Chapter 86

"Divine spirits..." Jiang Zinan, influenced by the atmosphere, muttered a prayer. Calming down, he took the initiative to light a candle and began to help Ye Qing with his tasks.

Ye Qing took out some finely crafted items from a small bag, dug into the ground with his sword, and instructed her to help bury them. The atmosphere was tense but not hurried. In his previous life, Ye Qing had faced great calamities and experienced many ups and downs. What danger had he not encountered?

With so much experience, even a dull person would develop instincts. He instantly perceived the crisis. Although time was tight, under Ye Qing's command, everything proceeded in an orderly manner. Jiang Zinan, following orders, gradually calmed down.

In just a moment, the ground array began to take shape. The array plate was buried in the center, and the magical patterns connected to various nodes, replicating, stacking, and amplifying their functions.

At the same time, Ye Qing said calmly, "Since I received an early warning of the calamity, I could have escaped alone, with the thunderstorm as a cover..."

Jiang Zinan's face turned pale. She saw him approach with his sword, take her hand, and for a moment, she felt almost suffocated. In the dim candlelight, she stared blankly at the man who had just shared her bed, her mind blank, refusing to understand.

It wasn't until she felt a sharp pain in her finger that she realized he was pressing her hand onto the magical pattern. She then heard him say, "... However, you have followed me and have not betrayed me. How could I abandon you?"

His next words carried a smile, "What, can't you take a joke? You are a virgin, and the yin spirit in your blood has not been lost. It's perfect for the Night Realm's enhancement. A little blood won't hurt, right?"

Jiang Zinan felt a daze, unable to describe her feelings. She watched as her blood spread over the magical pattern and nodded dumbly.

Ye Qing spread the blood over the patterns, and the array faintly glowed. "The rest is just a matter of killing techniques— in this world with strict heavenly rules, who strikes first is crucial."

"This illusion array is very suitable. It can only delay for a moment, but as long as it provokes a justified counterattack..."

He then took out a embroidered sachet from his chest, opened it, and revealed a pearl. He placed it solemnly at the center of the array. The pearl, granted by the Dragon Lord, glowed. A stream of water spirit energy rushed in from the temple gate, forming a transparent funnel in the air, swirling into the pearl, overflowing the array plate, and flowing over each magical pattern. The entire array was coated with a layer of water, extending and covering Ye Qing, making him look like he was wearing a transparent raincoat.

At this moment, the heavy rain had reached a critical point. The moment the pearl was in place, it was like opening a water valve, and a breach appeared in the dam. The torrent of water spirit energy surged down, threatening to overwhelm the array and its master. The array plate trembled violently, almost cracking.

Ye Qing decisively pressed the pearl, which shook and forcibly closed the valve. The heavenly phenomenon stopped, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He turned back and said seriously, "... The magical tools I made are still too low-level, but it doesn't matter. Water has a natural illusionary quality, and this pearl is granted by the Dragon Lord, making it perfect for the thunderstorm night to gain maximum enhancement."

"With this illusion array, I am eager to kill. Hmph, I want to see what this calamity is." Ye Qing had the courage, but he also noticed the concentration of the gray-black aura, which was not insurmountable.

For Ye Qing, who had experienced life and death a hundred times in great calamities, he could even sense the degree of danger at a glance.

The heavy rain fell, connecting heaven and earth. Jiang Zinan, hearing this, was startled, and her pale face regained some color. Despite her fear of the Eight Bones, she subconsciously moved closer to Ye Qing. Her ability to climb to her current position from a lowly orphan was not just due to her intelligence and decisiveness but also her innate talent for relying on the strong.

Ye Qing nodded in approval and hung some talismans on her. "Drive south, don't take the main road, only take the small paths, until dawn..."

Jiang Zinan nodded solemnly and rushed out, her figure staggering and disappearing in the rain.

Ye Qing watched silently for a long time before sighing, "This is not a test. Some believe that one should test people's hearts in times of crisis, but with experience, one realizes that hearts cannot be tested, including my own."

A splash of water, and a person emerged from the shadows behind him, saying, "In times of crisis, there are always moments when one must act. That's why there are sayings like 'the true nature of a horse is known over a long journey, and the loyalty of a minister is seen in times of turmoil'... Besides, wasn't it to show her the power of the illusion array to boost her confidence?"

Another light splash of water, and someone else stepped into the rain, "This also boosts my own confidence. This battle is no small matter and must be handled with caution!"

Ye Qing nodded, raised his long sword, and looked at it, "I passed the scholar examination early, unexpectedly obtained the Small Martial Canon, and experienced seven years in a dream, learning various Daoist techniques and martial arts. As the saying goes, 'with a sharp weapon, the killing intent arises!'"

"What does this mean in the face of a great calamity? It's the perfect time to check my current combat strength."

A bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the temple gate. Three identical figures stood, looking at each other and smiling. An eerie aura spread uncontrollably.

Darkness rose in the temple, and mist silently covered it. The next lightning flash revealed not the temple and mist but a small courtyard with a pavilion and a wine flag, standing quietly in the rain.

The sound of hooves, like a storm, approached from a distance.

The hooves stopped on the slope. The rain was very heavy, and the wilderness was shrouded in darkness. Only a solitary lantern swayed under a nearby eave.

"Should we light a torch?" someone asked, holding an oil-soaked torch that could be used in the rain, but only one was lit, barely illuminating the surroundings.

"No need yet!" Yu Fan turned back and asked someone, "Is this the place?"

This person was the only one in the group dressed in civilian clothes, a spy who had followed them. Despite the rain, he was sweating, carefully examining the terrain and the lantern-lit gate, "It should be. I saw the ox cart enter..."

Yu Fan looked up at the sky. It was truly a night of heavy rain. Killing in this rain would leave no traces. Standing at the top of the slope, he ordered in a low voice, "Charge in, leave no one alive, take all the valuables, burn the house with oil, and make it look like a bandit attack."

"Yes!" As the order was given, thirty riders charged through the rain, mud splashing under their hooves, the sound of the storm masking everything.

A flash of lightning illuminated the muddy ground, the riders, and the small courtyard. The only person left on the slope, the spy, had a pale face and muttered, "But I saw a shrine earlier. This wine shop is further down the road. Did I see it wrong?"

The lightning faded, and the darkness enveloped him.

Two riders burst through the gate, the lantern flickering. The riders dismounted, and a leader of the armored soldiers grinned, "My men have killed three."

"The noise is too loud." Yu Fan, hearing the sounds, suppressed a feeling of unease and pointed to the lit room in the west wing, "Charge in, the main target is inside!"

"Yes!" The soldiers responded in unison, ten of them with strong bows, approaching the door. Inside, a figure could be seen sitting, as if about to speak.

The next moment, the ten soldiers aimed, and the arrows flew through the air.

The sounds of arrows hitting flesh were continuous, at least seven arrows hitting their mark, but something was off. The leader of the armored soldiers frowned, "Charge in again!"

"Light the torches." Yu Fan ordered, adding, "He won't die that easily."

Several torches lit up in the courtyard, and the armored soldiers removed their gray robes, revealing their armor. They formed an array and charged in, their weapons flashing. A scream echoed, "It's a wooden dummy, a decoy!"

The leader's face changed, and he shouted, "Fall back!"

The sound was muffled by a transparent water barrier. The soldiers, realizing something was wrong, tried to retreat, but suddenly, they started attacking each other, all with lethal intent.

"Thud, thud!" Five soldiers were killed by their own comrades. As two soldiers retreated, a shadow approached, and a sword flashed.

"Thud—" The familiar sound echoed as the shadow glanced at Yu Fan and calmly moved to the next soldier, striking again, "Thud."

"Ye Qing!" Yu Fan roared, crushing a yellow jade talisman in his hand.

The soldiers rushed back, but another was killed by the shadow. Only when the second one was hit did a metallic clang sound, and the deputy leader of the armored soldiers, with a serious expression, blocked the attack, judging the enemy's position and stabbing with a dagger.

"Thud!"

A fireball hit the ground, and with a loud explosion, a crack appeared in the array plate, exposing the magical patterns, indicating the array's function was damaged.

The water and fire collided, creating a brilliant rainbow, illuminating the entire area. The scene revealed not Ye Qing but the deputy leader with a sword protruding from his abdomen!

The leader of the armored soldiers shouted, "Third Brother!"

Yu Fan's face was grim. At this moment, he should not be shouting but commanding. Even with training from the Martial Canon, these soldiers had not truly experienced battle.

Yu Fan immediately took command, personally directing the nineteen soldiers with their strong bows.

The sword was pulled out, and Ye Qing, twisting his body in an impossible way, straightened up, coldly looking at everyone. He formed a hand seal, "Fog!"

The pearl on the array plate glowed, activating another set of magical patterns. White fog rose, obscuring Ye Qing's figure.

The deputy leader's body slumped to the ground, blood pooling around him. He still held his sword, his eyes filled with disbelief—his sharp dagger should have pierced the enemy's heart, but it missed!

How could the enemy twist his body in such an impossible way?

According to the principles of martial arts, that posture should not allow for any force to be exerted!

"Fire!" The fog spread, faintly red with blood.

"Master, Third Brother is still—"

"He's dead! Fire!" The fog spread through the temple, the air filled with the smell of blood.

"Master!"

"I said, fire!" Yu Fan stared at the leader of the armored soldiers, his eyes flashing with killing intent. The nineteen soldiers, no longer daring to disobey, fired their arrows, covering the fog. The sound of arrows piercing flesh and the familiar screams of pain echoed in the distance.

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