Chapter 478 - 473: Have You Been Dying to See Me, or Do You Want Me to Die?
Chapter 478: Chapter 473: Have You Been Dying to See Me, or Do You Want Me to Die?
After leaving Zhuge City, Du Youqian reverted to the appearance and aura of his current identity: Sui Xiao, the Nascent Soul Ancestor of Ruihan City. The man and his monkey traveled west.
Since they weren’t in a great hurry, Du Youqian didn’t push the Tier Four Flying Boat to its top speed. He flew westward at a leisurely pace, occasionally stopping to let Little Wukong explore an oasis or to sightsee at some relics half-buried in the yellow sand.
On the fifth day of their journey, a sense of warning suddenly arose in Du Youqian’s heart. He mulled it over and over, ’Did I overlook something?’
But in his haste, he couldn’t find any clues. The sense of warning, however, was growing stronger and stronger. It was clear something unfavorable was about to happen to him.
Du Youqian quickly stopped the Flying Boat and performed a divination.
His brows furrowed when he saw the hexagram.
The hexagram indicated he was about to face a deadly tribulation, which matched the warning in his heart.
’But the question is, who would come to kill me?’
’Who could find me so accurately?’
’Could it be that True Monarch Zhaoxiang Guangde has seen through my disguise, realized he’d been tricked, and is now coming after me in a fit of shame and rage?’
’That’s unlikely. If True Monarch Zhaoxiang Guangde were hunting me now, I should be feeling a powerful premonition of death, not just a warning.’
A warning of this level meant the newcomers posed a certain threat, but not one he couldn’t handle.
If True Monarch Zhaoxiang Guangde were to come after him personally, his only option would be to reincarnate.
After some thought, Du Youqian didn’t continue to flee. Instead, he quickly began to set up an Array on the spot.
Although this place was in the Endless Desert Sea—vast and boundless, with no vegetation—the types of Arrays he could set up were quite limited.
Moreover, in such a short time, even with Du Youqian’s abilities, it was impossible to create a Tier Three Upper Grade Grand Array. However, even a Tier Three Middle or Lower Grade Array could give him some advantage.
In a battle, such a slight advantage could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Seeing Du Youqian’s grim expression, Little Wukong also knew something major was about to happen.
It was extremely clever and didn’t cause any trouble. After glancing around and seeing no cover, it simply burrowed into a small sand dune, burying itself completely. Even Du Youqian couldn’t detect its aura.
For Du Youqian to feel a sense of warning, the attacker had to be at least a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator, and more likely Nascent Soul Late Stage or even Perfection.
Little Wukong had yet to break through to Tier Four, but the strength of its demonic body was on par with a Tier Four Human Race Body Refining Cultivator. It could barely play a small role in Magical Combat.
But if it launched a sneak attack, its effectiveness could be maximized.
Du Youqian didn’t need to say much to it; the monkey was sharp and had an instinctive understanding of battle.
He simply paid a little extra attention to Little Wukong’s location while setting up the Array, helping it conceal its aura.
Just as he finished setting up the Tier Three Middle Grade Quicksand Array, a Flying Boat appeared on the horizon. It started as a small black dot but quickly grew large enough for its details to be seen with the naked eye, a testament to its astonishing speed.
The arrivals were making a grand entrance, not bothering to hide. They released their auras unscrupulously, clearly confident they could take down Du Youqian.
There were three powerful auras on the Flying Boat. The weakest was a notch stronger than Du Youqian’s—a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator. The other two were very likely at Nascent Soul Perfection.
Du Youqian waited, calm and composed.
Although on paper, he had no hope of turning the tables. Any one of them could easily suppress him.
But battles were never decided by what was on paper.
And it wasn’t as if Du Youqian had no trump cards of his own.
Of course, the enemy certainly had trump cards as well. It all came down to whose was stronger and who could play their card at the right moment.
The Flying Boat arrogantly hovered to a stop half a li away from Du Youqian. A woman and two men jumped out one after another.
The woman’s appearance and demeanor were completely unfamiliar, and her aura was one Du Youqian had never encountered. Yet, for some reason, a face surfaced in his mind: Master Su Quan.
’Therefore, this woman must be Ye Rui Master. This is the first time I’ve seen her true face... ahem, is her current appearance her true face?’
She had a face that could bewitch all living beings and a pair of eyes brimming with affection—practically the standard for the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect.
Just above her cheek was a beauty mark like a teardrop. Logically, it should have marred the perfection of her face, but it was precisely this imperfection that made it easier for one’s mind to wander and to yearn to get closer.
She descended slowly, as light and airy as a feather.
Following her was an old, withered Cultivator. One of his legs was noticeably shorter and much thinner than the other.
His body looked light, but he plummeted like a block of iron, smashing into the sand with a THUD like rolling thunder. Strangely, he didn’t kick up a single grain of sand or speck of dust.
The third person was a tall, handsome, and powerfully built middle-aged man whose aura was at the Nascent Soul Late Stage. He descended a fraction faster than Ye Rui Master, and while his landing wasn’t loud, it did kick up some sand and dust.
’If I’m not mistaken, this must be the Lord of Chen.’
’I wonder what he went through to end up with a Demoness from the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect.’
"Sister," Du Youqian said with a brilliant smile, "have you been well? It’s been too long. Little Brother has missed you to death."
"This Sister has missed you to death, too!" Ye Rui Master didn’t deny her identity. She spoke as she slowly walked toward Du Youqian.
"You mean you want me dead, Sister," Du Youqian said, his smile never faltering.
"Indeed," Ye Rui Master replied with a charming smile, her bright eyes alluring. Not a hint of killing intent escaped her, but her words were vicious. "It’s a shame you’ve been hiding in Ruihan City like a coward in its shell. Otherwise, you would have been dead more than a decade ago."
Du Youqian’s gaze was full of deep affection. "I knew you were waiting not far from the city, Sister. I’ve been dreaming of your unparalleled beauty and stunning figure, wanting nothing more than to cast everything aside for a secret rendezvous with you. Alas, as the Ancestor of Ruihan City, many things are beyond my control... But seeing you today soothes the ache of my longing. I just wonder, how did you manage to find me, Sister?"
Ye Rui Master laughed coquettishly. "I can’t tell you that. It’s better for you to die a confused ghost, Little Brother. This Sister here will eat your Nascent Soul, then refine your soul into my Hundred Ghosts Banner. That way, you can accompany me for all eternity."
Du Youqian replied joyfully, "Sister, our minds are truly in sync! I was having the very same thought—to refine your soul into my Hundred Ghosts Banner as one of its main souls."
"Just one of them?" Ye Rui Master’s smile was bewitching. "You’re so greedy, Little Brother. How many ’good sisters’ do you want?"
By the time she said this, she was less than ten zhang from Du Youqian.
As the last word left her lips, she attacked without warning. Her entire body shot toward Du Youqian like a streak of light, two cold gleams flashing in her hands. She was actually initiating the most dangerous form of close-quarters Magical Combat.
The other two Cultivators also closed in from the left and right. The withered old man charged Du Youqian at the same time, while the powerfully built man—suspected to be Chen Hongbo, the founding lord of the Chen Kingdom—threw a Tier Four Treasure Small Pagoda from a distance and stealthily used a Divine Ability. He didn’t approach, creating a bit of an ironic contrast.
"Don’t be in such a hurry to join my Hundred Ghosts Banner, Sister. Let’s get intimate first." Du Youqian didn’t rush to use his trump cards either. He simply activated the Grand Array. Jinhuan flew out to block Ye Rui Master, while the repaired and barely usable Tier Four Small Seal expanded in the wind and slammed into the withered old man.
"The glimmer of a firefly," the withered old man sneered. He looked so frail a gust of wind could shatter his bones, yet his movements were incomparably ferocious. He charged forward and sent the Tier Four Treasure Small Seal flying with a single punch. "How dare you try to shine!"
Du Youqian naturally knew the man was powerful. His withered body actually concealed an astonishing amount of Life Force.
But Du Youqian had originally thought his strength would be slightly inferior to Ye Rui Master’s. Now, however, he knew he had to re-evaluate.
Facing the Jinhuan sword, Ye Rui Master didn’t launch a reckless offensive. Instead, she patiently maneuvered around it. After all, if her senior brother and Chen Hongbo could make progress on their end, her goal would be achieved all the same.
As she skillfully kept it at bay, she let out a coquettish laugh. "Good Little Brother, you can be proud that this Sister had to assemble such a deluxe lineup to deal with you."
Chen Hongbo’s Treasure, the Small Pagoda, was blocked by a small silver shield deployed by Du Youqian.
As for his Divine Ability, Du Youqian met it head-on with his own Copper Skin Iron Bones Divine Ability.
Fighting one against three, Du Youqian appeared to be holding his own, but in reality, he had already used numerous techniques in the first exchange. His consumption of energy was significant, and he didn’t even have a moment to reply to Ye Rui Master.
His three opponents, however, were relaxed and unhurried. The withered old man, in particular, wore a mocking smile as he closed to within three zhang of Du Youqian. He was about to use the most dangerous hand-to-hand combat techniques to restrict Du Youqian’s movements and slowly force him into a desperate situation.
In a flash of lightning, Du Youqian had already formulated a tactic.
It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but to break the stalemate, he had to do it!
His gaze locked onto the withered old man. Aside from reserving a minimal amount of attention to handle Ye Rui Master and Chen Hongbo, he focused the rest of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
The withered old man suddenly felt his skin crawl. He subconsciously wanted to stop in his tracks.
Although he saw no visible signs of danger, as a Nascent Soul Perfection Demon Cultivator who had lived for over a thousand years, he had seen plenty of experts fall to unexpected ploys. He had great faith in his own premonitions of crisis.
But it was too late.
In the instant he hesitated, something seemed to land on him.
Nothing tangible had touched him, yet he clearly felt as if a large hole had been torn in his body, and something was rapidly draining out from within him.
Two zhang away from Du Youqian, he stopped and looked down at his body.
There wasn’t a single scratch on him.
’What in the world happened?’
Then he saw his junior sister Ye Rui and Chen Hongbo staring at him with looks of absolute horror.
He heard that little thief Sui Xiao say coldly, "Don’t bother looking. You’re already dead."
’Am I already dead?’ This was the last thought he ever had.