Disaster from Nowhere

"Junior Brother Xiao truly cuts a fine figure."

Lu Yang laughed as he patted Xiao Shiye on the shoulder. "I'm Lu Yang. We should have entered the sect in the same batch, so I can't really call myself your senior brother."

"The same batch?"

Xiao Shiye looked startled, then admiration appeared on his face. "Then Brother Lu's talent must be exceptional. Otherwise, it would be difficult to possess such cultivation."

"I don't deserve such praise."

Lu Yang waved a hand. He knew his own limits. His talent was absolutely nothing special; his usual cultivation relied entirely on swallowing pills, while breaking through bottlenecks relied entirely on forbidden arts.

If he had cultivated step by step, he reckoned he would still be stuck at the Qi Refining Third Layer.

Once Xiao Shiye learned that Lu Yang was of the same generation, he was no longer as reserved as before and quickly became familiar with him. After the two chatted for a while, Lu Yang finally probed, "I just broke through and was planning to return to my cave abode to consolidate my cultivation. Where does Brother Xiao plan to go next?"

"To be honest, Brother Lu, I plan to visit the Merit Pool."

Xiao Shiye smiled. "I heard that the Merit Pool tests one's luck most of all. I've suddenly had a bit of good fortune lately, so I thought I'd take the chance to try my luck."

"The Merit Pool..."

Lu Yang's heart stirred, and on a sudden whim, he said, "In that case, why not go together?"

He had already tried the winning numbers Xiao Shiye had drawn in his previous life, so he was very curious what Xiao Shiye would choose in this life—and whether there really was some hidden scheme at work.

At the same time, in a stretch of Cloud Sea outside Myriad Treasure Peak.

More than ten figures stood silently there. At their head was a handsome young man in white robes, elegant and unrestrained in appearance, surrounded by swirling mist.

Just then, one of them suddenly revealed a delighted expression.

"Senior Brother Liu, that fellow surnamed Xiao has come out."

Before the words had fully fallen, the handsome young man seemed to awaken from meditation as well. The mist dispersed, revealing a face Lu Yang would never forget.

It was none other than Liu Xin!

Liu Xin had also broken through to the Qi Refining Late Stage. Moreover, as a cultivator chiefly practicing the Primordial Dao Scripture, he possessed several degrees more of immortal bearing and Dao bones than an ordinary cultivator.

"He finally came out." A smile rested on Liu Xin's lips. At first glance, there was none of the savagery of a demonic-path cultivator about him; instead, he gave off an amiable air like a spring breeze. Yet when he activated his true qi and used the Qi Observation Technique to look toward Xiao Shiye, his smile abruptly froze.

"...Qi Refining Late Stage?"

Liu Xin furrowed his brow. He had clearly not expected a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator to be accompanying Xiao Shiye. This was a Variable sufficient to make him alter his plans.

Just then, a soft exclamation suddenly came from beside Liu Xin.

Liu Xin turned at the sound and smiled gently. "What is it, Qingchen? Could it be that you know that Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator?"

At these words, the seductive woman standing behind Liu Xin pressed her red lips together. "To be honest, Senior Brother Liu, I really do know that Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator."

Immediately afterward, the woman said with jealousy in her voice, "That man is named Lu Yang. He joined the sect several months ago. During the Death Substitute Puppet incident, he left early and made a killing—at least ten thousand Contribution Points! He must have relied on that enormous sum to break through to the Qi Refining Late Stage!"

The seductive woman was none other than Fairy Qingchen, who had followed Zhao Xuhe in Lu Yang's previous life.

However, unlike in his previous life, Fairy Qingchen had fallen out with Zhao Xuhe early on in this life and had long since become Liu Xin's lover.

The reason for their falling-out was simple: Zhao Xuhe had dragged her into speculating on Death Substitute Puppets.

Zhao Xuhe went bankrupt, and Fairy Qingchen naturally did not escape the same fate.

Incidentally, Liu Xin had speculated as well.

And because the Death Substitute Puppet's impact in this life was far greater than in the previous one, their losses after it exploded were also far beyond those of their previous lives.

Not only were they on the verge of bankruptcy, they had also accumulated massive debts.

Thanks to this, the two had no choice but to take up the business of robbing fellow disciples—a deed they had never done in their previous lives—to make up for the losses caused by speculating on Death Substitute Puppets.

Over time, they had even gathered a team. Its members were all disciples with some backing and influence in the sect, yet who had gone bankrupt from speculating on Death Substitute Puppets. Their targets, meanwhile, were ordinary disciples who had little capital, exited early, and made a fortune.

Xiao Shiye was the target they had recently set their sights on.

And now, after hearing Lu Yang's exploits from Fairy Qingchen, Liu Xin's gaze brightened further. Clearly, he had also marked Lu Yang as a target.

"Time waits for no one. Move!"

At Liu Xin's command, everyone present gave sinister cackles. Then each of them mounted an escape light and flew toward Lu Yang and Xiao Shiye.

Having only just left Myriad Treasure Peak and traveled some distance through the Cloud Sea, Lu Yang suddenly frowned. The Sword Pellet between his brows began to throb in warning.

Following the direction of the Sword Pellet's warning, Lu Yang's brows knitted even tighter.

With him and Xiao Shiye at the center, escape lights were actually streaking in from every direction, like a vast net drawing closed around their position.

Before long, a voice came from behind them.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay!"

Lu Yang's face immediately darkened.

They had even said those words. They had come with ill intent!

Without turning his head, Lu Yang ignored the voice behind him. He only frantically poured Dharma Power into his technique, Sword Light wrapping around Xiao Shiye as they fled at top speed toward the Merit Pool.

Yet the other side had clearly come prepared. Lu Yang had barely fled any distance before he stopped, looking around in all directions. The surrounding Cloud Sea had somehow thinned, replaced by a vast Mirage—bizarre and dazzling—that tightly trapped him and Xiao Shiye in its center!

"What an undeserved calamity."

Lu Yang's expression was grim. Using the Qi Observation Technique to observe from afar, he immediately gritted his teeth. "One Qi Refining Late Stage, seven Middle Qi Refining Stage cultivators. At most, we have a thirty percent chance of victory."

What should he do?

As Lu Yang considered a countermeasure, Xiao Shiye suddenly spoke beside him. "Brother Lu, unless something unexpected happens, these people should all be here for me."

As he spoke, remorse filled Xiao Shiye's face. "I was careless. These people should be after the magical treasures and Contribution Points on me. I thought that after several months, they had already given up. I never expected them to be so persistent. Since things have come to this, you and I should flee separately."

"Flee separately?"

Lu Yang shook his head. "They have already sealed off this stretch of Cloud Sea. It seems they used some powerful magical treasure. I'm afraid we can no longer escape."

"It's fine. I have a way to deal with this."

Xiao Shiye said in a low voice, "I have two Treasure-Breaking Awls. Once activated, they can open a path to survival. I am willing to give one to Brother Lu."

"Brother Lu, leave first. I'll stay behind and hold them off."

With that, he directly handed one of the awls to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang weighed it in his hand and circulated his Dharma Power. He immediately understood that Xiao Shiye had not lied; this magical treasure indeed stood a great chance of breaking open the surrounding Mirage.

"...Are you sure you want me to leave first?" Lu Yang's expression was unreadable.

"Brother Lu, mountains are high and roads are long. Until we meet again."

Xiao Shiye cupped his hands, a relieved smile appearing on his face. Then he actually turned and faced the incoming enemies, clearly prepared to die.

Lu Yang fell into thought at the sight.

He had been in seclusion for three months and had never made enemies. These people could not possibly be targeting him. Besides, compared to him, Xiao Shiye was obviously the much fatter sheep.

So Xiao Shiye was not wrong.

As long as he abandoned him, he would most likely be able to escape.

Then should he do it?

Above the Cloud Sea, Lu Yang watched Xiao Shiye's figure press forward without hesitation, as though he had cast life and death aside. The Sword Pellet between Lu Yang's brows kept warning him, and his expression shifted uncertainly.