Ambush

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

Zhao Hangao came in from outside, drenched in sweat and looking utterly bedraggled.

The moment he saw Shen Changchuan, he shouted and nearly dropped to his knees.

"You're here, Brother Zhao. Get up, quickly. What happened?"

Shen Changchuan hurried to his feet and steadied him.

"Young Master, a Demon Beast from outside has attacked our village. I couldn't hold it off, so I came to ask for your help!"

"Please, Young Master, for the sake of how respectfully and obediently I've served you all these years, save my family and village!"

Zhao Hangao pleaded through tears and snot.

From his halting account, Shen Changchuan gradually pieced together what had happened.

It seemed that a Demon Beast had come down from the mountains last night and attacked Zhao Family Village.

After fighting it and losing, Zhao Hangao had no choice but to have the members of his Lineage hold it off for the time being while he hurried to Dawan Village to seek help.

"I see. How strong is the Demon Beast?"

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

After all, seven-tenths of the harvest from two Spirit Fields was at stake.

Shen Changchuan couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.

Still, he was a cautious man.

He would naturally learn the enemy's strength before deciding what to do, rather than rushing out like some reckless fool.

"Uh, around the peak of the fourth layer of the Qi Induction Realm."

Zhao Hangao hesitated for a moment at Shen Changchuan's question, then answered.

"Alright, Brother Zhao, lead the way. We'll set out now."

When he heard that the attacking Demon Beast was only at the peak of the fourth layer of the Qi Induction Realm, Shen Changchuan's heart finally settled.

He readily agreed to Zhao Hangao's request for help.

He was absolutely confident.

A month ago, he had slain the Crocodile Demon, a Demon Beast at the fifth layer of the Qi Induction Realm.

Now that his strength had improved again, was he really supposed to fear a mere fourth-layer monster?!

What a joke.

He was incredibly strong now!

Confidently, Shen Changchuan grabbed Zhao Hangao by the arm and started toward the door.

"Uh, wait, Young Master Shen. We're setting out just like this?"

"Of course. Do we need to prepare anything?"

"Rescuing someone is as urgent as putting out a fire. Let's hurry. If we delay, the village could suffer plenty of casualties."

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

Zhao Hangao sounded uncertain.

As far as he knew, Shen Changchuan was still at the peak of the third layer of the Qi Induction Realm.

Wouldn't going there alone just be feeding himself to the Demon Beast?

"No need to worry. I have my own methods."

Thinking back to their last meeting, Shen Changchuan had only been at the peak of the third layer of the Qi Induction Realm.

Perhaps Zhao Hangao doubted his strength.

But Shen Changchuan couldn't be bothered to explain. He simply urged him to leave.

If the Demon Beast destroyed the Spirit Grain Crop in the Spirit Fields, Shen Changchuan would suffer a heavy loss too.

"Then I'll be counting on you, Young Master!"

Zhao Hangao kept his head bowed, but a hint of delight seemed to flash in his eyes.

Shen Changchuan paid it no mind.

After informing Han Qinhu, he left Dawan Village.

Following Zhao Hangao's directions, he raced toward Zhao Family Village.

The two figures sped through the mountain forest, one after the other.

Towering trees and lush grass rushed past behind them.

At this rate, they would probably reach their destination in less than half an hour.

Along the way, Shen Changchuan made no effort to show off.

He could have used his perfected Light Body Technique to demonstrate speed beyond what someone at the fourth layer of the Qi Induction Realm should manage, impress Zhao Hangao, and bask in his shock.

But Zhao Hangao was a middle-aged man, not some beautiful young woman. Shen Changchuan had not the slightest desire to show off in front of him.

Besides, he was heading out to fight a Demon Beast.

When it came to a fight to the death, Shen Changchuan was always cautious.

So although he and Zhao Hangao would be two against one against a Demon Beast at the peak of the fourth layer of the Qi Induction Realm—with the advantage on their side—Shen Changchuan still did his best to conserve his magical energy.

That way, he would have as much of it as possible left when they reached Zhao Family Village.

So Shen Changchuan followed behind Zhao Hangao at an ordinary pace.

Along the way, Shen Changchuan asked a few questions about what had happened.

Zhao Hangao answered briefly.

To keep their breathing steady as they ran, neither of them said much.

And yet, for some reason, Shen Changchuan felt that something was amiss as he ran through the forest.

After they had gone some thirty or forty kilometers, with only twenty li left to Zhao Family Village, Shen Changchuan realized that the path seemed to be growing more and more remote.

It was as though they had entered a wilderness deep in the mountains.

Towering hundred-year-old trees grew unchecked, stretching toward the sky. Their dense leaves covered it completely.

Even the light from above struggled to reach the ground.

The surrounding woods grew dim.

Shen Changchuan stared at Zhao Hangao, who was leading the way, and felt a faint unease.

Something was wrong!

Ever since refining the Green Origin Water Grass, his divine sense had improved considerably. He could even perform internal inspection, something only cultivators in the late stages of Qi Induction could do.

Although he still couldn't send his divine sense outside his body, his strengthened mind had undoubtedly made him more perceptive of his surroundings.

Something was wrong.

It was too quiet!

On the way here, there had been birdsong and the cries of insects throughout the forest.

But after entering this stretch of dense woods, those sounds had vanished!

He didn't know why, but Shen Changchuan's heart quickly tensed.

He made no sudden moves.

Keeping pace behind Zhao Hangao, he silently activated the Spirit Eye Technique. A faint white glow rose in his eyes.

Shen Changchuan's gaze abruptly narrowed, and his heart felt as if an invisible hand had seized it.

Because at that moment, not far ahead, a concealed formation lay hidden underground. Several formation flags were buried among the inconspicuous grass, ready to spring into action at any moment!

At the same time, three figures were hidden behind the enormous tree trunks.

They had spread out, concealed so thoroughly that not a trace of their auras leaked out.

The three figures and the formation hidden in the ground formed a vast net, hanging silently ahead and waiting for its prey to enter!

"An ambush? But why?!"

Shen Changchuan looked at Zhao Hangao, who was slightly hunched over as he dutifully led the way.

He couldn't believe it.

Why would someone who had met him for the first time and acted so utterly humble join forces with others to ambush him?!

Didn't he know who Shen Changchuan was? Why would he do this?!

Why?!

Shen Changchuan simply couldn't make sense of it.

His heart sank.

At that moment, he was certain: Zhao Hangao must know about the trap concealed up ahead and the people lying in ambush behind it.

He was very likely one of them!

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

He had never told Zhao Hangao that his strength had improved recently.

As far as Zhao Hangao knew, Shen Changchuan was still only at the peak of the third layer of the Qi Induction Realm.

So, when a Demon Beast at the peak of the fourth layer attacked his village, how could a cultivator at the fourth layer who couldn't defeat it feel confident enough to run to Dawan Village and ask a mere cultivator at the peak of the third layer to help?

When Shen Changchuan had set out, Zhao Hangao hadn't tried to stop him on the grounds that the difference in their strength was too great.

On the contrary, after Shen Changchuan agreed, a hint of delight seemed to flash in Zhao Hangao's eyes.

There was no way that meant nothing!

Perhaps he was one of the masterminds behind this!

"Maybe he knew I was Shen Fuxing's son because he'd been watching me all along and had made me his target?!"

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Shen Changchuan's mind.

But they passed as quickly as they came.

He had no time to examine them closely.

The most important thing now was to deal with the immediate danger!

Shen Changchuan quickly considered how he might escape.

Turning around and running was out of the question.

According to what he sensed through the Spirit Eye Technique, the figure in the middle—and also the farthest away—was probably at the peak of the sixth layer of the Qi Induction Realm.

The others were scattered on either side.

One on the left was at the fourth layer of Qi Induction, and the other on the right was at the fifth.

They were too close.

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

Shen Changchuan wasn't sure whether his perfected Light Body Technique would let him escape while being hunted by an enemy at the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Induction and two others whose cultivation was no weaker than his own.

Most likely, it wouldn't.

So,

he had no choice but to fight for his life!

A vicious glint flashed through Shen Changchuan's eyes.

He had made up his mind.

His pace slowed.

"Young Master Shen, what's wrong?"

Noticing Shen Changchuan slow down, Zhao Hangao quickly stopped as well and looked at him with concern.

"Phew, phew. We've been traveling nonstop, and I'm running low on magic power. Brother Zhao, let's rest here for a bit."

"After all, once we reach Zhao Family Village, we'll have to fight that Demon Beast. We can't afford to be short on magic power."

They were still eight or nine zhang from entering the formation.

Shen Changchuan stopped, pretending that he had used up more than half his magic power, and panted slightly.

A flicker of anxiety passed through the depths of Zhao Hangao's eyes.

They were only a few zhang from the formation where they'd laid the ambush. Why had he stopped?

Caught in this awkward in-between, Zhao Hangao felt like an ant on a hot pan, scurrying around in circles inside.

Shen Changchuan seemed not to notice.

He turned his palm and produced two Spirit Stones, then approached Zhao Hangao with easy familiarity and held one out to him.

"Here, Brother Zhao. Don't worry. We can use Spirit Stones to recover our qi. It'll only take about a quarter of an hour."

As he spoke, he slipped a Spirit Stone into Zhao Hangao's arms.

Zhao Hangao instinctively reached out to take it.

However,

at that very moment,

Bang!

His hand, wrapped in magic power, drove a punch into Zhao Hangao's dantian at close range!

Caught completely off guard, Zhao Hangao took the blow head-on. His eyes bulged as the powerful magic power tore his dantian apart in an instant!

"Watch out!"

At the same time,

the figure hidden in the deepest part of the ambush, at the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Induction, was the first to react. Realizing something was wrong, he shouted a warning.

But,

it was already too late!

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

The fifth-layer Qi Induction cultivator hiding there didn't even manage to scream before he instantly lost his life.

"Second Brother!"

Only then did the figure hidden behind a tree trunk on the left react to the shout. He was horrified to see the head of his second brother, who had been lying in ambush on the right, burst apart!

"Fourth Brother! Watch out!!!"

The sixth-layer Qi Induction cultivator's roar rang out from the depths of the dim woods.

The figure lying in ambush on the left turned around,

only to discover in horror

five terrifying wind blades flying in a row, slicing through the air one after another as they slashed straight toward him!