The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 232: Unaware

Li Lang and Long Yi both snapped around upon hearing someone calling out to them. They were both caught off guard by the sudden newcomer, but they didn’t panic. They had accounted for such situations.

Cultivators had many tricks up their sleeves. It wasn’t unusual that they possessed some technique that could avoid detection, as their Concealment Talisman did.

They were thankful that this new person before them didn’t ambush them with the initiative he had. It could’ve gone a lot worse, but they were still on guard.

“Now, now, boys. You should realize we’re currently busy with something, so I’d like to resolve this swiftly. I understand you may want to escape during this chaos, but do realize that just isn’t possible for mortals like you. You should quietly return to wherever you came from and I won’t tell your owners about this.”

Li Lang and Long Yi exchanged glances, as they were both unsure how to respond. They had anticipated many situations, but not one like this. Whoever this deviator was, he obviously believed they were escaped captives!

It was likely due to both of them concealing their cultivation with the Wave Dampening Art. They had done so in order to catch enemies off guard with a sudden outburst of strength. They hadn’t expected the defenders to mix up intruders with their captives instead.

As much as Li Lang wanted to perfectly respond to the new situation, they didn’t have the time to deliberate. He nodded at Long Yi to get him to follow his lead and raised both hands up to surrender.

“We get it, sir. We don’t dare to escape. We were only going to confirm if our friend is here, but we’ll return as you say,” Li Lang said in a frightful voice.

They submissively walked back out to the main corridor, like children caught in the middle of mischief. Just as they passed by the parent who had caught them red-handed, they abruptly struck out at the same time!

Weapons materialized from thin air, as they pincered the deviator from two sides. However, to their horror, their sneak attack was completely ineffective. Worse, their enemy had roots sprouting from their hands that entangled their arms. In an instant, they went from taking the initiative to being subdued.

The two orthodox cultivators realized their perilous situation at the same time, and each responded in their own way. The only thing they had in common was that they didn’t hold back.

Li Lang unleashed his Primordial Star Fire at full strength, burning the vines at the maximum output he could sustain.

Long Yi crumbled the earthen layer of armor he had donned and shot the resulting pieces of earth in every direction. Expelling the armor created enough space for his arm to slip out of the vines while using the residue part of his defensive technique as a powerful means of attack.

Xie Zhi, the deviator who was completely carefree until now, opened his eyes wide at the sudden development. He never expected the two seemingly harmless mortals to lash out with such ferocity all of a sudden. Things became worse when he realized one of these men, who he had allowed to come so close to him, controlled a heavenly fire!

As a cultivator who specialized in the wood element, he naturally was aware of one of the greatest nemeses for wood cultivators like him. Fire cultivators were the bane of many of his techniques, so his panic was understandable when he sensed the aura at the Foundation Establishment level coming from the owner of the heavenly flame.

There was no way for him to know that Li Lang had only recently broken through. Not only that, he had yet to select a proper Earth-grade cultivation technique to practice. That would normally mean he was flexible with the attributes of his Qi arts, but it would also be significantly weaker than what Xie Zhi would expect. The disparity was great enough to overcome the natural attribute advantage that fire had over wood.

However, the miraculous existence of heavenly fires leveled this playing field. It allowed Li Lang’s flames to eat away at the wooden vines, but it wasn’t as rapid as Xie Zhi had feared.

Still, Xie Zhi couldn’t relax. Li Lang wasn’t the only one he had to worry about. A split second after freeing himself from the bindings, Long Yi also unleashed the strongest attack he had in his arsenal.

At such a close range, the Terra Moon Slash Long Yi let loose could be more accurately described as Terra Moon Thrust. Thrusting out with his Mortal-grade broadsword, the attack was further reinforced by the secondary force of a sharp spear of stone bursting out from the tip of his green blade. It punctured through the hasty roots Xie Zhi summoned to defend himself.

Being the most combat-oriented of Li Lang’s companions and wielding an artifact, blood was drawn at the scene, but both parties opted to create some distance from each other at the same time. One party was injured, while the other was cautious. Oftentimes, those who were cornered were the most dangerous.

“We don’t have time to waste,” Long Yi whispered to his companion. “You go on ahead!”

Li Lang frowned, but quickly accepted his offer. He knew he had only been able to contribute because he was allowed to close the distance. If that wasn’t the case, he currently didn’t possess the ability to deliver his flames to his foes from range. He would rather not become a burden, so he decisively ran down the side tunnel toward where Wei Ping should be.

With him gone, the two remaining men stared at each other without a word. They took a few steps and circled each other, but didn’t engage. Whether they knew it or not, they were both trying to buy time. Neither wanted to take any risks, so a stalemate quickly formed.

After having broken through his cultivation and the cage that imprisoned him, Wei Ping stood contemplatively, staring at his hand. Beside him was a small group of prisoners he had freed. They were all waiting quietly below the hatch that led to their freedom.

None of them dared to make a noise as they strained their ears for any sounds coming from above. They had all heard their owner

“Do any of y-you know where his master’s place of residence is?” Wei Ping asked in a hushed voice.

They all shook their heads, except for the portly woman who was Wei Ping’s ex-neighbor.

“It shouldn’t be nearby if that’s what you’re getting at. Every time he says he’s going to visit his master, he takes quite a long time.”

Hearing this, Wei Ping climbed up against the hatch and pushed his ear against it. He carefully listened for any sound or vibrations from people moving around. He noticed neither, so he proceeded to open the hatch.

It caused his companions to scurry away, but he didn’t care. He knew time was of the essence. He felt his rescuers were nearby, so it was now or never. While he didn’t have complete control of his new powers, he was confident he could defeat a mortal like Yuan Kai. His only worry was Yuan Kai’s master.

Climbing through the hatch, he found the bedroom he had previously passed by in disarray, with clothes scattered about. No one was in sight, so he quickly called up his compatriots. The group wasted no time and began escaping from this hell hole. They arrived in the main corridor and found the place eerily quiet.

“They m-must be fighting outside. We should hide somewhere and p-prepare to strike when their enemy fights their way here.”

“What if no one comes? There are dozens of cultivators living here who are in the Foundation Establishment Realm, like you. Who’s to say they’re willing or capable enough to reach this place?”

“They will,” Wei Ping resolutely stated. “I can sense them drawing near.”

The group marked that up to the powers of the Foundation Establishment Realm. They were all mortals that Yuan Kai had collected in order to challenge his bottleneck. They treated Wei Ping as their leader and began finding a suitable hiding spot.

There were dozens of side tunnels to choose from, but before they could pick one, the sound of something approaching startled them. They quickly funneled into one of the nearby passages, but their movements were too sloppy. The newcomer easily spotted them before they could all hide from sight.

A furious bellow followed as the newcomer rushed down the main corridor.

“Move q-quickly! We can’t afford to fight near the m-main corridor lest we want more of them to come.”

Wei Ping didn’t forget to circulate the Wave Dampening Technique as they retreated. Despite having been stuck in the mortal realm, he hadn’t neglected to practice the technique they had made their students learn. While he could be weaker, he couldn’t excuse himself for not being knowledgeable enough to guide his pupils.

Like that, Yuan Kai relentlessly chased after them, completely unaware of what fate had in store for him.