The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 233: Carried Away

Li Lang rushed down the dark passageway, heading exactly where his Tracing Origin Art directed him. The depth of the tunnel made him anxious, as the possibility of this being the wrong path was not zero. There could have been other routes that snaked around to where he needed to go, while the one he was on led to a dead end.

If that was the case, he would have to backtrack and come across the hostile deviator Long Yi was holding off again.

Thankfully, he soon heard a noise coming from up ahead. Then, some lights could be spotted. He could tell Wei Ping was just around the corner, so he fearlessly charged straight into the chamber before him.

He had both his spear and silver needles out, prepared for a fight. Long Yi had entrusted the task of rescuing Wei Ping to him, so he had to live up to his expectations. He only prayed that whatever he encountered, it was someone he could handle.

Determined to face a powerful foe, Li Lang was completely caught off-guard by what he saw as he neared the end of the corridor. Instead of his companion being held in a cage or bonded with chains, a group of poorly dressed people were rummaging through cabinets and sacks inside the chamber.

This group noticed him as well, staring at him warily. The stunning scene only became more confusing when he spotted his target of rescue, Wei Ping, amidst them. He was standing over an unconscious man, tying up his limbs. If Li Lang didn’t know any better, he would’ve believed a group of bandits were ransacking the place after restraining the guard.

“Wei Ping? What’s going on here? I thought you were captured, not raiding this place…”

“Um, we w-were just trying to deal with this g-guy here.” Wei Ping pointed at the unconscious man lying on the ground. “We just h-happened to come across this storeroom of theirs and g-got carried away.”

“Carried away?”

Seeing Li Lang’s judging gaze, Wei Ping quickly and succinctly explained what had transpired. However, his explanation only got him reprimanded when Li Lang learned that he had forgotten to fight their way out once he sensed they were closing in. They were supposed to pressure their foes from both the outside and inside, but they got distracted by the treasures before them.

“I have a thing or two to say, but I’ll save that for later. Here, hurry up and get your new friends into the Crucible. It’s the only safe way to get them out of here. In fact, you should go inside as well. I’ll take it from here.”

Li Lang unfolded his Spirit-grade artifact, allowing it to expand to the height of an adult. He then turned toward the pile of treasure in the room, leaving everything else to Wei Ping. It caused the man in question to grin awkwardly, upon seeing Li Lang getting just as distracted by the loot as he did.

The storage room they chanced upon didn’t contain the most valuable items they had ever seen, but it was well-stocked with various low-level pills and cultivation manuals. It wasn’t surprising, considering the existence of space rings. The most precious valuables would be stored near their owners.

It appeared the storage room only contained the less valuable items meant for training up the younger generation and for the bulky miscellaneous items these deviators collected. With their constant raiding of both the Luminescent Domain and the territory of various righteous sects, they had a rich collection of trinkets and the like.

“B-Boss, they’re all in the Crucible. You can stow it away now,” Wei Ping called out to the busy Li Lang.

He was skimming through the cultivation manual, but when he heard his companion’s words, he quickly folded the book away and stowed it in his space ring.

“What about you? Head inside already.”

“Boss, look. I c-can defend myself now.”

Wei Ping stopped suppressing his cultivation, allowing the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator to freely emanate.

“This—you’ve broken through? What in the world? Are you sure you didn’t come to this place just to gain inspiration to get past your bottleneck? That’s no good. It’s reckless and put us all in danger.”

“No, no, boss. I r-really did get captured.”

“Hmm, really?”

While he cast a doubtful look at the man wearing the wooden mask, Li Lang retrieved his artifact and began using it as a space ring. There was no need to inspect what it was. He simply threw everything that seemed slightly valuable into his Spirit-grade artifact. He only paused when he arrived at the shelf with miscellaneous trinkets because he didn’t know if they were worth taking. The last thing he wanted was some cursed or dangerous item.

He picked up a large piece of crystal of some sort and carefully examined it. Then he moved on to a bucket-sized jade token with the word ‘Sun’ inscribed onto it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make out what the items did or how dangerous they were.

Just as he was about to reach out to continue his inspection, the sound of metal clashing rang out in the distance. It was only then he was reminded that Long Yi and likely the two seniors from Nightmoon Valley were still fighting outside. He decided to delay making any judgment and just toss everything into the pocket realm. He just needed to tell the artifact spirits to keep them somewhere safe, away from his curious students.

He believed he could then find someone more knowledgeable about these trinkets after they got out of there to determine their worth and danger level.

“Okay, let’s go. There’s no time to waste. Our companions are fighting outside to buy us time!”

“B-boss—”

Wei Ping wanted to retort and tell him he was the one to waste time, but couldn’t go through with it. It would only waste more time arguing, so he swallowed his words.

The reunited duo made their way back toward the main corridor to reinforce Long Yi. On their way, Li Lang shared the latest information he had of their situation. The sound of fighting grew louder the further the two traveled.

They soon arrived back at the main tunnel. They glanced around for traces of Long Yi. The sound of fighting was coming from one of the nearby corridors, so they listened carefully.

The sound grew louder and then a figure was sent flying toward them. It narrowly missed them, colliding with the wall behind. A cloud of dust was kicked up as parts of the wall crumbled. As the dust settled, another two figures emerged from the same side tunnel while the figure, who had been sent flying, regained their footing.

“Long Yi? Are you okay?” Li Lang cried out upon recognizing his friend. He quickly realized it was his companion who was on the losing end of the exchange. It made him snap his gaze toward the two nearby threats. “Stay close. We can’t afford to get isolated.”

Wei Ping nodded while Long Yi strode over to them. The three readied their weapons, prepared to fight their way out of this lair of demonic evil-doers.

“Ha, I thought things were getting a little too rowdy, so it turns out there is more than one intruder,” a middle-aged man said with a chuckle as he sauntered toward the trio.

“Senior Yuan Tao, that kid with the mask is one of the feed I sold to your nephew! Tell us, what have you done to Yuan Kai?” the other man shouted at the trio.

It only took a split second for Li Lang to realize they were talking about the person who Wei Ping had beaten up. He was easily subdued, as he was just a mortal. A plan quickly formulated within Li Lang’s mind.

“Oh, that guy. He’s hurt pretty bad down in that cave over there. I’d hurry to his side if I were you. Otherwise, he may not be able to survive for long.”

“Youngsters these days,” Yuan Tao muttered with much amusement. “Don’t think you can get your way through threats. People like us are most unafraid of threats!”

The older man then lunged straight at the trio. It caused Long Yi to form an earthen wall, but it abruptly shattered. Roots sprouted out from within it, breaking it apart. It allowed the middle-aged man to close the distance.

In response, Li Lang summoned his flames and sent them on an interception course, but just as it was about to make contact, a torrent of water enveloped Yuan Tao. It shielded the man from both the fire and the following wind strikes Wei Ping unleashed.

The scene caused the trio to grimace. They realized they were at a disadvantage from that short exchange despite outnumbering them.

The new enemy they encountered turned out to be at the very peak of early-stage Foundation Establishment. He was very close to breaking through to the next stage, but that wasn’t all.

Yuan Tao and Xie Zhi were experts who specialized in the water element and wood element, respectively. Water beat Li Lang’s fire while wood countered the earth element. On the other hand, fire could also beat wood, while earth contained water, so there wasn’t an attribute disparity at first glance.

However, Li Lang’s strength was too weak to take into the equation. He didn’t practice any specialized Earth-grade techniques yet, and the same could be said about Wei Ping. The wind element techniques he often showcased were even more underpowered than Li Lang’s flames.

The trio could only rely on Long Yi, while the other two could only play a supporting role.

“Haha, you three really are too young. Your immaturity shows in your skills. I advise you to give up. I’m merciful enough to give you a quick death. You’ll be more useful if you become my sustenance!”

The trio ignored the middle-aged man’s provocations and talked amongst themselves.

“Should we call for our backup?” Long Yi asked.

“Hmm, Senior Ma Kong doesn’t seem to be here yet. We may just have to.”

“Hey!” Xie Zhi, the young man who had captured Wei Ping, yelled. “It’s useless to bluff now. This is the heart of our base. If anything, our reinforcements are more likely to be the ones showing up first. Prepare for your deaths, mongrels!”

The hot-headed man charged forth, brimming with confidence as he had a powerful helper behind him. This was a decision that he would soon come to regret.

Several lights shot out from Li Lang’s chest, marking the beginning of a new phase of the fight.