“You’re seeking death!” The girl fiend seemed very irritable, flaring up immediately. She suddenly turned and opened her mouth, but the boy fiend stopped her.
“Patience, patience!” His tone was that of an old man. “Once I take my person away, you can do with them as you please. The three of them are trapped by my clones and cannot escape!”
“Hmph!” Two harrumphs sounded at the same time from the fiend girl and Bao Da Tong.
Before the boy fiend could respond, Wan Li asked again, “You’ve yet to introduce yourself?”
“Zhang Xiao Hua. This is my younger sis from the same village, Zhang Hong Yu.” Zhang Xiao Hua was indifferent, as if talking to dead people. He wasn’t worried about revealing anything at all.
“So you were just from the same village and sect, but aren’t actually related.” Bao Da Tong suddenly understood.
“Delaying is useless.” Zhang Xiao Hua said, refusing to fall for it. He walked towards the bedroom.
The three men struggled for a bit but none of them got free. They heard Zhang Xiao Hua’s voice from inside the room. “Ha, you didn’t feel at ease leaving her behind by herself. It’s one thing to bring her along, but you actually put up three barriers. Miss Yue is truly irreplaceable in your eyes! Good, good, only this way can I enjoy the taste of victory!”
Xiao Xia didn’t make a sound because the barriers were tight restrictions. Not even her voice could cross them.
“Can I be stopped by mere barriers?” Zhang Xiao Hua continued speaking. Although they couldn’t see his face, they could sense his disdain.
Bao Da Tong could see a bit of what was going on from his spot by the window. He saw Zhang Xiao Hua form an orb of blue light in his palm. It not only illuminated part of the room, but also made his face flicker sinisterly. It allowed him to see that his little face was contorted in a malicious expression. He couldn’t help but shout, “Why bully a girl. Come fight it out if you’re capable! Hey, hey, I’m taking to you Zhang Xiao Hua. Stay away from her!”
He struggled desperately, the worry on his face giving the other two men a foreboding feeling. Therefore, they also struggled hard, trying to get free. But no matter what they did, they weren’t able to move in the slightest. The formless chains on Ruan Zhan’s body grew tighter and tighter, traces of blood appearing on his white t-shirt. Wan Li had desperately managed to drag his body back into the room a little, but the moment he loosened up a little he was immediately pulled back again, almost losing his grip on the frame.
Forget about Bao Da Tong. Although he kicked at the wall, using the rebounding force to pull, even using his teeth to try and bite the vine on around his harm, how could any of it work? Vines were sturdy to begin with! For a time, the room was filled with the sounds of struggle and heavy breathing.
“Incompetent!” Zhang Hong Yu hovered unmoving and sneered.
“You guys ambushed us, it doesn’t count!” Bao Da Tong continued to “battle” against the plants while observing the situation in the room.
Zhang Xiao Hua held the hellish blue flames in hand as he approached within a meter of Xiao Xia. He hesitated over where to start breaking the invisible barrier, but was slow in making up his mind!
Under the light, Xiao Xia’s appearance became clear as well.
She wore shorts with a black tank top. Her exposed skin was covered in red glyphs that made her skin look abnormally pale under the light of the blue flames in Zhang Xiao Hua’s hand. The glyphs were also sinister like blood, making her look a little like a mysterious witch instead of her usual lively and cute self. There was a yellow mat on the floor that she sat upon, a black wooden box held in her arms. Around her were eight sparkling jade plaques.
Her head was lowered, not even glancing at Zhang Xiao Hua.
He saw her appearance and was a little surprised. What kind of trick was this? Why did she look at him? Was she afraid, or was there some other scheme? Could the three outside had set up some trap, and she was the bait? They had given their all to come here and fight to the death. They couldn’t have come unprepared, right?
But it also didn’t seem like it? If she was the bait, it should have been easier to get to her. If the fish couldn’t get to the bait, there was no point in having one. But now she was wrapped in three layers of barrier, and each one was extremely difficult to break. They were clearly meant to keep him away, for her protection.
Moreover, while the barriers appeared invisible to others, he could clearly see each one was meticulously designed. They clearly took a lot of thought and effort. If it was used as bait, it wouldn’t be worth it. Their strengths combined wouldn’t be a match for him alone, let alone with Hong Yu helping him. They couldn’t have failed to realize this, so they should have preserved their strength. Why waste energy on setting up such tough barriers!? When two sides fought, the weaker side needed to seize every opportunity and work harder to avoid seeking their own destruction.
Unless they weren’t using her as bait, and merely wanted to protect her! What was a possibility. Although that bar had extremely good formations in place which had then been upgraded further, those defenses could still be bypassed by “humans”. They probably understood this and felt more at ease with her somewhere close by.
This was the root of the saying “beauty is hard to overcome, even for heroes”. The three men had such a good relationship with Yue Xiao Xia. The one surnamed Ruan especially treated her like his most precious treasure, so how could he let anything happen to her? He must have expended a large amount of energy to set up the barriers protecting her.
Truly a femme fatale! He sneered, getting closer to the barrier once more.
The first layer appeared ordinary but was exceptionally sturdy. Breaking it would require a tenth of his strength while keeping a protective layer against the backlash. The second layer shone faintly red, indicating it was reinforced by blood energy. Unless he was mistaken, the first layer was jointly created by the ones surnamed Ruan and Bao, while the second layer was created by Ruan Zhan himself. The second layer rotated at an imperceptible speed. Two individuals are bound to have different levels of power, and a combination would not result in such even and steady rotation.
Quite the schemers! Zhang Xiao Hua praised silently.
To break the first layer, he had to exert strength while protecting himself to prevent the backlash from harming his essence. He had observed carefully and managed to notice the second layer’s strong absorptive power. Any excess force used to break the first layer would result in contacting the second layer. Not only would he fail to protect his essence, he might even get sucked away. Even if he was strong enough to protect his essence, he would lose a good portion of his energy. Not only would he be unable to break the third layer, he would also be weakened while they battled.
Unfortunately, Ruan Zhan had been too smart for his own good. Since he had discovered the scheme, he merely needed to add a protective layer around his essence. Then, after breaking the first layer, he would immediately pull in the opposite direction. That way the second layer would be easily broken, and he could even make use of the backlash’s power to do so.
As for the third layer, it glowed with a faint golden light but was purely focused on protection. It didn’t have offensive capabilities. The protective force come from the eight strange jade plaques around Xiao Xia. They were arranged in the formation of the eight trigrams and were clearly some sort of treasures. That was probably why they could form the third barrier. From his understanding of Ruan Zhan and Bao Da Tong, this was the extent of their powers. The third layer was definitely created using external objects. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have so much energy let to struggle.
He didn’t fear Daoist treasures! Having been buried for three centuries, what Daoist objects hadn’t he seen?! The damned old geezer had been buried with countless Daoist treasures to help preserve his soul. He wanted to continue cultivating beneath the ground, but man proposes and God disposes. His plan was for naught and ended up benefitting himself and Hong Yu. Those treasures were all refined and ended up being used to enhance their strength.
Of course Ruan Zhan’s bloodwood sword and tattered banner were truly powerful. He wasn’t able to act carelessly. It was thanks to Hong Yu’s previous pursuit of Wan Li an Yue Xiao Xia that revealed the extent of the treasures’ powers. Otherwise, he might really have been caught off guard.
This also counted as man proposing and God disposing, right? They had constantly harassed him to probe him, but hadn’t he done the same to them? From a certain point of view, this was the heavens making things up to him for indulging evil people, causing his life to be cut short at five years old. Although he had died once, he had revived in a different form!
Well, so be it! He would forcefully shatter the first barrier, then use his full strength and the backlash to break the second. The third one would be simple. He just had to withdraw his soul into his body and use the small vessel to take away the treasures. Those jade plaques could at most ward against spirits, not actual people.
The bloodwood sword was the same way! He wasn’t able to refine it, but he could destroy it to prevent anyone from using this antithesis of spirits to threaten him.
Making up his mind, he suddenly stepped forwards. Lil’ Tong’s body was on the smaller side. Yet since Xiao Xia was seated on the floor, her forehead was within his reach.
The cold, blue hellfire burned in his hand and approached. Xiao Xia was visibly trembling, reinforcing his judgment: she was no bait, but rather protected treasure.
“Don’t be scared.” He spoke in Lil’ Tong’s voice. His hand roamed in a circle around her body, probing for the barrier’s weakest point. He completely ignored the ruckus caused by the three struggling outside.
The three were being handled by his clones. How could those fools think to escape so easily?
“You wuss! Get away from her!” Bao Da Tong was screaming himself hoarse. He pulled hard while kicking towards the door, already losing his reasoning.
“Xiao Xia, don’t be afraid of him! He’s just a paper tiger, hold on a little longer!” As expected of a “gym bro”, Wan Li actually managed to get back into the room. However, the effort had left him exhausted, and he could only lean against the wall to resist the force pulling at him. He couldn’t reach the bloodwood sword or break the elastic band.
Bao Da Tong had been too anxious earlier. If he hadn’t kicked the bloodwood sword, they would have had a better chance. If the sword had still been by his feet, it could at least be used to threaten Hong Yu, or even attack him while he was breaking the barriers. Then it wouldn’t have been as easy for him. The bloodwood sword was now glowing scarily red due to the nearby spirits. However, it was in the middle of the room. While Hong Yu didn’t dare get close to it, the three men couldn’t reach it either!
The will of the heavens! Truly, the will of the heavens!
A chant suddenly entered his ears. He stopped his movements and listened carefully. He had swallowed the old Daoist’s soul. That old Daoist had been quite knowledgeable, so he immediately recognized it as a spell that forcibly astral projected the soul. He couldn’t help but be startled.
What was the point of that? He was merely trying to take someone he had his eye on to be his bride. He wasn’t going to kill or rape her! He had cultivated a virgin body, ok? Why else would he be so powerful? Him marrying her was just to keep her by his side to be a mother figure who wasn’t his mother! Why were the three men so agitated, looking ready to bet their lives? Was there some secret? Or could the one surnamed Ruan really not lose Yue Xiao Xia?!
Forcible astral projection? That was very dangerous. If the soul couldn’t return, it would result in certain death.
“Hong Yu!” He cried out.
They had been together for three centuries, and their thoughts had long since been linked. He wanted her to scatter Ruan Zhan’s essence while his soul was gone. That would be when he was at his weakest, and he believed Hong Yu could do it!
Yet his voice had just fallen when Bao Da Tong started chanting too. It was also astral projection! He sensed Hong Yu visibly hesitate. She could indeed ambush Ruan Zhan, but if Bao Da Tong attacked from behind, her soul would also be in danger.
Whatever! He was going to break this barrier. Who knew what else Ruan Zhan might come up with! No one could snatch what he wanted. Therefore, he had to obtain Yue Xiao Xia!
Alright, this place! This was the weakest spot! Zhang Xiao Hua felt a moment of excitement. He no longer cared about the things happening outside as he expanded his energy into the first formless barrier. Once he felt pressure squeezing against it, he forcible expanded it outwards!
Crack…
With the sound of shattering glass, the first barrier swiftly vanished. A gust of cold wind appeared the moment it disappeared, like a tornado that caused his hair and clothing to billow.
It was as he expected!
Wan Li was making a ruckus, urging Ruan Zhan and Bao Da Tong to quickly astral project their souls. Zhang Xiao Hua smiled smugly and ignored everything, calming himself to protect his essence. At the same time, he poured the remainder of his strength into the backlash’s force, shoving towards the blood barrier in the opposite direction!
Borrowing power made things easier as expected. With a wave of his hand, there was a buzzing sound as if a swarm of bees had flown by. Things suddenly fell silent outside.
Ruan Zhan and the others probably knew things weren’t looking good! Once he opened the third layer and took Yue Xiao Xia away, Hong Yu could deal with things here. Hong Yu hated that old Daoist far more than he did. Allowing her to finish Bao Da Tong would definitely make her happy. She had been losing her temper recently and arguing with him about every little thing. Hopefully, the satisfaction of vengeance could cheer her up!
