Chapter 9 - The Alliance

“This place is not suitable for us to kill. When they come back, we’ll lure them to the plain. There, we don’t have to worry about becoming prey. Here, though, it’s easy to attract unwanted attention,” Leng Yan said thoughtfully as he surveyed the surroundings.

“Agreed. You have a good point. Let’s do as you say. By the way, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Chu Jianfeng!”

“I’m Leng Yan. Since we’re going to bait them, shouldn’t you change your clothes to avoid a four-on-one situation?” Leng Yan suggested while looking at the ice-frozen green-robed man.

“Fine!” Chu Jianfeng said, feeling a bit embarrassed as if his inner thoughts had been seen through.

Chu Jianfeng indeed harbored some thoughts of his own. He wanted to join forces with those three evil sect people to kill Leng Yan, snatch the supreme-grade spiritual weapon, and then make a getaway.

But Leng Yan’s suggestion that he change into Righteous Sect attire meant he would become a primary target for the evil sect.

“See, this looks much better, quite handsome actually! Haha!” Leng Yan laughed sinisterly as he saw Chu Jianfeng dressed in the green robes, his plan successfully executed.

“Hmph! Don’t think I don’t know your scheme. You want to tie me onto your boat, then hide yourself while making me fight the three of them alone. That way, you reap the rewards without lifting a finger,” Chu Jianfeng scoffed.

“Uh, as long as you know. Why speak it out loud? Isn’t this a bit awkward?”

Tell you what, let’s stop plotting against each other. This battlefield of righteousness and evil has treasures for more than just the two of us. We stand a better chance if we team up and plunder others’ treasures. Plus, if we accumulate a hundred headcounts, ten low-grade spiritual weapons can be exchanged for one supreme-grade spiritual weapon.

Why waste our energy on each other, right? Leng Yan calculated in his mind how to maximize his benefits. All this talk about the righteous vs. evil battle is just nonsense.

Chu Jianfeng pondered over Leng Yan’s words, seemingly calculating the benefits, “You make a good point. Let’s strike hands and form an alliance, no more scheming against each other.”

“Alright!”

Their palms clapped together in the air, sealing their alliance. Cultivating dao practitioners rarely make vows, but once they do, it’s seldom broken. However, it’s not unheard of for some to break their oaths.

“They’re back! I don’t know where the plain is. Do you?” Leng Yan asked Chu Jianfeng as he heard the sound of something cutting through the air, indicating that the three had returned.

“Yes! Follow me in a moment.”

“Hand over his mission jade slip, or you two can wait to die!” one of the men among the three shouted menacingly, pointing at the deceased evil sect disciple.

Leng Yan smiled and said, “Remember, if you want to kill someone, don’t waste words-just act! Let’s go!”

With that, both of them bolted, their speed astonishingly fast. The three pursuers were momentarily stunned, realizing only then that the pair was escaping and hurriedly chased after them.

“There’s a plain up ahead, but we need to be cautious. We can’t be sure whether or not there are enemies waiting,” said Chu Jianfeng.

“I think this small matter won’t stump you. I’ll just follow your lead!” Leng Yan would occasionally glance back to check that the three were still in pursuit, worried that the potential headcounts might get away.

“Turn right. There’s no one there-it’s very secure. If anyone approaches, we’ll see them coming.” Chu Jianfeng concentrated a bright light from his glabella, using the true essence pearl to map out the surroundings in his mind. He then selected the safest route and led Leng Yan forward.

After about fifteen minutes, the two had led the three pursuers across dozens of miles, finally arriving at a grassy plain.

“This is the place-perfect for murder and robbery,” Chu Jianfeng said, slightly out of breath.

“Yes, it’s indeed a good spot. Our prey has caught up. Let’s take a primordial spirit elixir to replenish our energy and start killing,” Leng Yan said, tossing a primordial spirit elixir into his mouth, converting it into spiritual power to restore his strength.

“Why aren’t you running anymore? Damn it! I’ll kill you to make up for chasing you for the last quarter of an hour!” shouted one of the three men as they rushed over, their sword silhouettes and palm winds whistling through the air.

“Keep two of them occupied. We’ll kill them one by one!” Leng Yan said with a bloodthirsty smile, raising the mystic ice sword in his hand. A surge of mystic ice power swept forth, stirring a fierce gale.

“A supreme-grade spiritual weapon! Perfect! I’ve been needing another weapon. I’ll kill you and take your supreme-grade spiritual weapon!” exclaimed a burly man among the three, his eyes filled with greed at the sight of the supreme-grade spiritual weapon.

He looked at Leng Yan as if he were watching a woman stripping bare.

“Want to kill me? Let’s see if you have what it takes!” Leng Yan’s mystic ice slash flew out from his hand, freezing everything in its path.

The burly man didn’t dodge; instead, a burst of flame surrounded him, dissolving the mystic ice slash. He then charged at Leng Yan with a curved sword Wu Gou in hand.

Seeing Leng Yan already engaged with one opponent, Chu Jianfeng suddenly split into nine phantoms, making it impossible to tell which was the real one. Each phantom held a weapon, encircling the other two men, but none of them made a move.

The two men, never having encountered such a technique, were at a loss. They froze, unsure of what to do next.

Leng Yan noticed this and laughed inwardly, realizing that Chu Jianfeng’s phantoms had no offensive capability and only served to bewilder the enemies.

Not concerned with Chu Jianfeng’s tactics, Leng Yan concentrated on his own fight. His mystic ice slash had been neutralized, and his opponent, wielding the Wu Gou, had already closed the distance.

Leng Yan recognized that his foe also possessed a supreme-grade spiritual weapon; otherwise, he wouldn’t have countered the mystic ice slash so effortlessly.

With this in mind, Leng Yan realized it would be challenging to kill him promptly without using the moonlight ring.

Leng Yan’s mystic ice sword deflected the Wu Gou, releasing a burst of cold air as it aimed for the opponent’s flame shield.

“Bang!”

Ice and fire clashed, sending sparks flying like fireworks!

“Hmph! Both of us have supreme-grade spiritual weapons. How do you expect to break my defense? Surrender your supreme-grade spiritual weapon, and I might spare your life!” the burly man taunted arrogantly. But in the next second, his expression froze in disbelief, “How is this possible? How could you break through my flame shield?”

“Remember, being cautious keeps you alive longer. Never say ‘I’ll spare your life’ again; people who say that rarely live long,” Leng Yan said, concealing the moonlight ring. No one saw the moonlight ring’s pale glow; they only noticed the bloody wound on the burly man’s body.

Leng Yan picked up the jade slip and a supreme-grade spiritual weapon Jade pendant from the fallen man. The pendant was crimson, resembling a fiery bird in flight, and emitted a warm aura in his hand.

Leng Yan approached the circle of Chu Jianfeng’s phantoms and chuckled, “Quite the haul-a supreme-grade spiritual weapon. We’ll decide who gets it later. Here’s the mission jade slip.” Leng Yan tossed the jade slip towards one of the Chu Jianfengs.

Catching the jade slip, Chu Jianfeng was surprised, “You can tell which one is the real me? How did you do that?”

“What’s the big deal? Do you think I’m as clueless as these two? Not knowing which one is the real you is one thing, but standing around waiting? Now it’s two against two, an easy victory!” Leng Yan laughed.

In truth, Leng Yan had been observing for quite some time before realizing that only Chu Jianfeng’s real body cast a faint shadow-a shadow almost imperceptible in the night.

“Hey, who are you calling clueless?” One of the black-robed men, hot-tempered, cursed at Leng Yan.

Leng Yan replied coolly, “Cursing others-do you feel justified? Fool.”

“You!” The man’s face turned red with anger, clearly provoked by Leng Yan, but he forcefully suppressed his rage, saying, “I won’t stoop to your level. I admit defeat today.”

“Oh? Soft words now? Hoping we’ll let you off?” Leng Yan sneered internally, recognizing the man’s attempt to save face. While this man could swallow his pride, his intelligence was lacking. A grudge had already been formed-who would let a tiger return to the wild?

Moreover, the man clearly realized Leng Yan possessed a supreme-grade spiritual weapon, understanding he was outmatched. Letting him go would only spread the word about Leng Yan’s treasures, making him a target. As the saying goes, even a strong tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves.

“Yes, something like that. We haven’t fought; there’s no real enmity,” the black-robed man said, his face darkening as he forced a smile.

“Let me ask you, does anyone here have enmity with us? There’s no need for so many words. Jianfeng, attack!” Leng Yan abruptly commanded, executing his mystic ice slash, which carved a trench several meters long.

Seeing Leng Yan initiate the attack, Chu Jianfeng immediately charged forward, his eight phantoms leaping unpredictably, making it hard to distinguish real from fake.

In a flash, the black-robed man who had spoken reacted swiftly, retreating immediately. He moved behind his companion in the blink of an eye. Leng Yan’s attack was entirely absorbed by this unfortunate man, whose body was cleaved in two by the mystic ice slash. Blood turned into red ice crystals, and internal organs stayed within the body for a moment before spilling out as the body fell.

The scene was grisly enough to send shivers down one’s spine, reminiscent of an execution ground.

Meanwhile, the speaking black-robed man used this time to retreat several meters, intent on escaping the area!