15: ambush

"Senior Sister, something is wrong!" Li Pingan scanned the area vigilantly.

Steward Wang urged, "It seems these Mountain Bandits have all fled! Young Miss, your Mother and Father are likely locked up in the stockade; we must hurry and save them."

Having spoken, he walked ahead alone, rushing into the stockade first.

Mu Wanqing nodded, "Junior Brother, let's hurry and follow."

As the three of them stepped into the stockade, a "whoosh" sound cut through the air, and an arrow shot towards Li Pingan's back. However, the anticipated scene of the arrow piercing his back did not happen.

After hitting Li Pingan, the arrow fell weakly to the ground.

It failed to penetrate his armor.

Li Pingan was originally a Heaven-Loathing Divine Body, with tough skin and thick flesh far surpassing ordinary people. Now, he had even achieved a Breakthrough to the Martial Dao First Layer, equivalent to a Cultivator's Qi Refining Ninth Layer Realm. How could a Mortal's arrow cause him any harm?

One must know that the gap between a human and a Cultivator is greater than the gap between a human and a dog!

With a crash!

Suddenly, about thirty figures darted out from the surroundings, completely encircling Mu Wanqing and the others.

Every one of them looked terrified, maintaining a distance of about five meters from the three people inside the circle. They surrounded them without attacking, and the blades and spears in their hands were more for self-defense than actual weapons.

Steward Wang cried out in surprise, "Young Miss, we've been ambushed."

Li Pingan let out a low shout, "Good timing."

The Heaven-Loathing Divine Body had another characteristic: the more he fought, the fiercer he became, making it perfectly suited for using war to sustain war!

"Senior Sister, leave these people to me. You go inside and save them!"

As his words fell, the bluestone slab beneath Li Pingan's feet cracked with a "bang," shattering like a spiderweb. He shot out at a speed invisible to the naked eye!

A burly man with a full beard brought his saber down, but Li Pingan neither dodged nor avoided it. His left arm blocked and deflected the blade, and his right fist shot out abruptly. The force of the punch, wrapped in a sharp, tearing sound, struck the man squarely in the face.

Li Pingan was like a hungry wolf, rampaging freely through the Mountain Bandits' encirclement. Those Mountain Bandits, who were usually tyrannical, couldn't even touch his clothes now, only falling down with miserable screams like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Mu Wanqing was about to look away when her eyes suddenly lit up, "Junior Brother, be careful."

A patch of gray mist suddenly drifted out from the shadow on the west side. When the mist touched the ground, it transformed into a Black-robed Person, who held a yellow talisman between his withered fingers and chanted incantations.

Vines inexplicably grew from the bluestone slab beneath Li Pingan's feet, tightly wrapping around his ankles. Immediately afterward, a brilliant Spell smashed toward Li Pingan.

This person was a Cultivator at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, who deliberately disguised himself as a Mountain Bandit for this sneak attack.

"It's the Spirit Binding Spell!"

Mu Wanqing instantly recognized the Spell the opponent used. She formed a hand seal and immediately activated the Divine Ability Heaven's Lament Condensing Yin Art, using ice crystals condensed into threads to instantly cut through the bluestone vines.

Li Pingan turned sideways and dodged the Spell.

"Tsk!" The Black-robed Person, whose sneak attack failed, clicked his tongue, his expression gloomy.

"This little girl actually ruined my plans."

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Li Pingan felt lingering fear. If Mu Wanqing hadn't helped him out, he would have taken a hit from that Spell.

He could withstand a Mortal's arrow, but not a Cultivator's Spell.

Mu Wanqing frowned and said, "Why are there Cultivators among these Mountain Bandits? Could it be..."

At this moment, an old man wearing the robes of the Yin Yang Sect slowly walked out of a house inside the stockade. His hair was completely white, yet his face didn't show many wrinkles, but his complexion was as pale as cured meat soaked in medicine, revealing an unnatural waxy yellow hue.

The old man was precisely the Outer Sect Elder of the Yin Yang Sect, Mo Wuchang!

His pair of triangular eyes narrowed into slits. When he looked at the girl, he always carried a sticky, appraising gaze. "My obedient Disciple, this old man has been looking for you!"

"What Divine Ability did you just use? Show your Revered Master quickly!"

Mu Wanqing couldn't help but shiver. Although she had long heard of this Elder's reputation, seeing him today instinctively filled her with disgust.

If she were to be taken as his Disciple, Mu Wanqing felt it would be better to simply die quickly.

Mu Wanqing said in a cold voice, "Who is your Disciple? I, Mu Wanqing, have only one Revered Master in this life, and that is the Sect Master of Dao Seeking Sect."

Li Pingan asked with a serious expression, "Senior Sister, who is this person?"

"The Outer Sect Elder of the Yin Yang Sect."

"The Yin Yang Sect?!"

Li Pingan was startled. Although the Yin Yang Sect was not as famous as the Po Shan Sect, it was still a Sect that could not be underestimated.

Most importantly, the Yin Yang Sect was an affiliated force of the Joyful Union Sect, and the Joyful Union Sect was one of the Hegemon-level Forces in the Eastern Region!

Mo Wuchang sneered, full of disdain, "Dao Seeking Sect? A small fry I've never even heard of. Hand over the Divine Ability you possess obediently, and follow your Revered Master well from now on. With your Aptitude, we can even become a Foundation Establishment Dao Companion pair that everyone envies!"

Mu Wanqing felt a wave of physical discomfort, wishing she could cut the old man into pieces on the spot.

"Was it you who had these Mountain Bandits kidnap my Father and Mother?" The Supreme Yin Water Heart Art quietly circulated within her body.

"Obedient Disciple, you'll have to ask that good steward beside you about that." Mo Wuchang smiled sinisterly.

Mu Wanqing was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then abruptly turned her head, a look of confusion and incomprehension appearing on her face.

Steward Wang had already retreated to the side, shamelessly rubbing his hands and saying, "Immortal Master, this humble one has already helped you bring the Young Miss over. As for the promised thousand taels of gold... what do you say?"

"Steward Wang... you... my Father treated you well over the years. If my Father hadn't saved you back then, you would have died in the famine long ago."

She never expected that Steward Wang, who had followed the Mu Family for over ten years, would be the instigator this time.

"Treated me well? What else did your father give me besides that small monthly salary?"

"I served your father for many years, and when I wanted him to secure a Seventh-Rank County Magistrate position for my son, your father refused. You call that treating me well?" Steward Wang looked at Mu Wanqing with a face full of resentment.

"Senior Sister, there's no need to waste words on this ungrateful traitor. You go save your Father and Mother, and I'll cover the retreat." As Li Pingan finished speaking, he took a step forward, shielding Mu Wanqing behind him.

"Retreat? Do you really think my Foundation Establishment cultivation base is made of paper?"

Mo Wuchang, without anyone noticing, suddenly had a jet-black Bone Talisman appear in his hand. Yin Qi permeated it, making the surrounding temperature feel several degrees colder.

Li Pingan didn't care what that thing was; he only knew the opponent was targeting his Senior Sister. At this moment, he absolutely had to cover his Senior Sister's retreat from this place.

Otherwise, he would have no face left to return and face his Revered Master!

Boom!

Li Pingan suddenly took a step, his body shooting out like an arrow released from a bowstring. His right fist, wrapped in a sharp, tearing sound, went straight for the old man's face.

"You don't know your place."

Mo Wuchang sneered, pushing the Bone Talisman forward. Gray Qi suddenly surged, transforming into several foot-long Ghost Claws that grabbed toward Li Pingan with a rotten stench.

Li Pingan did not choose to dodge. He extended his left arm to block. Under the circulation of the Divine Profound Mountain Shaking Art, his skin glowed with a faint golden luster, allowing him to forcibly withstand the tearing and scratching of the Ghost Claws. Amidst the sparks of vital Qi splashing out, his right fist was already less than half a foot away from Mo Wuchang.

A trace of surprise flashed in Mo Wuchang's eyes, which immediately turned ruthless.

His left hand quickly formed a seal, and two masses of black and white Qi suddenly appeared around his body. The black Qi wrapped around his left arm like ink, and the white Qi covered his right palm like snow—this was precisely the wicked Technique of the Yin Yang Sect.

"Yin Yang Strangulation!"

He let out a low shout, pushing his crossed palms forward. The black and white Qi immediately transformed into a rotating vortex, meeting Li Pingan's unpretentious punch.