Chapter 64: Robbery In The Courtyard
Two months later.
A sound transmission note flew into Water Moon Residence.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, how goes the collection of your materials? I have a better channel for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. Please come to my humble abode for a discussion." A gentle and charming female voice came through.
The sound transmission note came from the neighbor, Xuetong.
Three years ago, Lan Chang'an went to observe the refining of Foundation Establishment Pills and continued to collect the materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill for many years in Huanglong Immortal City. Naturally, this did not escape the attention of Du Wei, Su Xuetong, and others.
"Three years ago, Su Xuetong obtained a defective Foundation Establishment Pill, which her Daoist partner Nie Xiang dismissed. They planned to trade the inferior pill for materials and find someone to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill for them again." Lan Chang'an thought.
At this moment, Su Xuetong invited him to discuss the matter, claiming she had found a better channel for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, it seemed that she wasn't too satisfied with Alchemist Dan's quality of work.
If there was a better alchemist, it would provide an additional option.
"There's no harm in going!" Lan Chang'an pondered for a moment, smiled slightly, and got up to leave Water Moon Residence.
...
"Talisman Master Lan, the door is not closed."
A clear and charming female voice came from the courtyard, resembling a dignified and noble lady.
In the courtyard, a beautiful woman in a palace dress and gauze skirt, with eyebrows like mountains and eyes like water, was as beautiful as a peach blossom.
Su Xuetong leaned under the osmanthus tree, her skirt revealing her snow-white, slender legs.
Beneath the thin gauze skirt, her beautiful contours were faintly visible.
If he were any ordinary man, he would surely be overcome with desire.
"Talisman Master Lan, please come in and talk."
Su Xuetong's eyes shimmered as she extended a jade-like arm, seemingly wanting to hold Lan Chang'an's hand.
A lingering fragrance, elegant and fresh, emanated from the beauty, arousing one's desires.
"Hmm? How lovely!"
Lan Chang'an did not refuse and held Su Xuetong's soft and boneless fingers.
Su Xuetong was momentarily stunned. Her charming eyes became even more and more tender as if expressing poetic sentiments.
"You, you're usually a prude! But turns out you are just like other men." Her soft and coquettish voice was bewitching.
Lan Chang'an, holding her delicate hand, smiled and said, "Miss Su, being so close to me, old brother Nie Xiang in the room will not be jealous, right?"
Upon hearing this, Su Xuetong's face turned pale: "You, you know?"
Crack!
Lan Chang'an applied a bit more force, causing Su Xuetong's jade-like hand to make a bone-cracking sound, and she broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.
"Talisman Master Lan, indeed, is not an ordinary person, your senses are so sharp." A hoarse male voice came from inside the house.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a gray night veil enveloped the entire courtyard, isolating it from the outside world.
A gaunt man appeared in the courtyard, dragging several afterimages behind him.
"With the concealment of the 'Four Illusory Sky Curtain Formation', even if you shout until your throat is hoarse, the outside world won't hear it."
Nie Xiang looked at Lan Chang'an with a mocking smile, confident of his victory.
Lan Chang'an didn't look as panicked as he had expected. He leisurely said, "To be targeted by the renowned Evil-faced Flying Eagle, I, Lan, am honored!"
"You, you actually guessed my identity?"
Nie Xiang's expression changed drastically, his cold and fierce gaze sweeping the isolated courtyard outside the formation with vigilance.
Seeing no other cultivators outside, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and regained his composure.
"Hiss! Still not poisoned?"
Su Xuetong's face was flushed, and she groaned in pain.
Lan Chang'an's hand, like an iron clamp, crushed her hand bones, making her entire arm numb and unable to break free.
The poisonous fragrance she emitted had been inhaled by Lan Chang'an for quite a while, yet he showed no reaction?
If not, she wouldn't have let Lan Chang'an take advantage of her.
"So, the channel for refining Foundation Establishment Pills you mentioned is non-existent?" Lan Chang'an's voice gradually turned cold.
Earlier, he only suspected Nie Xiang's identity but was not completely certain.
There is no way to guard against a thief for a thousand days.
Since he was targeted, he could not sit still and wait for death; it was best to take the initiative to stifle the hidden danger.
"Nie indeed contacted a rogue alchemist! But many materials are still lacking. I hope Brother Lan can contribute those."
Nie Xiang remained unusually calm, ignoring the controlled Su Xuetong.
His cold eyes, like a poisonous snake, stared at Lan Chang'an.
Crack!
Lan Chang'an suddenly exerted force, tearing off Su Xuetong's arm.
"Ah!"
Su Xuetong nearly fainted from the pain, her snow-white arm, along with a piece of her skirt, fell to the ground.
Inside the sleeve of her other arm.
A purple soft sword aimed at Lan Chang'an instantly lost control.
With a "poof" sound.
The purple soft sword pierced through the trunk of an osmanthus tree.
The moment Su Xuetong lost control.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Three sickle-shaped cold lights slashed at Lan Chang'an's forehead, chest, and lower body.
The cold lights whizzed in, so fast that ordinary Qi-Refining cultivators could not react in time.
These were magical weapons in the form of throwing knives, imbued both with mana and the powerful force of a Martial Innate.
The protective mana shield of the late Qi-Refining stage could not block it.
Lan Chang'an sidestepped, dodging the sickle-shaped cold light aimed at his forehead.
Ding!
He extended a finger, flicking away the sickle-shaped hidden weapon flying towards his chest.
The sickle-shaped hidden weapon slicing towards his lower body cut into Lan Chang'an's pants leg, encountering something as hard as a diamond.
With a "clang" sound.
The hidden weapon fell powerlessly to the ground.
Nie Xiang and Su Xuetong were stunned.
"To have refined the body to this extent? No wonder you don't have half a bit of fear when you know my name."
Nie Xiang took a deep breath and produced a white bone bow and arrow, with the white bone arrow flashing a dangerous black light.
Screech!
A thick cry came from the sky.
A black eagle with a wingspan of four or five zhangs circled above Lan Chang'an, its powerful claws ready to strike.
Kneeling on the ground, Su Xuetong formed a hand seal, and the purple soft sword emerged from the osmanthus tree, aiming at Lan Chang'an from behind.
At this moment, Lan Chang'an faced a peak Qi-Refining ninth layer, a peak first-rank demonic bird, and a newly entered Qi-Refining ninth layer female cultivator.
"Lan Chang'an, your strength is beyond expectations. You are a top expert in the Qi-Refining stage. Nie admits you have the qualification to cooperate with us."
Nie Xiang's hand holding the bowstring was steady, his eyes flickering.
"Talisman Master Lan, let's work together and join forces to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill." Su Xuetong forced a smile and reluctantly spoke.
"I don't think you have any sincerity for negotiation."
The evil-faced flying eagle seemed to want to talk.
In fact, as long as Lan Chang'an relaxed a bit, he would face a storm of attacks.
From the moment his identity was exposed, the evil-faced flying eagle would not allow him to leave alive.
"Unappreciative—"
Nie Xiang's face turned cold, and the white bone bow in his hand gathered magic power to its limit.
Before he could finish speaking, a change occurred.
Hiss!
A dazzling golden blade of light about five meters long flashed through the sky.
The peak first-rank black eagle's wings suddenly stiffened, its pupils filled with fear.
A clear line of blood wrapped around the black eagle's abdomen.
With a mournful cry!
The black eagle with a wingspan of four or five zhangs was split in half, and its body fell from the sky.
"Evil-faced flying eagle? I will chop off your wings first!" Lan Chang'an smiled lightly, having just activated a hidden Golden Blade Talisman.
This time he used a premium Golden Blade Talisman, its power reaching the threshold of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Flying monsters have weaker physical defenses compared to scale-armored ones, making them easy to kill with a surprise attack.
Killing the peak first-rank black eagle, Nie Xiang lost his mobility, significantly reducing his ability to escape.
The black eagle flying at full speed could not be caught even by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Lan Chang'an did not kill immediately upon entering, besides confirming identities, this was the reason.
...
"Old Black—"
The black eagle, which had accompanied him for many years, died instantly, and Nie Xiang was furious and caught off guard.
His cold eyes filled with grief and killing intent.
Whoosh—
A white bone arrow shrouded in black fog shot through the air like lightning, its power almost comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Die!"
Su Xuetong gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with resentment, manipulating the purple soft sword like a purple electric snake, stabbing at Lan Chang'an's back.
The purple soft sword was an excellent middle-grade magical weapon, extremely powerful in the hands of a late Qi-Refining cultivator.
Lan Chang'an's spiritual sense was powerful and could reach out to 20 to 30 zhangs. He wasn't at all flustered when facing the attacks from both front and back.
He activated a premium talisman, causing a layer of cold light to spring up around him.
Pfft!
The white bone arrow was exceptionally powerful, and with a slight lurch, it pierced through the cold light shield.
A single attack from a top-grade magical weapon was beyond the scope of what a first-rank talisman could handle.
Lan Chang'an formed another layer of Evergreen mana force shield around his body.
Pfft!
The white bone arrow pierced through the second layer of mana force shield easily. The black fog that surrounded it evaporated, leaving only the remaining power to strike Lan Chang'an.
Ding! Ding!
Two clangs of iron striking rock.
The first was the white bone arrow, and the second was the purple soft sword that had stabbed Lan Chang'an's back.
Lan Chang'an's robes were torn, but he was otherwise unharmed.
"This..."
Nie Xiang and Su Xuetong's pupils contracted, and a great terror and helplessness filled their hearts.
"Ahh!"
A young woman's blood-curdling scream.
Pfft!
Several spikes burst from the ground, each several meters tall, and pierced through Su Xuetong's beautiful body.
"I..."
Su Xuetong struggled with her bloodied hands as she looked at Nie Xiang one last time before dying, unwilling to breathe her last.
"Surname Lan! You killed Old Black and Tong-er. I will take you down with me."
Nie Xiang's entire body boiled with mana, his eyes bloodshot. His face twisted into that of an old man's.
He grabbed an unknown black pearl in his hand.
"Thunder Fiend Pearl! Die with me—"
Amidst his crazed howls, Nie Xiang threw the black pearl in his hand.
If this were any other cultivator, they would have been on guard and avoided it.
Lan Chang'an let out a cold laugh and then reached out to grab the black pearl.
This little trick.
How could it be hidden from his spiritual sense that was spread throughout?
"Run!"
Nie Xiang went against the appearance of being crazy and desperate. The moment he threw out the black pearl, he fled in fear without looking back.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as he consumed his essence blood to unleash a secret technique, his body erupted into a black fog, filling half of the courtyard.
(End of chapter)
Hi everyone, Zilawere here. Today, I come with a piece of bad news. I've realized that uploading double chapters everyday becomes a bit strenuous for me with my work life picking up and compromises the quality of the translation. So to free up some time for my other hobbies and ensuring better TL quality, I'll be scaling back to delivering one chapter per day. You can expect an update everyday at 2 PM UTC. Thanks for your understanding 🙏