Chapter 21: Unprovoked Disaster

"Junior Brother Xiao is truly a remarkable talent."

While laughing, Lu Yang patted Xiao Shiye on the shoulder: "I am Lu Yang; we likely entered the sect in the same batch, so I can hardly claim to be your senior brother."

"The same batch?"

Hearing this, Xiao Shiye's face filled with surprise, quickly followed by an expression of admiration: "In that case, Brother Lu's talent must be exceptional; otherwise, achieving such a cultivation base would be impossible."

"I do not deserve such praise."

Lu Yang waved his hand; he knew his own limits. His talent was certainly not good; his daily cultivation relied entirely on consuming pills, and breaking through bottlenecks depended entirely on demonic arts.

If he had cultivated step-by-step, he estimated he would still be stuck at the Third Layer of Qi Condensation.

Upon learning that Lu Yang was his peer, Xiao Shiye shed his initial reserve and quickly became familiar with him; after chatting for a while, Lu Yang tentatively asked: "I have just broken through and plan to return to my cave dwelling to stabilize my cultivation base; where does Brother Xiao intend to go next?"

"To be honest with Brother Lu, I plan to visit the Merit Pool."

Xiao Shiye smiled: "I heard that the Merit Pool tests one's luck the most; since I have suddenly been quite lucky lately, I wish to seize the opportunity to try my hand."

"Merit Pool."

Lu Yang's heart stirred slightly; suddenly inspired by a whim, he said: "Since that is the case, why not go together?"

He had already tried the winning numbers Xiao Shiye picked in his previous life, so he was very curious how Xiao Shiye would choose in this life, and whether there was truly some foul play involved.

At the same time, in a sea of clouds outside Ten Thousand Treasures Peak.

Over ten figures stood silently; at their head was a handsome young man dressed in white, looking dashing and romantic, surrounded by swirling mist.

Just then, one of them suddenly showed a look of joy:

"Senior Brother Liu, that fellow surnamed Xiao has come out."

Before the voice even faded, the handsome young man seemed to awaken from meditation; the mist dispersed, revealing a face Lu Yang would absolutely never forget.

It was none other than Liu Xin!

At this moment, Liu Xin had also broken through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, and as a practitioner of the *Primordial Dao Scripture*, he possessed a few extra traces of Daoist bone and immortal bearing compared to ordinary cultivators.

"Finally out," Liu Xin said with a smile at the corner of his mouth; on the surface, he lacked entirely the ferocity of a demonic cultivator, instead exuding an affable quality like a spring breeze, yet when he circulated his true qi and activated the Qi-Gazing Technique to look in Xiao Shiye's direction, his smile suddenly froze.

"... ate Stage of Qi Condensation?"

Liu Xin frowned slightly; clearly, he had not expected a Late Stage Qi Condensation cultivator to be accompanying Xiao Shiye, a variable sufficient to force him to change his plans.

Just then, a light exclamation suddenly came from beside Liu Xin.

Liu Xin turned at the sound, offering a gentle smile: "What is it, Qingchen? Could it be that you recognize that Late Stage Qi Condensation cultivator?"

At these words, the charming woman standing behind Liu Xin immediately pressed her red lips together: "To be honest with Senior Brother Liu, I do indeed know that Late Stage Qi Condensation cultivator."

Immediately after, the woman spoke with a tone of jealousy and resentment: "That person's name is Lu Yang, a disciple who entered the sect a few months ago; during the previous Substitute Death Yin Puppet incident, he exited early and made a huge profit, gaining at least ten thousand contribution points! Presumably, he relied on this vast sum to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation."

This charming woman was none other than Immortal Qingchen, who had followed Zhao Xuhe in the previous life.

However, unlike the previous life, in this life Immortal Qingchen had fallen out with Zhao Xuhe very early on and had long since become Liu Xin's illicit lover.

The reason for their fallout was simple: Zhao Xuhe had dragged her into speculating on Substitute Death Yin Puppets.

Zhao Xuhe went bankrupt, and naturally, Immortal Qingchen was no exception.

Incidentally, Liu Xin had also speculated.

And because the impact of the Substitute Death Yin Puppets in this life was far greater than in the previous one, after the bubble burst, their losses far exceeded those of the previous life.

Not only were they on the verge of bankruptcy, but they had also accumulated massive debts.

Thanks to this, the two were forced to engage in the act of robbing fellow sect members, something they had not done in the previous life, in order to fill the losses caused by speculating on Substitute Death Yin Puppets.

Over time, they even assembled a team; the members were all disciples with certain backgrounds and influence within the sect who had gone bankrupt due to speculating on Substitute Death Yin Puppets, while their targets focused on those ordinary disciples who, having little capital and exiting early, had made a large fortune.

Xiao Shiye was their recent target.

And now, after hearing Lu Yang's story from Immortal Qingchen's mouth, Liu Xin's gaze grew even brighter, clearly marking Lu Yang as a target as well.

"No time to lose; act!"

At Liu Xin's command, everyone present let out sinister cackles, then each mounted their escape light and flew swiftly toward Lu Yang and Xiao Shiye.

Having just left Ten Thousand Treasures Peak and traveled a distance within the sea of clouds, Lu Yang suddenly frowned deeply as the sword pill in his brow throbbed like a warning.

Looking in the direction indicated by the sword pill's warning, Lu Yang's frown deepened even more.

He saw that centered around him and Xiao Shiye, escape lights were actually flying in from all directions, like a vast net closing in on their position.

Before long, a voice came from behind.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay your steps!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang's face immediately darkened.

They had even resorted to such words; the newcomers meant no good!

Without turning his head, Lu Yang ignored the voice from behind, focusing solely on frantically circulating his magic power; he wrapped Xiao Shiye in sword light and fled rapidly toward the Merit Pool.

However, the other party had clearly come prepared; Lu Yang had not fled far before he stopped, raising his eyes to look around, only to find that the surrounding sea of clouds had somehow become thin, replaced by a vast mirage, bizarre and grotesque, locking him and Xiao Shiye firmly in the center!

"Such an unprovoked disaster..."

With an ugly expression, Lu Yang used the Qi-Gazing Technique to observe from afar, then gritted his teeth: "One Late Stage Qi Condensation, seven Mid Stage Qi Condensation; the chance of victory is at most thirty percent..."

What should he do?

Just as Lu Yang was pondering a countermeasure, Xiao Shiye beside him suddenly spoke: "Brother Lu, unless I am mistaken, these people are likely here for me."

Speaking thus, Xiao Shiye's face filled with regret: "It was my negligence; these people must be after my magic treasures and contribution points. I thought that after several months, they would have given up, but I did not expect them to be so persistent. At this point, let us split up and flee separately."

"Split up and flee?"

Lu Yang shook his head: "The other party has already sealed off this entire area of clouds; they seem to be using some powerful magic treasure, so I fear escape is no longer possible."

"It matters not; I have a way to deal with this."

Xiao Shiye whispered: "I have two 'Treasure-Breaking Awls'; once activated, they can open a path to survival. I am willing to gift one of them to Brother Lu."

"Brother Lu, go first; I will cover the retreat."

Finishing his words, he directly handed a treasure awl to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang weighed it in his hand and circulated his magic power, immediately realizing that Xiao Shiye spoke the truth; this magic treasure indeed held great hope of breaking through the surrounding mirage.

"... re you certain you want me to go first?" Lu Yang's expression was unreadable.

"Brother Lu, the mountains are high and the road is long; may we meet again in the future."

Xiao Shiye cupped his hands, a relieved smile appearing on his face, then he actually turned directly to face the approaching enemies, clearly prepared to sacrifice his life.

Seeing this, Lu Yang fell into deep thought.

He had been in seclusion for three months and had never made any enemies; the attackers could not be targeting him, and besides, compared to him, Xiao Shiye was clearly the fatter sheep.

Therefore, Xiao Shiye's words were not wrong.

If he abandoned him, he would most likely be able to escape.

So, should he do it?

Above the sea of clouds, watching Xiao Shiye march forward without hesitation, a figure seemingly disregarding life and death, the sword pill in Lu Yang's brow throbbed with warning, his face shifting between yin and yang.

(End of Chapter)