Chapter 264: Ambush Across Realms, Invincible in All Directions!

"Which Daoist friend is this?"

Above the Gantang Dao of the Ganhai Li Clan, True Person Xiaohai, seeing his divine ability's splendor shattered, immediately grew tense and looked gravely at the newcomer.

Then he saw the escaping light suddenly split apart.

From within stepped an elder with crane-white hair and an aged face, yet whose back was straight as a rod, his expression carrying a hint of excitement, leaving True Person Xiaohai stunned on the spot.

"... he old ghost of the Yun family?"

"What did you say!" Upon hearing this, Patriarch Yun of the Yun family immediately revealed an angry expression; the 【Yuan Tu Treasure Talisman】 appeared in his hand, and the startling sword intent from before surfaced once more.

On the other side, True Person Xiaohai sighed.

Amidst his sigh, a certain trump card he had hidden in his sleeve and gripped tightly in his hand suddenly loosened, and ninety percent of the killing intent in his heart vanished instantly.

After all, this was a True Person of the Jiange!

Unless they decided to flee for their lives across Jiangbei, even if the Li family dared to show no respect to the other party or even drive them away, it was absolutely impossible for them to actually kill the person.

"Daoist Yun has come to our Li family; what business brings you here?"

True Person Xiaohai's expression remained calm; behind him, the Gantang Dao manifested myriad splendors that wove together into an array, evolving once again into an endless blue sea behind him.

Because the opponent had made such a grand entrance from the start and unleashed an incredibly stunning sword strike, he had not initially suspected Patriarch Yun of the Yun family at all, so the revelation naturally came as a great surprise; however, upon discovering the attacker was indeed Patriarch Yun, he quickly regained his composure.

'How could I not know that this old thing has some skill?'

'He's just a silver spearhead that looks good but is useless! He must have used some external object just now, like a magic treasure or a talisman, to intimidate me!'

Facing True Person Xiaohai's tough stance, Patriarch Yun immediately flew into a rage:

"Why have I come? Naturally, it is to investigate the recent demonic calamity; I suspect someone in the Li family is colluding with the demonic path, so hurry out and submit to interrogation!"

With these words, the sword intent emanating from the 【Yuan Tu Treasure Talisman】 in his hand grew even more intense.

However, how could True Person Xiaohai possibly agree to such an unreasonable demand? The qi mechanism on his body surged violently: "Colluding with the demonic path? Daoist friend, you go too far!"

At the same time, within the Li family grounds of the Gantang Dao.

As True Person Xiaohai stepped forward to block Patriarch Yun, Li Qingyun, the head of the Li family, breathed a sigh of relief, but when he turned around, his expression froze.

This was because, 知 when, a young man in a black robe had suddenly appeared behind him; with his hands clasped behind his back and an expression of leisure, he seemed to become the center of heaven and earth the moment he appeared, his pitch-black eyes staring straight at Li Qingyun, an invisible gaze pressing down on him like a massive mountain.

'Another True Person!?'

In an instant, Li Qingyun felt his body and soul turn ice-cold; without a second word, he knelt to pay respects, then shouted with the loudest voice of his life, almost screaming:

"Greetings, True Person!"

The booming sound exploded outward, yet it dissipated within three feet of Li Qingyun's body, not escaping even a little, earning only a mocking smile from the newcomer.

Looking around again, only the place where Li Qingyun and the newcomer stood was isolated; everything else had become shrouded in mist, as if it did not exist.

'Which True Person of the Jiange is this? So insidious—this shouldn't be the Jiange's style, should it?'

In Li Qingyun's view, whether doing good or evil, True Persons of the Jiange had always been open and aboveboard; no matter how many schemes one devised, they would simply slice through with a single sword strike.

But this person before him was completely different!

Judging by his actions, he had clearly used Patriarch Yun of the Yun family outside as cannon fodder to attract the attention of their own True Person, while he quietly sneaked in to launch a surprise attack!

'You beast, huh?'

At the same time, Lu Yang looked at Li Qingyun with great interest.

Engaging in direct dharma battles had never been his style; unless absolutely necessary, he preferred higher realms striking lower realms, and those of the same realm ambushing those of the same realm.

Let fellow Daoists die rather than oneself; this was the way of a True Person of the Sheng Sect.

Therefore, although he had already decided to rob the Ganhai Li Clan, out of caution, he had still sent Patriarch Yun of the Yun family as cannon fodder to probe first.

As it turned out, he really did probe out something.

Thinking of this, an ancient-style bronze bell suddenly appeared in his hand, and he smiled at Li Qingyun: "Where did you people get this thing?"

Li Qingyun looked up, and upon seeing the bronze bell in Lu Yang's hand, his heart instantly went cold halfway; after all, this 【Zhao Yuan Bell】 was hidden in the deepest part of the family treasury, even sealed tightly with a Foundation Establishment array, yet now it was actually held in the opponent's hand!

'Not good...!'

Li Qingyun's lips trembled; he raised his head, intending to explain instinctively, but his eyes met Lu Yang's, and he immediately felt his consciousness sink.

Golden Talent: Marionette!

Like a gentle breeze blowing past, it smoothed away all the turmoil in Li Qingyun's heart, and his face, which had barely concealed its terror, gradually returned to calm.

The next second, he explained with an expression as usual: "This treasure was discovered by us within that fragment of a grotto-heaven; it should be a credential for entry and exit. As long as one holds this treasure, stands at the entrance of the grotto-heaven fragment, and shakes it three times, a gateway leading inside can be opened."

"... h?"

At these words, Lu Yang immediately narrowed his eyes: 'A grotto-heaven fragment!? Could the Li family have such immense dog luck to encounter a fragment of a grotto-heaven?'

In an instant, there was no surprise in Lu Yang's heart, only icy coldness.

A small family only at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment encountering a grotto-heaven fragment left behind by a True Person and rising to prosperity from then on—he found it suspicious no matter how he listened to it!

Could this be another hook? Is the Jiange also playing this game?

Just as Lu Yang was pondering, suddenly a strand of spiritual sense descended from the sky, followed by a voice filled with shock and anger: "Who dares to trespass on my family's grounds!?"

The next second, True Person Xiaohai fell from the heavens.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Yang looked up in response—not only Lu Yang, but also Li Qingyun standing beside him, and every member of the Li clan within the Gantang Dao.

"Are you speaking to me?"

Identical movements, synchronized voices.

A single, simple word, yet it made True Person Xiaohai feel as though he had fallen into an ice cave; he looked in disbelief at his clansmen, whose appearances were familiar yet who acted like strangers.

'What kind of demonic art is this!?'

Amidst the shock in his heart, True Person Xiaohai was about to take out the trump card hidden in his sleeve, but instead, he saw the towering illusory form manifesting behind Lu Yang.

"Demonic fiend! What do you want to do to me?"

"Xiaohai pays respects to Master!"

Under the effect of the 【Marionette】, fear had vanished from True Person Xiaohai's face; like Li Qingyun and the other Li clansmen, his face was now filled with loyalty.

Lu Yang stood in the hall, examining the treasure that True Person Xiaohai had just voluntarily presented.

It was unmistakably another talisman; at a glance, its attributes seemed to be of the fire element, possessing considerable power, clearly the very trump card he had been hiding in his sleeve all along.

Fairly speaking, the hidden depth of the Ganhai Li Clan was actually quite profound.

Besides this talisman, they also possessed a high-grade magic treasure, the 【Kai Jiang Ship】, and combined with their clan-protecting great array, this constituted top-tier equipment for the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

If Lu Yang had been foolish enough to charge in openly, allowing True Person Xiaohai to prepare fully and unleash all his methods, engaging in a direct dharma battle, there would indeed have been some danger for him; after all, the quality of this clone he was using for this outing was too poor to withstand too high an output of his magic power.

'Luckily I was cautious!'

Openly repairing the plank roads while secretly crossing to Chencang—the result was that True Person Xiaohai was easily subdued by Lu Yang before he could use anything, without expending much effort.

"Indeed, dharma battles still require crossing realms and launching surprise attacks..."

Lu Yang sighed with emotion, then turned to True Person Xiaohai, his expression turning solemn: "Tell me in detail about that grotto-heaven fragment your Li family discovered."

(End of Chapter)