Azure Heaven Saber
Chapter 239 - 239 15 An Unexpected Incident

Chapter 239: Chapter 15: An Unexpected Incident Chapter 239: Chapter 15: An Unexpected Incident Upon hearing those words, Hu Lengyue’s retreating figure paused slightly, but soon disappeared into the dense shrubbery.

The piercing shriek of his clothing tearing through the air sounded.

Two grey figures emerged, circling back from the left and right, sneering, “What’s this about the East Sea and West Sea? We are the Dark Guards!”

One of them blocked a man dressed in black and launched into a fierce battle, while the other darted through the air like a ghost, effectively blocking all the martial artists of Feiyi Hall in the area, clearly thwarting their efforts to pursue Hu Lengyue.

“Nobody runs! It’s rare for enemies to meet on a narrow road, come on, let’s have a good fight with you fellows from Feiyi!”

Flares shot up into the sky once again.

“The intruder has passed my post! Units three, five and seven, be on your guard! The intruder’s skill is not to be underestimated, do not take him lightly!”

The man dressed in black bellowed fiercely while engaged in a fight with one of the grey figures.

Hu Lengyue broke through the encirclement and retreated along the original path, creating an illusion of moving forward. His body shriveled suspiciously, morphing into a shadow that retreated along the ground, appearing to head toward Zhu Weiran and Feng Yin.

As the battle continues, more Feiyi masters arrived. Seeing this, the two Dark Guards burst into laughter, “Move! Onward to fight!”

Both figures spun, and a bright blue light burst around them. It scattered in all directions like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, and amidst the laughter, the two men shot up into the sky.

This combined attack was incredibly powerful. The approaching Feiyi warriors were smashed to the ground, and the two guards used this opportunity to leap onto a large tree nearby. With the shake of a branch, the two figures disappeared from sight.

There were two screams from below. The sudden attack had hit two of the Feiyi masters, one in the arm, another in the leg, both screaming in pain.

Their expressions changed, they shouted urgently, “It’s the Dark Guard’s Burning Heart Needle!”

Hearing this, one of the supposed black-clothed masters swiftly descended, his blade flashing twice like lightning.

An arm was cut off at the shoulder and a leg severed at the knee. Blood spurted out and splashed everywhere.

The two who had been struck groaned and fell to the ground, but still managed to grate out, “Thank you, brother, for saving us.”

The Burning Heart Needle of the Dark Guards was notoriously deadly, with its potent internal poison capable of reaching the heart within a few breaths.

Although the man’s two blows seemed to have caused two disabilities, in fact, they had saved two lives.

It was a decision made in a critical moment, executed cleanly and efficiently.

“Quickly bandage the wounds, you, escort them back to camp.”

The man in black issued urgent commands: “In future fights, neither of you shall participate anymore. After returning, I will commend you and arrange your affairs. The rest of you, follow me!”

There was the sound of objects tearing through the air, and the man in black led the remaining forces away.

While the battle here had ceased, conflict continued from all sides. It was becoming increasingly fierce.

The Dark Guard masters were revealing themselves in all different directions, causing disturbances in an attempt to provide a cover for the true god doctor to pass.

Suddenly… a long whistle resounded from the height, and the Dark Guards promptly stopped all actions and dispersed in all directions.

The phase task had come to an end.

Because the intruder had disappeared. Next, the battle would shift forward.

Feng Yin sat on a tree branch, with Zhu Weiran keeping watch. Seeing that the fight had stopped completely on the opposite side, and everything was silent, the two couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. For quite a while, neither spoke.

After a while, there came the faint chirping of a bird from the side. It seemed like a startled bird hiding somewhere, issuing low, distressed calls.

Zhu Weiran’s face expressions relaxed, and he made the same chirping sound.

A grey figure appeared in the bushes, barely discernible, it seemed to look this way.

Zhu Weiran issued another chirping sound, and the grey shadow disappeared in a flash.

The next moment, Hu Lengyue appeared cautiously in the grass dozens of meters behind the tree, after observing for two breaths and not noticing any enemies, he soared through the air and landed on the tree.

He gave a wide grin and murmured, “I’ve passed the first checkpoint.”

Zhu Weiran carefully examined her body and, ensuring that she was unhurt, he let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing him sigh with relief, Hu Lengyue gave him a gentle look.

With a full smile, Feng Yin said, “Aunt Zhuang, you’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing. This is nothing.”

Hu Lengyue waved her hand.

“How is the real strength of Feiyi, and what about their combat strength?”

Zhu Weiran asked.

This question was well-posed. For veterans like them, combat strength and actual strength were not synonyms. For instance, Hu Lengyue and the black-clothed man she was fighting.

Hu Lengyue was at the Earth Level second rank. Compared to her opponent, she should have easily defeated him. However, after a long period of non-practice, her ability to exert her full strength was slightly diminished, while her opponent was at his peak in terms of skills, strength and combat ability. Even though Hu Lengyue won the battle, it wasn’t smooth sailing. Despite using her best moves, she still failed to kill her opponent. This was a testament to their strength.

“Their strength and combat power are both considerable. This was just the first checkpoint, but the one in charge was already at the third rank of Earth Level and his ability and combat power are fairly impressive,” said Hu Lengyue her face grim. “He led seven men against me, but I could sense there were more than just seven enemies. There was neither aid from the first nor last Feiyi group during the battle. I suspect that there are likely between fifteen to twenty men in this region.”

“This is Feiyi’s usual trick.”

Zhu Weiran pondered for a moment, then said, “If that’s the case, if we go this way and are exposed…”

“The battle will undoubtedly be exceedingly tough,” supplied Hu Lengyue. “Fortunately, the Dark Guards are skilled masters. Although their numbers are smaller than Feiyi’s at this stage, their overall strength is stronger.”

“The purpose of having those ranked among the Dark Guards assist in the battle is to help break through, hence the emphasis on quality over quantity.”

“Get ready to move,” announced Zhu Weiran. “How well have you rested?”

A gentle expression came over Hu Lengyue’s face. “I’m fine.”

Zhu Weiran took out the high-quality spiritual crystal that Feng Yin had given him earlier: “Keep this. Use it to recharge your energy during the battle. given my current strength, this little challenge doesn’t need it.”

Feng Yin facepalmed.

This honest old soul was really admirable. What should have been a caring gesture turned out to be offensive.

Just as expected, Hu Lengyue’s eyebrows furrowed and she shot him a fierce glare: “What exactly are you implying? Are you implying that my cultivation is so weak that I’m holding you back?”

Zhu Weiran was taken aback: “… Did I say that?”

“But that’s exactly what you implied!” Hu Lengyue bellowed. “I don’t need it!”

Zhu Weiran held the spiritual crystal in his hand, utterly confused: How…how did I offend her? I haven’t even used it myself…

Feng Yin hurriedly tried to mediate: “Ah, you misunderstood, it’s my fault, it’s my fault. I didn’t just prepare one for Uncle Zhuang, but also one for Aunt Zhuang.”

He quickly took out another crystal and handed it to Hu Lengyue: “Aunt Zhuang, please take this. Although you may not need it, it’s just a token of my respect. Please accept it.”

Hu Lengyue graciously took it and said: “Feng Yin, you are the best, so thoughtful. Unlike him! Every time he opens his mouth, it’s nonsense!”

Zhu Weiran: “……”

He felt his breath catching in his throat.

Should have I also called it a token of respect?

Am I in trouble for being kind now?

“Ah, I have two more pills. They are effective for treating internal injuries and restoring your energy. Both of you should take one each as a precaution.” Feng Yin handed over two pills.

Hu Lengyue took one.

Zhu Weiran passed his pill to Hu Lengyue: “You can have this one as well. Although you might not need it, it’s just a token of my respect!”

Hu Lengyue stomped on Zhu Weiran’s foot, grabbing a handful of his soft belly flesh and giving it a harsh twist.

Zhu Weiran’s face twisted with pain, but he didn’t dare to make a sound: “… Hiss…”

Feng Yin was trying hard to suppress his laughter.

Under Zhu Weiran’s pleading gaze, Hu Lengyue finally let go and turned away without taking Zhu Weiran’s pill.

Zhu Weiran looked at the pill in his hand and grimaced at the intense pain in his waist, unable to figure out what he had done wrong.

Why did she punish me when I said the same thing?

What did I do wrong?

With a silent sigh he thought: Women, you are here to punish us men.

Feng Yin shook his head: Monkey see, monkey do is not always the best approach.

Just as they were about to move forwards, several dark shadows rushed towards them from the distance, covering the ground like a dark cloud.

The grass on the ground uniformly flattened against the surface.

Their target was obviously the large tree they were taking shelter under.

Zhu Weiran’s face changed abruptly.

“Why did these guys suddenly start investigating this area?” Zhu Weiran frowned.

They hadn’t noticed us, if they had, they wouldn’t be here now. But we didn’t do anything unusual, so why were they here?

Ought it to be just a simple regular patrol?

“I told you we shouldn’t have picked such an obvious tree…”

Zhu Weiran sighed and started gathering his energy, preparing to strike a deadly blow as soon as they came within range.

“No need to start a battle.”

The very instant that Feng Yin realized they were about to be discovered, he communicated with the tree. To the utter astonishment of Zhu Weiran and his wife who stared, slack-jawed, a hole appeared in the trunk of the tree, right before their eyes. It happened silently and caused no physical reaction.

All three of them, and the cat, silently fell into the hole. There was plenty of room.

The tree then automatically filled the hole with new growth. From the outside, it still appeared to be just an intact tree, undamaged.

Who would ever guess that inside the tree were three people and a cat?

Zhu Weiran almost popped his eyes out of his sockets and even after they had entered the tree, he was still in shock.

What in the world just happened?

After all these years in the world, this has never happened.

Suddenly, the tree vibrated slightly.

Zhu Weiran felt a slight heaviness above his head.

The three powerhouses from Feiyi Hall had actually landed on the very tree they were hiding in.

Now, they were right above Zhu Weiran and Feng Yin. The distance shouldn’t even be half a meter!

All three of them and the cat held their breaths.

…

[Today is the birthday of the alliance leader, Silsil Willow. Happy birthday to her! Hope she has a great day every year. Ah, I wasn’t scolded today. What a relief!]