Chapter 65

Isn't this a joke?

On the Ink Cloud Boat, Yunhe's expression was somewhat solemn.

He could confirm that just now, that earth-escaping mouse was commanding a group of rodent demonic beasts.

In other words, the cultivator behind the earth-escaping mouse was trying to control a group of mice.

And then Yunhe couldn't help but wonder, could the whole rat plague be orchestrated by a cultivator behind the scenes?

Although what he encountered might be just an isolated case, this possibility cannot be completely ruled out.

But if it really is as he guessed, then things get interesting.

Who has such great ability to control large numbers of rodent demonic beasts in the Heavenly Ridge Mountains, driving them out of the range to create a rat plague?

The first thing Yunhe thought of was the Spirit Beast Sect located north of the Qingzong Sect.

Whether from beast-taming ability, geography, or the spirit-beast earth-escaping mouse belonging to a cultivator he just encountered, the most likely culprit is the Spirit Beast Sect.

But the problem is.

Isn't this method too foolish?

This is what Yunhe thinks is the 'joking' part.

Even an ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator like him could notice the clues; with so many Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators and even Golden Core experts in the Qingzong Sect, how could they possibly miss it?

If they really couldn't even notice these, the Qingzong Sect couldn't have lasted so many years.

And once they knew, the Qingzong Sect would never fall for such a clumsy framing tactic.

So either I really just encountered an isolated case, with a cultivator trying to take advantage of this rat plague to 'loot amidst the fire'.

Or it's another sect doing it, trying to frame the Spirit Beast Sect.

Hmm, we also cannot rule out the possibility of a third or even fourth party.

But no matter what, it's not safe to stay there for now; otherwise, the cultivator behind the earth-escaping mouse might notice the situation and come after us.

First go to Heavenly Silkworm City to see if the sect's stance has changed. However, the sect being able to issue such a task for all disciples to undertake likely means they've considered all aspects.

Thinking this, Yunhe felt much more at ease.

But he still needed to confirm the situation first before he could truly relax and continue this mission.

Otherwise, he'd rather give up!

Whoosh!!

Yunhe, standing on the Ink Cloud Boat and pondering the problem, was suddenly startled.

He felt a powerful surge of spiritual power shooting straight up from the ground beneath him.

Immediately afterward, a black shuttle appeared in his divine sense.

Fortunately, he timely controlled the Ink Cloud Boat and was not hit by that black shuttle.

But Yunhe felt no relief; instead, his whole body tensed.

Could the cultivator controlling the earth-escaping mouse have caught up so quickly?

He couldn't help but think that.

The speed is simply too fast!

Looking in the direction the black shuttle retreated, he saw two cultivators on the ground, who seemed surprised that the black shuttle hadn't hit Yunhe.

Bandit cultivator? Lei Er?

Seeing below a burly man wearing a hemp yellow robe, eyes like copper bells, and a centipede-like scar on his face, Yunhe was slightly taken aback.

The person below.

It turned out to be the notorious bandit cultivator often mentioned when he was at the River Stream Market, the second of the Lei brothers, Lei Er!

Upon further thought.

The Lei brothers used to be active around the River Stream Market, which lies in the northwest of the Qingyu Domain; now he is north of Heavenly Silkworm City, the northernmost part of the Qingyu Domain, which also seems to be their area of activity.

Speaking of which.

This was actually the first time he had encountered a bandit cultivator out of the blue.

Second brother, the eldest brother ordered us to quickly leave the Qingyu Domain and enter the Spirit Beast Domain, without lingering too much.

Meanwhile, below, the stick-thin bandit cultivator beside Lei Er helplessly rubbed his forehead.

Pah, damn it, we've been chased by the Qingzong Sect for so long; now we're finally leaving—shouldn't we kill a few of their disciples to vent our anger? Lei Er spat.

Now the Qingzong Sect's main focus is on the rat plague, neglecting to pursue them.

Moreover, this place is already near the Spirit Beast Domain; going forward a bit further would enter the Spirit Beast Sect's territory, so Lei Er completely unleashed his nature.

Before this, he had already slain a Qingzong Sect disciple and tasted the sweetness.

But the problem is, this person before us isn't a Qingzong Sect cultivator.

The stick-thin man complained inwardly but didn't say it out loud.

Because he knows Lei Er's temperament: he shows no restraint even against Qingzong Sect disciples, let alone an ordinary cultivator.

Among their group, only Lei Yi can persuade Lei Er; others can't!

So he could only say:

Second brother, let's finish this quickly.

Lei Er gave a fierce grin.

To deal with this person, we don't even need ten breaths!

How formidable could a cultivator piloting a barely mid-tier first-rank flying vessel be?

Kill them casually, and you can amass as much wealth as you like; after entering the Spirit Beast Domain, the Spirit Stones needed to grease connections will be an ocean.

That's why he started banditry here, near the Spirit Beast Domain.

Whoosh—

Just as the words fell, Yunhe was seen swiftly fleeing in midair.

Chase!

Lei Er wasn't surprised; he slapped his storage bag, summoned a flying boat, and gave chase upward.

However, after flying a distance,

Yunhe then descended toward a hilltop.

The reason he didn't act just now at that spot was,

First, he worried the opponent might have set traps and laid formations.

Second, he wanted to seize the timing of battle and retain the initiative.

This is not.

Lei Er and the two pursuers, although still full of confidence, also secretly observed the hilltop environment, confirming there were no ambushes or formations!

Kid.

Lei Er descended from the air on his flying boat.

Yunhe swept with his divine sense.

Lei Er, at late Qi Refining, and the Bamboo Pole Man, at mid Qi Refining.

Having confirmed their cultivation bases, he felt confident.

Whoosh—

Next, he flipped his palm, and a fiery red feather fan appeared in his hand.

He lightly lifted it.

Three feathers shot out from the fan.

Strike first to gain the advantage!

Lei Er's expression shifted slightly as three ring shields flew from his body, tightly protecting him.

Ding ding ding—

Three clear sounds rang out.

But the Bamboo Pole Man reacted slower; a feather rebounding from the shield pierced his chest directly.

"Second, Second Brother."

The Bamboo Pole Man stared wide-eyed, full of disbelief, and collapsed.

Lei Er's face darkened, he hunched his body, and stared fixedly at Yunhe.

The next second.

He glared angrily and shouted:

"Die!!"

The sound wave rolled in layers, stirring heavy air surges, like rolling thunder, deafening.

This move can actually attack consciousness directly!

At the same time, a strange black bolt shot silently from behind Yunhe, extremely fast and almost noiseless.

Compared to his previous strike, it was clear that Lei Er was now using the power of this black bolt magical artifact to the fullest.

Or rather, his earlier sneak attack was meant to be deceptive and probing; if it succeeded, good; if not, it made Yunhe form an inherent impression that the black bolt would inevitably make a sound when passing through, so that at the crucial moment he could unleash its full power to achieve a surprise effect.

Moreover, combined with the earlier thunderous attack on consciousness, an ordinary late Qi Refining cultivator truly could not withstand such an assault.

In fact, Lei Er relies on this move to act with impunity.

Because Qi Refining cultivators lack divine sense and thus have almost no defense against consciousness, his move is invincible.

But Lei Er never expected that Yunhe was actually a Qi Refining cultivator who had formed divine sense, and his divine sense was not weak.

Thus Yunhe's subsequent actions left Lei Er dumbfounded.

Amid the sound wave, he acted as if nothing were wrong, repeatedly slapping his storage bag and quickly forming hand seals several times.

"Black Scorpion Shield", "Diamond Talisman", plus the swiftly cast "Metal Scale Armor Technique" formed from hand seals.

With these three layers of defense, even if Lei Er were given another black bolt, he couldn't break through!

At this moment, only one thought filled his mind.

"Damn turtle shell?!"

The next moment, when his gaze met Yunhe's, his hairs stood on end.

Then Yunhe's fan came down sharply as he barked:

"Seize!"

Lei Er noticed that the feathers constantly attacking his ring shield had somehow increased from three to five!

Moreover, orange-yellow flames suddenly flared on the feathers.

In his astonished gaze, the five flaming feathers fell together with Yunhe's shout!

Pfft!

The force erupting from the flaming feathers directly shattered all three of his ring shields, which fell onto him.

Lei Er stared wide-eyed, filled with intense fear.

He opened his mouth and coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

"Spirit, spiritual artifact?"

Yunhe's face remained calm as he waved his fan again.

Swish!!

A ferocious-looking head flew straight up.

Red Sheath Fan.

One fan breaks defense, one fan takes heads!

Retracting his feather plume, Yunhe was very satisfied with the initial combat performance of this low-grade Spiritual Artifact, the Red Sheath.

Aside from the mana consumption being slightly high.

He stepped forward, scanning with his divine sense.

He took Lei Er's waist pouch and the storage bag hidden in his inner clothing pocket, then also collected the black shuttle and the shattered three-sided shield from the ground into the storage bag.

He flicked his finger.

A ball of flame quickly ignited on his body.

"Alright, will you speak yourself, or shall I use the Soul Search Talisman?"

Yunhe looked at the bamboo pole man lying in a pool of blood nearby, holding a Soul Guiding Talisman, and spoke.

He had deliberately avoided letting his feather plume strike the bamboo pole man's vital point, merely causing him to temporarily lose control of his Spiritual Power, so that after dealing with Lei Er, he would have someone to answer his doubts.

Soul Search Talisman?

The bamboo pole man, already pale from excessive blood loss, turned even paler, jumped up from the ground, looked at the Spirit Talisman in Yunhe's hand, swallowed, and stammered:

"I, I will speak, I will speak, sir, what do you want to know? I will certainly tell you everything I know."

"What are you doing here? Are you trying to go to the Spirit Beast Realm? Lei Er is here, where is Lei Yi?"

A series of questions were fired, making the bamboo pole man tremble all over.

But seeing Yunhe's Red Sheath Fan and the Soul Search Talisman in his hand, he dared not conceal anything.

After a moment.

Yunhe flicked out another fire pearl, burning the bamboo pole man's corpse as well.

After pursing his lips and pausing a moment, he mounted the Ink Cloud Boat and departed.

Just one piece of news made him greatly surprised.

The Lei brothers were actually the bandits who robbed the Wei clan's caravan of those goods over half a year ago!

Despite the heavy casualties in the joint encirclement by the Wei clan and Qingzong Sect, the Lei brothers were scattered but both survived.

After lying low for a while, they prepared to flee to the Spirit Beast Realm to regroup.

Their reliance was on the fact that the Qingzong Sect's attention had been drawn away by the rat plague.

"Are those Wei clan goods really that special? For the Lei brothers to take such risks."

"Moreover, it seems they have someone backing them behind the scenes; what are they plotting?"

"It's a pity this bamboo pole man doesn't know much; it would be great if we could pump information from Lei Er."

Just keeping Lei Er alive is too dangerous.

Between gathering information and completely eliminating the danger, Yunhe has always chosen the latter.

Pant—caught up, today ten thousand characters! Seek monthly tickets! Seek subscription support—

(End of chapter)