Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Xie Li’s eyes were cold as he observed the two women leading this group with a sneer.
Many other cultivators revealed ill-intent as well, some even directing lecherous looks towards these two women, sweeping their eyes over their beautiful bodies as if these two women already belong to them. Many of them wished to hurriedly break through this barrier and devastate these two.
On the other hand, the two women remained indifferent, not showing the slightest fear.
Xie Li recognized the identity of these two women at a glance. In order to deal with Dragon Cave Mountain, he had naturally investigated the details of this place. One of these two women was named Wu Yi, a disciple of the Hai Ke Family who later left her family to join Dragon Cave Mountain. As for the other woman, she was called Qian Yue and seemed to have been brought back by Yang Kai from somewhere.
The cultivations of these two were not even worth mentioning. A Second-Order Saint King and a First-Order Saint King could not be placed in Xie Li’s eyes at all.
Of the three old men standing behind them, two of them must be Chang Qi and Hao An, former Foreign Elders of the Hai Ke Family. These two had entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field when it last opened and obviously obtained some opportunities which allowed both of them to break through to the Origin Realm, after which they joined Dragon Cave Mountain.
As for the last person, Xie Li looked at him suspiciously for a moment before calling out to him in surprise, “Brother Ning, why are you here?”
The last old man with a snow-white beard was none other than Ning Xiang Chen, who had accompanied Yang Kai to the Emperor Garden.
Ning Xiang Chen felt extremely helpless at the moment. After returning from the Emperor Garden and receiving Yang Kai’s promise, he had immediately gone to collect the necessary materials to repair his Origin Grade Artifact before coming to Dragon Cave Mountain to borrow Yang Kai’s Firebird Artifact Spirit.
Finally, he had managed to gather the materials he needed and rushed to this place, but unexpectedly, Yang Kai was out.
With no other choice, he decided to stay on the mountain to wait for Yang Kai to return.
However, he had barely gotten settled in before the Xie Family began its assault on Dragon Cave Mountain.
Ning Xiang Chen immediately fell into an embarrassing situation. It would be dangerous to remain here as, once the Mountain Defending Array of Dragon Cave Mountain was broken, he would definitely be lumped together with the others here, but simply escaping was also somewhat inappropriate. At the very least, he could forget about ever borrowing Yang Kai’s Firebird Artifact Spirit to repair his artifact if he abandoned this place now.
Ning Xiang Chen was now riding a tiger, uncertain of what to do next.
He was a lone wanderer with neither a Sect nor family. Cultivating to his current realm had been a treacherous journey filled with countless dangers and narrow escapes.
In the past, when Shadow Moon Hall’s Grandmaster Ge Lin was still alive, if his artifacts became damaged, Ning Xiang Chen could bring them to the former to have them repaired as the Grandmaster was quite friendly and approachable. Ning Xiang Chen had been under the care of Grandmaster Ge Lin for many years and did not know any other Origin Grade Artifact Refiners as a result. If this was not the case, how could he have come to ask for help from Yang Kai?
Ning Xiang Chen had spent the last two days on Dragon Cave Mountain in a constant state of unease as so many cultivators were constantly bombarding the protective barrier, but after these two days, he noticed something very strange.
Even facing such a heavy siege, none of the cultivators on Dragon Cave Mountain showed the slightest sign of panic, all of them simply going about their business, cultivating calmly, as if the enemies outside did not even exist.
One or two cultivators behaving like this could be interpreted as them having unusual mental fortitude, but everyone behaving so was a bit strange.
This was especially true for Wu Yi and Qian Yue. These two women were calmer than anyone else, even gathering to drink tea and chat happily several times these past two days. Did they simply not know how to write the word ‘death’?
Ning Xiang Chen felt shock and admiration after seeing this. Compared to him constantly weighing the pros and cons of remaining here and suffering in anxiety, the performance of these Juniors was markedly superior.
What truly shocked Ning Xiang Chen though was that Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array had been assaulted for two straight days by more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters and two hundred or so Saint Kings but had barely taken any damage.
This small hilltop was not simple!
This Mountain Defending Array alone was not something ordinary people could arrange.
Recalling Yang Kai’s incredible performance back in the Emperor Garden, Ning Xiang Chen grit his teeth and decided to take a risk! He would stay here and fight together with Dragon Cave Mountain. There were various indications that this hilltop was not a soft persimmon that could be easily pinched and very likely had many powerful hidden cards that could turn danger into safety.
Of course, Ning Xiang Chen making such a choice was not out of a sense of chivalry, but rather a deliberate gamble.
He was betting on Dragon Cave Mountain being able to survive this disaster, and once it did, he would be able to easily borrow the Firebird Artifact Spirit from Yang Kai. Otherwise, Ning Xiang Chen would have already left.
As such, when Wu Yi and Qian Yue went out to meet the enemy, Ning Xiang Chen requested to follow them without even being asked.
Hearing Xie Li’s question, Ning Xiang Chen chuckled, “Brother Xie, it’s been too long since we last met. I heard Brother Xie has recently left Shadow Moon Hall, is that true?”
“Why ask something you already know, Brother Ning?” Xie Li coldly snorted. Ning Xiang Chen was a lone cultivator without any background, so even if he was an Origin Realm master, Xie Li didn’t put him in his eyes. The only reason he bothered speaking to him was because they had met before in the past, “Since Brother Ning is here though, this Xie has a suggestion. I wonder if Brother Ning would be willing to consider it?”
“Oh? And what does Brother Xie propose?” Ning Xiang Chen frowned.
Xie Li glanced over at Qian Yue and Wu Yi before using his Divine Sense to send a message, “Brother Ning, I’m certain you can understand the current situation. In the face of so many forces collaborating with me, this puny hilltop is as good as doomed. Once this annoying barrier is broken, Dragon Cave Mountain will be a fish on a chopping board. I do not know what kinds of benefits Dragon Cave Mountain promised you, but this Xie is willing to pay double the price as long as you can capture those two women and turn them over to me. It shouldn’t be difficult for Brother Ning to accomplish this, yes?”
Ning Xiang Chen raised his brow for a moment before revealing a faint smile and saying out loud, “Brother Xie, this Ning doesn’t believe he is a noble warrior, but he at least understands honesty and loyalty, sneak attacking two Juniors from behind is an incredibly improper act. If this Ning were really to perform such a scandalous act, I’m afraid there would be no place left in this world for me to take shelter in the future.”
Hearing Ning Xiang Chen’s words, Xie Li’s complexion sank. The other party had not sent him a Divine Sense Message but chose to speak openly, so that everyone present could hear him. This was a naked display of contempt, something which made Xie Li annoyed.
Ning Xiang Chen continued to speak however, “Brother Xie does not need to speak any exaggerated words. Although there are indeed many people who have come here to stir up trouble, I’m afraid that breaking this barrier is not a matter that can be accomplished in just a day or two. En, this old master choosing to interfere in this matter is also my own decision, no one has offered me any kind of reward or compensation, so I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Brother Xie.”
When they saw Xie Li quietly sending messages to Ning Xiang Chen, both Wu Yi’s and Qian Yue’s expressions had become a little nervous, worried the other party would be won over by Xie Li. After all, they were not familiar with Ning Xiang Chen, but listening to his words just now, they couldn’t help showing a relieved look while nodding to him in appreciation.
As for Chang Qi, he patted Ning Xiang Chen’s shoulder and said with a hearty laugh, “Brother Ning, you will rejoice you made this choice one day.”
Hao An also smiled as his opinion of this old fellow Ning Xiang Chen improved greatly.
[I hope so…] Ning Xiang Chen portrayed calm on the surface while his heart was pounding like a drum on the inside. Ning Xiang Chen making this choice was also due to him not being able to stand Xie Li and these people using strength to bully the weak. However, now that he had torn face with Xie Li, if Dragon Cave Mountain were really to fall, he would certainly suffer severe consequences.
Wu Yi smiled lightly while a look of confidence filled her face, making it impossible to read what she was thinking as she spoke, “Seniors, my Dragon Cave Mountain has neither grievance nor grudge with any of you, why make things difficult for us?”
“Neither grievance nor grudge?” Xie Li heard this and grinned angrily, “If there was no injustice or hatred between us, do you think we would all assemble here to attack your pathetic little hill? This old master will not speak any nonsense with you. Girl, you’d best know your place and withdraw this Mountain Defending Array. Do so and I will spare you some suffering, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Wu Yi raised her head slightly and stared towards Xie Li, not displaying a hint of timidity.
Xie Li coldly snorted, “Otherwise, when this barrier breaks, we will peel your skin and crack your bones!”
“Senior’s words are big, are you not afraid the wind will clip your tongue after speaking so forcefully?” Wu Yi still laughed lightly, but her words were filled with ridicule. Sweeping her beautiful eyes over the many enemies eyeing her covetously, Wu Yi declared, “Junior advises all the Seniors present to leave now. Do so and my Dragon Cave Mountain will not hold you responsible for what has already transpired here, but if you fail to heed this warning, do not blame my Dragon Cave Mountain for acting ruthless!”
The words she spoke were nothing less than astonishing.
Many of the Origin Returning Realm masters present could not help staring at Wu Yi as if they were looking at a fool.
They had been attacking this barrier for two days but still had not managed to break through Dragon Cave Mountain’s protection, so they were already quite disgruntled, but listening to Wu Yi’s shameless boasting, they immediately became incensed!
All of the cultivators who had come here to attack Dragon Cave Mountain either had ulterior motives or deep hatred against Yang Kai, so how could they be scared off by a few empty threats from Wu Yi? Not only were they not deterred, they became even more aggressive.
Some of the more hot-tempered people present immediately attacked with their artifacts or Martial Skills towards Wu Yi.
*Hong long long…*
A series of explosions rang out as the light curtain in front of Wu Yi shone brilliantly blocking all these attacks.
Wu Yi’s expression remained completely calm as she glanced over at the cultivators who just attacked and declared, “Since you insist on acting besotted, I can only hope you won’t regret the decision you made today!”
Saying so, she waved her hand and the thick layer of fog re-emerged, engulfing the figures of Wu Yi and the others, causing them to disappear from the sight of their enemies.
“Arrogant little bitch, when this old master catches her, he will let her know what a life worse than death feels like!” An old Origin Returning Realm master sitting cross-legged atop a giant toad-like Monster Beast stared at the spot where Wu Yi disappeared and cursed.
This old man was extremely ugly, with bulging eyes, a crooked nose, a bald head, and warts covering his face. On top of that, he was at least a head shorter than average, making his appearance perfectly match with the toad he was sitting on.
