Immortal Thieves

In the game Ancient Immortal Court, players farmed and developed their sects, usually suffering interference from the Nether, Beast Tides, and unruly rogue immortals.

Of these, unruly rogue immortals were the most frequent threat.

Rogue immortals were immortals who did not belong to the Immortal Court's official ranks, the disciples of immortal sects, or the residents of immortal cities.

Resources were hard for rogue immortals to come by, and they had no righteous path to restrain them. Aside from a few free spirits who roamed the heavens and earth, most would fall into depravity and become unruly rogue immortals, commonly known as Immortal Thieves.

This was especially true in remote immortal regions, where Immortal Thieves ran rampant and even organized themselves to burn, kill, loot, and plunder.

The Immortal Realm was far too vast for the Immortal Court to completely suppress Immortal Thieves. At most, it could rely on Immortal Commoners to report them, then issue bounty notices to capture them.

That gave Lu Ya an idea.

If he used Bamboo Spring Sect as a base to farm and deliberately lured Immortal Thieves into robbing them, then after wiping them out in a counterattack, he could both loot their spoils and collect the bounty.

Hmm...

I really am a salted-fish genius.

Bamboo Spring Sect wasn't remote, but it didn't have any resources worth stealing, either.

But the land Bamboo Spring Sect stood on was a treasure: rich in spiritual energy, level terrain, and abundant springs. It would make a fine place to farm or build a city.

Just as Lu Ya had thought, many Immortal Thief organizations coveted the land Bamboo Spring Sect occupied.

They simply feared Liu Xuanye's legendary demonic arts and had never dared make a move. The moment Liu Xuanye suffered a cultivation deviation or failed to overcome a tribulation, they would swoop in and steal a chicken.

Now their chance had arrived.

The celestial phenomenon Lu Ya had caused looked much like one brought on by a cultivation deviation or a failed tribulation. It was enough to make certain rogue immortals, who had been waiting for the right moment, pour out in force.

And sure enough—

A hundred miles north of Bamboo Spring Sect, an Immortal Boat came hurtling toward them!

Ning Zhongzi thought, At a time like this, you, Lu Ya, still have the mind to eat?

Are you really not afraid at all?

Or are you so nervous that you need to eat?

Ning Zhongzi couldn't make Lu Ya out.

"Immortals can abstain from food for a hundred years, taking in spiritual energy instead. They can go for years without eating or drinking. I only have pills here, but they might help you reach Immortal Monarch sooner."

How could a real man take pills?

Lu Ya curled his lip.

"If you can't eat or drink, who'd want to be an immortal?"

"The enemy's already on the way, and you're still thinking about food?"

"With a great battle at hand, you need to restore your health, replenish your energy, and eat your fill. Isn't that common sense?"

Replenish your energy...

Ning Zhongzi's willow brows twitched, and her chest rose and fell. She turned to the two little girls and said:

"Go to my Bamboo Cottage and see if there are any grain cakes left from last time. While you're at it, pour Young Master Lu a cup of spirit tea."

Muyu Feifei immediately threw a tantrum.

"So you do have some, you old wet nurse! Didn't you say there weren't any left?"

"You said there were none for us, but the moment Lu Ya asks, you give him some. Do men really matter that much more to you?"

Two loud knuckle raps landed on their heads.

Only then did the two little girls trudge away.

They went down the path beside the Sword Terrace and headed for the nearby Bamboo Cottage where the elders lived.

Meanwhile.

Beside Lu Ya.

Liu Xuanye sat cross-legged on a round boulder at the cliff's edge, eyes closed as she circulated her power. Her inner sea of qi surged, and her sword intent rolled like a tide.

Listening to Lu Ya fool around and trade barbs with her senior sister and Muyu Feifei stirred up a few memories in her heart.

Bamboo Spring Sect hadn't been this lively in over a thousand years.

Had she persisted for a thousand years just to wait for a mortal?

She didn't believe in the Heavenly Dao.

Yet she bowed her head to fate.

The man before her was far too detached, even calmer than she was. Was there any explanation other than fate?

"You trust me that much?"

Liu Xuanye spoke calmly.

"Of course."

Lu Ya gave Liu Xuanye a closer look and realized that this rich fairy really was extraordinary.

Trapped by the restrictions inside her Immortal Platform, she suffered fierce, twisting pain throughout her body, from her lower abdomen to every meridian. If she tried to overcome a tribulation and advance a rank, she would wish she were dead.

Yet her expression was always aloof and solemn, with a hint of languor, as if she were utterly indifferent...

Without the restrictions inside her, her talent might have made her an Immortal Emperor long ago.

That couldn't help reminding Lu Ya of the legendary female BOSS in the game...

"I was thinking, if you made good use of your husband-killing constitution, dressed a little prettier, and spoke a little more suggestively, forget men—even women wouldn't be able to resist. They'd all fall at your sword intent. Then who would dare bully Bamboo Spring Sect?"

"You want me to do that?"

Liu Xuanye asked coldly.

Lu Ya suddenly felt a little green over the head.

"Ahem, it's just a combat strategy. As long as it saves your life at a crucial moment, that's all that matters."

Liu Xuanye smiled and said nothing.

Before long.

Muyu Feifei returned to the Sword Terrace with a large cake and a cup of spirit tea for Lu Ya.

Since Ning Zhongzi had originally made those cakes for them, the two girls were more than a little reluctant to hand them over to Lu Ya.

"Here. Now we're even."

"No, we're even with the Three Pure Ones!"

What the hell did the Three Pure Ones have to do with it?

Lu Ya was hungry and thirsty, so he picked up the spirit tea and gulped down a mouthful.

A wave of tea essence, like ripples, instantly seeped into his spleen!

Unfortunately, it tasted so bitter and astringent that he could almost savor all the flavors of life.

Lu Ya realized that the tea had been made with too much emphasis on nourishing its spiritual properties, at the expense of the taste ordinary mortals expected from tea. It was quite bitter and astringent, rich in spiritual nourishment but lacking in fragrance and smoothness.

Then he looked at the grain cake in his hand. It was the size of a human face and half an inch thick, baked golden brown and sprinkled with scallions. It gave off an indescribably intoxicating aroma.

"This is... a wife cake?"

Ning Zhongzi rolled her eyes at him.

"What wife cake? It's a Fairy Cake made from spirit wheat. One bite is enough to fill a mortal's stomach."

Lu Ya curiously took a bite.

It was soft, and an immortal aura wafted from it.

Unfortunately, it was like the spirit tea: rich in spiritual nourishment, but dry in the mouth. It could barely satisfy his hunger.

Looks like he'd have to cook for himself from now on and make something weird to eat...

Seeing Lu Ya eat with such gusto, Muyu Feifei scrambled onto his shoulders, stretching her neck as far as it would go.

"Could you share some with me? I'm really scared right now, and I really need something to eat."

"Me too."

The Fairy Cake wasn't as tasty as he'd imagined, but Lu Ya wasn't about to spoil those two brats again.

"Didn't you just eat an Azure Phoenix?"

"I'm pitiful, weak, and helpless... but I can eat a lot."

"Me too."

"Get lost."

Ning Zhongzi's willow brows twitched, but she couldn't bring herself to get angry.

This scene before her might be Bamboo Spring Sect's last moment of joy.

The terrifying spiritual pressure drew closer and closer.

It loomed overhead like dark clouds before the storm.

At some point, a fierce wind had begun to howl along the cliff, whistling through the pines and bamboo.

Muyu and Feifei clutched Lu Ya's clothes in fright.

Liu Xuanye said nothing, her blue gauze robes snapping in the wind.

Ning Zhongzi's chest rose and fell, her gaze suddenly turning grave.

The sun had already set.

The wind abruptly stopped.

A pitch-black Immortal Boat hovered in the air before the Sword Terrace.

In Ancient Immortal Court, Immortal Boats were high-end gear. They flew faster than sword-riding, carried more than a flying sword, and used less energy than a teleportation array. They were practically mobile abodes for travel and daily life.

Immortal Thief organizations especially loved building Immortal Boats.

The first time Lu Ya had seen an Immortal Boat flying through the air, he'd thought it was the Immortal Pirate King...

The Immortal Boat before him wasn't very big. It was long and narrow, with a wooden keel and a body as black as night.

Its Immortal Crystal engine room was huge, and wind-element formations covered its surface. It was probably a fast boat!

Eleven black-robed rogue immortals stood on the deck with their hands behind their backs. They wore masks, and identical lotus emblems were stamped on their chests.

All eleven were Immortal Masters. The weakest was a three-star Immortal Master, and three of them were nine-star Immortal Masters.

All eleven stood with their hands behind their backs, looking down from on high like celestial soldiers. Black robes, black masks, black boat—the mass of black gave off an oppressive darkness.

Night had fallen.

Lu Ya drank his tea and ate his cake as he looked up at the sky.

It was his first time seeing an Immortal Thief organization in matching uniforms. They looked pretty intimidating.

On top of that, there seemed to be someone at the threshold of Immortal Sect Master hidden in the fading sunset.

They had organization, discipline, tactics, and even masks made specifically to guard against Liu Xuanye.

It seemed this group had been eyeing Bamboo Spring Sect for quite some time...

Dark clouds pressed down on the city, threatening to crush it.

Liu Xuanye still sat with her eyes closed, circulating her power, her heart as still as water.

The two little girls jumped down from Lu Ya's shoulders, clinging tightly to his clothes. They didn't dare speak, no longer fierce little tigers as they had been before.

Lu Ya gnawed on his Fairy Cake and casually asked Ning Zhongzi:

"Who are these people?"

"The Black Lotus, a rogue immortal organization made up of twelve former disciples of the White Lotus Sect. They've been watching Bamboo Spring Sect for a long time. Eleven are Immortal Masters, and one is at the threshold of Immortal Sect Master. I haven't seen where that one is."

"Oh."

Lu Ya didn't say much. He'd see what Liu Xuanye could do in a fight first. Anyway, with him around, there wouldn't be any danger, and there was no such thing as an injury that couldn't be healed in a second.

He thought, If I have to do everything myself, what's the point of being invincible? Isn't it more fun to watch women fight? I can just lend a hand at the crucial moment!

At that moment.

The eleven people on the deck of the Black Boat were also secretly observing Liu Xuanye.

The sky grew darker and darker.

The calm atmosphere hid danger on all sides.

Then one of the eleven slowly removed her mask.

She was a fierce old woman with a face full of coarse flesh, a nine-star Immortal Master!

She alone could match Liu Xuanye in combat power, and that was before even taking Liu Xuanye's injuries into account.

As an old woman, she wouldn't be affected by Liu Xuanye's restriction, either, so she spoke with plenty of bravado.

"So it was only a cultivation deviation... Liu Xuanye, you're already a nine-star Immortal Master, yet you don't even dare face a tribulation? Or do you know you're guilty and fear the Heavenly Dao will strike you dead?"

The old woman's voice was extremely deep, and it carried an unsettling, vibrating pressure.

Liu Xuanye still said nothing.

The old woman continued:

"Your cultivation deviation brought about this celestial phenomenon. It's proof that you're a demoness. Surrender, and we won't kill you. We'll only send you to the Immortal Court. Whether you live or die will be up to fate."

"Send her to the Immortal Court?"

Ning Zhongzi gave a solemn, mocking laugh.

"Once a thief, always a thief. Even now, you still want to wash your hands of it... or were you the White Lotus Sect's hidden hand all along, stealing under the guise of righteousness?"

"You—"

The old woman's face darkened. She still hadn't received the order to attack from her senior brother, Yunzhongzi, so she could only keep trying to draw Liu Xuanye into speaking.

"Nothing you say will change anything. Liu Xuanye is a demoness who brings disaster to men. Everyone has the right to kill her."

"A disaster to men? Then who is he?"

Ning Zhongzi abruptly changed the subject and pointed at Lu Ya.

Lu Ya had been eating his cake and watching the show. Ning Zhongzi had suddenly called him out, leaving him with the awkward feeling of being some kind of tool.

He could only wave at the sky and say:

"Hello, everyone."

"Heh. At a time like this, you think you can prove Liu Xuanye isn't a demoness just by finding some mortal?"

Ning Zhongzi said:

"Young Master Lu is the Sect Master's Dao Companion. Of course he can prove it."

The old woman focused her divine sense and examined Lu Ya from head to toe. He really was just a mortal.

"How can a Dao Companion in name prove anything?"

Trying to get something for nothing?

Lu Ya was speechless.

The old woman sneered again.

"Perhaps he isn't a man at all, but a woman disguised as a man and using a voice-changing immortal art."

Lu Ya didn't want to bicker with an old woman, but since this involved his gender, he had to set the record straight.

After all, back in the game, he'd given himself a super-sized treasure.

"We're all immortals. Why guess about something like this? I'm not using spiritual pressure to shield myself, and I'm not wearing clothes that block divine sense."

At that, everyone instinctively extended their divine sense.

Suddenly, silence fell.

The old woman's wrinkled face stiffened, and she couldn't say a word.

Ning Zhongzi's face flushed in an instant. She felt she could never look at Lu Ya the same way again.

Muyu Feifei had wanted to probe Lu Ya, too, but Ning Zhongzi knocked her unconscious with two sharp flicks to the head.

Liu Xuanye, however, kept her eyes closed and focused on circulating her power, undisturbed by any of it.

Seeing that he'd silenced everyone, Lu Ya took big bites of his flatbread and small sips of tea. He looked up at the sky and urged them on.

"If you can fight, then stop flapping your gums. You're all here already, so what's the point of probing? Hurry up and attack. Once you're done, I'll see what treasures you've got aboard your ship."

Liu Xuanye:

"..."

Ning Zhongzi:

"..."

The old woman:

"..."

The ten masked men:

"..."

A certain half-step Immortal Sect Master hidden in the clouds:

"..."