The convoy moved slowly, topped with a huge transparent protective shield, like a giant turtle carrying a turtle shell, moving sluggishly.
However, the tiny insects and snakes they passed along the way were completely unaware of the convoy’s advance.
The protective shield seed to completely conceal the convoy. There was no sound or scent emitted.
Ma Yuan’s heart had been tight the whole journey.
He knew all too well the power of this protective shield; its greatest advantage was to exert the effects of spiritual energy in this area, which was a massive disparity for the many experts unable to use spiritual energy.
The gap between using spiritual energy and not using it was huge, so it was normal for the protective shield to play a strong role.
But there was one thing he was most worried about: the Spirit Jade was nearly depleted, and the protective shield might not last long enough. If they were exposed... if the people behind them caught up, then the consequences would be unthinkable.
He sat on the first ox cart, frowning tightly, his eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings from the corner of his eye.
As the convoy moved on, after more than an hour, the exit of the canyon ahead could finally be seen dimly; the Black Wind blowing out, and outside the mouth of the gorge was a layer of murky clouds, constantly rolling like a conspicuous gray wall.
At the exit, set into a recess in the rock wall, was a grayish-white stone carving of a human figure, robe fluttering, hand resting gazing at the sky, face beardless, wearing only a very tall and long hat on his head, with a strange, thick-haired figure crouching at his feet.
"We’re here. This is the exit, leading to the endpoint of another section of the Yang Path," Ma Yuan said as he saw the cloud wall and breathed a sigh of relief.
"As long as we get past this point, we are absolutely safe. It would be very difficult for anyone to follow us then."
"Past the Cloud Wall Gate is another place. I’ve tried it before, all tracking thods will fail outright there. When the King of Hua Creek fell into misfortune and was pursued by a master, he also used this thod to avoid his enemies."
He explained with a smile to the driver next to him.
"We owe a lot to Ma’s team, otherwise this ti it would have been more bad luck than good," the driver said with relief.
"This is our duty as leaders. Let the other carts prepare to enter the wall. Be careful here, there might be a slight dizziness when entering the Cloud Wall. Pay attention," Ma Yuan explained and suggested.
Relaxing his mind, Ma Yuan began to direct the entire team to slowly accelerate towards the Cloud Wall.
The huge white ox moved slowly towards the Cloud Wall. At night ti, the white light shining down from the high cloud wall onto the convoy was faintly blinding and dazzling.
After passing the ssage down, everyone in the convoy began to feel reassured. Having arrived here, they were almost safe. With the protective shield concealing them, plus the exit right in front of them, they seed to have succeeded in escaping the danger with the Green Fish Lantern.
"Team Ma, we’ll soon be behind the Cloud Wall at White Tiger Ridge. Have you got that thing ready?" Another leader from along the way ca over to ask.
"It’s almost ready. Why? Are you running short?" Ma Yuan laughed, "No worries, I can share so with you. I brought extra."
"Thank you for that, I’ll pay you double when we get back!" that leader laughed as well.
"No need for thanks—when you’re out and about, it’s natural to have inconveniences. Why bother with such talk..."
Ma Yuan suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes staring in shock at the position of the Cloud Wall’s mouth, his pupils widening.
At the Cloud Wall’s mouth, seemingly out of nowhere, stood a man. A tall, thin man with a wisp of white beard on his chin, an indifferent old man.
At the sight of the convoy, the old man’s eyes also flashed sharply, without a word, he soared into the sky, rocketing towards them like a cannonball.
"Giant!"
Ma Yuan quickly shouted out the activation incantation, raising high the Black Mountain Buddha statue, pushing it forward.
A faint sound of cracking ca from within the statue, and then the formation above the entire convoy suddenly solidified, intensifying more than twice over.
Chanting sounds within the protective formation kept on erging, wave after wave of faint ripples surging furiously towards the old man.
Bang!
The old man’s palm struck flat against the protective shield, and the entire shield roared as if it were glass, shattering directly.
Before Ma Yuan and the others could react, they saw the protective shield shatter into countless pieces, scattering like glimring fragnts.
The old man landed lightly, surveying his surroundings.
"Oh? The Sutra of Recognizing the Heart Protective Body Spell? Interesting." He glanced at the Black Mountain Buddha on the ground and imdiately recognized the origin of the protective shield.
The guards in the convoy all fell silent like cicadas in cold weather. They recognized the old man as the previously seen ancestor Tian Qing. A master of the Xuan rankings, he killed without batting an eye, treating human lives as if they were nothing.
"Who is the leader?" Tian Qing’s ancestor surveyed the convoy. The huge white ox was also frightened and was directly affected by sothing invisible, staying in place and pacing anxiously.
And in the convoy, any person whom the old man’s gaze directly swept over lowered their heads to avoid his gaze, not daring to speak.
Ma Yuan braced himself to co forward.
"I am the leader. May I ask, senior, why do you block our way? If it’s possible to give us a convenience, I have several pieces of cinnabar jade here..."
"Where’s the Green Fish Lantern?"
The old man interrupted him directly, his eyes gleaming dangerously.
"That little guy stayed in your convoy for quite so ti. Hand over the item honestly, and I can promise you a way to live."
"Quite the grand air of Tian Qing." From behind the convoy, a bearded man in a black brocade robe embroidered with a giant black python stepped out, his hair a tangled ss.
"Furious Guest?" Tian Qing squinted, "You also want the Green Fish Lantern?"
"The vast Western Region isn’t your private backyard. If you can receive the news, why can’t I?" The Furious Guest laughed heartily and, without moving his legs, flashed suddenly close to the convoy.
"Anyone else? Co out all at once!"
Tian Qing’s ancestor said coldly.
"Hahaha!! Worth the na Tian Qing, you can even sense us like this, it’s been years and your cultivation has advanced again!" Another old woman, leaning on a cane, slowly walked out, lightly leaping from the right side of the rock wall and landing steadily on the ground. It was as if she had no weight, not even stirring a speck of dust upon landing.
"There’s no need for sensing; none of you would have the courage to co here alone."
Tian Qing said indifferently.
"Presumptuous!" the old crone cackled coldly, leaning on her walking stick.
The furious xiake’s face also darkened.
"The matter of the Greenfish Lantern is of great importance. It’s not sothing you, Tian Qing, can monopolize alone."
"If I wish to monopolize it, what can you do about it?" No sooner had Tian Qing spoken than he suddenly charged toward one of the caravans.
At the sa ti, a faint green light seed to emanate from within that carriage.
"It’s the Greenfish Lantern!"
The faces of the furious xiake and the old crone both changed dramatically as they burst forth. The walking stick rained down like a torrential downpour on Tian Qing’s back, while a small golden hamr quietly struck at his left knee.
With a cold laugh, Tian Qing’s palms glowed with a crimson sheen as he furiously exchanged blows with the two in mid-air.
"Jiu Yan!"
Upon a light shout, Tian Qing spat out a dark line that grew longer with the wind, transforming into sothing like a black scorpion as it charged at the two.
The old crone’s figure streaked with afterimages to dodge the scorpion.
As for the furious xiake, he simply smashed it with a hamr. His towering figure contrasted sharply with the toy-like little hamr in his hand.
But that strike held astonishing power. The mont the black scorpion touched the small golden hamr, it instantly collapsed and shattered into pieces.
Bang!
The black scorpion was smashed into a larges swath of fragnts that chased after Tian Qing.
"Feathered Spirit Quick Hand!"
With an unchanging expression, Tian Qing executed a mid-air turn, his arms instantaneously transforming into a manifestation of the Thousand-Handed Avalokitesvara. The arms split into dozens of limbs, each catching all the fragnts.
At the sa ti, using the montum of the impact, he rocketed down toward the caravan below.
"Trying to steal it?!!" The old crone’s face changed as she pointed her stick in the air, and imdiately, a blinding white light flared up, forming an ellipse. Then from within the ellipse, a point of white light swelled and shot out like a high-pressure arrow, piercing toward the Venerable Tian Qing.
The white light was so fast that even the Venerable Tian Qing couldn’t react in ti and could only awkwardly dodge to the left.
Boom!
The white light fiercely struck his abdon, knocking him straight down from the air and heavily onto the ground, creating a sizable crater.
"Illusion Demon, are you courting death?!" A harsh roar suddenly ca from within the crater.
"You’re only one rank higher than on the Profound List. Courting death? You’re not qualified yet!" the sharp voice of the old crone, Illusion Demon, rang out,
As she suddenly burst forth, Tian Qing also erged from the crater, dirtied and disheveled, ready to confront her when they saw the furious xiake already charging toward the carriage that emitted the green light.
"Think you can take advantage?!"
Now Tian Qing was truly enraged.
If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t use spiritual power, these two wouldn’t stand a chance against his Feathered Spirit Quick Hand!
They both lunged at the carriage from two other directions.
Three directions, each person from one side, fiercely slamming into the carriage.
With a crack, the side of the carriage was directly smashed open.
All three of them simultaneously dived in.
After a brief pause, a thunderous boom was heard.
Hisss!!
Suddenly, a circle of blood-red flas spread out within the carriage, cutting through everything in its path like ripples on water, scattering in all directions like a circle of glistening red jade bracelets.
All three of them were propelled from the carriage, each wearing an astonished look.
"Qi Cultivator!?"
The large carriage’s upper half slowly began to slide down, showing that the vehicle had been diagonally sliced into two parts by the attack, revealing the room inside.
In the room, Ma Qiuqiu lay paralyzed on the floor, scared out of her wits, with a hair clip glowing green like Spirit Jade atop her head.
In front of her stood a middle-aged man with an indifferent expression, hands behind his back. The man’s temples were graying, and at his waist hung a blood-colored longsword that faintly reflected a daunting light as though it had been soaked in blood.
"The Greenfish Lantern." The man gently drew the blood-colored Longsword with his backhand, "I’ll take it."
*****************
The wind howled through Black Wind Valley.
At the valley’s exit, herds of enormous white oxen lay cowering on the ground. The people in the convoy dared not breathe too heavily.
Three distinct figures surrounded the caravan in a triangular formation from three directions, encircling one person at the center.
Four formless auras slowly perated the gorge, exerting an odd sense of oppression—powerful, invisible, and omnipresent.
The three auras sternly attempted to suppress the person in the middle, but it seed they could only maintain a stalemate.
Ma Yuan led the others to temporarily retreat from the caravan, hiding far away. It was fortunate that this was Black Wind Gorge; normally, the black wind blew harshly here all year round, deterring animals from entering. Otherwise, it would have been difficult elsewhere.
Gazing from a distance at the three-person standoff, Ma Yuan only then realized that the man surrounded in the middle was none other than the destitute scholar whom Qiuqiu loved to listen to stories from!
A wave of turmoil surged in his heart, and after swallowing his saliva, he carefully scrutinized the man, inwardly feeling relieved that he hadn’t offended him earlier. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it at qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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