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What’s she doing here? Su Yi drained his cup and set it down, a bit surprised.
The familiar silhouette scurrying down the alleyway was none other than Lan Suo.
Su Yi had a deep impression of the woman.
Her features resembled the work of a master sculptor; she was a natural beauty. Furthermore, she was the closed-door disciple of the Donghua Sword Sect’s high elder, the Cloudstone Venerate.
Back in the Great Zhou, Su Yi had once personally cured her of a devilworm parasite.
Furthermore, when he and Hua Xinfeng—or rather, Xia Qingyuan—visited the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, they saw Lan Suo and her master at the banquet at Celestial Waters Mountain Villa just outside the Dongfu Prefectural Capital.
There, a group of the Great Qin’s cultivators forged an alliance to venture into the Sea of Chaotic Spirits and take Su Yi down together. They invited Lan Suo and the Cloudstone Venerate to join them.
However, the Cloudstone Venerate refused and left, taking Lan Suo with him.
It was fair to say that Su Yi thought well of this master and apprentice duo.
“Hm?”
Before Su Yi could give the matter any further thought, he saw a group of cultivators dash down the same alleyway. It seemed they were following Lan Suo.
Su Yi rose to his feet. “Yuan Heng, let’s go.”



There was a vast, sprawling mountain range to the west of the Dongfu Prefectural Capital.
It was noon, right on the dot.
Lan Suo’s slender figure dashed through the mountainous wilderness, a look of deep worry on her beautiful face. She seemed a bit frantic.
“Miss Lan Suo, I said it already: so long as we’re willing to pursue you, there’s no way you can escape us.”
Suddenly, a gentle sigh rang out in the distance.
Lan Suo instantly stopped in her tracks and looked over.
A jade-robed young man stood beneath a towering distant tree. He had a thick belt, red lips, and pearly white teeth, and he was smiling at her.
The look on Lan Suo’s beautiful face changed dramatically. She turned and was just about to flee when two more figures appeared, one on each side of her.
The first was a tall, stalwart mountain of a man. His hair and beard were thick, and he was clad in beast skins, with a battleaxe on his back. Even just standing there, he seemed forceful and imposing.
“Miss, please stop. I’m not the delicate type, and if this comes to a fight, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you,” said the tall man in beast skins. He crossed his arms, and his gaze was cold and indifferent.
A fiery, charming woman stood on the other side. She held a silver dagger, and she cut a glamorous, striking figure.
“Miss, you ought to understand that we bear you no ill will. So long as you lead us to your master, the Cloudstone Venerate, we guarantee we won’t harm so much as a hair on your head,” the beautiful woman urged gently.
Lan Suo’s painted eyebrows knit together. She couldn’t help but turn to look into the distance, only to see a group of cultivators headed right toward them.
All possible escape routes had been sealed off!
Lan Suo’s spirits sank, and she was visibly despondent.
“Miss Lan Suo, I know you hope to attend the Cloud Terrace Assembly. You hope that the Wrath of Heaven Sect can give you justice,” the jade-robed young man beneath the giant tree said slowly. “But all I can say is, your plans are really quite juvenile.”
Lan Suo said coldly, “What do you mean, juvenile? Seems to me you’re just afraid! Otherwise, why would you try and stop me from going to Cloud Terrace Spirit Mountain?”
The jade-robed young man couldn’t help but laugh. “I called you juvenile, but you didn’t believe me, so I’ll be direct. You and your master might occupy a lofty position in the Donghua Sword Sect, but in our eyes, your entire sect is so paltry that it’s not even worth discussing.”
After a moment’s pause, he continued. “It’s true that the Donghua Sword Sect has already pledged itself to the Wrath of Heaven Sect’s cause, effectively giving it a powerful backer. But do you really think the Wrath of Heaven Sect will risk a falling out with our Five-Lightning Spirit Sect over your master?”
Lan Suo’s expression shifted erratically.
The jade-robed young man said pityingly, “Besides, the Wrath of Heaven Sect has called for the Cloud Terrace Assembly to quell unrest and restore peace to the world. Given the situation, how could they possibly disregard the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect to save your master? He’s just one person.”
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Lan Suo gnashed her teeth. “You cannot represent the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect.”
The charming Rou Yun and the distant man in beast skins couldn’t help but laugh as if they’d just heard some kind of joke.
“Miss, the man standing before you is the closed-door disciple of the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect’s grand elder. His name is Yuan Shuo, and he’s the most influential member of our sect’s younger generation,” said Rou Yun calmly. “He might not be able to speak on behalf of the entire sect, but he can most certainly influence the higher-ups’ attitudes.”
She then broke into a meaningful smile. “Besides, do you really think the sect would send this many people to capture your master without the higher-ups’ approval?”
The nearby man in beast skins said coolly, “Given the situation, even if you request aid at the Cloud Terrace Assembly, there’s no way the Wrath of Heaven Sect will intervene on your behalf!”
Lan Suo’s expression filled with uncertainty; it was obvious that their words unsettled her.
“Enough. I, Yuan Shuo, prefer to try diplomacy before resorting to war. It’s time for you to make a choice. If you cooperate, there will naturally be no need for you to suffer,” said the jade-robed Yan Shuo. He stroked his jaw and said solemnly, “But if you don’t cooperate, I’m afraid we’ll have to mistreat you.”
As soon as he said this, the atmosphere changed, becoming stifled and oppressive.
Lan Suo bit down on her lip and shook her head. “Don’t even dream of getting me to cooperate. Even if I die, there’s no way I’ll betray my master!”
Her gaze and tone were both utterly determined.
“Miss, why do you insist on doing this the hard way? If we were demonic cultivators, we wouldn’t waste all this time talking. We would have simply captured you by now, right?” Rou Yun sighed.
The jade-robed young man’s smile faded. “Hong He, please invite Miss Lan Suo to come with us.”
The tall man in beast skins nodded, and his mountainous figure strode toward Lan Suo.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With each step he took, the ground trembled, and the nearby trees, grasses, and rocks shattered into powder.
His powerful divine sense enveloped Lan Suo’s entire body.
That fierce, imposing momentum alone left her feeling suffocated, and her entire body stiffened. She sensed an enormous threat.
If I die, I die. There’s no way I’ll let these people find my master! Lan Suo sighed internally, gnashed her teeth, and prepared to fight to the death.
But it was then that a calm voice suddenly rang out.
“What happened to your master? And why have you been implicated too? Why are these people chasing you?”
The voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed clearly throughout the air.
Yuan Shuo’s eyebrows knit together.
Rou Yun was visibly on guard, while the tall man in beast skins, Hong He, tensed up.
He sensed a potentially lethal threat, and goosebumps rose on his skin. He was about to take another step, but he subconsciously lowered his foot and stood in place.
His expression was as grave as could be, and a chill coursed down his spine.
Lan Suo had been right on the verge of giving into despair, and she was prepared to fight to death. However, when she heard that voice, she couldn’t help but feel dazed, and she subconsciously turned toward the source of the sound.
Two figures were walking toward them.
The leader was a youth in blue robes. His hands were behind his back, and he was calm and detached. It almost seemed as if he were out for a stroll.
A layer of gentle sunlight gave him an additional extraordinary, transcendent air.
A grave-looking young man in gray followed shortly after.
“Bro-Brother Su?” Lan Suo’s beautiful eyes widened in apparent disbelief.
The new arrivals were none other than Su Yi and Yuan Heng.
After leaving the restaurant in the Donghua Prefectural Capital, they tailed the Five-Lightning Spirit Sect cultivators all the way here.
“Long time no see.” Su Yi smiled and walked confidently up to Lan Suo, completely ignoring everyone else present.
“Stop right there!”
One of the cultivators surrounding Lan Suo, an elderly man in yellow, said gravely, “Friend, our Five-Lightning Spirit Sect has business here. I urge you not to interfere, or else
”
“Shut up!” Yuan Heng’s eyes flashed like lightning, and he looked over coldly.
Boom!
He suddenly unleashed an imposing aura, sending the yellow-robed elder staggering back. He thudded to the ground, and his expression changed dramatically.
His companions were surprised and angry, and they were just about to attack when Yuan Shuo intervened. “Back down. You’re not their opponents.”
The others’ expressions shifted, but in the end, they nonetheless silently retreated.
It was as if Su Yi didn’t even hear this. His steps never so much as paused; it was as if those cultivators weren’t even there.
When he reached Lan Suo and saw that she still looked dazed, he couldn’t help but say, “Is my arrival really that astonishing?”
Lan Suo reacted as if awakening from a dream. She exclaimed, “I
 I just wouldn’t have thought
.”
She’d been in an inescapable predicament, and she’d already prepared herself to face death. Who’d have thought an old ally would appear out of nowhere?
Who could possibly process such a thing all at once?
“Actually, I’ve been following you since I saw you in the Dongfu Prefectural Capital. It’s just that I didn’t understand the situation, so I was observing in silence,” Su Yi explained softly.
Lan Suo looked enlightened, but then, she nervously swept her gaze around the surrounding area. “Brother Su, they
”
“With me here, there’s no need to be nervous,” said Su Yi. He gently patted her on the shoulder. “Just tell me what happened to your master. As for those people? If they dare act up, I’ll just kill them.”
Lan Suo had obviously been terrified just now. Her heart was in chaos and she couldn’t calm down.
Now, after hearing Su Yi’s assurances, she felt inexplicably calm and clear-headed.
She was just about to explain the situation when the nearby Rou Yun said in displeasure, “Friend, don’t you think you’re being a bit overly arrogant?”
Su Yi raised his hand and pressed downward.
It was just a light, airy palm strike. It looked perfectly ordinary, but before Rou Yun knew what hit her, her knees thudded to the ground, leaving indents in the dirt.
Her expression changed dramatically, and she attempted to struggle.
However, to her alarm and terror, despite her Gathering Stars Realm cultivation, she couldn’t so much as budge!
“So strong!” Yuan Shuo’s pupils constricted.
The tall man in beast skins gasped, and his heart shook.
The other Five-Lightning Spirit Sect cultivators were all dumbstruck and tongue-tied.
They were all well aware of the beautiful Rou Yun’s strength. They couldn’t even imagine how she could possibly lose this quickly.
She couldn’t even take a single attack!
Even Lan Suo was thoroughly astonished.
After a moment’s daze, she realized the weight of Su Yi’s words: “With me here, there’s no need to be nervous.”