Chapter 254
A series of bone crunching and gurgles began as soon as the mantra ended . Li Yundong's mind instantly conjured up images of an old man transforming into a hulking figure over two meters tall .
The Heavenly Marshal of the North .
That's Zhu Bajie . . .
Great . Now he had to find a way to sneak past a demigod .
Li Yundong's Eryue buzzed again . He focused harder and heard Lin Youfa panting for breath . Seconds later, those pants turned into a series of low chuckles . Another few seconds later, the sound of feet shuffling could be heard over those chuckles .
"What do we do now, shījiě? Are we gonna fight him?" whispered a man from the patrol unit . "It's your call . "
Li Yundong parted the twigs in front of his face and tried to peek through the thick foliage . He saw the woman first . Two men flanked the woman on both sides while another man stood somewhere behind the woman, who was clearly the leader of the squad .
A four-man squad? Or are there more of them?
Li Yundong couldn't see Lin Youfa from his position on the tree . Not that he had to see Lin Youfa to have a rough idea of where the man was: Lin Youfa was most likely standing somewhere along the woman's line of sight .
Li Yundong scanned the area surrounding the woman, paying attention to the direction that the woman was facing . Alas, much of his view was obscured by the thick canopy of foliage hanging above the area .
He had to find a new spot to hide, at least one that would give him a good view of the path leading up the trail .
"What's the matter, you cowards?" Lin Youfa taunted as Li Yundong began searching for a new hiding place . "Are you frightened of me?" There was a laugh . "Come on, then! Let's end this!"
Li Yundong half-expected the fighting to begin right then, but surprisingly, it didn't .
"Shījiě . . . "
"The art of Shenda, I see," said the woman . A hint of wariness colored her tone . "So you're from the Divine Fist School . . . "
"Oh? You've heard of my school?" Lin Youfa cackled . "You? Someone from the Great Six? What a surprise!"
Li Yundong spotted another tree—a shorter one—nearby . However, just when he was about to start moving, he hesitated . He lowered his gaze to the ground and scanned the area once again .
He had to be extremely careful here, since Tall Dude and Short Dude were nowhere in sight .
Those two must still be hiding somewhere in the area .
Li Yundong turned his head and glanced at his backpack .
Hey buddy, Li Yundong said through the telepathic connection he shared with Fan of Seven Treasures . No matter what happens later, don't show yourself, okay? I can handle this .
His backpack vibrated a second later .
Good . It was best if he kept the Fan of Seven Treasures hidden unless he had no choice .
"The Divine Fist School is not part of the Great Six's assault force," said the woman, her voice eerily calm . "Leave . This is your final warning . "
Li Yundong got out of his hiding place and floated quietly towards the other tree . He heard another noise: the popping of joints and the cracking of knuckles .
"Hah! Are you all here to fight?" said Lin Youfa . "Or are you just going to keep yapping?"
Li Yundong suppressed a snort . Couldn't the guy see that they were just stalling to let the effects of Shenda wear off? Lin Youfa . What a fool .
Li Yundong made it to the tree without being discovered .
He got quickly got settled on a thick branch and returned to watching the scene . Indeed, he had picked the right hiding place this time . He could see the whole area now, and he quickly noted that he'd been right in his guess about Lin Youfa's position .
Lin Youfa's Hulk-like figure stood directly in the woman's line of sight .
There was loud roar .
Lin Youfa suddenly barreled towards the woman .
ZING!
Swords were drawn in an instant . The woman and her three subordinates leaped out of Lin Youfa's way . Li Yundong found himself watching Lin Youfa's movements closely, looking for potential weaknesses that he could exploit just in case he had no choice but to confront Lin Youfa later .
It didn't take long for Li Yundong to find one . Although Shenda had given Lin Youfa a massive boost in raw strength, it also made his movements slower . A agile fighter could easily avoid those heavy blows and wait around until Lin Youfa could no longer maintain Shenda's effect .
A new voice sounded amidst the scuffle .
"Fear not, my fellow comrades from the Jinshan Sect, for I, a member of the Quanzhen Dragon Sect, have come to your aid!"
Li Yundong glanced down and saw Short Dude stepping out from behind a bush . The guy was now wielding a fly-whisk in his hand . Li Yundong found himself genuinely baffled as to how that little thing could be used as a weapon .
Another figure emerged from behind the same bush .
"So have I, a member of the Donghua Sect!" said Tall Dude as he drew his long sword from its scabbard .
Li Yundong could see the confidence returning to the woman's body language at the arrival of her allies .
"Look who's here! Our allies from the Great Six!" said the woman smugly . "Come join us, my friends!" The woman looked towards Lin Youfa . "Together, we shall get rid of this foul creature!"
The rest of the patrol squad cheered .
"Very well!" Tall Dude yelled .
A second later, Short Dude and Tall Dude leaped forward and landed somewhere behind Lin Youfa . Meanwhile, the rest of the patrol squad began to spread out their formation .
In a matter of seconds, Lin Youfa was surrounded by six opponents .
Li Yundong turned away from the scene and looked towards the open trail . He didn't give a flying damn about the fight . He just had to get past these people and be on his way .
Unfortunately, there was no clear path leading from his hiding place to the trail . He was stuck on this tree for now .
Lin Youfa's roaring laughter drifted from below . Li Yundong looked towards the combatants again . The woman and her five comrades were inching slowly towards Lin Youfa, who was still laughing his head off . Despite their number's advantage (and their relentless yapping about how insignificant the Divine Fist School was), the members of the patrol unit seemed a little frightened of Lin Youfa .
All of a sudden, Lin Youfa stopped laughing and dropped into a low crouch .
His six opponents froze instantly .
"There are six of you, yet you're all acting like a bunch of scaredy-cats!" Lin Youfa released a mocking laugh . "Cowards! You're all just cowards!" Lin Youfa swung his right arm in a full circle .
His six opponents leaped away in fright .
Li Yundong took a deep breath and analyzed his current situation . The members of the patrol squad were clearly fighting smart—they kept their distance instead of charging straight in .
At this rate, this might turn into a long, drawn-out battle, and Li Yundong didn't have time to wait around .
No . Waiting for the battle to end was definitely a no go .
In that case, he was left with two options: 1) move in and take them all out himself; 2) sneak away when everyone was too distracted by the battle .
The first option was definitely the most practical . It also jibed with Zi Yuan's advice to take out as many enemies as he could . The only problem with that was that he hadn't made it into the Fox Zen School yet .
Those six Cultivators were all agents of the Great Six . It was true that Tall Dude and Short Dude didn't recognize him, but what if one of the members of the patrol squad did? What if one of them sent a signal to their superiors the moment he attacked? The Great Six would then be aware of his presence; he would lose the element of surprise .
Grunts and shouts rang out below as the battle continued . The combatants were too dispersed, so Li Yundong couldn't find clear path to move towards the trail . The tree shook as Lin Youfa's fist slammed into the ground . One of the woman's subordinate was sent flying . The man crashed into the ground and then rolled into a crouch .
"Is that all you've got?" Lin Youfa taunted . "Since when did the Great Six allow such weaklings to join their ranks?"
"Watch your mouth!" the woman snarled and sprang forward, thrusting her sword . "Who are you calling weak?!"
The sword pierced through Lin Youfa's right forearm instead of his throat—no doubt the thrust's intended target .
The woman gasped the hilt and tried to yank the sword back, but for some reason, the sword remained stuck inside Lin Youfa's forearm .
"Hyah!!" Lin Youfa's left fist flew towards the woman's face .
The woman screamed and leaped backwards, abandoning her sword altogether .
SWISH!
Short Dude moved in swiftly with his fly-whisk, aiming for Lin Youfa's lower torso .
"Pathetic!" Lin Youfa send Short Dude away with a powerful roundhouse kick . Short Dude crashed into the floor and rolled around a few times .
Tall Dude leaped into the air, swinging his long sword downwards . Lin Youfa pulled the woman's sword from his forearm and swung it upwards to meet the blow . An ear-piercing ring sounded when the two swords clashed . Li Yundong winced and had to readjust his Eryue lest his eardrums start to bleed .
Tall Dude was flung away after the clash and ended up crashing into a tree trunk . The other three men from the patrol squad started backing away in fear .
Lin Youfa raised the woman sword and studied it for a moment . "What a low-grade sword," he said in a sneering tone . "Not even worth using . "
He snapped the blade in half and tossed the pieces aside .
The woman shrieked . "My sword! How dare you!"
The woman charged straight at Lin Youfa .
Li Yundong knew right then that she was about to meet her end .
Oh, goddamn . . .
Li Yundong winced when Lin Youfa's palm slammed onto the woman's skull . The blow packed so much strength that it nearly bashed the woman's head straight into her thoracic cavity .
The woman's lifeless body swayed to the side before crumpling to the ground, her "head" lolling about as though it was attached to her shoulders by a mere thread .
"No!!!!!"
"Shījiě!!!"
The three men jumped on Lin Youfa simultaneously . Blood spurted out when three long swords lodged themselves into Lin Youfa's back . Lin Youfa straightened himself and turned around .
"You pests!"
SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!
The three men fell to the ground, their chests completely smashed in .
SWISH!
Short Dude's fly-whisk found its target on Lin Youfa's navel .
Lin Youfa's grunt of pain turned into an angry snarl . "You fools don't give up, do you!" Lin Youfa's monstrously large hand clamped around Short Dude's upper torso .
"Argh!!!" Short Dude screamed as Lin Youfa hoisted him upwards .
"Weakling," Lin Youfa sneered, the muscles of his forearms bulging as he tried to crushed Short Dude's body with his bare hand .
Short Dude screamed and kicked his legs to no avail .
Li Yundong looked past Lin Youfa's shoulders . There was no way he could make it to the trail without breaking his cover . He could try flying over these idiots, but he didn't know how high he could fly without setting off those traps that Zi Yuan had mentioned in her message .
Crap .
"Let him go!" Tall Dude was on his feet again . "He's a member of the Quanzhen Dragon Sect . You wouldn't dare kill him . "
"I wouldn't dare?" Lin Youfa sneered . "Look around you . I just killed four members of the Jinshan Sect . You think I'm afraid of the Quanzhen Dragon Sect? Or your petty little Donghua Sect?" An eerie smirk formed on Lin Youfa's face . "Here . Just to prove my point . . . "
"N- N- No . . . " Short Dude whimpered when two of Lin Youfa's thick fingers rose to his head .
Li Yundong wouldn't blame the guy for being scared shitless seeing as the tips of those fingers were as large as a human fist .
Lin Youfa pinched his fingers together, and Short Dude's head burst apart like a watermelon .
Li Yundong felt like throwing up .
This goddamn bastard . . .
There was a soft clang .
Tall Dude's sword had slipped out of his shaking fingers .
A second later, Tall Dude turned tail and fled downhill .
***
The battle had ended sooner than Li Yundong expected . Now, Lin Youfa was the only one left standing amidst a litter of dead bodies . Li Yundong stayed hidden in the tree, watching Lin Youfa from above . He smirked . If anything, this outcome only made things easier for him . The conversation between Lin Youfa and the dead woman confirmed that Lin Youfa knew the way to the vault . All Li Yundong had to do now was to let Lin Youfa lead him there . Granted, he didn't know what would happen once he got to the vault . He may or may not have to engage in a battle with Lin Youfa, but that wasn't relevant to his current situation . Right now, his priority was to get to the vault and find that secret passage .
"Weaklings," Lin Youfa mumbled, tossing Short Dude's headless body aside .
Li Yundong held his breath and waited for Lin Youfa to make his next move . And when he did seconds later, Li Yundong's blood ran cold .
"Stop hiding and come out now," Lin Youfa said loudly .
Li Yundong froze . The bastard must have felt his Qi earlier . Damn .
"I don't know who you are," Lin Youfa continued, "but I know you're a lot stronger than those pathetic wimps just now . " There was a brief pause . "Show yourself . "
Li Yundong sighed inwardly . He would have to deal with Lin Youfa later anyway, so he might as well do it now .
Li Yundong secured his backpack around his shoulders and jumped down from branch .
"L- Li Zhenren?"
Yeah, yeah, yeah . Surprise, surprise . Now can we get a move on? I've got a girlfriend to save, thank you very much .
Li Yundong strode over towards Lin Youfa's hulking figure while the latter stared at him in shock .
"What are you doing here, Li Zhenren?"
Li Yundong stopped a good ten feet away from the man and gave him a cold look . "My reason for being here is none of your business . "
Lin Youfa's eyes flashed in anger . "You—"
All of a sudden, Lin Youfa's face twisted into an odd angle . Then, Lin Youfa's body began shrinking until it was back to the size of an old man . The whole process took about a minute .
So his Shenda has reached its limit . . .
Roughly fifteen minutes had passed since the battle began . Li Yundong filed that information away for future use .
Lin Youfa bent over and grasped his knees, panting and heaving .
"You know the way to the vault," Li Yundong said coldly . "Take me there . "
Lin Youfa straightened himself and pulled out the needle from his Baihui . "Heh . You ought to learn some manners, kid . " Lin Youfa reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a tiny vial .
"I don't see the point of being nice to someone who tried to kill me twice . " Li Yundong paused to glare at the old man . "Stop dallying and take me to the vault . "
Lin Youfa drained the contents of the vial in a single gulp and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand .
"Ugh . Much better . . . " Lin Youfa groaned and straightened himself .
Li Yundong regarded the man and tried hard not to let his surprise show . The old man's wounds were rapidly closing up .
Had to be some kind of healing potion inside that vial .
"The vault, you say?" Lin Youfa cracked his neck, then smirked . "You must be after the Fox Zen School's treasure as well . "
Li Yundong resisted a snort .
Unlike you, I'm actually here for honorable reasons . . .
"I don't care what you think," Li Yundong said coldly, then pointed a finger at the old man's face . "Lead me to the vault . Now . "
Lin Youfa laughed snidely . "Who are you to be giving me orders, kid?" Lin Youfa stopped laughing and shot him a slighting look . "Last I checked, you were struggling to hold your own against me . "
"You're mistaken if you think I'm still the same as I was a few months ago . " Li Yundong paused and sent a glacial look Lin Youfa's way . Satisfaction coursed through him when Lin Youfa's smirk faltered . "Right now, you're no match for me . " Li Yundong raised a brow . "With or without Shenda . "
Lin Youfa ended their staring match with a chuckle . "I don't buy it . " Lin Youfa snorted . "Nobody can improve that much in just a few months . "
"Believe whatever you want . " Li Yundong smiled humorlessly . "Now let's get going . "
Lin Youfa didn't move .
Annoyance flared inside Li Yundong . "What's your problem now?" He raised a challenging brow . "Need another dose of your potion?"
"Why should I help you?" Lin Youfa smirked . "What's in it for me?"
Li Yundong took a step closer . "I don't recall giving you a choice . "
All of a sudden, the old man started laughing .
Li Yundong shook his head slightly . He'd had about enough of this .
I don't have time for this bullshit .
Lin Youfa stopped laughing right then . "You're all talk kid—"
Lin Youfa's words stilled the moment Li Yundong unleashed the power of Qi Kinesis on him . Within a split second, Li Yundong's Zhenqi engulfed Lin Youfa's body like a thick bubble .
Lin Youfa's eyes went round .
Ten feet away, Li Yundong stood completely still as he watched Lin Youfa's body float upwards . Li Yundong willed his bubble-like Zhenqi to apply an inward pressure onto Lin Youfa .
Lin Youfa gasped loudly . "W- What the hell d- did you do—"
"I can crush every single bone in your body from where I'm standing, and I won't even break a sweat . " Li Yundong increased the pressure of his Zhenqi to prove his point . "We're on totally different levels now, you understand?"
Lin Youfa gurgled a few times . Li Yundong could see the veins popping out on the man's forehead .
"Now you listen to me well, old man," Li Yundong growled while maintaining his death glare on Lin Youfa's purplish face . "I'm in a bit of a hurry here, if you haven't already noticed . I have a very important mission to accomplish, you see . And in order to do that, I have to get into the Fox Zen School . So here's what's gonna happen . " Li Yundong took a step closer . "You're gonna lead me to the vault . And then when we get there, you're gonna tell me where to find the secret passage . Is that clear?"
Lin Youfa nodded shakily .
"Good . " Li Yundong glared at Lin Youfa for a few moments . "And if I find out that you're jerking me around and wasting my time?" Li Yundong increased the pressure of his Zhenqi . "I'll do the same thing you did to that man's head . " Li Yundong jerked his chin towards Short Dude's corpse . "Is that clear?"
Lin Youfa nodded, and Li Yundong withdrew his Zhenqi to his Vital Orb .
Lin Youfa dropped to the floor, coughing and wheezing .
"Get up," Li Yundong said harshly . "Let's get moving . "
Lin Youfa stood up on shaky feet and angled his body towards the path .
After taking several steps, the old man paused and turned around to face him .
"Aren't you coming?" Lin Youfa gave him a quizzical look . "Thought you said you're in a hurry . "
"You move first, since you'll be walking in front," Li Yundong snapped . Then, he pointed a finger at Lin Youfa . "I don't want you pulling any funny tricks behind my back . "
Lin Youfa grunted in response and started walking up the trail again . Li Yundong followed quietly behind him . After about a minute or so, Lin Youfa stopped walking again and turned his head around .
"How do I know you're not trying any funny tricks behind my back?" Lin Youfa asked, his eyes narrowing .
Li Yundong stared at the old man coldly .
"If I really wanted it, you'd be dead already . " Li Yundong paused pointedly . "And it won't matter where you are . "