ragginovel Chapter 22 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap
Chapter 22 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap
What does this mean?
This means that the Danxia Sect disciple has discovered that someone is following him.
This means that he not only discovered it, but also had the ability to make Liu San disappear silently.
Liu San is at the mid-stage of Qi Refining and is skilled in concealment and lightness techniques. Anyone who can prevent him from even sending a signal must be at least at the late-stage of Qi Refining.
On the surface, that Danxia Sect disciple was only at the late stage of Qi Refining.
"We're both at the late stage of Qi Refining," Xiong Ye muttered to himself, a fierce glint in his eyes. "Just because someone is a disciple of a major sect doesn't mean they're stronger than me?"
He didn't believe it.
Over the years in Black Wind Mountain, he has killed at least eighty to a hundred people.
Among them were many with higher cultivation levels than him, but in the end, he was the one who survived.
What is it that they rely on?
They relied on ruthlessness, on using any means necessary, and on their familiarity with this area.
Black Wind Mountain is his territory.
He knew every ravine, every dense forest, and every dangerous spot where an ambush could be set up like the back of his hand.
Even if the Danxia Sect disciple is from a major sect and has more refined techniques and better magical artifacts than him, once he enters Black Wind Mountain, he enters his hunting ground.
"Master Xiong, new news has come back from Qingyun Town." A subordinate walked in.
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One hour later.
Behind Black Wind Mountain, a narrow, winding path.
The sun had risen halfway up the mountain, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the pine forest, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
The mountain wind whistled through the forest, making a mournful sound, like someone weeping softly.
The black pine forest on both sides of the path was unusually quiet, with even the birdsong being sparse, as if even the birds and beasts had sensed the lurking danger in this forest.
Bear lay prone behind a rock, his body becoming one with the rock, his aura completely concealed.
He didn't cultivate any profound concealment techniques, but rather a set of unorthodox methods of concealing his aura that he figured out on his own, based on the first-level concealment techniques.
Slowing down your breathing, calming your heartbeat, and lowering your body temperature to be similar to the surrounding environment—while not as sophisticated as the orthodox third-level breath-concealing technique—is sufficient for the environment of the Black Pine Forest.
Behind him, six figures were each hidden in different locations.
A person was hiding behind a thick black pine tree, holding three black throwing knives in his hand.
The throwing knife was coated with a numbing powder that flowed from the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons. Anyone hit by it would feel weak all over and have their true energy stagnant. Even a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining would suffer a great loss.
A person lay prone in a clump of bushes, with a palm-sized array flag stuck in front of him. Twisted runes were drawn on the flag in the blood of beasts.
Those were the main flags of the trapping array, which Master Xiong bought at a high price from merchants in Hunyuan Continent. There were seven main flags and six secondary flags, which he had already placed on the only road leading to the mountain.
Once activated, the six secondary flags will unleash a large amount of misty fog, generating a binding force that traps enemies within the formation, rendering them unable to see or escape.
Two other people were hiding in the tree canopies on either side of the path.
One of them held a demon-hunting crossbow, the bolts of which were made of refined iron and the arrowheads were engraved with armor-piercing runes.
One of them held a long, narrow curved blade, the blade of which faintly glowed with blood; it was a low-grade magic weapon of decent quality.
There were two others, one hiding in a pile of rocks by the roadside, and the other lying on a higher cliff further away.
The seats for the seven people were carefully arranged.
The path winds its way between two groves of black pine trees, shaped like the mouth of a natural gourd.
Once the target enters the ambush zone, the person in the bushes will activate the trapping formation, releasing a misty fog that will trap the target within.
Then, poisoned throwing knives and armor-piercing crossbow bolts will be thrown from different directions, while the other three take the opportunity to attack and unleash spells, and Xiong Ye himself will hold the line, waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow.
Master Xiong has used this formation at least ten times.
Once inside the trap, each time, it's a clean and swift end, with no survivors.
Even the late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who passed through Qingyun Town half a year ago couldn't last ten breaths.
Xiong Ye's gaze pierced through the cracks in the mountain rocks, fixed on the end of the path.
The message came an hour ago.
Someone from Heming Hall spread the word that the Danxia Sect disciple was going to gather herbs near Black Wind Mountain today, taking the back mountain path.
The news came at such a timely time that Xiong Ye instinctively became somewhat wary.
He sent people to investigate, and it turned out that the person who released the information was indeed from Hemingtang.
Sun He, that old bastard, has run a pharmacy in Qingyun Town for twenty years. He's always been a fence-sitter, always swaying whichever side is in the wind.
This time, the news was released proactively, most likely to curry favor with the Danxia Sect, or perhaps... it was instructed by the Danxia Sect disciple himself.
Lure the snake out of its hole.
When Xiong Ye savored those four words, a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
The disciples of the Grand Sect are all the same.
Having learned a few skills, he thought he was invincible and dared to use himself as bait to catch fish.
Little do people know that those who fish are often the most likely to fall into the water.
Master Xiong was not afraid that the other party had come prepared.
Black Pine Forest was his home turf. Seven against one, he was prepared to take advantage of the opponent's lack of strategy. Even if the opponent had some hidden tricks up their sleeve, he was confident he could crush them.
The disciples of the major sects may have excellent magical artifacts and exquisite cultivation techniques, but so what?
In life-or-death battles, it's never about whose martial arts are more authentic or whose magical artifacts are more expensive, but about who is more ruthless and who is more unscrupulous.
He didn't believe that the pampered disciple of the main branch could compare to him in this respect.
Since you've lured the snake out of its hole, then I'll invite you into the trap.
Time passed little by little.
As the sun rose higher, the dappled light and shadow in the pine forest became sparse.
Several black crows swept past the treetops, emitting harsh cries.
Xiong Ye frowned slightly.
Based on the timeline, the other party should have arrived by now.
Could the information be incorrect?
Or did the other party take a different path?
impossible.
There is only one road leading to the place where the spiritual herbs grow on the back of Black Wind Mountain.
It makes no sense that taking the detour through the front of the mountain would add two hours to the journey.
Just as doubts began to grow in his mind, a figure finally appeared at the end of the path.
He wore a light blue robe and a black brocade robe, carried a long sword, and walked with a composed gait.
It was that disciple of the Danxia Sect.
Xiong Ye's pupils contracted slightly, his gaze locking onto the figure like that of a hawk.
The other person was walking very slowly, not like someone who came to collect herbs, but more like someone who came to stroll around the garden.
His gaze swept across the pine forest on both sides, his expression calm, showing no sign of tension or wariness.
But Xiong Ye noticed a few details.
The man's right hand always hung at his side, ready to be grasped the moment the long sword behind him was drawn.
Although the pace was slow, each step landed perfectly, neither veering to the left nor to the right, always maintaining the best possible responsiveness.
The breathing is steady and long, not the natural breathing when relaxed, but the rhythm of a certain exercise.
This person is not simple.
Xiong Ye was secretly on guard, but his killing intent grew stronger.
The more complex something is, the more it needs to be killed.
Such an enemy, with whom we have already formed a feud, will surely become a great threat in the future if we do not eliminate him today.
He raised his left hand and made a gesture.
The six people in the forest tensed up simultaneously.
The target is thirty paces away from the ambush zone.
Twenty steps.
Ten steps.
Xiong Ye's fingers tightened one by one.
Just as the Danxia Sect disciple was about to step into the trapping formation, the man suddenly stopped.
Xiong Ye's heart sank.
The man stood still, raised his head, and looked over the canopy of the pine forest towards the direction where Master Xiong was hiding.
Then, he spoke a sentence.
The sound wasn't loud, but it reached the ears of everyone present clearly.
"Since we've already waited this long, a little longer won't make a difference."
"Brother Bear, come out."