Chapter 133: United Forces

Li Yu's expression was calm, not a speck of windblown sand clinging to her robes.

No one in the capital boasted of her prowess, but as a girl she had composed verses of the Manifest Image grade—her Confucian talent was no small thing.

She simply kept a low profile, rarely appearing in public view.

Hui Jie's eyes darkened with wariness; though he hadn't used his full strength just now, Li Yu's effortless parry still shook him.

"Have you ever seen peach blossoms?"

Li Yu extended her slender fingers, plucking a petal drifting from the sky; countless petals formed a circular ring, locking Hui Jie in place.

"What is this?"

Hui Jie's face twisted in horror—he reached to dispel the peach-petal ring, but could not. Sensing his abilities restrained, he suddenly felt the urge to flee.

It was instinct.

He sensed danger from this woman before him.

Though he did not know precisely what the peach petals were, he guessed they were some kind of extraordinary supernatural power.

Li Yu's eyes hardened—a scroll of blank paper appeared before Hui Jie; the sheets spun around him, then—shriek! they tore apart under immense force.

Like a mirror suddenly shattered.

Hui Jie reacted swiftly, but still half a step too late—he stood frozen as if struck by lightning, then spat blood, his expression visibly withering.

Just one strike!

Li Yu, at the same realm, slaughtered Hui Jie instantly—that was her power!

"You're weaker than I imagined."

Li Yu was about to strike and kill Hui Jie outright when she suddenly halted, frowning at the rapidly fading Buddhist barrier to her right.

There, standing unnoticed until now, was another monk clad in the Black Lotus Sect's robes; from the black lotus emblem on his robe, he was a fourth-rank, third-tier Buddhist cultivator.

"Master Yi Hui, save me!"

Hui Jie's eyes lit with hope as he pleaded toward the middle-aged monk.

Yi Hui was a monk with a full beard, seemingly in his early thirties, yet radiated the aura of a human beast—not merely because of his height and burly frame, but because of an intangible presence.

Yi Hui did not look at his fellow disciple Hui Jie, but at Li Yu, clasping his hands together: "Madam, long time no see."

Li Yu frowned and stepped back two paces—this monk was the same evil monk she had encountered before. Her power was strong, but she was one major rank below him; her only option was escape.

A single tier difference meant vast disparity, let alone a full major rank.

Moreover, Yi Hui had gained some rare opportunity—his strength far surpassed that of an ordinary fourth-rank, third-tier Buddhist cultivator.

Yi Hui showed no haste to attack. He walked slowly toward the fallen Hui Jie and said, "You appear badly wounded."

Hui Jie bowed repeatedly: "Master Yi Hui, you arrived just in time! This Zhou woman's aura must be immense—don't let her escape!"

"Of course."

Yi Hui grinned, raising his palm to strike Hui Jie's head. Hui Jie might have been wary, but his current state left him defenseless.

"Ghk—"

Hui Jie's head lolled sideways as he collapsed, his eyeballs bulging out from sheer force; soon, a fist-sized mass of unclaimed aura rose from his body.

Yi Hui seized the unclaimed aura, then turned to Li Yu, intoned a Buddhist mantra, and shot after her as a streak of black light.

"Such a persistent pest!"

Li Yu glanced back at Yi Hui chasing her, snorted coldly—he was indeed formidable, or else she wouldn't be fleeing. Even as a fourth-rank, first-tier cultivator, she could have used her supernatural art, Dirge of Fallen Petals, to fight him.

She hated this desperate flight.

They chased each other for a full day and night; when the sun rose high the next day, Li Yu suddenly saw Lu Fang waving at her from afar.

How could this be such a coincidence!

Li Yu's expression turned anxious. "Little Master, run! A fourth-rank, third-tier evil monk is behind me!"

Lu Fang hadn't heard clearly at first—he was too far away and thought she was greeting him, so he called out: "Didn't expect to meet you here!"

By the time Li Yu landed beside Lu Fang and explained, it was too late—Yi Hui stepped out of the black light, clasped his hands, and space rippled outward from him.

"Worse! It's a barrier!"

Li Yu's face darkened.

Lu Fang swiftly assessed—the barrier around them was extremely sturdy, likely cast at great cost by the monk before them.

Clearly, Yi Hui intended to kill them both here.

Yi Hui intoned a Buddhist mantra and chuckled: "I'm truly curious—your little master is a sixth-rank, second-tier Confucian? His aura must be substantial."

Li Yu watched Yi Hui warily and said to Lu Fang: "Little Master, I'll hold him off—you find a chance to break the barrier."

Lu Fang shook his head: "No, no, no—he's fourth-rank, third-tier. If you fight him head-on, you won't stand a chance. Let's fight together."

Li Yu glared at Lu Fang, irritated: "Little Master, why are you so hesitant? I told you to—"

Her words cut off abruptly.

Yi Hui wouldn't let them deliberate further—he noticed Li Yu cared for Lu Fang, so he ignored her and attacked Lu Fang instead.

"Listen to your little master—we might not lose if we fight together."

Lu Fang shouted, summoning his Qimen Flying Armor and retreating several zhang, positioning himself at an angle with Li Yu—so either could swiftly support the other if attacked.

Seeing the situation had changed, Li Yu said nothing more—she unleashed Dirge of Fallen Petals, pink petals locking Yi Hui in place.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Fang also unleashed Dirge of Fallen Petals.

The two supernatural arts—Dirge of Fallen Petals—locked Yi Hui at once; he froze, overwhelmed by the dual restraints, his power draining rapidly, leaving him disoriented.

"Your supernatural arts are identical."

Yi Hui looked between Lu Fang and Li Yu, hesitation creeping into his eyes—he had expended immense Buddhist energy to form this barrier to trap them.

If they now restrained him with two Dirge of Fallen Petals, his advantage was no longer the crushing superiority he'd assumed.

Li Yu also noticed Yi Hui's hesitation and loudly declared, "Little Master, if we join forces, we have a seventy percent chance of killing this evil monk!"

Of course, her confidence was hollow—deep down, she didn't believe they could win, even with two Dirge of Fallen Petals restraining Yi Hui.