The Trap

In a forbidden zone like All Swords Valley, shrouded in Ghost Mist, the detection methods of the Sound Dao technique are affected, but the constraints are much less than those of other methods.

But the moment Xu Yuan heard those words spoken in Yi Tianyan's serious, girlish voice, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Upon hearing this, Tianyan was momentarily puzzled, then his face flushed red, and he turned cold:

"The methods of probing with the principles of sound and rhythm are extremely penetrating; we probably can't stay here any longer."

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The methods of sound detection in this world are somewhat similar to those of bats in my previous life. They use sound waves to locate their surroundings, that is, by emitting sound waves and receiving the reflected echoes to identify targets.

This method is indeed very powerful in a certain sense because it has a very wide reach.

But nothing in this world comes without a price.

Compared to the Source Qi and the Will Soul, the sound channel has a wide range of detection, but its precision is insufficient.

That whistling sound just now covered an area with a diameter of at least several hundred miles, and the echoes received were mostly blurry.

Furthermore, the ability to probe the sound channels is limited by the speed at which the cultivator's brain processes information.

Although cultivators far surpass ordinary people, they still have their limits.

Receiving all the information within a radius of hundreds of miles in an instant would be difficult even for a master of music to process all the complex information.

However, Tianyan is right; they really should leave.

He couldn't gamble on the other side not discovering them in such a life-or-death situation.

"."

Be quiet for a while.

Xu Yuan sighed softly:

"I really have a jinx; I was just saying, 'What are you planning to do if you stay here for the rest of your life?'"

"."

Tianyan gently pursed his red lips, remaining silent as he turned to gaze at the lakeside cottage that was already taking shape.

The spray from the waterfall sprinkled sparsely onto her smooth, black hair, making it glisten and translucent, while her eyes held a complex mix of reluctance.

Xu Yuan watched from the side without urging them on.

This was the first time they had stayed in one place for so long, and the first time they had tried to renovate their little home.

Neither of them understood architectural design, and even with the blessing of Source Qi, Tianyan put a lot of effort into creating this Flying Swallow Pavilion with its upturned eaves.

The interior furnishings and layout need not be described in detail.

The bed, the table, and the carved window lattice were all crafted by her little by little during her spare time from cultivation.

After a long silence,

Xu Yuan asked in a low voice:

"You feel reluctant to part with it?"

Tianyan let out a soft breath, glancing at the flower field in front of the pavilion, where the buds were already about to bloom:

"It's a bit of a shame that the flowers haven't bloomed yet."

Xu Yuan listened to her soft murmurs, remained silent for a moment, then gently stroked the girl's head and smiled:

"Tianyan, judging from the Qi of that person just now, he should only be a mere Mortal Shedding."

Tianyan instantly looked up at Xu Yuan, her eyes filled with surprise. Of course, she understood the meaning behind his words:

"Are you crazy?"

Xu Yuan grinned:

"You just don't want to leave, don't you?"

Tianyan said irritably:

"I really don't want to leave, but that's Mortal Shedding, Dao Domain powerhouse. Do you think you can kill him, or do you think I can?"

Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the misty east and said:

"Over the years, the two of us have killed many Grandmaster, and even those at the Origin Beginning have reached twenty, but we haven't killed a single Mortal Shedding."

Tianyan's handsome brows furrowed even more, but he didn't interrupt.

Although this bastard in front of me is usually carefree and full of nonsense, he has never made a mistake in matters of principle.

Seeing Tianyan listening obediently to the side, Xu Yuan couldn't help but chuckle softly:

"I am naturally aware of the gap between the Origin Beginning and the Mortal Shedding."

After seven years on the run, despite his best efforts to avoid it, he still inevitably encountered several Mortal Shedding experts head-on.

Before the opponent unleashed their Dao Domain, Tianyan could basically fight back and forth, and Xu Yuan could also help support from the sidelines. However, once the opponent opened their Dao Domain, the battle turned into a one-sided crushing defeat.

As he spoke, Xu Yuan gently stroked the Sumeru Ring on his fingertip and continued in a low, melancholic tone:

"The biggest difference between the Origin Beginning and the Mortal Shedding Realm lies in the Dao Domain. If we kill him before he can unleash his Dao Domain, everything will be much easier to resolve."

Tianyan pondered for a moment, instinctively feeling it was impossible, but seeing his expression, he still asked softly:

What do you want to do?

Xu Yuan smiled slightly:

"First, they are in the light, while we are in the dark."

"It would be very difficult to launch a sneak attack."

Tianyan shook his head, directly rejecting Xu Yuan's suggestion.

Xu Yuan's expression remained unchanged. "That's not what I meant. They naturally won't let their guard down here in this perilous place."

While the high-level cultivators in this world aren't exactly glass cannons, there is indeed a phenomenon of "damage overflow" among the top combatants.

A full-force attack from Origin Beginning could indeed instantly kill a completely unprepared Mortal Shedding.

But this is on the premise that you are completely unprepared.

As he spoke, Xu Yuan flipped his hand, and a sapling half a meter long appeared in his palm:

"I'm going to use this."

"."

Upon seeing the sapling, Tianyan's eyes instantly turned wary, and he subconsciously took a half-step back in mid-air.

In the early days when the two didn't trust each other, that bastard Xu Yuan used this thing to deal with her quite a bit.

Even now, the moment the Charm God Tree Sapling was pulled out, the dormant Charm Poison within her body showed signs of boiling.

"Why did you take out the Charm God Tree Sapling?"

Xu Yuan shrugged, pointed east, and said with a low laugh:

"Don't worry, this thing is for dealing with that Mortal Shedding."

"How to deal with it?"

"What do you think I've been doing for the past six months?"

"Eating, drinking, and having fun."

That's just the surface.

"Hehe."

Tianyan cast a glance at the swindler.

Xu Yuan didn't care at all:

"There is a golden house in books. Most of the books I read are related to Daoism, Ghost Mist, Yingui, and I have learned many unknown secrets."

"The Yingui is a monster composed of pure soul power. Most of its attacks are manifested in the form of illusion. I plan to take advantage of this."

Having said that,

Xu Yuan simply reached out and broke off a small branch from the Charm God Tree Seed.

As soon as it broke, a unique fragrance wafted out from the broken end.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yuan directly enveloped the strange fragrance of his Source Qi.

This stuff is incredibly nourishing for him, but if Tianyan were to smell even a tiny bit of it, he'd probably have to go back to his room to change his underpants before leaving.

Xu Yuan casually put the Charm God Tree Seed back into his Sumeru Ring, then played with the foot-long branch in his hand, chuckling as he said:

"The Charm God Tree Seed is a wonderful thing; its entire body is imbued with the Enchanting God's power, and its yield is not much smaller than that of an adult Charm God Flower."

Tianyan stared at the slender branch that kept swirling between his long fingertips for several breaths:

"So, how do we get this over there?"

Xu Yuan chuckled, and a flame ignited in his other hand:

"We don't need to send this over; we can just wait here for them to come to us."

Tianyan's eyes flickered for a moment, and he understood Xu Yuan's meaning.

The Charm God Flower is colorless and odorless, and so is the Charm God Tree Seed.

The branches were burned to ashes, and the smoke, mixed with the surrounding white Ghost Mist, was completely undetectable.

Anyone who gets close to this place and inhales the smoke from the burning will be poisoned.

As a victim for seven years, Tianyan knew all too well the effects of this Charm Poison.

This plan seems feasible.

Just as I was thinking,

Buzz--

In the distant East, another surge of Source Qi erupted.

After a few breaths,

Another barely perceptible sound wave pierced through the Ghost Forest and whistled past the two of them.

Sensing this wisp of energy, Xu Yuan glanced at it sideways and let out a soft chuckle:

"Heh, looks like that guy isn't very bright; he failed to spot us on the first try."

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan stroked his chin and grinned:

"I remember that the Moon-Inviting Sect near All Swords Valley was founded on the Cultivation Method of Sound. This person who came should be a female elder. I wonder what she looks like."

"They'll find us in half a day at most."

Tianyan coldly interrupted Xu Yuan's speculation, turned around, and stepped into the air towards the pavilion. "Instead of thinking about these things, why don't you hurry up and make some arrangements?"

Xu Yuan looked at the girl's retreating figure and asked with a smile:

"What should we arrange?"

Tianyan continued walking, frowned, turned around, and said matter-of-factly:

"It's naturally an array."

Although Tianyan's mastery of array formations was not as great as Xu Xinyao's, as the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Oversight Pavilion, she had some knowledge of these methods of assisting cultivation.

Half a day was enough time for her to set up some simple formations to help the two fight.

Xu Yuan gently shook his head:

Are you planning to stay here?

"Otherwise? If I don't stay here, how can I create an opportunity for you to drug that Mortal Shedding?"

"."

Amidst the splashing sound of the waterfall, Xu Yuan chuckled and shook his head, quickly following behind:

"They've been hunting us for seven years, and they know almost everything about our methods. That probe just now must have shown they knew we were capable of detecting them."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan reached out and grabbed the girl's shoulder:

"In this situation, if we stay, do you think the other party will become suspicious?"

Tianyan was taken aback upon hearing this, and raised his hand to rub his temples:

"So, the other side used the method of sound detection only to roughly determine our location, and then used other means to track us."

"What do you want to do?"

"Setting a trap."

"Formation?"

No, no, no.

Xu Yuan shook his head, his eyes calm as a still pool, and said softly, "Tianyan, the most sophisticated traps often only require the simplest construction methods."

As they spoke, the two had already arrived in front of the attic.

Xu Yuan smiled and pushed open the door, pointing to the simple yet cozy interior of the room:

"Didn't you already engrave Sound-Blocking Array and Soul-Evasion Array in the building to prevent me from spying on you?"

Tianyan glared at him and snorted softly:

"This formation serves only as a warning; for those who Mortal Shedding, it is essentially useless."

"It doesn't matter."

Xu Yuan shrugged, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. A blazing crimson flame ignited in his palm, instantly setting the Enchantress Tree branch in his hand ablaze.

"It's enough to keep the mist from the burning branches of the Enchantress Tree inside this house."

"This is where we've lived for so long, they should at least come in and have a look around, shouldn't they?"

Having said that,

Xu Yuan gently tossed the branch in his hand into the house.

In their gazes,

The slender branches, wreathed in scorching flames, swirled in the air, but before they even touched the ground, they were consumed by fire, turning into colorless blue smoke that dissolved into the white mist inside the room.