Chapter 200: Unafraid
The four lords who were supposed to come to Ping City had yet to arrive. They were still far away, but Rong City was about to be invaded. Although there was no risk of invasion of the city for the time being, they could be attacked at any time after they arrived.
Li Yuanqing did not want Rong City to fail so easily. Rong City was a very important stronghold. Li Yuanqing had helped to defend this city last time, so he would not let it go so easily now.
Therefore, after settling the various matters of the city defense of Ping City, Li Yuanqing left Ping City with the Blood Vine and secretly headed to Rong City.
Although the Man-eating Vine was very skeptical about whether she could withstand the attacks of a few Formation Arrangement Realm experts, since her master had already arranged it this way, she could only listen to her master’s orders. Her master’s judgment could not be wrong.
On this evening, the Linlu Clan rushed to the place where the three lords had agreed to meet.
“Brother Niu, long time no see. You look much better than before.”
The Patriarch of the Linlu Clan, Lu Yongchuan, was a very handsome middle-aged man. He had delicate features and a fair face. He was also wearing an elegant light-colored robe and looked like an immortal.
Lu Yongchuan seemed to have a good relationship with Niu Batian. He greeted Niu Batian immediately.
Although the members of the Bull Clan had been teasing the fellows of these two clans just now, they were now very harmonious with each other after the people of the Linlu Clan arrived.
“Brother Lu, your aura has become stronger. It seems that your Jadewave Sword Art has improved to the next level. You have the temperament of a human Sword Sect.” Niu Batian patted Lu Yongchuan’s shoulder and laughed out loud.
“Brother Niu, you flatter me. How can my strength compare to you? You’re already one step away from the second-grade Formation Arrangement Realm. I’m still very inexperienced. I’ll look up to you in the future and hope you’ll help me.”
Niu Batian changed the topic and said to Lu Yongchuan, “Speaking of which, this is a huge opportunity for you, Brother Lu. I think Lord Black Dragon spent a lot of effort to arrange for you to come here.”
“Brother Niu, you mean that human Sword Immortal, right?” Lu Yongchuan smiled helplessly.
“The two of us have nothing to do with this matter. According to what I know, the Sword Immortal is stationed in Ping City. We’re now surrounded outside Rong City. Even if they capture the Sword Immortal, what benefits can the three of us get? We can only watch the show.”
As Lu Yongchuan spoke, he could only smile helplessly. It seemed like he was powerless against such a thing. After all, it was an a.s.signment personally arranged by Lord Black Dragon. It was already good enough that they could complete the mission obediently. How could they dare to think about bargaining?
Niu Batian said in all seriousness, “How can Brother Lu think like that? Among all the brothers, who doesn’t know that you cultivate the sword Dao of the human race? When they capture the Sword Immortal, if they obtain any cultivation technique, they will definitely leave it for you. No one will be greedy for this advantage.”
“I hope so.” Lu Yongchuan cupped his hands at Niu Batian with an excited expression.
“Then wish me luck. I hope that I can still gain something at that time. My realm has been stuck at this stage for a long time, and my comprehension of the Sword Dao has been stagnant for many years. If I can reach a higher level, the world ahead will be open.”
Niu Batian would not let go of such a good opportunity to rope in people. He directly pulled Lu Yongchuan over and said with his arms around his shoulders,
“Brother Lu, don’t worry. Leave this to me. If they’re unwilling to spit these things out, I’ll exchange them for something no matter what.”
“Thank you, Brother Niu.” Lu Yongchuan looked around. “Why don’t I see the Snowmen Clan? Is White G.o.d not here yet?”
Niu Batian’s face was filled with unhappiness.
“Don’t mention White G.o.d. This guy always drags it out no matter what he does. He always wants to get benefits from the back. I don’t think they’re worth befriending at all. I wouldn’t have left with him if Lord Black Dragon hadn’t instructed me.”
“Brother Niu, don’t be angry. After all, this is an a.s.signment arranged by Lord Black Dragon. After this matter is over, we won’t have any interactions with him.”
The two of them exchanged pleasantries. Niu Batian invited Lu Yongchuan to his tent to rest for the time being. On the other side, the members of the Bull Clan were also helping the Linlu Clan build their tent and camp here for the time being.
For the time being, they had not received any instructions from the Black Dragon. Lord Black Dragon’s first order was for them to surround Rong City first. They only needed to surround it and did not need to attack directly. The Black Dragon would give the order when to attack.
Therefore, they had nothing to do here now. They could take advantage of the time to rest.
“Speaking of which, I discovered something strange.” Niu Batian and Lu Yongchuan exchanged toasts. After three rounds of wine, the sky outside gradually darkened.
“Brother Niu, what did you discover?”
Niu Batian took out a red vine and placed it on the table. “Brother Lu should know this vine, right?”
Lu Yongchuan took the vine and carefully examined it for a while. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Why? Did Brother Lu discover something?”
Lu Yongchuan looked at it for a long time and shook his head slightly. He said uncertainly, “It’s still difficult to confirm. It’s just a vine. I can’t be sure if it’s that kind of thing, but based on this vine and its structure, it shouldn’t be a demon.”
“How is that possible? If it’s not someone from the Vine Clan, what else could it be? Can humans also produce such vines?”
Niu Batian looked at Lu Yongchuan in confusion. Although this vine was red and looked a little evil, it still looked like a demon no matter how one looked at it. Furthermore, they were plants. Lu Yongchuan should know them. But why did Lu Yongchuan deny it and not admit that these things belonged to the demons?
Lu Yongchuan pondered for a moment and said to Niu Batian, “This thing is very evil, but its demonic aura is very insufficient. I’ve seen such a thing in my early years. It’s a forbidden technique cultivated by human cultivators.”
“What? You said that humans can refine this thing?”
Lu Yongchuan shook his head and looked at Niu Batian. “The creativity of the human race is much stronger than we imagined.
“There are many talented people among them. However, those who cultivate this crooked evil technique are considered evil sects among the humans. Therefore, generally speaking, they pretend to be demons. It’s difficult for humans to distinguish them. Only us demons can distinguish their aura.”
Lu Yongchuan’s words seemed to have opened up a new world for Niu Batian.
Niu Batian had never heard of such a saying before. This was the first time he had seen it today. “I didn’t expect these humans to come up with such an idea. But why did they make themselves look like this?”
Lu Yongchuan placed the small vine on the table again. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and pondered silently. “Logically speaking, these people who cultivate evil cultivation techniques mostly take a fancy to the side of a certain cultivation technique dominating the world. However, there’s a high price to pay for those powerful abilities and it might even make themselves half-human and half-demon, not being accepted by their clansmen.”
“That’s true. No wonder.” Niu Batian nodded. “When I discovered this thing, it was exploring. It should be controlled by its distant master.”
“I wonder if you can give this to me. I have some use for it.”
“Brother Lu, if you like it, just take it. Anyway, it’s useless to keep it with me. But I must capture this guy. This kid is actually so arrogant that he dares to tamper with my territory.”
“You didn’t notice anything at that time?”
“That guy is very smart. The moment I discovered these vines, he immediately cut off the connection between the two. When I wanted to trace it, I couldn’t find anything at all. I could only stop.”
Niu Batian looked at the vines on the table and made up his mind.
Lu Yongchuan raised his gla.s.s. “Forget it. Let’s forget about this first. Generally speaking, the improvement of these people’s strength will be very slow. If they want to increase their strength, they often need some special methods, so their strength is not considered strong. As long as we have the opportunity, they can be captured.”
“That’s easy. After I take down Rong City, I’ll turn it upside down and find this guy!”
After the two of them finished speaking, they continued drinking and chatting happily. The long night was only accompanied by wine.
From the news sent back by the snowmen, they indeed had to wait until tomorrow. Their movements were indeed slow.
On a mountain dozens of miles away from their camp, Li Yuanqing was hidden in the darkness. He sat cross-legged on the ground with a faint black ball of light lingering around him. The ball of light was filled with a long black fog that enveloped him.
The Blood Vine wrapped around the surrounding trees, wary of any movements outside.
The Blood Vine looked at Li Yuanqing quietly. Li Yuanqing had been sitting here for two hours. It was unknown what he was doing. However, this master had too many secrets that no one could see through no matter what. The two huge overlords had already gathered together.
The Blood Vine did not dare to rashly send his seeds over. He only dared to observe from afar. However, Li Yuanqing seemed to be fearless and took the initiative to approach.
The two of them were gathered over there now. The camp they were stationed at was less than fifty miles away. At such a close distance, they would be here in a while.
If he was discovered here, he would not be able to escape even if he wanted to. He did not know why he had to choose such a dangerous place to sit for two hours as if he was not afraid of death.
The Blood Vine’s attention was distracted for a moment before he regained its senses and looked around. However, when he looked at Li Yuanqing, he was suddenly stunned.
Li Yuanqing, who was originally sitting cross-legged on the ground, suddenly curled up his legs and wrapped his entire body.
The small black ball of light from before slowly floated into the air. Li Yuanqing kept changing his figure inside.
In just a short while, the black fog inside flickered. Then, Li Yuanqing’s original appearance kept changing. Finally, the image of a middle-aged man with fluttering clothes appeared in the black ball. The middle-aged man looked nothing like Li Yuanqing. Even his clothes were completely different.
The Blood Vine had personally seen Li Yuanqing become such an unfamiliar middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man’s body slowly stretched out, and the black ball of light also expanded. Finally, when it couldn’t get any bigger, it exploded like a bubble.
After the bubble exploded, the figure of the middle-aged man inside was completely exposed. Not only did this man look and dress differently, but his figure was also completely different from Li Yuanqing. Even the aura emitted from his body and his temperament were completely different.
The Blood Vine was stunned by the man in front of it. He hurriedly retracted all his vines and transformed into a distorted human shape. He stood under the tree and was carefully on guard. Just now, he clearly saw his master sitting there. Why did he become another person? Moreover, this aura was completely different. What happened?
The Blood Vine was carefully on guard. The middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes. Golden light scattered out from his eyes, as if he had not controlled it well at the first moment. After a short period of radiant light, his eyes returned to normal.
For some reason, the Blood Vine felt a little relieved when he saw that oppressive gaze. This person seemed to be his original owner.
The middle-aged man found the Blood Vine and instructed him, “Come here.”
The Blood Vine carefully asked Li Yuanqing, “Who are you? Where did my master go?”
With a thought from Li Yuanqing, the Blood Vine immediately sensed it.
“Isn’t it clear?”
The Blood Vine looked at Li Yuanqing in shock. He did not expect Li Yuanqing to have such a method. Not only was the appearance and height of this person completely different, but his strength and temperament also had subtle changes. It was really shocking.
After confirming that this person was Li Yuanqing, the Blood Vine obediently leaned over.
Li Yuanqing waved his hand, and the Blood Vine only saw a black and dense light covering his eyes. Then, he seemed to have fallen into a s.p.a.ce condensed from endless black fog. The black fog kept wrapping around him, enveloping him. The thick aura kept suppressing his breathing.
“Don’t be afraid. It’ll be fine in a while.”
When the Blood Vine heard this voice, he seemed to calm down a little and closed his eyes silently.
From the outside, the Blood Vine looked the same as Li Yuanqing just now. His body was slowly wrapped up and he was surrounded by a layer of black fog. The entire ball emitted a dark light.
The middle-aged man that Li Yuanqing had transformed into was clearly Lu Yongchuan.