Chapter 22

" Aunt, I feel... from now on, our family probably won't be able to mine fire cloud stones from that mine anymore." On the way back to Black Cloud City, Nie Tian remained silent for a long time but finally couldn't hold back his suspicions.

By evening, the sunset pierced through the dense trees, stubbornly landing on the forest path.

Nie Qian, who was eager to get going, suddenly stopped when she heard his words.

She stared at Nie Tian with a suspicious look, her eyes gradually becoming serious and stern. "What did you say? The fire cloud stones in that mine have been mined by our family for many years. Not long ago, the cultivators from Lingyun Sect re-explored it and said that at our current rate, we could still mine for several decades. How could it suddenly run out?"

The fire cloud stones in the mine were the lifeline of the Nie family. The Nie family could only receive protection from the Lingyun Sect through the mining of fire cloud stones.

Once the Nie family lost this function, they would be of no use to the Lingyun Sect.

Even if Nie Beichuan had become the clan leader, and even if she and Nie Donghai were no longer favored within the clan, she absolutely did not want to see the entire Nie family abandoned by the Lingyun Sect.

"I'm sorry." Nie Tian lowered his head, took out the bone, and said apologetically, "It's all because of it. The flame power needed to condense that drop of blood comes from all the fire cloud stones in the mine! It successfully condensed a drop of blood but drained all the flame power from the fire cloud stones. I really believe that all the fire cloud stones have turned into ordinary stones. Even if they are mined, there will no longer be any flame power in those stones."

"Condensing a drop of blood absorbed all the flame power from the fire cloud stones? This... How is this possible?" Nie Qian was shocked.

"I feel it is so." Nie Tian smiled bitterly.

"It's impossible, absolutely impossible!" Nie Qian shook her head repeatedly, as if he was overthinking.

"If you don't believe me, fine." Nie Tian said angrily.

"I won't argue with you anymore. It's getting dark, we need to get back to Black Cloud City early." Nie Qian looked ahead. "Such a big event happened in the mine. I need to inform your grandfather and let him prepare mentally."

"Alright." Nie Tian said no more.

After that, the two stopped arguing and headed straight for Black Cloud City.

Fifteen minutes later, just as they were about to cross the dense forest, Nie Qian suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Nie Tian asked, puzzled.

Nie Qian's expression was serious, and her breathing became rapid. A wave of spiritual energy, which even Nie Tian could sense, spread out from her like ripples in water.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

The leaves in the forest moved without wind.

"Nie Tian! Turn around immediately and run to Lingyun Mountain as fast as you can!" Nie Qian shouted.

"Swish!"

The silver bracelets on her arms suddenly flew off, emitting a bright silver glow, and shot toward the back of two large trees ahead.

"Clang! Clang!"

Suddenly, the sound of metal clashing came from behind the two trees, accompanied by two low, eerie laughs.

As soon as those laughs sounded, Nie Tian's face changed dramatically, instantly realizing something was wrong.

"Run!" Nie Qian grunted, then screamed loudly.

She turned to look at Nie Tian, her eyes filled with panic, and her expression was extremely anxious.

"Whoosh!"

The silver bracelets that flew from her hands spun and shot back from behind the two trees at an even faster speed.

Behind the silver bracelets, two men in blue clothes walked out, grinning maliciously.

"Run? Where can he run?" One of them glanced coldly at Nie Tian.

"Bang!"

At this moment, the silver bracelets that flew back collided heavily with a wall of water Nie Qian had formed with her spiritual energy.

Nie Qian's delicate body was pushed back two steps. The silver bracelets hung on the water wall like weights and did not fall immediately.

She reached out and retrieved the silver bracelets one by one, her face pale as she looked at the two men in blue. "I've seen you in Black Cloud City!"

She clearly remembered that among the many strangers who had been lingering around the Nie family a few months ago, there were these two men.

She then realized that the appearance of these two men must be because of Yuan Qiuying, due to the dispute in front of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion last time.

"Since we're all dead anyway, we don't mind telling you. We were sent by Lady Yuan." The other man in blue grinned, showing his teeth.

"Sure enough, it's her!" Nie Qian gritted her teeth.

"Brother, go kill that little brat first. This woman..." The man with a thin scar on his eye suddenly smiled strangely. "I'll take care of her. Lady Yuan instructed that she must not die easily. We must satisfy Lady Yuan since we are paid to do the job."

The other man smiled in understanding and nodded. "Brother, I'll kill that kid and come find you later."

"Smart, ha ha!"

The two men laughed without restraint, clearly not taking Nie Qian and Nie Tian seriously. To them, Nie Tian and Nie Qian were already dead.

"He's just a child, please let him go!" Nie Qian begged. "Whatever Yuan Qiuying gave you, I'll triple it when I return to the clan. The Nie family still has resources, please believe me!"

The brief test had already made her realize that the two men in blue were at least at the middle stage of the Later Heaven realm, and they exuded a strong aura of killing intent, indicating that they were not just cultivators who practiced diligently but were also ruthless killers.

She knew clearly that she could not match either of them.

"We two brothers have received favors from the Yuan family in the past, and we repay kindness." The man with the scar on his eye chuckled, stroking his chin. "Besides, I quite like your appearance. Just accept your fate."

As soon as he said this, Nie Qian knew that she would not escape today and screamed, "Nie Tian! Run!"

"Clang, clang!"

She swung her hands, and the silver bracelets collided with each other, emitting a sharp, piercing sound as they flew toward the two men at an even more astonishing speed.

"The Nie family is not what it used to be, indeed." The leading man shook his head, looking at the rapidly approaching silver bracelets. "As the eldest daughter of the Nie family and the former wife of Yun Zhiguo, you are using such low-level spirit artifacts."

As he mocked, an ancient bronze shield was raised in his hand.

"Whoosh!"

A red-yellow light wave burst from the shield, and intricate patterns became clear and dazzling as the light was released.

"Heavy Gravity!"

The leading man coldly snorted, and the gravitational field around him seemed to increase several times instantly.

The silver bracelets, due to the sudden change in gravity, plummeted toward the ground!

"Brother, although we checked carefully before, we can't be sure no one will pass by. We need to resolve this quickly!"

"Brother, I'll kill that little brat right away!"

The other man responded and stopped looking at Nie Qian, suddenly heading toward Nie Tian.

The silver bracelets flying toward him, due to the sudden change in gravity, were about to hit the ground and posed no threat to him.

"Nie Tian! Run!" Nie Qian shouted frantically.

However, as the man approached, Nie Tian's eyes burned with intense anger, but his body remained motionless.

"Only at the fourth level of cultivation, in the fivefold gravitational field of my brother's Yellow Earth Shield, it's impossible for him to escape." The man approaching Nie Tian said coldly, with a mocking tone.

Hearing this, Nie Qian seemed to lose all hope and screamed hysterically, "I will not let you have an easy time even if I die!"

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

Nie Tian panted heavily, his spiritual energy surging to his legs, trying his best to resist the increased gravity from deep within the earth, attempting to move his body.

But the ground beneath his feet seemed to have become a huge magnet, firmly holding him down.

He exerted all his strength but could not shake off the earth's pull, his feet feeling as if they were pressed by a massive stone, unable to move.

A mix of despair, unwillingness, and rage grew stronger in his heart as the man approached.

At this moment, he suddenly felt the bone in his hand become scorching hot.

...

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