Chapter 70 — Ambush

~rDate: ~09月21r~

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Net. All five of them hailed from the Canglan Sect. Now, riding their magical treasures in swift flight, they moved with astonishing speed; in but a short while, beneath the faint glow cast by their artifacts, they could already glimpse the far edge of the forest ahead, and beyond it, the sea swallowed in the darkness of night.

The sea wind swept in, accompanied by bursts of long, shrill cries that echoed through the deep night.

Everyone's heart leaped with joy, their spirits roused; they were just about to speed up and fly clear of this dark forest when, all at once, a dim red light shot out silently from the darkness, striking He Dachuan, who flew in the middle of the group, with incomparable speed.

He Dachuan gave a muffled groan, his body swayed, and he actually plummeted from midair. Song Dayi and the others were greatly alarmed, but by then they had already flown far ahead; they hastily turned and flew back, while Zhang Qingyue and Tian Lingsu, following behind, also rushed toward He Dachuan.

Among them, Du Biyan was closest to He Dachuan and the quickest to react; he immediately halted his body dead in the air, dropped down beside He Dachuan, swept his gaze around, and asked urgently at the same time, "Fourth Senior Brother, are you all right?"

In but a moment, cold sweat covered He Dachuan's forehead. He rasped, "Careful—this man's demonic arts are truly vicious..."

Before he could finish, another dim red light came flying out of the darkness. Du Biyan knitted his brows, twisted his body to shield He Dachuan, and moved his hands swiftly in hand seals; the three strange dice immediately flew out to meet that red light.

In the darkness, someone uttered a "Hm?" with a note of surprise, though it seemed to be astonishment at the shape of the magical treasure rather than at Du Biyan's cultivation. The red light did not hesitate in the slightest and came straight on.

In an instant the two collided. Du Biyan's body shook; he felt that when the red light struck his dice treasure, a thick, foul aura of evil had been transmitted onto his own artifact, and through it, there seemed faintly to be a tendency to attack him as well.

Du Biyan was greatly shocked—he had never seen such demonic arts before—and just as he was at a loss, Song Dayi, Tian Lingsu, and the others arrived. Zhang Qingyue, following behind, frowned, feeling that this red light looked somewhat familiar; it seemed to be the "Red Demon Eye" of the old leader of the Blood Refining Hall of the demon cult, back at the Abyss of the Dead that day.

Sure enough, following a few long laughs, several figures stepped out of the darkness—none other than the old leader and the rest of the Blood Refining Hall. The old leader stood at the very front, a great crimson eye affixed to his face, most horrifying to behold, though by now it had slowly returned to normal. Behind him were the beautiful woman, Liu Gao, and the Wild Wolf Daoist as well; only the young Lin Feng was missing.

Zhang Qingyue had seen these people many times and recognized them at a glance—especially the Wild Wolf Daoist, for it was this man who had brought the Blood-Sucking Old Demon tonight and caused Zhang Qingyue no end of suffering. But now, looking at him, he saw that the wild dog's face was covered in black and purple bruises, battered beyond recognition; most likely, when the Blood-Sucking Old Demon had tossed him aside earlier, he had been flung through this forest of thick, sturdy trees and knocked every which way, until his face was lumpy all over.

These men of the Blood Refining Hall were now weak and few in number. While the great factions of the demon cult and the righteous path fought their fierce battles, they had been assigned to this far edge of the forest, there only to watch for any fish that slipped through the net—plainly, the demon cult held them in contempt.

The old leader and the others dared not speak their anger aloud, and had been stewing in silence; but unexpectedly, people really had come all this way from the depths of the forest. What a fine chance to earn merit! If they could capture these people, then in the days to come, the Blood Refining Hall's standing within the demon cult would surely rise a little.

The Wild Wolf Daoist had been thoroughly sullen tonight; now, glancing over, he suddenly discovered that the familiar Canglan Sect brat was actually among these five, and was at this very moment looking at him with an expression half-smile, half-sneer—most likely mocking him.

The wild dog's fury was no small thing. The Blood-Sucking Old Demon's cultivation was too high and his temper too savage; give the wild dog ten times the courage and he still would not dare seek revenge on him. But at the sight of Zhang Qingyue, he immediately thought: if not for this stinking brat, how would I have suffered such torment? Rage surged in his heart; he gave two great howls, summoned his fang treasure, and hurled it at Zhang Qingyue.

Over there, the ambush had succeeded, and the old leader was swelling with arrogance. He was about to say a few swaggering words such as "Be sensible, and you'll save yourselves some pain," but before the words left his mouth, the wild dog had already charged forward. The words reached his lips, his mouth opened halfway, and he forcibly swallowed them back; in his fluster he choked on his own breath and coughed twice, inwardly furious!

Song Dayi flew hurriedly to He Dachuan's side, landed, and examined him, only to find that this junior brother, caught off guard, had already had the evil aura invade his body. It seemed he would be unable to fight for some time, but fortunately his life was not in danger.

He was worrying inwardly when he suddenly heard two strange cries behind him; a demonic figure with a face like a dog's came charging over, and his youngest junior brother, Zhang Qingyue, had summoned his treasure and engaged him, and the two were clashing with a great clatter and bang.

In the distance, the old leader glared angrily at the wild dog, but then his brow furrowed: he recognized that the one fighting the wild dog was precisely the Canglan Sect brat with the peculiar black-iron staff treasure. Back at the Abyss of the Dead that day, his own Red Demon Eye had been unable to do anything to this man, and he had nearly come off the worse for it—so his impression was deep.

By now the Wild Wolf Daoist and Zhang Qingyue had fought for a while; the two figures flickered among the trees, almost turning into two streaks of light sweeping past. But the Wild Wolf Daoist grew more and more alarmed: after a few months apart, Zhang Qingyue's cultivation had actually advanced greatly from that day at the Abyss of the Dead—especially that bizarre black-iron staff in his hand, ugly in appearance yet blazing with blue light, flashing back and forth before his eyes.

Each time his fang treasure charged, it was immediately driven back upon meeting the black-iron staff; and as time passed, the place at the staff's head that resembled a blue-black pearl gradually gave off a faint, devouring evil force, drawing at him.

The Wild Wolf Daoist's heart went cold, and he could not help recalling that unlucky wretch Jiang Laosan, who had been drained of his vital essence by this brat and died in that bizarre manner. He cursed inwardly: how is it that these little righteous bastards nowadays carry treasures ten times more wicked than your Grandfather Wild Dog's?

The old leader knitted his brows. He reckoned that many of the Holy Cult's people had come tonight, and it would not be long before someone else arrived; if anyone saw that the Blood Refining Hall could not even deal with a few juniors of Qingyun, he would never be able to show his face again. He turned and shot a glance at the beautiful woman and Liu Gao beside him.