Reliable Tao Yaoye

"Hey, this is a great idea!" Meng Jingzhou laughed, finally relaxing. Now that Tao Yaoye was controlling their three bodies, none of them had to do a thing. "I came up with it on the fly, too. But that just shows how brilliant Junior Sister Tao is. One look from me and she understood my meaning right away." Lu Yang felt rather smug about his clever plan. At first, Man Gu hadn't realized what was happening and had tried to resist the illusion, but Lu Yang had talked him down. "This is an illusion cast by Junior Sister Tao to keep the three of us from getting dizzy." In reality, the three fought with bold, sweeping movements, exuding the grandeur of ancient generals cleaving through thousands of troops. Tao Yaoye grew more and more adept at controlling them, routing their attackers left and right. The Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain exchanged looks, reading the shock in each other's eyes. As expected of Dao Seeking Sect disciples, their way of fighting was entirely different from ordinary cultivators. "What kind of battle technique is this!?" the crowd in the mud pit cried out in shock. Since ancient times, whenever three people attacked at the same time, conflicting wills or imperfect coordination inevitably prevented them from unleashing their full strength. For instance, though seven people were besieging Lu Yang, the actual power they produced amounted to only three or four. Lu Yang and his companions, on the other hand, had their combat power tripled upon merging. They coordinated seamlessly, bringing every ounce of their might to bear. "Is this a Buddhist method of combat!?" No one could blame them for guessing as much. Buddhists rarely fought to begin with; Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were plainly Buddhist disciples, and the fierce-looking Man Gu who had appeared later was likely raised as some sort of Buddhist guardian. "Buddhist combat techniques are truly a rare sight. We've finally witnessed one today." This would serve as boasting material, at least. Shaved hair could grow back, but witnessing a Buddhist fighting style was far harder to come by. By the lakeshore, Tao Yaoye was panting with exhaustion. She had to sustain the illusion while simultaneously figuring out how to direct the trio's movements to break through the encirclement. Lu Yang had likely drawn far too much hostility, for the crowd was adamantly refusing to let him leave. *Since the goal of this trip is the Twin Conjoined Lotus, taking the lotus should be enough, right?* Using an illusion to erase her presence, Tao Yaoye secretly leaped into the mud pit and plucked the Twin Conjoined Lotus. "The lotus is go—" Someone glanced back by chance and discovered that the lotus had vanished. Just as he was about to shout, Tao Yaoye extended an index finger and gently tapped his forehead, plunging him into a deep illusion. Seeing that the lotus was in hand, Tao Yaoye bolted, leaving only a graceful silhouette behind. "The lotus is gone!" someone finally shouted, noticing that the most important prize of their expedition—the Twin Conjoined Lotus—had been stolen. "She's the one who took it!" someone cried, pointing toward the fleeing Tao Yaoye. "After her!" More than half the crowd rushed off in pursuit of Tao Yaoye, allowing Lu Yang's group to breathe a sigh of relief. The remaining twenty or thirty late Foundation Establishment cultivators posed little threat. None of the three worried about Tao Yaoye. She excelled at illusions, so throwing off pursuers was child's play for her; even Meng Jingzhou lacked total confidence in piercing her illusions. Within the Foundation Establishment stage, Tao Yaoye's illusions could be called peerless. Only Lu Yang, with his peculiar cultivation technique, was impervious to them. "Young Hero Lu, Young Hero Meng, Miss Tao just told us to let you know she'll be waiting for you at the Yuanming Inn," the hook-nosed boss called out, hurrying over after seeing Lu Yang swiftly finish off the remaining cultivators. "All right, got it. Thank you for the trouble, Boss Eagle." The hook-nosed boss waved his hands frantically. "I wouldn't dare take credit! We were completely useless this time around." Man Gu added, "The Yuanming Inn is where Senior Sister Tao and I are staying in Demon Quelling Pass." Among the top five of their class, Tao Yaoye ranked third and Man Gu fourth. Lu Yang smiled. "What a coincidence. The Yuanming Inn is where Meng Jingzhou and I are staying, too. Let's head back. Junior Sister Tao might even beat us there." *** When they returned to the inn, Tao Yaoye was indeed already waiting. She leaned against the wall, stifling a bored yawn, a wooden box held in her right hand. "What on earth are you three wearing?" Tao Yaoye looked at them with a strange expression. All three wore black hoods pulled low over their faces, looking as though they had just done something shameful. Such attire was fairly common in Demon Quelling Pass, but it was certainly unusual on Lu Yang. Lu Yang sighed. "On our way back, we ran into some cultivators whose heads I'd shaved. The three of us didn't want to be recognized, so we had to disguise ourselves. I guess we've offended practically every late Foundation Establishment cultivator in Demon Quelling Pass." Tao Yaoye rolled her eyes. "Didn't you bring that on yourself by insisting on using Arhat Fist? And why does Arhat Fist make people lose their hair anyway? Does it literally punch people into arhats?" "It's called urging people toward virtue, a hallmark of mastering the Arhat Fist! Besides, who knew its hair-loss effect was that potent?" Lu Yang tried his best to argue. Acting as if she hadn't heard his excuses, Tao Yaoye lifted the wooden box in her hand. "The Conjoined Lotus is here. Let's head upstairs." The box was made of fine sandalwood, capable of blocking spiritual sense to ensure none of the Twin Conjoined Lotus's scent leaked out. "Then we shall take our leave, young heroes," the Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain said, cupping their fists in farewell to Lu Yang. "Let's go. Meng Jingzhou and I are staying in this inn too." "Such a coincidence?" Tao Yaoye paused, then recalled Meng Jingzhou's background. "Is it because this is the most expensive inn in Demon Quelling Pass?" "Spot on," Meng Jingzhou chuckled. He had always chosen only the most expensive options, and inns were no exception. The four of them headed up to Meng Jingzhou's room. "Why did the two of you come to Demon Quelling Pass?" Lu Yang asked curiously. *Did they also risk their lives asking Eldest Senior Sister about her age and get exiled here?* "A few days ago, I gained some new insights from my cultivation and wanted someone to discuss them with, so I went to Tianmen Peak to find you," Tao Yaoye explained. "Eldest Senior Sister told me you weren't there and had already been training at Demon Quelling Pass with Meng Jingzhou for ten days. She said she had been keeping an eye on your progress, saw that your training in Demon Quelling Pass was going well, and suggested that Man Gu and I come here as well. "We originally wanted to invite Li Haoran too, but for some reason, Eldest Senior Sister said it wasn't safe for him to leave the Dao Seeking Sect right now, so she didn't let him come. "And so, just the two of us came." As Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou listened, cold sweat broke out across their backs. Eldest Senior Sister truly saw and knew all; it was a stroke of immense luck that they had minded their words and behavior over the past few days without speaking ill of her. Meng Jingzhou, in particular, felt a lingering dread. He still remembered calling their assignment an exile to the borderlands when they first arrived in the dense forest. If not for Lu Yang's timely reminder, he would have brought disaster upon himself. As she spoke, Tao Yaoye opened the sandalwood box. Inside, the Twin Conjoined Lotus lay quietly. "Now that we've gone through the trouble of snatching the Conjoined Lotus, how should we divide it?" *Lu Yang, I want the lotus seeds! Lotus seeds are delicious!* the Immortal Fairy clamored inside his spiritual space, slapping the ground to get his attention. Lu Yang pretended not to hear a thing from his spiritual space.