Encountering an Assassination?

The moon was dark and the wind was high.

The whole Yunxi Sect was under curfew.

Except for the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall who were still patrolling and on duty, the other disciples and those who were preparing to attend the apprenticeship meeting had returned to their rooms to rest.

Shen Leyan put on the night clothes he had just bought, covered his face with a black cloth, and tried to walk a few steps in the night.

He blended into the environment very well. As long as he was a little careful and walked along the path in the woods, he should be able to reach the Law Enforcement Hall smoothly.

The boy performed the “Qingying Xuan Jue” and moved quickly through the woods with a graceful figure.

Along the way, he first saw a pair of Taoist companions who climbed up a tree to count the stars in the middle of the night, and then saw a few disciples who sneaked to the cafeteria for a midnight snack, and later saw some inner disciples who took the task and went down the mountain to train overnight.

Shen Leyan squatted in the bushes to hide his figure and secretly rejoiced.

He knew that the disciples of Yunxi Sect were not so honest and abided by the rules! There were many people who sneaked out in the middle of the night like him.

This night clothes was not bought in vain.

He walked all the way to the location of the Law Enforcement Hall in his memory. He walked for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, an hour…

The young man stopped and looked around. The trees around him were becoming more and more lush. There was no sign of cleaning on the stone path under his feet. It was covered with dead leaves and mud.

There was only the sound of wind and faint cicadas around.

He checked that he was madly absorbing the spiritual power between heaven and earth to replenish his spiritual roots, and then looked at his somewhat empty dantian.

He reluctantly confirmed one thing: he was lost again.

Maybe he had walked to a deep mountain in Yunxi Sect.

Fortunately, every once in a while, an elder in Yunxi Sect would lead a group of inner disciples to clear the dangerous monsters in the mountains, so there would not be a snake brother suddenly jumping out here like in the southwest jungle.

He could stay here for a night, and then find the way back to the outer gate according to the direction of the sun at dawn.

Shen Leyan sat on the ground against a tree trunk. Maybe because this place was rarely visited, the spiritual power of heaven and earth was even more concentrated than that of the outer gate.

His wind spiritual root was greedily breathing in the spiritual power of heaven and earth. After becoming more and more proficient in the skills, the spiritual power in his meridians no longer needed him to calm down and actively operate, and it would slowly flow through the meridians to wash and nourish.

 Naturally, meditation is the fastest way to increase spiritual power.

The spiritual power in the dantian is light blue, like the wind chasing the clouds in the sky, drifting freely around the dantian.

But his dantian space is still too small, and there seems to be an invisible barrier around it, preventing the wind spiritual power inside from flying to a wider place.

However, as time goes by, this barrier becomes thinner and looser, as if it will be broken by spiritual power in the next second.

When this barrier disappears, he can probably enter the middle level of Qi Refining.

“Xiaodu Xiaodu.”

Shen Leyan called the long-lost system Xiaodu in his mind – in fact, on the day in Yaozu Village in the southwest, when he said that he wanted to cultivate immortality, the system Xiaodu sat up in shock from his dying illness, as if a virus was implanted, and broadcast madly in his mind.

 “Congratulations to the host for deciding to embark on the road of cultivating immortals!”

“The hidden function of this system has been activated, helping the host to become the master of immortals!”

“Detecting the host’s needs… Ding! Detection successful! The host’s greatest need is – no one is allowed to die without my consent! The task reward is being adjusted according to the host’s needs…”

“Task 1 of the Master of Immortals: Break through to the middle level of Qi Refining. Task reward: special skill “Playing Dead” (also known as Turtle Breathing Skill).”

Seeing that the first system task was about to be completed, Shen Leyan called Xiaodu and read the introduction of “Playing Dead” again carefully.

“Playing Dead” Introduction: Although most villains in novels have learned their lesson and understand the truth that “villains die because of talking too much, and must be killed in time”, there are thousands of cultivators and demons, and you will always encounter fools.

When you find that there is no escape, you can choose to use this skill. After using it, you will bleed from all seven orifices, your body will be cold, and your heartbeat will disappear – you will look more like a corpse than a corpse.

 If you are lucky, the people chasing you will think you are dead and turn around and leave confidently.

Shen Leyan: “…”

Hmm…

This technique always feels like it will kill him at a critical moment.

But more skills are better than less, and he didn’t expect the system’s first task to give him anything good.

It is already very good to have such a technique.

The boy closed his eyes, and the spiritual power absorbed by the spiritual root flowed through the meridians. After removing the impurities, it flowed into the dantian. The light blue spiritual power swept like the wind, hitting the barrier around the dantian again and again.

Fine cracks gradually appeared on the barrier.

Shen Leyan calmed down and condensed the spiritual power gathered in the dantian as much as possible, and compressed it in front of the barrier.

After the spiritual power in the dantian was fully accumulated, it was deliberately suppressed by the owner and could not break through the barrier, so it could only disperse and flow back and forth to the meridians.

The meridians became more and more tenacious under the impact of these spiritual powers.

 When the spiritual power in the Dantian could no longer be filled, Shen Leyan relaxed his suppression, and the spiritual power that had been accumulated for a long time rushed towards the barrier of the Dantian.

The cracks on the barrier quickly cracked around, and it broke into a huge spider web.

Finally, it shattered with a bang!

The spiritual power in the Dantian was filled up as never before, and even breathing became much easier.

Xiaodu’s joyful voice sounded: “Congratulations to the host for breaking through to the middle level of Qi Refining. The first task of Immortal Domination has been completed! The task reward “The Art of Playing Dead” is now issued.”

An ancient scroll fell into his palm out of thin air.

Shen Leyan opened the scroll and took a look. It was illustrated with pictures and texts, explaining how to play dead in great detail and clarity.

 Xiaodu: “This skill is not difficult for the host, and it can be mastered in about an hour – the second mission of the Immortal Lord has been updated. Mission 2 of the Immortal Lord: Successfully worship a master. Mission reward: Universal Concealment Talisman × 3.”

“What is the Universal Concealment Talisman?”

“Only after completing the mission and getting the reward can you unlock the reward description, dear host~”

Although this mission does not stipulate who he must worship as a master, he can’t be impatient. He has to wait until the Yunxi Sect’s worship meeting begins.

He nodded: “What time is it now?”

“Just after the hour of Chou.”

There are still many hours before dawn. Shen Leyan was about to calm down and study “The Art of Playing Dead” carefully, when he suddenly smelled a faint smell of blood from the night wind blowing in his face.

Perhaps because he has a wind spirit root, he is more sensitive to the sounds and smells mixed in the wind than ordinary people.

 There shouldn’t be any dangerous monsters in this mountain, and it’s even more impossible for evil cultivators to break through the Yunxi Sect’s formation and sneak in here.

Why is there a bloody smell? Could it be that there are other disciples of the Yunxi Sect who got lost like him and came to this deep mountain?

And there was a faint sound of weapons breaking through the air in the wind.

Shen Leyan hesitated for a moment, tried to lighten his steps, restrained his spiritual power, and walked in the direction of the bloody smell.

He made up his mind while walking.

If what happened over there was something he could intervene in, and the injured were people he knew, then he would find a way to help.

If what happened was something he couldn’t intervene in, then he would run quickly, call for help if necessary, and pretend he didn’t see anything if necessary…

The smell of blood gradually became stronger, and the originally slight sounds of birds and cicadas in the woods disappeared. The surroundings were somewhat eerie in silence.

Shen Leyan silently tied the breathable black mask that he had just taken off again.

“Buzz——”

The sound of a sharp weapon nailing into a tree trunk suddenly sounded, which was particularly harsh in the middle of the night. Judging from the sound, it seemed not far away from him.

Shen Leyan immediately hid behind a tall tree and looked intently into the depths of the jungle shrouded in darkness.

In the turbulent night, the slight sound of bowstrings being pulled open, the sound of people leaping among the trees and leaves, the majestic sight of swords and long knives being unsheathed, the sword lights and sword shadows intertwined, and the crescent moon on the sky covered by thick clouds seemed to be covered with a faint blood color…

This place is only more than an hour away from the outer gate of Yunxi Sect, but it is two completely different worlds from the dim lights there. 

There were countless figures in the distance, chasing and fleeing, fighting and killing, and gradually moving towards him.

Someone seemed to pat his shoulder gently from behind.

Shen Leyan was concentrating on the movement in the woods, and subconsciously made a gesture to keep quiet: “Shhh–“

The person behind him still patted his shoulder.

Shen Leyan couldn’t help but look back: “You–“

He had only uttered half of the word “you” when a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. His night clothes was soaked with sweat, and the rest of the words were swallowed back into his throat.

Behind him was a man wearing night clothes similar to his, with a strong back and only a pair of eagle eyes exposed to the air. His cold eyes flashed. This was a man who had killed countless people and whose hands were stained with blood was patting his shoulder.

 [◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞]

The man was holding back his breath, but he didn’t notice the other party walking behind him, which means that the other party’s cultivation has reached the Nascent Soul stage at least!

Wearing night clothes and appearing at the scene of fighting and killing… No matter how you think about it, the other party can’t be a good person!

“Did the sect master tell you to stay here?”

When the other party saw him turn around, he immediately asked in a low voice.

Shen Leyan lowered his eyes and concealed his gaffe by adjusting the black cloth covering his face.

The other party saw that he didn’t take action immediately and asked him such a question in a normal tone. Obviously, seeing that he was also wearing night clothes, he subconsciously regarded him as a companion.

The other party just mentioned “master”, which means that the disciple who came here is from a sect. As for whether this sect is a righteous sect, a demon clan, or an evil organization, it is unknown.

 He nodded, trying his best to stay calm, pretending to focus on the mission, and continued to stare into the depths of the woods.

The man did not suspect anything.

“You don’t have to be too nervous. You newcomers have just entered the Peacock Gate, and your cultivation is still shallow. The master will not assign you too difficult tasks. This time, there are several guardians in person to assassinate the Crown Prince of Daxia. Ji Lianyi can’t escape.

Even if he is lucky enough to escape the siege and run here, he is exhausted and will definitely not be our opponent. I hope Ji Lianyi escapes, so that we can kill him with our own hands, and the master will be very happy. At that time, gold, silver, jewelry, concubines and beauties will be indispensable!”

Peacock Gate!

Shen Leyan quickly searched in his memory. In the original book, Peacock Gate is a famous killer organization in Daxia, both good and evil.

 As long as they are paid enough, they will accept any commission from the royal family of Daxia, the righteous sects, demons, or evil cultivators.

Which force commissioned the Peacock Sect to assassinate the crown prince of Daxia, Ji Lianyi?

How did these assassins from the Peacock Sect disguise themselves and enter the Yunxi Sect? Are there people from the Peacock Sect hiding in the sect? Or… the one who wants to kill Ji Lianyi is a powerful disciple or even an elder of the Yunxi Sect?

Thousands of thoughts surged in his mind, and Shen Leyan couldn’t figure it out for a while.

There was no time for him to think carefully.

Fortunately, he remembered that Ji Lianyi did not die in the Yunxi Sect in the original book. This means that the other party should not die this time.

 He nodded to the assassin behind him, who patted his shoulder encouragingly: “You continue to guard here. If you find Ji Lianyi running over, remember to stop him – I’ll go over and take a look.”

The assassin walked towards the woods in the distance. When he reached a piece of pure darkness, his figure twisted and disappeared out of thin air – as if he had entered another world!

Shen Leyan’s pupils shrank slightly.

If he guessed correctly, the people from the Peacock Gate should have set up a barrier here.

The cultivators who entered the Mahayana period will have their own barrier, and some Yuanying period cultivators who are gifted and have special insights into the way of heaven can also master the barrier.

The so-called barrier is to weave a space with your own spiritual power where you can isolate yourself from the outside world in the space. Every blade of grass, every wisp of wind, and every drop of rain in the space may become a weapon for killing.

The owner of the barrier is like the way of heaven in the space, and can dominate everything in it.

 According to what the assassin said just now, several guardians of the Peacock Gate participated in the assassination… With the help of a master who mastered the barrier, he really couldn’t imagine how Ji Lianyi escaped.

Could it be true that, as written in some martial arts novels, he was forced to jump off the cliff, and then met a hidden master in the cave below and found a peerless martial arts method?

“Buzz——”

The air at the junction of the real space and the barrier suddenly became turbulent for a while. The next moment, a young man in a black robe fell to the ground, supported himself on one knee, and spurted out a mouthful of blood.

The sweet smell of blood spread with the wind.

Although Ji Lianyi was wearing a black robe, it was impossible to see how many wounds on his body, but his lips were full of blood. His beautiful face, which was difficult to distinguish between male and female, was as pale as paper, and his light brown eyes had lost their luster and were as withered as fallen leaves.

The other party half-knelt on the ground and panted for two moments, then slowly propped himself up and staggered forward step by step.

The barrier behind did not have any special reaction. Ji Lianyi must have some magic weapon to conceal his aura, and temporarily escaped the pursuit of the assassins of the Peacock Gate.

Shen Leyan walked out from behind the tree and asked tentatively: “…Your Highness the Crown Prince?”