Chapter 151: Killing Two People

Lingyanzi circled the rippling Moon-Gazing Lake, raised his Violet Smoke Spirit Shield to fend off the two attackers, then changed direction and turned back, pondering in his heart, "If that person deceived me and gained an advantage, I might die here today..."

He glanced back at the two cultivators from Changxiao Sect behind him, his heart filled with dread. Gritting his teeth, he flew along the mountain contours, muttering to himself, "There's nothing else I can do now; I can only trust him. It's just death, one way or another. Without me, my junior brothers and sisters on Violet Qi Peak will likely have a hard time."

Before long, a large white banyan tree appeared beneath him. Lingyanzi's eyes lit up, and he quickly descended. The two cultivators behind him, suspecting nothing, also landed on the mountain.

"This place is beautiful, but it would make a good burial ground!" the two Changxiao Sect cultivators sneered. Seeing another person standing under the tree, they frowned and demanded, "Who are you? We are from Changxiao Sect; please step aside."

Li Tongya, however, looked at Lingyanzi, seeing his face was deathly pale and he looked on the verge of collapsing. He raised his hand, threw a bottle of Qi-restoring pills, and said softly, "Fellow Daoist, please rest. I'll handle these two." "How arrogant!" exclaimed the Changxiao Sect cultivators.

Both surprised and enraged, the two Changxiao Sect cultivators brandished their spirit swords and charged forward. Li Tongya drew his sword, and a powerful, pure white arc of his Moon Deficient Sword swept forth, clanging twice as it knocked the opponents' spirit swords back by a full zhang.

"Your swordsmanship is quite good," one of the Changxiao Sect brothers remarked. While they were still wondering which of the Three Sects and Seven Gates he belonged to, Li Tongya, as usual, capitalized on the initial advantage of his Moon Deficient Sword style. Unleashing over a dozen sword qi, he relied on his vast true essence to overwhelm his opponents.

The two Changxiao Sect cultivators were wary and, for a moment, genuinely suppressed. Having chased for a long time, their true essence reserves were not abundant. Yuyunzi grew anxious and transmitted a message to Yuhezi using his spiritual power: "Junior Brother! This person is hiding his identity, and we don't know which faction he belongs to, but his swordsmanship is quite good, and who knows what other trump cards he has. Perhaps we should just abandon this person and leave... but it's such a pity about this Violet Smoke Spirit Shield; it was almost within our grasp..."

Although Junior Brother Yuhezi's cultivation was not as high as his, he was the one who made decisions, and he responded with spiritual power: "Who else could this person be? Most likely someone from the Li Family of Lijing. The Li Family of Lijing is said to be famous for its swordsmanship; doesn't that fit perfectly? These minor families often only have one or two inheritances. Don't be fooled by his excellent swordsmanship; he's definitely not as good as us in other aspects. Once we gain the upper hand, we'll force him to retreat. Just don't expose him, or it will become a fight to the death!"

Having made up their minds, the two found themselves in a stalemate with Li Tongya. Just over a dozen moves into the fight, Yuyunzi suddenly felt his body tighten, his face felt as if it were being cut by knives, and he immediately cried out, "A sneak attack!"

A stack of talismans in his hand instantly ignited without wind. Yuyunzi had just managed to activate several layers of light shields around himself when a piercing shriek echoed in his ears, and his protective shields shattered with a bang, as if he had been struck hard by a hammer, sending him flying far away.

Yuhezi saw his disheveled appearance, his heart chilled with fear, and he gritted his teeth, calling out, "Senior Brother!"

Li Tongya's sword light immediately pressed forward, knocking Yuhezi's spirit sword away. Li Xuanfeng's arrows also struck one after another; though not as powerful as the first charged arrow, they still put the two into a miserable state, making them want to retreat.

Lingyanzi, standing by, watched in a daze. He hadn't expected Li Tongya could truly block two opponents by himself, and it even seemed he was gaining the upper hand, tending towards a counter-kill. He quickly shouted, "Brother, don't kill these two... Changxiao Sect cultivators have tracing seals that can mark the killer. It's better for me to finish them off!"

Hearing this, the two became even more terrified and quickly conjured their spirit shields and talismans, unleashing their most powerful hidden techniques. Yuyunzi wielded a white, shimmering jade bead, while Yuhezi's sword ignited with a vibrant red flame. For a moment, they stalemated with Li Tongya and Li Xuanfeng.

Hearing this, Li Tongya's impression of Lingyanzi improved significantly. He nodded to himself, musing, "Since Changxiao Sect has such a method, Lingyanzi's Violet Smoke Sect likely has something similar as well. It's certainly an eye-opener for us. Of course, this method looks good, but it merely ties one's hands and feet when facing an enemy. If you truly encounter a strong enemy, getting your limbs broken, cultivation crippled, and being fed to demons would be the same outcome."

Lingyanzi, however, had already advanced, his spiritual shield glowing with vibrant purple light, dissolving all of the enemies' attacks. The two immediately sensed trouble; the brothers exchanged glances and were about to mount their flying shuttle to escape.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Lingyanzi gritted his teeth, clearly filled with intense hatred for the two. He let out a cold laugh, and as the spirit pearl in his hand moved, the Violet Smoke Spirit Shield rustled and swirled, suddenly expanding to lock all four individuals within it like a grand formation, cutting off any thought of escape for the two.

Li Tongya, finding himself inside another's formation, was secretly on guard, yet he praised aloud, "What a treasure! Truly worthy of a Foundation Establishment-level artifact..."

The two were flustered and cursed a few times. Li Tongya had already advanced with his sword; Li Xuanfeng's arrows couldn't reach into the formation to provide support, but Lingyanzi harassed them from the side. The two Changxiao Sect cultivators' spiritual power ran low, and their faces turned grim.

"Fellow Daoist," one of them pleaded, "what Lingyanzi promised you, we can also promise you. If you kill us, you'll still be pursued by Changxiao Sect. Why not just let this go? We can pretend we've never met..."

Li Tongya swung his long sword, stabbing it into Yuyunzi's chest and abdomen. The man's spiritual power was depleted; he was even swaying precariously while standing in the air, his face full of pleading. Naturally, he couldn't dodge.

"Aargh!" The spirit sword was not stained with blood as it passed through his chest and abdomen, and his intestines and stomach immediately spilled out with a gush. At the Qi Cultivation stage, one could hardly be called an immortal; pain was still pain, and agony was still agony. The pain made Yuyunzi's beard tremble, his face turn deathly pale, and his entire face was drenched in sweat.

Lingyanzi parried Yuhezi's spirit sword and, with a backhand strike, severed Yuyunzi's head. His body and head fell to the ground together. Lingyanzi felt a sense of relief and exhilaration, as if he had chugged five bowls of spicy soup in one go, his face also streaming with sweat.

He closed in, ignoring Yuhezi's pleas for mercy, and chopped Yuhezi into several pieces. Lingyanzi laughed, "What a satisfying feeling!"

Li Tongya held his sword, looking at him, his swordsmanship ready to strike at any moment. He said warily, "Fellow Daoist, please quickly dismantle the grand formation." He mused to himself, "This Violet Smoke Spirit Shield is so wondrous, it's quite tempting. Lingyanzi is already at the end of his rope... perhaps..."

Lingyanzi gave an awkward smile and dismantled the grand formation created by the Violet Smoke Spirit Shield. Seeing Li Tongya pick up the two cultivators' storage bags, he quickly said, "No, absolutely not!"

Li Tongya raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at him. Lingyanzi then said softly, "Disciples of the Three Sects and Seven Gates often refine spirit artifact tokens which, in conjunction with the formation on the storage bag, record visual information from the moment the bag was last opened until now. If you are not the owner and open this storage bag, the spirit artifact token will vanish like smoke, and within a very short time, the entire Changxiao Sect will know who killed their disciples!"

Li Tongya's heart jolted, remembering that Li Chijing had also shown such a token when he returned to the lake years ago; it was likely true. He mused to himself, "The Three Sects and Seven Gates have been passed down for thousands of years; they truly have some tricks up their sleeves. No wonder everyone fears their disciples. I was still thinking about how wondrous this Violet Smoke Spirit Shield was and felt a bit greedy. Now that I've offended Changxiao Sect, it's better to befriend Lingyanzi..."

So he cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks for the reminder, Fellow Daoist." "Not at all!" Lingyanzi replied earnestly, "I should be thanking you, Fellow Daoist... On my journey, I've encountered ten rogue cultivators and six families, but only the Li family extended a helping hand. I am extremely grateful!"

Lingyanzi answered quite earnestly, making Li Tongya smile faintly and think helplessly to himself, "Isn't he just putting this burden on my Li family? This time, I've killed these two, yet I can't open their storage bags. I'll definitely have to get some compensation from this person; I can't let this be a wasted effort."

At this point, Li Xuanfeng had already landed, riding the wind. Li Tongya cupped his hands and smiled, "Elder, why don't you come to the Li family for a visit?"

Lingyanzi originally intended to refuse, but then he had a change of heart and thought to himself, "If he wanted to kill me, he could have done so with a single sword stroke earlier. He wouldn't need to lure me into a formation now. It seems he genuinely wants to befriend me. Perhaps I should go and visit."