Chapter 238: As If Assisted by a God (Revised)

Bu Yuehua was unclear what kind of spell this was, but understood it was power she could not control; even though she merely lent the vast power of her divine soul within her body to cast it, she was simply being carried along. Her already injured little head nearly exploded from the fine, microscopic yet galaxy-sized details of the control, so in the end she could only give up and let her body be carried along.

And Xie Jinhuan, still unable to master the power of heaven and earth, naturally could not feel the strange changes in the power of heaven and earth; he only felt the wind and snow were a bit chaotic. Hearing the sound, he did not respond, but instead, holding his long spear, suddenly transformed into a wild thunderbolt, rushing toward Lu Yan at the center of the scorched earth, like a mad dragon tearing through the snowfield!

Boom—

Lu Yan sensed the chaos in the power of heaven and earth and felt something was wrong, but he did not retreat. With his left hand, he formed the Fire Seal, and the Fire-Order Talisman radiated blinding streams of light, condensing over a hundred light points before him, then:

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Golden-red flames, like fiery meteors, dragged out a hundred fire lines; from a distance, they looked like an arrow storm shot by an arrow formation, yet their speed was several times faster.

Whether thunder techniques or fire techniques, once an immortal cultivator locks onto a position, it is almost impossible to evade; martial artists, demons, and Buddhas mostly can only rely on body-protecting divine arts to hard-resist, and with Xie Jinhuan's cultivation, he could not withstand the impact of his fire technique at all.

But the situation was exactly as Lu Yan had expected; after the fiery meteors shot out several zhang, he tried to master and pursue the dodging Xie Jinhuan. The originally dense fireballs, like a rainstorm, instantly transformed into a celestial maiden scattering flowers, darting wildly in all directions, setting off a series of roars in the mountains and wilds:

Boom boom boom boom—

Mountain rocks exploded, and pine trees turned to flying ash.

Xie Jinhuan held his spear and sprinted quickly. Facing the flying stars filling the sky, he originally wanted to evade, but discovered the flying stars had turned into Brownian-motion bullets sweeping the surrounding ground; their trajectories were impossible to capture. He immediately switched to full-speed direct thrusts. Firelight splashed beside him, the closest being only a few zhang away. The sensation was like moving through a forest of spears and a storm of bullets, yet he pressed forward without hesitation!

Although Bu Yuehua was as if assisted by a god, her current cultivation indeed had a gap; her Qi Sea was rapidly drained, and her meridians even transmitted a stinging pain. She could only interfere with the trajectory of Lu Yan's spell, unable to directly silence magic. Now, with her right hand maintaining the spell, she held a slender waist knife in her left hand and advanced side by side with Xie Jinhuan.

Boom boom...

In the blink of an eye, two snow-white great waves were drawn out in the fire-ravaged mountains and wilds, like dragon-serpents rampaging down a snow slope, converging toward the person below.

Lu Yan completely could not understand what kind of divine art this was. Facing the combined assault of the two, fearing the Ten-Mile Divine Travel Spell, he did not retreat but advanced, flashing to the faces of the two. He simply stood still where he was; the Fire-Order Talisman in his hand manifested a phantom image of a fire bird circling his body, then he formed seals with both hands:

"Rise!"

As the words fell, the surrounding snowfield instantly melted, then the exposed deciduous forest immediately turned scorched black. Eight golden-red fire lines appeared, linking head to tail, then rose up:

Whoosh whoosh—

Xie Jinhuan held his spear and attacked wildly. Before he could rush close, he discovered a six-zhang-high fire wall had risen within the mountain forest; its scale was so vast, like a crimson wall blocking the mountains and wilds!

Then came a second wall, a third wall...

Boom boom boom...

In a mere instant, a giant octagonal cage formed around Lu Yan, turning the entire mountain and wild area crimson.

Flying snow and falling leaves had not yet approached the fire wall when they turned into water mist and flying ash under the scorching heat.

Xie Jinhuan was still dozens of zhang away when the towering heat waves pressed upon him, causing a sensation of suffocation. His eyes could not help but show surprise and doubt; he never expected that Lu Yan, severely injured and interfered with, could display such exaggerated might relying solely on his own Qi Sea.

Seeing it was impossible to assault forward again, he immediately dragged his long spear and circled the octagonal cage at light speed, but discovered there was no gap at all.

Lu Yan mastered the strange changes in the surrounding power of heaven and earth, choosing to defend and wait for an attack. He was originally waiting for the two to approach, but discovering Xie Jinhuan dared not charge, he could not help but sneer:

"You think a fringe spell can resist this Daoist? Now let this Daoist see what other means you have!"

Boom boom boom—

While speaking, Lu Yan cast the Fire Seal, and the Fire-Order Talisman once again surged with countless flying stars, covering the four directions of the mountains and wilds like a locust swarm.

Although they darted wildly across the sky and could not aim accurately, Lu Yan, transformed into a human cannon, relied on his Qi Sea to pour down firepower indiscriminately. Xie Jinhuan, without the protection of the Yin-Yang Ruler, would have his body and soul incinerated by the Blazing True Fire with a single graze, bringing equally unparalleled suppression.

Xie Jinhuan darted wildly outside the Eight Gates Burning Array, unable to find a method to penetrate, and finally understood why Xu Guanfu and Yan Lang had been double-killed.

The Blazing True Fire was unreasonable to begin with; the Fire-Order Talisman, judging by its name, was a divine artifact for controlling fire, with range bonuses, plus Lu Yan's cultivation as the second-in-command of the Daoist Sect; combined, they made an invincible fire hedgehog. Martial artists took pure beating from a distance, and to get close, they first had to cross the sea of fire.

If he could still cast the Ten-Mile Divine Travel Spell, then no one would be able to do anything.

Is this the strength of the second-in-command of the Verification School...

Xie Jinhuan, realizing he could not enter, glanced sideways at Bu Yuehua, who was also circling and searching for a way to break the defense.

Bu Yuehua had also been through the world for a long time; she had heard of the trump-card divine arts of all the major sects. She knew the Eight Gates Burning Array possessed a Life Gate, allowing teammates to enter or oneself to withdraw, and that the Eight Gates Burning Array would not move with the cultivator himself.

Therefore, the simplest method to break it currently was to feign defeat and flee, luring Lu Yan out; if he did not come out, they would simply leave.

Bu Yuehua originally wanted to retreat together with Xie Jinhuan, but her mind and body seemed to have other ideas. For no reason, a piece of information she had seen somewhere flashed through her mind, and she blurted out the question:

"Is your father Lu Baoqing?"

"?"

Lu Yan was the sect master of Wuling Mountain; his master was the previous sect master, and his biological father was a sword-carrying young Taoist boy serving Huang Lin True Person, one of the 'Three Immortals of the Northern Border'. Whether in cultivation or reputation, he was unknown, and he had been dead for fifty or sixty years; Lu Yan's memory of him was already very vague.

Suddenly hearing the name of his biological father, Lu Yan could not help but be stunned. He subconsciously examined the face of the woman rushing at full speed, wanting to see if she was an acquaintance, but in doing so, he committed a grave taboo!

It was seen that in the instant the two locked eyes, the peach-red eyes of the knife-wielding Wu Sect witch flashed with an eerie red light!

Then an indescribable divine soul impact struck directly into the depths of the brain through the eyes, causing the surrounding heaven and earth to instantly turn into an extreme night, the figure plummeting straight into the Nine Nether, and seeing the scene of his childhood following his parents to learn arts at Wuling Mountain...

Hiss—?!

Lu Yan realized he had fallen victim to the Chaos Soul Illusion Art; his face changed abruptly, and he immediately used the Calming Heart Spell to resolve it, but it was too late!

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua advanced side by side. As Lu Yan stood stunned, the surrounding fire walls instantly collapsed, and even the Fire-Order Talisman hanging beside him fell from the sky.

Boom boom—

Xie Jinhuan seized this instant opportunity, directly delivering two consecutive Black Dragon Strikes on Pillars, smashing through the flames that had not yet dissipated. By the time the second spear was launched, he was already before Lu Yan!

Lu Yan, having lost focus for a moment, found two peak martial artists had rushed within seven steps; his heart was truly filled with hair-raising terror. However, his combat quality was astonishing; he picked up the fallen Fire-Order Talisman again, placing it before the invincible spear tip, while shaking his entire body fiercely:

"Separate!"

Boom—

Towering heat waves erupted from within his yellow-and-black Daoist robe, as if a thunder bomb had been detonated inside his body.

A ring of fire impacted the four wilds, instantly exploding a two-zhang-square pit around him!

Xie Jinhuan thrust his spear with full force into the Fire-Order Talisman, unable to penetrate even a fraction; the erupted Qi energy was also rebounded and scattered by the Fire Sparrow. Returning, it blasted his robe and cloak until they were riddled with holes, turning scorched black and quickly burning through, yet his figure remained as immovable as a stone dragon crossing a ridge, firmly planted in the earth!

Bu Yuehua originally thought this move, 'Fire Sparrow Rebound', was flawless, but then had a sudden inspiration and played a 'neurotic blade'. Her body, like a swimming fish, clung to the ground; her single sword broke the wind, sliding down from beneath the rebounding fire ring, then slashed upward at Lu Yan's waist and abdomen. The movement was so fluid and natural that even she did not realize it had happened.

Whoosh—

Lu Yan completely did not expect this Wu Sect demoness not only to know who his father was, but also to break the Wuling Mountain secret-transmitted divine art, and with such swift and disciplined technique. Facing a situation where blade and spear were already upon his body, he could only use the Ten-Mile Divine Travel Spell to create distance.

Whoosh—

But the surrounding heaven and earth were chaotic; Lu Yan formed a seal with one hand and his figure moved backward. The moment he flashed out and began to spin in mid-air, he was no longer under control.

And the demoness of the Wu Sect wielding the blade seemed able to judge the trajectory of the chaotic heavens and earth; like a shadow, she pursued right to his side, reversed her hand, and slashed directly at his neck, with Xie Jinhuan close behind.

Seeing the situation was completely passive, Lu Yan knew he would truly suffer; immediately he gritted his teeth, formed a hand seal, drew up his qi so his Daoist robe swelled, and pulled all surrounding qi energy back into the Imperial Fire Token.

Hoo—

In just an instant, the Imperial Fire Tokens surrounding him, glowing gold-red with blinding light, saw their fire-bird phantom instantly expand, appearing with cracked patterns!

?!

Bu Yuehua's face changed abruptly; her figure, almost before Lu Yan acted, had already pulled back the blade at full speed while simultaneously grabbing Xie Jinhuan, who was advancing alongside her.

Xie Jinhuan, discovering this mad cow-nose had, without a word, summoned a move of Heaven and Earth sharing the same lifespan, was also startled; immediately he used the Panlong Henggang to protect his four limbs and hundred bones; the next instant was:

Boom—

Blinding firelight erupted between the mountains and fields, directly rising into a red mushroom cloud!

Xie Jinhuan felt the entire world turn searing white; the earth beneath his feet was torn into fragments under an irresistible impact; his entire body's primordial qi was scattered, his internal organs shook violently, his heart instantly stopped, and even his soul seemed blasted out of his body by the roar; the whole person became a black streak, flying with the shockwave deep into the mountains and fields.

Lu Yan forced the two back but did not increase the destructive power; yet this move was used for a life-or-death gamble, and he himself was not unscathed; under the roar, the whole person likewise flew out in the opposite direction, hitting the snow, bouncing twice, and flipping up again.

Boom-boom-boom—

The mushroom cloud churned upward; the air wave instantly tore away the snow cover around two li.

Far atop the mountain ridge, He Shen and others could see a visible shockwave appear in the mountains and fields, sweeping away surrounding snow and forests; only after a moment did the roar explode in their ears; the sheer might directly made the seven men's hearts tremble!

After the fireworks faded, a pit ten-plus zhang in diameter appeared atop the snow ridge.

And the three who had originally been fighting were nowhere to be seen.

Lu Yan, having forcibly forced the two back, found the old wound he suffered in the Fire Phoenix Valley could no longer be suppressed; his face turned flushed red.

Sensing Xie Jinhuan was too sinister, and that under that woman's interference he could not gain much advantage, and might even perish here, Lu Yan, after rising, flew outward while quickly scanning the snowy plain behind to avoid a sneak attack by these two sinister martial artists.

But amidst the snow ridge's utter mess, the two were nowhere to be found; only the gradually returning normal blizzard remained. "They ran?"

Lu Yan was stunned; but thinking about it, it was normal: Xie Jinhuan gained no advantage by fighting him, and might even be surrounded by super-grade reinforcements from other provinces; having escaped for now, he would surely flee quickly back to the Southern Dynasty rather than chase him to the death.

Thinking thus, Lu Yan felt a bit like pursuing, but that 'Chaos Heaven and Earth Curse' was truly strange; that woman had even mastered what the Five Lingshan taught; going alone to pursue was too risky; for this reason, he raised his hand to recall the Imperial Fire Token, preparing to flee immediately, but...

Lu Yan raised his hand to command, found nothing flying back into his hand, looked left and right, and even looked behind...

Where is the Imperial Fire Token?!

Lu Yan had always used the method of controlling objects to let the Imperial Fire Token float three feet around him; just now he had poured all his qi energy into the Imperial Fire Token to form an impact; although he too was blasted away, having stood for eighty years, even if he were knocked unconscious, he would simultaneously pull the Imperial Fire Token back; how could it not be nearby...

Could it be that just now, disturbed by the chaotic heaven-and-earth power, he forgot to pull it back or the pull-back failed...

All three were blasted out; with no one controlling the Imperial Fire Token, it could only remain at the center of the explosion...

Lu Yan, thinking thus, flew back like a madman; with just one 'Ten Thousand Li Divine Travel Curse', he flashed to the center of the pit, looked left and right carefully, even dug into the soil, then looked at the sky; the result was that the family heirloom that had never left his side for years was completely gone...

Could it have been blasted away...

Impossible; the impact centered on the Imperial Fire Token; without external interference, it would not move...

Lu Yan's face turned several shades paler; disregarding his injuries, he leaped up and searched everywhere atop the snow ridge, trying to recover the family heirloom, even disregarding being ambushed by Xie Jinhuan.

But the sky above the snow ridge was empty; it seemed that when the explosion occurred, he instinctively pulled the Imperial Fire Token, but someone on the other side was not stunned by the blast; instead, by secret method, he severed the connection between Lu Yan and the Imperial Fire Token, thereby turning guest into host and commandeering the Imperial Fire Token...

How is this possible?!

Lu Yan himself was stunned by the blast for an instant; he completely disbelieved that two opponents with inferior cultivation could have souls strong enough to, under such an impact, still, without anyone knowing, manipulate heaven-and-earth power to peel away and extract his magical tool; even the Zhang Sect elder brother did not have this ability...

Could it be I've seen a ghost...

Lu Yan anxiously dug through the soil, found no trace of the Imperial Fire Token, gradually turned deathly pale; after a slight contemplation, his body shot like wild thunder, pursuing southward:

"Cunning little brat! You, give this Daoist priest a stop!"

The reason he pursued south was that Xie Jinhuan had just killed the Zhang Sect of the Lishan Sect, resisted law enforcement and beaten him, the Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple, and stolen the Daoist transmission object; this was equivalent to slapping the Northern Righteous Path hard three times in the face!

If he does not run back now, waiting for the heroes of the Divination Sect and even righteous men of the martial world to hear the news and come, Xie Jinhuan will surely be hacked to pieces by the furious Northern cultivators.

And something like the Imperial Fire Token, if it falls into the hands of the Southern Dynasty, then it truly cannot be retrieved.

For this reason, Lu Yan directly risked his life to pursue south; even if he did not catch him, he must block Xie Jinhuan outside the Shanhe Pass...

Meanwhile, far atop the mountain ridge.

He Shen carefully observed with a thousand-li mirror; only when the earth-shaking dust and smoke gradually dispersed, and a fire meteor flew south, did his tense heartstrings relax a few points:

"It's over?"

Zhang Chu completely did not understand the outcome of the fight; at this moment he frowned and looked:

"Looks like the fight is finished."

He Shen, just from seeing the scene of Xie Laomo chasing and beating Lu Yan, felt Xie Laomo should not die so easily; immediately he asked again:

"What follow-up moves are there next?"

Chu Xing had never thought Xie Jinhuan and a witch could escape unharmed from such a linked killing trap; Lu Yan's fate was not yet settled; he certainly could not have the Zhang Sect elder come personally; at this moment, he could only look at He Shen with full suspicion:

"Are you sure you survived Xie Jinhuan's killing moves twice, and were chased to his nest several times by him?"

He Shen slightly shrugged: "Any problem?"

"A huge problem!"

Chu Xing gestured toward the distant battlefield:

"Look for yourself; with your meager cultivation, do you deserve to survive one move under this boy's hand? Now your limbs are intact; either you are spouting nonsense, have not explained your past clearly, or Xie Jinhuan deliberately arranged you as a spy, specifically to provide him with intelligence..."

He Shen, hearing this, his eyes went blank:

"I went from being a gang leader's young master to being orphaned; everyone I knew and didn't know died under his hand; only that damn Zhang Chu remains alive; you suspect I secretly collude with the Righteous Path?"

Zhang Chu felt he was about to be subjected to 'Ancient Method Interrogation' again; he hurriedly said:

"We truly had good luck; moreover, Xie Jinhuan was fast in his rush; in Luoyang, his cultivation was not yet this high..."

Chu Xing did not believe a single word; however, this failure indeed had nothing to do with these two unlucky stars; at this moment, he only replied:

"Keep these explanations for the higher-ups to see if they believe them. As for Xie Jinhuan, the higher-ups have already calculated the possibility of failure; now he has killed Li Huaichuan without cause, refused arrest, and injured the Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple; there is no living path for him in Northern Zhou; he can only run south. Lu Yan has already pursued south; the Divination Sect and even heroes from all directions, hearing the news, will surely intercept at the Shanhe Pass; he cannot return alive to the Southern Dynasty."

He Can felt that northerners had some substance; even if they couldn't kill Xie Jinhuan, they could make him incite public anger, making it impossible for him to move an inch or establish himself in the north. He nodded slightly:

"I heard Xie Jinhuan is the Empress Dowager Guo's lover. If Xie Jinhuan goes against the grain and heads for Yanjing..."

Chu Xing shook his head: "Do you believe this rumor? Xie Jinhuan is a standard loyalist of the Southern Court. Calling him a Northern Zhou spy or the Empress Dowager Guo's confidant is no better than calling me a righteous undercover agent. Even if he really runs to Yanjing and resolves the situation, it doesn't matter. I left some 'clues' in the mine, closely related to that shamaness just now. They will definitely investigate Empress Dowager Guo. This counts as driving the tiger to swallow the wolf."

He Can frowned: "Aren't you afraid Xie Jinhuan really is the Empress Dowager Guo's lover?"

"If he is, the fun will be great. Xie Jinhuan is viewed by the Southern Court Emperor as half a son-in-law and by the cultivation path as the future successor. Yet he turns out to be the Northern Zhou Empress Dowager's confidant. This matter is enough to make the Southern Court break down completely. By then, if the Northern Zhou doesn't kill Xie Jinhuan, the Southern Court won't tolerate him either. Anyway, Xie Jinhuan will offend one side or the other; either way, he won't have a good time."

"..."

He Can pondered carefully and felt this was indeed the case. He was now truly curious how Xie Jinhuan would break this deadlock.

Seeing the ambush had failed completely, Chu Xing dared not stay long. Dragging the two Southern Court spies bound by chains, he slid down the ridge.

The commotion in Jianchuan was too great; those watching from afar were actually far more than one group.

Several dozen li away, atop another mountain peak.

Three constables in green robes lay cautiously in the snow, using a telescope to observe the commotion in the continuous snow-capped peaks.

Shen Cang, a famous constable of the Ministry of Justice with a gold plaque at his waist, had served for twenty years and seen many great storms. But this level of combat was truly his first time witnessing it. Fearful of being caught in the crossfire, he didn't dare breathe heavily from start to finish. Only after the roaring sound stopped did he speak in a low voice:

"These two thieves have unknown identities and reach the heavens. If we encounter them, we die; we cannot handle them. Notify Jingcheng immediately and let the Grand Priest handle it..."

Beside him, a female constable with spiritual energy, her head full of small braids, had a horse-chopping blade beside her. Her eyes sparkled, full of desire for military merit:

"This person just killed Li Huaichuan, who was stationed in Lizhou, and severely injured Old Immortal Lu of Wuling Mountain. If we can capture him, can't we be promoted three ranks?"

"Huh? Us?"

Deputy Wang heard this and didn't know what to say. He said helplessly:

"Judging from the commotion of the fight just now, one of the two fierce bandits is definitely Super-Grade, and the other is also a fierce bandit with shocking strength. If us three green-robed judicial constables could capture these two and bring them to justice, it wouldn't just be a promotion of three ranks. Lord Shen could directly become the Commander, I, Old Wang, would become Deputy Commander, and you wouldn't need to think about entering the Fengyi Guard anymore. You would leap straight to the heavens. Afterwards, you would be the Empress Dowager's right and left arms, the twin red clubs of the Tian Pavilion..."

Jiang Xian's eyes lit up, her eyes full of little stars: "Really?!"

Shen Cang sighed softly: "If I could capture a Super-Grade thief, becoming Commander of the Ministry of Justice would be a waste of talent; I should become a Vice Minister at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, sitting on equal footing with Lu Yan. However, between First Grade and Super-Grade, there is a single step's difference separating immortals and mortals. Without that strength, thinking such things means you think your life is too long. Xiao Biao, you are still young. In the future, remember to be steady and restrained. If I had let you search Jianchuan alone today, there would definitely be a mishap... Eh?"

While Shen Cang was speaking, he put away his telescope and looked to his side, only to find a snow pit beside him with no trace of the braided girl. Meanwhile, from the other side came:

"Eh?! Oh my grandmother, Xiao Biao! Come back!"

Turning to look, he saw Deputy Wang's face pale as death. He flipped up and chased down the slope. Half a li away, a girl whose body was like a snow leopard, carrying a horse-chopping blade, was galloping at full speed. Her eyes held only a desire for merit, completely ignoring the warnings from behind.

"Oh my mother..."

Shen Cang was completely stunned. He truly didn't expect this little tiger cub to dare chase a Super-Grade thief. He immediately drew his blade and chased after her. Afraid of alerting the thieves, he didn't dare shout too loudly. He could only strain his neck, veins bulging, calling out in a forced whisper:

"Xiao Biao~ Are you crazy..."

Whoosh whoosh...

In the blink of an eye, the three of them had rushed toward the mountain peak, chasing in the direction of Lizhoucheng...

(End of this chapter)