Chapter 8: Shi Xiang Cao, Sound East Strike West

  The White Stone Valley of the Giant Python Mountains, named for the white rocks that are everywhere in the valley.

  A bonfire was burning fiercely, and three Xian (Taoist immortals) sat around the fire, facing each other with unpleasant expressions.

  They were all dressed in dark, powerful attire with flame patterns on their belts - the three guides from Huoyun Sect: Hong Xi, Lu Zhuo and Wei Haoshan!

  The flickering flames cast a glow on the faces of the three people, revealing their gloomy expressions.

  After a while, Lu Zhuo spoke up: "What to do now? That little rabbit is even more slippery than a loach, every time there's a disciple who sends out a warning rocket, we arrive late by one step!"

  Hong Xi said calmly, "No need to rush, the three teams of disciples we sent out have already blocked his escape route from the Giant Python Mountain Range. Now he's a fish in a barrel, and it's only a matter of time before we capture him."

  Wei Haoshan coughed and raised a question, "What if that kid hides and doesn't come out? Also, he might turn back from the road he came from, which would make our carefully laid net useless."

  Hong Xi shook his head and said, "It won't work. The dry rations he's carrying are limited and can't last long. Either hiding or retreating will take up a lot of time."

  Although Hong Xi's strength was not the strongest, he was vaguely the leader among the three. This was because he was cunning and wise, and his words were reasonable and convincing. Even Wei Haoshan, who was unruly and fiery in temperament, unconsciously believed in Hong Xi's analysis.

  Just as the three of them sat around the bonfire, a firework suddenly shot out from not far to the west and burst open in the night sky, turning into a blazing flame!

  "Here!" Hong Xi exclaimed excitedly, "Let's go!"

  Wei Haoshan was impatient and his spiritual power surged, he had already taken to the air, leaping and bounding across the mountain slopes like a bird in flight, heading straight for the warning fire arrow. Behind him, Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo followed shoulder to shoulder.

  All three were masters of the Mystic Realm's later stages or above, and with their full strength, they sprinted at extreme speeds, arriving at the scene in just a short while.

  "Where is that little guy?" Lu Zhuo asked in a low voice.

  Hong Xixin's thoughts were quite subtle, and she noticed that there were only three Taoist disciples present, with pale faces. She asked suspiciously: "What's going on? Where is the other person in your group?"

  Three disciples of the Taoist temple huddled together, and upon seeing that the newcomers were the three guides, they finally breathed a sigh of relief and hastily said: "Guides, Liu Chan... was killed by that person!"

  "What?" Hong Xi furrowed his brow, inquiring about the details of what happened.

  Three disciples of the Taoist temple were still in a state of shock, one of them plucked up the courage to say: "We patrolled in teams, with only ten steps between each pair. The three of us heard a blood-curdling scream, and hastily turned around, but saw a black shadow flash into the nearby woods... When we went forward to investigate, Liu Cang was already dead. We quickly sent out a signal, requesting our masters to come."

  "Which direction did he go in, didn't you see clearly?" Wei Haoshan's lips moved, and he snorted in anger, "Useless trash!" He really wanted to slap these useless guys to death.

  Hong Xi's face was gloomy, his hands pinched the seal, a strand of Liu Cang's blood was sucked out, and then turned into a bloody fog.

  Blood Soul Locking Mystic Art, once again unleashed.

  Watching the faint bloodline extend forward, Wei Haoshan, Hong Xi and Lu Zhuo immediately followed up.

  Less than a hundred zhang ahead, the bloodline had already dimmed. Wei Haoshan identified the direction and was somewhat astonished: "That kid didn't take advantage of this opportunity to break through the defense line and return to Lin Yuan City, but instead fled deeper into the Giant Python Mountain Range?"

  The direction indicated by this blood line is surprisingly deeper into the Giant Python Mountains, where they came from.

  Three mystics exchanged a glance, all feeling defeated. Suddenly, another warning rocket lit up in the distance, its flame casting a shadow that flickered in the sky.

  "Not good, hurry over!" The three people had a tacit understanding and immediately accelerated to their maximum speed, shooting towards the warning area like wind and lightning.

  "This area is where Zhu Fan and the others are located, and Liu Can and the others are far away from them!" Hong Xi said while rushing forward and catching his breath.

  "What's going on? That kid really dares to go against us and wants to kill all of our disciples?" Wei Haoshan, whose cultivation was higher than Hong Xi's, spoke with an even more relaxed tone, "He's truly reckless, once I catch him, he'll be begging for life but unable to live, begging for death but unable to die!"

  Lu Zhuo didn't say anything, but judging from his worried expression, it wasn't much better.

  The three great masters rushed to the area where Zhu Fan and other Taoist disciples were, only to find that the situation was even more severe, with two more disciples dead!

  "What's going on!" Wei Haoshan bellowed, "There are four of you, all with mid-to-late stage Xuantu strength, yet you can't even handle a single early-stage Xuantu cultivator and two of you got killed!"

  That disciple named Zhu Fan, slightly chubby and panting: "Master, that guy, is he really only at the beginning of Xuantu? I saw it with my own eyes, he used a single punch to shatter Fei Long's chest bone, then cut off Ma Heng's throat with a single knife... The whole process didn't take more than ten breaths... It's too terrifying!"

  Hong Xi slapped a palm past, Zhu Fan was hit and spun in mid-air for half a circle, dizzy and disoriented when he landed.

  "Now the situation is a bit serious," Hong Xi's face was cold and stern, "That kid is clearly trying to distract us, we three are acting together, but instead he's leading us by the nose, putting us on the defensive."

  "Your Blood Soul Locking Technique, how could it have failed?!" Lu Zhuo asked, "The direction we saw was clearly heading deep into the Giant Python Mountains, but now the enemy has appeared on the periphery and is killing our disciples!"

  Hong Xi also felt puzzled and said, "It's clear that the kid found a way to evade the Blood Soul Lock. I'm not entirely sure what it is either. However, this isn't the time to worry about responsibility! We need to split up, hide in the shadows, and guard the disciples. Once that kid appears again, we'll strike him down directly!"

  Guarding the tree stump waiting for rabbits is only a helpless last resort.

  Lu Zhuo and Wei Haoshan did not object, in their opinion, whether it was a joint force or a division of three routes, any Xuan Shi could easily kill Xu Yang. This is not arrogance, but the huge gap between Xuan Shi and Xuan Tu.

  Xuan disciples can only rely on physical strength to fight, and they can hardly cultivate Xuan techniques. Their combat power is not much stronger than that of ordinary people. On the other hand, Xuan scholars are strong practitioners who can turn virtual into reality and condense Xuan force whirlpools. Not only do they have physical strength far surpassing that of Xuan disciples, but their every move also comes with powerful Xuan force. Moreover, the uses of Xuan techniques are endless. Therefore, there is a big difference in combat power between Xuan scholars and Xuan disciples.

  "Now I'm going to take you down! Hong Xi, having lost his calm and rationality, shouted: "If you dare show your face again, I'll hang you up, skin you alive!"

  At this time, Xu Yang, who was waiting for the three great mystics to guard the tree, had already taken advantage of the night and rushed to the road leading to Linwan City.

  "Three Xuan Masters, their speed is definitely faster than mine, but it won't exceed too much," Xu Yang thought to himself as he activated the "Bao Ma Shi" of the "Dong Jing Yi Ru Qi Jue", "By the time they come back to their senses, I will have already opened up a distance of half a day's journey. With them having to bring along a group of Xuan disciples, it will be difficult for them to catch up with me."

  The mysterious energy between heaven and earth, when Xu Yang continuously activated the momentum of the galloping horse, surged in, circulating within Xu Yang's every breath.

  The movement was as smooth as the Qi-guiding technique, a crystallization of the wisdom of the mysterious for thousands of years, with an effect comparable to that of the sacred canon. For Xu Yang, this was equivalent to escaping with his life while guiding the Qi into his body, greatly increasing his endurance. An ordinary cultivator like Xu Yang would have exhausted their spiritual energy within twenty miles of sprinting at full speed.

  On Xuyang's body, there was some light blue grass juice. He used this ordinary medicine called "Shouxincao" to disrupt the tracking of the "Hua Xue Suo Hun" secret technique.

  The first Xincao has a pungent smell, which has an interfering effect on the dying ghosts. This was accidentally seen by Xu Yang from a medical book in the Cangjing Pavilion, and it came in handy today.

  "Although running at night may attract wild beasts, I couldn't care less, just hoping it won't attract any strange creatures!"

  Youshou, are certain wild beasts that have ingested heavenly treasures and earthly gems, and compared to their peers, they possess greater strength. Some Youshou can even cultivate Xuan energy, advancing towards higher ranks such as Ferocious Beasts.

  Even the worst of the alien beasts were not something that Xu Yang could currently contend with.

  Half the night had passed, and Hong Xi still hadn't seen any signal rockets. The group of disciples led by Zhu Fan, who were secretly keeping watch, also showed no signs of being attacked. His anxiety gradually subsided, and his rational thinking returned to his mind.

  "This Xusun Yang is a ruthless character, his strength in the early stages of Xuantu can kill those in the middle and late stages like slaughtering chickens and dogs. He's cunning and intelligent, not easy to deal with," Hong Xi analyzed quietly, "Such a cunning guy, after killing three disciples from our sect and us being on guard, will he continue to launch a surprise attack?"

  His slender eyebrows furrowed slowly, and Hong Xi muttered: "Not good, I'm afraid I was wrong. That kid isn't an impulsive person, he'll definitely take the opportunity to escape! By doing this, we're giving him time to run away."

  At this point, Hong Xi no longer hesitated and jumped down from the tree. Those few Taoist disciples were initially startled, then revealed a look of reverence.

  Hong Xi lazily said, "Issue a warning signal!"

  With a "whoosh", a rocket soared into the air, exploding in the night sky and transforming into a fleeting shadow of flames that slowly dissipated.

  But in a short while, Wei Haoshan and Lu Zhuo arrived one after another. Both of them looked delighted and asked:

  "Where is that little beast?"

  Hong Xi waved his hand, his face solemn as he expressed his thoughts, finally saying: "We mustn't delay, the three of us will quickly go and chase! The closer we get to Linshuang City, the more sparse the trees become, and the terrain is also flatter. That kid, without any cover, will certainly be captured by us. After all, we are in the Xuan Shi realm, our running speed is much faster than his."

  "This is just your guess," Wei Haoshan hummed, "If you didn't catch that kid, what's the point of sending a signal? What if he comes again with a feint to the east and an attack to the west, and my disciple gets into an accident, what then?"

  "I agree with Wei Ge's view," said Lu Zhuo, who was not fond of speaking, "Now no one knows where that kid is hiding, it's possible that it's another trick to confuse us. We've already lost five brothers in our team, and if we lose one more, we'll be disqualified! If the three of us leaders return with a disqualification, what will the master think of us?"