Chapter 21: Undeserved Disaster

"Junior Brother Xiao is indeed a man of outstanding talent."

Lu Yang chuckled while patting Xiao Shye's shoulder: "I am Lu Yang. We likely entered the sect in the same batch, so I cannot claim to be your senior brother."

"The same batch?"

Hearing this, Xiao Shye looked surprised, then his face showed admiration: "In that case, Brother Lu's talent must be exceptional; otherwise, one could not achieve such cultivation."

"Such praise is unwarranted."

Lu Yang waved his hand. He knew himself well; his talent was by no means good. His daily cultivation relied entirely on swallowing pills, and breaking through bottlenecks depended entirely on evil arts.

If he cultivated by the book, he would probably still be stuck at the third layer of Qi Condensation.

After learning that Lu Yang was his peer, Xiao Shye was no longer as reserved as at first and quickly grew familiar with Lu Yang. After they chatted for a while, Lu Yang cautiously asked: "I just broke through and plan to return to my cave dwelling to stabilize my cultivation. Where does Brother Xiao intend to go next?"

"To not hide it from Brother Lu, I plan to visit the Merit Pool."

Xiao Shye smiled: "I heard people say the Merit Pool tests luck the most. Coincidentally, I have suddenly had some good luck recently, so I want to take this chance to test my fortune."

"The Merit Pool."

Lu Yang's heart stirred slightly, and suddenly an idea struck him: "In that case, why not go together?"

He had already tried the numbers that won in Xiao Shye's previous life, so he was very curious how Xiao Shye would choose in this life and whether there really was foul play.

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

More than a dozen figures stood silently. Leading them was a handsome young man in white robes, appearing elegant and dashing, surrounded by swirling mist.

Just then, one of them suddenly showed joy on his face:

"Senior Brother Liu, that surname Xiao has come out."

Before the words finished, the handsome young man also seemed to wake from his meditation. The mist dispersed, revealing a face Lu Yang would absolutely never forget.

It was none other than Liu Xin!

At this time, Liu Xin had also broken through to the late stage of Qi Condensation. Moreover, as his main cultivation was the *Innate Dao Scripture*, he possessed a few more traces of Daoist bone and immortal wind compared to ordinary cultivators.

"Finally out." Liu Xin smiled at the corner of his mouth. At first glance, his appearance lacked the ferocity of a demonic cultivator entirely, instead giving off a kind, approachable aura like a spring breeze. However, when he channeled his true energy, cast the Gazing Qi Art, and looked toward Xiao Shye's direction, his smile suddenly froze.

"Late stage of Qi Condensation?"

Liu Xin frowned slightly. He clearly did not expect a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator to be by Xiao Shye's side. This was a variable sufficient to make him change his plans.

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

Liu Xin turned around at the sound and smiled gently: "What is it, Qingchen? Do you perhaps recognize that late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator?"

Upon hearing this, the charming woman standing behind Liu Xin immediately pressed her red lips together: "To not hide it from Senior Brother Liu, this concubine actually does know that late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator."

Immediately, the woman spoke with a tone of jealousy and hatred: "That person is named Lu Yang. He is a disciple who entered the sect several months ago. During the previous Substitute Death Yin Puppet incident, he left early and made a huge profit, with at least ten thousand contribution points! It is likely he relied on this huge sum to break through to the late stage of Qi Condensation."

The charming woman was none other than Fairy Qingchen, who followed Zhao Xuhe in the previous life.

However, unlike the previous life, in this life Fairy Qingchen had broken up with Zhao Xuhe long ago and had already become Liu Xin's mistress.

The reason for the breakup was simple: Zhao Xuhe had pulled her into speculating on Substitute Death Yin Puppets.

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

Incidentally, Liu Xin had also speculated.

And because the impact of the Substitute Death Yin Puppet in this life was far greater than in the previous life, after it exploded, their losses 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 of them were forced to engage in the act of robbing fellow disciples, something they had not done in the previous life, to make up for the losses caused by speculating on Substitute Death Yin Puppets.

Over time, they even gathered a team. The members were disciples who had certain background and influence within the sect but went bankrupt due to speculating on Substitute Death Yin Puppets. As for their targets, they focused on ordinary disciples who had little capital, left early, and made a huge profit.

Xiao Shye was the target they had recently set their sights on.

Now, after hearing Lu Yang's story from Fairy Qingchen's mouth, Liu Xin's gaze became even brighter, clearly viewing Lu Yang as a target as well.

"There is no time to lose. Act!"

With Liu Xin's order, everyone present let out a cackling cold laugh. Then, each summoned their flight light and flew toward Lu Yang and Xiao Shye.

Just after leaving the Ten Thousand Treasures Peak and flying a certain distance within the sea of clouds, Lu Yang suddenly frowned. The sword pill between his eyebrows jumped like a warning.

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

He saw that centered on him and Xiao Shye, flight lights were flying in from all sides, like a large net closing in on their position.

Not long after, a voice came from behind.

"Fellow Daoist, please stop!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang's face immediately turned dark.

Even saying such words meant the coming ones were not friendly!

Lu Yang did not turn his head, ignored the voice behind him, and only furiously channeled his magic power. Sword light wrapped around Xiao Shye as they fled at high speed toward the Merit Pool.

However, the opponents were clearly prepared. As soon as Lu Yang fled a short distance, he stopped. He looked around and saw that the surrounding sea of clouds had somehow become thin. In its place was a vast mirage, bizarre and colorful, trapping him and Xiao Shye firmly in the center!

"Such an undeserved disaster..."

Lu Yang's expression was ugly. Using the Gazing Qi Art to look from afar, he immediately gritted his teeth: "One late-stage Qi Condensation, seven mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators. The chance of victory is at most thirty percent..."

What to do?

Just as Lu Yang was thinking of a countermeasure, Xiao Shye beside him suddenly spoke: "Brother Lu, if there are no surprises, these people should all be coming for me."

Speaking here, Xiao Shye looked full of regret: "It was my negligence. These people must be after my collection of magical treasures and contribution points. I originally thought that after several months passed, the other party would have given up. I did not expect them to be so persistent. At this point, you and I should flee separately."

"Flee separately?"

Lu Yang shook his head: "The other party has already covered this entire sea of clouds. It seems they used some powerful magical treasure. I am afraid we cannot escape."

"It is fine. I have a method to deal with it."

Xiao Shye whispered: "I have two 'Treasure-Breaking Cones'. As long as they are summoned, they can open a path to life. I am willing to give one of them to Brother Lu."

"Brother Lu goes first. I will cover the rear."

After speaking, he directly handed a treasure cone to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang weighed it in his hand, stirred his magic power, and immediately understood that Xiao Shiyeh's words were true—this treasure truly had a good chance of breaking through the surrounding mirage.

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

"Brother Lu, the mountains are high and the road long—we shall meet again someday."

Xiao Shiyeh bowed slightly, a look of relief crossing his face, then turned directly toward the approaching enemies, clearly prepared to die.

Seeing this, Lu Yang fell into thought.

He had secluded himself for three months and had never made an enemy; these people could not possibly be targeting him, and besides, compared to him, Xiao Shiyeh was clearly the bigger target.

So Xiao Shiyeh's words were not false.

If he abandoned him, he would most likely escape.

Should he do it?

Above the sea of clouds, watching Xiao Shiyeh charge forward with utter disregard for life and death, Lu Yang's sword pellet at his third eye warned him, his expression shifting between dark and light.

(End of Chapter)