Night Battle

What the hell, what's going on?

Why am I thinking of all this messy stuff when I'm facing an enemy?

Lu Zi'an shook his head, trying his best to clear the vivid yet hazy image from his mind, and refocused his attention on the cave entrance.

His body tensed slightly on the cave ceiling, like a leopard ready to pounce on its prey.

The bonfire was still burning, occasionally letting out crisp crackling sounds.

Crackle, crackle, crackle...

An image surfaced in Lu Zi'an's mind, and he couldn't help but hum softly. He didn't even realize it himself, still immersed in that scene.

Ping Gu's waist is really like a snake's, should I just marry her?

But she's a widow, not a virgin. I have the Foundation Establishment Pill, and my future is bright...

His writhing body suddenly coiled around him. Lu Zi'an felt his face flush, his head light and his feet unsteady, unable to distinguish between dream and reality for a moment.

Then, his waist involuntarily exerted force, wanting to slap something. Immediately after, he crashed to the ground with a bang, falling squarely from the cave ceiling.

This landing sound was clearly heard by those outside the cave. In fact, the heavy breathing and even the comfortable sighs before the fall had already been transmitted. If they hadn't known the inside story, Zuo Gaofeng, Tan Bazhang, the Western Mountain Hermit, and others would have almost thought that something lewd and indescribable was happening in the cave.

The few people looked at Liu Xiaolou, who was still squatting by the cave entrance in a strange posture, and their eyelids involuntarily twitched. This guy is truly evil!

But now was not the time for exclamation. Wei Hongqing, who knew Liu Xiaolou's background best, had already made his move. He knew that Liu Xiaolou's bewitching incense was roughly like this, and they couldn't ask for more. This was the perfect opportunity to act.

As the three iron darts shot into the mountain cave, they brought with them a sharp whistling sound, startling Lu Zi'an from his daze. Realizing what was happening, he slightly turned his head, his true essence erupting to form a weak surge of true essence, deflecting the dart flying directly at his forehead. The dart grazed past Lu Zi'an's head, shaving off a few strands of his hair.

He couldn't dodge the remaining two, which struck his shoulders, one from the left and one from the right, embedding themselves deeply.

Lu Zi'an circulated his true essence, forcing the two iron darts out from his shoulder sockets. With two "thuds," they flew out of the cave, disappearing from sight. Two streams of blood spurted out, instantly dyeing half of his clothes red.

"Who's there, you scoundrel!" Lu Zi'an roared, spitting out his flying sword. The short sword flashed with a cold light above the bonfire and shot out towards the cave entrance.

At the Qi Refining tenth layer, he couldn't quite control a flying sword in mid-air, but it already had the appearance of a flying sword, giving him a significant advantage in combat.

The target of the flying sword was the scoundrel to the left of the cave entrance. In Lu Zi'an's judgment, this person had the highest cultivation and was the first target to be eliminated.

Before the short sword could reach the cave entrance, a figure suddenly appeared. It was Wei Hongqing, who had dragged the woman up and used her as a shield in the path of the sword light.

Lu Zi'an was greatly alarmed, and he forcefully stopped the short sword's momentum. The short sword abruptly changed direction from in front of the woman's face, slashing into the stone wall and splashing sparks.

"Ping Gu!" Lu Zi'an exclaimed, looking at the woman and momentarily stunned.

Not only was he distressed by Ping Gu's miserable state, covered in sweat and tears, but another unpleasant scene also resurfaced in his mind. Ping Gu's appearance in that scene strangely overlapped with her current appearance.

It was really similar...

Lu Zi'an felt his qi surging again, his body feeling hot all over.

In this moment of distraction, his left leg was struck by another dart!

With Ping Gu as a hostage, Wei Hongqing immediately made Lu Zi'an hesitant. He was afraid of accidentally injuring her, so he couldn't use his flying sword. Gritting his teeth, he rushed towards Wei Hongqing. Wei Hongqing dragged Ping Gu backward, always staying behind her.

As Lu Zi'an rushed out of the cave, two silver lights danced from the left side of the mountain cave, swirling like silver wheels. It was Zuo Gaofeng, who was hiding there.

Although Lu Zi'an's mind was somewhat muddled, he hadn't forgotten that there was a scoundrel hiding here. He turned towards Zuo Gaofeng, spat out his tongue, and the short sword flew out of his mouth. With two clangs, it knocked Zuo Gaofeng's twin axes away.

The flying sword spun rapidly, completing half a circle and instantly accumulating true essence. Just as it was about to kill Zuo Gaofeng with a single strike, the sound of crossbow bolts came from the trees in the distance. Three crossbow bolts shot out in succession. Lu Zi'an, with no other choice, let Zuo Gaofeng go and met the arrows with his flying sword, severing all three.

Unexpectedly, a large net descended from the sky, ensnaring Lu Zi'an. Tan Bazhang leaped down from the cliff top, striking Lu Zi'an's waist with his iron rod: "I'll beat you in the dark!"

Lu Zi'an couldn't dodge. He gathered his true essence in his waist and abdomen, forcefully resisting Tan Bazhang's iron rod, which was knocked back. However, he also spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

Tan Bazhang was hit in the face by the recoiling iron rod, and a bruise immediately appeared on his forehead. He grimaced in pain: "This guy is really tough!"

Lu Zi'an's flying sword spun back, desperately cutting at the net ropes. However, this net was no ordinary item. Although it didn't have many powerful divine abilities, the ropes were made of some unknown excellent material, which couldn't be cut in a hurry.

Liu Xiaolou thrust his Three Xuan Sword repeatedly at Lu Zi'an, who was trapped in the net, but Lu Zi'an's flying sword blocked them all, causing the wound on his tiger's mouth, which hadn't healed yet, to split open again.

Although the Three Xuan Sword attack was in vain, it prevented Lu Zi'an from cutting the net ropes. Lu Zi'an finally recognized Wei Hongqing, who was holding Ping Gu, and shouted: "Wei Hongqing, Ping Gu is also your sister-in-law. I'll entrust her to you for a few days to take care of her!"

After saying that, he curled his body into a ball, wrapped in the net, and rolled away into the distance with great speed.

"Stop him!" Wei Hongqing shouted.

No need for him to say it, everyone knew that Lu Zi'an absolutely could not be allowed to escape. Otherwise, they wouldn't get the reward, and all their hard work would be in vain.

Zuo Gaofeng's twin axes danced like two silver flowers around the net ropes. Tan Bazhang chased after him, occasionally leaping up fiercely and striking hard with his rod. Wei Hongqing was slightly slower, but his iron darts didn't stop, constantly finding openings to stab into the net, leaving wounds on Lu Zi'an's body.

As for Liu Xiaolou, he stubbornly lagged at the end of the group. Although he kept up, his Three Xuan Sword never had another chance to strike, and he could only stare anxiously.

After chasing for five or six miles, Zuo Gaofeng saw that he still couldn't catch up. His twin axes flew out again, heading straight for the back of Lu Zi'an's head. This move had been used several times before, and Lu Zi'an had dodged them all. This time was no different; it could only be said that he had done his best.

Lu Zi'an felt the wind behind his head and resorted to the same trick, slightly shifting his position as he rolled, about to dodge the twin axes in an instant.

Just then, a stone suddenly flew along the ground, silently striking his temple.

Lu Zi'an's vision went black, and he became dizzy.

The twin axes struck him squarely.

The large net finally stopped. Lu Zi'an, trapped in the net, stared at the direction from which the stone had flown, but unfortunately, it was pitch dark, and he couldn't see anything.

A few breaths later, Lu Zi'an breathed his last.