Chapter 41: Senior brother surrender
Watching his junior sister react promptly, Ye Anping, observing the battle from a high vantage point, expressed deep satisfaction. He placed the iron whistle back into his storage bag, speaking to himself with contentment,
“As expected of me! The junior sister I taught is sharp!”
Knowing the position of the formation eye, breaking the formation for his junior sister held no suspense. However, the “Seven-Star Suffocating Spirit Formation” was indeed a formidable technique, and he hadn’t anticipated Liang Zhu’s choice of this formation.
Yet, the disturbance caused by this formation was extraordinary. The red light had likely been visible to anyone within a hundred miles. Such commotion would have undoubtedly caught the attention of the elders waiting on the main peak.
In essence, “Brother Liang,” “Second Brother,” and “Third Brother” had at most half an hour. After that time, Xuanxing Sect disciples would arrive. If he and Liang Zhu remained, they would either be executed on the spot or captured and thrown into prison for interrogation.
Now that Feng Yudie and her group were rushing towards the formation’s centre, and Liang Zhu had likely noticed, they were probably considering a retreat. However, two lives had been lost in the process.
The “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” would not tolerate such a silent cost. It was uncertain whether the three would choose to confront Feng Yudie and her group head-on.
Ye Anping pondered, realising that the “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” were unlikely to match Feng Yudie. However, the situation with Liang Zhu was uncertain. With the Seven-Star Suffocating Spirit Formation in his hands and having prepared the formation without taking any previous action, Liang Zhu’s capabilities remained unknown to Ye Anping. Harming his junior sister was not an option.
Thinking of this, Ye Anping decided to help in another way. Still, before that, he needed to achieve his original goal—incite the Xuanxing Sect’s anger towards the Seven Killing Sect.
Descending from the elevated position, Ye Anping headed straight towards the bodies of “Fourth Brother” and “Fifth Brother.”
Arriving at “Fourth Brother’s” side, the stench of blood assaulted him, making him slightly nauseous. Nevertheless, he resisted and approached. Wearing gloves and a mask, he picked up “Fifth Brother’s” storage bag, examining its contents, more than two hundred spirit stones, some inferior elixirs, a few miscellaneous books, and scraps of exercise techniques.
“Fourth Brother, you were truly poor…”
Ye Anping sighed and took half of the spirit stones. He then retrieved the “Xuanxing Sect Formation Map” he had drawn the previous day, folded it, placed it in “Fourth Brother’s” storage bag, and returned the bag to its original position.
After completing these tasks, Ye Anping stood up, took two steps back, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply to “Fourth Brother.”
“Fourth Brother, sixth brother will bring you some food when he returns. Rest in peace!!”
After paying respects, Ye Anping turned to glance in the direction of the seven-star suffocating array.
The red light curtain above the formation was also dissipating at this moment, indicating that Feng Yudie and her companions had successfully dismantled the formation.
Ye Anping retrieved a sword he had recently purchased from his storage bag, assessed its weight, and then summoned a flying sword, heading towards the direction of the beam.
…
When Ye Anping found Liang Zhu, the “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” were engaged in a heated argument about whether to retreat.
“Big brother, we can’t let the fourth and fifth brothers die in vain! They are just three girls in the Foundation Building stage.”
“I say we retreat! The formation was our last card, and now that they’ve broken it, we’re helpless! The elders from Xuanxing Sect will arrive soon, and we won’t be able to escape.”
“Not so fast, we can still try. I agree with the Second Brother. Let’s give it a shot. Those two girls are indeed formidable, but one of them is injured, and a novice cultivator accompanies them.”
At this moment, Liang Zhu seemed to sense something was amiss and became cautious. However, the “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” remained oblivious to the current situation.
As Ye Anping approached, Liang Zhu looked at him warily, but upon recognising him, he visibly relaxed.
“Lao Liu, didn’t I tell you to stay in a safe place? Why did you come here?”
“Sixth brother, I’m here to remind big brother. Big brother, the commotion caused by the formation was too significant, and the elders of Xuanxing Sect have likely detected it. The journey from the main peak to here takes at most half an hour by flying sword, so…”
“Hmm…” Liang Zhu nodded, glanced at the other two, and declared, “Did you hear that? Retreat!”
The two masked individuals under Liang Zhu’s command seemed dissatisfied with the decision. However, at this moment, a gentle female voice reached their ears.
“Do you… do you think I will… let you go?”
The voice trembled a bit, lacking confidence, but it was surprisingly loud.
Liang Zhu, Ye Anping, and the others turned towards the source of the voice and saw Xiao Yunluo approaching with a long branch, glaring at them.
Like a puffed-up cat, despite the fierce expression, Xiao Yunluo appeared somewhat adorable, lacking any real intimidation.
To Ye Anping’s surprise, Feng Yudie and her group had taken the initiative to confront these individuals. However, seeing only Xiao Yunluo walking out, he immediately understood what was about to unfold and quickly distanced himself from Liang Zhu and the others to avoid getting involved.
Liang Zhu also sensed that something was off and became wary. However, the “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” were still oblivious.
As they saw Xiao Yunluo, the two men seemed to perceive her as prey, willingly stepping into a trap. Their attention was entirely captivated by her alone.
“We didn’t come looking for you, but you’ve willingly walked into your demise? Haha…”
Midway through his words, two shadows, one black and one white, emerged from behind trees in different directions.
Before the “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” could react, the two phantoms’ swords were already less than three inches from their necks.
“What?”
The sounds of the two swords piercing flesh almost merged.
Swish—
The heads of the “Second Brother” and “Third Brother” were sent flying, and their bodies collapsed simultaneously.
Feng Yudie spat blood at the feet of the “Second Brother” and cursed, “Bah, you’ve tormented us so much just now. It’s payback time!”
As Pei Lianxue had been taught by her senior brother to make sure, after beheading the “Third Brother,” she made a few additional stabs in his chest. Simultaneously, she scolded Feng Yudie, “Finish him! That’s what my senior brother taught!”
“…”
Feng Yudie was momentarily stunned but quickly followed suit, delivering a few more stabs to the “Second Brother.”
Then, the two turned their attention to Ye Anping and Liang Zhu, who were still standing.
“Late Foundation Building stage and a Qi Refining stage?” Feng Yudie furrowed her brow, but after glancing at Pei Lianxue, she raised her sword and loudly strategised, “Junior sister Pei, go deal with the big one first. I’ll take care of the small one before helping you.”
“Okay.”
Pei Lianxue glanced at her, nodded slightly, raised her sword, and focused on Liang Zhu.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself.
“Attack!!”
In the next moment, Pei Lianxue and Feng Yudie charged towards Liang Zhu and Ye Anping, respectively.
“Hiss—”
Seeing Feng Yudie charging towards him, Ye Anping quickly raised his hands, signalling surrender.
However, Feng Yudie paid no attention to his surrender. Instead, she scoffed, “Hmph, surrender? Too late!”
…
