Chapter 458

"Spare your life, don't let it happen again."

Lin Shu You tilted his head and blinked, only feeling that the one in front of him was truly shameless.

You are here right now, with double maces at your side, and you have voluntarily stepped into Brother Xiaoyuan's formation. You might as well try taking out that long spear and see who will lose their life next!

A You looked back.

Brother Xiaoyuan and A Li sat together, with a few pieces of wood set up in front of them, and the evil flood dragon circled among them, transforming the wood into gloomy charcoal fire for warmth in the rain.

"Hoo..."

A You sighed from the bottom of his heart:

Brother Xiaoyuan is worthy of being Brother Xiaoyuan. Facing a guy who talks big like this, he is actually not angry at all.

In Luoyang, when his time was running out, Xu Fengzhi told Xu Mofan that his heart had softened and he couldn't resist flattery, so he finally passed on a bit of the Xu family spear, using this as a reason to let Xu Mofan raise the spear tip by an inch when facing "Tan Wenbin and others" on the river in the future, for the sake of being half-disciples.

Xu Fengzhi was Xu Mofan's uncle, the youngest grandfather who had loved him and taught him spear techniques since childhood. Xu Mofan remembered these words and was also willing to abide by this "promise."

The night color first turned from light to thick, and then from thick to light.

Li Zhuiyuan and A Li lay into their respective sleeping bags to rest.

Lin Shu You leaned on the stone table, keeping watch.

Xu Mofan sat in the rain the whole time, closing his eyes.

Xia He squatted beside him, holding an umbrella.

The rain gradually stopped, and a layer of fish-belly white struggled to appear on the horizon.

Xu Mofan opened his eyes; he had been sitting here for a night.

Under the locust tree, Li Zhuiyuan and A Li had already woken up.

The youth was brushing his teeth, and the girl was washing her face.

After washing, he took a few pieces of wood from the side to continue the fire, set up a pot, and poured in water, dehydrated vegetables, seasonings, and compressed biscuits.

After boiling, he cooked a paste.

In the early morning in the mountains after the rain, the chill was bone-piercing. Having a hot meal at this time was quite comfortable.

Li Zhuiyuan handed a bowl to Lin Shu You and asked Xu Mofan over there:

"Come and eat something together?"

Xu Mofan remained indifferent.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't force it either.

Xu Mofan was consuming the family affection for Old Master Xu Fengzhi. How could he, Li Zhuiyuan, not be consuming the incense sentiment for the old man?

Xia He took out the dry food she brought and handed it to Xu Mofan.

Xu Mofan took it and ate it slowly, one bite at a time.

After finishing, Xu Mofan said:

"The sky is completely bright."

The implication was that he didn't want to wait anymore.

Lin Shu You wiped his mouth and nodded in deep agreement.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I have never stopped you from taking out your spear."

Xu Mofan's gaze landed on the cloth bag in Xia He's arms.

"Hum."

The spear tip flew out, pierced into the ground in front, and drew a glaring shadow.

Xu Mofan: "I will wait until noon at the latest."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't speak again, took a book out of his mountaineering bag, leaned against the root of the locust tree, and began to read.

The girl sat beside the youth, holding a small carving knife, and was carving Buddha beads.

The style was that of Buddha beads, but what was embedded inside were human skulls of different shapes.

The youth promised to compensate General Zeng with an ornament, and A Li was making it.

General Zeng had two bodies, so one ornament had to be made in two sets.

After finishing, take it home and put it on the neck of General Zeng's sculpture.

The ornament was small and exquisite, the difficulty wasn't high, and it was suitable for killing time at this moment.

Perhaps feeling that the other side was eating, sleeping, and idling, it contrasted too seriously with his own side.

Xia He also prepared to find something to do.

Unfortunately, she wasn't proficient in handicrafts, and the maid sister who was good at needlework also perished at the Yu family ancestral home.

She could only lay out all her compasses, gossip, copper coins, formation flags, etc., and began to set up a formation.

Lin Shu You counted the stationery in front of this one, which was truly dazzling.

Actually, Xia He's formation-setting level was very high, and she also had extremely high talent in this aspect.

But her development path was more suitable for being an elder who did theoretical research behind the sect family. Her combination with the practical level was too poor. Under normal encounter battle situations, her formations had no place to be used at all.

Therefore, she cherished this opportunity very much.

Finally, her formation was set up, just waiting for the young master's order to activate.

Practice was too little. To ensure that there would be no chain-dropping later, she held a small formation flag and intended to warm up the formation she had just set up.

The formation was half-activated, without any obstruction, incomparably smooth, everything normal.

Xia He revealed a smile.

But soon, the smile on her face froze.

She turned her head to look at the stone tablet behind her.

When entering last night, that person said that the formation inside the stone tablet was the one he had set up.

Her young master walked in without hesitation.

Xia He also saw this formation prototype, very conspicuous, without any cover, as if afraid that outsiders wouldn't see that there was a formation here.

Logically speaking, the more such a formation was, the lower level it was.

However, when she activated the formation she had set up, not only was there no movement in the outer formation, but even the operation of her own formation was incomparably normal.

It was almost impossible for a formation within a formation to appear with this effect.

Once it appeared, it meant one thing, and that was that the outer formation, like the universe of heaven and earth, perfectly wrapped and accommodated the formation she set up inside.

Xia He's body trembled slightly. She placed her wrist in front of her and bit it with her mouth.

Wisps of fresh blood seeped into her teeth, bringing a bit of fishy smell, but still couldn't suppress the instinctive fear as a formation master.

As a formation master whose theory was detached from practice, she knew very well how high the level of the formation she had just set up was. This also meant that the other party's formation level was higher and higher...

Xia He turned her head to look at Xu Mofan:

"Young master, how about we get out of the formation first?"

Xu Mofan didn't speak, just kept staring at the shadow under the spear tip.

From the maid's reaction, he already knew that he should have underestimated the other party's formation level.

But he had been cultivating a spear move from the rain last night until now.

Crossing that stone tablet was because this spear had a distance limit.

He had confidence that at the moment the other party's formation activated, he would thrust this spear out.

The way of the spear is to go forward without hesitation, rather take it in the straight, not seek it in the curve.

This is the confidence of being a spearman.

The shadow on the tree moved to Li Zhuiyuan along with the shift of sunlight.

A Li put down the carving in her hand, packed up her things, and put what she wanted to take into her bag.

The youth closed the book in his hand, stood up, walked to the stone table, and said to Xu Mofan:

"I have a piece of news to share with you."

Xu Mofan: "Your time is running out."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It is precisely because time is running out that I intend to say it."

Xu Mofan didn't take the words.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed his finger toward the mountain behind: "Do you know that there is a Lu Family Manor in the Jianghu?"

Xu Mofan: "I don't know."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The Lu Family Manor has newly bred a divine deer. Its leather and flesh are all treasures, with the effect of turning decay into magic."

Xu Mofan: "Is this the purpose of your blocking me here?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Yes, my other partners are sneaking into the Lu Family Manor to steal that deer. I cannot let outsiders go and disturb it."

Xu Mofan: "I don't know the Lu Family Manor, and I have no interest in that deer. I can swear to you on this point.

You still have time now, move aside.

I want to fulfill the promise I made to my grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan: "No, you must be interested. You must also remember clearly what I just said to you."

Xu Mofan frowned.

Li Zhuiyuan: "This time, I won't kill you."

Xu Mofan: "Arrogant."

Li Zhuiyuan: "But I believe those who have been following you from afar will be very interested in taking the opportunity to eliminate a threatening opponent while you are seriously injured."

Xu Mofan: "Dreaming."

Li Zhuiyuan: "To survive in their hands, you must possess intelligence clues that are more attractive than eliminating a competitor."

A smile appeared on the corner of Xu Mofan's mouth.

Lin Shu You turned his head and said to the youth: "Brother Xiaoyuan, he doesn't seem to have listened at all."

After a pause, Lin Shu You reached out and poked his own forehead,

"Brother Xiaoyuan, I think he has a big problem here."

For someone who could be certified by A You as having a problem with his brain, that problem must be very serious.

Li Zhuiyuan also saw it.

No matter how good the plan is, there will always be various accidents when implementing it, which need to be adapted to local conditions.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Forget it, I won't let you be seriously injured. I'm afraid you'll really die."

Hearing this, the smile on Xu Mofan's face became more obvious: "Do you really think your formation can trap my spear?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I promised Xu Fengzhi that when we meet on the river in the future, I would spare your life."

Xu Mofan's face sank.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Spearmen value promises. If you discover next that the one who completed the promise to your uncle from last night until now is not you but me, what will you do?"

Xu Mofan's gaze stared at the shadow that was about to reach the time.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I only require you to pass on the words I just said to you."

Xu Mofan closed his eyes, adjusted his inner breath, and counted down in his heart.

Lin Shu You picked up the double maces and moved his body, emitting a crisp sound.

Li Zhuiyuan: "A You, you go and receive that spear of his. He has been cultivating it since last night. If this spear cannot be thrust out, it will be very harmful to him."

"Yes, Brother Xiaoyuan."

Xia He saw that heat was rising from her young master's head. Obviously, the youth's words had completely ignited the young master's anger.

Li Zhuiyuan was still giving final instructions to Lin Shu You:

"A You, defend with all your heart, don't have any intention of attacking. As long as there are no flaws, his spear won't be able to hurt you."

"Okay, Brother Xiaoyuan."

Xu Mofan, who was closing his eyes, sneered: "Heh, is this how you look down on my Xu family spear?"

"No, I respect the Xu family spear very much." Li Zhuiyuan put his hands in his pockets, "I just understand the Xu family spear better than you, Xu Mofan."

The time is up.

Xu Mofan opened his eyes and stood up.

The remaining part of the long spear in the cloth bag in Xia He's arms flew out, the spear tip on the ground floated up, and the long spear was assembled in mid-air, just falling into Xu Mofan's hand.

The spear didn't come out, but the spear intent arrived first.

Lin Shu You blocked in front of Li Zhuiyuan, feeling a terrifying spear intent sweeping over, his vertical pupils instinctively opened, and the Ghost Marshal mark under the forehead ornament flickered to the highest brightness.

At this moment, even A You had to admit that this spear was very strong.

But A You completely followed Brother Xiaoyuan's instructions, defending comprehensively without dividing any thought into attacking.

The terrifying spear intent "pierced into" Lin Shu You, turning into the wailing of evil ghosts being executed and sacrificed in the Fengdu hell.

The damage of the spear intent was completely conducted away, and Lin Shu You himself was not affected at all.

Xu Mofan's gaze condensed, and the real spear moved.

This spear was a flat thrust, but it was like a thunderclap on flat ground. In one spear, there were countless spear shadows mixed in, and every spear shadow contained Xu Mofan's profound understanding of the spear path.

This was indeed one spear, but this one spear contained everything, winning over dozens of moves of confrontation.

But A You, out of infinite trust in Brother Xiaoyuan, directly ignored those spear shadows, and even risked the crisis of being poked into a hornet's nest, crossed his double maces, and only blocked Xu Mofan's long spear.

"Clang!"

The golden maces crossed and held the spear tip.

No distracting thoughts, no chaotic images, no complicated moves. Even if your spear changes thousands of times, it has to return to one here.

All the spear shadows gathered on this long spear in Xu Mofan's hand at this moment, and the changes in moves were reduced to a simple accumulation of force.

Pressed by the force, Lin Shu You's figure slid backward.

It looked like he was repelled and fell into a disadvantage, but when facing the other party's strong killing move, just taking it like this was actually a big win for Lin Shu You.

When sliding past Brother Xiaoyuan's side, Lin Shu You had some struggle in his heart. He could forcibly "eat" this force now, at most his blood would surge, a little blood would overflow from the corner of his mouth, and he would suffer some negligible force vibration injury.

In that case, he could continue to stand in front of Brother Xiaoyuan.

But Brother Xiaoyuan obviously didn't want him to suffer any injury, so he explained in advance that he only needed to receive this spear, so Lin Shu You chose to execute the order.

Continue to slide backward, unloading the force on his body in this way without injury.

Xu Mofan's eyes revealed astonishment.

This was a spear move he created based on the foundation of the Xu family spear. It could be said that he hadn't even thought of a way to crack it, but the youth in front of him thought of it, and it was

This was a spear technique he had created himself, based on the foundations of the Xu Family Spear. It could be said that he hadn't even had time to think of a way to counter it, yet the youth before him had already thought of one—and that was before he had even thrust his spear to demonstrate it.

That youth had seen right through him the moment he began to cultivate his spear intent.

The youth's earlier words quickly echoed in his ears:

"I simply understand the Xu Family Spear better than you, Xu Mofan."

At this moment, Xu Mofan had a feeling in his heart that what the youth said might be true.

Li Zhuiyuan spoke again: "The Xu Family Spear emphasizes spear intent that pushes forward without hesitation and spear forms that are formless. You have forcibly bound the spear intent to the spear form; while it is effective in the short term, in the long run, you have fallen into an obsession."

At this time, Lin Shu You, having shed all his momentum, stopped sliding and lunged forward rapidly, intending to come and protect him.

This meant that Li Zhuiyuan was now facing Xu Mofan directly.

Xu Mofan just habitually raised his spear again, but he was no longer sure if he should thrust it out at the youth before him.

Just a moment ago, this youth had seemed to be offering him guidance.

Regardless of whether his guidance was right or wrong, it would ultimately be inappropriate to thrust his spear and skewer him to death.

But since the spear was already raised, if he didn't continue to thrust it forward, was he supposed to just withdraw it now?

Li Zhuiyuan did not let this "junior" before him fall into hesitation for too long.

The youth spoke: "Spear."

Xu Mofan's body trembled as he suddenly realized his body had been bound without any warning.

Immediately following that, the long spear in his hand shuddered, its tip pointing downward, slipping out of his control and piercing into the ground.

Finally, his knees felt as if they had been pierced, and all his strength was drained away.

"Thump!"

Xu Mofan knelt straight down before the youth.

Only when he knelt did Xu Mofan perceive the aura of the formation descending, but the formation's effect had already taken hold of him much earlier.

By comparison, the youth's formation was faster than his spear!

Moreover, within this formation, Xu Mofan tasted spear intent.

The noon breeze blew past, bringing with it the lingering dampness from the ground.

Behind them, Xia He only saw her young master rush out, and then, after her young master thrust his spear, he knelt before the youth.

Xia He's peripheral vision swept toward the formation she had set up, and when she withdrew her gaze, it happened to meet the youth's eyes.

"Heh... heheheh..."

Xia He did not dare to activate her formation.

Lin Shu You returned to the youth's side and habitually performed a wrist-flipping motion; according to his usual habits, this meant he was about to use a golden mace to turn an enemy's head into watermelon juice.

A miserable smile appeared on Xu Mofan's face.

Proud and arrogant, he felt that his defeat this time was exceptionally ridiculous. From the moment he crossed that stone tablet, he had no chance at all, yet he had felt good about himself until now.

The person before him was hidden so deeply. Great-Granduncle had seen it but hadn't told him the truth, yet he had made him give a promise that could save his own life.

Xu Mofan: "Who exactly are you..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I will tell you when we reach Mount Ailao."

Xu Mofan: "You won, I lost."

Li Zhuiyuan: "When fellow sect members spar, the winner is always the Xu Family Spear."

Xu Mofan, kneeling on the ground, took a deep breath.

Spared life, guidance, demonstration.

A whole process had directly sent him, Xu Mofan, to the bottom of the valley.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I have fulfilled my promise to your granduncle; now, it is your turn."

Xu Mofan: "I will do as you say."

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the formation's effect.

Xu Mofan did not rush to stand up, but continued to kneel there and said:

"After I finish the things you want me to do, I will perform the second lighting of the lamp."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The target of this wave of yours is the Valley of the Living."

Xu Mofan: "Whether I am there or not will not affect your completion of this wave."

Li Zhuiyuan: "But I will be tired if that happens."

Xu Mofan nodded: "After this wave ends, I will perform the second lighting of the lamp."

In the Nantong training ground, after witnessing with his own eyes the exaggerated improvements the youth gave to all his partners, Zhao Yi had broken his composure and cursed: "That guy surnamed Li, if you do things this way, how are the others on the river supposed to play!"

Xu Mofan now realized that he was the "fart."

After being crushed, he had no heart left to compete for the dragon on the river with the youth before him.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I still have quite a few new insights into spear techniques."

Xu Mofan: "Those are yours."

Li Zhuiyuan: "But it is surnamed Xu."

Xu Mofan: "What difference does that make?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "You should be able to see that I don't practice martial arts. Insights that are just 'armchair strategy' without anyone specifically trying them out in reality are, in the end, rootless duckweed."

This kind of experimental work needs someone to do it.