Chapter 4 of 10

Chapter 4

16 min read4,004 words

### Chapter 4: Ambush

"Is there a problem? If you're afraid to go, you can stay behind. We'll come back to pick you up when we return to the city. Is there anyone else?" Liu Yingying seemed to forget that she wasn't the leader and also forgot Feng Rui's earlier speech.

Feng Rui didn't say anything; he just glanced at Zhu Yubei.

"Let's get on the boat first." Zhu Yubei shook his head.

Lin Feifeng tapped his storage bag, and a small, inch-long, crystal-clear boat appeared in his palm. He gently tossed it into the air, and the boat hovered motionless. Lin Feifeng made a hand sign and pointed at the boat twice. The boat glowed and slowly transformed into a white military boat about six to seven yards long and over a yard wide. It looked very agile, but the thin layer of spiritual energy surrounding it was more like a rain shield than a defensive barrier. Clearly, the defensive array carved on the military boat was quite basic, and its design emphasized speed.

Indeed, this type of patrol boat, the Model 3, had almost no offensive or defensive capabilities and a slow acceleration. Its advantages were its lightness, compactness, speed, and simple operation. Compared to other models of war boats, it was cheaper to build and consumed much less spirit stone.

"From here to Chihuo Island, it's over 2,000 miles. The military boat will take two hours to fly. When we are 20 miles from the island, everyone will disembark and form pairs as usual. There are five areas on Chihuo Island where the Qianhuang Flowers are concentrated. From south to north, they will be handled by Groups 1 to 5. If anything unexpected happens, quickly regroup with me and be cautious. If there are no objections, everyone prepare."

Lin Feifeng was the last to board the military boat. Seeing that Zhu Yubei didn't speak first, he raised an eyebrow and slowly said, "Zhu Yubei, do you have something to say?"

Zhu Yubei looked at Lin Feifeng, who had closed his eyes and looked calm, as if he had said all he needed to say. He also noticed Feng Rui's amused expression and, after much hesitation, said, "Captain, I have a few words to say."

"Zhu Daoist, please speak."

Lin Feifeng looked as if he had expected this and glanced at Feng Rui. The others were used to the double act between Zhu Yubei and Feng Rui.

"Alright, I'll say it. Let's see if everyone agrees."

Now that he had started, Zhu Yubei felt more relaxed.

"Feng Rui just said that if there is an opponent, they wouldn't be able to easily kill a large group of Chihuo Bees, so there won't be many. Considering there are five areas on the island where the Qianhuang Flowers are concentrated, I estimate there are five opponents, and they are likely to be Dugu Feng and his four subordinates. Ten against five, we should win without much trouble. The problem is that each disciple of the Spirit Control Sect has a companion spirit beast, which might have some strange survival skills. The outcome of the battle will depend on everyone's luck. My luck has always been bad, and I hate gambling."

Zhu Yubei had clearly thought this through, though he spoke slowly but firmly.

"We can send two of our more defensively strong companions to pretend to accidentally enter Chihuo Island. When Dugu Feng discovers them, they can retreat while fighting. The other eight will ambush, and then..."

Zhu Yubei spread his hands and brought them together forcefully, his eyes wide and his teeth clenched, trying to look fierce. Unfortunately, his chubby face made it hard to take him seriously. Even the usually cold Lin Feifeng couldn't help but smile, and Liu Yingying laughed out loud.

"Actually, there's another plan. The general idea is the same, but instead of eight people ambushing, six will. The remaining two will wait on a small island 20 miles east of Chihuo Island. If anyone escapes, they will likely use some secret technique and need to find a place to temporarily resolve the aftereffects before planning their next move. In that situation, they will likely run east. With us prepared and them exhausted and demoralized, they will be in a sorry state..."

Even with Zhu Yubei's efforts, the atmosphere on the military boat remained somewhat strange. It was understandable; compared to the other eight disciples from prestigious sects, Feng Rui and Zhu Yubei, as independent cultivators, were far behind in terms of flying swords, spells, and various auxiliary methods, and their combat power was the weakest, giving them the least say.

Now, facing what might be the greatest opportunity for merit during their entire deployment, if they followed Lin Feifeng's plan, as Zhu Yubei said, they would win without much trouble and might even severely injure a few, but it would be difficult to kill them. After all, in a one-on-one or even a two-on-one situation, it was extremely difficult to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was determined to run. However, Zhu Yubei's plan had a high chance of completely annihilating the opponents.

If they followed Zhu Yubei's plan, wouldn't these two be the main characters throughout? If their predictions were correct, they would earn a great deal of merit, and in the future, they would have to consider their moods. Now, it seemed these two might succeed, and the thought of the future made everyone feel uneasy. They were just two lucky guys!

Everyone fell into silence. Feng Rui, however, was relaxed and even had the mood to take a sip of wine, making a "tsk" sound that made Lin Feifeng want to snatch the wine gourd and smash it on his not particularly handsome but still somewhat attractive face.

As the captain, Lin Feifeng had to consider more. Various thoughts flooded her mind: luring the enemy, setting up an ambush, choosing the person to wait, the sequence of spells during the ambush, coordination among teammates, the distribution of spoils, the praise from the Golden Core Captain, and even how to word the report afterward. The images in her mind kept changing, and Feng Rui's smug smile suddenly turned into the satisfied smile of an elder from the sect...

"Senior Sister, Senior Sister." Hearing Liu Yingying's call, Lin Feifeng was suddenly startled and then calmed down, taking a deep breath. She secretly hoped the whole thing hadn't happened.

"Zhu Daoist, you have a good plan, but all of this is just speculation. If one link goes wrong, splitting our forces would be a big mistake... What do you all think?"

The others, who had tasted the flavor, were not willing to take the lead, and the military boat fell into an awkward silence.

Lin Feifeng felt a bit conflicted. Feng Rui, with his annoying surname, always gave her a hard time. His beady eyes darted around, and she thought about digging them out to soak in wine for her father; Zhu Yubei wasn't any better, talking so much for no reason.

Being the captain wasn't an easy job. For a moment, she even envied Liu Yingying, who didn't have to make immediate decisions. But she couldn't help but complain in her heart that Liu Yingying was really useless. If she could think of these things, wouldn't it be simple? These things weren't that difficult!

Lin Feifeng was a bit puzzled by her current jumbled thoughts and noticed the military boat slowing down.

"Captain, we are 200 miles from Chihuo Island."

The seemingly calm tone had a hint of sarcasm. The cultivator controlling the military boat had to slow down, clearly implying that the captain couldn't just show off authority; she had to act like a captain in critical moments.

"Alright, Huang Rui and Chang Sheng, you two have the best defense. You will be responsible for luring the enemy. Be cautious and don't engage in prolonged battles. Cao Meng and Li Qi, you two will ambush on the small island to the east. Act according to the situation. The rest, follow me to the small valley west of the largest Qianhuang Flower area. We will fight quickly and decisively, aiming to leave no one alive. Move out."

Seeing the excited yet slightly shocked expressions of the others, Lin Feifeng felt a sense of satisfaction. Looking at Feng Rui, she suddenly found him less annoying, except for his surname and his still lazy smile.

...

"That was too weak. I and my junior brother took out one in a single move. It wasn't satisfying at all, ha ha."

"Exactly. I think their spirit beasts' self-destruction was the only real threat. Is the Spirit Control Sect's spirit beasts specifically for self-destruction? Sigh, it's really unimaginable. Winning without honor, winning without honor."

"Their offensive power wasn't much either. Five against two, and I didn't even lose a hair. I was going to test the limits of my Earth Shield spell, but it was a pity."

...

An hour later, on the military boat speeding towards Bai Shui City, everyone was still excitedly discussing the battle. No one mentioned the pre-battle discussion, and no one looked at Feng Rui and Zhu Yubei.

The battle went unexpectedly smoothly. Dugu Feng and his four companions pursued into the small valley and, caught off guard, were killed by the first wave of attacks. The remaining three used all their skills, even sacrificing their spirit beasts, to break out of the encirclement, but two were caught and killed due to their severe injuries. Dugu Feng had the worst luck. He used some secret technique, exhausting his energy, and escaped to the small island to the east, where he was caught by Cao Meng and Li Qi, truly becoming the rabbit in the "waiting for the rabbit" scenario, and a rabbit that couldn't even commit suicide, being captured alive.

Lin Feifeng did not join in the discussion. She sat quietly at the front of the military boat, her long black hair casually draped over her light yellow dress, the pale white light illuminating her crystal-clear face, devoid of any worldly concerns.

No one knew what she was thinking. Perhaps she was lost in thought, her long eyelashes occasionally blinking, her slightly furrowed brows revealing a hint of disappointment.

Feng Rui also did not participate in the discussion. In fact, his performance during the battle was nothing to boast about. Neither his spell power nor his flying speed was impressive, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Noticing Lin Feifeng's silence, he understood, to some extent, the source of her disappointment. Dugu Feng was also a core disciple of the Spirit Control Sect, with a powerful sect, exceptional talent, and rapid cultivation speed, and top-tier magical tools... But these could not guarantee a smooth path in cultivation, let alone ensure his survival, much less bring him happiness.

For no reason, Feng Rui felt a pain in his heart. Perhaps, such a beautiful woman would be happier as an ordinary person who couldn't cultivate. The world of cultivation might be a mistake for her.

Feng Rui's lips twitched, finding his thoughts unbelievable. Why did he suddenly think of this? He should focus on the gains from this mission.

The spoils from Dugu Feng and his companions were extremely rich for Foundation Establishment cultivators. As usual, Feng Rui received a good amount of spirit herbs, but what he was most satisfied with was the formula for the Qianhuang Pill, which used Qianhuang Flower pollen as the main ingredient.

The Qianhuang Pill was used to cultivate Qianhuang Butterflies, and their abilities were clearly related to mental energy. Feng Rui estimated that the Qianhuang Pill could help with the recovery and growth of mental energy. Although he only glanced at it, he was sure that the main effect of the Qianhuang Pill came from the Qianhuang Flower pollen, as the other dozen or so auxiliary ingredients were common spirit herbs.

Even better, Dugu Feng and his companions had already collected a significant amount of Qianhuang Flower pollen, which naturally fell into Feng Rui's hands. No one would fight him for these useless pollen.

With the powerful perception of the Spring Rain Spell for plant attributes, Feng Rui believed that given some time, he could definitely develop a pill to recover mental energy.

Mental energy recovery had always been a major problem for Feng Rui. His Heart Refinement Technique required a high level of mental energy, but there were no pills to recover mental energy in the cultivation world, and he could only rely on rest to recover.

Most spells consumed very little mental energy, so it wasn't a big issue for others, but Feng Rui was different. This was also a major flaw of the Spring Rain Spell, making its cultivation speed frustratingly slow.

Thinking about the combination of Qianhuang Flower pollen and other spirit herbs, simulating the various changes in spiritual energy and their effects, Feng Rui gradually immersed himself in his thoughts, no longer feeling the lively atmosphere on the military boat.

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