Chapter 31: Stall

"Holy Maiden, there is a ruined temple ahead. Would you like to rest for a while?" The maid supported the Holy Maiden; both were exhausted, with several new wounds on their bodies.

Last night, seeing they would not make it out of the mountains in time and finding no place to spend the night, the two had squeezed into the gap between two huge boulders, and the Holy Maiden had taken out a seven-colored cloud cape to cover them from the outside.

This too was a strange artifact crafted by a Dan Xiu.

Once covered, it quickly merged with the surrounding environment.

Not only was there no flaw visible on the surface, but even their scent was concealed.

The two hid inside, daring not to move a muscle, daring not to make a single sound.

The nights in the mountains were truly terrifying; various terrifying anomalies powerful enough to make one despair passed by the two of them from time to time.

Holding on until dawn approached, an accident still occurred: a rabbit, pursued by an anomaly, crashed headlong into the stone crevice.

The two were exposed and could only fight that anomaly to the death.

Although they survived, they had also alerted other evil spirits, so they fled all the way; the Dan Xiu artifacts on the Holy Maiden and the "Law Money" of the Law Cultivator were almost entirely exhausted.

But they had at least endured until daybreak.

The two women nearly broke down in tears, clutching their heads.

No matter what, surviving a night in the Ghost Wushan, such a treacherous "land beyond the law," would be something they could brag about for a lifetime.

The Holy Maiden looked at the dilapidated abandoned temple; a corner of the main hall had collapsed, the doors and windows were gone, and the two pillars before the entrance had their bases gnawed away halfway by something unknown, teetering and ready to collapse completely at any moment.

The offering table inside the hall was still relatively intact, but the incense burner on top had shattered into several pieces.

The central statue of the deity had lost one arm, and its head was only half remaining, looking extremely wretched.

The Holy Maiden shook her head: "Do not go in; perhaps something strange is hiding inside."

She looked ahead again: "Let us travel a bit further and find a sunny hillside to rest."

"As you command."

The two had taken only two steps when the Holy Maiden suddenly grabbed the maid: "Wait!"

The Holy Maiden took a redwood and brass ear-shaped device from her sleeve, put it on her ear, listened carefully, her expression changed, and she said: "Someone is coming!"

The maid was stunned: "Who would come here..." She suddenly realized: "It's that boy!"

The Holy Maiden nodded: "Very likely."

"Why would he be here?"

The Holy Maiden spoke coldly with a touch of mockery: "To kill us!"

The maid's first reaction was also to find it ridiculous, but then her eyes widened: "He wouldn't really think he can do it, would he?"

"He is in the prime of his youth and spirit; after winning several times in a row, his confidence naturally swelled rapidly!" The Holy Maiden sneered: "Moreover, one can deduce that we spent a night in the mountains; even if we did not die, we are severely injured, hehe, he actually guessed correctly."

The maid ground her teeth: "Even if we are severely injured, killing him is as easy as turning over one's hand!"

"Do not underestimate him again." The Holy Maiden took a deep breath and said slowly: "He could find us in the vast mountains; what does that prove? It proves that boy, at some unknown time, placed a mark on us!"

The maid frowned: "This makes things difficult; I was originally thinking of hiding and ambushing him."

The Holy Maiden looked around: "No ambush; right here, we will fight him openly! This time the losses were heavy, but as long as we catch the June Bug, it will still be a huge profit!"

The maid nodded firmly, then stood on the open ground before the slope, summoning her last few Yin Soldiers to prepare for a hidden ambush around the perimeter.

The Holy Maiden, however, made a gesture to her, telling her not to rush.

Then, the Holy Maiden picked up a tree branch and drew a large circle around the maid, enclosing all the suitable spots around the maid where Yin Soldiers could hide.

This simple action, however, left the Holy Maiden drenched in sweat, her entire body looking somewhat withered, obviously a huge expenditure.

"Holy Maiden..." the maid called out in pain, but the Holy Maiden waved her hand: "You continue the setup. Within my 'Stall', all rules work against that boy—I want to see what he has to kill us with!"

The range drawn by the Holy Maiden on the ground was the "Stall" of a Law Cultivator practicing the "Business Method."

Whoever owns the Stall sets the rules.

Once Xu Yuan steps into this range, it will be extremely disadvantageous for him!

If Xu Yuan is further dragged into the "Stall" for a certain amount of time, he can be turned into "goods" on the Stall!

Then, like a butcher, Xu Yuan's entire body could be divided into different parts, sold for as much money as one wished.

The Holy Maiden herself could then buy Xu Yuan's entire body at an extremely low price—he would be completely powerless to resist!

But the ability of the "Stall" requires an eighth-rank Law Cultivator to cast; the Holy Maiden's "Law Cultivator" level had only just reached eighth-rank not long ago, but now, under severe injury, casting it consumes far too much.

The maid immediately hid the Yin Soldiers in various places within the Stall.

One in the patch of grass on the left, one under a large rock to the front right, and one in the shadowy corner of the ruined temple steps behind.

She had only these three Yin Soldiers left.

And the Holy Maiden sat on that large rock, taking out the Divine Mechanism Crossbow and laying it horizontally across her knees.

The Divine Mechanism Crossbow had only one arrow left, but the Holy Maiden felt that to completely solve the problem, one arrow was enough.

After several narrow escapes last night, the Dan Xiu artifacts she carried were almost completely exhausted.

But the Holy Maiden still possessed boundless confidence; today was the moment her mission on this journey would be successfully concluded.

"I am the Holy Maiden selected by the hundred thousand believers of the Ping Tian Society, a woman destined to become one of the three hundred concubines of the Ping Tian Great Saint!"

"I am nineteen years old, already an eighth-rank Dan Xiu and an eighth-rank Law Cultivator! Countless resources of the Society are gathered in me!"

"My fate is noble! What does a small servant from a poor, remote village have to compare with me?"

"I will kill him in less than half an hour."

"Half an hour later, I will become a cultivator of the Life, Dan, and Law three schools!"

Hidden in the Holy Maiden's other sleeve was a small knife flashing with cold light.

On the small path ahead, the grass by the roadside swayed; the maid immediately grew tense, waiting for the opponent to burst out, yet no figure ever appeared.

Just as the maid was wondering, a point of Jin Guang suddenly flew shooting over, heading straight for the maid's throat!

"A Rank Dan Xiu! It is indeed you!" the maid shouted, a whisk suddenly appearing in her hand, which she flicked open to entangle the golden pellet flying toward her.

The golden pellet curved, suddenly transforming into a short sword, and with a Crack! severed the handle of the whisk.

Then the short sword continued slicing toward the maid's neck.

From the side, a small knife flashing with the cold light of plague suddenly thrust out, clinking as it blocked the short sword back.

The maid cursed angrily, goading: "Hiding your head and tail, are you even a man!"

Xu Yuan actually came out, but at extreme speed; wind whistling beneath his feet, he rushed to the maid's front in a whoosh, then a short staff in his hand swung straight down to strike her head.

Along the way, the Yin Soldiers the maid had ambushed didn't even have time to launch their attack.

The Holy Maiden's Divine Step was as fast as lightning; the small knife in her hand slashed toward Xu Yuan's neck.

Xu Yuan sidestepped to avoid it, so the short staff in his hand failed to hit the maid, but that short staff suddenly turned into a long rope, zipping out to coil around the maid's neck.

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(End of this chapter)