Chapter 78: High-End Hunters Often Appear as Prey
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lu Ming knew that Lu Yuan was currently in the palace and was not in contact with the happenings in the headquarters, so it was absolutely impossible for him to appear in the Devil Slayers Division.
Nevertheless, Liu Ming and the others could not help but be so nervous that their foreheads were sweating.
After all, as cultivators, no one knew better than them the significance of being a Foundation Establishment cultivator from a celestial sect.
In the eyes of ordinary people, practitioners were extraordinary people who mastered miraculous techniques.
However, only they themselves knew that in the eyes of those who cultivated celestial cultivation, unaffiliated cultivators like them were insignificant.
At the same cultivation level, the disciples of the celestial sects not only had more complete orthodoxies, but they also had more powerful divine abilities.
Therefore, it was not a problem for a celestial sect disciple to defeat three or four unaffiliated cultivators at the same cultivation level.
…..
As cultivators of the celestial sects, other than having powerful cultivation bases and many techniques, they were also very protective of their residences.
Strictly speaking, this courtyard was just Lu Yuan’s foothold in the mortal world.
However, it was possible that he had arranged some special setups in this courtyard.
It was precisely because of this that Liu Ming had specially arranged for two array masters for his group.
Their goal was simple. They needed to kidnap Xu Wan’er and retrieve the Jile Buddha Child statue without alerting the people in headquarters.
In order to complete this mission, they had already made sufficient preparations.
Just as they arrived at Lu Yuan’s courtyard and were preparing to observe for a while, they were surprised to find that there were no patrols around.
Although they didn’t understand why this was the case, it was convenient for their plan.
“Old Wu, how’s your preparation for the array coming along?”
An old man who had been fiddling with the ground for a long time raised his head.
He grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and said confidently, “Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything.”
“With the magic instrument given by His Majesty, I’m confident that I can completely cover up all movements, even that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. You can go in without worry.”
Hearing this, the remaining four people nodded.
After taking a deep breath, they walked into the ordinary courtyard in front of them.
Just as they stepped through the entrance, an illusory light silently enveloped the entire courtyard, and even separated it from the other houses.
The source of the light was the compass in Practitioner Wu’s hand.
It was obvious that this compass was a magic instrument specially used to set up array formations.
It was no wonder that he, a Level 8 Qi Cultivation cultivator, had the confidence to say that he could conceal the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The moment they entered the courtyard, Lu Yuan’s clone sensed their arrival.
The clone disguised as Xu Wan’er slowly opened his eyes and sat up.
He analyzed, “One Foundation Establishment cultivator, three Level 7 and 8 Qi
Cultivation cultivators, and an array master. It seems that they came prepared.”
“From their auras, these people don’t seem to have traces of devilish cultivation techniques. They are most likely proper unaffiliated cultivators of the Great Xia Kingdom.”
“If these guys had the aura of the devilish way on them, it would have been impossible for them to enter the headquarters.”
Lu Yuan got up and subconsciously combed his hair behind his ears.
His soft black hair flowed down his back and draped naturally on his back.
It was just a normal action, but it gave off an indescribable charm.
Lu Yuan sensed that the few of them were carefully exploring the house. He muttered to himself, “I should give these guys some hardships. Otherwise, if everything goes too smoothly, they might get suspicious. However, I don’t want them to suffer too much. If they can’t complete the mission, my arrangements will have been in vain.”
“Fortunately, I was prepared and shut down the defensive array in the courtyard in advance. I even withdrew the green flame mines and puppets. Otherwise, these strays wouldn’t have made it past the courtyard alive, let alone reach the main house.”
After confirming that the arrays he left in the courtyard would not cause these people to fail, he started to think about the persona that he was going to play.
Should he play the role of a damsel in distress screaming “Stay away from me!”?
Or should he play the role of a righteous woman who would threaten suicide if they approached her?
Forget it, these were all classic tropes from Japanese movies. These personas were too troublesome to play.
He’d better play the role of a meek woman who was woken up by a thief in her sleep.
It was late at night, and there were five strangers and a sleeping woman.
He had decided! This was the persona that he was going to play!
After making up his mind, Lu Yuan lay on Xu Wan’er’s bed and pretended to sleep.
Just as Lu Yuan used his spiritual sense to observe Liu Ming and the others, they finally encountered their first problem.
Boom!
With an explosion, a practitioner stepped on a green flame pill.
Terrifying green flames erupted in an instant, setting the practitioner aflame.
Be careful!
Liu Ming reacted quickly and immediately cast a divine ability to extinguish the green flames on the fellow’s body in the shortest time possible.
Thankfully, the power of these green flames was not strong. Their power was around Level 5 of the Qi Cultivation stage and no one was controlling them.
Otherwise, this practitioner would not have escaped death with just burns.
He might have been roasted to perfection on the spot.
Even so, the sudden appearance of the green flames still frightened the practitioner.
Looking at the empty courtyard in front of him, he did not dare to take another step forward.
When the other practitioners saw this, their expressions turned ugly.
This was because apart from Liu Ming, who had Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, the rest were only at the Qi Cultivation Stage.
The green flames were not a threat to Liu Ming, but they were to the others.
Liu Ming looked at the other practitioners who did not dare to move forward and said in a low voice, “Everyone, get moving. Old Wu has specially used a magic array to cut off the connection between the main house and the courtyard, so the sound will not spread into the house. However, the flames here might have startled the target.”
“If we act fast to catch her, we’ll all die here!”
Hearing this, everyone came back to their senses.
Then, they took a deep breath and used all kinds of defensive methods as they advanced.
Lu Yuan had already removed most of the green flame pills in advance. He only left behind some less powerful traps.
Therefore, after a series of explosions, the practitioners managed to safely reach the main house.
Just as they arrived at the main house, a new threat appeared.
A few spider puppets crawling on the ceiling suddenly attacked them.
Without exception, these spider puppets were all around Level 5 of the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Fortunately, although the green flames spat out by these spider puppets were troublesome, they were just a group of inanimate objects.
With the combined efforts of the practitioners, they quickly dealt with these puppets.
By the time everything returned to normal, Liu Ming and the others were already in a sorry state.
Among them, Liu Ming was still in good condition. There were no obvious injuries on his body.
However, the rest were in a miserable state. Not only were they covered in dust, but some of them even had serious burns on their bodies.
Nevertheless, they still made it to the main house alive.
At this moment, a practitioner lamented with lingering fear, “Is this the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator from a celestial sect? Even when the person isn’t here, his traps and puppets alone are enough to cause us so much trouble.”
Another practitioner nodded in agreement and said, “We are still too inexperienced. The methods of such a cultivator are indeed not something we can compare to. I can’t imagine how powerful that director is.”
“Alright, let’s not talk too much. The mission is more important.”
Following that, the few of them began to explore the surrounding rooms according to the information they obtained.
Lu Yuan overheard their conversation.
He was speechless when he heard them say that the trap he had arranged was powerful.
…..
The trap he set up had already lost 90% of its power.
Even with such simple traps, they were reduced to such a sorry state.
He really didn’t know if they were too weak or if he was too strong.
Whatever. As long as they could come in safely, everything was good.
The actors were already in place, and it was time for him, the main lead, to appear.
He was very curious. After these guys took him away, where would they go?
High-end hunters often appeared as prey.
Were they hunters or prey?
Lu Yuan laughed sinisterly..