Chapter 91 A Stormy Era Begins

Chapter 91 A Stormy Era Begins

It is located two hundred miles away from Baiyan Sect.

Startled birds took flight in the forest. From above, two figures could be seen flying rapidly close to the ground, their speed creating a whooshing sound that terrified the small animals.

Have they caught up yet?

"You ask me? Who should I ask!"

The hurried conversation ended, and one of the figures suddenly stopped, leaning against a tall ancient tree and panting heavily. If Lou Yuqing were there, she would definitely recognize her identity; it was none other than Si Nidie.

As Si Nidie stopped, another figure rushed out for dozens of feet before halting and retreating back in front of her. This person had metallic skin and looked like a puppet; it was none other than Shen Lijun.

Si Nidie looked up at him: "Not running away anymore?"

"We've made it fast, we should be fine now." Shen Lijun said, glancing back anxiously as if he were about to run away at the slightest sign of trouble.

Si Nidie wanted to laugh at him, but she was too tired to laugh. She forced a smile and said, "Let's find a place to rest first."

Such a desperate escape is extremely taxing.

The two separated and quickly found a secluded cave. They sealed the entrance with a huge rock, swept the ground, and then sat cross-legged to restore their spiritual energy.

After an unknown amount of time, Si Nidie opened her eyes, her sharp gaze shooting straight out, her previous listlessness gone, and looked at Shen Lijun: "Senior Brother Shen, did you pick the snow lotus?"

As she escaped the mine, she happened to witness disciples from other sects fighting. She didn't want to get involved, but when she saw Shen Lijun being entangled by two disciples from the Star Pavilion and facing elimination, she remembered his puppet transformation ability and stepped in to save him.

“Ah, I did want to pick it,” Shen Lijun said quietly. “You don’t know, this snow lotus is not in the Baiyan Sect Master’s herb garden, but in his cave.”

After being rescued by Si Nidie, he formed an alliance with her and learned that the Snow Lotus was in the Baiyan Sect. He volunteered to go and pick the Snow Lotus. With the ability to break the restrictions after being transformed into a puppet, he arrived at the Spirit Herb Garden without any obstacles. However, the location of the Snow Lotus had changed.

"I risked my life to enter the cave and pick the snow lotus. For some reason, it turned into powder as soon as it left the soil." Shen Lijun said with a heavy heart. "Then, the killing array left in the cave by the White Rock Sect Master was activated. Fortunately, I have supernatural powers, otherwise I would have been destroyed by now."

Si Nidie frowned deeply: "Turn into powder?!"

She had only just heard the news. From the time she met Shen Lijun outside Baiyan Sect to Shen Lijun's escape from Baiyan Sect and then their two hundred miles in one go, she and Shen Lijun were on edge and had no chance to talk.

Si Nidie murmured, "Is it that we can't pick them, or is there a special method required?"

"The sect leader of Baiyan Sect must know." Shen Lijun felt a headache coming on at the thought of having to return to Baiyan Sect. Now that the entire Baiyan Sect was on high alert because of them, the difficulty of going in to pick the snow lotus had increased dramatically.

Si Nidie also thought of this, sighed, and then angrily punched the stone wall: "Damn snow lotus, why didn't you just obediently let it be picked? Why did you have to cause such a fuss!"

"Do you think we can coerce or bribe the disciples of the Baiyan Sect to do things for us?" Shen Lijun's mind raced. "They are wary of outsiders, but they don't guard against their own people."

Si Nidie glanced at him: "Senior Brother Shen, you almost succeeded before by relying on your status as one of our own. Do you think they will make the same mistake?"

Shen Lijun stopped talking, then suddenly remembered something and perked up: "Ordinary disciples aren't enough. The Sect Master of Baiyan Sect can't just ignore his son, can he?"

Si Nidie's expression shifted: "You mean?"

Shen Lijun chuckled: "I heard that the young sect leader Xie Wenheng is staying in Baiyan City because of the marriage agreement. We'll find an opportunity to kidnap him, whether by poisoning him or putting him under a spell, as long as the Baiyan Sect leader can't bear to see his son die, we can take this opportunity to exchange for the Snow Lotus!"

"Great idea! Let's go find Xie Wenheng!" Si Nidie thought to herself. Although Senior Brother Shen is not good at handling matters of the heart, he is still reliable when it comes to serious business.

Thus, just as Xie Wenheng returned to Baiyan Sect and they were heading to Baiyan City, the two sides spectacularly missed each other.

Meanwhile, Lou Yuqing and the other two headed towards Baiyan Sect. They interrogated the shopkeeper and the slaughterhouse owner separately, and with their testimonies matching, they confirmed the whereabouts of Xue Lian.

They left the city gate early the next morning.

On the way, the atmosphere among the three became strange. To be precise, the relationship between Lou Yuqing and Chu Qingyang and Luo Buqi changed.

Before finding any clues about the snow lotus, they could become allies for their common interests. But now that the snow lotus is so close, they naturally want as few competitors as possible.

Finally, as they passed through a valley, the three of them suddenly stopped, and then a murderous aura emanated from them, clearly indicating that they had decided to kill each other.

He didn't speak.

The three formed a pincer movement, with purple arcs of electricity, cyan wind blades, and a small golden sword shooting out, cutting through the air and colliding together, producing an unbearable friction sound.

From a distance, it looked like three streaks of light of different colors flying back and forth in the air, leaving people speechless. The guards on White Rock City all looked over.

Outside the small world.

Wu Fengshu's expression tightened. Although she verbally called Luo Buqi a good-for-nothing, from the perspective of being from the same sect, she still hoped that Luo Buqi would win.

Tan Sheng naturally saw through her thoughts and thought to himself that Luo Buqi had a 50% chance of winning, as his combat experience was clearly far superior to that of his two opponents.

However, Fellow Daoist Yuqing and Chu Qingyang are two different people. The former's spells are a bit immature, but every strike is not to be underestimated. More importantly, she has a protective magic treasure. To defeat her, you must break through the magic treasure's defense.

The latter's speed is unmatched. He can fight or run at will. If he sees that the situation is not good, he can make a quick getaway. It is very difficult to keep him here. Although he is no match for Luo Buqi in a one-on-one fight, with the support of Fellow Daoist Yuqing, even if he uses his speed to harass people, it is still disgusting.

Just as Tan Sheng had predicted, the three of them were at an impasse.

Lou Yuqing conjured lightning balls with both hands, and with a crackling sound, they shot towards Luo Buqi's face, weaving and transforming into a lightning net in mid-air. She shouted, "Luo Buqi, if you're so capable, don't use your eye techniques!"

She and Chu Qingyang devised a plan, using their respective escape techniques to appear in front of and behind Luo Buqi, intending to surround and eliminate him. However, Luo Buqi used his Illusionary Eye, causing her to be a beat too slow, and she was able to escape from her side.

Luo Buqi held a golden sword flag in his left hand and a miasma bead in his right, his eyes filled with black light. He coldly snorted, "It's not fair for you to fight two against one. If you're so capable, come at me one by one!"

If these two hadn't been wary of his eye technique, he would have already used his Illusionary Eye to drag them into an illusion. Instead, he would have been caught in this bitter battle, having to be careful of both ridiculously powerful lightning spells and wind blade spells that might fly out from any corner.

Luo Buqi felt frustrated. If a disciple of the Hundred Spirits Sect were to appear at this moment, the situation would definitely be reversed immediately!

Whether they heard his wish or not, two streaks of light rapidly approached from afar, and within a short time, they reached a place several hundred feet away from the battlefield.

Luo Buqi's breathing became erratic, and he was unusually nervous. Could it be that his own people had really arrived?

Thinking of this, he dodged Lou Yuqing and Chu Qingyang's attacks one after another, and headed towards the two streaks of light, feeling refreshed as he said, "You're finished!"

"Quick, after him! We can't let him get away!"

Luo Buqi scoffed: "You can't stop me..."

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked at the figures in the two streaks of light in disbelief. They were not his own people at all; they were clearly two disciples of the Wendao Sect!

Two against one isn't enough, do we need four against one?

Just as Luo Buqi was about to retreat, Lou Yuqing saw Si Nidie and Shen Lijun riding on their escape lights and shouted, "Senior Sister, stop him!"

Si Nidie and Luo Buqi had already seen the fight and were hoping to benefit from it. But when they saw that it was Lou Yuqing, they immediately attacked Luo Buqi, saying, "Junior Sister, I'm here!"

Shen Lijun's magic followed closely behind.

With their retreat blocked, Luo Buqi knew without a doubt that Lou Yuqing and the other two would catch up if he was delayed. Facing the encirclement of the four, he looked up to the sky and roared, as if venting his resentment: "Damn it, are you kidding me!"

The Wendao Sect disciples are everywhere, how can we fight like this!

Outside the small world.

Wu Fengshu fell silent.

The disciples who witnessed this scene were speechless, their eyes wide. Their luck was so bad; they were truly unlucky.

Gu Bugai never worried about his little disciple from beginning to end. The protective magic treasure was powerful enough to withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators, but those below the Nascent Soul level were just a tickle.

Now that he saw his two fellow disciples arrive, he became even calmer. Luo Buqi's elimination was inevitable. Sure enough, the next moment, he saw Luo Buqi being defeated by his junior disciple and the others.

"You're still going to die by my hand!" Lou Yuqing said excitedly. Back in the snow mountain, she used lightning to paralyze Luo Buqi, intending to eliminate him, but the avalanche delayed it. Now she has regained the initiative.

Luo Buqi had lost all his strength and abilities. He closed his eyes, his whole body filled with one word—despair. Sensing that the bracelet was about to activate the teleportation, he opened his eyes defiantly: "I'd like to see how many snow lotuses you can get!"

Recalling how he had tried to take advantage of Lou Yuqing by following her around, only to be reaped the consequences, he felt a pang of resentment.

Lou Yuqing chuckled, "That's not something a loser like you could know. Goodbye!"

The moment the electric arc touched the bracelet, it emitted a burst of white light, and Luo Buqi's figure disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in the square outside the small world.

"Damn it!" Luo Buqi slammed his fist on the ground, suspecting that this small world was targeting him. How could anyone be so unlucky as to end up like him?

Do you feel like you have really bad luck?

Luo Buqi suddenly looked at Tan Sheng, who was speaking. Tan Sheng pointed to a small world scene on the light screen and said, "Look, there are people with even worse luck than you over there!"

In the scene, a disciple of the Yunxiao Sect was being besieged by five disciples of the Suyin Sect using a magic array. Despite his superb swordsmanship and his understanding of sword intent, he was still restricted by the magic array and had all his spiritual power exhausted by them!

Luo Buqi recognized him; this man was a prodigy of the Yunxiao Sect, possessing extraordinary swordsmanship and superb skills. They had sparred several times before, and were evenly matched.

Seeing him fall into a state even worse than his own, Luo Buqi suddenly felt a strange mix of emotions, a feeling that tinged with the realization that "it turns out I'm not the most unlucky one after all."

With a loud "boom," the Yunxiao Sect disciple finally couldn't hold on any longer and was teleported to the plaza. The expression on his face was a hundred times worse than Luo Buqi's.

This person originally intended to make a name for himself in the Seven Sects Competition, and now, he has indeed done it—in a ridiculous way!

Tan Sheng said, "You only have four people, but he has a full five."

Luo Buqi: "..."

Is this something to be proud of?

He stared intently at the scene in the small world, cursing Lou Yuqing and the others to be killed by others.

On the other side.

"Senior Sister, do you know about Xue Lian?" Lou Yuqing noticed that Si Nidie and Shen Lijun both remained calm when she mentioned that Xue Lian was in Baiyan Sect.

“We not only know that Senior Brother Shen has also infiltrated the cave of the White Rock Sect Master,” Si Nidie sighed. “But once the snow lotus was picked, it turned into powder. Senior Brother Shen and I were planning to kidnap his son Xie Wenheng as a bargaining chip to try and get a few more snow lotuses.”

Chu Qingyang was taken aback: "Isn't the snow lotus in the White Rock Sect's mine?"

"Who said that!"

Si Nidie stared at him, wide-eyed: "When Senior Brother Shen and I escaped from the mine, we didn't even see a trace of Snow Lotus. How could she possibly be there!"

Lou Yuqing was dumbfounded: "We were pried out of their mouths by assassins, could it be that we were deceived?" She turned to Shen Lijun: "Senior Brother Shen, with your knowledge, is the snow lotus you saw in Baiyan Sect real or fake?"

Shen Lijun raised his hand and used his spiritual power to draw a snow lotus pattern in mid-air, and said in a deep voice, "This is what I saw at the time, it is definitely a snow lotus."

Chu Qingyang slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Damn it! The shopkeeper and the slaughterhouse owner lied! Junior sister, let's hurry back and catch them, maybe we can still make it!"

"Walk!"

Lou Yuqing and the others had previously interrogated Xue Lian to find out where she was, sealed her spiritual power, threw her into the woodshed, and then left her alone. Now, it seems there are many suspicious points.

Four streaks of light pierced the sky and flew towards Wanfu Inn.

Outside the small world.

Luo Buqi was suddenly stunned: "Fake news?" After realizing what he meant, his face twisted in pain: "Hahaha, ridiculous!"

He broke ties with them all so he could monopolize the Snow Lotus, and now they're telling him it's fake news—how can he possibly accept this!

Some of the eliminated followers, who had initially moved closer to him to offer some comfort, suddenly stopped in their tracks when they saw his face contort into a ferocious expression, accompanied by a series of cold laughs and a crazed demeanor.

Senior Brother Luo seems to have suffered a great blow; they should not go over and provoke him further.

A moment later, Lou Yuqing and the others burst into Wanfu Inn and headed straight for the woodshed in the backyard. As soon as they opened the door, they found it empty; the innkeeper and the slaughterhouse owner were nowhere to be seen.

“They ran away,” Lou Yuqing said.

Chu Qingyang's expression was also not good.

Si Nidie reassured her, "It's alright, so what if she ran away? Anyway, we already know where Xue Lian is. Once we capture Xie Wenheng as a hostage, we'll have Xue Lian."

Lou Yuqing thought it made sense. She and the other three walked through the noisy lobby. Without the manager, the inn couldn't handle many things, and the waiter and accountant looked helpless.

They shouldn't be in cahoots.

Lou Yuqing glanced at her for a moment, then looked away.

Because Xie Wenheng was a celebrity in Baiyan City, his residence was not exactly a secret, and the news was easily obtained with a little inquiry.

To their disappointment, Xie Wenheng had already left the mansion and returned to Baiyan Sect.

"Does this guy know we're going to arrest him?" Si Nidie came out looking a little anxious after her wasted trip, and pounded on the door of the mansion.

Shen Lijun didn't understand at first, but he quickly figured it out and guessed, "Perhaps our stealing of the snow lotus made too much noise, and the sect leader of Baiyan Sect thought we were some important figures. He was worried about leaving his son alone outside, so he summoned him back."

These words gave the White Rock Sect Master a pretty good idea of ​​what he was thinking. In fact, that was exactly what he thought. When it came to matters concerning the Snow Lotus, one could never be too cautious.

Seeing that they were in low spirits, Lou Yuqing suggested, "Why don't we go to the Hu family? The Baiyan Sect and the Hu family have expressed their intention to form a marriage alliance, which means that their relationship is acceptable. We might be able to find an opportunity there."

Several ideas flashed through Si Nidie's mind, and she became excited: "That's right, if we can't kidnap Xie Wenheng, then let's lure him out and kidnap his fiancée. I don't believe he won't show up!"

Lou Yuqing and Chu Qingyang remained silent.

Si Nidie glanced at them suspiciously, about to ask a question, when she suddenly heard passersby talking about Xie Wenheng: "Xie Wenheng must be too ashamed to stay here, that's why he rushed back to the sect overnight!"

"Who says otherwise? He couldn't marry Miss Hu, so he turned around and got involved with Miss Hu the Second. He even ruined the auction house's private room. It's utterly despicable. No wonder the auction house owner couldn't stand it and wanted to kick the two of them out!" his companion said with a look of disgust.

Si Nidie's mind went blank for a moment, as if a bucket of dog blood had been poured over her. Her jaw nearly dropped in shock: "Xie Wenheng really did such a thing in public?"

Shen Lijun was also very shocked when he heard about this.

Seeing the curiosity in the two pairs of eyes, Lou Yuqing nodded: "That's right, I was at the auction house at the time and saw the whole process with my own eyes."

Si Nidie's eyes immediately lit up with realization: this matter must be related to her junior sister, after all, wherever she is, there is gossip.

I never expected that my junior sister's abilities could also be used in the small world.

“It seems the kidnapping plan won’t work. We can’t expect much conscience from a scumbag like him.” Si Nidie expressed her contempt for Xie Wenheng. “Whether it’s Miss Hu or Miss Hu the Second, neither of them is as important to him as himself.”

After discussing it, the four decided to go to the Hu family's house.

As the most prestigious family in Baiyan City, the Hu family's mansion was incredibly luxurious and grand, occupying an entire street. The gate was three or four zhang high and connected to the white walls on both sides, making it look like a solid city wall from a distance.

"There's a magic array barrier." The four of them arrived at the back alley of the Hu family's house. Si Nidie sensed the fluctuations in spiritual energy and frowned in distress. Without a token, trying to enter this kind of barrier was nothing short of a pipe dream.

A metallic light emanated from Shen Lijun's body, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a puppet: "Then shall I go in alone?" They can't, but he can.

Lou Yuqing held the communication jade slip, attempting to contact Ling Yunxiao, but the jade slip remained unresponsive. Hearing their conversation, she took out the barrier-breaking bead: "I'll give it a try."

Si Nidie and Chu Qingyang's eyes lit up.

Lou Yuqing threw out the Barrier-Breaking Pearl and infused it with multiple spells. The Pearl shone brightly and was pushed onto the Hu family's protective barrier. Instantly, a light shield appeared in everyone's eyes. As the Barrier-Breaking Pearl made contact, the light shield rippled, and a small opening slowly opened. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it expanded into a crack large enough for one person to pass through.

Her breathing became heavy; breaking through such a restriction was still somewhat strenuous for her. She gave them a look, signaling them to go inside.

Without a word, Si Nidie vanished into the passage. Shen Lijun sighed that he had no use for his skills, deactivated his puppet form, and followed her in. Chu Qingyang, who was keeping watch for everyone, quickly entered the passage upon seeing this.

Then there's Lou Yuqing herself; as the master who controls the Forbidden-Breaking Pearl, she can only be the last one.

Unbeknownst to the Hu family, the clan's protective formation was opened by outsiders and then quietly closed again.

At this moment, in the Hu family's reception hall.

The corpse of a monster lay on the ground. This monster resembled a wolf demon, but surprisingly, it had two heads, although one of them had been severed off.

Even after it died, its remaining aura was still powerful, clearly indicating that it was incredibly strong in battle when it was alive.

The head of the Hu family beamed with joy: "You demon hunters are indeed extraordinary! You killed this demon as soon as it appeared, truly eliminating a major threat to me!"

Qi Qingxiong of the Yunxiao Sect nodded: "Master Hu, you are too kind."

He was the one who chopped off the wolf demon's head with his sword, and there was even sword energy on the cut surface. However, he had a question in his mind. Although the wolf demon was quite capable, possessing dual water and wood attribute spells and its speed was no less than that of a wind spirit root cultivator, Hu family head was still the head of the family. Wasn't it enough to subdue it by gathering the power of the family?

As he pondered, he met the gaze of the disciple from the Wendao Sect opposite him. His eyes flickered slightly. Of the other four disciples, this was the one he feared the most. His Shadow Escape Technique was too ghostly. If he let his guard down, he might not even know how he died.

Ling Yunxiao smiled politely, then looked at the wolf demon. He was also somewhat skeptical about how easily the demon could be captured. An hour earlier, he was on his way to the Hu family ancestral hall, trying to see if there were any clues inside, when suddenly the servants started shouting and screaming. They had been attacked by the wolf demon.

It took the combined efforts of the five of them to finally capture the wolf demon. Besides the fact that the wolf demon was indeed difficult to deal with, their lack of teamwork stemmed from their individual agendas.

For example, when he used Shadow Cloak to sneak into the wolf demon's shadow and was about to ambush it, Qi Qingxiong slashed at him with his sword, almost killing him as well.

The monsters usually appear at night, so why did they appear during the day this time? It feels like they deliberately bumped into us.

There was also the snow rabbit stone carving. He had a feeling it was a clue, but when he asked the servant, he got no answer. The other servants were also unsure. One of them said that the stone carving seemed to have been in the pavilion for a long time.

Just then, Ling Yunxiao heard the head of the Hu family say, "You have helped me get rid of a big problem. I am a man of my word, and I will immediately present the promised spirit stones. Someone, bring up the spirit stones that I have prepared!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the servants came up with plates, lifted the red cloth, and there were five storage bags inside, each containing the reward.

At this point, the deal would have been over once Ling Yunxiao and his group accepted the payment and left the Hu family. However, Ling Yunxiao did not accept the storage bag.

The second phase of the mission was not completed. If they leave the Hu family now, they will lose their legitimate reason and convenience to investigate the Hu family.

"Patriarch Hu, I don't want spirit stones, I only want to ask you one question." Ling Yunxiao stared intently at Patriarch Hu, not missing any of his reactions, "Do you know where the Snow Lotus is?"

Caught off guard by the question, the head of the Hu family's pupils contracted sharply before quickly returning to normal. Had Ling Yunxiao not been watching closely, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

Upon hearing this question, Qi Qingxiong and the other three looked directly at the head of the Hu family.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, the head of the Hu family said calmly, "I heard you say you wanted to buy spiritual herbs, so it turns out you came for the snow lotus. I would like to help you achieve your wish, but unfortunately the snow lotus grows in the snow mountain and was previously swept away by the sect leader of the Baiyan Sect to cultivate. You might as well go to the Baiyan Sect to ask them for the medicine."

Knowing that he was hiding something, Ling Yunxiao said nothing, appearing extremely grateful: "I see, thank you, Patriarch Hu."

Qi Qingxiong and his three companions kept Baiyan Sect in mind, each harboring their own ulterior motives. As soon as they left the Hu family's gate, the atmosphere among the five immediately became tense.

With the snow lotus clues in hand, it's time to eliminate the rivals.