Senior Sister, Save Me

Deep in the woods, up in an old camphor tree, Su Yu shifted her body, found a comfortable spot to half-lie among the branches, and chewed lazily on a piece of foxtail grass.

"Tsk, they're at it." Su Yu dangled her legs. "Junior brother, which side are you backing?"

Shen Qingzhou stood on a nearby branch, half his body hidden in the shadow cast by the leaves. Shen Qingzhou didn't make a sound, only watching the foggy clearing below.

The tricks of the few people down there were quite clear.

"Tail Fire and... Wall Water?"

It was hard to encounter practitioners of other traditions fighting within the sect, so watching more would be beneficial for the future.

Fang Wuji's alchemical fire style was fierce. Liu Yinghan's sword qi leaned cold and dim.

The scar-faced man leading them had a messy style, and the black-clad person's movement arts were rather unorthodox. The troublesome one was still that chubby rogue cultivator setting up the array.

The earth qi underground was being drawn out by array flags to turn into a dense fog. That earth-attribute style was heavy, and it even had the posturing of swallowing and digesting.

Wèi Earth.

Another Wèi Earth Tradition. It was the same style as the grey-robed person who tried to intercept and kill him halfway a few days ago, and that Yellowstone True Person.

How coincidental? Are there really this many cultivators practicing Wèi Earth, and I ran into all of them...

Things were far too coincidental. Shen Qingzhou turned his head to look at Su Yu, wanting to figure out if Su Yu had arranged it on purpose.

The sound of weapons clashing rang endlessly in the forest below.

Liu Yinghan's sword technique had a good foundation, and the white frost swept out by her long sword managed to block the scar-faced man of the Qi Refining Third Layer. Her sword qi was relatively sticky, dislodging a large part of the force from the broadsword's hack.

"Damn it, this bitch is a pain!" The scar-faced man cursed, the blade in his hand slowing by half a beat.

Fang Wuji's side was much more miserable. Fang Wuji only knew how to urge his alchemical fire, slapping forward with glowing red hands in a posture that looked quite terrifying.

That black-clad person didn't clash with him head-on at all, the twin stings in their hands picking blind spots to thrust through, forcing Fang Wuji to pull his hands back to block.

After a few rounds back and forth, Fang Wuji hadn't touched the black-clad person once, while sweat poured profusely from his own head.

The fog produced by the chubby rogue cultivator nearby was mixed with underground dampness, suppressing the alchemical fire on Fang Wuji's hands.

"Trash! Use your alchemical fire to burn his array flags!" Liu Yinghan shouted.

Liu Yinghan herself was already too busy dealing with the scar-faced man to spare any attention.

Hearing this, Fang Wuji was just about to turn around when the black-clad person directly delivered the twin stings, cutting off Fang Wuji's retreat.

"We're done for."

Su Yu yawned in the tree canopy. "This little tiger is about to have his blood let. His temper is too anxious, letting others lead him by the nose. That junior sister is not bad, but unfortunately, she's dragged down by her teammates."

Shen Qingzhou didn't speak, just staring fixedly at that chubby rogue cultivator.

"Junior brother, did you figure out any of the trick?" Su Yu looked over sideways.

"When walking out in the future, if you encounter this kind of array cultivator, either disrupt his array setup at the very first moment, or find a way to locate the array core and smash it with a single strike. Otherwise, once his array builds up momentum, it's equivalent to fighting in someone else's territory, where you're restricted everywhere."

Shen Qingzhou nodded.

The battle situation below soon gave rise to a twist.

"Oh come on, no martial virtue!"

Fang Wuji had fought for half a day without touching anyone, his temper flaring and his movements turning chaotic. The black-clad person took the opportunity to thrust upward with a groin-piercing sting, leaving Fang Wuji to shrink his body and block in a rush.

Fang Wuji propped up a fire shield. The scar-faced man seized the opening, slashing out horizontally with a blade.

The light barrier cracked. The broadsword swept across Fang Wuji's waist and ribs, cutting a large, bloody gash.

"Urgh, ah." Fang Wuji retreated two steps, blood spurting straight from the tear in his clothes. A thought popped into his mind: he would never come out to gallop around wildly again.

"Fang Wuji," Liu Yinghan called out, her sword becoming chaotic.

The scar-faced man raised his foot and kicked Liu Yinghan squarely in the lower abdomen. Liu Yinghan tumbled backward, her spine slamming against a tree trunk as she coughed up blood.

"Heh heh, little beauty, don't rush, your turn is coming right up." The scar-faced man strode forward with his blade.

"Make your move. Any later, and those two idiots really are going to be chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs. Oh right, take care of that fatty first."

Shen Qingzhou didn't make a sound. He flashed out from the shadows of the tree canopy.

The chubby cultivator was still staring at the array flags. A droplet of ink-colored water beaded through the fog, striking him directly in the back of the head.

Star-Felling Gold-Shattering Blade.

The fatty didn't even utter a sound before collapsing straight into the muddy ground. The moment he died, the small grey banner planted nearby lost its light as well. The surrounding earth qi and dense fog began to dissipate.

"Third brother!" The scar-faced man shouted at the top of his lungs, looking wildly left and right. "Who is it? Who's playing the ghost, get your ass out here!"

The black-assassin stopped moving, gripped his twin stings tight, and stared at the surrounding woods.

"What's the situation? Reinforcements or..." Fang Wuji and Liu Yinghan propped themselves up and stood, leaning against each other.

Wind brushed past the leaves, rustling through the forest.

The scar-faced man glanced at the black assassin. The fatty was dead, and someone was hiding in the dark; this business wasn't worth it.

"Fall back." The scar-faced man swung his blade through empty air toward Liu Yinghan's side and turned to run.

He had barely run two steps when a wave of pressure suddenly descended from deep within the forest.

The scar-faced man and the black assassin slowed their pace, their legs growing somewhat heavy and difficult to drag.

A middle-aged man wearing earth-yellow robes walked out from behind a tree trunk.

The middle-aged man glanced at the fatty's corpse on the ground, then turned his gaze back toward Fang Wuji's side.

"Absolute trash," the middle-aged man cursed.

The qi aura on this person was above the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

It's over, my life is at its end.

Fang Wuji's face turned pale as he inwardly lamented; wolves in front and tigers behind.

The scar-faced man and the black assassin didn't dare to move again, lowering their heads and bowing. "True Person..."

Troublemaking pieces of trash...

Huang Shi felt ill-omened and ignored the two of them.

His trip to Blackwind Market was originally to trade for some materials used in cultivating demonic arts, and to try his luck along the way; he hadn't intended to engage in any banditry. It was just that his subordinates had their own calculations and ran out to stir up trouble.

His gaze locked firmly onto the formless, substance-less wound on the back of the chubby cultivator's head. A familiar feeling—this technique...

He raised his head, looking toward the tree canopy where Shen Qingzhou had previously hidden.

"Gold qi hidden within the water element, silent and soundless, specifically harming the divine soul... Kan Water Lineage?" Yellowstone True Person spoke hoarsely. "Your Excellency... came for me?"

Up in the tree canopy, Su Yu lazily flipped over and muttered, "Ah, the real target has finally been baited out. Junior brother, you should understand now—this is the real big fish."

Shen Qingzhou stepped out from the shadows.

Shen Qingzhou understood. When Su Yu brought him to Blackwind Market and said they were going fishing, from the very beginning it wasn't to catch petty thieves; it was to kill this yellow-robed Daoist.

She had known all along that Yellowstone True Person would appear here, and he himself was the bait to draw out the big fish. Fang Wuji and Liu Yinghan had merely stumbled into the net by coincidence, alarming the prey ahead of time.

Yet how could she execute such precise judgment that the opponent would take the bait? This is simply too terrifying...

He gripped the Ripple-Pattern Sword, staring at Yellowstone True Person.

"So... it's you!"

Yellowstone True Person recognized Shen Qingzhou, and a killing intent surged within him. Never mind whatever background or backing you have, I'll kill you first and talk later.

"Very well! I had no intention of fighting here, but to think you actually dared set a trap and wait for me! Today, not a single one of you gets to leave!"

The ground beneath Yellowstone True Person's feet trembled. Several sharp earth spikes shot upward from beneath the feet of Shen Qingzhou and the other two.

The earth spikes arrived with extreme speed, far more dangerous than the array the chubby cultivator had previously wielded.

Liu Yinghan and Fang Wuji scrambled to dodge aside.

Shen Qingzhou didn't dodge; he raised the Ripple-Pattern Sword in his hand.

"I also think that not a single one of you gets to leave today."

Then he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Senior sister, save me!"