Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Border Skirmish

Liu Hao Tian, who had been controlling the formation disk in secret, finally let out a breath. Thankfully, Wei Yun Xi put on a convincing act and trapped everyone inside the formation. That made the next steps much easier.

Because there was only one Golden Core cultivator among the five, they moved with extreme caution. They were terrified of being spotted early and wasting all their earlier setup.

Rewinding to when the three of them split into three directions to scout the area, they had been searching for the person who was supposed to meet up with the evil cultivator. But because this place sat on the border between the Cultivation World and the mortal realm, almost no cultivators came here.

The three of them found nothing, so they gathered again. Not long after, the Fei Xia Butterfly sent them a message, saying a team of cultivators had arrived nearby.

“Senior Brother Liu, could these people be here to meet the evil cultivator?” Yu Qing Cheng asked at once.

Liu Hao Tian frowned. “Hard to say.”

“In that case, let the Fei Xia Butterfly follow them first,” Xia You suggested in a low voice. “We’ll cut ahead and set an ambush. Once we’re sure they’re meeting up with the evil cultivator, we’ll coordinate with Master Wei and trap them first.”

Yu Qing Cheng agreed. “Xiao You is right. Trap them first, don’t kill them. We still need clues from them. If we really find the evil cultivators’ lair, it’ll be a huge merit for us.”

Liu Hao Tian understood clearly: the other side had five people. The three of them had no chance at all in a direct fight. Even if they added Wei Yun Xi, they would only have a chance to gamble. He was also worried the evil cultivators had another backup plan. Trapping them was the safest option.

In the end, the three of them got there early and buried Yun Xi’s Fourth Rank formation disk inside the dense forest. Then they withdrew far away. Once they received Yun Xi’s signal, they immediately activated the formation. Luckily, when Yun Xi stalled and pulled at the evil cultivator, she drew the five people’s attention, letting Liu Hao Tian activate the disk successfully.

Back in the present, Liu Hao Tian controlled the formation disk and let Yun Xi out. The nineteen mortals were also brought out by Yun Xi. Those courtesans were still unconscious.

Liu Hao Tian returned control of the formation disk to Yun Xi before asking, “Master Wei, how is it? We were afraid of being discovered, so we didn’t dare follow too closely.”

“At first glance, these five should be connected to the evil cultivators,” Yun Xi said. “Whenever the evil cultivators find someone with a special physique in the mortal world, they send them into the Yin-Yang Sect to cultivate. They raise them specifically as cultivation furnaces. It matches our earlier guess.”

Xia You sucked in a sharp breath. “Then… what if the Yin-Yang Sect is the evil cultivators’ nest, acting under the cover of a Dao sect? That… a whole sect isn’t something we can shake easily.”

Yun Xi spread her hands. “Right now, all I can confirm is that these five people’s master is likely in cahoots with the evil cultivators. As for whether other cultivators in the Yin-Yang Sect are involved, we’ll need more proof. With what we can do right now, we really can’t handle this. It’s better to report it to the sect.”

She continued, “Good thing I activated the image-recording jade. Their conversation was recorded. Next, we capture them alive. Once we have both people and evidence, we hand them over to the sect. They’ll know better than we do how to pry information out of these mouths.”

“You’re right. Let’s deal with the problem in front of us first,” Liu Hao Tian said.

The moment his words fell, the formation trembled. The people inside had started moving, clearly trying to break out.

Yun Xi snorted coldly and controlled the formation disk with her divine sense. On top of the trapping formation, she layered and activated a killing formation. The six people who had been trying to tear down the trapping formation immediately switched from offense to defense, forced to deal with the endless waves of attacks.

Just as all four of them focused on the formation, an attack silently struck toward their backs.

The instant Yun Xi sensed it, she activated the Thousand Shadow Wind-Supporting Technique. Borrowing the force of the blow, she flew backward and into the formation, but she didn’t have time to warn the other three. Still, as she entered, she saw the one who attacked them – it was the City Lord who had escaped earlier.

“Pu!” Yun Xi spat a mouthful of blood as she slammed into the formation and cursed in her heart. [What rotten luck.]

This City Lord was truly like a lingering ghost. After being scared off, he must not have been willing to give up. He had probably waited at the border, wanting to see who the great expert was that had entered the mortal realm. Instead, he discovered the four of them.

“I don’t even know how much this City Lord has learned,” Yun Xi muttered under her breath. “If he knows everything we’ve done, this won’t end well.”

She didn’t forget to shove a healing pill into her mouth. Then she climbed up from the ground.

“Hahaha! You came in too, did you? Then leave your life behind!” the leading man from the Yin-Yang Sect shouted, his face vicious.

Yun Xi swept him with a glance and confirmed his cultivation was about the same as hers – early Golden Core. The reason he dared act so arrogant was because she still hadn’t removed her disguise.

She raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. Then she controlled the huadian immortal artifact and removed the disguise on her cultivation, restoring it to her true early Golden Core level. She reached out and gripped the Seven-Star Doom Staff in her hand, sneering as she said, “Then let’s see whose life gets left behind!”

In the next instant, blade and sword clashed. The collision of their?? forced both of them back several steps, but Yun Xi’s strength was clearly greater, so the Yin-Yang Sect cultivator retreated two steps more.

After she steadied herself, Yun Xi said coldly, “You could have been a proper Dao cultivator, yet you insist on helping evil and serving as an evil cultivator’s dog. What kind of ending do you think you’ll get?”

It was like she had stabbed his sore spot. The man’s voice turned hoarse. “Hmph! You have no right to criticize me. How would someone like you, a favored genius of Heaven, understand the hardships of us bottom-tier cultivators? For that tiny bit of cultivation resources, we often have to fight until one of us dies!”

He stared at her, eyes red. “I’m over two hundred years old and only just reached Golden Core. But look at you – a fifteen-year-old genius. As long as you cultivate properly, resources will be handed to you!”

Yun Xi held the staff horizontally, her tone flat and without emotion. “By your logic, every bottom-tier cultivator in the Cultivation World should run with evil cultivators just to cultivate. That’s pure sophistry.”

She continued, “A cultivator’s aptitude is bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. There are differences, yes, but as long as you have spiritual roots, you already surpass countless people. Cultivation is the process of following Heaven while defying fate. You follow the laws of the Heavenly Dao and change your own destiny.”

“In the ten-thousand-year history of the Vast Cosmos Realm, there have been countless cultivators who ascended to the spirit realm. Not all of them had outstanding talent. Many were ordinary. Why don’t you learn from them?”

“Before Nascent Soul, aptitude might matter a lot. But after Nascent Soul, what matters is understanding – insight into the laws of Heaven and Earth. Your Dao heart has already gone crooked. Even if you cultivate for another thousand years, you’re still doomed to never ascend!”

She stared straight at him. “You know it yourself, so you chose the shortcut. But you’re destined to fail!”

“Shut up!” the man snapped, his composure shattering. A fierce sword light chopped straight toward Yun Xi’s face.

Yun Xi sensed his aura had grown chaotic. She blocked the strike with her staff while secretly controlling the Frost Profound Ice Needles, sending them stabbing toward his dantian.

On the other side, Liu Hao Tian, Yu Qing Cheng, and Xia You were struck by the City Lord’s attack. When they flew backward, they didn’t fall into the formation. Instead, they crashed through a stretch of forest, snapping trees before they finally halted.

Liu Hao Tian stared at the Nascent Soul male cultivator in front of him and spoke his identity in one sentence. “You’re the City Lord Li!”

City Lord Li’s gaze flickered. He had already decided to kill them. His tracks could not be exposed. He lifted his hand and sent another attack flying.

Unwilling to die, the three of them each pulled out their best life-saving trump cards and guarded themselves.

“Hmph! Li Chang, you dare lay a hand on my disciple!”