Xu Ziqing frowned.
Whoever had released the worm must have been within three chi of him, and must have done it within the last few hours. Aside from his senior brother, only Wei Huan had come that close. There was no other possibility.
He and Wei Huan had no grievances. Why would that man try to harm him?
Yun Lie held up the jade talisman between two fingers. A thought would be enough for the sword intent inside to destroy the worm.
Xu Ziqing saw this and hurriedly stopped him. “Senior Brother, not yet.”
Yun Lie looked at him.
“We don’t know whether Wei Huan has some connection to this thing,” Xu Ziqing explained. “If it dies, he might notice.”
Yun Lie listened, stayed his hand, and put the talisman into his storage ring.
Xu Ziqing considered whether Wei Huan believed they had obtained the inheritance and meant to kill them for their treasures. That seemed reckless. Moreover, the worm had targeted Xu Ziqing alone. Wei Huan surely had some sense of Yun Lie’s abilities. What good would harming only Xu Ziqing do?
No. That could not be right.
Xu Ziqing suddenly startled. “Senior Brother, examine yourself! If he planted a Yin-Returning Worm in me, why would he spare you?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly and closed his eyes to investigate.
It was not that Xu Ziqing was unwilling to check his senior brother as Yun Lie had checked him. His primordial spirit was not nearly as strong, however, and it had just been injured. He was not in a condition to do so.
Before long, Yun Lie opened his eyes. A fine thread slowly emerged from between his brows.
It was rigid and lifeless.
Xu Ziqing sighed in relief.
Yun Lie was tempering his sword soul, and sword intent crisscrossed his primordial spirit. The Yin-Returning Worm was indeed able to devour spirits, but upon encountering sword intent it had been shredded almost immediately.
All things under heaven had their counter. The worm was deadly when concealed, but once discovered it was not difficult to destroy, provided it could be forced out of the primordial spirit.
Yet relief quickly turned to anger. The attacker had wanted to harm not only him but his senior brother too!
If this was not murder for treasure, the two sides must have some enmity.
One of the two worms was dead. Perhaps the person controlling them would not notice. If he did, that was still manageable. As long as the other worm remained alive, his scheme was not a complete failure. Knowing Yun Lie was a sword cultivator, he might become cautious but probably would not abandon the plan. If the two behaved naturally when they met him, they might learn something.
The only danger was that he might have arranged an ambush with cultivators of higher realms.
In moments, Xu Ziqing considered all these possibilities and explained them to Yun Lie.
Yun Lie paused. “If anything seems wrong, release Rong Jin. Stay beside me.”
Xu Ziqing nodded. “If the danger is too great, we’ll flee immediately.”
They made further preparations. The ruins had yielded many puppets, and Yun Lie selected several Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul puppets. They installed spirit stones, learned the controlling seals, and refined the puppets with drops of blood. Even if the puppets bought them only a short interval, it would be enough to escape.
If they encountered even a Mahayana expert, they could release the enormous puppet. Winning would not be easy, but surviving an escape should be possible.
After this discovery, neither man could muster any interest in the auction.
The atmosphere in the hall was lively, but their minds were perfectly still.
Toward the end, Xu Ziqing had regained his composure. He bid for a few ancient spiritual herbs that had not yet matured, and for some spiritual woods of which only the trunks remained. Nothing else appealed to them.
Eventually the auction came to an end.
It had lasted only three or four shichen.
After leaving the hall, Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie stepped into a corner and removed their cloaks.
Then they walked hand in hand toward the restaurant across the street.
Sure enough, Wei Huan was waiting outside.
Xu Ziqing felt a surge of distaste when he saw him.
If he had previously felt a little affection for this fellow disciple, it had now vanished completely.
Whatever the man’s motive for attacking them, his actions had made him an enemy.
For a cultivator at Golden Core or above, the primordial spirit was life itself. Whoever planted the worms had attempted to destroy them entirely. Xu Ziqing would show no mercy.
Still, he wore a faint smile that betrayed nothing.
Yun Lie’s expression was as cold as ever.
Neither revealed a flaw.
When Wei Huan saw them, something flickered in his eyes. Xu Ziqing would not have noticed if he had not been watching intently.
That only strengthened his certainty.
Yun Lie, too, felt killing intent toward Wei Huan.
But his command of his killing aura had become so precise that concealing it was easy.
After a few pleasantries, Wei Huan guided them into the restaurant.
The place was full of cultivators taking their meals, and the atmosphere was bustling.
It would be difficult to put a secret scheme into motion in such a crowded place.
Sure enough, Wei Huan smiled. “I’ve troubled you both by asking for a ride. I came out early and reserved a private room so I could show my gratitude.”
Just as expected, Xu Ziqing thought.
He smiled and politely refused. “It was hardly any effort. You really don’t need to do that.”
Wei Huan was unwilling to let them leave. “If I don’t thank you properly, what sort of man would that make me? Please don’t refuse. Give me a little face.”
He had lowered himself so far that refusing again would be awkward.
Xu Ziqing had only been testing him anyway. He smiled. “Then we shall gratefully accept.”
Yun Lie remained cold and followed his junior brother’s lead.
Wei Huan’s smile deepened. “Then please follow me.”
The private rooms of this restaurant were actually small courtyards built for cultivators who liked solitude.
They were expensive, often costing thousands of low-grade spirit stones for just one day. Unless one was a wealthy disciple of a famous sect, most cultivators would rather eat in the public rooms than spend so extravagantly.
Wei Huan led them toward one such courtyard.
After a little over a hundred steps, it came into view.
Xu Ziqing exchanged a few words with Wei Huan while quietly surveying their surroundings.
Yun Lie lagged slightly behind, gradually extending his spiritual sense. In a short time, it spread outward.
He deliberately avoided Wei Huan, so the man noticed nothing.
His spiritual sense approached the courtyard but stopped abruptly just before touching its boundary.
Yun Lie faintly sensed something peculiar inside. If he touched the wall with spiritual sense, those within might detect him.
There were definitely other people in the courtyard.
An ordinary cultivator might have missed this. But Yun Lie practiced the sword Dao, and his sword intent could isolate external influences. He was exceptionally sensitive to foreign auras.
After discovering this, he shifted quietly back to Xu Ziqing’s side.
It happened so quickly that Wei Huan noticed nothing.
A moment later, they reached the courtyard gate.
Xu Ziqing suddenly felt as though a great storm was about to break.
There was something wrong inside.
In that instant, both he and Yun Lie drew their minds taut and raised their guard completely.
Wei Huan smiled amiably and pushed open the gate. “This is the place. Please come in.”
Xu Ziqing smiled too, took Yun Lie’s hand, and stepped through with him.
The moment they crossed the threshold, heaven and earth seemed to spin. The scenery changed completely.
Wei Huan vanished before their eyes.
Before they could inspect their surroundings, powerful attacks struck from either side. One was unbearably hot, like an erupting volcano, threatening to crush them immediately.
From the other side came chilling killing intent, as something descended with enough force to shatter the heavens and suppress them!
Dozens of vines shot up to protect Xu Ziqing. Yun Lie raised a hand, and a shaft of sword intent surged toward the sky! Several deafening collisions followed. The rush of heat was blocked by the demonic vines, while Yun Lie’s sword intent struck the descending object and sent it flying back!
They had exchanged blows in the span of a spark.
There really was an ambush!
More killing intent came from several directions. Powerful pressure filled the space, and multiple divine abilities erupted into clusters of blazing flames. Yun Lie raised his hand. A small sword appeared in his palm. When he swung it, an immeasurable surge of sharp force crashed into the attacks.
Light flickered between Xu Ziqing’s brows. Countless Qingyun Needles spread like fine rain. Wherever they passed, things transformed into myriad woods, and those woods withered and decayed.
This was an inversion of the Myriad Woods Spirit-Transformation Art, combined with the Qingyun Needle divine ability. He had only recently comprehended it, but it was proving useful now.
The demonic vines multiplied, becoming hundreds in an instant and weaving a vast crimson net across the area.
They darted about excitedly. Suddenly several seemed to find something and stabbed forward.
A scream rang out. Immediately, the vines’ red color became more vivid.
At the same moment, Yun Lie swung his arm. A brilliant streak extended from his black-gold sword.
He had condensed his sword intent into a single line, extraordinarily concentrated and sharp. With a faint hiss, it cleaved through something, producing the sound of shattering glass.
The scenery changed once more.
Only three to five breaths had passed since they entered the courtyard.
The courtyard had indeed been covered by a formation.
That was why Wei Huan had vanished when they entered, without being seen.
Inside the formation, the two could see no one. Only when attacks approached did they glimpse images or hear the displaced air. Otherwise all was blank white, leaving them at a severe disadvantage.
But now the formation was broken, and the courtyard lay clearly before them.
Just as they suspected, Wei Huan had arranged an ambush, and he was not alone.
Facing them were Wei Huan and three men and one woman. Every one of the latter four had reached Nascent Soul or higher. One of the men was a Soul Transformation cultivator. All were watching them with hostility.
Xu Ziqing looked again. He did not recognize any of them.
But their manner and bearing suggested instruction by accomplished teachers.
They were not rogue cultivators, then. They should belong to a sect or faction.
Yet Wei Huan was supposedly from the rogue-cultivator line.