Chapter 23: Ambush Assassin

Ye Liuyun toyed with the Black‑clothed Person's dagger in his hand and asked, "If we change direction, they won't find us?"

Liang Xue was startled by the words and said, "They will definitely find us, just not that quickly!"

Ye Liuyun's face broke into an intriguing smile as he said, "Why not settle this once and for all, wait for them here, and ambush them?"

"Are you sure these assassins are coming after us? I think we should avoid trouble; there might be experts among them!" Liang Xue advised.

"I am certain the assassin only released murderous intent after seeing us! Moreover, there is no one else here; it's clear he was waiting for us. Rather than being chased, we should eliminate the two of them first," Ye Liuyun said firmly.

Finally, Liang Xue also agreed. They dug a Cave nearby, blocked most of the entrance with earth, and observed the outside from within.

Ye Liuyun took out the Ice Moon Bow and engraved a sigil onto the bow and arrow.

"What are you doing?" Liang Xue asked softly.

"I engraved an inscription that can be locked with Spiritual Sense. That way, when I shoot later, as long as my Spiritual Sense locks onto the target, I can hit without aiming, and the arrow's range will be longer," Ye Liuyun explained to her.

"You can do this kind of divine rune? Then aren't you an Artifact Refining Master?" Liang Xue was somewhat surprised.

Ye Liuyun smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more. In fact, he merely reproduced the sigil from his mind; he didn't understand the principle.

Nevertheless, it didn't hinder the sigil from achieving the desired function. Soon, the bow and arrow were modified, and he stored them away.

Then he asked Liang Xue, "I sense your Soul isn't weak either; didn't you notice the Black‑clothed Person before?"

Liang Xue replied, "There are many paths for a Soul Master. I'm cultivating only the basic Soul and haven't chosen a direction yet!"

"Soul Master?" Ye Liuyun asked, puzzled.

"A Soul Master, like an Alchemist, Formation Master, or Artifact Refining Master, is also a profession. They can command ferocious beasts, Kuailei, Yin Soul, zombies, and the like in battle," Liang Xue explained.

"Oh! I've never heard of that before!" Ye Liuyun said, hearing of such a profession for the first time.

Liang Xue told him, "That's because few people cultivate the Soul; it's a niche path, and its difficulty is high, heavily tied to innate talent."

Ye Liuyun nodded, asked no further, and took out the beast core he had just obtained.

Liang Xue asked curiously, "Why are you so desperate to get that beast core?"

Ye Liuyun smiled mysteriously. "For cultivation. I'm extracting the Thunder and Lightning Power inside. Keep an eye on the outside while I cultivate for a while."

Thus, Ye Liuyun followed the methods in the Mysterious Origin Refining Qi Manual and began extracting the Thunder and Lightning Power from the beast core.

Ordinary people cannot directly draw any power from a beast core. Its main uses are for refining artifacts to enhance weapon attributes, or for alchemy.

However, Ye Liuyun's Mysterious Origin Refining Qi Manual can absorb various energies, including those from a beast core.

Fortunately, Liang Xue didn't press further; after all, everyone has secrets. Yet she thought inwardly that Ye Liuyun was becoming increasingly mysterious, as if he could do anything.

"My luck is really good! To have found Thunder and Lightning Power! Even if we go back now, this trip to Henglin Shanmai won't have been in vain!"

Once he absorbs the Thunder and Lightning Power, his Storm Thunder Fist cultivation can unleash its full might.

Soon, Ye Liuyun extracted the Thunder and Lightning Power contained in the beast core and merged it into his true Qi. At the same time, he discovered that other energies in the beast core could also be absorbed and transmuted into his true Qi.

A beast core holds the entirety of a ferocious beast's cultivation essence, containing massive energy. This discovery almost made Ye Liuyun leap with joy.

But he kept quiet, rejoicing silently for a while, then went to swap Liang Xue out.

"Does your Wanbaoge sell beast cores?" Ye Liuyun asked Liang Xue softly while observing the outside.

"Of course we do! What do you need?" Liang Xue asked.

"When you go back, remember to prepare some for me. Preferably Thunder and Lightning attribute ones, and the higher the level the better! Also any Thunder and Lightning ores, precious materials, or herbs—I want them all," Ye Liuyun said.

Liang Xue naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

Soon, Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense sensed someone approaching.

He hurriedly used his Soul to mask his aura. Liang Xue also tried to conceal her aura to avoid detection.

Ye Liuyun saw that the newcomer also wore black and was at the True Origin Double realm.

"Where did so many True Origin realm strong ones come from?" he wondered silently.

The newcomer was also very cautious, first scouting around, then slowly approaching the corpse of their companion on the ground.

At this moment, Ye Liuyun had already locked the person with his Divine Sense, but he didn't act immediately, instead patiently waiting for them to lower their guard.

The person carefully examined the corpse, found it had been killed by a ferocious beast, and gradually relaxed, beginning to search for traces of the beast.

Ye Liuyun waited until a large tree blocked them, then shot an arrow.

Because the bow had the Divine Sense Lock function, the arrow could automatically adjust its path even if not a straight line.

Puff—

The arrow struck the person's back. Though not fatal, it was enough to weaken his combat ability.

Ye Liuyun fired another arrow, then leapt from the Cave, rushing to kill the Black‑clothed Person.

Liang Xue followed closely, emerging from another direction to attack the Black‑clothed Person.

At that moment, Ye Liuyun's second arrow came from another direction, hitting the Black‑clothed Person's right arm.

Ye Liuyun instantly surged forward, delivering a punch infused with Thunder and Lightning Power, striking like a raging thunder.

The Black‑clothed Person hastily retaliated with a punch, but the Thunder and Lightning Power left him stiff and numb. The arriving Liang Xue pierced his heart with an arrow, and he fell limp!

"Ah! How did we kill him? We hadn't even asked anything!" Ye Liuyun lamented.

"Huh? I didn't think that far! If you wanted to capture him alive, you should've said so earlier!"

Don't think Liang Xue is usually clever; her reaction in battle wasn't as fast as Ye Liuyun's.

Ye Liuyun saw the Black‑clothed Person stiffened by the Thunder and Lightning Power and thought there was a chance to capture him alive.

But Liang Xue wasted the chance, leaving him with no option.

The Black‑clothed Person only had a Signal Talisman and a dagger on him, nothing else.

Ye Liuyun placed the Black‑clothed Person's corpse directly into the Storage Ring, and returned with Liang Xue to the Cave to wait.

After a while, Ye Liuyun turned and whispered into Liang Xue's ear, "It's here!"

Liang Xue's face flushed from the warm breath at her ear.

Ye Liuyun couldn't afford to observe her now. His Divine Sense had already fully outlined the person's silhouette and the surrounding terrain.

Just like last time, after waiting for that person to cautiously finish checking the wound and confirming it was a ferocious beast bite, Ye Liuyun then seized the chance to fire an arrow.

That person's reaction was not slow either; although he couldn't see, hearing the bowstring sound, he immediately began to dodge.

Unfortunately he didn't know this arrow was locked on via Spiritual Sense Lock; no matter how he dodged, the arrow would still hit him.

Ye Liuyun shot three arrows in succession. In the darkness, that person had no way to dodge; all three arrows hit.

But despite his serious injuries, he still sent out a signal.

By the time Ye Liuyun and Liang Xue arrived, it was already too late to stop him.