527: Lu Xueqi (IV)

The setting sun stretched the three figures long, casting them onto the bluestone path of the small town at the foot of Bijia Mountain.

The town was not large, built against the mountain, and at this moment, cooking smoke curled upwards, carrying a sense of tranquility from the wilderness.

However, this tranquility could not dispel the subtle awkwardness and undercurrents between the three travelers.

After finding what looked like a clean inn to stay in, Su Han finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This journey had been more exhausting than dealing with the Shadow Assassins' attempts on his life.

Bi Yao still smiled sweetly, and Lu Xueqi remained as cold as frost, but the invisible clash of their auras made him, the one in the eye of the storm, feel immense pressure.

Dinner was served in the inn's main hall.

Bi Yao ordered a table full of exquisite small dishes, while Lu Xueqi only ordered a bowl of plain noodles, eating in silence.

During the meal, Bi Yao continuously put food into Su Han's bowl, chatting cheerfully about interesting things they encountered along the way, trying to exclude Lu Xueqi.

Lu Xueqi, on the other hand, kept her eyes downcast, as if she was an outsider, only occasionally lifting her eyelids, where a fleeting complex emotion in her clear gaze revealed that she was not entirely indifferent.

“Su Han, try this; these bamboo shoots are very fresh and tender.”

Bi Yao again placed a piece of food into Su Han’s bowl.

“Thank you.”

Su Han felt somewhat helpless, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Xueqi put down her chopsticks and softly say, “I’m full. I’ll go back to my room first.”

“Junior Sister Lu is full already? Won’t you eat more?” Bi Yao asked with a smile.

“Enough.”

Lu Xueqi stood up, nodded slightly to Su Han, and then turned to go upstairs, her white back appearing particularly solitary and upright in the lamplight.

Su Han looked at her retreating figure, a sigh inexplicably rising in his heart.

“What, feeling sorry for her?”

Bi Yao leaned closer, lowering her voice, with a hint of slyness and an almost imperceptible trace of sourness.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Su Han said sternly, “Bi Yao, Junior Sister Lu… her nature is cold, and she means no harm. You…”

“I know, I know,” Bi Yao interrupted him, pouting, “Your good Junior Sister, pure as ice and jade, untouched by worldly affairs.”

“Only I talk too much, don’t I?”

As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh herself, though there was a hint of forcedness in her smile.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Su Han was meditating and regulating his Qi in his room. Although he wasn't injured in the daytime skirmish with the Shadow Assassins, his True Yuan had been depleted and needed to be restored as quickly as possible.

He circulated the Taiji Profound Clarity Dao, and Spiritual Qi flowed through his meridians in a grand cycle, his mind gradually becoming serene.

However, just as he was about to enter a state of self-forgetfulness, an extremely subtle yet sharp and substantial Killing Intent, like the tongue of a venomous snake extending from the darkness, suddenly touched his spiritual perception!

Almost at the same time, in the adjacent room, a clear Sword Qi cry, like a Dragon's roar, rang out—it was Lu Xueqi's tianya divine sword!

Concurrently, a light, alert shout from Bi Yao also came from the room on the other side.

“An ambush!”

Su Han's heart jolted, and he instantly stopped his cultivation, his body shooting towards the window like lightning.

Just as he broke through the window, several dark streaks of light, accompanied by shrill whistles, pierced through the wall and windows where he had been moments before!

Those were crossbow bolts poisoned with potent venom, gleaming with an eerie blue light under the moonlight.

Su Han's figure twisted in mid-air, lightly landing in the center of the inn's courtyard.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao also landed beside him, one on his left and one on his right.

Lu Xueqi held the tianya divine sword, its azure radiance flowing like water, reflecting on her frosty, beautiful face, her eyes as sharp as swords.

Bi Yao, on the other hand, had put away her usual playful demeanor. In her hand, she held a strange Magic Treasure, the “heartbreak flower,” emitting a faint white light, her expression solemn.

In the shadows around the courtyard, eight figures silently emerged.

Unlike the black-clad assassins from earlier, these eight were all dressed in dark red tight-fitting attire, their faces covered by grotesque ghost masks, revealing only pairs of emotionless eyes.

Their auras were connected, as if they were one entity, and the Evil Qi they exuded was several times more intense than that of the daytime assassins. They were clearly elites among the Shadow Assassins and skilled in combined attack techniques.

“Shadow Assassins’ Blood Fiend Group?”

Bi Yao's pupils contracted slightly, and she whispered, “It seems the person who wants you dead has truly spared no expense. These eight working together are enough to trap and kill an ordinary Cultivator.”

Su Han's expression was grave. He could feel that the formation these eight had created had already locked onto the three of them. The surrounding air became viscous, and an invisible pressure squeezed in from all directions.

“Form up and kill!”

The leader of the Blood Fiend Group gave a cold command, his voice dry and hoarse, not sounding human.

The eight figures moved simultaneously, not charging directly, but stepping in strange, synchronized paces, instantly forming a dark red encirclement.

Their weapons varied—saber, sword, hook, and stinger—but their movements were perfectly coordinated. Eight incredibly sharp Killing Intent coalesced into a torrent, like a tangible wave of blood-red, surging towards the three in the center!

This offensive was not aimed at a single person but enveloped the entire area, clearly intended to overwhelm them in one fell swoop!

“Be careful!”

Lu Xueqi cried out clearly, and the tianya divine sword flared with brilliant light. She moved with her sword, transforming into a blue streak of light, actively meeting the side with the strongest Killing Intent.

The Sword Qi unfolded like the Nine Heavens’ Milky Way pouring down, its icy Sword Qi instantly tearing a gap in the surging blood-red Killing Intent. This was the opening move of the Qingyun Sect's ultimate skill, the “Divine Sword Lightning Leading True Skill.” Although it didn't summon heavenly lightning, the sword's momentum already carried the grandeur of heavenly might.

However, the eight Blood Fiend Group members cooperated with extreme tacit understanding. Seeing Lu Xueqi’s fierce sword momentum, they did not meet it head-on. The formation shifted, and the attacks of the other four already struck at Lu Xueqi’s flanks and back like venomous snakes, forcing her to withdraw her sword to defend herself.

On the other side, Bi Yao’s heartbreak flower bloomed with white light, forming a soft light barrier that protected her and Su Han within it.

But the blood-red wave of Killing Intent crashed against the light barrier, making “hissing” sounds, and the barrier fluctuated violently, clearly struggling to hold. The combined attack of these Blood Fiend Group members was far more powerful than imagined. (End of chapter)