Chapter 68: Ambush

Chapter 68: Ambush

The Lady Arclight was exceptionally pleased to have much of her cultivation restored. She chatted with Xiao Nanfeng about dinner on their way back to the cave.

As they approached the valley in which they had rested yesterday, Xiao Nanfeng suddenly felt a premonition of danger.

"Be careful!" He tackled the Lady Arclight and sent both of them sprawling to the ground. Two arrows suddenly whizzed by where the two cultivators were standing.

Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight hurriedly hid behind a large boulder. Thê ïñčëptïøn øf thïš çøntënt çån bë tråçëd tø n0v€1b¡n★

"Even if you hadn't pushed me, I would have been able to avoid that arrow. No one at Immanence can defeat me—I'm stronger than you now! But look at this mess you've made," the Lady Arclight grumbled, wiping at the mud on her robes.

"I apologize, Elder. My first thought was to protect you." Xiao Nanfeng scratched his head with some embarrassment.

The Lady Arclight stilled. Her heart thrummed, and her dissatisfaction disappeared in the blink of an eye. Even the mud on her robes didn't feel as bothersome anymore.

"Hand me a blade," she said softly.

Xiao Nanfeng pulled out two longswords from his storage ring, passing one of them to the Lady Arclight. They carefully peeked out from the boulder toward the valley.

"Young Master Wei, it looks like there's no need for us to worry. The two of them were hard-pressed just avoiding those arrows, and it's clear that they're only at Immanence. That man isn't Ye Sanshui, and that woman, well, with this sort of cultivation, clearly isn't the Lady Arclight," a man analyzed from a distance.

"In that case, there's no need to hide. Show yourselves. Surround them so they can't escape," a young man commanded.

From all around them, out of the mountains and forests, came a group of blue-armored cultivators.

Clearly, those two arrows had just been a test.

Xiao Nanfeng saw that the young man who had spoken was standing rather far away, under the protection of over a dozen men. He held a white paper fan in his hand and was staring pridefully in the direction of Xiao Nanfeng. He was clearly the supposed Young Master Wei.

"Come out, the two of you! Let's have a chat!" Young Master Wei cried out, folding his fan.

Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight exchanged a glance, then stepped out from behind the rock. They looked around them. There were almost a hundred armored cultivators in all, dozens of whom were archers, along with five spiritbane crossbows.

They had clearly been too obvious about stealing the draconic aether with Xiao Nanfeng's Immortal Cicada for them to have been caught in just a day.

Clearly, this Young Master Wei had even planned out an escape route for if the two cultivators were at Ascension-realm. The spiritbane arrows would serve to distract them as the cultivators ran off.

"Oh? And a beauty, at that! I've never seen someone so ravishing even in the capital!" Young Master Wei's eyes lit up.

The Lady Arclight's eyes rimed over.

"How do you know our names?" Xiao Nanfeng asked balefully.

"I interrogated one of your seniors, of course! Who are you? Xiao Nanfeng? And I know this beauty too—she's Yu'er, isn't she? Just how many Immortal Cicadas do you have?" Young Master Wei glanced at the two of them expectantly, not realizing his mistake.

The Immortal Cicada caused all the spiritbane crossbows to explode into smithereens, then transformed into a bolt of light that shot toward Young Master Wei.

"Protect the young master!" a group of cultivators cried out.

One pushed Young Master Wei out of the line of fire, defending him even as the Immortal Cicada pierced through his body.

The Immortal Cicada looped back toward Young Master Wei again. Another cultivator pushed him aside as his head exploded.

"Quick, everyone, kill that cultivator! Once he dies, his sword will be useless! Kill him now and I'll reward you lavishly!" Young Master Wei cried out.

Everyone turned toward Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight. Xiao Nanfeng prepared for their assault, but the Lady Arclight was faster.

As Xiao Nanfeng beheaded one cultivator, a storm of swords manifested around the Lady Arclight. She killed three armored cultivators in the blink of an eye, in a shower of blood.

"Nanfeng, protect yourself. I'll handle them!" the Lady Arclight cried out. She charged into the horde of cultivators, revealing her frightening combat prowess.

Another eight heads were sent flying in an explosion of blood. Xiao Nanfeng gaped. Was the Lady Arclight this strong?

He took a deep breath. As his blade flashed, countless armored cultivators were killed.

"Loose more arrows, quickly!" one cultivator commanded.

Another volley of arrows shot toward them, but neither Xiao Nanfeng nor the Lady Arclight were harmed. Rather, several armored cultivators fell to friendly fire.

The two Taiqing cultivators rushed straight toward Young Master Wei. Xiao Nanfeng was still manipulating his Immortal Cicada in Young Master Wei's vicinity, killing a cultivator each time he struck.

"Hold him back, hold him back!" Young Master Wei cried out in panic.

He had thought that everything was under his control, but who would have known that death was drawing so near? The two enemy cultivators approached him, beheading his guards in a spray of blood. This was a hellscape!

One strong cultivator managed to block Xiao Nanfeng's swing. Their strength looked to be evenly matched—but the next moment, the Immortal Cicada pierced through his head, and he perished on the spot.

Xiao Nanfeng was hardly invincible, but the Immortal Cicada was an incredible tool in combat. With it around, he would be invincible against any Immanence-realm cultivator. He was certain to behead an enemy with every slash of his sword.

It went without saying that the same was true of the Lady Arclight, who seemed to have turned into a god of slaughter. Where she struck, heads would fall.

Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight's bodies were covered in fresh blood. They had killed dozens of cultivators each, and were growing close to Young Master Wei.

As they approached, Young Master Wei's legs turned to jelly.

"Quick, fire a signal and inform my father, now!" Young Master Wei howled.

As fireworks were launched into the air, Xiao Nanfeng sent his Immortal Cicada chasing after it. The Immortal Cicada batted the projectile back down to the ground, where it exploded in a forest, the signal lost.

Young Master Wei's eyes filled with despair. "No—hold them back, hold them back!"

He had never imagined that these two cultivators would force him into such dire straits.