Chapter 81: Schemed Against, Ambushed on the Road

The night passed uneventfully, with Qin Xiao and his two disciples sitting in meditation. At dawn, he prepared to take Yun Man and Lin Shimeng back to the sect.

Outside Tianyi City.

“Xiao’er, are you sure you don’t want your Master’s Wife to take you back?”

Ye Qiuyue spoke with some concern.

“Master’s Wife, there’s no need. It’s broad daylight, so there shouldn’t be any trouble. We can reach the sect before dark. Taking us there and back would waste your time and keep you from consolidating your cultivation.”

Qin Xiao directly refused.

Ye Qiuyue had broken through to the Body Integration stage yesterday, but before she could consolidate her cultivation, she had rushed to the restaurant. Then came the confrontation with the City Lord Manor. She had not had a moment to consolidate in peace.

Ye Tianyi had to deal with the aftermath. They had fallen out with the City Lord Manor, and even after mediation the relationship could not be restored. The Heavenly Clothes Pavilion had many matters to attend to, leaving her no time to escort Qin Xiao either.

Qin Xiao knew they were both busy. That was why he had agreed to wait until today and travel in daylight, so they would not have to escort him.

“Young Master Qin, there were indeed many misunderstandings yesterday. I heard you were returning to the sect today and came to see you off.”

City Lord Chen Lou also appeared outside the gates and walked slowly toward them.

“Then many thanks, City Lord Chen.”

Qin Xiao knew the old bastard was up to no good, but still had to greet him politely.

“You’re too polite, Young Master Qin. I prepared this treasure as an apology. Please accept it.”

Chen Lou took out a jade pendant.

“A Low Grade defensive Dharma Treasure? Chen Lou, you’re actually giving a Low Grade Dharma Treasure as an apology?”

Qin Xiao did not recognize it, but Ye Tianyi did. She had lost to Chen Lou when bidding for it at an auction. It was a Low Grade defensive Dharma Treasure.

“Oh? A defensive Dharma Treasure? Thank you, City Lord Chen.”

Since it was a defensive Dharma Treasure, Qin Xiao accepted without hesitation. He could never have too many of those.

“I’m glad you’ll accept it, Young Master Qin. Wear it and it will protect you automatically. It’s a rare treasure. Given to a hero, it won’t go to waste.”

Chen Lou still wore an apologetic look.

“Then many thanks. If there’s nothing else, shall we leave first?”

Qin Xiao asked tentatively. He did not believe Chen Lou would be so kind without wanting something.

“Nothing else. Safe travels, Young Master Qin.”

Chen Lou said no more beyond wishing him a safe journey.

Yun Man took out her sword and enlarged it. The three jumped onto the flying sword and left.

“Chen Lou, what are you plotting?”

Ye Tianyi did not believe Chen Lou could be so generous, but had no evidence against him.

“You should worry about yourselves first.”

Chen Lou turned and went straight back into the city.

Qin Xiao still could not understand Chen Lou’s game. Giving away a Low Grade Dharma Treasure just like that? A gift to Ling Wushuang would have made sense, but why give it to him?

After returning to the City Lord Manor, Chen Lou summoned Ding Xiu. New chapters come out on novelping . com first.

“Everything arranged?”

Chen Lou’s earlier respect had vanished. Now his expression was vicious.

“City Lord, everything is arranged. The Tian Family has mobilized all their Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Even their Soul Formation stage ancestor has gone.”

Ding Xiu respectfully replied.

“Very good then. You may leave.”

Chen Lou waved his hand, dismissing Ding Xiu.

“Qin Xiao, you dare ruin my plans and still expect to leave alive? Dream on. I had planned to find an excuse to keep those two Ye women here. Who knew you would refuse their escort? Don’t blame me for what happens now. Those two beauties won’t escape me after all.”

As he spoke, Chen Lou’s expression changed from ferocious to lecherous.

Although the matter had been settled yesterday and his uncle had told him to stop, Chen Lou could not accept it. He had been so close to getting those two beauties. He had therefore contacted the Tian Family, Tianyi City’s second-ranking family.

With the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion at odds with the City Lord Manor, the Ye Family would be held down too. The City Lord had also offered to support the Tian Family in becoming the city’s leading family. They could not have asked for more, and readily accepted his terms.

They were only dealing with two Nascent Soul cultivators, but the Tian Family took no chances. Its four Nascent Soul Elders and Family Head all set out. Even the Soul Formation ancestor went, just in case. If they handled this well, they would soon be Tianyi City’s leading family.

Inside the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion.

“Pavilion Master, there has been no unusual activity at the City Lord Manor since Chen Lou returned.”

Ye Tianyi was listening to a disciple’s report.

“You may go.”

Ye Tianyi had felt something was wrong and sent people to watch the City Lord Manor, but there had been no activity.

“Am I really worrying too much?”

Ye Tianyi muttered to herself, somewhat puzzled.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiao’s group was flying swiftly. He had now grown used to riding the flying sword.

But they had flown only a little over a thousand li from Tianyi City when Yun Man sensed something wrong.

“Master, it seems like we’re being followed.”

Yun Man hurriedly told Qin Xiao about the situation.

“When did they start following us? We’ve changed course several times. How are they still tracking us?”

Qin Xiao was puzzled too. He had been so careful. How could anyone still be following them?

“Master, they’re catching up.”

Realizing the danger, Yun Man quickly descended to the ground.

“Why are they after us? Could they be Rogue Cultivator bandits?”

Lin Shimeng’s guess was simple: perhaps they had run into Rogue Cultivator bandits.

“Rogue Cultivators, my ass. This must be Chen Lou or Chen Shunyi’s doing. If they’re making their move, they won’t leave anyone alive.”

Even Qin Xiao could work that out. He had only offended those two. If someone wanted him dead, it had to be one of them.

“Master, I happened to buy a Concealment Formation when we were shopping. Let’s hide for now.” Get faster updates on novelping dot com.

Yun Man took out a Formation Disk.

“We can only do this for now.”

Qin Xiao knew they should not fight yet. They first had to find out what was happening.

Yun Man fed Spiritual Qi into the Formation Disk to activate it, then tossed it into the air. A Shield appeared at once, and all three vanished from sight.

They could see out through the Shield, but no one outside could see in. It also concealed their aura and blocked Divine Sense probes.

Sure enough, not long after, five people landed near them.

“Where are they? The compass the City Lord gave us points right here.”

Their leader held a compass and spoke in confusion.

“Family Head, could something be wrong with the compass?”

Another man quickly asked.

“Impossible. The special aura the City Lord put on the jade pendant is still there, and the compass points here. There’s no mistake. They must be hiding. Search! Dig up the ground if you have to, but find them!”

The Tian Family Head was certain those three were hiding nearby.

The five began searching nearby, but this was no simple Formation. A complete Formation had been engraved into the disk and fully deployed when activated. It would be hard to discover without an expert.

“So the pendant he gave me was tampered with. I should have put it in System Space.”

Only now, on learning that Chen Lou’s pendant was the problem, did Qin Xiao realize he had been careless.

He had already asked Yun Man to check it, and she had found no signs of tampering. That was why he had worn it. They must have used some special method. No wonder the man carried a compass.

“Master, of the other four, two are at early Nascent Soul and two at mid Nascent Soul. We might just manage to fight them. But the Family Head with the compass is at late Nascent Soul. We’re no match for him.”

Yun Man sounded troubled.

There were five Nascent Soul cultivators against just two of them. Even if they fought to the death, their chances were poor.

“If I keep the late Nascent Soul cultivator busy, can you two deal with the other four?”

Qin Xiao knew things looked bad, but had no other option. He could only try an uneven matchup: he, the weakest, would keep their strongest late Nascent Soul cultivator occupied.

“Master, this is different from fighting Demon Beasts. They aren’t very intelligent, so they’re easier to deal with. People are cunning and have all sorts of tricks. Please don’t act rashly.”

Yun Man worriedly said.

“There’s no other way. If we try, we still have a chance. If we don’t, we can only sit here and wait to die.”

Qin Xiao knew how dangerous it was. But he had received the Middle Grade Dharma Treasure shoes from the treasury last night. After testing them overnight, he felt they would let him move faster than most Nascent Soul cultivators. He could not beat them, but he could outrun them.

“Family Head, we still can’t find them. They must be hiding in a Formation. Please use the Formation-Breaking Flag to break it.”

Another Elder had sensed something wrong and thought of a Formation, so he made the suggestion.

“It seems we have no choice.”

The Tian Family Head took out the Formation-Breaking Flag.