Can This Really Fall from the Sky?

Can This Really Fall from the Sky?

"Ci Jiu's aura has vanished, and that Ninth Stage of Spirit Transformation Du Xian Sect disciple has vanished as well. Something about this is strange."

Deep within the dense forest, in a hidden valley, several shadowy figures lay concealed amid a patch of bushes, communicating in low voices as they discussed something.

One of them cursed, "Most likely, he took the reward, killed the man, and left right away! Hmph! People like that simply can't be trusted. The subordinates we raise ourselves are still more reliable!"

"Is the Dragon Trapping Formation ready?"

"It has already been set up. It can definitely trap that Du Xian Sect True Immortal."

"Very good. Though the situation has changed, it shouldn't be much of a problem," the leader muttered thoughtfully. "Send word to the Fourth Young Master later. Arrange for some people to deliberately intercept and kill him, drawing that Du Xian Sect True Immortal over.

"We'll personally seize those two disciples and bring them into the trapping formation, then lure that True Immortal into it as well.

"This concerns the grand cause of restoring the kingdom. The Sixth Princess is our best opportunity. This time, we must control the Sixth Princess, and let the Fourth Young Master have his wish fulfilled while we're at it."

The shadowy figures chuckled. The leader made a fist-clenching gesture, and the others scattered in all directions, swiftly disappearing.

Half a day later, several men in black ambushed Yuan Qing and Youqin Xuanya. Yuan Qing decisively crushed a Message Talisman.

Jiu Jiu, who had been sitting cross-legged in the air above Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er, suddenly tensed and shot toward the southwest. Yuwen Ling barely managed to keep up with Jiu Jiu's figure and followed behind her.

The moment Jiu Jiu departed, over a dozen auras surged up from below. Two Qi Refiners of the Dao Attainment Realm directly launched a sneak attack, knocking Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er unconscious and taking them away.

Half an hour later, Jiu Jiu hurriedly flew back, while Yuwen Ling remained above Yuan Qing and Youqin Xuanya, secretly protecting them.

By then, Jiu Jiu had also caught a whiff of something unusual. But she had rushed off too quickly. By the time she found Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi, she had already fallen into a great formation. White mist covered the ground around her, and no matter which direction her immortal sense probed, all she saw was endless whiteness.

Tucking Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er beneath her arms, Jiu Jiu flew wildly through the trapping formation. Never skilled in formations to begin with, she soon realized she was simply circling in place.

"Good thing that big general went to guard Yuan Qing and Xuan Ya."

Jiu Jiu had just breathed a sigh of relief and tried to calm herself to consider how to break the formation when Li Changshou's warning from when they entered the Treasure Forest of Chaotic Miasma surfaced in her mind:

'Martial Uncle Jiu, those of unknown origins are always somewhat suspicious. Do not trust them lightly.'

Could Yuwen Ling be...

Cold sweat immediately beaded on Jiu Jiu's forehead.

One link after another—she seemed to have fallen into their trap from the very beginning!

How was Li Changshou doing? His cultivation was the lowest. Could these people have already killed him?

These people were most likely after Xuan Ya and Yuan Qing. How had she failed to notice earlier?!

Jiu Jiu could not help but curse, "You petty vermin! If you have the guts, come out and fight this immortal for three hundred rounds! What kind of Qi Refiners use such ghostly tricks?!"

Yet within the formation, there were only swarms of poisonous insects and a few equally lost poisonous beasts. There was not the slightest response.

"Ahh!"

Jiu Jiu tossed the unconscious pair onto the ground and stomped about in frustration. The cords holding together a certain area of her rough linen short shirt were suddenly under immense strain and on the verge of giving way.

"Formations are seriously the most annoying thing ever!"

Immortal-Resolving Grass... This thing really is hard to find.

On the twelfth day after entering the Northern Continent of Julu, after leaving the Treasure Forest of Chaotic Miasma, Li Changshou traveled another sixteen hundred or so li northwest and arrived "on time" at the area marked on his map.

This region spanned roughly three hundred li in every direction, containing hills, swamps, the ends of mountain ranges, and other complex terrain. Since it lay somewhat deeper within the Northern Continent of Julu, the poisonous beasts and insects were far fiercer than those at the outskirts.

Li Changshou remained extremely vigilant as he carefully searched for the "poison grass" he sought. Yet after six consecutive days of searching, he had gathered quite a few varieties of poisonous grass and Spiritual Medicine, but his "main objective" in coming to the Northern Continent of Julu still showed no trace.

That afternoon, he suddenly encountered a "poison rain." The rain falling from the sky was itself highly toxic.

Li Changshou did not dare move carelessly. He found a nearby cliff, carved a hole into its face, and drilled inside. His spiritual sense scanned every corner of the rock wall as he waited for the rain to stop before continuing his search for herbs.

Over the past six days, he had nearly searched this entire region, yet he still could not find any sign of the Immortal-Resolving Grass.

Immortal-Resolving Grass, Immortal-Resolving Grass, why play hide-and-seek like this? Wouldn't it be better for us to just meet already?

Li Changshou yawned, sat cross-legged in the cave, and adjusted his condition to its peak.

He had learned from an Ancient book that Immortal-Resolving Grass grew in this region.

Coming here to search directly was the least costly way to obtain this herb. If he truly could not find it, Li Changshou had decided that on his way back, he would try his luck in the town they had passed through before.

Even if he had to spend every spirit stone and treasure he had accumulated over the past century through cheating, swindling—cough—frugal living, it would still be worth it if he could trade for a stalk of Immortal-Resolving Grass.

If that path failed as well...

Then Li Changshou would have no other choice but to return to the mountain and make further plans.

The rain had come suddenly, but showed no sign of leaving anytime soon.

Li Changshou rarely had a chance to rest, so he relaxed his tightly wound mind a little. Though he had a small amount of Crimson Sun Poison Dragon Saliva and had thus remained untouched by poisons, in such a dangerous place, it was difficult for him to tell himself there was no need to worry.

Martial Uncle Jiu should be all right.

Thinking again of the Qi Refiner he had killed nine days earlier, Li Changshou took out the Soul-Capturing Bead, intending to look through those memory fragments again. Yet the remnant soul within had long since dissipated.

Forget it. It had nothing to do with him anyway.

This group had planned everything carefully, and they even had Yuan Qing, that big warm-hearted fool, as an inside man. With Martial Uncle Jiu's brains... she should have been easily tricked into the formation.

Martial Uncle Jiu had high cultivation and a fairly lovable temperament, but she was sometimes far too impulsive. Once the alcohol got to her head, she would act without a care.

It was a pity about Youqin Xuanya. After cultivating in the immortal sect for so long, she still could not escape the Royal Authority struggles of the Mortal World. And the childhood friend who had constantly showered her with attention was actually the one with the most sinister intentions.

Li Changshou had never considered himself a hero, nor did he have any obligation to save a Princess or change anyone else's fate. In his eyes, Youqin Xuanya was merely a particularly beautiful "troublemaker." He would avoid such great karmic entanglements whenever possible, and even if he could not avoid them, he could not allow himself to be dragged in...

Rumble—

Thunder suddenly rolled overhead. Li Changshou began checking the various resources he had left.

He had sufficient pills, sufficient talismans, and enough Crimson Sun Poison Dragon Saliva for another nine days—enough to finish investigating this region and leave calmly. If he moved faster afterward and finished searching this area, he could even search farther north or west.

"Immortal-Resolving Grass, Immortal-Resolving Grass, your old buddy is getting very irritated."

Boom!

The cliff face suddenly shuddered. That frequency of vibration...

Li Changshou rapidly spread out his spiritual sense and soon spotted something unusual in the clouds overhead. The clouds had formed a vortex, lightning flashing within it, as though something were about to squeeze its way out.

He calculated with his fingers. The arts of Heaven and Earth had shifted!

Li Changshou spread a layer of protective dharma power around himself, immediately rushed from the cave, and swiftly descended toward the ground, preparing to use the Cloud-Probing Dragon Step.

But just as he landed, a thunderous roar sounded overhead. A fiery red figure burst from the vortex and crashed into the ground like a falling bolt of lightning.

The figure landed precisely three zhang ahead of Li Changshou's intended landing spot, splashing mud everywhere.

Li Changshou quickly retreated, three paper effigies already clasped in his palm.

Yet when he clearly saw the figure enveloped in a pale red barrier, Li Changshou's brows drew together slightly.

This...

Had the heavens decided that digging up Spiritual Medicine and poisonous grass was making his life too comfortable, so they had deliberately added some difficulty to his task?

Or had he offended some malign fate on this journey, and this was the minor calamity written into his destiny, one he could not avoid?

The figure before him, clad in a fiery red immortal dress, was none other than—Youqin Xuanya.

She was badly injured. A wound so deep it reached the bone marked her left shoulder. Blood mixed with poisonous rainwater and ran down her jade-like arm. The Greatsword clenched in her right hand had lost its Sword sheath, and several spiderweb-like cracks covered its blade...

She had at least a dozen wounds across her body, though all had avoided vital areas.

As Li Changshou recognized her, Youqin Xuanya also saw a figure ahead through the curtain of rain. She lowered her head and spat out blood, determination flashing in her eyes. Leaning on her Greatsword, she slowly stood, but then found the figure somewhat familiar...

Li Changshou frowned. His spiritual sense had spread out, yet he could not detect any pursuing enemies.

Recalling the disturbance just now, Youqin Xuanya had clearly used some life-saving treasure to teleport directly here through the arts of Heaven and Earth.

The troublesome part was that she had landed here of all places.

If he watched a fellow disciple die without helping, and Youqin Xuanya survived to report him to the sect, that would be troublesome enough. But Li Changshou had no desire to become involved in this conflict. It had nothing to do with him to begin with.

Though being reported would indeed be troublesome, at most they would deduct some of his monthly stipend or something...

"Ah, the rain is so heavy. My vision is completely blocked. I can't see a thing."

Li Changshou muttered softly, calmly turned around, faced the cliff behind him, and rapidly formed the Magic incantation for Earth Evasion with both hands.

Waiting online for a Foolish Old Man!

Urgent!

"Chang... Changshou, Senior Brother?"

Youqin Xuanya stared in stunned disbelief at Li Changshou's back through the rain. She lowered her head and coughed out blood, then urgently cried, "Go quickly, don't worry about me! Your cultivation is too low, and there are too many of them..."

Before she could finish, Youqin Xuanya's eyes helplessly closed. Her aura completely descended into chaos as her injuries erupted. She and her sword collapsed into the muddy ground.

Lightning flashed amid the dark clouds overhead, and the sound of rain grew even more deafening.

"Fine. Since you still have some conscience, I'll use Earth Evasion to take you part of the way."

After that, I truly won't be able to help you. You'll have to leave it to fate...