One had to admit, Fang Ping’s timing was excellent.
“Eh, isn’t this…”
Ming Yulou first found Fang Ping’s voice familiar. After a brief scrutiny, he saw through the disguise, his face immediately lighting up with joy.
He had previously tried one scheme after another to force this person to submit, all to no avail. He never expected to run into him right outside the sect gates and was about to call out to him on the spot.
But Ming Yulou reacted quickly. The words were at the tip of his tongue when he realized the setting was inappropriate, decisively shutting his mouth again.
There were no ordinary mortals in Xunxian Town. Everyone was either part of a cultivation faction running various businesses or inextricably connected to the Luoyang Sect—such as the clan members of inner sect disciples.
With so many prying eyes around, even if he stopped Fang Ping, it would be inconvenient to make a move.
Instead, once they left the town, he could teach that brat surnamed Fang a proper lesson and force him to hand over the Spirit Stones he owed!
Ming Yulou’s cultivation aptitude was mediocre. Without sufficient Spirit Stones and cultivation resources, it would be difficult for him to ever become an inner sect disciple, let alone reach Foundation Establishment someday.
In order to make the leap from the outer sect to the inner sect, he would stop at nothing, even if it meant using underhanded means!
As for Lu Shan not being by his side, Ming Yulou was not worried about taking down the other party alone.
In his view, Fang Ping was still just a second-level Qi Condensation cultivator, while he himself had stepped into the third level of Qi Condensation last year. Wasn’t this an easy mark?
“He actually took the bait!”
Fang Ping hadn’t been entirely confident in his initial plan. He had secretly prepared contingencies for various scenarios—whether Ming Yulou failed to recognize him or called out his name on the spot.
Unexpectedly, things went much smoother than anticipated. The ill-intentioned Ming Yulou had indeed chosen to secretly tail him.
And so, one person pretended not to notice, circulating a lightness technique and swaggering down the road. The other, believing his pursuit was perfectly concealed, followed Fang Ping further and further away, unknowingly leaving Xunxian Town by over ten li.
“Where is he going?”
Having followed for so long and seeing that Fang Ping showed no sign of stopping, Ming Yulou couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Earlier, he thought Fang Ping just wanted to buy some things in the town.
Later, when he saw Fang Ping leave the town, he assumed he was heading to Luoyun Market. These were the two most frequent destinations for Luoyang Sect outer disciples after descending the mountain.
But this route, no matter how one looked at it, didn’t lead toward Luoyun Market.
“Maybe he took a leave of absence to visit family in the mortal world? Or perhaps he’s going to Linxian Market?”
Ming Yulou’s mind raced, and he finally thought of another possibility.
Ming Yulou felt he couldn’t make sense of it.
After a brief moment of thought, he arrived at a theory.
“Under what circumstances would someone forsake Luoyun Market to travel all the way to Linxian Market? He must have something shady to dispose of, something he doesn’t dare sell in Luoyun Market!”
Ming Yulou’s eyes lit up.
If it were ordinary junk, it wouldn’t be worth making a special trip to Linxian Market!
He hadn’t expected this kid to be a fat sheep!
Thinking of this, Ming Yulou channeled his Spiritual Power and quickened his pace once more.
This time, he was determined to make the brat surnamed Fang bleed heavily.
Hurrying ahead, Fang Ping seemed completely unaware that he was being watched. Or perhaps he felt that he was still within the Luoyang Sect’s territory and therefore perfectly safe, keeping his head down as he traveled the entire way.
Ming Yulou easily closed the distance to within a hundred zhang.
Only then did Fang Ping seem to sense something, casting a seemingly casual glance backward.
Perhaps completely caught off guard, he froze for a second after spotting Ming Yulou behind him. Realizing the danger, he turned pale with fright and broke into a run.
During that brief moment of hesitation, the distance between them had already shrunk to a little over ten zhang.
Confident that his prey had no escape, Ming Yulou still hadn’t actually developed a strong killing intent up to this point.
He only wanted to give Fang Ping a beating, cash in the IOU, and incidentally see what “shady” items Fang Ping might be carrying.
If there really was something good that made the risk worthwhile, it wouldn’t be too late to silence Fang Ping then.
Half-truthfully, he shouted, “Junior Brother Fang, you can’t escape! Honestly hand over the Spirit Stones you owe, and I promise I won’t cause you any trouble!”
However, Fang Ping paid no attention to Ming Yulou’s words at all, only lowering his head and fleeing forward.
Seeing this, a touch of ferocity surfaced on Ming Yulou’s face. “Brat surnamed Fang, if you know what’s good for you, stop immediately and hand over the Spirit Stones you owe. I won’t make things hard for you. But if you refuse the face I’m giving you, then don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Ming Yulou’s cultivation was, after all, “one level higher” than Fang Ping’s. After fleeing for some distance, perhaps due to physical exhaustion or a slightly greater consumption of Spiritual Power, Fang Ping’s speed slowed by an imperceptible fraction.
The distance between the two began to close bit by bit!
This made Ming Yulou even more smug, shouting relentless taunts. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
In his desperate flight, Fang Ping suddenly swerved and fled toward a small grove of trees by the roadside.
Seeing the dense grove, Ming Yulou hesitated for a moment, but relying on his superior strength, he quickly chased after him.
Following the obvious footprints deeper into the woods, he arrived at a small clearing—and suddenly discovered his prey had vanished.
Just as alarm and suspicion rose in his heart, Fang Ping abruptly emerged from behind a large tree at his back, raising his hand to strike out with a Talisman.
Villains die from talking too much—have a taste of this Wind Binding Talisman!
Relying on the slight advantage of a preemptive ambush, the Talisman condensed a strong cyan wind while still in midair. It transformed into an invisible binding, trapping Ming Yulou in place before he could react.
“A Middle Grade basic Talisman, the Wind Binding Talisman?”
Ming Yulou’s expression shifted slightly. He hadn’t expected Fang Ping to be so willing to spend his wealth, opening the fight with a Middle Grade Talisman.
He naturally knew the Wind Binding Talisman’s effect: it lacked any lethal power. In just a moment, he would be able to break free from the restraint.
But unfortunately, Fang Ping had no intention of giving him that chance!
“Extorting Spirit Stones is one thing, but spreading malicious rumors time and time again… You’re forcing my hand, aren’t you? Then as you wish!”
Fang Ping sneered. Lu Shan wasn’t here. It was one-on-one, and he had Talismans bought with hard-earned Spirit Stones. Wasn’t this an easy fight?
He didn’t hesitate, using the object-control technique to command the Tianyang Sword and launch an attack at Ming Yulou.
Today, this person had to die!
Seeing Fang Ping’s Magical Artifact flying toward him, Ming Yulou was bound and unable to move, but he had no difficulty channeling Spiritual Power into his own Magical Artifact to meet the attack.
The Chisu Sword, also a Low Grade Magical Artifact, flew out to intercept the Tianyang Sword.
The two Magical Artifacts clashed fiercely in the air, and for a time, neither could gain the upper hand.
Ming Yulou had, after all, stepped into the third level of Qi Condensation long ago, and his Spiritual Power was somewhat more vigorous than Fang Ping’s. Even though he had diverted part of his Spiritual Power to break free from the Wind Binding Talisman, the Chisu Sword didn’t fall to a disadvantage in the slightest!
“Sure enough, it’s not that simple.”
Seeing this, Fang Ping remained unhurried. While maintaining the Tianyang Sword, he split his attention and continuously cast minor five-element spells.
Streaks of flame and ice spikes howled toward Ming Yulou, forcing him to withdraw his Spiritual Power and raise a Spiritual Power shield.
In this way, although Fang Ping couldn’t break through his defenses for the time being, Ming Yulou also found it difficult to divert any Spiritual Power to break free from the Wind Binding Talisman. The situation reached a stalemate, devolving into a contest of Spiritual Power.