Thus, the four of them became locked in a fierce battle. Judging by their formidable momentum, it was truly a match between evenly matched opponents and brilliant talents, making the unfolding clash all the more riveting.
Putting aside for a moment how Wuming and Black Sha grew bolder with every exchange, let us turn back to Kaishan Zhenren, who had suddenly seen his disciple scramble back. Just what was happening here?
Faced with such an abrupt turn of events, Kaishan Zhenren felt deeply anxious at heart. Should any mishap truly befall his disciple, how could he ever face Lord Wu?
He had gone to great lengths to send his disciple away, aiming to keep him far from this protracted and relentless hunt. Now, not only had the disciple failed to leave, but he had scurried right back. By the looks of it, all of his painstaking efforts and good intentions had come to naught.
Just moments ago, he had overheard the conversation between his disciple and Black Sha, which finally made him understand why Wuming had rushed back. It turned out that his disciple had learned the true purpose behind the Black and White Fiends coming to Rhino Mountain, and had thus grown worried for his master's safety.
Regarding this action by his disciple, Kaishan Zhenren indeed felt deeply comforted, at least seeing that the boy truly held a filial devotion toward his master.
Even so, he still felt it was improper. After all, this battle was a matter of the older generation; how could it be allowed to implicate the younger one?
Now that things had reached this point, no matter how much he might reproach his disciple, it was an accomplished fact that could no longer be changed.
Thinking up to this point, Kaishan Zhenren suddenly felt that the only immediate course of action was to kill these two villains as quickly as possible. Perhaps then he could ensure his disciple's safety.
With this thought in mind, Kaishan Zhenren hurriedly warned: "My boy, you must be extremely careful when fighting them! Do not let their deceitful tricks catch you off guard, for these two villains are guilty of countless atrocities and are truly merciless fiends."
"Thank you for the warning, Master. Rest assured, I know what I am doing and will certainly not be fooled or taken advantage of," Wuming replied hastily, putting on a nonchalant front because he feared worrying his master.
"As long as you know, then you and I, master and disciple, shall fight these villains to the death! We must take their heads, or heaven knows how many more good people they will go on to destroy!" To boost his disciple's morale, Kaishan Zhenren gave this fierce and indignant injunction.
To tell the truth, in a one-on-one fight he would naturally not fear the Black and White Fiends, but a two-against-one situation made it genuinely difficult for him to win. Sure enough, even his shoulder had been grazed and wounded.
As the old saying goes: a master is nothing compared to a helper. Now with his disciple's intervention, Kaishan Zhenren indeed felt much lighter, at least relieved from bearing the double pressure alone.
Even so, Kaishan Zhenren remained filled with apprehension. After all, his disciple was still a fledgling greenhorn with virtually no practical combat experience in the arena. If the villains were to pull a sneak attack on him, the consequences would be unthinkable.
No matter what, Kaishan Zhenren felt it best to end the fight swiftly. If it dragged on too long, the villains would inevitably find some opening, which would prove exceptionally disadvantageous for Wuming.
Having made up his mind, Kaishan Zhenren decided to use the Kaishan Palm to defeat the villains; under no circumstances could he let them gain the upper hand.
To speak from the heart, while his Kaishan Palm possessed immense power, executing it truly consumed a vast amount of physical stamina. Therefore, unless absolutely driven to desperation, he would never unleash the Kaishan Palm with his full strength.
Even so, he felt that he had to use it once more today. Even if it cost him his life, he had to guarantee his disciple's safety. Right now, he had to settle the victory or defeat with a single strike.
With these thoughts, Kaishan Zhenren instantly sank his breath into his Dantian, then gathered the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, channeling it from the solar meridian to the yangming meridian. All of these procedures were completed in a split second, to be unleashed with overwhelming force the moment the opportunity ripened.
Suddenly, Kaishan Zhenren felt the chance had come. Gathering the wind of his palm instantly, he slashed straight toward Black Sha's face.
This palm strike from Kaishan Zhenren could be said to have unleashed eighty percent of his power, pushing his abilities to the absolute limit.
Wherever the palm wind swept, rocks flew and the earth shook. In an instant, Black Sha was blasted several zhang away, crashing to the ground as a mouthful of fresh blood spewed straight from his mouth.
Sensing that the situation turned foul, White Sha knew the old scoundrel Kaishan had been driven to desperation to resort to such a vicious move. Fortunately, his eldest brother possessed a solid foundation, or else he would have been smashed to pieces.
How dared White Sha tarry after such a thought? He swiftly flicked his body and leaped out of the combat circle. Preserving his own life was the utmost priority right now; as the old saying goes: as long as the green hills remain, there is no lack of firewood.
Instead of lingering, White Sha hurriedly scooped up Black Sha and vanished on the spot. Even so, his voice still echoed through the air: "Old scoundrel Kaishan, you listen well! I'll chalk up today's palm strike for now, and I will come back another day to claim your life."
Just like that, the scene that had been bustling with noise and excitement moments before vanished, turning into a deathly stillness within the blink of an eye, as if the battle had never happened at all.
Faced with such a brutal fight, Wuming could not snap back to his senses for a moment. What on earth was the point of all this killing and slaughtering?
Since the Black and White Fiends were nowhere to be seen, Wuming had no time to pursue them. He kept worrying whether his master's physical strength could hold out.
With this thought, Wuming hurried over to his master's side. Running as he spoke, he cried out: "Master, how is your wound? Let me bandage it for you!"
At that moment, his master gave no reply, but instead collapsed with a crash. What on earth was going on here?
Seeing his master in this state, Wuming instantly panicked. Could it be that his master had suffered internal organ damage? That shouldn't be right; the wound his master had sustained was clearly on his shoulder.
No, it was very likely that his master's vital energy had been disrupted by that palm strike just now. Otherwise, his master would never have collapsed.
Regardless, Wuming hurriedly squatted down to examine him closely. Although the wound was still bleeding, it was not life-threatening, suggesting that the collapse was likely due to excessive physical exhaustion.
At this very moment, Kaishan Zhenren was indeed unconscious and in critical condition.
Seeing this state of affairs, Wuming immediately set about clearing the three passes and four portals for his master, applying rescue efforts with all his might. Otherwise, his master would surely perish.
After a round of rescue attempts, Kaishan Zhenren's unconsciousness still showed no sign of improvement.
Left with no other choice, Wuming could only clean his master's wound and wrap it up carefully.
Then, he sat on the ground, cradling his master's upper body in his arms, and pleaded with frantic urgency: "Master, wake up quickly! Otherwise, you'll scare your disciple to death."
As he spoke, tears of sorrow fell from Wuming's eyes before he even realized it.