Chapter 9: Eastern Wasteland

"Little brother, why are you in my master's cave?"

The elder, the oldest of the two, was the first to recover. He raised the black flag in his hand and frowned as he asked.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai inwardly cursed, his face showing embarrassment.

In the immortal sect, one must not probe another's cultivation without permission, so he did not know the realms of the two. However, sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy, he believed they should be roughly at his level.

Moreover, the way this old and young pair entered the cave clearly indicated they had the correct key.

Although he had entered the water cave unintentionally, he had occupied this treasure land for a few days. Now, being caught on the spot by the master's disciple, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Old sir, please don't blame me. I entered unintentionally and will leave immediately."

Chen Mobai was about to leave, but upon seeing the unfamiliar stance of the old and young pair, a thought flashed through his mind, and he stopped.

"Indeed, there are no signs of damage to the Green Water Array. Little brother, you must have entered unintentionally, as you said." The elder waved the black flag in his hand, checked the array protecting the entire cave, and confirmed that the restrictions on the three side halls were intact. He sighed with relief and nodded at Chen Mobai.

"I will now release the array, and you can leave."

As he spoke, Chen Mobai saw a two-meter-wide hole appear in the light barrier at the entrance of the main hall, but the water outside did not rush in, seemingly blocked by an invisible force.

Under the watchful eyes of the old and young pair, who clearly intended to see him off, Chen Mobai, though suspicious, nodded lightly and walked to the cave entrance.

Buzz!

Just as Chen Mobai was about to step through the hole in the light barrier, a green light, like a splash of ink, poured from his clenched palm, forming a wooden armor that enveloped his entire body.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three yellow-brown needles appeared, their tips glowing with a dark yellow light, and struck the wooden armor in front of Chen Mobai.

"Just for entering someone's home without permission, you resort to such vicious means. Is there no law and order here?"

Chen Mobai turned around and saw the ordinary-looking youth holding a needle box in one hand and making seals with the other, his eyes cold. He could not help but fly into a rage.

In the Deyuan Star, ruled by the immortal sect, the legal system inherited from the previous civilization was upheld.

Murder was a serious crime.

This time, if not for the "Wooden Armor Talisman" that Chen Mobai had pre-activated, which automatically triggered upon attack, he would have been killed on the spot.

"Still not making a move?"

The youth, seeing his magical tool blocked and Chen Mobai looking "murderous," feared that the latter might have some desperate means. Although he was at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation, he did not want to waste too much spiritual energy before breaking the restrictions.

So, while drawing three more long needles from the needle box, he shouted to the elder.

"Alright, watch my divine thunder!"

The elder roared, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. He waved the black flag in his hand at Chen Mobai and then threw a dark blue talisman from his sleeve.

However, the direction of the talisman was not Chen Mobai but the youth in brown.

A thunderous sound echoed, and the youth in brown cursed, then forcibly reversed his spiritual energy, redirecting the flying needles he had aimed at Chen Mobai to the elder.

In the midst of Chen Mobai's confusion, the youth in brown was struck by the elder's divine thunder and fell to the ground, his face filled with resentment.

His flying needles were deflected by the water cave array's power, manipulated by the elder's black flag.

The sound of "ding ding ding" echoed as the flying needles fell onto the floor tiles, their tips piercing straight in, showing their sharpness.

"Ha ha ha, with your third-rate lineage of the Flying Needle Sect, you actually want to share the spoils of this secret realm with me? This is the lawless Eastern Wasteland."

The elder laughed, waving his black flag again, trying to kill Chen Mobai with the Green Water Array. However, the "Wooden Armor Talisman" still had power left and blocked the incoming water waves.

"Where exactly is this place? The Eastern Wasteland? There is no such name among the thirty-six celestial caves and seventy-two blessed lands of the immortal sect."

Chen Mobai, still in shock from the sudden turn of events between the elder and the youth, was jolted awake by the burning sensation as the wooden armor talisman's power ran out.

The elder's cultivation was unknown, but the black flag in his hand was the central control of the water cave array, allowing him to manipulate the entire array's power.

Although the Green Water Array had no lethal force, if Chen Mobai were trapped, he would suffer the same fate as the youth in brown, struck by a thunder talisman, and die a certain death.

At this critical moment, Chen Mobai did not hesitate and unleashed a pre-prepared Green Arrow Talisman.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

Five green long arrows, like vines, appeared from the void and quickly covered the area where the elder stood.

"Hmph, if we were outside the water cave, I would definitely retreat."

The elder chuckled, confidently waving his black flag. The power of the Green Water Array was activated, forming invisible ripples that halted the four green arrows in mid-air.

"You little brat, how did you reach the fifth level of Qi Cultivation with such poor aim..."

Just as the elder was about to seal the cave entrance and trap Chen Mobai, his face froze.

He realized the Green Water Array was out of control, and the hole in the light barrier, which was about to be sealed, stopped. Chen Mobai, who could have escaped, remained at the entrance, taking out two more Green Arrow Talismans and coldly watching him.

"How does this kid know that this array flag controls 'protection'?"

The elder looked around, his heart trembling.

Chen Mobai's Green Arrow Talisman was a ruse. The four spirit arrows aimed at the elder were a distraction.

The fifth arrow, which seemed to have missed, landed precisely on an array base nearby, breaking the array flag.

Although the Green Water Array was a second-level array, it had no defensive power against attacks from within.

Chen Mobai, who had thoroughly explored the water cave, used this to break one of the array flags, causing the smoothly running array to stall.

The elder's face turned ashen. He glanced at the three side halls behind the water cave but, feeling the talismans in Chen Mobai's hand about to activate, gritted his teeth and prepared to retreat.

His cultivation was only at the third level of Qi Cultivation.

If not for the black flag, which controlled the Green Water Array, he would never have dared to attack the youth in brown and Chen Mobai.

But at that moment, green light flashed across the sky, and the two Green Arrow Talismans in Chen Mobai's hand were activated, forming ten spirit arrows that aimed at the elder.

"Little brother, no, senior, please spare me..."