Chapter 144: Destinies Have Fixed Bounds

Dang Gui-Yi’s expression changed drastically, and he said, "Fellow cultivator, you tricked me! You have no regard for your word!"

"Heh!"

The middle-aged man chuckled. "Since it was a deception, it has nothing to do with trustworthiness."

The other two closed in from a few zhang away.

Their appearances and attire were not unfamiliar; they were cultivators who had previously appeared in the Treasure Pavilion. They had clearly colluded, setting a trap solely to harm others.

Dang Gui-Yi looked left and right, panicking as he said, "The three of you have broken the rules of the Treasure Pavilion. Aren't you afraid of the City Lord of Twilight Sky City holding you accountable?"

"Rest assured, no one knows about this."

"How could no one know? I'll go report this right away..."

"Dead men make no sound."

"You..."

The other two lost their patience and resorted to intimidation—

"Wanting to stay alive isn't hard. Hand over your storage rings!"

"The two brats have low cultivation yet hoard a stash of fine treasures. Instead of letting others benefit, why not let you and us brothers have them!"

Only then did Yu Ye finally understand.

Back at the Treasure Pavilion, the flying sword he had inadvertently taken out, along with the tiger skin, tiger bones, and beast-taming ring sold by Dang Gui-Yi, had drawn the attention of those present and stirred malicious intent in these three cultivators.

An ordinary man is not guilty, but his treasure is his crime. This principle applied just as much to Great Marsh as it did to Qizhou. Wherever there were people, there was the pugilist world; wherever there was deceit, there was contention, a struggle of life and death.

Dang Gui-Yi glanced at Yu Ye and transmitted his voice, "My calculation failed this time. I thought there was only one person, but who would have thought he had helpers. Fellow Daoist Yu, do you have any chance of winning against three..."

His words betrayed despair and panic, yet also revealed a shred of lingering hope in his heart.

Fellow Daoist Yu had once killed Qi Jun and Qi Shi; ordinary Qi-refining cultivators were no match for him, but fighting three at once now seemed to leave little chance of victory.

"Cast an esoteric Earth Escape Talisman then! Even a Foundation Establishment expert won't be able to catch up!"

"Alas, I only have this one last life-saving talisman left; how could I use it casually? Why don't you hold them off for a moment while I head back to Twilight Sky City to find someone for help..."

"Whom will you find for help?"

"City Lord Bi and Elder Chu Yuan, of course..."

The two stood together and whispered.

Fearing that complications might arise, the middle-aged man and his two companions simultaneously summoned their flying swords.

At that very instant, Yu Ye sprang up from the ground. Three streaks of sword light shifted accordingly, attacking him in unison. With a deafening explosion of sword radiance, his leaping figure abruptly vanished.

While the middle-aged man was still in shock, the vanished figure reappeared. Following closely, a stream of sword Qi shattered his protective magic with a sharp *crack*, and another streak followed hot on its heels, piercing straight through his Dantian Qi ocean with a *thud*.

Yet no sooner had Yu Ye's fierce attack succeeded than a burst of radiance arrived at his back. The murderous intent was so fierce and unstoppable that it felt irresistible. He urged the Heavenly Dragon Shield for defense, only to see a dragon shadow flash and collapse with a *bang*. The powerful murderous aura was akin to an attack from a Foundation Establishment expert, instantly enveloping him and making it hard to break free. His heart leaped in terror, and he once again executed the Incarnation Technique. Just as the sword radiance struck his avatar, he narrowly escaped death. Before he could even catch his breath, a piercing bird screech resounded overhead, followed immediately by a roaring wave of crimson flames. A massive bird was swooping down from the sky, and the fire it spewed far surpassed that of a departure-fire talisman. Having no time to react, he hastily brandished a Golden Armor Talisman. With a dazzling flash of golden light, he blocked the bird's blazing inferno by a hair's breadth, while a streak of sword light seized the opportune moment to launch a fierce attack. Seemingly no longer able to parry, he staggered and fell beneath the sword light.

Simultaneously, with muffled splatters of blood, two corpses crashed to the ground, both slain with bloody holes blasted through their lower abdomens, their Dao cultivation utterly destroyed. The fire-breathing giant bird vanished along with them, and two short swords fell into the undergrowth.

When silence returned to the forest, only Yu Ye remained standing, still panting and looking thoroughly shaken.

He had experienced many grueling battles and had fought outnumbered or defeated the strong while being weak. Yet the sheer ferocity of the three cultivators' assaults and the strength of their methods still exceeded his imagination.

However, where had Dang Gui-Yi run off to?

In the forest, there were only he and three corpses.

That successor of the Five Thunders Orthodox Method had actually vanished!

While Yu Ye was still puzzled, a short figure popped up from the ground a dozen paces away. He hurriedly scooped the storage rings left behind by the three corpses into his pouch and picked up the two flying swords on the side. But since the third flying sword had been snatched by someone else, he could not help shouting angrily—

Dang Gui-Yi was the very person who had seized the flying sword in the chaos, and he justified it righteously: "I excel at strategy, while you excel at killing. Since my strategy failed, it naturally fell to you to handle the rest. Destiny has its set limits, and we each stick to our own roles, that's all!"

"Fallacy!"

"Alright, you grabbed three storage rings; you've made a fortune tonight yet won't share any benefits with me. How stingy!"

Too busy to argue, Yu Ye produced a departure-fire talisman to burn the three corpses to ashes.

Mindful of something, Dang Gui-Yi urged him, "The top priority is to quickly check whether the teleportation talismans are real."

Yu Ye retrieved a storage ring and fished out five identical talismans from within.

Snatching the talismans, Dang Gui-Yi rejoiced, "These teleportation talismans don't look forged, and there are actually five of them, haha!"

Yu Ye then produced a jade token, a look of astonishment crossing his face.

Dang Gui-Yi leaned in to take a look, and he too was dumbfounded.

"Southern Qi, meaning the State of Qi. Is this a disciple token of the Profound Spirit Immortal Sect?"

The two-inch-sized jade token was engraved with the words 'Southern Qi Profound Spirit' on one side and the character 'Huang' on the other—clearly an item exclusive to disciples of the immortal sect.

Yu Ye once again took out the remaining two storage rings and found two identical Profound Spirit Immortal Sect tokens inside. He could not help looking at Dang Gui-Yi, who stared right back at him with wide eyes.

The three people he had killed turned out to be disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect. And the high-level cultivator serving as Twilight Sky City's honored guest, the Foundation Establishment expert named Chu Yuan, was a senior figure of the Profound Spirit Sect; how could he not recognize his own sect's disciples?

Judging by this, tonight's trap was nine-tenths related to Chu Yuan. Or rather, that man had colluded with his disciples, using the guise of buying and trading treasures at the Treasure Pavilion to plot for wealth and take lives...

The two looked at each other in dismay, shuddering slightly.

"Forget about returning to the city this time!"

"Go back to court death? Getting as far away from Twilight Sky City as possible is the best course of action!"

"Where shall we go?"

"The Profound Spirit Immortal Sect..."

...

Early the next morning.

A middle-aged man and a young man arrived at the forest outside the city.

The former was none other than Twilight Sky City's honored guest, Chu Yuan. Exquisitely dressed and used to a life of luxury, he was stroking his beard with an expression of profound puzzlement.

The young man, in his early twenties, moved with practiced efficiency and an extraordinary bearing as he attentively scanned their surroundings.

A patch of ashes and the traces of a fierce battle remained on the forest clearing.

After inspecting for a moment, the young man spoke up, "If this disciple's judgment is not mistaken, Huang Tian and the other two have already fallen and perished!"

"Hmm!"

"Whose hands did the three senior brothers die by?"

"Ming Ye, in your view, what happened?"

"It has to do with the Treasure Pavilion."

Chu Yuan gave a noncommittal hum and produced a jade ring.

The man addressed as Ming Ye asked with curiosity, "A beast-taming ring?"

Nodding, Chu Yuan replied, "This is a beast-taming ring from the Myriad Beasts Manor, engraved with the Yu family's mark. I am old acquaintances with Qi Huan, the master of the Myriad Beasts Manor, which is why I recognize this item. Yet the restrictions on this beast-taming ring are completely undamaged—truly baffling!"

Ming Ye realized with a start, "The beast-taming ring was obtained by killing someone; it's stolen property. Whoever dared to fence stolen goods at the Treasure Pavilion has quite a lot of nerve!"

"A junior at the first layer of Qi Refining."

"This person killed a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Manor? That shouldn't be..."

"That's what I thought too, so I instructed Huang Tian to investigate in secret. Who would have thought the three of them would never return, heh!"

Chu Yuan smiled, though not a trace of a smile reached his eyes.

In disbelief, Ming Ye murmured, "Could there be an expert hiding in the shadows, making an enemy of Master and making an enemy of the Profound Spirit Immortal Sect?"

"Regardless of anything else, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!"

Handing over the ring, Chu Yuan instructed, "Ming Ye, go immediately to the Myriad Beasts Manor to meet Qi Huan. Tell him this item came from a wretched-looking young junior."

Ming Ye stretched out both hands to receive the ring.

Chu Yuan added, "Oh, that brat also has a companion, about seventeen or eighteen years old, whose cultivation cannot be discerned, yet he possesses both a storage ring and a beast-taming ring. Inform Manor Master Qi Huan of this as well, and ask him to render his full assistance!"

"This disciple will return to the mountain immediately and use the teleportation array to reach the Myriad Beasts Manor!"

Bowing in assent, Ming Ye turned and hurried away.

Hearing the words 'teleportation array,' Chu Yuan fell into deep contemplation...

...

According to the map, Twilight Sky City was located in the northeast of the State of Qi, over fifty thousand miles away from the Zhongshan State.

The Profound Spirit Immortal Sect, on the other hand, was situated on Mount Xuankun, southwest of Twilight Sky City. Although the two locations were a thousand miles apart, it was merely a three-day journey for a Qi-refining cultivator.

With the aid of Wind-Escaping Talismans, Yu Ye and Dang Gui-Yi had sprinted seven to eight hundred li in just two days. While the talismans helped, it had also heavily sapped their physical stamina. As night fell, the two stopped to rest in a mountain valley.

"By tomorrow afternoon, we can reach Mount Xuankun. Let's rest here for the night; I'm exhausted to death!"

Dang Gui-Yi sat on the ground, pulling out spirit stones to breathe out the old and draw in the new in order to regulate his breath.

Compared to him, Yu Ye was even more fatigued. The night before last, he had killed three men and then sprinted wildly for two full days and nights; by now, he was utterly drained.

Yet there was no other choice, for fear that powerful enemies were pursuing them.

Who were the powerful enemies?

Naturally, it was Chu Yuan, the honored guest of Twilight Sky City. That Foundation Establishment expert had instigated immortal sect disciples to kill for wealth, and upon being exposed, would undoubtedly seek to silence them. He and Dang Gui-Yi had no choice but to flee Twilight Sky City overnight.

Why head to the Profound Spirit Immortal Sect then? Wasn't that marching straight into the tiger's mouth?

The radius of ten thousand li surrounding Twilight Sky City was entirely the territory of the Profound Spirit Immortal Sect. However, the Profound Spirit Immortal Sect happened to house a teleportation array. If they could make use of the teleportation array to escape the perilous region before the Profound Spirit Immortal Sect found out or before Chu Yuan could return, it would undoubtedly be a shortcut for survival in a desperate situation.

Whether this trip would go smoothly was entirely unknown.

Let us hope, as Dang Gui-Yi had said, that destiny had its set limits; since he acted in the mortal world to slay demons and vanquish devils, he would surely be blessed by divine spirits and enjoy peerless luck!

Yu Ye cast a barrier to seal off the surrounding area, taking out spirit stones with his left hand to regulate his breathing while drawing out three storage rings with his right.

The three storage rings were obtained from killing people the night before. Unwilling to suffer a loss, he had seized them for himself first. There was no helping it; Dang Gui-Yi would hide whenever danger arose, but seized every benefit in sight. Afterward, they had hurried day and night without a chance to inspect them. Now, snatching a moment of leisure amidst the rush, he ought to take stock of his harvest.

The belongings left behind by the three immortal sect disciples were quite substantial. Among them were over forty spirit stones, more than twenty departure-fire talismans, over ten wind-escaping talismans, a few dragon-subduing talismans, three earth-escape talismans, two blazing-fire talismans, and a sword talisman.

Blazing-fire talismans?

Sword talisman?