed to have encountered an indestructible wall of bronze and iron, and was mercilessly deflected, leaving only a shallow white mark on the bull's body.

"Um?"

Seeing this, Xu Dan was puzzled; the long-haired ox's defensive capabilities were simply too astonishing.

"That's no ordinary demon beast. Ordinary arrows are ineffective against it. Try the Five Elements Arrows," Xue An reminded him from the side.

Upon hearing this, Xu Dan drew his bow again, channeling his internal organs. A wisp of flame surged from his heart, flowing through his meridians into the arrow, instantly igniting it. With a flick of his finger, the Flaming Arrow streaked across the sky like a crimson lightning bolt, hurtling towards the golden-haired bull that was at the forefront of the attack.

The flaming rocket struck the cow precisely, instantly igniting the long, golden hair and sending flames soaring into the sky.

Unfortunately, the flames lasted only a moment before being extinguished. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the Five Elements Arrows had not caused any damage to the long-haired ox, only leaving a barely noticeable scorch mark on its body.

"The long-haired cowhide is so tough, even the Five Elements Arrows couldn't harm it!"

Xu Dan was shocked and subconsciously gripped the bow in his hand, wanting to test the power of the Four Heavenly Punishment Arrows, but reason quickly suppressed this impulse.

After all, to comprehend such exquisite archery techniques in such a short time is truly extraordinary.

Sometimes, displaying talent that far surpasses one's peers is not necessarily a good thing; it may even bring unnecessary trouble. Therefore, he suppressed his impulse and turned his gaze to the birds in the sky.

The defenses of the highland birds were clearly not as formidable as those of the woolly cattle, and Xu Dan's arrows easily pierced their bodies.

One by one, the fierce birds plummeted from the sky. Those that survived cried out in agony on the ground, but were quickly swallowed up by the horde of beasts. Seeing this, the other archers followed suit, aiming their arrows at the birds in the sky. In an instant, birds fell like rain, creating a truly spectacular scene.

On the ground, the lead golden-yellow long-haired ox led a massive herd of monsters, charging headlong and approaching the city wall at an extremely fast speed.

Seeing this, the defending general's expression grew even more grave. He immediately ordered, "Fire the city's crossbows!"

Upon hearing the command, the soldiers guarding the city wall stomped their feet, causing the city bricks to split apart and reveal a deep, dark opening. An enormous crossbow slowly rose from the opening. The rugged crossbow was covered in mysterious patterns, radiating a cold, chilling light, as if carrying the aura of the underworld; its bolts, as thick as tree trunks, exuded a deathly stillness that sent chills down one's spine.

The officers and soldiers quickly cranked the winch, adjusted the direction of the crossbow bolts, and aimed them precisely at the surging tide of monsters.

"emission!"

"call out"

At a command, a thick crossbow bolt, accompanied by a deafening roar, pierced through the void and plunged into the horde of demonic beasts with overwhelming force.

"puff!"

The crossbow bolt pierced through the body of a charging woolly bull, then into the body of another woolly bull behind it, before passing through from behind and embedding itself in another monster. The bolt's force only ceased after piercing three woolly bulls. The immense impact sent the three bulls flying backward, crashing heavily into the herd, but they were quickly swallowed up by the massive herd, not even a drop of blood splattering.

Although the crossbow bolts caused some damage to the monster horde, they failed to stop their frenzied charge, which continued relentlessly toward the city wall.

The soldiers guarding the city grew increasingly solemn, gripping their weapons tightly, preparing for the impending war.

At this moment, Xu Dan had no time to spare. His right hand moved with lightning speed, continuously drawing arrows from his quiver and firing them. Under his attack, the fierce birds in the sky fell one after another, countless of them killed by his arrows.

Upon seeing this, Xue An nodded slightly, feeling even more approval for his disciple.

Turning his head to look at the horde of monsters that was constantly approaching the city wall, his beard and hair stood on end, and a powerful aura burst forth from his body.

"A mere demon dares to charge my city walls? It's courting death!"

With a thought in his mind, Xue An produced a long arrow in his hand. The thick arrow shaft was intricately patterned with dark gold, as if it were forged from cold iron from the Dark Abyss, exuding a chilling aura; the sharp arrowhead gleamed with a dazzling light, as if it could pierce through any obstacle in the world.

Xue An nocked an arrow to the black bow, slowly drew it back, and then turned to Xu Dan, Xue Diao, and Xue Bao'er, saying, "You three watch carefully. This is the secret of my Xue family, the Heavenly Punishment Four Arrows - Execution."

After speaking, he released his grip.

In an instant, the long arrow pierced the void like a thunderbolt, falling horizontally with terrifying power capable of destroying the world.

Before the arrow even arrived, a fierce wind swept across the ground, causing sand and stones to fly and the world to change color.

The lead golden-haired bull seemed to sense something, looked up, and an arrow, like a star, carrying boundless killing intent and endless destructive power, hurtled towards it. Wherever the arrow passed, the air seemed to be torn apart, emitting a piercing, sharp roar that made the monsters below suffer splitting headaches, letting out painful howls.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the arrow struck the ground like an ancient thunderbolt.

The moment it landed, the entire world seemed to fall silent, and time seemed to stand still.

An extremely violent force exploded like a nuclear bomb from the center of the arrow, causing large swaths of ground to collapse and billowing dust into the sky, forming a massive mushroom cloud. Before this overwhelming power, the horde of demonic beasts was as insignificant as ants, instantly torn apart and blasted away by the enormous shockwave.

In an instant, blood flowed freely, flesh splattered, intestines flew everywhere, and screams of agony filled the air.

The golden-haired bull and its herd, along with the surrounding monsters, were all completely destroyed by this single arrow.

The arrows, still powerful, remained embedded in the ground, crackling with lightning, like bolts of lightning slithering across the wasteland.

Seeing the power of the arrow, Xu Dan's eyes widened in astonishment, his mouth agape. He had never imagined that the Execution Arrow, one of the Four Heavenly Punishment Arrows, would be so powerful. But then he thought, wait a minute! The arrow Master Xue shot in the countryside last time didn't seem this powerful. Could he be holding back? Sure enough, the old man was just like that, always keeping secrets, afraid his disciple would learn them and starve him.

Teacher Xue, you can't act like this!

Looking at the slain monsters, Xue An nodded in satisfaction.

Turning around, he saw Xu Dan and the other two staring at him in disbelief, and said, "The power of the Heavenly Punishment Arrows increases or decreases depending on the user's cultivation level. Don't be naive enough to think that you can unleash such power just by learning it. This arrow is the result of eighty years of relentless refinement of my qi and blood. Can you do that?"

When Xu Dan and the other two heard his words, although they had already guessed it, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

After all, they knew that with their current cultivation level, they couldn't possibly shoot an arrow with such power, but who didn't have a glimmer of hope in their heart?