Chapter 66
Xu Zhiye had an eccentric personality, while Qin Ran was not good at socializing, so after the handover, the two did not have much to say to each other.
Qin Ran bid farewell to Xu Zhiye soon, without even exchanging pleasantries, and went straight down the mountain with Li Shiyin.
Because of the name of the sword, the atmosphere between master and disciple was a little awkward, especially for Li Shiyin, who was even more unhappy because the sword was named incorrectly. The two did not speak all the way, remaining silent until they walked down the mountain and at the foot of the mountain, they saw Zhang Shan, Wang Wu and their good companions.
There were five of them total, four men and one woman, blocking the road ahead. They called themselves...
The Five Blade Killing Immortals!
There was Zhang Shan with the Golden Curse Sword, Wang Wu the Wild Flame Immortal wielding the Lion Heart Wild Flame Blade, the demon-slaying immortal Liu Er, the Thousand Swords Immortal Ma Ze who used a flying sword, and the Lotus Fairy Wu Qing who cultivated wood attribute techniques.
Qin Ran...did not recognize any of these five people! But he had done his homework these past two days.
Ever since Li Shiyin had let Zhang Shan and Wang Wu get away, Qin Ran had been on alert. He left a mark on Zhang Shan and Wang Wu, and when he encountered them again at the inn, Qin Ran marked them as enemies to be wary of.
It was very obvious now that these five people were here for them...
As for the Five Blade Killing Immortals, it was just a group made up of five scattered immortals...
The world of cultivation was extremely dangerous, so banding together provided warmth and also allowed them to...seize firewood from others. So using the term "gang" to describe them was quite apt.
"All five have come..." Qin Ran said to Li Shiyin, "It seems we have attracted their attention."
Li Shiyin also looked at the other side, focusing on Zhang Shan and Wang Wu, whom she had let go with her own hands. She was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I'm sorry, Master."
If she hadn't let Zhang Shan and Wang Wu go, this would not be happening now.
"After all, they are just five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. No major impact," said Qin Ran, looking at Li Shiyin. "Consider it a lesson for the future."
At this moment, Wu Qing, the only female member of the Five Blade Killing Immortals, stepped forward with a smile. "Fellow cultivators, we come seeking only fortune, not harming lives."
This was the standard rhetoric of bandits. Li Shiyin and Qin Ran did not speak, only watching her.
"We want that sword..." Wu Qing pointed at the dream-like sword in Li Shiyin's hand and continued, "...as well as cultivation methods related to divine sense."
Divine sense? Only then did Qin Ran realize why Zhang Shan and Wang Wu had been following Li Shiyin and Long Qiqi the other day. He had assumed it was because of Li Shiyin's outstanding appearance.
After Wu Qing spoke, Ma Ze, the leader of the Five Blade Killing Immortals, suddenly pulled her back, hinting there was another demand. Only then did she remember to ask Qin Ran, "Are you an alchemist?"
Qin Ran nodded.
"Then we also want five Breakthrough Pills," said Wu Qing.
Qin Ran bowed politely and asked, "May I ask if there are any other demands?"
Wu Qing looked back at her four companions. Zhang Shan thought for a moment, then raised his hand and said, "More spirit stones would also be good..."
Before he could finish, Ma Ze slapped the back of his head and scolded, "Stupid pig, he's mocking us!"
Zhang Shan rubbed his head that Ma Ze had hit silly, carefully contemplated, then finally understood. He became angry, drew his sword from his back, and cursed, "Dare to mock us?!"
Ma Ze pushed him aside and walked to the front alongside Wu Qing. He said to Qin Ran, "Damn it, we offered you wine first. Since you don't drink, you'll take the punishment wine!"
With that, he held up his middle and index fingers on his right hand, flicked them forward, and the sword on his back flew out to hover in the air, pointing at the master and disciple. He continued, "Now, leave behind the sword and the universe bag. You may leave with your lives."
"When encountering this kind of situation, never be naive," Qin Ran took the chance to teach Li Shiyin. "They will not let us leave alive. In the world of cultivation, the motto is to eliminate the roots to avoid future troubles. Otherwise, how would we take revenge afterwards? How would our sect take revenge? Therefore, in situations like this, putting down your weapon means certain death."
He pointed at Ma Ze's flying sword hovering over his head, "That is the Flying Sword technique, the so-called Flying Sword technique that can take a person's head from thousands of miles away. I had wanted you to learn this originally.
"Now facing the enemy, what we should consider are the weaknesses of the Flying Sword technique. So what are the weaknesses? Close combat ability. Flying Sword cultivators focus on spiritual power cultivation, soul, divine sense, consciousness and mind cultivation, while neglecting fleshly body cultivation. Once they get into close combat, it's the path of death."
Seeing that the master and disciple were ignoring him and chatting away, using his group as teaching material, Ma Ze's expression became extremely ugly. He signaled to his companions, "Just kill them directly! With five of us and two of them, why the hell are we still going through these motions?!"
"I've been saying that all along!" Liu Er tore off his clothes, revealing rock-solid muscles, cursing, "It was you guys who insisted on all this fancy bullshit!"
"This is a body refining cultivator. His close combat ability and defense are very formidable. I don't know what his ranged means are. He will be your nemesis. I'll restrain him later. For now, the killing order is: the fire-attributed Wang Wu (because he restricts my power), the wood-attributed Wu Qing (their support), the flying sword user Ma Ze (afraid of close combat), the sword-wielding Zhang Shan, and finally Liu Er!" Qin Ran spoke rapidly as final instructions to Li Shiyin.
"Got it!" Li Shiyin put the Muran Sword into the Universe Bag and took out the Qingxing Sword. Gripping it tightly as she walked towards Zhang Shan, Wang Wu and Liu Er, the Qingxing Sword left its sheath and starlight sparkled on her body.
Behind her, Qin Ran raised his hand and a bubble shot out, enveloping Liu Er and carrying him into the air.
The bubble was extremely tough. Liu Er punched and kicked, deforming but not bursting it.
With one man isolated before the fight even began, Ma Ze's expression was ugly. Chanting sword incantations, the flying sword above his head shot towards the bubble.
Seeing this, Qin Ran's figure blurred. A watery humanoid leapt out from his body and flew to meet Ma Ze's sword.
The sword stabbed straight in but the watery man did not dodge, letting it pierce his body. Then he reacted swiftly, clenching his hand to trap the flying sword within himself.
Now it was not just one man isolated, but one isolated and one disarmed.
Li Shiyin glanced skyward. Her master had done his part, now it was up to her...
Watching Zhang Shan come at her with his sword and the fiery Wang Wu, the war blood of the Li family boiled within her. Fighting spirit ignited in her eyes!