"Where did these soldiers spring from? They look no different from ordinary troops, yet they're this hard to deal with!"
In the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran cast spells and formed hand seals, fending off the crowd's assault.
The two had traveled far and wide over the years, searching for the truth of Xi Ran's origins. After going in circles, they had returned to Guanzhong.
They were close to Great Hua Mountain, so when word came from their sect, they headed straight there. They had already started up the mountain when they fell into a trap. Two Daoists led a band of soldiers against them, driving them back to the foot of the mountain.
Xi Ran was in far worse shape than Chuiyunzi. Her hair hung loose, her clothes were torn in several places, and she barely dodged a flash of cold steel. "There's something deeply wrong with these people! They look like ordinary soldiers. How can they be this capable?"
As soon as she spoke, fierce gusts burst from the soldiers' swords and sabers. Mixed with a thick reek of blood, they howled toward the two.
Chuiyunzi formed a hand seal and planted the long banner he held in the ground. Its unfurled cloth gave off a weighty glow. The surrounding Earth Veins shifted, about to raise walls of earth for cover.
But the surge of Qi and Blood made the glow waver, scatter, and dim. Cracks instantly spread across the half-formed walls, and they crumbled like earth and shattered tiles!
Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran had grown familiar with this. They were in such a plight precisely because the waves of hot, surging Qi and Blood made their Legalism spells hard to take shape.
That brief obstruction bought them time and space.