Chapter 6: Ambush Battle, Mystical Arts Showdown

  Xu Yang suppressed the shock in his heart. The three Xuan Masters made their move simultaneously. The Qi Men's bitter training team was doomed to be annihilated here.

  Xu Yang, who was watching from the side, was also shocked. As for Song Ren and other members of the Qi Men Ku Xiu team, who were in a desperate situation, their bitterness can be imagined.

  "We are just outer disciples of the Qimen Daochang, not true Qimen people!" Liu Zishan shouted, "I am willing to leave the Qimen Daochang and join the Huoyun Daochang! I beg of you, esteemed guides, to take me in!"

  "It's interesting," said Hong Xizhi, pale and thin, with a smile. "Song Ren, your Qi Men Daochang is not doing well, and the disciples under you are all begging to transfer to my Huo Yun Daochang."

  Scar-faced Wei Haoshan said impatiently, "Kill them all at once, don't let the news leak out." He took the lead, and with a punch, he struck Song Ren.

  This punch was vigorous and sonorous, a fiery red Xuanli burst out, not only Song Ren who was in the lead, but also the Qi Men Dao Chang disciples behind him were shocked, feeling the intense fire Xuanli.

  "Inner power, outer release, this is the realm of a Xuan Shi...!" Xu Yang watched from the side as Wei Hao Shan's fist was accompanied by a faint sound of a tiger's roar. The fire Xuan energy that was released had a faint shape of a young tiger, and his heart shook, "This scar-faced Xuan Shi, has already reached the pinnacle of Xuan Shi cultivation, approaching that of a Xuan Shifu!"

  Song Ren's face was overcast, and he couldn't withstand even one Wei Haoshan, let alone the later-stage Xuan Shi masters Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo who were also attacking from the sides. He could only condense his Xuan Qi to meet the enemy head-on.

  Song Ren's body shook, his bones crackling with a loud noise. A dark yellow earthy energy condensed on both of his fists. He slammed them into the ground with a loud crash, and when he pulled them out again, two massive fist guards made of rock-like material had appeared, extending to his elbows.

  "Drink it!" Song Ren's dark yellow giant fist struck, Xuan Li received the blow, and a loud explosion sounded, with shattered stones and mud splashing everywhere.

  "Alright, as expected it's the Earth Extreme Mystic Power, skilled in defense, come again!" Wei Haoshan's eyes lit up, his entire skeletal system crackling like a string of pearls, his aura suddenly rising to a higher level. With a stern gaze and a loud shout: "Lingering Flame Spear!"

  Wei Haoshan's Huo Xuanli suddenly condensed into a huge flame spear and shot towards Song Ren.

  Song Ren felt the scorching flames, his hair and eyebrows had a faint scent of burnt smell, his heart skipped a beat, his hands touched, and the earth's power burst out, condensing into a thick and sturdy giant shield like a mountain.

  "Lingyan Gun, a mid-grade Xuan technique for humans, while Song Ren's 'Xuantu Shield' is only a low-grade human technique. Moreover, Wei Haoshan's strength surpasses Song Ren by a notch, so this round of Xuan technique comparison should be able to determine the winner." Xu Yang's eyes flickered as he secretly analyzed.

  At the same time, Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo also rushed into the crowd of ascetic disciples in the Qi Men Dao Chang with a strange smile.

  This is a massacre. Without having cultivated the Xuanli vortex, the Xuan disciples are powerless to block the two late-stage Xuan masters.

  It's not that no one resisted, but Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo didn't use any mysterious techniques, relying solely on their physical strength to send those who resisted flying with a mere lift of their hands, the sound of shattering bones echoing constantly.

  Weihao Mountain's "Lan Yan Gun" shot Song Ren's "Xuan Gui Shield" into dark yellow scattered Xuan Qi, dispersing everywhere.

  Song Ren spat out blood, his body was blown away by the immense power of "Lan Yan Gun", and his chest bone was broken. In the process of being blown away, he coughed painfully, and small pieces of internal organs were spewed out.

  "Hmph, the late-stage strength of a Xuan Shi is one realm lower than mine. You think you can contend with me?" Wei Haoshan sneered, just as a disciple from the Qi Men Dao field happened to run past him. He chased after the disciple and slapped him into a meat patty.

  The strength of the Xuan Shi far surpasses that of the Xuan Tu. After condensing the Xuan Li vortex, the Xuan Li will automatically improve one's physique and enhance physical strength. This Wei Haoshan, without using his Xuan Li, has a physical strength exceeding 50 jin, which is ten times that of an ordinary Xuan Tu.

  A dozen or so dark disciples were fundamentally unable to pose any threat and were killed off by three dark warriors like wolves.

  "Please, three masters, spare my life. I am willing to join the Huoyun Sect..." Liu Zishan had not dared to resist, kneeling on the ground with his hands clasped together in supplication, knocking his head repeatedly.

  Three guides from Huoyun Daochang exchanged a glance and simultaneously revealed a sly smile.

  "You're that guy who dug up the Ash Grass? It's quite interesting, but today's matter can't be leaked out." Hong Xi said in a low voice.

  "Disciples must keep their mouths shut like a bottle!" Liu Zishan was overjoyed, took the leather bag and presented it, "This is the ash grass collected by the disciple, please accept it with a smile."

  Hong Xi took over the pouch and hummed, casually picking up the ash grass. Having reached the Xuan Shi boundary, this kind of ungraded ordinary medicine was already somewhat looked down upon by him.

  "How can I trust your guarantee?" Hong Xi sneered, "This time, we three didn't even bring the disciples of our own sect... You say, we don't even trust the disciples of our own sect, how can we trust you, an outer sect disciple?"

  Liu Zishan's face turned pale again.

  "And what's more, this place doesn't just grow Ashen Grass, but also... Flame Blossoms," Hong Xi said in a soft voice. "You think the people of Huoyun Daochang are fools? After discovering Ashen Grass, we wouldn't investigate further? It seems you're not only weak-boned, but also very greedy."

  Liu Zishan's face turned pale as paper, he trembled and searched from his waist for a small pouch, handed it over, and sobbed: "It's all because of the disciple's momentary confusion, please forgive me, Master!"

  "That's enough, stop playing cat and mouse," Wei Haoran walked up, snatched the Flame Flower, and coldly sneered, "You'd better give up, kid. Next year on this day will be your doom."

  As Wei Hao Ran raised his palm, Liu Zi Shan's face was filled with terror. He suddenly shouted: "No, there is still someone...there is still one person in our team who hasn't died!"

  Wei Haoran's arm dropped, and he was somewhat curious.

  "Who else?"

  "If I speak out, will you let me go?" Liu Zishan asked with a hopeful face.

  "Hmm, if what you said is true, I'll spare your life. What's wrong with that?" Hong Xi sneered, a thick layer of mockery flashing in his eyes.

  "That person is called Xu Yang, not a disciple of the Qi Men Daoist temple. When we found the ashes grass, he said he was going to relieve himself and never came over..." Liu Zishan muttered, his lips trembling like a bamboo tube pouring out beans.

  "Hmm, interesting." After hearing that, Hong Xi asked twice more about Xu Yang's attire and appearance. With a casual slap, he hit Liu Zishan on the crown of his head.

  Liu Zishan's face still had the smile of a survivor, but suddenly his smile froze, and an unbelievable look flashed in his eyes as he fell backwards.

  "Gather their corpses together and burn them with fire," Hong Xi wiped his hands, saying slowly and calmly, "This is called destroying the evidence, even if someone from the Qi Men Daoist temple comes to investigate, they won't find anything."

  "What's the point of going to such great lengths? The bloody smell in this place will attract beasts, and not a single intact corpse will be left behind within a day. Burning the corpses and leaving only bones will only increase the suspicion of the Qi Men Daoist temple." Wei Hao Ran said nonchalantly.

  Lu Zhuo had already started searching through the pile of dead bodies. He didn't pay much attention to the leather pouches of those cultivators, but instead walked over to Song Ren's corpse.

  "Hmph, the Master's later years were indeed austere. He only had two sets of clothes on him, a few dry provisions, and a map." Lu Zhuo rummaged through Song Ren's bundle, snorted in disdain, and tossed the leather pouch back onto the ground.

  "That last kid mentioned a fish that escaped the net, we can't be careless," Hong Xi's expression was somewhat solemn. "The master of the house has instructed us, the three of us will take action together, in order to not leak any news, and finish it cleanly."

  "Search around the mountain, if you find anything unusual, kill on the spot." Wei Hao Ran said it very simply and acted very swiftly, leaving the valley with two or three leaps.

  Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo left afterwards.

  As for Liu Zishan's final betrayal, Xu Yang did not get angry. The matter had already happened, and resenting a dead person was meaningless.

  Xu Yang climbed up from the high slope quietly and quickly approached that cliff.

  "Three experts think that since I discovered the situation here, they must have retreated far away. So for now, this place is temporarily the safest. Once they finish searching, they will definitely meet up here, and then it will be dangerous."

  Xu Yang ventured close in order to obtain the map of the Giant Python Mountain Range. There were strange beasts lurking about, and for someone at his current stage of cultivation, it was too dangerous, so he didn't dare stay for long.

  He pulled on a green vine, and Xu Yang slowly descended to the ground. He quietly made his way to Song Ren's side, opened his leather pouch, and took out a cloth with a map of mountains and rivers embroidered on it.

  "This is the map of the Giant Python Mountains...” Xǔ Yáng's heart was filled with joy, as it marked a path for bitter cultivation, winding and twisting in a large arc before returning to its starting point - Línyuān City.

  Suddenly, Xu Yang's ankle tightened, as if a hand had grabbed his ankle.

  Xu Yang was startled and, despite his bravery, cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he quickly turned around.

  Turning back to look, Xu Yang let out a sigh of relief. It was actually Song Ren, the instructor. This mystic had not died completely and still had half a breath left. However, his current situation was definitely beyond salvation.

  "Xu Yang..." Master Song Ren struggled to say, "I... I'm going to die soon..."

  Xu Yang nodded and looked into Song Ren's eyes, saying: "I know, but I also can't save you."

  "No... don't save me..." Song Ren coughed, spitting out dark red blood foam. "I have one thing to ask of you..."

  "Alright," Xǔ Yáng said calmly, "as long as it's not too much trouble, I can agree. Let's just consider it a favor for chatting with me for a bit."

  Song Ren revealed a hint of bitter smile: "I... I know, you have grievances, blaming me... for always indulging and letting Lu Song and others bully you... I apologize to you..."

  Xu Yang did not respond, what Song Ren said was true. It was also reasonable, he was not a disciple of the Qi Men Dao Chang, and participating in this ascetic team was just a coincidence. Lu Song and others, as disciples of the Dao Chang, bullied a useless person, and Song Ren would not intervene either.

  "I... I beg of you, take care of my daughter... she's only 8 years old... without me, she can't survive..." Song Ren's eyes flashed with warmth and affection, "I beg of you, take her in... as a maid or servant girl, please... treat her well..."