At this time, the sky was dark and the moon was rising. The dark tree canopies at the foot of the mountain covered patch after patch. A faint path led up the mountain. The roadside was overgrown with thorns and shrubs. On the platform halfway up the mountain, only a few huge pine trees swayed with the night wind. The platform was sparsely covered with grass and exposed rock.
Strategist Ji had been observing Li Yan all this time. After he had just picked up the overturned water pouch, he had discovered something different. The color of the rock on Li Yan's side was different from other places in the moonlight. The color was a little deeper. It was nothing for the water stain to deepen. After all, that place had just been soaked by the water spilled from the overturned water pouch, so it was naturally different from other places.
But just as Strategist Ji's gaze was about to move away, his heart moved, and he felt that something was faintly wrong. He looked at that place again. His eyes, filled with spiritual power, could see things in the moonlight as if it were daylight. He found that there seemed to be a faint glint in that place, obviously a reflection caused by water adhering to something. But because the distance was too far, he could not see clearly with his current magical power. He then looked down at the foot of the mountain and the halfway point of the mountain, calculating in his heart. There were no large trees from the foot of the mountain upwards. Basically, it was just thorns and shrubs spreading upwards. These low plants mostly grew horizontally close to the ground from their roots, their branches and vines crisscrossing. It was obviously very difficult to hide silently among them. But at the nearest foot of the mountain, there were still a few taller trees.
He then descended from the huge tree canopy like a nimble squirrel. In a few leaps, he had reached the foot of the tree. After a few more leaps, he had already reached the few trees at the foot of the mountain. He then chose a tree with the best angle to observe Li Yan and once again floated up lightly and nimbly.
Li Yan sat on the rock, leaning against a pine tree with his eyes closed, seemingly dozing. In fact, he had already raised his spiritual power to the maximum, listening with all his heart to the sounds around him.
He had been here for more than two days. Just now, he had suddenly felt as if he were being watched. Although he had not heard any sound, nor had he seen any person or animal, in that short moment, the natural balance of the world here that he had begun to familiarize himself with had suddenly been torn apart by a hand.
"Is it him? It's a pity that I've only cultivated the 'True Scripture of Gui Water' to the peak of the middle stage of the first layer. If I could break through to the second layer, then I would be able to release my divine sense. The chances of survival would be much greater then."
After these few months of arduous cultivation of the "True Scripture of Gui Water," his magical power had grown rapidly, and he had also begun to familiarize himself with many of the functions of this immortal art. Because this immortal art cultivates the five elements and they generate each other, his magical power was much higher than that of cultivators of the same rank. For example, an ordinary cultivator can only release his divine sense at the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage, but with the "True Scripture of Gui Water," one can already release it after breaking through to the second layer of the Qi Condensation stage.
"I can be sure that it wasn't that Hong Linying just now. I have already given him that 'Breath Guiding Technique' as the first layer's cultivation technique of the 'Woodyin Art.' Those incantations are the real deal. He won't be able to find any problems with them in a short period of time. It's just that he also doesn't have a spirit root, so he naturally won't be able to cultivate a sense of it. But as long as he feels that the 'manual' is not fake, he will be able to see its extraordinariness. With his martial arts fanatic nature, he should come over to fight for the subsequent cultivation techniques. Then the strange feeling just now is very likely that Ji Wenhe has already found this place. Although it was just a fleeting feeling, it can basically be determined. Now that this Ji Wenhe has chased me to this place, and Hong Linying has still not arrived, can it be that I can only resist him alone?"
Strategist Ji once again came to the treetop. Although this tree was only at the foot of the mountain and was not as tall as the tree he had been hiding in before, he could still barely see the platform, and the view was also much closer.
A moment later, a scornful smile appeared on Strategist Ji's dark face. "So it's a heavy torsion crossbow. Hong Linying even gave him this thing. He's truly vicious. If I'm not careful, it will be a big trouble."
"Heavy torsion crossbow," the string was woven from the tendons of several ordinary demonic beasts. It was equipped with a crossbow magazine, with seven powerful crossbow bolts loaded in advance. Its killing power was five to six times that of an ordinary bow and arrow, and two to three times that of an ordinary crossbow. It was generally drawn by three to four people. But this was not very practical. After continuous improvement by the skilled craftsmen in the army, it could be controlled by a single master who had cultivated internal energy. But even so, a second-rate master in the martial world could often only fire about three crossbow bolts continuously. So, after further improvement, a groove was added to this crossbow, which could accommodate an adult's forefoot. The crossbow mechanism was triggered by the strength of the leg. An ordinary adult could also possibly fire one bolt. Therefore, it was also called the "heavy foot crossbow."
This kind of portable weapon with great lethality could even be fatal to cultivators. An ordinary cultivator, before the Foundation Establishment stage, besides having magical power and some immortal arts, their body's toughness was only a little stronger than that of an ordinary person. If they were hit by such a deadly weapon, they would also die. But if they had taken precautions in advance, then it was a different matter.
There was another type of cultivator, the body refining cultivator. Even in the Qi Condensation stage, the toughness of their body was far different from that of an ordinary person. The specific hardness depended on the body cultivation technique they cultivated.
Strategist Ji carefully observed that small area. The "heavy foot crossbow" was hidden in the gap between the huge rock and the ground. It was possible that the gap was not very big, and also for the purpose of being able to take it out quickly and not easily expose his intentions, so only a little of the bowstring was exposed. And when Li Yan had accidentally knocked over the water pouch just now, some water droplets had stained the bowstring. If he hadn't noticed that faint reflection from the water attached to the string, and had been careless... At this thought, hatred for Hong Linying also rose in his heart. How could he have given such a deadly weapon to Li Yan?
Looking at the low thorns and shrubs extending up the mountain from the foot of the tree, Strategist Ji frowned. He was still about two hundred zhang away from the halfway point of the mountain. If he could sneak another hundred zhang, he was absolutely confident that he could get close to Li Yan before he could react.
However, his brow immediately relaxed. This was not a problem at all. Now that he had found Li Yan, for him, the rest was just to wait, to wait for an opportunity.
To put it bluntly, this opportunity was to wait until Li Yan was tired. Even with his cultivation at the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage, he still could not replace sleep with meditation. Let alone a person at the initial stage of the first layer of Qi Condensation.
Li Yan just sat on the rock. The night in the valley grew deeper, and the moonlight above grew cooler. Waves of sleepiness came over him. He slowly relaxed his body and leaned against the pine tree. His eyes also couldn't help but close.
Strategist Ji lay on the tree, watching Li Yan without blinking. At this time, it was already the middle of the night. Seeing Li Yan slowly close his eyes, he also began to slowly close his eyes and slowly regulate the spiritual power in his body. These two nights of high mental tension, plus the constant running, even a cultivator as strong as him was very tired.
Now that he had confirmed that Li Yan had started to sleep, he began to regulate his breath and gather his strength, and at the same time, let Li Yan enter a deeper sleep.
Half an hour later, Strategist Ji slowly opened his eyes. After looking at Li Yan for a while longer, his figure flickered and disappeared from the tree. Then, on the mountain path, his figure flickered again and then disappeared. The next moment, he appeared in a farther place. Only occasionally would the thorny branches and leaves on the small path sway slightly.
Looking at the increasingly close platform on the halfway point of the mountain, Strategist Ji's heart was as calm as water. Li Yan became clearer and clearer in his eyes. He calculated silently in his heart. In another two breaths, he would be able to get close to Li Yan. Looking at Li Yan, who was sleeping peacefully against the tree, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart. "How could a person sleep so peacefully in this valley?" Even if there were fewer demonic beasts in this place for some unknown reason, as he got closer and could see Li Yan's sleeping posture more clearly, the feeling of unease in his heart grew stronger. So, he poured his spiritual power into his legs and no longer hid his figure.
Just as Strategist Ji had made his decision, Li Yan, who was leaning against the tree, suddenly opened his eyes. A look of determination flashed in his bloodshot eyes. He lowered his body, and one hand and one foot had already reached under the rock. The next moment, all he had to do was grab, set, and release.
Strategist Ji was still in mid-air. Seeing Li Yan's eyes suddenly open, he shouted in his heart, "Not good." But he had already made a judgment in a flash of lightning. He twisted his body and pounced towards the "heavy foot crossbow."
It takes a long time to say, but in fact, it was just in a breath's time. Li Yan's hand had just touched the bowstring. Just as he was about to grab it and pull it out immediately, Strategist Ji had already pounced over with the sound of his black robe rustling. He bent his fingers into claws, one hand grabbing for Li Yan's outstretched wrist, the other hand expanding and grabbing for the bowstring in the crack of the rock.
Li Yan was greatly shocked to see this. How could he dare to go and get the "heavy foot crossbow"? He quickly retracted his arm, pushed off the ground with the tip of his foot, and rolled to the side in a sorry state.
Strategist Ji's one hand immediately grabbed nothing. This was also because he was trying to grab two things at the same time, limited by the reach of his arms. At this time, his other hand had already grabbed the bowstring in the gap between the rock and the ground. His body had also landed with exhausted strength. He then pulled outwards, tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, and was about to take the crossbow and leap up again to capture Li Yan.
Li Yan had now rolled not far from the rock surface. Before he could stand up and stabilize himself, Strategist Ji could reach him with just one leap.
But just at this moment, Strategist Ji suddenly felt his foot tighten. A great force pulled him up, head down and feet up. In just a moment, he was already in mid-air. Then, with a loud "crack," his speed suddenly increased, and his whole body plummeted towards the cliff behind the pine tree, like a meteor falling to the ground.
This sudden change greatly shocked Strategist Ji. In his haste, he only felt his head spin, and the wind whistled in his ears. His body was falling towards the cliff like a meteor. In just one or two breaths, he had already fallen seven or eight zhang.
What a Strategist Ji. After composing himself a little, he flicked his finger, and an arc-shaped wind blade flew towards his feet. Then his feet became light, and his falling momentum slowed down. He saw the opportunity, and with a lightning-fast movement, his other hand grabbed for the cliff wall. With a muffled "thud," he had actually deeply embedded his five fingers into the hard granite cliff wall. Then, with a force of his five fingers, his body was pulled up again. He tapped a protrusion on the cliff wall with the tip of his foot, and his body was pulled up another zhang or so. Then, with a few consecutive taps of his feet, he had already returned to the top of the cliff.
At this time, he could vaguely hear the sound of a heavy object falling to the bottom of the valley below. The height of this cliff must be no less than a hundred zhang. Just as Strategist Ji got to the top of the cliff, he saw a figure darting down the mountain. It turned out that Li Yan had just stretched his head to look down the cliff. He only saw that Strategist Ji had only fallen seven or eight zhang, and then he had used an immortal art to cut the huge rock on his foot, and had actually flown up again. He immediately felt that something was wrong.
Seeing this, Strategist Ji shouted, "Wretched disciple, where are you going?" He was already very angry, and a murderous intent rose in his heart. He had actually fallen into this boy's trap. If it weren't for the immortal art he possessed, he would have been buried at the bottom of the cliff this time. To this day, he still didn't know how he had fallen into the boy's scheme.
This angry shout shook the forest valley. Flocks of roosting birds in the forest flew out of the forest. Li Yan, in front, heard this and was immediately anxious in his heart. He plunged into the thorny shrubs on the side of the mountain path without choosing his path. He no longer cared about being cut by the thorns and stumbled and rolled away diagonally.
Seeing this, Strategist Ji snorted coldly and leaped out in the air. But Li Yan was also desperately rolling, and his speed down the mountain was really much faster. After a few leaps, Strategist Ji had actually not been able to intercept him. After a few more breaths, he was almost at the foot of the mountain. But Strategist Ji had just caught up to Li Yan. Seeing Li Yan in his tattered black robe forcibly stop his rolling momentum and stumble to his feet before disappearing into the forest, Strategist Ji was in mid-air, a murderous glint in his eyes. He flicked his finger again, and a blue arc-shaped wind blade slashed towards Li Yan's leg. He was determined to cut off Li Yan's leg.
Li Yan's whole body was filled with spiritual power. On his way down just now, although he had many injuries on his body, they were all superficial. His internal organs were protected by his spiritual power and were not injured in the slightest. Just as he stood up and was about to disappear into the forest, he suddenly sensed a sharp force shooting towards his leg. A warning bell immediately went off in his heart. He then poured his spiritual power into his leg, and at the same time, his body forcibly twisted, shifting his direction. This sudden twist of his body made his internal organs feel stuffy, and he almost fainted. Then he only felt a sharp pain in his leg. Looking down, a blue light blade had just grazed his thigh and flashed past, taking a piece of flesh and blood with it. It turned out that although his reaction was fast, whether it was his magical power, martial arts, or combat experience, they were all far inferior to the experienced Strategist Ji. Not to mention that Strategist Ji had also use
Li Yan let out a muffled groan, lost strength in his leg, and fell down. Seeing this, Strategist Ji gave a sinister smile and strode over.