Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 182 - 147: Sneak Attack (Part 2)

Chapter 182: Chapter 147: Sneak Attack (Part 2)

The Myriad Manifestation Sect experts outside the formation made a move against Ran Qingmo.

Seeing this scene, Xu Yuan wasn’t very surprised. He silently asked in his mind:

"Old Man Luo, how many people are on the other side?"

The Saint’s Remnant Soul slightly sensed the surroundings and chuckled before saying:

"Three Third Grade Great Grandmasters."

"Three Third Grades?"

Xu Yuan murmured with a tone of irony, "No wonder they chose to make a move and ambush. The Myriad Manifestation Sect really is going all out."

For the Prime Minister’s Mansion that had laid out plans across the entirety of Dayan, covertly cultivating three unknown Third Grade Great Grandmasters was no small feat. This time, it seemed the Myriad Manifestation Sect had really gone all in.

After a pause, Xu Yuan continued to ask:

"Ran Qingmo should be fine for now, right?"

The voice of the Saint’s Remnant Soul was very relaxed:

"Don’t worry. That girl Ran is stronger than you imagine. She is currently keeping those three busy."

Xu Yuan felt slightly relieved upon hearing this and said in a low voice:

"That’s good. Old Man Luo, let’s make a move and find the control point of the formation."

Their plan was simple.

With a Third Grade Great Grandmaster stationed at the array control point, even if Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo somehow managed to kill their adversaries through battle, it was very likely they wouldn’t be able to stop them from destroying the control point. But if they could lure out the Third Grade Great Grandmasters, with the support of the Saint’s soul power, Xu Yuan had the confidence that he could instantaneously take down any lower-ranked cultivators guarding the control point, and also control the formation to protect Shengshan County.

Therefore, while the Shengshan border army attacked the Grand Illusory Fog Formation, Ran Qingmo made her move to escape alone, tempting those assigned by the Myriad Manifestation Sect to ambush her.

An individual Third Grade Great Grandmaster, if the Myriad Manifestation Sect had made sufficient preparations, would definitely not let her get away.

After all, this was their covert gamble on the "fortune of the nation."

If they could encircle and kill without leaving any survivors, they would certainly take action.

And with Step Void Slash, Xu Yuan could leave the formation without the help of the Shengshan border army.

Taking advantage of the fight between Ran Qingmo and the Myriad Manifestation Sect experts, Xu Yuan could stealthily head to the control point—and even if he couldn’t find it, he could still sneak up on the three Great Grandmasters from the Myriad Manifestation Sect and strike them hard.

With Step Void Slash at his disposal, no one understood the art of ambush better than he did.

All the plans were proceeding smoothly,

Even when faced with three Great Grandmasters, Big Ice Lump methodically led the battle deeper into the mountains.

After quietly waiting for a while, Xu Yuan moved, searching along the edge of the Grand Illusory Fog Formation for a possible control point.

His speed was neither fast nor slow. With the Saint’s Remnant Soul using soul power to suppress any fluctuations of Origin Qi, Xu Yuan wasn’t worried that the three Great Grandmasters engaged in intense combat would discover him.

All things have fluctuations of Origin Qi. There must be a connection between the control point and the Grand Illusory Fog Formation. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find this faint link of Origin Qi with the powerful soul power of the Saint’s Remnant Soul.

However, things didn’t go as smoothly as Xu Yuan had hoped.

There was nothing to the west of Shengshan County, nothing to the north, and neither to the east nor the south.

After two quarters of an hour, Xu Yuan had circled the Grand Illusory Fog Formation completely and had not discovered anything resembling a control point.

Returning to the starting point, Xu Yuan stared at the towering wall of fog with furrowed brows:

"Old Man Luo, is it possible that the control point is set inside the Grand Illusory Fog Formation itself?"

The Saint’s Remnant Soul fell silent for a moment before saying in a low voice:

"It depends on what the basic formation map given by your little sister is like. If the basic formation map your lad provided didn’t design a control point within the formation, then it’s nearly impossible for it to be inside."

"What does that mean?" Xu Yuan immediately asked.

The Saint’s Remnant Soul considered his words carefully before responding quietly:

"Formation is a matter of interconnectivity; the general framework, the intricate Formation Patterns of Origin Qi flow, the materials used, etc. A slight deviation in any step can lead to vast differences in the outcome.

"And since your little sister activated and verified this Grand Illusory Fog Formation before she left, that means most of the work was already complete. Trying to add something inside the formation at this stage would be an undertaking akin to reconstruction. Hence, if the basic formation map didn’t include it, then the control point established surreptitiously by the Myriad Manifestation Sect would definitely be on the outside."

Xu Yuan recalled the memories related to that younger sworn sister and shook his head:

"Xu Xinyao shouldn’t be that foolish."

After speaking, Xu Yuan sighed and then asked:

"If we were to circle around again, do you think we could find the control point?"

"Heh."

The Saint’s Remnant Soul laughed softly, "Xu lad, if we can’t find it the first time, we won’t find it even in a hundred circles. This is a scheme that could easily lead to the destruction of a sect. How long do you think the Myriad Manifestation Sect has been planning this? You think you can solve it with a few minutes of planning?"

Hearing this, Xu Yuan fell silent for a few moments, his feelings complex. In a low voice, he said:

"In that case, let’s not waste time and go help Ran Qingmo. We might be able to capture a live one and interrogate them. Hmm... I’ll make the move. You just help me gather the Origin Qi."

The Saint’s Remnant Soul raised an eyebrow:

"Are you sure you don’t need me to take action?"

"Even though I don’t have the memories from the Illusionary Realm, many things are ingrained in my body."

Xu Yuan shook his head and smiled, "In the Illusionary Realm, I’ve been a Second Grade Origin Initial for over a dozen years, a stealth attack is nothing serious."

The Saint’s Remnant Soul hesitated slightly but still said nothing:

"As long as you’re clear in your own mind."

Having said this, Xu Yuan then followed the trail of Ran Qingmo’s recent battle through the forest...

...

...

...

"Boom———"

An explosive boom resonated across the mountains, and after the dust in the mid-air cleared, an ice crystal shield was revealed.

Within this shield, a black-clad figure with an Ink Sword in her hand looked around coldly at the three people surrounding her.

Two men and one woman.

An old man, a burly man, and a slightly plump woman.

Seeing their attack blocked by the opponent, the burly man retreated rapidly while whispering to the old man:

"A, something’s off about this girl’s cultivation techniques!"

"Tell me about it!"

The old man whispered back, appearing somewhat disheveled at the moment.

A sword scar had nearly bisected his thin body at the waist, and ice crystals spreading from the wound had almost frozen half his body. If not for the cover of his two companions, he would likely have become a ghost beneath that woman’s sword by now.

Thinking this,

the old man’s body suddenly shook with Origin Qi, and the ice crystals covering him shattered in an instant. He whispered through soul transmission:

"That girl is clearly the precious disciple of that old man from Tianyuan Sword Sect!"

Upon hearing this, the plump woman’s pupils shrank slightly:

"Ran Qingmo?! The same sixteen-year-old Great Grandmaster as Xu Changge?"

The burly man also twitched at the corner of his eyes upon hearing this and transmitted back:

"Should we let this woman go? After all, she has no evidence, and everything will be over once the reinforcements arrive."

The plump woman whispered in agreement upon hearing this:

"If the disciple of the old man from Sword Sect dies here, it’ll probably be difficult to explain to the Sword Sect."

The old man’s forehead bulged with veins:

"You two fools! Are you scared now?! What if something goes wrong? What will the Sect do?!

"There’s only one Xu Changge in this world. Just because someone’s cultivation is fast doesn’t mean they’re strong!"

Despite his words, both the plump woman and the burly man looked at the black-clad woman in front of them with great wariness.

The name Xu Changge was almost a nightmare for the Sects.

The plump woman and the burly man had attended the Tianyuan grand competition thirteen years earlier.

With just Integration Body cultivation back then, they were eliminated early, but they witnessed the process where the genius youths of that generation had their spines broken by that celestial-like young man in green.

A sword strike crushing the same ranks.

Even though the two had advanced from the Integration Body realm to Great Grandmaster status, when they faced this generation’s "Xu Changge," they still confronted a nearly overwhelming strength.

Because the old man had almost been cut down by her in a single encounter.

The ink-dressed woman before them unconsciously reminded them of the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s eldest son.

Moonlight cascaded like a waterfall, the four standing off at a distance.

As the three from Myriad Manifestation Sect wavered, a blood-colored figure appeared behind the old man without any warning.

It was so sudden that it could make one doubt their eyesight.

And the instant that figure appeared, the old man sensed the newcomer.

The old man didn’t believe it was a mistake in his will-spirit’s perception, it was just too late.

His entire focus was on the black-clad woman before him, and the person behind him gave no time to react.

Time seemed to stand still,

as the ink-like sword technique blossomed like a flower, tracing a beautiful curve under the cool moonlight,

and then,

the old man saw a headless body he recognized.

After a moment of silence, the headless corpse fell like a kite with its string cut.

The mountain breeze stirred his temple hair, and the man in the blood garment stood in the void, his calm gaze falling on the astonished man and woman beside him, his voice gentle:

"Now, I have some questions for you."