Chapter 82: Ambushed! Trapped in a Dark Formation
“No one?” Looking at the empty bonfire, Lin Qi’an pondered.
According to the radar map in his mind, there should have been four people here, hiding.
‘Oh well, I can’t be bothered with them.’
“Get down.” Lin Qi’an dismounted and he turned to see the little princess looking at him wistfully, with a hint of pitifulness.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot.” He helped her down from the horse, taking just a few steps when—
Boom!
The ground suddenly erupted! Countless clods of earth and sand exploded. Mixed within were dozens of black talismans. The explosion turned into a dense black smoke!
Simultaneously, at the four corners, four men in black robes sprang up from the ground. A large, dark formation quickly formed in mid-air, enveloping Lin Qi’an and Zhao Qingmeng.
“Hahahaha! The Beiyang prince and the Tai’an princess, I can’t believe you fell into our hands so easily!”
Of course, Lin Qi’an and Zhao Qingmeng were unharmed because the black smoke wasn’t lethal; it was a slow-acting poison.
“Cough, cough…” The little princess coughed a few times, but golden light already shimmered around her; her protective sacred artifact had activated.
As for Lin Qi’an, he looked at the four black-robed men with interest, “You guys are from the Demon Sect?”
“Lin Qi’an! You might not know it yet, but you’re doomed. This is the Four Netherworld Formation, built with our combined power. No aura can escape, and to others, this place will appear as utter darkness.”
“You’ve already entered a lightless prison. Soon, you’ll inhale this black smoke, your spiritual apertures will lock, and you’ll become a cripple!”
“Don’t think about breaking the formation, heir. You’ve been traveling and fighting all day; surely your strength is nearly spent!”
“And we four are all at our peak! I didn’t expect this mission to be so easy, catching two big fish at once.”
Lin Qi’an frowned. “So, we’re trapped in here to die?”
“That’s right. But only you will die; we wouldn’t dare kill the princess, she needs to be taken back. This princess is quite charming; maybe we should savor her first?”
Lin Qi’an yawned, “Fine, you all take your time; I’ll get some sleep first.”
With a thought, the Lotus Realm opened, drawing the two of them inside.
Seeing this, the four were dumbfounded.
“What just happened? Where did they go? Wait, could it be a space-breaking ability? Impossible!”
“Then where did they go?”
“I know, the kid must have a spatial treasure! Kill him, and it will be ours…”
“Stay strong, keep the formation up. He can’t stay hidden forever!”
———
【Lotus Realm】
A Paradise Away from the World.
After modifications by a top-tier carpenter, the inside now had a proper courtyard and house, with a plaque reading “Xue’an Courtyard.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine…”
The two were safe and sound. Inside the Lotus Realm, they were absolutely safe, as the lotus body would disappear, returning to Lin Qi’an’s hand.
“Why do they want to capture me?” Zhao Qingmeng couldn’t understand.
‘Could they know about my constitution? Impossible, everyone who knew was silenced by my father.’
“Don’t overthink it, just rest for now.” Lin Qi’an lay comfortably in the courtyard chair. ‘Once rested, I’ll deal with them slowly.’
As for Zhao Qingmeng, she went inside the house, the light on, doing who knows what.
Two hours later.
“Brother Lin?” Hearing Zhao Qingmeng call, Lin Qi’an opened his eyes and saw her holding a stack of ink-scented papers.
“What’s up? Can’t sleep?”
“This is for you!” Zhao Qingmeng shoved the papers at him, and Lin Qi’an was taken aback.
Pages filled with dense small writing, freshly penned, the ink not yet dry.
It had a name.
【Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies】
“This is…”
“A top-tier Heaven Rank Technique, I’ve transcribed it for you!” Zhao Qingmeng felt guilty.
Lin Qi’an not only brought her to the Great Hunt but protected her throughout, and now she had become a burden.
The group’s goal was to capture her and kill Lin Qi’an in the process! She wanted to repay him with something but had nothing on her. Except for the techniques and divine abilities from her memory.
Lin Qi’an was about to ask why she was giving this to him, but hearing her inner thoughts, he didn’t need to.
“Since I’ve promised to protect you, it’s my duty; no need to thank me…”
“And this too, for you!” Zhao Qingmeng produced more pages, also filled with handwritten script.
【Six Paths Reincarnation Fist】
‘Wait, isn’t this the secret of the Six Paths Divine Palace… Only the sect leader’s personal disciples can learn this divine ability, yet she has it!’
“Cough, cough… This gift is a bit too precious.
“And these, all Ninth-Grade Divine Pill recipes. As far as I know, the Pill Emperor of Beiyang doesn’t even know these formulas!”
Zhao Qingmeng, full of pride, handed over a stack of papers.
Ninth-Grade Divine Pill recipes… One would drive all alchemists in the Canglan Dao Domain mad! Even the Pill Emperor would be thrilled, unable to sleep for three days and nights.
‘Is it really appropriate to give me so much at once?’ Lin Qi’an felt a bit touched.
Though Zhao Qingmeng had many schemes and initially harbored ill intentions. Once she genuinely cared, she was like an innocent little girl, sharing all her treasured toys with you!
“I’ll accept them all then…” Lin Qi’an stored them in his ring, stretched lazily, and stood up. “But I can’t take these for nothing, so I’ll go deal with those outside, then you can come out?”
“Okay, but be careful!”
‘Even if you die, it should be by my hand, hmph, don’t let anyone else kill you’
“Don’t worry, they can’t harm me.”
“Wait!” Zhao Qingmeng suddenly removed the beautiful golden bell from her wrist.
“You take this too. If there’s danger, it can protect you.”
‘This is crazy… This is your protective sacred artifact, the Holy Yuan Golden Bell, personally crafted by Emperor Tai’an!’