Night Raid

Although Xie Mei'er vehemently denied it, everyone present was sharp enough to see through her. (-_-) (-_-)

It would have been one thing if Xie Mei'er were unmarried, but she had been promised to someone else—and not just anyone, but a member of the Yunli Kingdom's royal family. If the royal family found out, the trouble would not stop with Xie Mei'er. Even the Cloud Saint Sect would not escape blame.

A sharp slap rang out.

A large hand struck Xie Mei hard across the face. "You wretched girl..."

Xie Tianyu's face flushed crimson. Without another word to anyone, he swept out of the hall.

Zhao Youdao's face was flushed as well. He quickly lowered his head and left, while the elders scattered like startled birds. Only Xie Mei'er remained in the hall, standing there in a panic.

"Wah... Father, you hit me... Wah..." It was a long while before Xie Mei'er staggered out.

Sanbao gave a cold laugh. "Senior Sister Xie, you stabbed someone through the heart that day. Did you think this day would never come?"

"Hmph, you Luo! This is all your fault. Brother Hong..." Xie Mei'er left, seething with hatred.

"You killed someone first, and now you're acting like you're in the right? You got what you deserved!" Sanbao cursed angrily.

Watching Xie Mei'er's retreating figure, Sanbao felt a faint sense of loss.

After everyone had left, master and disciple exchanged rueful smiles. At least they had managed to put the matter aside for the time being.

Neither of them, however, had expected that the matter was far from over.

At midnight, all of Cloud Mountain lay cloaked in darkness. Only the insects and beasts in the forest paid no heed to the late hour, chirping incessantly.

After several cycles of cultivation, Sanbao rose and finished his practice. He had just started to undress for bed when a scream suddenly rang out. Sanbao jolted, thinking, Someone's here.

He was about to leave when a voice came from outside the door.

"Don't come out yet. I'll go take a look. If things turn bad, I'll let out a long whistle to warn you. Then get off the mountain as fast as you can, and run as far as possible!" It was his master, Jing Yifei.

Sanbao froze, then thought of what had happened during the day. Had Xie Tianyu come to kill them and silence them? But word had already reached all the elders. Wasn't it too late for him to act now? Was there something else going on? No, I have to take a look.

Steadying himself, Sanbao pushed open the door and slipped silently into the night. Relying on his intimate knowledge of the terrain, he followed several corridors until he reached a side hall. This was A-Tie's quarters.

In the courtyard, a black-clad, masked man stood facing Jing Yifei.

"Jing Yifei, enough of your nonsense. Hand over the thing, and I'll spare your life today." The masked man's voice was as unpleasant as a drake's quack.

"Xie Tianyu, let's be frank with each other. You can have that thing tonight, but you have to agree to one condition first!" Jing Yifei shot back.

"Elder Jing, you certainly have sharp eyes to recognize me at a glance. Very well, tell me—what's the condition?" The masked man wasn't angry at being found out. Instead, he pulled the black cloth from his face, and his voice returned to normal. It was indeed Xie Tianyu, the Cloud Saint Sect's Third Sect Master.

"Ha, ha, ha! You, Xie Tianyu! The Grand Sect Master has only just died, and you're already in such a hurry?" Jing Yifei threw back his head and let out a laugh so bitter it sounded like a wail.

"Retreat."

Sanbao knew this was his master's signal to him, so he quietly backed away.

"Jing Yifei, stop wasting your effort. Neither you nor your disciple will live to see tomorrow!" Xie Tianyu's words shocked Sanbao even more. The Fire Cloud Hall was probably surrounded.

He didn't know how many people had come. He absolutely couldn't alert even one of them, or he'd die without a burial place. He had to keep a clear head. The front and back gates were certainly out of the question—but where else might they have posted guards?

The whole of Fire Cloud Peak took shape in his mind. Gritting his teeth, Sanbao slipped away toward the southwest. The night concealed him as he circulated his spirit energy through his entire body.

Whoosh! Sanbao flashed over a protective wall more than three meters high. Just as he was about to dash into the woods, a shout rang out nearby: "Die, brat!"

Sanbao cursed inwardly. He hadn't expected the entire Fire Cloud Hall to be surrounded. In an instant, he pushed the Nine-Turn Golden Body to its limit. After a few afterimages flickered past, he had vanished into the woods. The attacker's blows smashed into the wall.

"Grr..."

The guard clearly hadn't expected Sanbao to be so fast. Is this kid really only a newly promoted Spirit General?

After sounding the alarm, the guard hurried after him.

More than a dozen black figures immediately converged on the Fire Cloud Hall from every direction.

As soon as Sanbao entered the woods, hope rose in his heart. Thank heavens—he'd chosen a decent escape route. The guard here was only an early-stage Spirit Commander. If he'd run into a Spirit King, he wouldn't have escaped so easily.

No—he wouldn't have escaped at all. Under the powerful pressure of a Spirit King, he wouldn't even be able to bring the Nine-Turn Golden Body into play.

"Brat, you can't get away!" His pursuer shouted loudly, but was falling farther and farther behind.

Swish, swish...

The shrubs around him seemed to have grown legs, racing backward like a thousand horses. As the Nine-Turn Golden Body continued to circulate, the blood in Sanbao's veins seemed to grow excited too. A sudden, exhilarating rush surged through him.

No wonder this is the Luo Clan's inherited Spirit Skill. After reaching Spirit General, it fits my body even better.

Fifty meters, a hundred, two hundred, five hundred...

In just a moment, Sanbao had left his pursuer far behind. But his spirit energy was rapidly draining away.

He ran much faster than an ordinary Spirit Commander, but the difference in their realms was still hard to overcome. If they kept running like this, Sanbao would be exhausted and caught within fifteen minutes. After all, those behind him were Spirit Commanders and Spirit Kings, and he had far less spirit energy than they did.

Before he knew it, Sanbao was running toward Lone Mountain.

He ducked low and slipped into a dense stretch of woods, slowing down to recover some of the spirit energy he had spent.

There was no way he could outlast Spirit Commanders and Spirit Kings. All he could do was run and hide at the same time, while keeping enough spirit energy in reserve. Otherwise, if he ran into an enemy, he wouldn't have the slightest ability to fight back.

At that moment, the advantage of his family's inherited Spirit Technique—the Purple Gold Art—began to show. With an ordinary Spirit Technique, spirit energy recovered at a very limited rate. The Purple Gold Art was different. Given Sanbao's current physical strength and realm, its grade had already surpassed that of ordinary high-grade Spirit Techniques.

His spirit energy recovered quickly.

"Huh? He was just here. Where did he go?"

"You useless fools! You can't even catch a Spirit General! You, go that way. You, go that way..." A masked leader barked at them.

The pursuers quickly split up and scattered through the mountains in several directions, each at a different pace.

As he gradually shook off the pursuit, Sanbao couldn't help worrying about Jing Yifei. He was more or less safe now, but could his master escape Xie Tianyu's clutches?

Jing Yifei might only be a Spirit King, and seemingly no match for Xie Tianyu, but Sanbao had a vague feeling that his master still had something up his sleeve. He just didn't know what it was, or whether it could stand against the powerful Xie Tianyu.

Half an hour later, Sanbao had reached the foot of Lone Mountain. He looked back into the distance. The pursuers had long since disappeared.

As his realm rose, his inherited talent gradually emerged. As a descendant of the Purple-Eyed Golden Peng, Sanbao's body was far stronger than that of an ordinary Spirit Cultivator, especially when it came to speed.

With the Nine-Turn Golden Body added to the mix, he could even outrun an ordinary Spirit Commander. And because he knew the nearby terrain so well, shaking off the enemy had been easy.

He hadn't expected the Grand Sect Master to be killed and himself to be caught in the crossfire. He couldn't stay in the Cloud Saint Sect anymore. He would have to find somewhere else to go. Should he go home and take a look?

Distracted, he rounded Lone Mountain and sped deeper into Cloud Mountain.

He didn't know how many miles he ran. Only after he was sure he had completely escaped the Cloud Saint Sect's pursuit did Sanbao stumble and collapse onto the ground. He gulped down air, gazing at the faint light gathering on the distant horizon. Dawn was near, and he was nearly spent.

He had to find somewhere safe to recover his spirit energy. The depths of Cloud Mountain were fraught with danger, and there were plenty of powerful Spirit Beasts lurking there.

His journey through the wilderness with Thirteen several years ago had taught Sanbao a lot. The safest places in the wilderness were the depths of caves, mountain peaks, and the tops of tall trees.

Not far away, a towering tree hundreds of meters tall came into view. Its branches and leaves were lush, and it was several hundred years old. From a distance, it looked like a green mushroom standing in the valley.

Good. This would do.

When he reached the tree, Sanbao examined it carefully. With a few leaps, he disappeared among the foliage high up its trunk.

From high in the tree, he looked out and saw everything within a kilometer. Only then did Sanbao feel at ease.

He sat cross-legged on a flat part of the trunk and fully spread his soul power, sensing everything around him. Apart from a nest of chicks among the branches above, there were no other signs of life.

He slowly concealed his presence. As the Purple Gold Art circulated, vast amounts of spiritual energy from heaven and earth gathered in his Dantian, then flowed through every meridian in his body, constantly tempering his flesh. At last, it trickled into his empty Dantian...

It took a full four cycles before the spirit energy in his Dantian had recovered by even half, showing just how much he had depleted. Just as Sanbao decided to begin a fifth cycle of cultivation, several voices suddenly sounded in the distance.