Taoist Antecedent Of The Yellow Court - Chapter 12

 

Blackwood Village.

Blackwood shack.

“Qingyu, in three days, we’ll be heading to the dock beside Ganoderma Mountain. When your second brother arrives, we are all going to be leaving together.”

When Lu Qingfeng got back to Blackwood Village, he told her his entire plan without holding anything back.

Like her second brother, this little girl also opened her eyes wide when she heard what he had to say.

Then, she looked around nervously and finally hugged Lu Qingfeng, saying very quietly in his ear, “Have you succeeded in your cultivation, Big Brother? I knew it! You are the best! Rest assured, Qingfeng, I won’t hold you back.”

Unlike Lu Qingshan, Qingyu had unconditional trust in Lu Qingfeng.

Even if Lu Qingfeng had told her that he was in the Mahayana Stage and was about to ascend, she would’ve firmly believed it and happily asked her brother to take her with him.

“This is awesome!”

“We can go and rescue Qingshan in three days. Did he cry his eyes out on Ganoderma Mountain or was he bullied? Hmm, I wonder.”

Qingyu had her arms around Lu Qingfeng’s neck and kept talking in his ear.

She was extremely excited.

Although her second brother had been loathsome sometimes and a crybaby, after not seeing him for six months, Qingyu realized that her second brother wasn’t actually that annoying.

Thinking about the suffering he had to go through on Ganoderma Mountain, she’d often shed tears out of heartache.

Now, things were going really well. With Lu Qingfeng succeeding in cultivation, he could take her with him to rescue her second brother, and the three of them would be together in the future.

Lu Qingyu was so excited that she was almost dancing.

Hugging Lu Qingyu, Lu Qingfeng felt his younger sister’s excitement. Though he himself was a little nervous, a bigger part of him was filled with anticipation and hope for the future.

“Blackwood Village.”

“Truth Sect.”

“We are finally leaving!”

For the 16 years that he lived in Blackwood Village, he had been living underneath the shadow of the Truth Sect.

His father had been beaten to death, while his brother had been taken to Ganoderma Mountain as a slave, beaten and whipped wantonly. The hardships of this life had gotten to him. Though he was young, his body was showing symptoms of rickets.

However, since the appearance of “Primitive,” everything had been improving, and his body was gradually becoming stronger and firmer.

…

Three days passed quickly.

The night before Lu Qingshan’s departure…

When the clock ticked past eleven o’clock, the sky had already turned pitch-black. The sky was on their side tonight. The moon was covered by dark clouds, and there were no stars visible.

Taking advantage of the dark of night, Lu Qingfeng snuck out of the Blackwood shack, carrying Qingyu on his back.

Since their home was at the outermost periphery of Blackwood Village, they left the village with ease.

Lying on her eldest brother’s back, Lu Qingyu was keeping her mouth tightly closed, not daring to even make the sound of breathing. She had performed very well these last three days. Although she was excited, she had maintained the same look as usual. No one could notice anything abnormal about her.

Only, at this moment…

When the real operation began, Lu Qingyu felt nervous to the extreme. Not only was she not bold enough to gasp for air, but also her entire body had tightened up.

“All right, we’re out of the village.”

Lu Qingfeng patted Qingyu as he was worried that she would suffocate herself.

“Hooh! Hooh! Are we really out of the village?” Lu Qingyu asked in a whisper as she took in a few mouthfuls of fresh air.

It was too dark, and she couldn’t see anything. All she could do was to hold onto Lu Qingfeng tightly.

“Yeah, we are,” Lu Qingfeng nodded and said.

His body and all his senses had improved due to him cultivating in the Aucuba Scorching Sun Classic. Even amid the dark of night, he could still see some five to six meters ahead of him.

“Awesome!”

Lu Qingyu cheered quietly, which seemed a little loud amid the quiet outside the village. She was so terrified that she quickly covered her mouth and dared not to speak anymore.

Exiting Blackwood Village, they headed east along the Chengyang River.

Relying on his memories, Lu Qingfeng carried Qingyu and came to a forest not far away from the dock.

Looking at the color of the sky, there was still some time before dawn would arrive.

Lu Qingfeng took out an insect repellent powder and sprinkled it around them so that they wouldn’t get bitten by poisonous insects that could hold them back from the grand event.

Lu Qingyu cautiously kept herself close to Lu Qingfeng.

She was very nervous, so nervous that she couldn’t even speak.

“Don’t be nervous. Your second brother will come at dawn. When the time comes, we will be able to leave this place.” Lu Qingfeng held Qingyu in his embrace and comforted her quietly.

“Okay,” Lu Qingyu nodded, feeling less nervous than before.

Waiting was the worst.

The closer it was, the harder it would get.

When dawn was about to arrive, even Lu Qingfeng’s mouth had become a little dry. His mind was in chaos. He was no more than an ordinary person who had traversed across worlds. Ever since he had been reborn, he had never left Blackwood Village. The greatest conflict he’d ever had was wounding Zhou Quan with a hatchet.

In the game, aside from cultivating, refining pills, and doing business at the stall, he had never been in conflict with anyone, nor did he possess any combat experience.

This time was different.

He was about to kill someone!

And what’s more, he was going to kill a true disciple of the Truth Sect in the Truth Sect’s territorial lands. Should he fail, it would be the end for him and his siblings.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t nervous.

Lu Qingyu lay in Lu Qingfeng’s arms and fell asleep innocently. The little girl couldn’t stave off her exhaustion, but Lu Qingfeng didn’t dare to sleep. With his eyes wide open, he remained vigilant until dawn.

At last…

Dawn arrived.

Lu Qingfeng still had Qingyu in his arms as he looked toward Ganoderma Mountain. Ganoderma Mountain was in the north, and the Chengyang River was in the south. There was a simple dock on the riverbank where there were some seven to eight tiny boats.

“They’ll be coming soon.”

Lu Qingfeng raised his head and looked at the color of the sky. The sky was already bright.

According to Lu Qingshan, they were going to leave after dawn. From when they gathered at Ganoderma Mountain until they arrived at the dock, it would take about half an hour. At this moment, it was almost half an hour after the sun had risen.

“Mm?”

“They are here!”

With trepidation, Lu Qingfeng saw a few figures appearing from the direction of Ganoderma Mountain. The person at the front was striding forward with a Nine-ringed Blade in his hand. This must be Wu Yuan, the true disciple of the Truth Sect.

Six other people were following behind him, and much to his pleasure, Lu Qingshan was among them.

From a distance, one could see Lu Qingshan secretly looking around. It was just that Lu Qingfeng was in the forest, hidden by trees. Hence, he wouldn’t notice him for a while.

After observing from the forest for a moment, seeing that Lu Qingshan’s left arm was placed behind him, Lu Qingfeng made up his mind.

“Qingyu, wake up. Qingshan is here. Do what I told you to do before. Do not let yourself get exposed,” Lu Qingfeng shook Qingyu who was sound asleep in his arms and exhorted her.

“Huh? Oh, okay!”

Lu Qingyu still felt a little blurry as she had just woken up, but she immediately became aware of what they were about to do next. All of a sudden, her sleepiness was all gone, and her nervousness instantly arose.

“This is it!”

Lu Qingfeng pulled Lu Qingyu whose legs and even her entire body was trembling out of the forest.

Wu Yuan had a square face and looked like he was about 20 to 30 years old. He was wearing a gray robe, was wielding a Nine-ringed Blade, and had a solemn expression on his face.

The peril of the south bank of the Chengyang River was frightening even to the Truth Sect. Although he had his six newly recruited servants with him, no one could ensure that he would return safely.

“This cursed trial system!” Wu Yuan cursed in his heart. Although he had been completely prepared before he’d finally gone for a breakthrough in his cultivation and gotten himself promoted to a true disciple, he still felt a little restless when the main event had arrived.

Unfortunately, the law of the Truth Sect was greater than the Heavens itself.

He had become a true disciple, and he couldn’t go against the Truth Sect.

Feeling anxious though not showing it, Wu Yuan led his six servants to the dock.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a teenage boy and a dark little girl, who was so afraid that she almost couldn’t walk, coming out of the woods near him.

“Who allowed them to come here?”

With a single glance, Wu Yuan guessed that these two must be here to visit one of his six servants who were standing behind him. Why else would a teenage boy and a little girl have appeared at the dock for no reason?

Wu Yuan shouted as he hurled out the question. His gaze fell on Lu Qingshan who seemed to be panicking a little.

This boy was born in Blackwood Village. He had an elder brother and a younger sister. He must be the one!

“You asked them to come here?”

Wu Yuan stared at Lu Qingshan. Lu Qingshan wasn’t bold enough to even breathe. Likewise, the other five servants didn’t dare to make any noise.

The atmosphere froze.

“Great Sage, my sister and I have come of our own free will to send Qingshan off. Please do not put the blame on him, Great Sage!”

Lu Qingshan trotted a few steps closer and grabbed hold of his sister. With panic on his face, he approached Wu Yuan.

“Don’t blame him.”

“Who gave you the guts to act on your own?”

Wu Yuan wasn’t in a good mood, and now that this servant of his had provoked him, how could he let him get off that easily?

“It was I who told my brother the time of our departure. Please calm down, sir!”

Lu Qingshan was flustered. He quickly got down on his knees and kowtowed as he begged for mercy.

“What scum!”

Wu Yuan felt even more irritated when he saw this. He kicked at Lu Qingshan’s chest area. The kick was so forceful that Lu Qingshan flew a few feet away and started spurting blood out of his mouth.

“Qingshan!”

“Qingshan!”

When Lu Qingfeng and Qingyu saw Lu Qingshan getting himself beaten up, they immediately became anxious and went running toward Lu Qingshan.

“I have nowhere to vent all the anger I feel today. I have both of you brothers, and I will spare your lives for now. This little girl is pretty ugly I must say, perfect for me to vent my anger on.”

Wu Yuan’s eyes had become ferocious. Like a fiend, he looked over Lu Qingyu from head to toe.

At this moment…

Lu Qingfeng and Lu Qingyu had run forward and were about to cross Wu Yuan’s path on their way toward the place where Lu Qingshan had landed. A smirk emerged at the corner of Wu Yuan’s mouth as he reached out to grab Lu Qingyu.

“You! Deserve to die!”

As Wu Yuan extended his hand to grab Lu Qingyu, the panic and fear on Lu Qingfeng’s face instantly vanished, replaced by an unceasing intent to kill.

This man had hurt Qingshan and tried to defile Qingyu!

He deserved to be killed!

He deserved to die!

“Hmm?”

When Wu Yuan saw the change in Lu Qingfeng’s expression, his mind stopped for a moment. Immediately afterward, he felt a sense of death looming over him and then a scorching heat that couldn’t be rivaled.

“This is”

Wu Yuan’s expression altered drastically.

He realized that something bad was about to happen. But before he could react, an extremely condensed Fireball exploded all of a sudden before his eyes.

Then, Lu Qingfeng closed in, attacking boldly after pretending to be harmless.

Wu Yuan didn’t have time to react. Instinctively, he held the Nine-ringed Blade in front of him and performed a forceful lower cut.

“Blade of Doom!”

Boom!

Colliding with the Fireball, the Nine-ringed Blade abruptly heated up, forcing Wu Yuan to hurriedly let it go and move backward.

At the same time, the Nine-ringed Blade made the Fireball burst apart.

At this moment, Lu Qingfeng forced himself to stand tall, prompted his mind, revolved his inner Chi, made yet another Fireball, and smashed it toward Wu Yuan.

Without the Nine-ringed Blade to ward it off, Wu Yuan’s eyes got very wide. The speed of the Fireball was too fast, and avoiding it was completely out of the question.

“Turtle Shell!”

Drawing upon his inner Chi, marks of a turtle shell faintly appeared on the surface of his body, boosting his defensive prowess to the utmost.

This was a powerful technique available to disciples of the Truth Sect that had cultivated to Level 4 in the Art of Truth. With the Chi of the Art of Truth, they could temper their own bodies and forge their flesh into a turtle shell, causing it to be immune to weapons and elemental attacks.

Art of Truth!

Art of the Turtle!

This was where the technique got its name. [1]

However, Wu Yuan had just advanced to Level 4 and had not yet had enough time to master the technique. At best, his defense was only capable of withstanding an attack at Level 3 of the Fetal Phase.

Lu Qingfeng’s Fireball technique was, by default, a low-ranking spell that was on the more potent end. Even when cast in Level 1 of the Fetal Phase, he could still threaten those in Level 2 of the Fetal Phase. What’s more, Lu Qingfeng’s Fireball had gone through two enhancements and was boosted by the Power of the Scorching Sun.

Even if Wu Yuan had been in Level 4 of the Fetal Phase, without Runic Equipment and magic to shield his body, he would be dropping dead right here and right now.

Boom!

The Fireball struck Wu Yuan in the face. For someone who had just become a true disciple of the Truth Sect, being able to master a few techniques was already the best-case scenario. As for Runic Equipment and magic, Wu Yuan might have not even seen one at all throughout his entire life.

How can I ward off a Fireball?

“Ah!”

With a Fireball smashing into his face, Wu Yuan unleased a miserable shriek that came from the depths of his soul. His Chi control crumbled as he fell to the ground and screamed frantically with his hands covering his face. It was absolutely terrifying!

“Die!”

Upon seeing this, Lu Qingfeng hurled his feet at Wu Yuan’s chest and sent him flying several feet away.

The battle went unexpectedly smoothly.

Wu Yuan was able to ward off the surprise Fireball attack with his instincts. But after he let go of the Nine-ringed Blade, his fate was sealed.

How could a mortal body resist a Fireball that had been enhanced twice and boosted by the Power of the Scorching Sun?

The Fireball technique melted all the flesh on Wu Yuan’s face, revealing his skull. Then the flames began to burn his hair and spread along his garments.

Wu Yuan became a man on fire.

And then no more!

******

[1] Art of Truth and Art of the Turtle are homonyms in the original language (Gui Zhen Gong).