Chapter 49: Luring the Enemy to His Death

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Luring the Enemy to His Death

Hao Yue watched as her companion lay injured, his hand severed and blood pouring relentlessly from the wound.

The man turned toward her and shouted, demanding that she stop the bleeding.

The woman was naturally confused, but she decided to do as he asked. Ye Xuan remained standing in front of the inn, watching her panicked reaction.

"You... I’ll make sure you die!" the man declared.

He patted his bag of holding and took out a token. Ye Xuan immediately recognized what it was and understood what would happen if someone destroyed it with spiritual qi.

He reached forward to snatch the token. He managed to seize it, but the spiritual qi stored inside by the man immediately exploded, destroying the item.

The token shattered in Ye Xuan’s grip, accompanied by a small burst of qi that startled him.

Could that have been a token belonging to a sect elder?

"You won’t escape our sect elder! You’re going to die!"

"HAHAHA!"

Ye Xuan clenched his fists, wanting to kill the man. However, Hao Yue was standing beside him, and fighting them would only waste his opportunity to escape.

In the end, Ye Xuan decided to leave the city without even getting a chance to rest.

He flew away on his qi sword, moving at full speed to avoid a confrontation with their sect elder.

He didn’t know the elder’s cultivation base, but Ye Xuan considered the worst-case scenario.

If the man was a Golden Core cultivator, escaping from him would be extremely difficult.

His best option was to enter Scarlet Moon Forest and hope that the monsters inside would keep the elder occupied.

Scarlet Moon Forest soon came into view ahead of him. Ye Xuan immediately flew into the forest and sought shelter in a cave near a waterfall.

"How likely is it that their sect elder will come here?" Ye Xuan asked.

[I don’t know. If he has the ability, he should be able to enter this place without much trouble.]

"Should I seek refuge in the territory of the Blazing Fire Serpent Clan?" Ye Xuan asked.

[About that... It depends on what you want.]

[I can ask Yan Jin to help you defeat that elder.]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment.

The idea of asking them for help had occurred to him because there was a clan formation beneath the waterfall’s pool that could take him into their territory.

However, he began thinking about the stability of their clan, especially given their hatred toward humans.

Yan Jin might obey Qingyu’s orders, but his decision to help Ye Xuan could affect his standing within the clan.

He had even fought against the clan’s Great Elder over the matter of the clan’s integrity.

If Ye Xuan asked him for help, their internal conflict might grow even worse.

"Perhaps not."

"I don’t want to become the cause of internal conflict within their clan."

[In that case, I’ll help you by scouting the area and checking how strong that elder is if he actually comes here.]

Ye Xuan nodded and allowed Qingyu to go investigate. In her small white serpent form, the elder might not even notice her presence.

While waiting for her report, Ye Xuan decided to make use of his precious time by cultivating.

He took out three pouches of spirit stones, containing a total of 300 low-grade spirit stones.

He extended his hand and clenched his palm, crushing some of the spirit stones and allowing his body to absorb their spiritual qi essence.

He no longer used the Worldly Qi Cultivation Technique.

Instead, Ye Xuan chose to maximize his qi absorption by practicing the Qi Cultivation Enlightenment Technique.

He wasn’t sure which cultivation technique was better or more suitable for him. Tonight, he intended to settle the matter once and for all.

Elsewhere, Qingyu perched on a tree branch, coiling her body around it.

Since the tree was near the pool and the cave where Ye Xuan was cultivating, she also took the opportunity to intimidate the forest monsters and prevent them from disturbing him.

A few minutes later, a man’s voice echoed throughout the forest, his words clearly meant to intimidate Ye Xuan. Qingyu heard it as well.

"Come out and surrender yourself, Junior Ye Xuan!"

"Don’t make me come after you personally!"

Ye Xuan, who had been concentrating on his cultivation, naturally heard the voice. It was a clear sign that the sect elder had arrived.

He’s already learned my name... I’m worried he’ll tell the other sects about me.

Did you find out anything about him, Qingyu?

[Not for certain. I only heard his voice. I don’t know whether he’s entered the forest yet.]

He realized that breaking through to Peak Foundation Establishment required time and peace of mind. At the moment, he had neither.

He was pressed for time, worried that more cultivators from that sect might arrive. He also couldn’t calm down because they were hunting him simply for injuring one of their disciples.

Ye Xuan sighed briefly, then swung his hand to the side and stored the remaining unused low-grade spirit stones.

"I can’t defeat them if that elder’s cultivation base is at Golden Core."

He stepped outside and looked beyond the waterfall, gazing at the night sky above Scarlet Moon Forest.

The sight reminded Ye Xuan of the Northern Wind Eagle Tribe.

He recalled that one of their members had once advised him about the Northern Ridge in Scarlet Moon Forest.

That member of the Eagle Tribe had mentioned that something there was feared even by the Major Spiritual Beast Clans.

"If we can’t kill him, then perhaps we can lure him to his death."

[What do you mean?]

"There’s a chance they don’t know the details of Scarlet Moon Forest, but I do. The Northern Wind Eagle Tribe mentioned something about the Northern Ridge of Scarlet Moon Forest."

"There’s something there far stronger than they are. That’s our only hope."

[But if whatever resides in the Northern Ridge is truly stronger than them, it could kill you too.]

"No, it won’t!"

"Because I have a way to escape from there."

[What is it?]

"I’ll destroy the teleportation token Senior Wang gave me. I’ll teleport to the Golden Pagoda, while they’ll be left behind to face whatever is waiting for them there."

[You’re quite reckless, Ye Xuan.]

[Still, we can give your plan a try.]

Ye Xuan smiled faintly, then took out the teleportation token and activated it.

The token began to glow, creating a teleportation formation inside the cave.

The method was simple. He would concentrate his spiritual qi inside the teleportation token and trigger a qi explosion that would inevitably destroy it.

After making sure he understood how it worked, he stored the token again and prepared to confront them.

Ye Xuan stepped outside and leaped into the air, landing on the tree branch where Qingyu was keeping watch over the surrounding area.

"All right. I’m ready!"