Chapter 104: Meeting a Monk
In the silence, the hidden four began to make their plans.
Because they couldn’t see each other, they had previously decided on a signal for attack.
At this time, Jiang Yue hoisted his pipa and got ready to play.
However, before his finger could strike a note, another explosion sounded in the distance.
This explosion was louder than the previous, and the valley shook in reaction.
’Chance.’ Jiang Yue thought and put his pipa away.
Almost simultaneously, a whip appeared in his hand, and his body moved forward.
’Raindrop sword art, four drops.’
Four water drops appeared in front of Yu Nianzhen and shuttled horizontally toward four of the masked cultivators.
Although they were distracted by the explosion, the six hooded men still reacted to the threat.
They tried to retreat, but their bodies didn’t move fast enough.
Without resistance, four water drops penetrated between the eyebrows of four people.
The water drops did not leave a mark on the four masks, and blood did not pour out as a result of the penetration.
However, four pairs of eyes dulled, and four masked cultivators lost their breath.
When he saw that, Yu Nianzhen breathed out in relief.
His breath was a little laboured, and his face was pale, but he didn’t allow himself to relax.
Instead, he turned to Jiang Yue.
While he was killing his assigned four, Jiang Yue’s whip had arrived at the necks of the remaining two.
With a crude injection of qi, the whip sharpened like a sword.
A moment later, two heads rose and then fell down, rolling on the ground like footballs.
"Wha..."
Bai Ruyue was shocked when she turned about.
The explosion only distracted her for a moment, and she didn’t expect the six would be killed within that short moment.
"Fellow Daoist Yu and fellow Daoist Jiang are very powerful." Wang Xue’er said.
She was distracted for half a moment but soon realised that the explosion was a chance.
She planned to attack the six, but when she was about to, she saw that the two young men had already acted.
Everything started and ended in less than a breath.
’It looks like I underestimated them.’ Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything.
"Let’s grab their cloaks and masks." Jiang Yue said.
However, the two female cultivators did not move.
They looked at the dead six and didn’t know how to act.
Jiang Yue understood why they were hesitant and immediately moved to reassure them.
"You can take the cloaks and masks, we will take everything else."
They didn’t know what the explosion was about, but leaving was their first priority.
With everything cleared up, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue collected storage rings from the dead bodies.
Soon after, the four were dressed in black cloaks and black masks.
"Fellows, can I borrow a disguise?" A voice called, and the four turned around quickly.
"A monk..." Jiang Yue almost laughed when he saw the person hurrying toward them.
The young man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties.
His head was shaved, and he had a cinnabar mole between his eyebrows.
However, he didn’t wear a monk robe.
Instead, he wore a black shirt tucked into black trousers, which were then tucked into black boots.
He held a silver staff in his right hand, but the smile on his lips implied friendliness.
"I saw what happened..." The monk said but did not finish his words.
However, there was no need to finish.
They all knew what happened and didn’t need to recount it.
"Does the fellow..., fellow cultivator know what is going on?" Jiang Yue asked as he handed a cloak and mask to the monk.
"The Death Flower Ascension Front is using brute force to break a guardian formation."
"A guardian formation?"
Jiang Yue was surprised when he heard that.
From eavesdropping, they learned there were twelve targets of the Death Flower Ascension Front in the trade valley.
However, they hadn’t heard anything about a guardian formation.
"What is it guarding?" Wang Xue’er asked.
"That I do not know." The monk answered as he wore the disguise.
"All I know is that the formation belongs to the group from the BlueStar Treasure Pavilion."
"Let’s leave first." Yu Nianzhen said.
Although the explosion had masked their movements, he didn’t want to stay there.
They were relatively safe while wearing the disguise, but there was no guarantee they would remain so.
He was worried they would encounter someone from the Death Flower Ascension Front.
At that time, they may do something to give away their identity.
This was an outcome he didn’t want.
It was doubly important to avoid trouble because he had exhausted his sword intent in the previous attack.
Although he didn’t show it, Yu Nianzhen was exhausted.
When one exhausted their qi, their bodies would weaken, and injuries would take longer to heal.
Fortunately, he still had more than half his qi, and his body was in good condition.
What he was suffering was mental exhaustion.
He felt like his mental state was stretched and dried out.
Although there was a pill to recover his mental state, it wouldn’t work in this situation where his intent was used up.
If he wanted to recover, he needed to meditate.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Yue whispered.
Yu Nianzhen’s condition wasn’t obvious, but Jiang Yue knew him well.
At the moment, he could see the other was exhausted, and barely keeping himself upright.
Although it didn’t look difficult, insta-killing four cultivators at the same realm and level was exhausting.
Even he was exhausted after killing two, let alone four.
"I am fine." Yu Nianzhen whispered back.
"Don’t push yourself."
"Don’t worry."
"We should leave now."
Jiang Yue took the lead and walked to the exit.
The others followed behind him, and they hurried away.
However, when they reached the edge of the anti-teleportation formation, they all stopped.
Goosebumps rose on their flesh, and they retreated a few metres.
"Something is different about the formation." Bai Ruyue said.
A frown marred her pretty features, and the others didn’t contradict her observation.
Originally, the anti-teleportation formation only restricted teleportation.
However, the formation now had a murderous intent.
They couldn’t be sure, but the five felt the formation would attack them if they tried to exit the valley.
"It looks like we can’t leave." The monk said, and a smile played on his face behind the mask.
"It looks that way."
Yu Nianzhen frowned.
Although he was mentally exhausted, he hadn’t planned to rest before they got away.
His plan was to escape and then find a chance to recover when they were far away from the valley.
However, if they couldn’t leave, the plan had to change.
In his current state, he couldn’t exert his full strength and forcing himself was dangerous.
If he was unlucky, he would fall into a deep sleep or permanently damage his mind.
Given the situation, his only option was to recover before figuring a way out.
"We want to take a little rest to recover before we figure a way out. What are your plans?" Jiang Yue asked.
By ’we’, the others understood he was talking about himself and Yu Nianzhen.
The two were considered a unit that always moved as one.
Whether the other three would stay with them or not was their choice.
"I will guard while you recover." Wang Xue’er immediately said.
She had yet to talk to Yu Nianzhen and give him her master’s message.
Also, she had gotten a little more curious about the two young men.
Although she had always known they were strong, it wasn’t until now that she truly understood it.
As a swordswoman, she was especially interested in Yu Nianzhen.
In the Cangxing world, some basic sword arts like the raindrop sword art were common across all regions.
Wang Xue’er had also practised the raindrop sword art and recognised it when Yu Nianzhen attacked.
However, the attack was more powerful than she thought possible.
Compared to her own achievements, Yu Nianzhen’s raindrop sword art was at least ten times more powerful.
This was something she couldn’t understand, and she hoped to talk to him about it when she had an opportunity.
"I will also stay." Bai Ruyue said.
If she was previously a little interested, she was now fully interested in Yu Nianzhen.
Although she had missed his attack, the results were there to see.
None of the four cultivators killed by Yu Nianzhen had wounds on their bodies.
However, they were undoubtedly dead.
That he could deal such an attack in the origin forging realm showed the other was very powerful.
’If he can join my Bai family...’
"I will also stay." The monk said.
He chuckled lightly, then turned to Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen.
"My given name is Ke. I am of the Xuan generation of the Thunder God Temple."
"If you don’t mind, you can call me brother Ke."
After listening to the self-introduction, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue looked at each other in the dark.
’It’s too confusing to keep using fake names.’ Jiang Yue thought and sighed.
