The three Miao Family cultivators used the Light-Bending Art, their figures vanishing into the darkness.
But the three large characters hovering above their heads in real time allowed Yang Shi and the others to lock onto their enemies and notice the differences around them.
The place where the three men stood was a shade darker, so dark that even moonlight could not penetrate it. Once the three noticed it, it became their flaw instead.
In just a moment, Yang Shi had thought of a plan.
He made several hand signals, and the other two immediately understood what to do.
Then they quietly waited for the right moment.
When he saw the three split up to search the first, second, and third floors separately, Yang Shi's eyes hardened as he pointed at the man below.
"Break them one by one!"
Crack!
Huzi snapped his whip, and the Iron-Spined Gray Wolf, which had been crouching in the corner all along, pounced at the lone Fetal-Breathing Fifth Layer cultivator below.
Awoo!
The Iron-Spined Gray Wolf was incredibly fast. Like a cannonball, it slammed solidly into Miao San.
Thud!
He was not given any time to react at all!
This was an Azure Wolf in the Qi Refining Stage!
After being fed Fire Dragon Fruit for thirty days and beaten into cardiac arrest a full ten times before it was tamed, the beast was ferocious beyond measure.
Its entire body was made of steel and iron bones. That was no metaphor—it possessed literal physical hardness.
That charge was practically like getting hit by a runaway truck.
Miao San spat blood on the spot and collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
"You beast! How dare you hurt my brother!"
"Fire!"
On the second floor, Miao Renfeng's eyes split with rage. He pressed two fingers together, sending a ball of flame flying toward the Azure Wolf.
Awoo~
The Iron-Spined Gray Wolf darted into the darkness and dodged away. The flames struck the floor, scattering a shower of sparks.
"Who is behind the window?!"
Miao Lao'er, the other Embryonic Breath Seventh Layer cultivator, heard the sound of Huzi's whip and drew the dagger at his waist.
"Golden Sword Technique!"
A strand of golden light emerged from the dagger, sharp beyond compare.
He accelerated beneath his feet and charged toward the three behind the window.
What greeted him was—
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~
The three sprayed highly concentrated chili water through the gaps in the window, giving him a full-on drenching right over the head.
"Ahhh!!"
Caught completely off guard, all five of his senses suffered a devastating blow.
But he was a cultivator after all. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately formed a hand seal.
"Five-Element Transfer Art!"
Steam rose from his body as he forcibly expelled the capsaicin that had invaded it.
This technique truly was remarkable. Once activated, he no longer needed to breathe, and his body rapidly expelled the capsaicin. His state was completely different from Zhao Kuangfeng's back then.
But during the instant he staggered back in a daze, Yang Shi had already moved in.
"Flowing Water Sword!"
The moment the Middle-Grade Dharma Artifact emerged, it brought with it a hazy mist of water that obscured the sword technique, perfectly complementing Yang Shi's Trace-Free Sword Technique.
Sword flowers flickered within the mist, while elusive sword intent hid within the haze.
"Wind Leaves No Trace!"
His sword struck straight for Miao Lao'er's head.
In the night, the sword was as soundless as a gust of wind passing through water mist.
Clang!
A green tortoise shell flew from Miao Lao'er's chest, precisely blocking Yang Shi's strike.
"A defensive Magical Tool!"
Yang Shi remained cool-headed. His sword moves shifted as he launched rapid strikes.
"Rain Falls Without Sound!"
The dense strikes of the Flowing Water Sword rushed forth with Water Spiritual Energy, elevating this sword technique to the level of a magic swordsman.
Miao Lao'er came to his senses as well and swung his golden-light dagger, clashing with Yang Shi.
An inch longer meant an inch stronger. Many of Yang Shi's sword strikes landed on him, but the tortoise shell blocked them all.
"You mere martial brute think you deserve to use a Middle-Grade Dharma Artifact? Big Brother, come kill him with me!"
Crack!
Huzi snapped his whip, and the Iron-Spined Gray Wolf hidden in the darkness sprang out, pouncing directly at Miao Renfeng as he tended to his companion.
"Divine Movement Art!"
An earthy yellow aura rose from beneath Miao Renfeng's feet, and his speed surged as he swiftly evaded the Azure Wolf's attack.
"You beast! Take my fire!"
He shot blazing flames of tremendous heat from two fingers. The Azure Wolf nimbly dodged left and right.
But the flames were immensely powerful, and they swiftly set Yang's Board Game Teahouse ablaze. The Azure Wolf's room to maneuver was constantly compressed.
"You beast, let's see how long you can keep dodging! Fire!"
Flames gushed forth, suppressing the Qi Refining First Layer Azure Wolf so thoroughly that it could not get close.
Its true form was a wolf, and its body was exceptionally tough, but it was not fireproof. Several patches of its fur had already been scorched black, leaving it in a miserable state.
Jiang Xiaobai hid to one side, clutching the Moonlight Mirror, which had not yet stored enough spiritual power, in her arms. Without Yang Shi's order, she would not use it for the time being.
Seeing the flames filling the room, Jiang Xiaobai had a flash of inspiration and sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Spirit Rain Art!"
The ambient spiritual energy around the teahouse rolled into it with water vapor, and rain began falling indoors, constantly dousing the flames burning across the floor.
The Five Elements restrained one another!
Water conquered fire!
Once the little flames on its body were extinguished, the Azure Wolf felt much better. Its crimson eyes fixed viciously on Miao Renfeng.
Awoo!
It pounced and bit, but Miao Renfeng nimbly evaded every attack.
"With such a tiny Spirit Rain, do you think you can extinguish my raging flames? Fire, come!"
He stuffed a medicinal pill into his mouth. Spiritual power surged through his body as flames poured from one hand, making him like a gas cylinder spewing fire.
Before the Spirit Rain could even fall, it was baked into water vapor.
With her technique forcefully broken by the opponent's flames, Jiang Xiaobai's Embryonic Breath Third Layer cultivation was stretched to the limit. Her face turned pale, and she could not withstand it at all. Her technique collapsed outright.
The Azure Wolf was pinned down by the surging flames. The moment it came even slightly closer, it would be charred black, leaving it no choice but to keep retreating and seek another chance.
"Then try my Spirit Rain Art!"
Blessing: Spirit Rain Art
Even more immense spiritual power surged forth, carrying vast water vapor into the teahouse as a torrential downpour began to fall!
Miao Renfeng's flames were beaten down into tiny flickers, barely holding on without being extinguished.
"There's another expert!"
Miao Renfeng's heart jolted. The scale of this Spirit Rain Art meant its caster was at least at his level, and they specialized in water-element techniques, countering the Fire-Spitting Technique he was most skilled in.
This was bad. He needed to retreat.
When in doubt, run. That was the ancestral teaching of the Miao Family, a family of thieves.
"Second Brother, go!"
He turned to retrieve his Third Brother, who had fallen on the ground, but the sight made his eyes split with rage!
A tiger with flames beneath its paws had already torn straight through the unconscious Miao San with a single claw.
"Third Brother!!!"
Little Flame was a fire-element Spirit Beast. While Miao Renfeng had been wildly spewing flames, it had secretly slipped over and directly taken one man out!
The Azure Wolf was completely comfortable now. It sprinted through the Spirit Rain and launched fierce attacks on Miao Renfeng, forcing him to defend with all his strength.
Clang! Crack!
With the Flowing Water Sword's enhancement, Yang Shi's Trace-Free Sword Technique became unfathomable and unpredictable. After dozens of slashes, he finally shattered his opponent's protective tortoise-shell Magical Tool.
"Shadowless Follows Form!"
Shadows of the Flowing Water Sword filled the air, knocking aside Miao Lao'er's golden-light dagger before a single sword sealed his throat!
"Cough! Hah!"
Miao Lao'er clutched his throat and fell with unwillingness in his eyes. He had actually lost to a martial brute who had not even reached the Innate Grandmaster Realm.
"Second Brother!"
Miao Renfeng cried out again in grief.
By this point, he had no desire to continue fighting.
"Entanglement Art!"
He flung out a branch. After folding over itself several times in midair, it wrapped directly around the Azure Wolf.
"Mist Scatter!"
A cloud of gray powder scattered down, exploding into thick smoke. Miao Renfeng broke through the encirclement and fled Yang's Board Game Teahouse.
The Azure Wolf had suffered burns in many places from the flames during the battle and was now bound up as well, leaving it unable to pursue.
Everyone ran out of the teahouse. Miao Renfeng was fleeing into the distance across the rooftops nearby.
"I will remember the vengeance of my brothers' deaths! One day, I will make you repay it severalfold! You will all die!"
Miao Renfeng's hate-filled voice drifted over from afar.
Yang Shi sighed. "Xiao Bai, use it."
"Alright!"
As spiritual power poured into it, the Moonlight Mirror, charged to eighty percent, lit up with a streak of purple radiance. Then, with a whoosh, it fired a dazzling stream of light toward Miao Renfeng.
Pfft!
The light pierced through Miao Renfeng's chest and vanished.
Thud!
Miao Renfeng fell from the roof.
He gasped desperately, but there was a hole in his chest that kept leaking air, while blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth.
"Spare—spare my life, I am willing—"
Slash!
One sword descended, separating his corpse and head like a blade of water.
After the fierce battle, the Flowing Water Sword did not have a trace of grime on it.
Yang Shi sheathed his sword.
"Carry the bodies over and see what good things they have on them."
The previous two chapters have both been fully revised. Don't scold me, don't scold me. Seeing how sincere I've been, give me a Monthly Ticket~
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