Chapter 212: The Empty Residence

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 weaker Wu Xiu. It was only through their formidable cultivation bases and physical bodies that they had held on until now, yet they were at the end of their rope.

For Yin Jiu, the blow 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, fainting 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 can no longer 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. Gone was his peerless grace from before others; he coughed violently, and blood flowed from his mouth and nose again.

He struggled to maintain his fighting spirit, refusing to let himself fall asleep. His tiger-like eyes stared fixedly at Li Youyi, and without knowing what he was contemplating, he suddenly said, "Li Jiufu and I are no match for the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins. Even just pinning them down left us wounded at every turn. It was Qin Li using a sword array to trap the twins for a single breath, combined with Li Jiufu paying the price of an arm, that gave me the chance to deal him a heavy blow. He won't be able to heal within ten days."

Li Youyi asked, "The Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins were heavily wounded?"

Hatred surged in Cang Li's eyes as he nodded slightly. "Among the younger generation, the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins and Ge Xiantong possess combat power that surpasses everyone else, creating a clear gap. But if he wants to kill me, he has to pay a price, one way or another. I only regret that my spear only pierced his body and failed to strike 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 and the fierce clashes, along with the heart-stopping thrill of the final battle where several fought against one.

Bai Shu returned and walked through the door, her expression extremely panicked. "I 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 Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival invitations resonate with each other. You can't just hide them, and you can't just lie low."

Cang Li was very calm, continuing to heal and recover his magic power. He took out the invitation from his bosom, which had the two characters "Cang Li" engraved on the surface. "I will pin them down later. Li Youyi, take the invitation and Li Jiufu, and go find Zuoqiu Ting."

"If he is also defeated, you must flee the city immediately. Even if the invitations and various exchange tickets become worthless paper, they cannot 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 cultivator does 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 being broken rang out incessantly.

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

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

Before the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, Yin Jiu and the others had spent a lot of time and resources setting it up. This was 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 appeared countless young Wu Xiu. Some wore the battle robes of the Three Chen Palaces, some were cavalry from the Night City, some were the Buddha-thief of Coffin Mountain, and there were also demon-race Wu Xiu...

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

At the high points of the nearby streets, Li Youyi successively saw "Ku Di" and "Mie Di" from the Four Truths of Coffin Mountain, "Chen Wenwu" of the Three Chen Palaces, "Ming Niansheng" under the seat of the Young Venerable...

These were just the top experts who were easy to see from the high points and whom Li Youyi recognized.

They had pursued extremely quickly; 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 certainly would not have escaped.

They did not attack immediately because Cang Li and Yin Jiu were too strong; even the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins could be heavily wounded, 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 heaven.

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

They had long since deduced that the first wave of the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival would be very difficult to endure.

And Ge Xiantong and the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins joining forces to first clear out the Zuoqiu Gate and the Nine Li Tribe was the worst-case scenario in their deductions.

Failing to survive this most difficult first night meant losing the entire game.

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

Yin Jun knew that the situation at the Qin Garden was already decided, and 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.

Zuoqiu Ling pointed toward the East City and cursed with his hands on his hips, "The Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins are heavily wounded, yet those two from the East Realm dare not attack. What are they waiting for? If the Zuoqiu Gate and the Nine Li Tribe are completely out, the next one will be them. Do they not even 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 solely on the Dragon Gate... even Long Zhexian of the Dragon Palace can only be a coiled dragon in hibernation. It can only be said that the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins have remarkable martial arts and intellect, as if they had long anticipated today's situation. The move of killing Zhu Huan has finally shown its power, making it impossible for the Lei Xiao Sect and the Dragon Gate to cooperate sincerely again."

Zuoqiu Ling said, "Cultivating thunder techniques is for attacking; it is unstoppable, and it is for destroying everything. Lu Cangsheng's personality should not cultivate thunder techniques; no wonder he is suppressed by the Dragon Palace. By comparison, Zhu Yibai has more courage."

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

It was Zhu Yibai of the Zhu Gate who pinned down the two young Wu Xiu armies of the Que Rong and Quan Rong, who took orders from the far-west ash region, as well as the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins' first expert "Hua Yuzi" and second expert "Qi Jin" and others.

Otherwise, the Luan-Sheng Lin-You twins' ferocity would be even greater, Cang Li and Yin Jiu would have no chance of escaping alive, and the Zuoqiu Gate would likely have already collapsed.

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

A clan elder of the Zuoqiu Gate said, "You are only standing from your own perspective. Lu Cangsheng and the Dragon Palace are sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight; why not enjoy it? For them, now is indeed not the best time to strike."

Not only them, but the Longevity Realm giants and transcendent figures of the major factions on the fourth and fifth heavens were all watching the situation of the three important battlefields in the city. Many older figures were discussing and deducing the development of the situation after the Nine Li Tribe 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 a decision and suddenly stood up.

But he was pressed back down by Zuoqiu Ling, who held his shoulder.

Suddenly.

A clan elder of the Zuoqiu Gate exclaimed, "The gate of the Qin Garden... it has 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 looked down in unison.

"Creak!"

Bai Shu followed Li Youyi's instructions and opened the two large gates of the Qin Garden.

She held a broom and 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 knowing 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 Disaster Fire Realm Great Thought Master of the Earth Wolf King Army. What is she trying to do?"

"Opening the gate 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."

Mie Di wanted to make a move, but was stopped by Ku Di. "Things are abnormal; do not act rashly. Do you really think that a proud person like Cang Li would be willing to be captured and surrender?"

Mie Di's expression froze. Looking at Bai Shu, who was cheerfully sweeping the steps, he also felt it was eerily abnormal.

This did not look like a surrender!

Yuwen Tuozhen, the young master of the Night City, sat on the back of a Night Lin beast, his expression changing suddenly as he thought of a possibility. "Why did Cang Li and Li Jiufu flee here? Could 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-method black 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 gate, immediately retreated. "Then let's wait for the Young Venerable to come. Thunder-method black ice is not omnipotent. Since we have seen through his trick, we have our own countermeasures."

On the third heaven of Peach Plum Mountain.

Zuoqiu Ling stared in surprise. "These people were actually intimidated and dare not break 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, and 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 trap inside, such as a large amount of thunder-method black ice? Wouldn't they all be buried with them?"

"This level of strategic game is something I hadn't expected."

"Your Nine Li Tribe was prepared to perish with the enemy once defeated?" a clan elder of the Zuoqiu Gate exclaimed, feeling that the top Wu Xiu of the younger generation of the Nine Li Tribe were too fierce.

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

Yin Jun shook his head slightly and sighed, "Even if there really is a large amount of thunder-method black ice, it can only block them for a while at most."

"The Empty Residence Strategy?"

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.