Ambush

"Young Master Shen, save me! Young Master, save me!"

Zhao Hantao, drenched in sweat and looking utterly disheveled, stumbled in from outside.

The moment he saw Shen Changchuan, he cried out loudly, his body nearly dropping to its knees.

"Brother Zhao, get up quickly. What happened?"

Shen Changchuan hurriedly rose and supported him.

"Young Master, Demon Beasts from outside have attacked the village. This lowly one could not hold them off and came to seek your aid!"

"I beg Young Master, for the sake of this lowly one's past respect and obedience, to save my family and village!"

Zhao Hantao pleaded through tears and snot.

From his halting account afterward,

Shen Changchuan roughly understood what had happened.

A Demon Beast had apparently descended from the mountains and forests last night and attacked Zhao Family Village.

After fighting it, Zhao Hantao had been unable to defeat it. He could only have the Lineage members hold it back for the moment while he hurried to Great Bay Village for help.

"Is that so? Then how strong is this Demon Beast?"

After learning the details, Shen Changchuan pondered for a moment before asking.

After all, this concerned seventy percent of the harvest from two mu of Spirit Fields.

Naturally, Shen Changchuan could not simply stand by.

But he was cautious by nature.

He naturally had to understand the enemy's exact circumstances before making a decision, rather than charging off like some hot-blooded fool.

"Uh, around Peak Fourth Layer Qi Gathering, I think."

Faced with Shen Changchuan's question, Zhao Hantao froze for a moment. He hesitated briefly before finally answering.

"Fine. Brother Zhao, lead the way. We'll leave at once."

Upon learning that the attacking Demon Beast was merely at Peak Fourth Layer Qi Gathering,

the heart Shen Changchuan had been holding in his chest immediately settled.

He straightforwardly agreed to Zhao Hantao's request for help.

As for this,

he had absolute confidence.

He had slain a Crocodile Demon at the Qi Gathering Fifth Level a month ago.

Now that his strength had improved once more,

was he supposed to fear some mere Qi Gathering Fourth Level monster?!

What a joke.

He was ridiculously strong now!

Brimming with confidence, Shen Changchuan grabbed Zhao Hantao's arm and prepared to head out.

"Uh, wait, Young Master Shen. Are we really setting out just like this?"

"Of course. Is there anything else to prepare?"

"Saving lives is like fighting a fire. Hurry up. If we delay, the village may suffer many casualties."

"No, Young Master Shen, are you going alone?"

Zhao Hantao asked hesitantly.

In his memory,

Shen Changchuan was only at the Peak Qi Gathering Third Layer.

Wouldn't going over alone just be delivering himself to that Demon Beast on a platter?

"No need. Don't worry, I have my own methods."

Remembering that at their last meeting, he had only been at the Peak Qi Gathering Third Layer,

Shen Changchuan guessed the other man might have doubts about his strength.

But Shen Changchuan could not be bothered to explain and directly urged him onward.

After all, if the Demon Beast destroyed the spirit crops in the Spirit Fields, he would suffer great losses as well.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Young Master!"

As Zhao Hantao lowered his head, a flicker of joy seemed to flash through his eyes.

Shen Changchuan paid no attention to it.

After informing Han Qinhu,

he left Great Bay Village.

Then, under Zhao Hantao's guidance, he sprinted toward Zhao Family Village.

Two figures,

one before the other, swiftly darted through the mountain forest.

Towering trees and lush grass beneath their feet rapidly fell away behind them.

At this rate,

they would likely reach their destination in less than half an hour.

Yet throughout this process,

Shen Changchuan had no intention of deliberately showing off.

For instance, he could have used his perfected Light Body Technique and displayed speed surpassing a Qi Gathering Fourth Level Cultivation Realm, putting on a show and earning a wave of astonishment from the other man.

Zhao Hantao was a middle-aged man, not some beautiful young girl. Shen Changchuan had not the slightest interest in showing off before him.

On the contrary,

he was heading out this time to fight a Demon Beast to the death.

When facing a life-and-death battle,

Shen Changchuan had always been cautious.

So although he and Zhao Hantao would be facing that Peak Fourth Layer Qi Gathering Demon Beast together,

it would be two against one, and the advantage was theirs.

Shen Changchuan still minimized the consumption of spiritual power within his body as much as possible.

That way, he could preserve more of his spiritual power after arriving at Zhao Family Village.

Thus, Shen Changchuan merely followed behind Zhao Hantao at an ordinary pace.

Along the way,

Shen Changchuan also asked a few simple questions about the situation.

Zhao Hantao gave brief answers.

To maintain their breathing rhythm while moving through the forest,

neither of them spoke much.

However,

for some reason,

Shen Changchuan faintly felt that something was wrong as he moved through the mountains.

By the time they had traveled roughly seventeen kilometers,

with twenty li remaining before they reached Zhao Family Village,

Shen Changchuan noticed

that the path seemed to be growing increasingly remote.

It was as though they had entered the depths of a wild mountain forest.

Towering century-old trees grew unchecked, thrusting into the sky, while their luxuriant leaves sealed off the entire heavens so tightly that not a crack remained.

Even the light from above could barely fall through.

The surroundings grew dim.

Shen Changchuan stared fixedly at Zhao Hantao, who was leading the way ahead with a slightly stooped back, unease faintly rising in his heart.

Something was wrong!

Ever since refining the Azure Origin Water Grass, his Spiritual Sense had improved considerably, to the point where he could achieve the Internal Vision only Qi Gathering Late-stage cultivators could manage.

Although this still did not allow his Spiritual Sense to leave his body,

his powerful spirit undoubtedly gave him sharper perception of his surroundings.

Something was wrong.

Quiet!

It was far too quiet!

Along the way, there had been more or less birdsong and the chirping of insects in the forest.

But once they entered this dense woodland,

those sounds vanished!

Though he did not know why, Shen Changchuan's heart immediately tightened.

He did not act rashly.

Maintaining the same pace behind Zhao Hantao,

he quietly activated the Spirit Eye Technique, and a faint white glow surfaced in his eyes.

Shen Changchuan's gaze abruptly sharpened, his heart seeming to be seized by an invisible hand.

Because at that moment,

not far ahead,

a concealed Formation lay hidden beneath the ground. Several formation flags were buried amid inconspicuous patches of grass around it, ready to activate at any moment!

At the same time,

behind those enormous tree trunks,

there were three figures.

They were spread apart,

hiding so thoroughly that not the slightest trace of aura leaked out.

The three figures and the concealed Formation on the ground formed a great net, hanging silently before him as they waited for their prey to enter!

"An ambush? But why?!"

Shen Changchuan looked at Zhao Hantao's slightly bent back as he diligently led the way ahead.

Disbelief filled his heart.

Why would someone who, upon first meeting him, had humbled himself to the very bone, join forces with others to ambush him?!

Didn't he know Shen Changchuan's identity? Why would he do this?!

Why would he do this?!

Shen Changchuan truly could not understand.

His heart sank accordingly.

At this moment,

Shen Changchuan was utterly certain

that Zhao Hantao knew about the hidden trap ahead and the people lying in ambush behind it.

And Zhao Hantao was very likely one of them!

Because Shen Changchuan had recalled what had felt wrong from the very beginning.

He had not informed Zhao Hantao of his recent breakthrough and improvement.

In Zhao Hantao's mind, Shen Changchuan was still only at the Peak Qi Gathering Third Layer.

Then,

if a Peak Fourth Layer Qi Gathering Demon Beast had attacked the village,

and even Zhao Hantao, a Qi Gathering Fourth Level cultivator, could not defeat it and came to Great Bay Village for aid,

how could he be at ease sending Shen Changchuan, a mere Peak Qi Gathering Third Layer cultivator, to help him?!

When Shen Changchuan had left,

Zhao Hantao had not tried to stop him because of the disparity in their strength.

Instead, after Shen Changchuan agreed, a hint of delight had seemed to flash through his eyes.

No matter how one looked at it,

there was no way he could be unrelated!

Perhaps,

he was even one of the masterminds!

"Perhaps the reason he knows I am Shen Fuxing's son is because he had already set his sights on me and made me his target?!"

In an instant,

countless thoughts flashed through Shen Changchuan's mind.

But those thoughts only flickered through his mind before passing.

Shen Changchuan had no time to consider them carefully.

What mattered most now

was resolving the crisis before him first!

Shen Changchuan swiftly considered ways to escape.

Turning around and running was impossible.

According to the Spirit Eye Technique's perception,

the person positioned in the center, and also the farthest away, was roughly at the Peak Qi Gathering Sixth Level.

As for the others scattered to the left and right,

The one on the left was at Qi Gathering Fourth Level, while the other on the right was at Qi Gathering Fifth Level.

This distance...

was far too close.

The moment he turned and ran, he would only expose his back to the enemy!

Shen Changchuan was not certain that his perfected Light Body Technique could carry him away from the pursuit of an opponent at Peak Qi Gathering Sixth Level, along with two others whose Cultivation Realms were no weaker than his own.

Most likely, it could not.

So...

he could only fight for his life!

A flicker of ruthlessness flashed through Shen Changchuan's heart.

He had already made up his mind.

His figure slowed.

"Young Master Shen, what's wrong?"

Sensing Shen Changchuan slow his pace, Zhao Hantao hurriedly stopped as well and looked at him with concern.

"Huff, huff. We've been traveling nonstop, and my spiritual power is running low. Brother Zhao, let's rest here for a while first."

"After all, once we reach Zhao Family Village, we'll have to fight those Demon Beasts. If our spiritual power is insufficient, that won't do."

They were still eight or nine zhang away from entering the Formation.

Feigning that he had used up more than half his spiritual power, Shen Changchuan stopped and said somewhat breathlessly.

A flash of urgency passed through the depths of Zhao Hantao's eyes.

They were only a few zhang away from the ambush Formation—why had he stopped now?!

Stuck neither up nor down,

his heart was like an ant on a hot pan, scurrying around in circles.

Shen Changchuan seemed not to notice.

With a flip of his palm, he took out two Spirit Stones. Acting as though they were old friends, he approached Zhao Hantao and handed one of them over.

"Here. Don't worry, Brother Zhao. We'll use Spirit Stones to restore our energy. It'll only delay us for about a quarter of an hour."

As he spoke, he stuffed a Spirit Stone into Zhao Hantao's arms.

Zhao Hantao instinctively reached out to take it.

However...

at that very instant—

Bang!

A fist wrapped in spiritual power struck Zhao Hantao's dantian at point-blank range!

Completely unprepared, Zhao Hantao took the blow head-on. His eyes bulged wide as his dantian was torn apart by overwhelming spiritual power in an instant!

"Watch out!"

At the same time,

the figure hidden deepest within, at Peak Qi Gathering Sixth Level, was the first to react. Realizing something was wrong, he shouted out.

But...

it was already too late!

A streak of golden light flashed through the air like lightning, instantly piercing the trunk of a large tree on the right before plunging straight into the head of a figure hiding behind it.

The Qi Gathering Fifth Level figure concealed there did not even let out a scream before instantly losing his life.

"Second Brother!"

Only then

did the figure hidden behind a tree trunk on the left snap out of his shock at that shout, only to see in horror the head of Second Brother, who had been lying in ambush on the right, explode!

"Fourth Brother! Watch out!!!"

A furious roar from the Qi Gathering Sixth Level figure rang out from the depths of the dim forest.

The figure lying in ambush on the left turned around,

and saw in horror

five terrifying wind blades, linked together in a chain, slicing through the air one after another as they slashed straight toward his face!