Chapter 211: The Empty House Strategy

After a bitter night of fighting, Cang Li and Yin Jiu were both exhausted, their magic power almost entirely depleted.

The severity of their injuries would have killed any martial cultivator with a weaker cultivation base. The two of them had only held on this long due to their formidable cultivation and physical bodies, but they were now at the end of their rope.

For Yin Jiu, the blow he suffered was both physical and spiritual.

Gradually, the sobbing ceased.

Fatigue, weakness, pain, grief, and hatred... they surged in like a tide. Yin Jiu lost consciousness and fainted beside the corpse of Yin Shi. Their hands remained tightly locked together.

Li Youyi stepped forward, wanting to do something.

"Let him rest for a while! Even the strongest person has moments when they cannot hold on."

Cang Li fished out a pill bottle, poured out a vermilion healing pill, and stuffed it into Yin Jiu's mouth.

The pill melted.

A moment later, Yin Jiu was enveloped in a blood-colored medicinal mist.

Cang Li took one himself and slumped against the wall, completely devoid of the peerless grace he showed in public. He coughed violently, and blood flowed from his nose and mouth again.

He struggled to maintain his fighting spirit, refusing to let himself fall asleep. His tiger-like eyes stared fixedly at Li Youyi, and not knowing what he was thinking, he suddenly said: "Li Jiu Fu and I were no match for Luan Sheng Lin You. Even just holding him back meant being injured at every turn. It was Qin Li who used a sword array to trap Luan Sheng Lin You for a breath, and with Li Jiu Fu paying the price of an arm, that I was given the chance to strike him heavily. He won't be able to heal within ten days."

Li Youyi asked: "Luan Sheng Lin You was heavily injured?"

Cang Li's eyes were filled with monstrous hatred as he nodded slightly: "Among the younger generation, Luan Sheng Lin You and Ge Xiantong possess combat power that surpasses everyone else, creating a clear gap. But if he wants to put me to death, he has to pay a price, no matter what. I only regret that my spear strike only pierced his body and failed to hit his heart or dantian."

Only then did Li Youyi notice that Cang Li had no spear in his hand.

In his mind, he could imagine the danger and intensity of the night-long pursuit, the constant clashes, and the heart-pounding final battle where several people fought one.

Bai Shu returned and walked through the door, her face looking very flustered: "I've cleaned up all the bloodstains nearby! But... it seems someone has already caught up!"

"The Longevity Pill tickets, Dragon Seed tickets, and Dragon Bone tickets in the Qianlong Lantern Festival invitations resonate with each other. It's not something you can hide just because you want to, or lie low just because you want to."

Cang Li was very calm, having been healing and recovering magic power all along. He took out the invitation from his bosom, which had the two characters "Cang Li" engraved on its surface: "I will hold them back in a moment. Li Youyi, take the invitation and Li Jiu Fu, and go find Brother Zuoqiu Ting."

"If he is defeated too, then flee the city immediately. Even if the invitations and various exchange tickets become waste paper, they shouldn't benefit them. With your cultivation speed and your combat power of being invincible within five moves at the same realm, you will surely be able to avenge us in two or three years at most."

"A practitioner should not fight for a moment, but for a hundred generations! You have a choice, but I have no choice."

"Swish! Swish..."

Outside the Qin Garden, sharp sounds of wind-breaking constantly rang out.

The defensive array in the garden was fully activated, with layers of light gauze and array patterns floating above.

Some arrays covered the entire garden, while others covered only small areas, scattered like a labyrinthine illusion array.

Before the Qianlong Lantern Festival, Yin Jiu and the others had spent a lot of time and resources setting it up. This was also the reason they had fled to the Qin Garden.

Li Youyi flew up and landed on a tree near the array's light gauze on the courtyard wall, looking outside.

"Rumble!"

The sounds of footsteps and iron hooves were dense.

On the wide street outside the main gate, countless young martial cultivators appeared. Some wore the battle robes of the Three Chen Gong, some were cavalry from the Night City, some were the Fomen thieves of Coffin Mountain, and there were also demon martial cultivators...

Troops from more than a dozen large and small factions, with brilliant armor, sharp weapons, and fluttering banners, surrounded the entire Qin Garden.

At the high points of the nearby streets, Li Youyi saw the "Bitter Truth" and "Extinction Truth" of the Coffin Mountain Four Truths, "Chen Wenwu" of the Three Chen Gong, "Ming Niansheng" under the Young Venerable...

These were just the top experts standing at high points that were easy to see, and whom Li Youyi recognized.

They had pursued extremely fast. It had only been a moment since Cang Li and Yin Jiu arrived at the Qin Garden, and they had already formed a siege. It could be said that even if Li Youyi had fled at the first opportunity, he definitely wouldn't have been able to escape.

They didn't attack immediately because Cang Li and Yin Jiu were too strong; even Luan Sheng Lin You could be heavily injured, so who would dare to break in easily?

Experts at the end of their rope are often the most terrifying.

Peach Plum Mountain, one hundred zhang per layer of heaven.

On the edge of the cliff on the third layer of heaven, under an ancient peach tree, Yin Jun, Brother Zuoqiu Ling, and some elders of the Brother Zuoqiu Sect were all on edge, their eyes fixed, sitting and standing uneasily.

They had long since deduced that the first wave of the Qianlong Lantern Festival would be hard to endure.

And Ge Xiantong and Luan Sheng Lin You joining forces to first clear out the Brother Zuoqiu Sect and the Li Clan was the worst-case scenario they had deduced.

Failing to survive this most difficult first night meant losing everything.

There was no need to win; as long as they held on, the Dueguan would naturally give a very high evaluation.

Yin Jun knew that the situation at the Qin Garden was already decided, and that the life and death of Cang Li and the others were no longer in their own hands. He clenched his fingers, but there was nothing he could do.

Brother Zuoqiu Ling pointed toward the Eastern City and cursed angrily with his hands on his hips: "Luan Sheng Lin You is heavily injured, yet those two from the Eastern Region dare not attack. What are they waiting for? If the Brother Zuoqiu Sect and the Li Clan are completely out, they will be next. Don't they understand that when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold?"

Yin Jun's personality was more restrained: "Lu Cangsheng is good at defense; he will never strike without certainty. Relying only on the Longmen... Long Dian's Long Zhexian can only be a coiled dragon in hibernation. It can only be said that Luan Sheng Lin You's martial arts and intellect are both extraordinary, as if he had long anticipated today's situation. The move of killing Zhu Huan has finally shown its power, making the Lei Xiao Sect and the Longmen unable to cooperate sincerely again."

Brother Zuoqiu Ling said: "Cultivating thunder techniques is for attacking; they are unstoppable when they come and cannot be halted when they go; they are meant to destroy everything. A personality like Lu Cangsheng's shouldn't cultivate thunder techniques; no wonder he is suppressed by the Longmen. By comparison, Zhu Yibai has more courage."

The eyes of the surrounding crowd fell on the battlefield in the Western City.

It was Zhu Yibai of the Zhu Sect, holding back the two young martial cultivator armies of the Que Rong and Quan Rong from the far western Ash Region, as well as Luan Sheng Lin You's top expert "Hua Yuzi" and second expert "Qi Jin" and others.

Otherwise, Luan Sheng Lin You's fierce reputation would be even greater, Cang Li and Yin Jiu would never have had a chance to escape, and the Brother Zuoqiu Sect would likely have already been defeated.

It could be said that it was precisely because Brother Zuoqiu Ting had won over the Zhu Sect in advance that the Brother Zuoqiu Sect and the Li Clan had held on until now.

An elder of the Brother Zuoqiu Sect said: "You are just standing from your own perspective. Lu Cangsheng and the Longmen are sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight; why not do so? For them, now is indeed not the best time to strike."

It wasn't just them; on the fourth layer, fifth layer... the Longevity Realm giants and transcendent figures of all major factions were staring at the situation of the three important battlefields in the city. Many older figures were discussing and deducing the development of the situation after the Li Clan was out.

Yin Jun stared fixedly at the foot of the mountain, never having imagined that Cang Li and Li Youyi would actually run into each other and both be trapped in the Qin Garden.

He seemed to have made up his mind and stood up abruptly.

But his shoulder was pressed down by Brother Zuoqiu Ling, forcing him back.

Suddenly.

An elder of the Brother Zuoqiu Sect exclaimed: "The door of the Qin Garden... it actually opened on its own..."

Although everyone knew that the defense of the Qin Garden was a mere formality in front of a large number of experts, they were still secretly shocked and all looked down together.

"Creak!"

Bai Shu, following Li Youyi's instructions, opened the two large doors of the Qin Garden's main entrance.

Holding a broom, she swept the steps.

Looking at the dense crowd of enemies outside, she was speechless and nervous to death, but she still had to pretend to be calm and cheerful, without a hint of fear. In her heart, she only felt that Li Youyi had a problem with his brain.

The various factions on the street were all extremely confused, not understanding what was going on.

Chen Wenwu stood with his sword on the eaves of a building opposite the main gate of the Qin Garden: "It's Bai Shu, the Earth Wolf Army's Disaster Fire Realm Great Thought Master. What is she trying to do?"

"Opening the door and sweeping the steps to welcome us. Is this... preparing to surrender and admit defeat?"

"Cang Li falsely claims to be the Southern Tiger, hiding inside while letting a woman come out to surrender."

"This woman is quite charming, as if she could be squeezed for water. I'll go take her down first."

Extinction Truth wanted to make a move, but was stopped by Bitter Truth: "Things are abnormal; one must not act rashly. Do you really think that a proud person like Cang Li would be willing to be captured and admit defeat?"

Extinction Truth's face froze, and looking again at Bai Shu, who was cheerfully sweeping the steps, he also felt it was eerily abnormal.

This didn't look like someone preparing to surrender and admit defeat!

Night City Young Master Yuwen Tuozhen, sitting on the back of a Night Qilin giant beast, his face changed abruptly, thinking of a possibility: "Why did Cang Li and Li Jiu Fu flee here? Could it be that they have set something up in advance?"

"What could they set up? You are timid; I'll go." Ming Niansheng said.

Yuwen Tuozhen said: "What if it's a large amount of thunder technique profound ice? In the current situation, it feels like they are preparing to lure us all in and then perish together."

Hearing this, everyone's hearts were shaken.

Ming Niansheng, who had already walked toward the main gate, immediately retreated: "Then let's wait for the Young Venerable to come before deciding. Thunder technique profound ice is not omnipotent either. Since we have seen through his trick, we have our own countermeasures."

On the third layer of Peach Plum Mountain.

Brother Zuoqiu Ling stared in astonishment: "These people were actually intimidated, and they don't even dare to charge in?"

Yin Jun frowned and pondered: "The Qin Garden is covered by arrays of all sizes, and they can't see the situation inside. Those with insufficient cultivation can't break in. Those with strong cultivation cherish their lives."

"If one or two people go in, they will definitely be killed. If too many people go in, what if there is a killing trap inside, such as a large amount of thunder technique profound ice? Wouldn't they all be buried with them?"

"This layer of strategic game is something I didn't expect."

"Your Li Clan was prepared long ago that if you were defeated, you would perish together with the enemy?" An elder of the Brother Zuoqiu Sect exclaimed, feeling that the top martial cultivators of the Li Clan's younger generation were too fierce.

"How is that possible? Wouldn't it be better to flee the city after defeat and give up the Qianlong competition?"

Yin Jun shook his head lightly and sighed: "Even if there really is a large amount of thunder technique profound ice, it can only block them for a while at most."

"The Empty House Strategy?"

Brother Zuoqiu Ling praised: "Cang Li being able to think of this move is still quite good. As long as he can delay some time, there can be many variables."

"It couldn't have been him who thought of it."

Yin Jun knew his son too well; he had intellect and courage, but not so many devious tricks.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 212 =====