NOVEL NEXT Chapter 525: Ping'an Village
The next stop past Jiaonan Town, according to the map, is also known as Taiping Village.
Tian Lin and his companions traveled north following the map, spending no more than an hour, until they finally saw the distant town.
The town was shrouded in Yin energy, and as they approached, the Peace Incense in their hands quickly ignited by itself.
The change in the Peace Incense did not frighten Tian Lin and his companions, because self-burning Peace Incense and the presence of Evil Spirits in Taiping Village were expected.
How could there not be Evil Spirits within the secret realm?
Therefore, Tian Lin and his companions did not flee because of the self-igniting Peace Incense; instead, they approached Taiping Village.
Upon seeing the three True Disciples in purple robes and two other disciples from the Demon Hunting Bureau in Taiping Village, they felt even less fear.
"Last time we yielded to them, but this time we cannot yield anymore."
Mei Xiangu spoke and accelerated towards Taiping Village.
Seeing Wang Yanyu closely following, Tian Lin, lagging behind, had no choice but to rush into Taiping Village.
At this time, Zhou Ting and his companions were planning to enter the village and Mei Xiangu's sudden appearance caught their attention.
They each held their magical treasures, watching Mei Xiangu and Wang Yanyu land cautiously. Zhou Ting smiled and said:
"So it's Mei Junior Sister— it seems Mei Junior Sister has taken Jiaonan Town into her grasp, truly worthy of congratulations."
Mei Xiangu was not one for small talk, and she did not retreat due to Zhou Ting's friendly demeanor, straightforwardly saying:
"We yielded the first small town to you, but this Taiping Village, we cannot let you have again."
Zhou Ting did not reply, but a female cultivator next to him stepped forward angrily: "Things should be prioritized! We arrived at Taiping Village first, so naturally, we should set the flag here."
Mei Xiangu laughed and said: "According to your logic, the first town should have been ours— how about this, you give Taiping Village to us, and I'll go back and replace your flag in the first town with mine!"
How could the other side agree to Mei Xiangu's proposal?
There Zhou Ting sighed and continued,
"It's impossible to hand over Taiping Village to Mei Junior Sister. If Mei Junior Sister truly disagrees, we'll have to fight. Although we have five people here and you only have three, don't say we're winning unfairly."
Zhou Ting was not afraid of Mei Xiangu and her companions, and Mei Xiangu did not think she would lose to Zhou Ting and his group.
As she spoke, she took out the Divine Lady Tree, ready to make a move, but the late-arriving Tian Lin spoke up: "You keep talking about Taiping Village, but is this really Taiping Village? I feel something is not right."
Zhou Ting was taken aback, put away his magical treasure, and then opened the map for a look, saying: "This is indeed north of Jiaonan Town, it should be Taiping Village."
Mei Xiangu also put away the Divine Lady Tree, looking at the archway at the village entrance.
Though the archway was old, the words on it were clear enough. She frowned and pointed at the archway, saying: "It does indeed say Taiping Village, what could be wrong?"
Tian Lin suddenly realized that he had eaten the True Eye Fruit, making him immune to illusions. Mei Xiangu and others, however, had mortal eyes and could not see the reality behind the illusion.
What he saw was Taiping Village, while what he saw was Ping'an Village.
"This place is wrong, everyone, let's go!"
After saying this, Tian Lin flew over the archway to leave the village.
Mei Xiangu and Wang Yanyu trusted Tian Lin's judgment, hence, when he took off, they also flew up.
Zhou Ting and his companions followed closely!
Though they were on bad terms with Tian Lin and his companions, they weren't foolish enough to doubt Tian Lin's ability.
Unfortunately, as they flew up intending to cross the archway, a Wolf Fang Club naturally descended from the sky.
Calling it a Wolf Fang Club, it looked like an iron mountain full of iron trees descending from the sky, smashing towards Tian Lin and the others ferociously.
"Retreat quickly!"
Originally rushing to exit the archway, Tian Lin retreated, immediately flying back into the village.
Zhou Ting and others were not slow either, as they were already trailing behind Tian Lin and his group when flying out of the village. Seeing Tian Lin retreating, they all returned mid-flight, landing safely.
However, a Demon Hunting Bureau disciple had lesser prowess and failed to react when Tian Lin and others retreated. Instead of retreating, he collided head-on with the Wolf Fang Club.
A 'boom' sounded, like a needle puncturing a balloon. The Wolf Fang Club hit the Outer Disciple in the Golden Core Realm, instantly crushing him into meat paste without leaving any trace of his Divine Soul.
The power of the Wolf Fang Club was such that not only Tian Lin and his companions, but even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would likely die if struck.
Du Qiping's face turned pale, frightened he retreated two steps but was grabbed by Zhou Ting.
Zhou Ting looked at Du Qiping and said: "Du Junior Brother, are you sure this is Taiping Village?"
Zhou Ting's expression was not good, as it was based on Du Qiping's words and leading them here.
Surprisingly, he couldn't insert the flag to gain merit, and now it seemed escape itself was impossible.
"Senior Brother, I swear, this is indeed Taiping Village."
His words had just finished when a thick fog suddenly enveloped the entire village.
While holding onto Du Qiping's collar to keep him from running, Zhou Ting looked cautiously all around.
Tian Lin along with Wang Yanyu and Mei Xiangu gathered together, all took Incense candles from their Storage Bags.
The incense candles could keep Evil Spirits away, but the fog obstructed everyone's vision, concealing the archway and the huts and houses behind it.
Zhou Ting's face was grim, and he couldn't help saying: "The Wolf Fang Club from earlier had the power of a Divinity Transformation expert, but it couldn't possibly be an Evil Spirit of Divinity Transformation Realm here, right?"
At this moment, the thick fog obscured everyone's vision, and Tian Lin could no longer see Zhou Ting.
"If it really is an Evil Spirit of Divinity Transformation Realm, only Senior Brother Zhai Xingzi could deal with it. But we need not be overly pessimistic, I doubt an Evil Spirit of Divinity Transformation Realm would appear here."
"Oh? What high insight does Tian Junior Brother have?"
Zhou Ting's voice came through, evidently wanting to hear Tian Lin's explanation.
But Tian Lin had no high insights.
He only knew they mustn't lose their nerve now, so he could only firmly claim there was no Evil Spirit of Divinity Transformation Realm to reassure everyone.
"Just a shallow view, if Senior Brother Zhou wants to hear it, I'll tell you after the crisis is over."
Tian Lin responded perfunctorily, as the village fog became denser now.
People dared not wander the village recklessly, and Tian Lin took out the Array Flags from the Storage Bag and began to set up around a five-meter radius.
In such urgency, a complete array could not be arranged, but with Array Flags for protection, they at least provided a sense of security.
It was strange, the fog in the village was thickening and there was the appearance of a Wolf Fang Club earlier.
But since it killed a person, the club disappeared, and there was no Evil Spirit attacking them within the fog.
The entire village was quiet, as if it were a typical village.
Unsure how long they stayed amidst the fog, it gradually thinned.
When the fog completely dissipated, they finally saw the archway at the village entrance.
However, at this moment, the archway has changed its appearance, Zhou Ting and others looked at the archway and couldn't help but say: "Indeed, it's Ping'an Village!"
Zhou Ting looked at Tian Lin: "Junior Brother, how did you know this was Ping'an Village?"