Chapter 21: The Might of the Golden Blade
"Only you are allowed to use poison but someone else isn't?"
Lan Chang'an, having successfully struck Ge Yi, couldn't help but sneer.
Ge Yi had been wary of Lan Chang'an attacking in close quarters, never expecting the use of hidden needles.
The needle rays from before were from the "Seven Ingenious Needles" magical weapon set that Lan Chang'an had purchased at the September Building.
As a low-grade magical weapon, the power of a single needle from the "Seven Ingenious Needles" was quite limited unless it struck a vital point.
Therefore, Lan Chang'an had imbued all seven needles with poison.
Unfortunately, since Lan Chang'an had been stuck at the Mu family's residence with limited trading resources, he could only obtain common mixed poisons.
The potency of the poison was far inferior to Ge Yi's Marrow Corroding Powder.
However, the poisoned needle attacks were enough to reduce Ge Yi's strength.
"Insidious and underhanded Junior! Mu Maode valued you highly, but one day it will backfire on him." Ge Yi roared angrily, hurriedly recalling the Flying Shuttle.With his legs poisoned, his movements were impeded. He tried to ride the magical weapon and fly away, putting distance between Lan Chang'an and himself.
"Stay put!"
How could Lan Chang'an let Ge Yi escape so easily after becoming mortal enemies? He absolutely could not let him go.
Recalling the medium-grade magical weapon Bedrock Shield.
Aided by the Wind Speed Talisman, he moved as swiftly as a raging wind, controlling the "Seven Ingenious Needles" to pursue.
He also took out another low-grade offensive magical weapon, the Dark Gold Blade.
With two offensive magical weapons, the unrelenting barrage kept Ge Yi from taking flight.
Lan Chang'an also threw out a Frostwind Talisman.
A chilling frost wind swirled, its power not strong but serving to slow Ge Yi down.
On the other side, the pale-faced Mu Xiuyun controlled her silver ruler to entangle Ge Yi's black net magical weapon, occasionally throwing out talisman slips as well.
Both Lan Chang'an and Mu Xiuyun were Talisman Masters with ample supplies of medium and low-grade talisman slips.
As for high-grade talisman slips:
Mu Xiuyun had a low success rate in creating them and they were costly, so she mainly used them on the front lines. She only had one offensive and one defensive superior-grade talisman left, which had been used up earlier.
Naturally, Lan Chang'an also had high-grade talisman slips, but he was reserving them a bit.
"Damn it! Two Talisman Masters, there's no end to it!" Ge Yi was suffering terribly under such intense offensive pressure. If he was at full strength, relying on his superior cultivation and magical weapons, he would have a decent chance of slowly wearing them down. But due to the poison sapping his strength and impairing his mobility, he was at a disadvantage.
In the vicinity of the Mu family's residence, a prolonged fight would only lead to death.
Thus, such a scene unfolded:
An old man in ancient robes, limping with swollen eyes, being chased and attacked by a man and woman, roaring incessantly.
"Quick, help me—"
Gritting his teeth through some minor injuries, Ge Yi ran to the entrance of the herb garden, shouting loudly.
Upon hearing it, Lan Chang'an and the others turned deathly pale.
Could it be that Ge Yi had reinforcements?
"Poof!"
At this moment, Mu Xiuyun coughed out a mouthful of dark purple coagulated blood, brownish spots appearing on her snowy complexion as her lithe body suddenly went soft, and she was about to collapse.
"Are you alright?"
Lan Chang'an flickered over and held Mu Xiuyun in his arms.
Checking her pulse briefly, he found that Mu Xiuyun's magical power was depleted and the deadly poison was flaring up.
Fortunately, the sachet magical weapon at Mu Xiuyun's waist had blocked most of the potent poison. Otherwise, an ordinary sixth layer Qi-Refining cultivator would have succumbed to the poison long ago.
Lan Chang'an infused a strand of his Evergreen mana to help alleviate Mu Xiuyun's condition.
Suddenly, the sound of air being torn apart came from the nearby mountains, accompanied by a powerful fluctuation of spiritual energy.
"Master Ge Dan, even with the Marrow Corroding Powder and Earth Burrowing Rat helping you, you still couldn't deal with two little brats?" An unsatisfied male voice rang out.
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a full beer belly, wearing a tall mountain hat.
"Elder Zheng, it was my carelessness and arrogance. Plus, that kid is indeed not ordinary..." Ge Yi forced a bitter smile, while also letting out a slight sigh of relief.
"The ninth layer of Qi-Refining!" Lan Chang'an's heart felt a chill as he sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations from the middle-aged man in the tall mountain hat.
"Zheng family elder... Zheng Yuanhua, run quickly!" Mu Xiuyun recognized the man's identity, her face full of despair and her whole body turning ice-cold.
Without her saying anything, Lan Chang'an activated a superior-grade Wind Speed Talisman, swiftly carrying Mu Xiuyun and fleeing at an astonishing speed.
"Carrying a woman and thinking you can run away? That would be a big joke." Zheng Yuanhua stood with his hands behind his back, letting out a cold laugh as he took out a flying boat and let Ge Yi board it with him.
Ge Yi's face beamed with delight. A flying boat was a specialized flight magic weapon far exceeding the speed of ordinary weapons.
There was absolutely no way for Lan Chang'an and the others to escape!
As Zheng Yuanhua made a hand seal to activate the flying boat, his body suddenly froze as he sensed something and turned to look.
"Such audacity! To treat the Mu family as insignificant."
Half a mile away, the sinister voice of a man rang out.
"Mu Renglong? How did you get here so quickly!"
Zheng Yuanhua's expression turned grave as his brow furrowed slightly. Earlier, he had also seen the signal talisman from the herb garden.
But Feiyue Mountain Villa was more than two hundred miles from the herb garden and with the flying speed of a Qi-Refining cultivator, it should not have been possible to arrive this fast.
As for the Foundation Establishment Realm ancestor, he knew the precise information that the patriarchs of both families were currently engaged on the front lines.
Therefore, Zheng Yuanhua dared to implement such a bold plan, coming to the herb garden alone to assist Ge Yi.
"Elder Ge, I'll hold off Mu Renglong. You have sixty breaths of time to fly the boat and kill the Mu family's young lady. No need to leave any survivors!" Zheng Yuanhua's mind raced as he immediately made a decision.
The duck they had gotten their hands on could not be allowed to fly away. Today, he was going to snatch the food from the tiger's mouth!
"Rest assured, Elder Zheng! With only that brat left, it won't be difficult to deal with him."
Ge Yi's eyes showed a murderous intent as he swallowed a detoxifying pill and boarded the flying boat to give chase.
After a few breaths of time. A tall, hawk-eyed man in black robes rode a blue flying boat, catching up to them.
"Mu Renglong, it's been a long time since we last crossed hands. Let me see if your Thunder Marsh Art has improved."
Zheng Yuanhua raised his palm, whipping up a sandstorm with howling winds.
"You're courting death—"
Mu Renglong's face radiated a sinister aura as he glanced regretfully toward Lan Chang'an and Mu Xiuyun, a deep orb of flickering lightning coalescing in his palm.
...
In the valley between the mountains, Lan Chang'an held Mu Xiuyun in his arms, aided by the Lightfoot Talisman to move at incredible speed.
An ordinary late Qi-Refining cultivator would find it difficult to keep up.
"Lan Chang'an, put me down. You'll move faster and have a chance to live..." The Mu Xiuyun in his arms was fading in and out of consciousness, her words slurred. Her jade-like face was dotted with brownish spots, and her complexion growing worse.
"Only one person is pursuing us?"
Lan Chang'an glanced back at the flying boat in the sky, silently severing his connection to the Nine Seal Stele.
"My lady, you rest first."
Lan Chang'an extended a hand and placed it on Mu Xiuyun's forehead.
Circulating his Evergreen mana, a calming force allowed Mu Xiuyun to feel exceptionally comfortable before she fell into a deep sleep.
"Lan Chang'an, let's see where you can run!" Ge Yi maneuvered the flying boat, rapidly closing in. He was in great shape, with the poison damage mostly stabilized, able to exert ninety percent of his full power.
Lan Chang'an remained calm, surveying the terrain until he spotted a river. His eyes lit up as he carried Mu Xiuyun to the riverbank and placed her on a boulder.
After doing so, he turned and waited by the river's edge.
"Haha! What, did you find yourself a feng shui treasure spot?" Ge Yi revealed an amused smile. But inwardly he was on guard, unable to understand Lan Chang'an's actions.
"Elder Ge is truly perceptive." Lan Chang'an gave a half-smile in praise.
"Die!" With only sixty breaths of time left, over half already gone, Ge Yi could not afford to delay any longer.
Whew!
That densely woven black net released a gray whirlwind, exuding an aura that could overwhelm the mind and soul as it descended upon Lan Chang'an.
Lan Chang'an had witnessed the might of this special magical weapon and did not dare underestimate it.
He took out the Bedrock Shield, expanding it into a massive wall-like barrier to block most of the black net's power head-on. As for the mind-influencing force from the black net, it had almost no effect on Lan Chang'an.
"Chop!"
Ge Yi struck with full power, taking out the Flying Shuttle medium-grade magical weapon which transformed into a cold ray of light, intending to bypass the frontal defense of the Jade Rock Shield and strike Lan Chang'an from behind.
At the same moment Ge Yi summoned the Flying Shuttle, Lan Chang'an also made his move, a talisman slip covered in faint golden lines appearing in his palm.
With a light tap, the talisman slip with golden lines emanated a sharp, cutting aura.
"That is..." Ge Yi felt a shudder run through him. He only glimpsed a flash of golden light and in the next instant,
His vision suddenly flipped upside down as he plummeted from midair.
He saw the bloodied flying boat, and a headless corpse aboard it.
Behind the headless corpse,
A golden blade ray over a zhang long slashed through the sky.
"I..." With astonishment and terror, Ge Yi's consciousness plunged into endless darkness.
"The Golden Blade Talisman, my unique secret talisman, brings you back to the heavens in this life." A surge of heroic spirit rose within Lan Chang'an's calm demeanor.
After Ge Yi was killed by a single slash, the black net and Flying Shuttle magical weapon lost control and fell to the ground. There was also the flying boat.
Lan Chang'an quickly collected these few magical weapons and also ransacked Ge Yi's storage pouch, clearing the battlefield and confirming nothing was left behind.
Lan Chang'an placed Ge Yi's corpse by the riverside and ignited a fireball to burn it. When it was almost burnt to ashes, he kicked the remains into the swift currents of the great river.
Any traces left on the riverbank were quickly washed away by the waves, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Indeed! This was the feng shui treasure spot I chose, convenient for disposing of the corpse and leaving no traces!"
(End of chapter)
There's some author notes in the coming chapters, should I translate them even if they aren't very important?