Ambushed

"Many thanks for the reminder, Brother Fu," Qin Huaian said gratefully.

He bought another hundred portions of Spirit Grass for refining Qi Recovery Pills from Lin Family Elixirs, then bid Fu Jingwen farewell. He was preparing to return to the sect.

Qin Huaian did not return to the cave dwelling he had rented. He headed straight out of the city.

"Deduce the Breakthrough Essence Pill!"

[Consume 400 Spirit Stones for the Mirror Body to deduce the Breakthrough Essence Pill to beginner level, requiring 1 day; consume 800 Spirit Stones to halve the time required.]

"Consume 400 Spirit Stones for the deduction."

After leaving the city, Qin Huaian had the Mirror Body deduce the Breakthrough Essence Pill while he used Skystride Hundred Transformations to hurry toward the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect.

Between the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect and New Peace City lay several mountains. These were extensions of the Yellow Mountain Range. Though not as majestic as the main peaks occupied by the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, they were thick with dense forests, and many low-level demonic beasts roamed within.

About a third of the way there, Qin Huaian suddenly heard cultivators fighting ahead. Following the principle of minding his own business, he prepared to take a detour around them.

Just then, a cultivator covered in blood charged toward Qin Huaian. "Fellow Daoist, save me! I am from the Tian Family of the Qi Kingdom. My Tian Family will surely reward you handsomely!"

That cultivator was at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. Three cultivators at the same level were chasing him from behind, continuously sending wind blades flying at him.

Without a word, Qin Huaian turned and ran. What a joke. There were three Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivators behind him, and this man wanted him to save him? He was trying to get him killed! His great path of cultivation had only just begun.

Seeing Qin Huaian turn and flee so cleanly, the Tian Family cultivator ran toward him even more desperately. This was his only lifeline.

The three cultivators behind them also saw Qin Huaian, and worry appeared on their faces. He was actually a disciple of the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect. They often robbed passing Rogue Cultivators around New Peace City, but whenever they encountered disciples of the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, they usually avoided them if they could.

To run into a Yellow Mountain Sword Sect disciple at such a critical moment—and for the cultivator they were robbing to announce his identity—made them fear that this disciple would expose the matter.

Seeing that Qin Huaian had no intention of saving him, the Tian Family cultivator shouted again, "Fellow Daoist, I am Tian Zhen, son of the Tian Family head. I beg you to deliver news of my death to my father. My father will certainly reward you handsomely!"

Hearing this, the three cultivators immediately sped up and quickly caught the Tian Family cultivator. They flung out three Fireball Talismans. The Tian Family cultivator hurriedly raised a shield, but it could not withstand the power of the three Explosive Flame Talismans and soon shattered inch by inch.

At the line between life and death, the Tian cultivator's spiritual energy suddenly surged. With one slash, he split apart the fireball before his eyes and charged back at the three men.

"Not good, he used a Burst Essence Pill!" one cultivator shouted. "Second Brother, go after that Yellow Mountain Sword Sect disciple. We've been exposed—we can't let him get away. Third Brother and I will deal with this one. He took a Burst Essence Pill; he won't last long."

One cultivator chased after Qin Huaian, while the other two tangled with the Tian cultivator. He was already a spent arrow; even if he took a Burst Spirit Pill, he would not be able to hold on for long.

Seeing one of them chase after him, Qin Huaian sighed inwardly. Disaster really did fall from the sky. Couldn't everyone just cultivate peacefully? Why did they have to fight and kill?

The cultivator chasing him apparently possessed some Dharma Artifact that increased his speed. Qin Huaian had already used Skystride Hundred Transformations at major mastery, yet the distance between them continued to shrink.

Once they were close enough, the pursuing cultivator threw a fireball at Qin Huaian. Qin Huaian drew his flying sword and cleaved the fireball apart.

In that brief opening, the cultivator behind him had already caught up. "Kid, we normally don't provoke you Yellow Mountain Sword Sect people. You can only blame your bad luck."

As he spoke, the broadsword in his hand was already hacking toward Qin Huaian.

Qin Huaian raised his sword to block, and the two immediately clashed. Qin Huaian found that this cultivator's moves were exceptionally vicious, every strike aimed to take his life. But Qin Huaian's proficient Basic Swordsmanship had not been practiced for nothing. Moreover, his cultivation was already close to the Seventh Qi Refining Layer, and his spiritual energy surpassed this cultivator's. Qin Huaian gradually gained the upper hand.

No, he could not remain locked in a stalemate. If the other two caught up, he would undoubtedly die.

Qin Huaian secretly gripped the Seven-Star Bone-Piercing Needle in his hand. After feinting, he suddenly fired it. Seven Black Iron Needles shot toward the cultivator in an instant.

At such close range, the cultivator had no time to dodge. He swung his blade aside three Black Iron Needles aimed at his head, but the rest pierced into his body.

"Aah!" The cultivator screamed and staggered backward.

Qin Huaian took the chance to leap forward, sword sweeping out with the force of a rolling curtain. With a Black Cloud Covers the Summit, the tip of his sword sliced across the cultivator's throat, and the cultivator fell at once.

Qin Huaian flicked up the man's storage pouch with his sword. He did not even have time to pick up the fallen blade before turning and running.

He saw that the other two cultivators had already caught up. One of them seemed to have lost his entire left arm. It appeared that the Tian cultivator had already been dealt with, though the two had also suffered heavily.

"Second Brother!" one of them cried out in anguish.

"Kid, you'll be buried with my second brother!"

Damn it, you brought this upon yourselves. How is it my fault? Qin Huaian cursed inwardly.

He had to find a way to deal with them, or escaping would be difficult. Fortunately, one of them was already seriously wounded and had lost his left arm.

As he ran, Qin Huaian silently gathered a Fireball Technique.

He slowed slightly. Once both sides drew near, Qin Huaian suddenly turned around and fired the Seven-Star Bone-Piercing Needle at the uninjured cultivator. The cultivator hurriedly swung his sword to block it. Qin Huaian seized the chance to hurl out the fireball he had gathered.

"Just a Fireball Technique..." The cultivator dodged the Black Iron Needles. Seeing the fireball already flying toward him, he paid it little heed and prepared to split it apart with his sword.

"Big Brother, be careful! There's something strange about that fireball!" the one-armed cultivator shouted.

By then, the cultivator had no time to dodge. The fireball, containing thirty percent of Qin Huaian's spiritual energy, exploded in an instant and swallowed him like a tiny sun.

The same old trick—tried and true every time.

When the flames faded, the cultivator had been blasted onto his back and was barely clinging to life. Damaged armor showed through over his chest.

Without that armor, he would probably have been blown to ashes.

"Big Brother!" the one-armed cultivator cried mournfully, then turned and fled.

Qin Huaian stepped forward and slit the prone cultivator's throat with a single sword strike, finishing him off. Then he searched two storage pouches from his body.

"You still want to run? Weren't you having a great time chasing me just now?" Qin Huaian would not let the one-armed cultivator escape. As soon as he finished the man off, he gave chase.

The one-armed cultivator had suffered severe injuries after all. After running some distance, his speed slowed, and Qin Huaian quickly closed in on him.

The cultivator panicked. "Fellow Daoist, we have no great grudge or deep hatred between us. Spare me, and all my storage pouches will be yours."

Qin Huaian did not answer. He lunged forward and slashed with his sword. The one-armed cultivator hurriedly turned to block. After several exchanges, his moves had already become disordered.

Qin Huaian found an opening and thrust his sword into the one-armed cultivator's throat. The cultivator's eyes widened, his face full of unwillingness, as he slowly collapsed into his own pool of blood.

"Kill you, and the storage pouches are mine anyway," Qin Huaian murmured as he flicked up the man's storage pouch.