Wanhuagu was ruthless to hide someone there!
Knowing his comrades were searching in vain made him anxious.
But at the same time, a bold idea formed in his mind.
The three inside were spiritualists; he was a half-step Ling King. Taking on three spiritualists alone was easy.
Among them, Yao Mei was the target, effectively powerless in battle, and Wanhuagu’s spiritualists were known to be weak. One against three was no problem.
Once the auction ended, he could tail them and ambush the target mid-route!
If he succeeded, he’d gain glory and might win the elders’ favor, becoming a highly sought figure in the sect.
Thinking this, the communication blackout no longer bothered him—it granted him plausible time to act alone, and he could use the communication shield as an excuse.
After all, it was just two Wanhuagu spiritualists. They wouldn’t last long against him.
……
“I have a feeling something’s off about that guy earlier.” Hua Jian looked at the jade marrow stored in her bag, transferring it into her own storage bag.
The auction’s storage bag lacked any spiritual sense sealing, making her uneasy.
But the craftsmanship was decent; she planned to find a stronger cultivator to cast a spiritual seal later and replace her current storage bag.
“Maybe you’re overthinking. He didn’t do anything strange, right?” Linglong didn’t agree with Hua Jian.
The auction staff simply handed Hua Jian her purchase and stayed in the room for half a minute. Their interaction was formal and routine. Linglong sensed nothing unusual.
“No, actually there was something. His gaze lingered on Yao Mei’s face for at least five breaths, then before leaving, he glanced at her again. Is that normal?” Hua Jian said Linglong was too careless; that attention was abnormal.
“If he looked at you that long, I wouldn’t find it strange—you’re special.”
Hua Jian pointed at Linglong. The little dragon girl’s white hair and golden eyes made her quite attractive.
“If he stared at me that long, even less suspicious, since I was the customer who bought the jade marrow.”
“But what merit does Yao Mei have to deserve his attention? What’s so special about her?”
Hua Jian and Linglong were like the bright sun and moon, while Yao Mei was a star trapped between them, its light utterly suppressed.
Yet this man ignored the sun and moon and was fixated on the star—that was abnormal.
Yao Mei’s expression darkened slightly. Though she knew Hua Jian spoke truth, being bluntly called insignificant made her uncomfortable.
“Is it my fault? I’m already pretty decent-looking, above average, thank you very much! You two are the real monsters. Even among normal girls, I’d stand out!”
“What do we do? Report him?”
“Of course. We can also try to lure him out. He’s just a small-time spiritualist, not a big fish.” Hua Jian rubbed her chin, thinking it was a good opportunity. Catching just one spiritualist was too little.
Maybe they could cooperate with the city lord to draw out a few Ling Kings hidden behind this spiritualist, then catch them all in one net!
“I think that’s doable.” Linglong immediately nodded.
After days of peace, her hands were itching. Until now, it had been all underhanded moves—no chance for a fair fight.
Now she finally had the chance to battle.
True experience meant fighting alongside trusted comrades, battling fierce enemies, and cooperating flawlessly to foil enemy plots and savor victory.
The dragon clan wasn’t a peace-loving race; the little dragon girl wasn’t a conventional noble lady.
She gave full approval to Hua Jian’s plan to lure them out and wipe them out.
“Alright, contact the city lord. I’ll plan the route. Hmph, this time we’ll make those Magic Path fools pay!”
……
Amid fierce bidding, the final item—the treasure map—sold for a sky-high price.
During this, many bidders flaunted their identities, mostly powerful forces from various regions.
Several were only second to the Saint Sect in size but still failed to outbid the mysterious buyer, crushed by sheer wealth.
Hua Jian enjoyed the spectacle, almost wanting to jump on stage and shout, “Fight! Fight! Let the auction turn into a brawl!”
An auction with a robbery scene was a real auction!
Unfortunately, no bloodbath appeared by the end of the auction, which was a pity.
“They’re surprisingly well-behaved. So useless.” On the way back to the inn, Hua Jian muttered with her hands behind her back.
At the same time, she subtly glanced behind her.
She sensed a light watching her from the shadows but couldn’t locate its source.
Suddenly, Linglong grabbed her hand and traced words in Hua Jian’s palm: “Someone’s following us, not far.”
Hua Jian nodded and gave a glance toward another direction. “This way, to the small courtyard where I tricked Su Yusheng before.”
They were good people and naturally preferred places with fewer people to fight.
Their sudden change of direction immediately alerted the stalker.
Realizing he’d been discovered, he stopped hiding his presence and pursued them with full effort.
Eventually, near the city edge in a deserted courtyard, he caught up to the two.
This place was rarely visited, making escape easier—a perfect battleground.
Looking at the two girls with panic in their eyes, he grinned, “Running now? Too late!”
Black energy enveloped his hands, forming sharp claws. Without further ado, the Magic Path cultivator charged forward.
Hua Jian gave Linglong a glance: “You go!”
She wasn’t cut out for frontline combat; holding the line was Linglong’s job.
“Don’t kill him outright,” she reminded.
This was a fishing operation, meant to draw out reinforcements. If Linglong took down this point outright, the reinforcements wouldn’t come.
Or they’d come more cautious and be spooked at the slightest noise.
Best case was Linglong and this cultivator fight evenly, making Linglong look weak.
“I’ll try.” Linglong nodded. Her spirit sword was wrapped in lightning. Pushing off lightly, she charged the Magic Path cultivator.
Boom!
They collided midair. Linglong’s sword pushed the Magic Path cultivator back several steps.
Hua Jian smacked her forehead—had Linglong really been listening?
Linglong looked back at Hua Jian with a hint of grievance. She was already holding back, using only 90% power. Who knew the Magic Path cultivator would be this weak?
Compared to the two of them, the Magic Path guy was the weakest. How was he weaker than a Wanhuagu member?
This made no sense!
He must have underestimated them. Hah, now I’m careful. This Wanhuagu cultivator isn’t his match.
Thinking this, the Magic Path cultivator surged forward again.
This time he suppressed Linglong, forcing her to only defend.
That was more like it! Wanhuagu cultivators should only have this level of power!
He felt in his element and failed to notice anything amiss.
Why would a Wanhuagu cultivator use lightning Spiritual Power? He never thought about it.
Meanwhile, Hua Jian began laying formation components around the courtyard.
Once in place, she raised the Array Plate slightly.
A colorful Mist Array spread, enveloping the entire courtyard.
The Magic Path cultivator held his breath.
After forcing Linglong back, he popped a Poison-Dispelling Pill, sneering, “Tricks like these won’t hurt me!”
Wanhuagu cultivators loved these little tricks, but against absolute strength, they were futile.
He’d show these two Wanhuagu pests that the weak were always weak!
Then, a sudden bolt of lightning struck from behind, staggering him.
Linglong didn’t increase her effort—she merely used Hua Jian’s mist to engage in guerrilla tactics.
With the shift in battle style, the tide quickly turned in their favor.
Originally pressured, Linglong now dominated.
It made sense—before it was one-on-one; now, two against one. Being suppressed wasn’t surprising.
The colored mist hid the enemy, who was attacked repeatedly without raising his head.
The Magic Path cultivator still didn’t think much of it, only that these Wanhuagu cultivators were tough.
Those assigned to protect Yao Mei must be elite disciples, so their strength was reasonable.
He was one against two, so suppression was expected.
He had planned to claim the glory alone, but now his goal seemed harder.
No matter, once the Ling Kings arrived, these two Wanhuagu spiritualists would be sitting ducks.
Thinking this, he settled into defense, stirring up noise to prevent Hua Jian and Linglong from escaping.
This suited Hua Jian perfectly. She wanted them to stall until reinforcements arrived and the city lord slapped them all down.
Linglong had already withdrawn from the array, standing by Hua Jian’s side.
She occasionally hurled lightning bolts at the array’s center, producing loud thunderous crashes.
Normally, such noise would have attracted city guards long ago, but today was different—the guards were deaf.
No matter how noisy the fight, not a single guard tried to investigate.
This was a designated battlefield, set up to trap infiltrating pests.
……
“This was a diversion! Hmph, almost got fooled.”
This was the Magic Path Ling Kings’ thought.
Upon receiving reports, they abandoned their half-finished search of the Boat Cluster and rushed to the given location.
After all, their conflict with Wanhuagu wasn’t personal but over Yao Mei.
If they failed to capture Yao Mei, all this commotion was pointless.
They’d be punished for raising such a ruckus and failing the mission.
Wanhuagu’s fate didn’t matter; only securing Yao Mei was vital.
Having obtained Yao Mei’s exact location, the divided forces should have immediately converged there.
But due to some unforeseen reasons, the two Ling Kings chasing the Wanhuagu Ling King didn’t arrive on time.
“They’re not here yet?” The Magic Path Ling King searching the city frowned, glancing at the mist array in the distance, uneasy.
“That Wanhuagu Ling King ran outside the city, probably too far to return anytime soon,” muttered the bribed Su Family Ling King nearby.
They’d been searching the Boat Cluster for over half an hour; the two chasing Ling Kings had been out for the same time.
People can’t teleport; going and returning takes time.
They’d received the message less than fifteen minutes ago.
Even if the two chasing Ling Kings immediately returned upon message, they couldn’t make it in time.
“But suddenly they lost contact… damn it, forget it. Let’s get the person first!”
The Magic Path Ling King cursed softly.
From the faint floral scent on the wind, he deduced the mist array was released by Wanhuagu cultivators.
Given that, there was no need to hold back.
He extended his hands and ripped fiercely at the mist array.
Black flames erupted from his palms, instantly breaking the mist array and forcing those inside out.
After seeing the people in the courtyard, the Ling King stopped, the once fierce flames frozen, afraid to advance.
The spiritualist who relayed the info lay peacefully on the ground, limbs pierced by sharp vines.
What was unsettling was the lack of pain on his face—only a blissful smile.
Nearby, a black-haired, colorful-eyed girl pressed a sharp thorn against Yao Mei’s neck, threatening with a hostage.
“Come any closer, and I’ll kill her!”
The three Ling Kings froze.
Hua Jian’s move had perfectly squeezed their options.
Their goal was to capture Yao Mei alive.
If Hua Jian really killed the hostage, they’d be doomed.
“Calm down, sister. Everything’s negotiable!” The Magic Path Ling King hurried to persuade.
In an instant, the power balance flipped 180 degrees—the advantage was with Hua Jian’s side.
“You’ve done all this and want me to calm down? Tell me everything’s negotiable? I’m bad? I’ll tell you, even if I die today, I won’t let you succeed!”
The thorn pressed ever closer to Yao Mei’s throat, scaring the Magic Path Ling King into speech.
“Don’t! Don’t! We have no choice. If you hand over this woman, we’ll agree to anything—even swear the Yuhun Dasheng!”
They valued Yao Mei so much?
A flicker of thought crossed Hua Jian’s eyes.
She asked loudly, “Then tell me—what’s special about her? Why do you want her?”
The Magic Path Ling King glanced at his two subordinates, silently asking if they could snatch Yao Mei from Hua Jian.
The two traitorous Ling Kings exchanged looks and silently agreed this would be difficult—they needed him to attract enough attention.
He nodded knowingly. Storytelling? Fine, he’d tell Hua Jian.
“Well, it’s a long story.”
“Cut the crap. I just want to know what use she is!” Hua Jian impatiently interrupted.
The Magic Path Ling King’s expression darkened.
With the hostage in hand, he dared not go all out against Hua Jian—this Wanhuagu cultivator was fearless, but he wasn’t immortal.
If the elders learned he lost the mission because of this, he’d die an ugly death.
“She’s like an extremely precious medicinal herb. You know the elder is about to breakthrough. He needs this herb to refine a Saint-Grade Elixir to aid the breakthrough.” The Ling King took a deep breath and explained Yao Mei’s purpose.
Understanding flashed in Hua Jian’s eyes.
Just as she thought, these people wanted Yao Mei herself.
But this reason sounded oddly familiar.
That Ling King demonic cultivator Youye had ventured into the Secret Realm to gather breakthrough materials for that elder, right?
There couldn’t be two elders about to break through Saint-grade.
So these two elders had to be the same person.
She seemed strangely connected to that elder.
With that thought, Hua Jian released Yao Mei amid the surprised gazes of the three Magic Path Ling Kings.
“Now I see. You should have just said so earlier.”
The Ling Kings thought Hua Jian was about to hand over the hostage.
But what she said next shocked them—
“Attack!”
In the next moment, a massive net descended, trapping all three.
A middle-aged man in a silver robe embroidered with a bright moon appeared like a ghost above them.
The aura of a peak Ling Emperor suppressed the three Ling Kings’ will to resist.
With the city lord’s arrival, nearby Huiyue City guards jumped out.
Over a dozen Ling Kings appeared, plunging the three Magic Path Ling Kings into despair.
This was a trap!
“You dare collude with the righteous path! You will die a terrible death!”
Before he finished, several strong presences arrived in the distant sky.
Even the city lord’s expression changed, eyes sharpening toward the horizon.
About ten figures appeared in the distance.
Leading them was a capable young woman in a dark dress, flanked by cold-faced sword cultivators with long swords at their waists.
This lineup made the city lord shudder.
A name sprang to his mind.
The leading woman’s lips moved slightly: “Protectorate Supervisor Xia Xuan, ordered to apprehend the demonic cultivators!”
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