19. Encounter and Counterattack

Chapter 19: Encounter and Counterattack

Before long, a middle-aged man with a pair of blue wings, each about a zhang wide, shot into the sky. With a light flap of his wings, he chased after Shi Yue, moving even faster than Shi Yue's Leaf Magic Tool.

Shi Yue poured his magic power frantically into the Leaf Magic Tool beneath his feet, making it fly faster. As he flew toward the sect, he glanced back. When he saw a streak of blue light pursuing him, his expression changed.

At this rate, he'd be caught before he could return to the sect. By then, with almost no magic power left, he certainly wouldn't be a match for his pursuer.

At the thought, a resolute glint flashed in Shi Yue's eyes. He formed a Hand Seal with one hand, and the Green Leaf abruptly changed direction, diving toward a dense forest below.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man first froze, then his face lit up with delight.

To be honest, judging by Shi Yue's direction of flight, he had vaguely guessed that Shi Yue was a disciple of Taixu Sect. If Shi Yue had kept flying ahead for a little longer, he would have given up. But Shi Yue's sudden change of course stirred his murderous intent.

The middle-aged man's expression shifted. He flapped his blue wings furiously and shot toward the ground.

Soon, the middle-aged man landed. He gazed at Shi Yue, a hundred zhang away, his face alight with greed.

"I'm a disciple of Taixu Sect. Why are you following me?" Shi Yue asked in a low voice, his expression tense.

"Hmph, I don't care who you are. If you know what's good for you, hand over your Storage Bag, and I might spare your life," the middle-aged man said with a cold laugh.

"If I give you my Storage Bag, will you really spare me?" Shi Yue asked timidly.

"Of course. I, Sun, always keep my word." The middle-aged man was taken aback, then overjoyed. He answered with an earnest expression.

Naturally, he had no intention of letting Shi Yue go. He only said this to trick Shi Yue into handing over the Storage Bag. He had seen Shi Yue enter Thousand Talisman Hall and buy Talismans with his own eyes, so he was still somewhat wary. Now that Shi Yue was willing to hand over the Storage Bag, it couldn't have worked out better.

"All right. I'll give you my Storage Bag, so please don't kill me," Shi Yue said timidly. With that, he took the Storage Bag from his waist and tossed it toward the other man.

As the Storage Bag flew toward his opponent, two glowing red Talismans flashed into view.

With two soft pops, the red Talismans burst apart, transforming into two Water Vat Sized Giant Fireballs that crashed toward the middle-aged man.

Before the Giant Fireballs even reached him, an unbearable wave of heat washed over them.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man snorted. He slapped the Storage Bag at his waist with his right hand, and a streak of red light flew out.

The red light flashed, revealing a black shield about a zhang tall.

The middle-aged man formed a Hand Seal with both hands. The Black Shield began spinning rapidly around him, forming a wall of black wind.

Just then, the two Giant Fireballs came crashing down, slamming hard into the Black Shield.

With two deafening booms, the Giant Fireballs exploded, and rolling flames swallowed the middle-aged man.

A moment later, the flames dispersed. The middle-aged man was unscathed, though the Black Shield's glow had dimmed somewhat.

Just then, a buzzing sound reached the middle-aged man's ears. Hundreds of yellow bees descended from the sky and landed on him. The Spirit Devouring Bees' sharp stingers pierced his skin.

Pain surged through the middle-aged man's body, and he let out a series of screams.

He flipped his hand and took out a Black Long Sword, swinging it wildly and cutting down quite a few Spirit Devouring Bees. But many still flew onto him, their sharp stingers digging into his flesh.

While the middle-aged man was busy fending off the Spirit Devouring Bees, Shi Yue turned his right palm over, and a Red Short Sword appeared in his hand.

He slapped the hilt with his left hand. The Red Short Sword shot toward the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man's eyes were obscured by a dense swarm of Spirit Devouring Bees, and blood streamed down his face. He didn't notice the Red Short Sword coming at him.

He felt a chill at his neck. His head rolled to the ground, and his headless body swayed before toppling with a thud.

Only then did a fountain of blood, several feet high, gush from the corpse's neck.

Once the middle-aged man was dead, the Spirit Devouring Bees crawling over him flew back into the Spirit Beast Bag at Shi Yue's waist.

Shi Yue let out a long breath of relief. He hurried over to the headless corpse and, fighting back his nausea, collected the Black Shield and Black Long Sword, then removed the Storage Bag from the middle-aged man's waist.

Daring not to linger, Shi Yue released the Leaf Magic Tool, leaped aboard, and flew toward Taixu Sect.

Before long, Shi Yue returned to the sect. By then, night had fully fallen.

Thinking back on what had happened that day, Shi Yue still felt shaken. If he hadn't had hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees to help him, he might not have been able to break through the middle-aged man's defenses. In a battle of attrition, Shi Yue wouldn't have stood a chance.

The incident reminded Shi Yue to be more careful from then on. Besides that, he needed to improve his cultivation and learn a powerful offensive technique. Otherwise, he'd be a little fat lamb in the eyes of villains. The moment they got the chance, they'd pounce, eager to slaughter him.

If asked which kind of cultivator was strongest in the Cultivation World, no one could give a definitive answer. But if asked which kind could crush cultivators of the same rank, everyone would immediately think of Sword Cultivators.

Among cultivators of the same rank, Sword Cultivators were unquestionably the most troublesome. No one wanted to offend a powerful Sword Cultivator. Their cultivation progressed relatively slowly, but once they mastered their art, they could easily crush cultivators of the same rank. This was universally acknowledged in the Cultivation World.

The path of the sword was exceedingly difficult to cultivate. Those who practiced it generally had little time to cultivate their techniques. Shi Yue wasn't worried about that; at worst, he could practice the sword in the Mysterious Space.

The problem now was that Shi Yue didn't have any sword cultivation techniques. It seemed he would have to make a trip to the Scripture Repository tomorrow and see if he could find one.

Taixu Sect was famous throughout Great Tang for its alchemy. Shi Yue really didn't know whether the Scripture Repository held any sword cultivation techniques.

Shi Yue's expression shifted, and he flipped his hand, taking out a black Storage Bag. It was the one he had found on the middle-aged man's corpse.

He opened the bag and dumped everything inside onto the ground. A large pile of items spilled out.

To Shi Yue's disappointment, the Storage Bag held very little. Aside from the two Mid-grade Magic Tools—the Black Shield and the Black Long Sword—there were only two Low-grade Magic Tools and a dozen or so Low-grade Spirit Stones.

After thinking it over, Shi Yue no longer found it strange. If the middle-aged man had been wealthy, he wouldn't have resorted to murder and robbery.