Chapter 130: The Ambush

"Stop!"

Fan Xianyue, having spotted Cui Ya in the center of the courtyard, panicked. She lunged forward, sharply striking the green vine at the mouth of her gourd. The vine, which had been moments away from smashing into the ground, halted instantly.

Fan Xianyue let out a muffled grunt.

"Why are you here?"

With a troubled frown, she tapped her feet against the black gourd beneath her. It descended to the courtyard floor and, in an instant, shrank into a small black gourd that she caught in her hand. The green vine, following the gourd's transformation, diminished to the size of an inch, coiling itself around the stopper.

"Hey! Who did this to you? Was it that foul mountain demon?!"

Fan Xianyue reached Cui Ya’s side and finally noticed that the girl’s mouth was overflowing with blood, her pupils unfocused. Startled, she flipped the gourd, causing the small black vessel to transform into a small green one. She hurriedly poured out a deep-hued green elixir and forced it into Cui Ya’s mouth, then squeezed a single drop of sap from the tip of the green vine into her lips.

High above on the eaves of the Fufeng Temple guest house, a hazy figure watched the events below in silence.

"First, let us see what other abilities she possesses, besides that protective spiritual light capable of brushing away blade and axe arts." Suddenly, Yin Chunxin, clad in purple Taoist robes, appeared beside the hazy figure. Embroidered on the back of his robes in gold and silver thread was the pattern of the Yuluo Xiao Terrace.

Daoist Si, dressed in red robes embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, glanced sideways at the newcomer and chuckled. "It seems Elder Brother Yin has also made up his mind."

"Since all of you junior brothers have already decided, what purpose would it serve for me to remain indecisive, as Brother Pu suggested? What use would I be as the master of Fufeng Temple?" Yin Chunxin replied, his gaze fixed calmly on Fan Xianyue and Cui Ya in the courtyard below.

"That is excellent. Only when all the brothers are of one mind can we be as sharp as a blade that can sever metal." Daoist Si gripped his twin maces; it was he who had struck Cui Ya, sending her crashing into the courtyard.

Atop the roof ridge of the building stood a scarlet banner, upon which a fire dragon roared and a red phoenix soared. Directly opposite, on the roof of the adjacent building, stood another hazy figure—the "Brother Pu" whom Yin Chunxin had mentioned—with a green banner planted on his ridge. To the left and right of these structures stood two more buildings, each topped with a plain banner and a yellow banner, respectively.

Standing on the ridge with the plain banner was Daoist Lu, dressed in robes embroidered with red pagodas. He clutched a precious sword, his eyes fixed greedily on Fan Xianyue.

"Actually, Elder Brother Yin, there was no need for such caution, even bringing out the Four Directions Treasure Banners left to us by our master for the suppression of Fufeng Temple," Daoist Si said with a laugh, looking at the somber Yin Chunxin. "Once these banners are unfurled, no matter what skills this little girl possesses, she will be of no concern."

Yin Chunxin’s expression did not soften; he shook his head gravely. "The Four Directions Treasures must be deployed simultaneously only upon my command. Observe the situation below first."

"I shall obey your command, Elder Brother, but you would do well to go to Brother Pu. Given his temperament, he is prone to rash actions."

Daoist Si looked toward the opposite roof. Brother Pu stood so close to the edge that his toes were nearly dangling over the eaves. Should he lose his footing, his presence would be exposed. Viewed from above, beyond the Four Directions Treasure Banners, a faint, wispy black mist swirled around the four roofs. Though insects crawled in and out, the figures of the men remained nearly invisible. Without a master of profound cultivation to inspect them closely, not even a trace of their presence leaked out.

"At this critical moment, he is far more reliable than the others," Yin Chunxin said calmly.

Daoist Si looked back at him. "More reliable than Brother Wang? By the way, where is Brother Wang? Why is he missing at a time like this?"

"I dispatched him to the entrance of our master’s cave dwelling. Should anything go wrong here, he will notify our master immediately," Yin Chunxin replied.

"Elder Brother Yin, you are simply too cautious. That is why our Fufeng Temple has always remained shrunken away on Mount Wufeng," Daoist Si said, shaking his head with a helpless laugh. "The girl has many treasures, and her background is indeed formidable, but once she is dead, none of that will matter. Her treasures will be ours, and as for her background? Ha! We can simply dive into any mountain cave in any of the Twelve Provinces, and who would be able to find us?"

Daoist Si’s eyes grew cold as he watched Fan Xianyue, who was nearing a group of strange beasts. "Besides, who would go to such great lengths for a dead person?"

"The people of the Southern Wilderness Province might not, but the other provinces are not so certain. They could scour the heavens and the depths of the yellow springs to seek vengeance," Yin Chunxin said, his breathing growing heavy.

"That would merely be for the sake of these treasures. Human life? Ha! In this world, human life is the least valuable thing of all." Daoist Si pulled a yellow paper talisman from his robe and chuckled.

The runes on the yellow talisman were not written in cinnabar, but in striking, crimson human blood. As the talisman spontaneously ignited, the strange beasts in the courtyard suddenly began to tear at one another, while the large ghoul, previously wandering alone, saw its black fur bristle as its eyes ignited with an eerie green glow.

Fan Xianyue ignored the chaos. She watched intently as the sap dripped from the vine and onto Cui Ya’s blood-stained lips. Though it appeared to be only a single drop, the moment it touched her lips, it dissolved, flowing in a steady stream into her mouth. Not until the green elixir she had swallowed settled into her body did the sap show signs of drying up.

Cui Ya’s unfocused pupils gradually regained their luster. Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked at the anxious Fan Xianyue, her lips trembling as she whispered, "Run..."

"Don't worry. These things are nothing to me," Fan Xianyue said, her expression relaxing as she saw Cui Ya coming to her senses.

"It’s not just them... there’s also him..."

"You mean those foul Taoists from the temple? I am not some fool who knows nothing; otherwise, how could Brother Zhao have been so at ease letting me travel so far? I simply thought these foul Taoists were your friends, so I couldn't be bothered to argue with them."

Fan Xianyue stretched, and the stopper of the black gourd at her waist suddenly opened. A strange, swirling suction erupted, pulling the brawling beasts and the large ghoul directly into the gourd.

"What level of magical treasure is that gourd on her waist?! It is one thing to absorb these beasts, but to so easily capture a mountain demon of Mount Wufeng!"

Daoist Si’s pupils constricted. He finally understood what Yin Chunxin had been so worried about.