Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Shu Shu Lodges a Complaint

A curt order cut through the air: “Keep killing; do not let a single one escape.”

Yun Wu Ya and his party had lain in ambush for days, all to break the formations within Dragon Ridge Palace so that the sect disciples inside would become lambs to the slaughter.

Having bottled themselves up for so long, the Demonic Cultivators finally had an outlet for their bloodlust, and none of them intended to waste the chance.

…

At this moment, Rong Shu was quietly slipping toward the outer perimeter.

On the way, she spotted a Qi Refining Stage disciple being chased by another Qi Refining Stage Demonic Cultivator, the latter moving like a hunter toying with prey already in his grasp. The beleaguered disciple cried out, panic shredding his voice: “Help! Somebody, please help me!” The Demonic Cultivator only laughed: “Hahaha, you cannot run. No one is coming to save you.”

Seeing this, Rong Shu faltered, hesitation flickering across her face. If she tried to help and more Demonic Cultivators noticed her, the cost would outweigh the gain. Yet she had already seen it; if she did nothing at all…

Her thoughts snagged; she abruptly swept her gaze around the surroundings. Something was off. Why was there only one Demonic Cultivator chasing that disciple? Demonic Cultivators did not share credit or show courtesy. A Qi Refining Stage target was the easiest kind of prey. Normally several Demonic Cultivators would scramble to snatch it, unlike now, where a lone Qi Refining Stage Demonic Cultivator did not even seem afraid someone might steal his meal.

With that thought, a thin thread of wrongness tightened in Rong Shu’s heart. Precisely because of it, she kept her hands still.

Rong Shu managed to hold back, but others could not. Two Foundation Establishment Stage disciples, hidden nearby and unable to stand by, sprang out in succession with swords drawn to kill the gloating Demonic Cultivator.

Just as their ambush was about to succeed, several more Demonic Cultivators suddenly surfaced from who-knows-where, some at the Foundation Establishment Stage and some at the Qi Refining Stage, and they swarmed the two disciples.

One disciple shouted, face paling: “Not good, it’s a trap!” The other yelled toward the watcher they had sensed: “Fellow Daoist, run!”

Only then did the pair realize they had been set up. Forced into a panicked defense, they could no longer spare a thought for the original Qi Refining Stage “disciple.”

At that moment, the one who should have still been flailing in terror curled his lips in a cold smile and watched the two with ridicule: “Fools. You really took the bait.”

The two disciples stared, eyes wide. One gasped, trembling with fury: “You… you’re a Demonic Cultivator too? Despicable.”

Watching all of this from the shadows, Rong Shu’s eyes sank as she thought: [Demonic Cultivators, and disguised as disciples to lure hidden cultivators out…]

She slipped away without a sound. A handful of Foundation Establishment Stage Demonic Cultivators were not something she could resolve with ease. Besides, who knew whether a Golden Core Stage Demonic Cultivator lurked in the dark for a second round of “fishing.”

After putting some distance behind her, Rong Shu checked her bearings again. Dragon Ridge Palace was vast; she only remembered the roads to places she frequented. The area Yan Yan had teleported her into happened to be one she barely knew. She judged quietly: [If I go this way… senior brother should be close.]

Just then, a pressure heavy as a thousand jun settled over the region. Rong Shu looked up to see Yun Wu Ya and his group appear in midair.

She did not recognize Yun Wu Ya, but she could tell at a glance that their cultivation far surpassed her own. She sucked in a breath: “All Golden Core… and even Nascent Soul.” The instant she sensed a Nascent Soul Stage Demonic Cultivator, she wheeled around and bolted without looking back.

A blurred black silhouette, the figure of an elderly man, rose beside Yun Wu Ya. He extended a finger toward the direction where Rong Shu melted into shadow and said, “There, Young Valley Master.”

“Oh? She knows shadow-attribute arts?” A flicker of surprise passed through Yun Wu Ya’s eyes. He smiled, interest piqued: “How amusing. Take her alive.”

“Yes.”

Several of Yun Wu Ya’s subordinates shot toward Rong Shu’s position. One of them drew a Revealing Talisman from his Storage Pouch and flung it at her.

As the Revealing Talisman activated, Rong Shu’s outline was laid bare. For a short while, she could no longer slip into shadows.

Her expression darkened. She had been found. Shadow arts were useful but not infallible; if the opponent’s cultivation greatly exceeded her own, they could sense her easily. And a Revealing Talisman was the natural nemesis of concealment techniques of the shadow line.

For now, all she could do was keep running and buy as much time as possible. If things truly became impossible…

She glanced at the Little Hamster in her hand, who was being jostled dizzy. [I wonder if Yan Yan can use a Spatial Rift one more time.] If not, she would have to rely on the treasure her senior brother Lin Dao had left her to hold out for a few breaths.

“Yan Yan…” She had just called when, out of the corner of her eye, a figure dropped in behind her. A sweep of sword qi crossed the air and blasted several Golden Core Stage Demonic Cultivators dozens of zhang away.

Rong Shu’s voice hitched; seeing who it was, delight broke across her face: “Senior brother!”

Lin Dao’s arrival halted Yun Wu Ya’s attempt to seize Rong Shu. The aura he revealed was that of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, and the Golden Core Stage Demonic Cultivators who had been so arrogant moments before instantly pulled in their horns.

Yun Wu Ya stared hard at Lin Dao, teeth set: “Who is he?” The face was unfamiliar, yet some vague sense of recognition tugged at him, as if he had seen this man somewhere before.

Lin Dao turned and spoke softly to Rong Shu: “It’s all right now.”

Her eyes shone, and at last she relaxed. Noticing the stares from Yun Wu Ya’s side, she planted her fists on her hips and, with splendid confidence, began to lodge her complaint: “That man kept chasing us, and he even called people over to gang up on us.”

“Gu gu!” The Little Hamster on her shoulder puffed up and chittered in outrage.

“I know,” Lin Dao said mildly. He slanted a glance at Yun Wu Ya, who stood bristling like a cornered beast. The face rang a bell, albeit faintly. No matter; since they had crossed paths, he would end it here.

He brought the two fingers of his right hand together and pointed forward.

The old man beside Yun Wu Ya reacted first, leaping in front of the Young Valley Master as he roared, “Not good! Young Valley Master, run!”

Before his words finished, a blade of sword light had already cleaved down. The old man fought with all his might, but he held for only a few heartbeats before that irresistible sword light punched through his defense and drilled into the center of his brow.

A line of blood trickled from the old man’s glabella; a moment later his body crashed to the ground.

As for the Golden Core Stage Demonic Cultivators following Yun Wu Ya, they did not even have time to resist. All of them were erased.

Only… Lin Dao’s brows lifted. Counting the bodies, one was missing. “Runs fast, doesn’t he.”

“Young Valley Master? Is he connected to Ancestor Yun Xie?” With that thought, Lin Dao gave up the chase. He did not fear Ancestor Yun Xie’s revenge, but if that old thing flew into a rage and lashed out indiscriminately at the Southern Wilderness Sect, it would be a nuisance.

He turned back and met two pairs of shining eyes. Rong Shu clenched her small fists, face alight: “Senior brother is mighty!” The Little Hamster bounced twice on her shoulder and echoed, “Gu gu! Senior brother is mighty!”

Lin Dao stepped close, ruffled one small head with each hand, and said with a quiet laugh: “I will take you out.”