Chapter 347: Assassination of Qin Yunyao

The Spiritual Herb Garden was located deep within the Purple Bamboo Mountain Range. This range, situated in the northwestern part of the State of Wei, earned its name from the abundant purple bamboo growing there.

Qin Yunyao and her group traveled day and night, reaching the Purple Bamboo Mountain Range after more than a month.

The Purple Bamboo Mountain Range was densely vegetated, featuring countless treacherous mountains and towering peaks. Fierce beasts hunted prey within its depths, while eagles circled high in the sky.

"We're finally here," Qin Yunyao said with a radiant smile, a look of joy on her face. "Finally, we can get some good rest."

"Yes! We've finally arrived, we can..."

Just then, several streaks of green escape light shot out from a bamboo forest below, heading directly towards Qin Yunyao and her group.

"Oh no, enemy attack!" Qin Yunyao's expression drastically changed. She quickly summoned a green shield, which expanded to block in front of her.

With a few muffled thuds, the green light was blocked by the shield. The next moment, over a dozen Hundred Sword Talismans flew out from the bamboo forest. They successively exploded, transforming into numerous golden flying swords that slashed towards Qin Yunyao and her group. Simultaneously, a metallic sphere shot out, transforming into a massive silver ape with a metallic sheen. The ape puppet opened its mouth and spewed a thick white light beam, striking at Qin Yunyao.

The green shield, merely a mid-grade defensive magical artifact, was repeatedly struck by the golden flying swords, producing a series of clanging metallic sounds and developing numerous cracks on its surface. Five dazzling golden flying knives then shot towards it, shattering the green shield. Fortunately, Qin Yunyao had promptly activated a spiritual protective barrier around herself. The five golden flying knives struck the protective barrier, emitting muffled thuds. The white light beam also shot forward, landing on Qin Yunyao's protective barrier, which rapidly froze.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" A sharp whistling sound filled the air as thousands of golden flying swords shot forward. This time, Qin Yunyao's luck did not hold. The thousands of golden flying swords pierced through her protective barrier and her body. Ten Qi Condensation cultivators also met the same fate. Another male Foundation Establishment cultivator reacted quickly; after Qin Yunyao blocked the first wave of attacks, he crushed a Fire Escape Talisman, disappearing in a scatter of fiery light. From the moment they were attacked to the death of Qin Yunyao and her companions, less than five breaths of time had passed.

A yellow light emerged from the bamboo forest, revealing a young man in a yellow shirt wearing a ghost-face mask. The yellow-shirted youth formed a hand seal, and the giant ape puppet transformed back into a metallic sphere, vanishing into his sleeve. The yellow-shirted youth landed next to Qin Yunyao's corpse. After looting her belongings, he set the body on fire. He then crushed an Earth Escape Talisman and vanished into the ground.

A quarter of an hour later, a blue light flew out from deep within the Purple Bamboo Mountain Range, halting several hundred feet in the air. The blue light was a full-figured beautiful woman in a blue dress. Her face was grim, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent. Judging by her spiritual energy fluctuations, she was clearly a Core Formation cultivator. A disciple of the Huangsheng Palace had been killed right under her nose; this was a blatant provocation against the Huangsheng Palace.

Yunzhou, Qinjialing. Qin Yuntai was cultivating in his secret chamber. Not long after, he opened his eyes. Without the aid of elixirs, his cultivation speed was slow, relying solely on daily meditation. A year ago, they had plundered a large sum of wealth from the Wang family. Most of it had been sent back to their clan, and the small portion they kept had been spent by him and Qin Yunhu. He frowned, then got up and left the secret chamber.

As soon as he stepped out, a middle-aged man quickly approached him. "Eighteenth Uncle," the man said, "there's a Huangsheng Palace disciple outside named Chen Yue, claiming to have an urgent matter requiring our help." "Chen Yue?" Qin Yuntai frowned. "I don't know him! What does he want? Is he alone?" "There are three people," the man replied. "Besides Chen Yue, there are two Qi Condensation cultivators. Chen Yue said he would only explain the matter in person. Also, he mentioned he has a good relationship with Third Aunt. Perhaps you should meet him?" Qin Yuntai considered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright! Go invite him in. Everyone else must remain outside. Also, call out Eighth Brother."

After all, the person was a disciple of the Huangsheng Palace and an acquaintance of Qin Yunyao. It wouldn't be proper to refuse to meet him. However, since they were strangers, Qin Yuntai remained cautious. Before long, Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu met Chen Yue in the reception hall. The man was a middle-aged scholar in his thirties, at the second level of Foundation Establishment cultivation, which was not particularly high.

Chen Yue's true identity was Wang Rufeng, a hidden Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Wang family, who rarely appeared in public. This time, Wang Shuming had specifically sent Wang Rufeng to eliminate the Qin family cultivators in Qinjialing. They had formulated several plans. Initially, they intended to encircle a point and attack reinforcements, feigning an assault on the market town to lure and kill Qin Yuntai. However, this plan carried some risk: if Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu saw through their scheme and simply fled, it would lead to endless trouble. Disguising themselves as Huangsheng Palace disciples was the most suitable approach; the Qin family couldn't possibly know all the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Huangsheng Palace.

"Fellow Daoist Chen," Qin Yuntai said, "I heard from my subordinates that you have a good relationship with my third sister. But why have I never heard her mention you?" Wang Rufeng smiled slightly and began, "Senior Sister Qin helped me greatly during the last major battle, I..." He hadn't finished speaking when a massive explosion rocked the ground, causing the entire hall to tremble. The sudden attack caught Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu off guard.

Seizing the opportunity, a fierce glint flashed in Wang Rufeng's eyes. He flicked his finger, and two almost imperceptible white flying needles shot out, striking towards Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu. Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu had already been on guard. They quickly summoned their defensive magical artifacts to block. With two muffled thuds, Wang Rufeng failed to kill them in one blow. Wang Rufeng wasn't annoyed; since he dared to come to the mountain alone, he was naturally well-prepared.

He slapped his spirit beast pouch, and two enormous lions flew out. The lions had thick, red fur, wide mouths, and tusks, looking exceptionally ferocious. Their aura indicated they were mid-grade second-tier spirit beasts. "Roar! Roar!" The two Blazing Lions each let out a roar, almost simultaneously spitting out massive crimson fireballs that violently slammed into Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu.

"Rumble!" A tremendous explosion erupted, and raging flames engulfed the two figures. Wang Rufeng raised a hand, and two gleaming golden spheres shot out, transforming into two ten-foot-tall golden armored guards. Each held a golden longsword radiating spiritual energy, revealing them as high-grade second-tier puppet beasts. Puppet beasts were not rare; with enough spirit stones, one could purchase puppet beasts below the third tier. The two golden armored guards opened their mouths and spewed thick golden light beams, which momentarily flashed and then disappeared into the sea of fire, followed by a muffled thud. They wielded the golden longswords in their hands, slashing into the sea of fire. At the same time, the two Blazing Lions each pounced into a fiery inferno. Soon, two screams rang out in succession. Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu had been prepared, but Wang Rufeng's attack was too powerful: two mid-grade second-tier spirit beasts combined with two high-grade second-tier puppet beasts.

As soon as the two died, Wang Rufeng quickly approached the bodies. He took their storage bags, found a formation plate, and injected a large amount of spiritual power into it. A faint yellow light barrier then emerged, covering the entire Qinjialing. He activated the formation, blocking all escape routes for the Qin family members. Inside the formation, ordinary escape talismans were useless. After about a quarter of an hour, the mountain protection formation was removed. All Qin family members on the mountain had been killed; not a single one escaped.

As for the wealth, Wang Rufeng had two of his clansmen loot everything. The market town had also been breached; all shops were plundered, and all Sun family members were killed. Of course, Wang Rufeng and his two companions wore ghost-face masks and black robes. They used demonic magical artifacts and spirit tools to kill the cultivators in the market town. Their actions were swift. They plundered most of the valuables and hastily left Qinjialing.