Chapter 162: Chapter 159: Thunder Swift Shadow
The caravan traveled through the mountains,
flanked by endless, rolling ranges.
Within the ranks,
a perfectly ordinary caravan guard gently touched the Peace Talisman around his neck, silently praying for a smooth journey.
His name was Liu Baoceng, a Loose Cultivator of common birth at the Qi Introduction Third Layer.
In Qing City, people like him were a dime a dozen.
The Peace Talisman around his neck was something his wife had gone to great trouble to obtain for him from a famously potent temple outside the city, claiming it would keep him safe.
He didn’t know if it truly worked,
but he wore it around his neck on every mission away from home.
Because whenever he touched the Peace Talisman,
it was as if he could feel
the presence of his wife and children back home in Qing City, as if he could see their hopeful eyes, waiting for his safe return.
That was why he was always so cautious on every escort mission.
He was terrified that a single misstep would cost him his life, leaving him unable to ever see his family again.
And perhaps it was this caution, or perhaps the Peace Talisman really did work.
For all his escort missions over the past few years, he had never run into any accidents.
But,
’This time is different...’
Liu Baoceng’s heart was filled with worry.
As a veteran guard, he naturally knew things.
For example, the current situation was terrible. Foreign Loose Cultivators were everywhere, with countless Tribulation Cultivator gangs mixed in.
The previous two transport runs being attacked by Tribulation Cultivator gangs was clear proof of that.
On top of that, during the last escort mission, an ambush had wiped out more than a fifth of the guards, leaving their defensive forces severely depleted.
In short, none of it was good news.
It all pointed to one thing: this journey was fraught with danger.
’Heavens above, please let this journey be a safe one. My son and daughter are still so young... they need me...’
Liu Baoceng thought to himself as he walked, his hand on the Peace Talisman from his wife.
He happened to glance up.
The sky ahead was clear, with the sun shining brightly,
yet his heart was shrouded in gloom.
If he had a choice,
he never would have participated in this escort mission.
Anyone could see
that a Tribulation Cultivator gang was bound to attack this time.
But what right did a mere Low Tier Immortal Cultivator at the Qi Introduction Third Layer like him have to bargain?
There were countless Cultivators in Qing City; if he didn’t do the job, plenty of others would.
The job of a caravan guard was certainly dangerous.
But for powerless, Low Tier Loose Cultivators like him, what wasn’t?
At least with a caravan, you traveled in a large group, which was far less risky than an ordinary Loose Cultivator exploring the mountains alone, vulnerable to attacks from Demon Beasts!
The job of a caravan guard,
all things considered, was a good one.
At least it gave him a stable income.
It gave him the good fortune to live in Qing City, to allow his son to grow up in a district for Cultivators...
Without this job,
his whole family would probably have to leave Qing City for the mortal countryside, and they could forget about ever acquiring Immortal Cultivation Resources again.
’Sigh... I just hope the Shopkeeper and the other higher-ups are prepared enough...’
Lowering his hand, Liu Baoceng composed his Heart Spirit, sighing to himself.
As someone on the bottom rung of the world of Immortal Cultivation,
just another face in the crowd,
he had no power to resist his fate.
All he could do was hope that the typically shrewd Chamber of Commerce Shopkeepers and other higher-ups had already made preparations for the challenge to come.
...
「Meanwhile」
On the hills on either side,
behind the dense forest,
"Damn it! We’ve waited half a month, but it’s finally time to get to work!"
"Men, follow me!"
With a savage grin, the one-eyed, burly Han lying in ambush in the forest snatched the hat from his head and threw it to the ground. Gripping a large Black Blade, he let out a mighty roar.
He launched himself into the air, pouncing down from the mountain like a ferocious tiger leaping over a ravine!
At almost the exact same moment,
the masked Tribulation Cultivators behind him also roared. They burst from the undergrowth, howling and screaming as they charged down the hill like a pack of wolves!
The sudden raid,
in all its momentum, was nothing short of overwhelming!
"Ambush!"
Liu Baoceng, who had only just started to relax, heard the roars from above.
He looked up to see a stream of figures, led by a savage and ferocious one-eyed man, leaping down toward them one after another!
The sheer ferocity of the charge
shattered his courage in that instant. His legs went weak, and he let out a piercing shriek of warning.
"Haha, die!"
The one-eyed, burly Han charged at the forefront, his roar so powerful it created visible ripples in the air!
That was the power of the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer!
Under the terrifying pressure of his aura,
Liu Baoceng and the few guards facing him turned deathly pale. Their bodies went rigid, their knees nearly buckling!
Frozen in place, all he could do was watch helplessly as the tiger-like Black Blade came down, about to cleave him in two!
Nearby,
the other guards were also stunned by the man’s overwhelming power,
unable to react in time to help!
However,
just as the tragedy was about to unfold,
ZING!
The space around them was filled with a brilliant flash, like a bolt of lightning had exploded.
An area dozens of yards wide seemed to freeze like a photograph,
bisected by a fleeting streak of thunderous sword light!
A terrifying beam of sword light, roaring with the sound of Thunder, had appeared later but arrived first, striking the very point where the one-eyed, burly Han’s blade was descending!
BOOM!!!
At that moment, the one-eyed, burly Han’s descending blade struck the impossible beam of thunderous light, and a brilliant flash illuminated his face.
A mountain-crushing force surged through the blade and into his arms!
’What?!’
The one-eyed, burly Han’s single eye widened, his pupil contracting violently.
But before he could react,
an utterly terrifying power exploded forth.
The bones in both arms gripping the Black Blade shattered instantly!
He himself was sent flying back by the immense force!
This all takes some time to describe,
but in fact, from the moment the one-eyed, burly Han leaped down the mountain like a pouncing tiger to the flash of light that sent him flying,
everything happened in the blink of an eye!
The guards’ faces were still ashen,
and the one-eyed, burly Han had already been sent flying like a cannonball!
But it wasn’t over.
While he was still in mid-air,
a glint of cold light, once again appearing late but arriving first, sliced effortlessly across him!
In an instant,
blood sprayed through the air.
A head flew from its shoulders!
At that same moment,
Liu Baoceng and the other guards who had been frozen in terror realized something.
At some unknown point in time,
a figure had appeared before them, clad in green robes and a Conical Hat, a hand resting on the longsword at his waist!
His back was to them,
as he faced the horde of ferocious Tribulation Cultivators ahead!
No one knew how that figure had appeared.
As far as they could remember,
that spot in front of them had been empty just a moment before.
And yet,
there he was.
It was as if he had been there the entire time.
The entire world,
in that moment, seemed to fall silent.
It was as if Time itself had frozen for an instant.
