Chapter 21: Unexpected Disaster
"Junior Brother Xiao is indeed a talented individual."
Lu Yang patted Xiao Shiye's shoulder while laughing, "My name is Lu Yang. We should have entered at the same time, so I can't be considered your Senior Brother."
"The same batch?"
Xiao Shiye was surprised when he heard this, then showed admiration, "If that's the case, Brother Lu's talent must be excellent, otherwise he wouldn't have such cultivation."
"I don't deserve such praise."
Lu Yang waved his hand. He knew himself well; his talent was definitely not good. His usual Cultivation relied entirely on taking pills, and breaking through Bottlenecks relied on evil techniques.
If he had Cultivated step by step, he estimated he would still be stuck at Qi Refining Third Layer.
After learning that Lu Yang was of the same generation as him, Xiao Shiye was no longer as reserved as he was initially and quickly became familiar with Lu Yang. After they chatted for a while, Lu Yang tentatively said, "I just made a Breakthrough and plan to return to my Immortal Cave to stabilize my cultivation. Where does Brother Xiao plan to go next?"
"To be honest, Brother Lu, I plan to go to the Merit Pool."
Xiao Shiye smiled, "I heard that the Merit Pool tests luck the most, and I've recently been a bit lucky, so I want to take the opportunity to try my luck."
'Merit Pool'
Lu Yang's heart stirred, and he suddenly had a whim, "Since that's the case, why don't we go together?"
He had already tried the lottery numbers Xiao Shiye won in his previous life, so he was very curious how Xiao Shiye would choose in this life, and if there was really a hidden agenda.
At the same time, outside Ten Thousand Treasures Peak, in a sea of clouds.
More than ten figures stood silently. The leader was a handsome young man in white, looking dashing and surrounded by mist.
Just then, one of them suddenly showed joy:
"Senior Brother Liu, that person named Xiao has come out."
Before he finished speaking, the handsome young man also seemed to awaken from his meditation. The mist dispersed, revealing a face Lu Yang would never forget.
It was Liu Xin!
At this time, Liu Xin had also broken through to the Qi Refining Late Stage, and because he mainly Cultivated the Innate Dao Book, he had a few more Dao bones and Immortal demeanor than ordinary Cultivators.
"He finally came out." Liu Xin smiled. At first glance, his appearance showed none of the ferocity of a Demonic Path Cultivator; instead, he gave off a friendly aura like a spring breeze. However, when he activated his True Qi and used the Qi Viewing Technique to look in Xiao Shiye's direction, his smile suddenly froze.
"...Qi Refining Late Stage?"
Liu Xin frowned slightly, apparently not expecting a Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivator to be with Xiao Shiye. This was a variable that was enough to make him change his plan.
Just then, a soft gasp suddenly came from beside Liu Xin.
Liu Xin turned his head in response and smiled gently, "What's wrong, Immortal Qingchen? Could it be that you know that Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivator?"
As soon as these words came out, the charming woman standing behind Liu Xin immediately pursed her red lips, "To be honest, Senior Brother Liu, I really do know that Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivator."
Immediately after, the woman said with a jealous tone, "That person is named Lu Yang. He is a Disciple who entered several months ago. During the previous substitute yin corpse incident, he left early and made a huge profit, at least tens of thousands of Karma points! He must have broken through to the Qi Refining Late Stage with this huge sum of money."
The charming woman was none other than Immortal Qingchen, who was with Zhao Xuhe in the previous life.
However, unlike the previous life, Immortal Qingchen in this life had fallen out with Zhao Xuhe early on and had already become Liu Xin's paramour.
The reason for their fallout was simple: Zhao Xuhe dragged her into speculating on substitute yin corpses.
Zhao Xuhe went bankrupt, and Immortal Qingchen was naturally no exception.
By the way, Liu Xin also speculated.
And because the impact of the substitute yin corpse in this life was much greater than in the previous life, their losses after it exploded were also far greater than in the previous life.
Not only were they on the verge of bankruptcy, but they also accumulated a large amount of external debt.
Thanks to this, the two had no choice but to resort to robbing fellow Disciples, something they hadn't done in the previous life, to make up for the losses caused by speculating on substitute yin corpses.
Over time, they even formed a team. The members were Disciples who had some background and influence within the sect but went bankrupt due to speculating on substitute yin corpses. As for their targets, they focused on ordinary Disciples who had little capital, left early, and made a huge profit.
Xiao Shiye was their recent target.
And now, after hearing Lu Yang's story from Immortal Qingchen, Liu Xin's eyes became even brighter, clearly seeing Lu Yang as a target as well.
"No time to lose, act now!"
As Liu Xin gave the order, everyone present let out cold cackles, then each activated their escape light and flew towards Lu Yang and Xiao Shiye.
Just after leaving Ten Thousand Treasures Peak and flying for a distance within the sea of clouds, Lu Yang suddenly frowned. The sword pellet between his eyebrows vibrated as if giving a warning.
Looking in the direction of the sword pellet's warning, Lu Yang frowned even deeper.
He saw that with him and Xiao Shiye at the center, escape lights were flying from all directions, like a large net closing in on their position.
Before long, a voice came from behind.
"Fellow Daoist, please stop!"
Lu Yang's face immediately darkened upon hearing this.
Even saying such words, the newcomers meant no good!
Lu Yang didn't look back, ignored the voice behind him, and only frantically urged his Magic Power. The sword light wrapped around Xiao Shiye, and they rapidly fled in the direction of the Merit Pool.
However, the other party was clearly prepared. Lu Yang had not gone far before he stopped. He looked around and saw that the surrounding sea of clouds had become thin at some point, replaced by a vast mirage, strange and dazzling, firmly trapping him and Xiao Shiye in the center!
"Such an unexpected disaster…"
Lu Yang's expression was grim. He used the Qi Viewing Technique to observe from a distance and immediately gritted his teeth, "One Qi Refining Late Stage, seven Qi Refining Middle Stage. The chances of winning are at most thirty percent."
What to do?
Just as Lu Yang was thinking of a countermeasure, Xiao Shiye beside him suddenly spoke, "Brother Lu, if there are no surprises, these people should be after me."
At this point, Xiao Shiye looked regretful, "It was my oversight. These people are probably after all my Magic Treasures and Karma points. I thought that after several months, they would have given up, but I didn't expect them to be so persistent. Now, let's split up and run."
"Split up and run?"
Lu Yang shook his head, "The other party has already covered this area of the sea of clouds. They seem to have used some powerful Magic Treasure. I'm afraid we can't escape."
"No worries, I have a way to deal with it."
Xiao Shiye whispered, "I have two 'Treasure-Breaking Cones'. As long as I activate them, I can open a path to survival. I am willing to give one to Brother Lu."
"Brother Lu, you go first. I'll cover the rear."
With that, he directly handed a treasure cone to Lu Yang.
Lu Yang weighed it in his hand, and as his Magic Power circulated, he immediately understood that Xiao Shiye was telling the truth. This Magic Treasure indeed had a high chance of breaking through the surrounding mirage.
"...Are you sure you want me to go first?" Lu Yang's expression was unreadable.
"Brother Lu, the mountains are high and the roads are long. We will meet again."
Xiao Shiye cupped his hands, a relieved smile on his face, and then directly turned to face the enemy, clearly prepared to die.
Lu Yang fell into thought upon seeing this.
He had been in seclusion for three months and had never made any enemies. The newcomers couldn't be targeting him. Moreover, compared to him, Xiao Shiye was clearly the bigger fat sheep.
So Xiao Shiye's words were not wrong.
As long as he abandoned him, he would most likely escape.
So, should he do it?
Above the sea of clouds, looking at Xiao Shiye's unwavering figure, seemingly disregarding life and death, Lu Yang's sword pellet warned him, and his face flickered between dark and light.