Dense, bizarre sounds came from beneath the ground, like pairs of scissors snipping away at stone. The surging black smoke grew thicker and thicker. Li Weiyi did not dare be careless, quickly holding his breath.
"Watch the ground! Exotic ferocious insects—there's an insect tamer nearby."
The warning came from the spirit tablet on the table.
Li Weiyi had heard Senior Tablet speak of "exotic ferocious insects" and "insect tamers," but he never expected the Changlin Gang would possess such a figure.
He quickly retreated, leaping into the air with sword in hand.
Dashing up the trunk of the old poplar tree, he stopped only when he was several zhang above the ground.
...
Insect tamers—they too were cultivators of the Spirit-God Path, a subcategory of mind masters.
Setting the You Realm aside for the moment, within the Sheng Realm, the surface belonged to human powerhouses and fiendish demon kings, but the subterranean depths were the domain of the insect race.
Insect tamers frequently roamed desolate mountains, vast marshes, subterranean rivers, and abysses, searching for all manner of rare, wondrous insects to tame and command. Sometimes a single insect tamer could rival the army of an entire prefecture, capable of storming cities and seizing territory alone—or even sweeping across the world by their own power.
In eras of war and turmoil, legendary insect tamers often emerged.
...
*Swish!*
A white strand of spider silk no thicker than a hair shot out from the soil like an arrow, wrapping around Li Weiyi's left ankle.
Incredibly tough, the silk pulled tighter and tighter, dragging him downward.
Li Weiyi mobilized the dharma power of his five springs before snapping it with a sharp pop.
The explosive recoil yanked a fist-sized spider straight out of the ground.
It had eight legs, but its back bore a hard shell like a tortoise, and its sharp fangs snapped open and shut like scissors. A single bite would certainly tear away a huge chunk of flesh.
He swung his sword and cleaved it in two.
"It's a soldier-grade ferocious insect, an ao spider. Beware the silk spewed from their bellies—any dharma-martial cultivator below the Wuhai Realm could be bound and killed. A single ao spider isn't hard to deal with; what's terrifying is a swarm," Senior Tablet said.
*Swish! Swish!*
One ao spider after another broke through the soil across the courtyard in a dense, scuttling mass, all shooting strands of silk toward Li Weiyi up in the poplar.
If he were ensnared by several, or even dozens of strands at once, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Li Weiyi channeled dharma power into the Yellow Dragon Sword. A bright gleam surged along the edge, and he spun his blade in a rapid flurry, refusing to let any silk come close.
Like a coordinated army, more than a dozen ao spiders on the ground suddenly split off, charging toward the room where Zhao Meng and the others were hiding. At the same time, seven or eight fast-moving dark shadows appeared atop the courtyard wall.
Two of the shadows held crossbow-like weapons, aiming straight at him.
Li Weiyi immediately unleashed Yellow Dragon Ascends to Heaven, stepping on empty air as he flew toward the wall six or seven zhang away.
The crossbows fired needle-like windless heavy arrows, but with two sharp clangs, Li Weiyi—already prepared—deflected them with his sword.
The two Changlin Gang members who had fired the windless heavy arrows blanched in shock. The heavy crossbows in their hands were divine weapons; slaying four-spring or five-spring cultivators was child's play for them, and with the element of surprise, even six-spring or seven-spring powerhouses could meet an unnatural death.
Just who was this kid?
Had the scouts even scouted properly?
Given no chance to fire a second volley, Li Weiyi descended above their heads like a ghost. Terror-stricken, they were just about to leap off the wall and flee when the yellow sword blade ripped through the night right before their eyes.
*Slash!*
The first strike severed a head.
The second pierced a heart.
The two four-spring gang members tumbled off the zhang-high wall alongside their heavy crossbows.
Li Weiyi moved swiftly along the wall, cutting his way from south to north, slaying one with every strike as wails echoed through the dark. In just a few breaths, all seven or eight shadows had crashed down.
The next moment, he flew down onto the stone steps in front of the house where Zhao Meng and the others were sheltered, sweeping his sword at the ground to intercept the ao spiders.
*Hiss! Hiss!*
More and more ao spiders crawled from beneath the earth, and strands of silk continuously landed on him.
If they wrapped around his wrists, even if he could break them, his swings slowed. If they wrapped around his legs, his dodging and footwork grew sluggish.
Seven or eight ao spiders were even working together, weaving a web.
At this moment, Li Weiyi finally understood what Senior Tablet had meant when saying any dharma-martial cultivator below the Wuhai Realm could be bound and killed. If he didn't have the Yellow Dragon Sword, his predicament would be even more dire.
Senior Tablet's voice came: "Ao spiders fear cold! Use the ghost banner to freeze them."
"The ghost banner?"
Li Weiyi was puzzled.
He had activated Yu Tuonan's ghost banner before, and it had only released nether mist, offering at most some defensive utility.
"The power unleashed when activating a dharma artifact with four opened springs versus five is completely different. The dharma power within you has undergone a fundamental qualitative leap." Senior Tablet clearly had some understanding of the ghost banner.
Li Weiyi took out the ghost banner. The dharma power surging from his five spring orifices coursed through his sixty trace veins and poured completely into it. Instantly, nether mist and frigid air erupted outwards like rolling black clouds, blanketing more than half the courtyard.
Soon after.
"My ao spiders! My ao spiders...!"
A hoarse voice, accompanied by hurried footsteps, rushed into the courtyard.
How could Master Qi, the insect tamer, not be anxious?
He had spent decades painstakingly rearing nearly a hundred ao spiders, which had allowed him to stand on equal footing with Wuhai Realm powerhouses and enjoy elite status, commanding respect even from the Changlin Gang's sect master.
Yet now, amid the nether mist.
Every ao spider on the ground was frozen stiff and unable to move, covered in a thin layer of frost.
*Swish!*
The tip of the Yellow Dragon Sword rested against his throat.
Master Qi was tall and emaciated, wearing a loose white robe. His eye sockets were deeply sunken, yet even with Li Weiyi able to take his life at any moment, not a shred of fear showed in his eyes.
*Whoosh!*
Gritting his teeth, his hatred surged like a torrent.
The Yintang spirit realm between his brows lit up like a lamp as he launched a mind-power assault.
Mind power was invisible and formless, yet it acted like a sword, capable of directly attacking an enemy's soul.
However, when his mind-power attack struck Li Weiyi, far from killing his foe, a series of bell chimes rang out within his own mind, jolting his consciousness into brief chaos and frenzy.
It was just like suffering a backlash from the combat-method intent of a Wuhai Realm dharma-martial cultivator.
"Wuhai Realm... You're in the Wuhai..."
Master Qi collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in agony, his face as pale as paper.
Just as Li Weiyi wondered why the old man had called him a Wuhai Realm cultivator, the sound of two powerful gusts rushed past his ears. With a flick of his palm, he first knocked Master Qi unconscious.
*Swish! Swish!*
The two middle-aged men who had been standing by the third-floor window of the brothel arrived at blistering speed. They were guest elders of the Changlin Gang, both figures who had opened seven springs.
For tonight's operation, they hadn't planned on intervening at all; they had merely wanted to relax while keeping an eye out to prevent anyone from slipping away and causing unnecessary trouble.
With Master Qi's methods, such a minor task could easily have been handled without making a sound, wrapped up in under a quarter of an hour. It wouldn't alert the City Defense Battalion, nor would it disturb the surrounding residents. The next day, everyone would simply assume these outsiders had fallen victim to an attack by ferocious insects.
No one would investigate, and no disturbance would arise.
Master Qi would feed his insects, they would pocket their coin, and everyone would be satisfied.
Now, however, the commotion was far too loud. From inside this brothel alone, many patrons were already looking over to enjoy the spectacle.
If this wasn't resolved quickly, the City Defense Battalion would likely arrive.
Just by the whistling wind of their rapid approach, Li Weiyi gauged their cultivation levels. His heart tightened, and he mustered all his focus.
Two seven-spring cultivators at the peak of the Yongquan Realm?
One against two?
Last time, he had only managed to slay the seven-spring Fang Tong by relying on the immensely powerful evil camel bell and the black iron seal. But right now, countless eyes were watching this place; he dared not be too ostentatious.
As for the ghost banner and the Yellow Dragon Sword...
The power they displayed seemed merely like low-grade dharma artifacts. Even if exposed, the fallout would be limited.
After all, among those who had stepped into the Wuhai Realm, who didn't possess one or two low-grade dharma artifacts?
The middle-aged man with the dark mole between his brows charged through the front gate, moving as fast as an afterimage. He threw a punch, causing the air to cave inward before detonating with a thunderous boom.
The force of the punch was domineering, like a cannonball.
Li Weiyi withstood the blow head-on, letting the momentum propel him backward as he swung his sword toward the thick-bearded seven-spring powerhouse who had vaulted the wall, aiming to attack Zhao Meng and the others.
Both men possessed battle wits; neither was a reckless brute who relied solely on brawn.
One pinned him down from the front while the other sought to capture his companions, preventing him from guarding both ends at once and making him far easier to handle.
Having seen through their ploy, Li Weiyi naturally beat them at their own game, intending to seize this opportunity to heavily wound one of them first so he wouldn't be caught fighting two foes from front and back.
Thus, into this strike aimed at the thick-bearded seven-spring powerhouse, he poured all his strength, tracing an arcing sword trail through the darkness.
The thick-bearded powerhouse had never expected Li Weiyi to arrive so fast, and shock gripped his heart.
Yet having steeped himself in the martial way for nearly a cycle of sixty years, his temperament was exceptionally steady. Even in this moment of life-or-death crisis, he reacted with cold composure.
He swung the crescent short sword in his hand, clashing against the edge of the Yellow Dragon Sword.
*Screeech!*
Sparks flew amidst a grating screech of friction.
The two parted in a flash.
Li Weiyi landed before the door of the house where Zhao Meng and the others were sheltered. Looking at the blood sliding down the blade of the Yellow Dragon Sword, then at the thick-bearded seven-spring powerhouse who had tumbled to the bottom of the steps, a look of disappointment surfaced in his eyes.
Just shy of the mark.
The middle-aged man with the dark mole caught up, robbing Li Weiyi of any chance to deliver a follow-up strike.
With his current cultivation, even with the aid of a dharma artifact and the element of surprise, instantly slaying a seven-spring martial cultivator with a single sword strike remained as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The thick-bearded seven-spring powerhouse rose swiftly and felt his neck, his hand coming away coated in blood.
Looking down at the crescent short sword in his hand, he saw a deep notch on the blade.
One had to realize that this was no ordinary mortal weapon; it was a supreme dense heavy weapon. Even for a dharma artifact, damaging a supreme dense heavy weapon was by no means an easy feat.
*This target is prickly!*
The two exchanged glances and attacked together, flanking from left and right.
Their target was not Li Weiyi, but the building behind him.
Whatever their opponent was most determined to protect was precisely what they would attack.
Chapter 48