Somewhat Sinister

Outside the Dao hall wreathed in Black Fiend True Fire, the Five Elders of Huayang led by Qi Jianzhu stood in a neat row.

"Martial Uncle!"

Qi Jianzhu pleaded with utmost respect, "We have urgent business that requires us to go out and gain experience. We hope Martial Uncle can make an exception."

He had already repeated this plea three times.

Yet True Person Lingyang within the Dao hall merely kept his eyes half-closed, as though he had not heard the voices from outside at all.

Qi Jianzhu hesitated for a moment longer before speaking again. "Martial Uncle, this journey concerns Junior Sister He. We are going to retrieve something related to her cultivation, and she was the one who had someone send back the precise location of the teleportation point."

Only then did True Person Lingyang slightly open his eyes. His voice was faintly cold. "What nonsense about going out to gain experience? Did you think I could not guess? You must have obtained the precise whereabouts of that Profound Heaven Sect disciple named Wang Li and intend to intercept him to make trouble for him."

Qi Jianzhu and the other four elders froze at once, an inexplicable chill rising in their hearts.

True Person Lingyang said indifferently, "I can make an exception. But have you truly thought this through? Is it truly necessary?"

The Five Elders of Huayang were instantly overjoyed.

Qi Jianzhu hurriedly bowed once more and repeatedly said, "Many thanks, Martial Uncle. We have long considered it carefully. If we do not teach that fellow a lesson, the many immortal sects of Lesser Jade Continent will surely think Huayang Sect has no one left. They will surely think Huayang Sect is weak and easily bullied. In the future, our Huayang Sect disciples will face endless trouble when traveling outside."

True Person Lingyang said nothing further. The black true fire before Qi Jianzhu and the others parted like a tide, revealing a passage into the Dao hall.

Qi Jianzhu and the others immediately offered their thanks again and swiftly darted into the teleportation array behind True Person Lingyang.

Only after Qi Jianzhu and the others vanished amid the arcane, wondrous radiance of the teleportation array did True Person Lingyang shake his head. He could have guessed with his toes that He Lingxiu had taken a strong interest in those two people from Profound Heaven Sect and was surely sending the five foolish disciples of his Senior Brother Qingyang to test the abilities of that Profound Heaven Sect cultivator.

Yet Qi Jianzhu and the other five noticed nothing amiss. Instead, they only felt that they had finally seized an opportunity and were beside themselves with joy.

These five who bore the title of the Five Elders of Huayang truly were just as He Lingxiu had said—far too inexperienced and far too brainless. They indeed ought to suffer a little.

"I'll know right away?"

Wang Li looked at He Lingxiu and felt that every part of her face was leaking indescribable cunning. "I paid you so much extra spirit sand. You're a smart person, so you should know the rules." He Lingxiu's eyes flowed as she pressed her lips together in a smile. "Remember, we're on the same side. Don't betray me."

"What do you mean by that?"

Before Wang Li had even finished speaking, the azure bird beneath him and He Lingxiu suddenly swooped downward. Its body then jolted, and with a boom, Wang Li was shaken straight off its back.

As it watched Wang Li cry out strangely in midair and repeatedly cast spells to steady himself, the azure bird's eyes showed a smug, gloating look, as though it were saying to itself, So you've finally met this fate. I've disliked you for a long time too.

Whoosh!

A surge of air slammed beneath Wang Li. When he was still several yards above the ground, protective force churned around him, enveloping him as he slowly descended.

He landed on a desolate stretch of riverbank. Strange, misshapen boxwood trees grew amid the scattered stones along the shore.

Almost at the same moment, a ring of hazy radiance unique to a teleportation array blossomed not far to one side of him.

The Five Elders of Huayang dropped into the shallow bank like five dumplings falling into soup.

The Five Elders of Huayang had only just instinctively bounced up when they looked up and saw Wang Li nearby. They were immediately startled and plopped back down where they stood, their lower bodies splattered with mud and water.

The moment Wang Li recognized Qi Jianzhu and the others, he immediately understood what He Lingxiu was plotting. He instantly shouted toward the sky, "Fellow Daoist Hehe, didn't you say we were in a hurry?"

Qi Jianzhu and the others had never expected such a coincidence. They had not expected to face Wang Li directly the instant they were teleported here. Just as Qi Jianzhu was about to speak, he suddenly saw Wang Li shouting at the sky and froze again.

White clouds drifted leisurely through the sky. The azure bird and He Lingxiu had hidden somewhere unknown, and there was no response at all.

"How sinister."

Wang Li wailed, then looked squarely at Qi Jianzhu and the others standing in the mud. "These five Fellow Daoists look rather familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Rather familiar? Have we met somewhere before?"

Qi Jianzhu laughed.

The instant he laughed, he and the four behind him leaped up together, surrounding Wang Li on all sides.

Firelight flickered over their bodies, while arcane spiritual energy pulsed and instantly baked away every trace of mud and water. Even the dust was shaken from their clothes.

"What, you played dumb and used your words to needle us that day, and today you're pretending not to know us?"

"Oh, so you are Fellow Daoists from Huayang Sect."

Wang Li immediately smiled as well. "I must still thank Huayang Sect for gifting me that treasure the other day."

"Gifting you a treasure?"

Qi Jianzhu was usually well-mannered, but after being left with a face full of ashes by Wang Li that day, the sight of him now inexplicably ignited his anger. "You think that counted as gifting you a treasure?"

"So you have a different opinion?" Wang Li smiled and waved a hand. "Then whatever you say goes. The Yin Thunder Umbrella has already been sold anyway."

His answer left the Five Elders of Huayang stunned.

Qi Jianzhu almost instinctively drew in a deep breath.

Talking to this Profound Heaven Sect disciple still made one feel that communication was simply impossible.

"Do you need something?" Wang Li glanced around, looking as though he were extremely busy and they should stop wasting his time if they had no business with him.

"Can't you see that we want to teach you a proper lesson?" At that moment, a young male cultivator to Qi Jianzhu's left could no longer hold back and spoke with a cold laugh.

The young male cultivator had sharply slanting brows that flew into his temples, and they were especially thick and black, making him unforgettable at a glance.

His name was Shen Yu, and he ranked third among the Five Elders of Huayang.

He rushed to speak because he felt his senior brother was being far too polite. There was no need to keep tangling with this Profound Heaven Sect disciple.

"Teach me a lesson?" Wang Li asked in surprise. "Isn't this sort of bullying the weak with strength, especially against a cultivator from a fellow orthodox immortal sect, a violation of Dao law?"

"It is merely a sparring match. Besides, only we and you are here. Even if things go a little too far, no one can prove it." Shen Yu looked at Wang Li with a cold smile. "Besides, you are not well-liked within Profound Heaven Sect. If we impose a slight punishment on you, Profound Heaven Sect likely will not stand up for you."

"That sounds rather reasonable."

Wang Li said with a smiling squint, "Since everyone is merely sparring, then even if things go a little too far, Huayang Sect presumably will not stand up for you either. After all, your Old Ancestor Tong Hui gave the Yin Thunder Umbrella to us before so many people, yet you still want to seek revenge over it. Even if you suffer a loss, you should only be able to swallow it in silence."

"What do you mean?"

For a moment, Shen Yu could not quite wrap his head around it.

Qi Jianzhu, however, had already understood. He stared at Wang Li in disbelief. "Could it be that you think you can defeat any one of us?"

"Your cultivation is all higher than mine. If you suffer losses, surely you would also be too embarrassed to spread it far and wide?" Wang Li did not answer him, merely continuing on his own. "This Fellow Daoist Hehe is truly somewhat sinister."