Realms In The Firmament

Chapter 1246: Plan; Forest; Ambush

Ye Nantian drew a circle on the floor and said, “Let’s say this is the area of Dark Forest.”

“Since what they prepared for us is an ambush, a sneak attack, what they want is to kill us! With such purpose… they will do whatever they can to start all kinds of attacks and play their battle schemes on us.” He drew a few lines crossing each other inside the circle and told the others that those lines indicated the plants in the forest.

“First, if I were the enemy, I wouldn’t hide in where there are too many trees, because these areas are where we will pay extra attention to. That means if they sneak in those areas, it is easier to expose their positions.

“As I said earlier, to deal with Yue Shuang and Yue Han, such two dominant cultivators, any small mistakes could lead them to destruction. Therefore… I would choose somewhere not so full of trees, where the trees are not so big. I would hide behind the regular-size trees, and I wouldn’t even arrange people to hide behind the thick crowns of the trees.

“There are surely not many of such trees, which are all over the forest, but not thick. They could arrange sixteen people in eight directions to make the first wave of attacks. When the first wave of the sixteen people attacks, it won’t affect the two elders but will cause fatal damage to the rest of us. We will surely move backward to keep away from the attacks… We may have a chance to fight back, but we won’t do it, because we have to spend time on checking the environment around us. The enemies could start the second wave of attacks while we are busy watching around, right here.”

He pointed a place in the circle and continued, “If they arrange somebody to hide under the ground—let’s say ten, when they suddenly show up from now where with the dust as their cover to attack us with poisoning flying weapons, or poison mist, they may not be able to kill any of us, but we will be terrified in a muddle.

“That is the end of the second wave of attacks. What is able to honestly cause damage to us is the third when they approach us and start to fight face to face. After the two waves of attacks, their people are all shown before our eyes. All of them can begin their murderous attacks in person… That is the third step. I believe when they start the third step because we will be in a muddle after being shocked by the first two waves, it may be quite difficult for us to face the attacks from dozens of superior cultivators at the same time while we are panicking. What we will do is to do our best in answering their attacks…

“The enemies will operate the most powerful and ruthless skills to attack us. They may even damage themselves to achieve the most significant success in the attack. We will feel too busy to answer all of their attacks by then.

“Over thirty superior cultivators attack at the same time. I think even Elder Shuang and Elder Han won’t feel comfortable to deal with such a battle. Am I right?

“However, after the third wave, they still haven’t operated their last strike. The killing strike will be ready by then.

“If the two elders miss anything… make any tiny mistakes… the hidden people of the enemy will show up right away from where they have been hiding to attack the one who has made a mistake…

“The last hidden cultivators are their last strike, which will only aim at taking our lives. When the battle is in the most critical moment, they will suddenly show up and make the most damaging attacks to kill us! I am afraid these enemies won’t be weaker than either of Elder Shuang and Elder Han. Otherwise, they won’t be able to finish the plan!

“In an ambush, never show the enemy the most strong move before they die!

“Once the last strike is made, make sure it wins the victory!

“We must remember that the power we will see is not the best they have!

“That is a perfect ambush ahead of us.”

Ye Nantian said, “Since the enemy had made such a great effort to set up such an ambush against us, they should be able to make a plan as I said. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to be so mysterious and create such a disturbance in the world without being noticed…”

“All in all, I guess they have at least four groups of people. Because they knew how powerful Elder Shuang and Elder Han are, they will make their best to arrange four groups of people that cooperated the best with each other.”

He thought for a while and continued, “This is the end of my analysis. What I can think of is the most possible plan they will use. As for what level the enemies will be, what level their poison will be, or how they will start their attacks, I have no idea. After all, I am limited in cultivation. I don’t know much about how the dominant cultivators fight against each other. As for hidden weapons and poisons that could affect dominant cultivators like the two ladies, I am absolutely blank.”

“What I mean is… ladies, you have to think of the possibilities of what poison they may use on us. There is one thing I am sure—do not underestimate the enemies; Instead, we should try our best to overestimate them. What could most possibly threaten your lives should definitely be considered. We have to assume that the enemy could do anything dangerous and vicious to us!”

He emphasized the word vicious.

Even though Yue Shuang and Yue Han had lived for hundreds of years, they still felt chilled in the backs when hearing what Ye Nantian said.

At this moment, they finally had another opinion about Ye Nantian.

[He is indeed a great commander who used to lead millions of people in the war in Land of Han-Yang!]

[How accurate that everybody has advantages! We should never underestimate a person by what he or she looks like!]

Ye Nantian had just made a perfect assumption of the battle that they were going to encounter. It was flawless. What he said had made the two ladies vividly feel the danger ahead of them in the forest. Now they knew that what they were going to face was murderous.

Now, they had to consider something the two of them were afraid the most.

Only after that, the plan would become perfect.

“We don’t fear for any kind of poison. I am serious. We can absolutely handle it…” Yue Shuang said, “We have some supreme dan beads that can cure poison. All poisons in the Qing-Yun Realm are noneffective on us! We won’t get affected at all!”

When talking about the dan beads, the two of them thought of their beloved brother at the same time. They were sincerely grateful to Ye Xiao.

The two ladies should be fearless for any regular poisons in the realm, because of the dominant power they had. However, they were never believed to be able to survive the extreme poison from the two great halls and three great palaces. Qiong-Hua Palace’s martial arts didn’t have a good solution to fight against poison. However, with the dan beads from their brother Ye Xiao, they were safe from any kinds of poison!

Those supreme dan beads were indeed excellent. One day, Yue Shuang had taken some drastic poison which could kill a prime level Dao Origin Stage cultivator in half a day. After she got poisoned, she hurriedly took one of the dan beads from Ye Xiao. Then she was healed. Nothing went wrong on her. Well, the only thing that happened to her was that she got scolded by Yue Han for swallowing poison.

Yue Shuang was definitely making fun by risking her own life. Even though she was the older sister, she got punched really hard by Yue Han.

Ye Nantian’s eyes lit up when he heard that the two ladies were confident in surviving any kind of poison.

“Well, the enemies may not be able to see such a stunning fact. I am not sure they will use poison attack, but if they do, we can make use of it. It may give us a good chance to cause great damage to the enemy…” He said.

“I have made an assumption of what battle strategy the enemy will use. Now, let’s talk about what we could do to prepare for the battle.” He continued, “In my opinion, we could…”

The six of them got together—Ye Nantian did the talking while the other five were listening carefully.

After hearing what Ye Nantian said, each of the five showed their shining eyes. They felt like no matter how powerful the enemy was, they could easily get past the forest without getting harmed…

“However… a plan is always just a plan. Things always change unexpectedly. No matter how thoughtful we think we are before the battle begins when we truly get into it… I am afraid… There may be a sacrifice to make…” Ye Nantian sighed.

[But… Xue-er, the two girls, and I… we are too weak. It is very possible that some of us will… die!]

Looking at the Dark Forest ahead of them, Ye Nantian knew that they were going to step into a fatal trap. He honestly didn’t feel reconciled about it. [I have only met my beloved one a few days ago! I can’t die in this place! None of us can!]

[However… who are they? Who are the enemies that want us dead so badly?]

[Are they here for me? Are they here for Elder Shuang and Elder Han?]

According to what happened in Qing-Yun Realm, Ye Nantian felt… that the enemy was most likely on their way for Yue Shuang and Yue Han!

“We are too weak.” Ye Nantian made a long sigh and seriously spoke to Yue Shuang and Yue Han, “Honorable elders, I have a request.”

Yue Shuang softly said, “What is it please, Clan Chief Ye?”

Ye Nantian said, “If things go absolutely unsolvable… If there is a time when we can not keep things in full… I ask for your help, elders. Please leave if things are out of your control! Don’t waste time on my wife and me… Just go and find another solution!”

“Absolutely not! No way!”

Yue Shuang shook the head and said emotionally, “We will never leave you to the enemy! Your safety is the priority! We will stay here and fight with our lives until both of you get out of this place safely!”

Yue Gongxue was enlightened, so she said, “Dear elders, Nantian is right. The enemy is probably using you to set up this trap. They know you won’t leave. They want you to stay and fight until the last minute… If you can’t let go, but fight till the end instead, you may likely die in this battle… and we will die too!”

“Even if you are right, even if we are going to die… there is no way we would leave you behind for life!” Yue Shuang was decisive.

Yue Han proudly said, “Even though we have concerns in our hearts, even though they know what we have in mind… In Qing-Yun Realm, nobody could get us killed without paying a price they couldn’t afford!”

She sounded proud and heroic because she had absolute confidence in her heart.

She believed that nobody in the world could prove her wrong about what she just said.

If anybody wanted to let Yue Shuang and Yue Han die in a battle, he or she or they would have to pay an unbearable price!

Ye Nantian knew that he couldn’t change the sisters’ mind in any way, so he gave up. Instead, he started to detail the plan, trying to make it perfect in every step, and hoped that they could have more chance to survive the battle!

After the discussion was done, according to Ye Nantian’s arrangement, Yue Shuang moved in front of the others while Yue Han stayed in the back. Ye Nantian and Yue Gongxue stayed close behind Yue Shuang, while Qingxue and Wuxue stayed behind Yue Gongxue.

The six of them started to walk in the Dark Forest, not too fast, not too slow.

Qingxue and Wuxue hadn’t said a word along the way.

No matter how proud and arrogant Yue Shuang and Yue Han were, they kept holding their swords, ready to start a fight at any second!

However, after eighty miles, still, nothing happened.

Birds kept hovering and tweeting over their heads. Such quacking sounds didn’t drive away the deadly silence in this place. Instead, it added an even horrible sense in the shadow of the dark forest.

The sound of the leaves waving kept flicking their ears. The six of them felt like they could hear their own heartbeats.

• Pang, pang, pang… –

“This isn’t right. Something doesn’t seem right…” Ye Nantian warned the others with a low voice, “We must talk when we are walking… We must make the enemy believe that we are not alert… Keep the cautions inside… It is unreasonable that we don’t talk when walking along such a weird silence. Our plan is to let them do the first wave of attacks. Otherwise, we won’t have a chance to proceed with the next step.”

“Well… What should we say?” Yue Gongxue frowned.

It was difficult to chitchat and laugh in such a nervous situation. Besides, they had to act like nothing was happening. That was nearly impossible.

Ye Nantian laughed loudly and then started to speak, “Walking in the shadow of this forest, I can’t help recollecting the memory of me leading two hundred and fifty thousand men to hunt the grassland wolves in Land of Han-Yang… Ooh, that was truly… a great battle…”

Ye Nantian started to talk in a peaceful voice, but with emotions, as if he was wholly soaked into the memory of the old days. He told the story of him being the general in Land of Han-Yang and didn’t hesitate to show his pride and honor.

Yue Shuang, Yue Han, and Yue Gongxue were impressed.

Commander Ye might not be impressively powerful in cultivation, but his confidence, knowledge, and wisdom made him a unique figure in Qing-Yun Realm.

As Ye Nantian kept singing his own praises, telling the stories of his glory days, the intension was loosened.

The six of them kept walking ahead, going deep into the forest. At the moment, they had gone three hundred miles in the woods.

What they saw were visible signs which showed that there used to be a great fight.

The trees were cut because of the fight. Broken parts of the trees were everywhere. Some trees had withered all around the place. Many big pits on the floor indicated how brutal the fight was.

“It seems… this is the place where the Three Factions fought against Xiao Monarch… one of the most important battles of the war… Isn’t it?” Yue Gongxue asked in a low voice.

Yue Shuang and Yue Han humphed and said in gloomy faces, “Saint Sunlight Sect, Saint Starlight Sect, Cold Moon Palace are three shameless sects. They only won the war by outnumbering Xiao Monarch. There is nothing good of them! Humph! Yet people call them great sects of Qing-Yun Realm.”

“Back to the days, Xiao Monarch fought against hundreds of Dao Origin Stage cultivators of the Three Factions right here…” Yue Gongxue looked around the miserable place and made a deep sigh, “Xiao Monarch was such a hero. However, he was bounded to fall in that war. This place is where he started to lose.”

Yue Shuang didn’t feel comfortable about what Yue Gongxue just said.

[Xiao Monarch… Oh… You don’t know yet, but… Xiao Monarch is exactly your son… Ye Xiao…]

At this moment, something eventually happened…

With a sound of boom, in the middle of this area, the floor actually collapsed and became a pit which was more in-depth than they could tell. Dust rose up in the air, and the six of them couldn’t even see their own figures in the rolling dust. Rocks and dust kept flying and shooting around them. What they could hear was the sound of shooting weapons…

Countless flying weapons started to shoot over them from all direction, like heavy rain that covered every inch of the space!

In the dust, there were two string of bright sword lights shining over from each of the eight directions. Suddenly, the thunderclaps started to sound in the air.

Sixteen streams of sword lights were approaching. The sixteen persons all operated sword-person mergence skill!

They were all aiming at the same target!

Yue Shuang half closed her eyes and drew out her sword at once! – Clang! –

The first wave of attacks! Ye Nantian was totally right about it!

That meant they had a plan to deal with the attacks!

“Ladies, don’t forget what I have told you! We let them lead the way!” Ye Nantian warned the others in a low voice.

The six of them drew out their weapons at the same time.

At the moment, Yue Shuang, who was in front of the others, swung her sword and her sword shot a glaringly bright light. From left to right, the sword light made a perfect semi-sphere! The sword light stayed in the air and became a shield of energy.

Yue Han, who was on the back of the others also operated the same skill to make the same perfect semi-sphere. The two sword light together made a round shield that covered the six of them inside the light. The sword light didn’t stay long, but long enough to keep all the attacks of the first wave away perfectly!

The rolling dust, the flying rocks, even the shooting weapons, were all spinning after touching the child of the sword light. Nothing shot over the six people anymore, because nothing could do that under the force of the sword light.

“Go!”

Yue Shuang and Yue Han made a successful move, and then both of them shouted at the same time.

• Puff! – The rocks, dust, and weapons that were moving around the sword light sphere shot away back to where it came in rapidly.

At the same time, Yue Shuang pointed at the right with her sword, while Yue Han pointed at the left, and both of them raised up their free hands to face each other. Two flows of exploding spiritual qi appeared from two sides and joined together in a powerful way.

They made a palm hit to each other and then suddenly, both of their swords left their hands and shot away.

The two swords in the air got together and became a vast stream of blinding sword light, like a long dragon descending the world. The dragon was over a thousand meters long!

The dragon was shooting rapidly toward two enemies from one direction.

Sixteen people approaching from eight directions, yet the two ladies only attacked the two of them in one direction. They just ignored the others from the other seven directions!

The two cultivators who were hit by this dragon-like sword light attack were absolutely having their worst day. With a scream, their sword-person mergence attacks were ruined. The joined sword light of the two ladies powerful attack was as powerful as an ultimate attack of Wu Fa. The two persons were definitely too weak to endure it. The dragon-like sword light attack went through them fast, and what left of the two men was only some raindrops of blood.

That was why they screamed. The two men instantly became the rain of blood in the air after touched by the dragon-like sword light! They didn’t even finish screaming before they were over!

Their body and soul were both destroyed!

Yue Shuang and Yue Han’s first sword light attack succeeded, but they didn’t continue the sword light attack. Instead, right after the two men were dead, the sword light turned around and made a new sphere shield of light to cover the six of them inside.

After that, the sound of something getting hit started to sound from different directions…

The first wave of flying weapon attacks which were bounced back by the first sphere hit back on their owners!

The dust and rock rolled in the air and covered their sight, and the sounds of the flying things also distracted their hearings. It was already difficult to see things clearly in the Dark Forest, as the rolling dust added one more layer of distraction, it became more difficult to defend the attack from far away!

The hidden weapons were shooting among the dust and rocks, through the trees and leaves, to hit off the fourteen other men from the other seven directions.

It might take ages to describe what happened in the duration of the marvelous attack, but as a matter of fact, it only finished within a few seconds. The dust, rock, and flying weapons approached at first, so Yue Shuang and Yue Han operated their sword light to keep them away and even bounced them back. After that, before the flying weapons hit the enemies, the two ladies had made their first attack on two of the enemies and killed them instantly. Aside from that, they even operated a second sphere shield of sword light before the first wave of flying weapons hit anybody. That was such an intense and significant fight that happened within an unbelievably short time!

“Yue Shuang and Yue Han, two swords join. Power of the sisters looks down upon the heavens! Great! Shuang and Han of Qiong-Hua Palace, you are just as powerful as they say. Bravo!” A weird and cold voice was sounding somewhere.

The dust fell to the floor, while the enemies started to show themselves from everywhere. They were all wearing in black clothes with masks on their faces. Some of them looked slim and well-shaped—must be ladies.

Those ladies were all covered in cold and scary qi, like many ice mountains gathering together in this place.

“Cold Ice Qi?” Yue Shuang blandly asked, “Who are you? How dare you make such a foolish attack against us? You must also be some dominant figures since you are brave enough to mess with us. Why do you hide behind your masks? Isn’t it despicable? What? Are you too degraded to show yourselves?”