Xianyu Tong at Brightness Peak

[pannonian]

What happened to him? In the translation available, it says that the He couple thrust their swords at him, but ZWJ's 9 yang 6th sense allowed him to react and defend himself. IIRC there is no further mention of Xianyu Tong after that. So was he killed by the He couple, or did he survive and was taken back to Huashan?

[Candide]

The translation missed the small part which said that the swords went right through the bastard.

[pannonian]

The translation mentioned something of the sort, but I wasn't clear, since it was a translation, whether there was physical contact, since there are numerous references in the translations to fatal blows which obviously weren't. Here's the passage from chapter 22.

Suddenly, he felt a breeze in the back. In his shock, Zhang WuJi
reflexively flew up, only to hear two very low sounds passing under him.
As he twisted back, he saw Ban ShuXian and He TaiChong’s swords stabbing
into XianYu Tong’s chest. This is a special Kun Lun technique, called
‘No Sound No Form’, used for night battles. Of course, it’s also perfect
for sneak attacks in the daytime. Unfortunately, they did not know that
Zhang WuJi’s Jiu Yang Shen Gong automatically alarms Zhang WuJi of back
attack, allowing him to get out of the way in time. After their miss,
the He couple’s thoughts were, “If we don’t kill him today, how can we
still have the face to live?” They turned around and attacked again,
using only offensive moves, disregarding their own safety. After Zhang
WuJi dodged a few attacks, he began to wonder just how to stop this
couple.

Why did they attack Xianyu Tong anyway?

[Candide]

As he twisted back, he saw Ban ShuXian and He TaiChong’s swords stabbing
into XianYu Tong’s chest.

That's pretty clear to me.

Why did they attack Xianyu Tong anyway?

They tried to ambush Zhang Wuji and missed. As for why Xianyu Tong was there and took it all, you need to read the previous paragraphs.

[HuangYushi]

The translation mentioned something of the sort, but I wasn't clear, since it was a translation, whether there was physical contact, since there are numerous references in the translations to fatal blows which obviously weren't. Here's the passage from chapter 22.

Suddenly, he felt a breeze in the back. In his shock, Zhang WuJi reflexively flew up, only to hear two very low sounds passing under him. As he twisted back, he saw Ban ShuXian and He TaiChong’s swords stabbing into XianYu Tong’s chest. This is a special Kun Lun technique, called ‘No Sound No Form’, used for night battles. Of course, it’s also perfect for sneak attacks in the daytime. Unfortunately, they did not know that Zhang WuJi’s Jiu Yang Shen Gong automatically alarms Zhang WuJi of back attack, allowing him to get out of the way in time. After their miss, the He couple’s thoughts were, “If we don’t kill him today, how can we still have the face to live?” They turned around and attacked again, using only offensive moves, disregarding their own safety. After Zhang WuJi dodged a few attacks, he began to wonder just how to stop this couple.

The Chinese-to-English line-by-line comparison below will give you a clearer picture of what happened. The bold-faced Chinese text is not in the translation excerpt that you quoted, but most of them do not really have any impact on the general contents of the scene.

便在此时，忽觉背后凉风袭体，微微刺痛。张无忌一惊，不及趋避，足尖使劲，拔身急起，斜飞而上，只听得飕飕两声轻响，跟着“啊”的一下长声呼叫。
Suddenly, he felt a breeze in the back. In his shock, Zhang WuJi reflexively flew up, only to hear two very low sounds passing under him.

他在半空中转过头来，只见何太冲和班淑娴的两柄长剑并排插在鲜于通胸口。
As he twisted back, he saw Ban ShuXian and He TaiChong’s swords stabbing into XianYu Tong’s chest.

原来何氏夫妇纵横半生，却当众败在一个后辈手底，无论如何咽不下这口气去，两人抬起长剑，眼见张无忌正俯身 在点鲜于通的穴道，对望一眼，心意相通，点了点头，突然使出一招“无声无色”，同时疾向他背后 刺去。
(Basically, this part tells what He Taichong and Ban Shuxian were thinking about just before they acted the way they did).

这招“无声无色”是昆仑派剑学中的绝招，必须两人同使，两人功力相若，内劲相同，当剑招之出，劲力恰恰相反，于是两柄长剑上所生的荡激之力、破空之 声，一齐相互抵消。这路剑招本是用于夜战，黑暗中令对方难以听声辨器，事先绝无半分朕兆，白刃己然加身，但若白日用之背后偷袭，也令人无法防备。
This is a special Kun Lun technique, called ‘No Sound No Form’, used for night battles. Of course, it’s also perfect for sneak attacks in the daytime.
(The bold-faced chunks are a description of the 'No Sound No Form' move).

不料张无忌心意不动，九阳神功自然护体，变招快极，但饶是如此，背上衣衫也已给划破了两条长缝，实是险极。
Unfortunately, they did not know that Zhang WuJi’s Jiu Yang Shen Gong automatically alarms Zhang WuJi of back attack, allowing him to get out of the way in time.
(The longer bold-faced section says that the clothing on Zhang Wuji's back was still ripped by He/Ban's swords despite the Zhang's high-speed avoidance).

何氏夫妇收招不及，双剑竟将华山派掌门人钉死在地。

This is the part that you are looking for. It says that He/Ban could not stop their movements on time, hence pinning the Leader of the Mount Hua School [i.e. Xianyu Tong] to his death on the ground.

张无忌落下地来，只听得旁观众人哗然大噪。何氏夫妇一不做、二不休，双剑齐向张无忌攻去，均想：“背后偷袭的不要脸勾当既已当众做了出来，今后颜面何存？若不将他刺死，自己夫妇也不能苟活于世。”是以出手尽是拚命的招数。
After their miss, the He couple’s thoughts were, “If we don’t kill him today, how can we still have the face to live?” They turned around and attacked again, using only offensive moves, disregarding their own safety.

---

Hope that helps.

HYS

[pannonian]

Thanks for the explanations which have cleared everything up.