Chapter 173: Chapter 173 Who Kills the Deer (Seeking subscription, seeking monthly pass!)
In the dead of night, three shadows descended on the Peach Forest Sect without uttering a sound.
"I’m embarrassed by the trouble you’ve all gone to, traveling such a long way," Qin Wuye said from outside the courtyard with a hearty laugh.
"If it’s Brother Qin’s request, how could we refuse?"
By the moonlight, the three figures were revealed from left to right: an old, short, fat man dressed in green, a long-faced man, and a middle-aged man with a cold demeanor.
All three were practitioners of the Seventh Tier of Qi Absorption, with considerable strength. Unfortunately, there were too many top experts in the Yunfeng Domain. There were countless practitioners not only of the Ninth Tier of Qi Absorption, but also of the Xuanqi Realm.
So despite their years of experience, the three were only somewhat famous.
They received a secret message from Qin Wuye, and thinking that they might obtain second-class martial arts skills once the mission was accomplished, they hurried over in a flurry of excitement.
The four of them immediately entered the study.
"Brother Qin, time is of the essence. Where is the kid?" asked the long-faced man anxiously, fearing that the night might bring unforeseen problems.
Qin Wuye looked troubled. "The combined strength of the four of us should be more than enough to deal with that youngster. What I’m afraid of is his master. If he’s hiding in the shadows, and we act rashly, there may be serious trouble."
Having read of the situation in a letter, the long-faced man fell silent.
Unexpectedly, the old, short, fat man in the green robe chuckled. "This matter is simple. I have a solution."
All eyes turned towards him.
Under the candlelight, the fat old man extended his hand and a tiny ant-like green insect crawled out from his sleeve.
"Where does the kid live?" the old man asked.
Once Qin Wuye pointed in the direction, the fat old man began to chant something in a low voice. The green insect darted into the darkness at an astonishing speed, as though following orders.
Seeing the confused looks on their faces, the fat old man explained with satisfaction. "This is a Soul Chasing Venomous Insect. It’s harmless and generally not very useful, but when it comes to tracking people, it’s extremely effective due to its sensitivity to human Qi."
"As long as it’s within five hundred meters, I can sense different people’s Qi through this insect. We can test if the kid’s master is with him."
Upon hearing this, all three were shocked, then laughed together, "The old man always has a plan."
Mysterious and unexpected, the Gu insects of Miaojiang hold a status in the Martial World no less than that of Tang Sect’s hidden weapons. While they have seen the fat old man use Gu to kill before, they never expected it could be used this way.
The three, including Qin Wuye, felt a shudder in their hearts.
After all, the old man was nothing special in Miaojiang. If he could have such means, they could only imagine what truly accomplished Gu practitioners might possess.
"Looks like we should stay away from this old fella."
After it had been used to kill and now track, who knew what else the fat old man was capable of. Although Qin Wuye was on good terms with him, he firmly believed that no one could truly trust anyone in this world!
The green insect moved at an astonishing speed and quickly infiltrated the manor under the old man’s control.
After half an hour.
The green insect had covered the area around the manor.
"I sensed 352 Qi signals. Most are ordinary people, the strongest one is at the third tier of Qi Absorption. Huh? This Qi signal is very pure, several times stronger than many martial artists of the same realm," the fat old man’s eyebrows raised in astonishment.
Qin Wuye sneered. "The person sensed by the old man must be that boy."
Not reassured, the fat old man used the green insect to carefully sense the area within a mile radius. Not detecting any great experts, he nodded to the other three.
"Hahaha! It seems we were worried for nothing. Who in the Martial World travels with their master."
"What I’m worried about now is, even if we capture the kid, what if he doesn’t give up his martial arts practices?"
"Did you forget about the old man? With my Gu technique, I have many ways to make him talk."
"In that case, we have no need for restraint."
The four looked at each other, seemingly seeing second-class martial arts flying towards them, all of them couldn’t help but laugh uproariously, filling the room with joy.
The next day, the Peach Forest Sect released news that a major thief pursued by the government had fled nearby. They dispatched powerful men to block off the streets, and a large number of residents were temporarily required to evacuate.
The manor where Shi Xuanzhong lived was shockingly right at the center of the blockade.
The street was quiet, and feeling they had complete control of the situation, Qin Wuye and the others strode towards the manor. Qin Liang didn’t bother hiding their intentions anymore and kicked open the door. "Shi, come out and meet your doom!" he yelled.
Shi Xiaole was enjoying his tea in the courtyard. He had already sensed the commotion outside, so he was unfazed and merely commented sarcastically, "Finally couldn’t hold back, huh?"
Qin Liang pointed at Shi Xiaole and roared, "You wild imp, we have already found out that you are not Father Shi’s son. You deceitfully took advantage of his kindness, you deserve the worst punishment!"
Qin Wuye wore an expression of regret. "Nephew, just surrender. As long as you admit your mistakes, I am willing to let bygones be bygones, and give you another chance."
Shi Xiaole didn’t rise, merely sipping his tea, ignoring the crowd around him.
"A lot of bravado, but too bad you still don’t realize the gravity of your situation."
The fat old man shook his head with a cold smile.
He felt that Qin Wuye was being overly cautious.
To deal with this kid, besides the four of them, who were all Seventh Tier Qi Absorption experts, they even dispatched their trusted aides. In total, there were no less than twenty-three experts of Fifth Tier Qi Absorption and above.
With such a lineup, forget the Third Tier Qi Absorption kid, even two Seventh Tier Qi Absorption experts would be no match.
"Do you really want to force me to use force, nephew?" Qin Wuye lamented.
Seeing Shi Xiaole’s expressionless face, Qin Wuye’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly regained his composure.
It hadn’t been more than a month since the other party became the Copper Banner Master. Even if they improved quickly, they couldn’t possibly compete with a group of them at once.
"I’ve waited a long time for you, if you won’t make the first move, I will."
Setting down his teacup, Shi Xiaole finally stood up, his eyes abruptly filled with an intense, cold sharpness.
He had been strengthening his realm in the past few days. Just as he had extricated himself, the other party came knocking at his door, which saved him a trip. Shi Xiaole believed, after subduing Qin Wuye, he could obtain more information about his parents.
"You insolent brat, kill him!"
Qin Liang couldn’t hold back his fury. He growled out loud, wanting nothing more than to trample Shi Xiaole underfoot.
Shwooosh, shwooosh, shwooosh.
The followers who had been lying in ambush outside the manor drew their bows and fired. Arrows flew from all directions towards Shi Xiaole, almost burying him under their multitude.
Rip.
In the rain of arrows, a bright green sword light erupted and then flashed before the complacent Qin Liang from an unexpected angle.
"Stop, or I will kill you!"
Qin Wuye’s face turned ashen. He knew Shi Xiaole was formidable, but he didn’t expect his movements to be so fast that he couldn’t provide backup in time.
Shi Xiaole’s sword did not halt and pierced through Qin Liang’s throat, the whistling sound of sword penetrating flesh resonating through the air.
Qin Liang’s eyes bulged out.
This year, he’s twenty-three, an accomplished practitioner in the sixth tier of Qi Absorption. They were twenty meters apart, but he hadn’t even got the chance to fight back.
Was this the power of the Copper Banner Master?
As his consciousness faded into darkness, Qin Liang was left dead beyond a doubt.
"My son!"
Qin Wuye cried out in agony, unable to accept the sight of his son lying in a pool of blood right before his eyes.
"I will have you shattered into pieces!"
The horrifying aura of the seventh tier of Qi Absorption erupted from him, making Qin Wuye look extremely savage. A black light flashed in his hand and it clawed towards Shi Xiaole, like the hand of a demon from hell.
The surrounding air condensed and the swelling, cold internal power all flowed towards Shi Xiaole with the black claw, leaving no avenue of escape.
Projected internal power!
The most feared ability of practitioners in the seventh tier of Qi Absorption was the projection of internal power. It was terrifying how their internal power could replace their fighting energy and strike the opponent.
Moreover, Qin Wuye was enraged and fully committed his power, the might of the claw attack was several times more powerful than a peak practitioner of the sixth tier.
Many of the people present had researched about Shi Xiaole’s power and guessed even if he didn’t get heavily injured instantly, he would surely be in a sorry state, and it would be easy to deal with him then.
Pondering this, a short and stout old man, a long-faced male, and a cold middle-aged man, as well as other Peach Forest Sect masters, began to gather their energy, preparing to attack Shi Xiaole.
"Shatter into pieces? You’re far from it."
At full force, the Purple Light Divine Skill allowed Shi Xiaole to unleash a surging purple-green ray from his sword that spanned thirty feet, trailing a spectacular tail of light in the air.
Ultimate move, Landslide and Water Split.
Boom!
In the midst of a thunderous explosion, a figure stumbled backward in a mess. But it wasn’t Shi Xiaole. It was Qin Wuye, who had reached the seventh tier in his Qi cultivation.
"Brother Qin!"
"Sect Master!"
The short and stout old man and others looked dumbfounded.
The Peach Forest Sect’s masters also froze in place.
It was not unheard of in the Martial World for someone to defeat a practitioner at the seventh tier of Qi Absorption. However, those who had achieved this were legendary figures in the Yunfeng Domain.
How could a youth from the weak outer domain achieve this?
Not giving those present time to digest this, Shi Xiaole took the initiative once again and lunged at Qin Wuye with his sword.
"You bastard, I’ll have a deadly feud with you, Black Heart Hand!"
With a face alternating between red and white, Qin Wuye had never dreamt that Shi Xiaole would be this formidable.
His right hand turned an inky black, emitting a chilling, insidious energy. With a swift palm strike, the black internal power appeared like a thick viscous fluid and immediately squeezed out a vacuum.
Shi Xiaole’s chest tightened slightly. Concentrating his Purple Light internal power swiftly relieved him of this discomfort. He had to admit that prior to his breakthrough of the Purple Light Divine Skill, his chances of defeating Qin Wuye were less than 50%.
But as for now.
With his eyes flashing, Shi Xiaole raised both hands, his entire being seemingly melding into his sword. He then executed a downward sword stroke.
Man and sword as one, Landslide and Water Split.
Shrilling.
Amidst the sound of shredding fabric, the black viscous internal power split into two. Shi Xiaole stepped forward, swiftly executing a second sword stroke, its speed left the crowd stupefied.
Rip.
With his sleeve sliced open, Qin Wuye narrowly escaped from under the sword’s edge. His heart filled with both shock and rage, as well as a thick killing intent: "Everyone attack, slay this kid!"
Previously, others were only intimidated by Shi Xiaole’s strength. Upon hearing this, they quickly snapped out of it and attacked Shi Xiaole with all their might from all directions, determined to bring him down.
