Chapter 15

Three yakshas were quite troublesome, and Yue Qing hadn't yet figured out how to drive them away when the people from Emei Sect caught up.

Master Yuanyuan rushed to the front and shouted, "Good demon, you even found some helpers!" Seeing He Ming standing at the front, he pointed his finger and released the Qingni Sword to slash at He Ming.

He Ming originally wanted to step forward and question the other party, asking why they were bullying the outnumbered, and even wanted to follow the established rules for a one-on-one duel to decide the winner. However, Master Yuanyuan didn't give him this chance and attacked immediately. Poor He Ming didn't even get a word out before the Qingni Sword pierced his throat. He stared with bulging eyes, unable to accept his fate, and clutched his bleeding throat as he fell.

"Brother!" The other two yakshas cried out in shock. He Zai reacted the fastest and quickly released six flying forks to attack Master Yuanyuan.

Master Yuanyuan's hand moved in a spiritual gesture, and his Qingni Sword exploded into countless silver stars, with tens of thousands of steel needles shooting everywhere. He Zai was instantly turned into a sieve. Yue Qing only managed to release the Taiyi Five Smoke Net to protect He Xin, helplessly watching He Zai die on the spot.

With two brothers dead in an instant, He Xin's eyes turned red. "I'll fight you to the death!" He took out a black bead to throw it.

Yue Qing, while using his flying sword to block the Qingni Sword, pulled He Xin. "There are even more powerful experts behind her. If you don't leave quickly, you'll drag me down to die with you!"

He Xin cried out, "You Emei Sect scoundrels, just wait! I swear I won't be human until I avenge this!" He then flew away on his flying fork.

Yue Qing had already seen Wu Yuanzhi behind. Afraid that Chanxia Master would also catch up, he turned and continued to flee north when he saw He Xin reach the river.

"Where are you going, demon!" Master Yuanyuan and Wu Yuanzhi shouted in unison. Master Yuanyuan continued to chase Yue Qing, while Wu Yuanzhi released his flying sword to attack He Xin. He had seen these three strange figures standing with Yue Qing from a distance and guessed they were all part of Yue Qing's group. Now that his senior sister was chasing Yue Qing, he decided to attack He Xin.

Seeing the flying sword coming, He Xin quickly released his flying fork to block it, cursing, "You Emei Sect are too ruthless! If I don't exterminate your entire sect, I'm not a double-headed yaksha..." As he cursed, he threw the bead in his hand. Just as he did, Wu Yuanzhi waved his banana leaf fan, releasing two fire dragons. He Xin couldn't escape and was burned to ashes along with the bead!

Pity the three brothers from the Snail Cave on Divine Sheep Mountain, who were killed in an instant just because they wanted to please Yue Qing and approached him.

Yue Qing and Master Yuanyuan fought and chased for hundreds of miles, reaching the territory of Zhongnan Mountain. He was angry at being chased and wanted to avenge the He brothers' deaths. Since Chanxia Master hadn't caught up, he assumed she had been injured by a demon and wouldn't arrive soon.

He quickly chose a suitable feng shui spot on a hill, landed, and selected a place where yang and sha energies intersected. He used his flying sword to dig a hole, buried the black jade gourd, and then stepped into the flag formation, calculating the positions and setting up the Duntia Flag Array.

While setting up the array, a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old young Taoist suddenly appeared from the forest. He was robust, with a tiger-like head and body, wearing a brown Taoist robe, the front tucked into his waist, a large bamboo basket on his back, and a medicinal hoe in his hand.

Seeing Yue Qing, the young Taoist was both surprised and delighted. "Uncle Yue! What are you doing here?"

Yue Qing recognized him as Huang Qian, the disciple of the hermit Mingyi from the Yinjuechuan Cliff on Zhongnan Mountain. Yue Qing had once come to Zhongnan Mountain to gather herbs and had met Mingyi several times. Huang Qian, an orphan who had been injured by a martial arts expert before joining the Taoist path, was very friendly. Yue Qing had once helped him kill a two-headed python guarding the Yuzhen Fruit on a cliff, and since then, Huang Qian had been very close to Yue Qing.

If it were any other time, Yue Qing would have asked about his injuries and whether his master had healed him. But today, with death looming, he dared not linger. He waved his hand, "Leave here as quickly as possible!"

Huang Qian was stunned, "Ah?" and took a few steps closer.

Seeing Master Yuanyuan approaching, Yue Qing grabbed Huang Qian and stepped into the flag formation, disappearing.

Master Yuanyuan saw from the air, "The demon has found another helper!"

Wu Yuanzhi caught up, "What trick is he using now?"

Master Yuanyuan pointed, "That's the Duntia Flag Array. Unlike the previous Eight Gates Golden Lock Array, it has more complex real and illusory changes. It will take at least ten days to break. Junior, just fan your Wind and Fire Fan down. Whether it's real or illusory, burn it all. As soon as he shows himself, I'll strike!"

"Alright!" Wu Yuanzhi vigorously waved the banana leaf fan, sending down thirty-six wind dragons and seventy-two fire dragons, each over ten feet long, with sharp teeth and claws, swirling down. Everything in their path, from grass to trees, turned to ashes, and the rocks and soil were reduced to dust. The ground itself turned red from the heat.

Yue Qing didn't fight Wu Yuanzhi, but fled north with Huang Qian. Just as they were about to cross a ravine, countless steel blades shot out from the ground, and many sword shadows crisscrossed in the air, like a monster's teeth, suddenly closing in. Yue Qing quickly released the Taiyi Five Smoke Net, but it was too late. Huang Qian's arm was severed by the divine blade.

He quickly grabbed Huang Qian's arm and returned it to him, then retreated into the array.

Huang Qian was very tough. Despite the pain and sweat, he didn't make a sound.

Yue Qing quickly applied medicine and stopped the bleeding. "You must keep this arm well. I have bone-healing golden pills. I'll come to Mingyi's cave later to help you reattach it and restore it completely." He looked up and saw Chanxia Master and her three disciples approaching, sighed, and hung a jade talisman around Huang Qian's neck. "I'll use the six divine spirits to fight them. When the chaos starts, I'll use my sword light to send you to the cliff. Follow the vines down to the ravine and hide for a while. They won't pursue you, a non-flying sword user, too fiercely. If necessary, shout your master's name; they might show mercy."

Huang Qian looked at Yue Qing, "I'll go find my master to help you!"

Yue Qing knew Mingyi, a hermit who pursued a peaceful and carefree life, wouldn't easily get involved in sect disputes. He smiled bitterly, "Forget it. This is my grudge with the Emei Sect, not your business."

Outside, Master Yuanyuan explained to Chanxia Master, "The demon fled from the north. The new little demon had his arm severed by my Ten Thousand Blade Divine Blade. I was about to kill them both when they escaped back. The array he set up is quite famous. Wu Junior has been fanning for a long time, and the ground is already red, but he still hasn't shown himself. It's hard to tell what's real and what's illusory."

Chanxia Master calmly observed, "Yue Qingbin is one of the few notable figures in the Wutai Sect, having practiced for over three hundred years. It's not surprising he can set up such an array." She focused on the array below.

Yue Qing, almost making eye contact with Chanxia Master, knew he couldn't give her enough time to study the array. She had learned from both the great Taoist Master Changmei and the great Buddhist Master You Tan, both top-tier experts. He couldn't risk her figuring out the array's pattern and breaking it. He bit his tongue, spat out a mouthful of blood, and chanted a spell while forming the supreme divine spirit seal, activating the black jade gourd.

With a hiss, a thick cloud of demonic mist rose from the ground. The demonic gourd, empowered by the mountain's energy, was ten times more powerful than before. The demonic clouds billowed, and the six Jia spirits attacked Chanxia Master, while the six Ding spirits split into two groups, three attacking Master Yuanyuan and three attacking Wu Yuanzhi. Yue Qing used this opportunity to wrap Huang Qian in his sword light and send him to the cliff on the northeast side. The silver light flashed and disappeared, and Huang Qian was already on the other side of the cliff. Wu Yuanzhi released his flying sword to attack, but Huang Qian rolled down the cliff, grabbing onto the thick vines covering the cliff face and sliding down.