novelapdf Chapter 131 Ambush on the Way Home
Chapter 131 Ambush on the Way Home
The sky outside the window had completely darkened, and the distant river echoed with the calls of merchant ships lowering their sails. Downstairs at the inn, guests were arguing about the price of spiritual materials, their voices rising and falling intermittently.
A moment later, Lu Yuanshan's face turned ashen.
He placed the jade talisman on the table and gently stroked its surface with his thumb, as if he were carefully considering his words.
The room was quiet for about ten breaths before he raised his head. Although his face was still gloomy, his tone had returned to its usual calm.
"The Zhou family...how audacious!"
These six short words, spoken neither lightly nor heavily, carried a chilling undertone.
Zhang Lin didn't respond; he just sat quietly, waiting for his master to continue.
Lu Yuanshan put the jade talisman into his sleeve and looked up at Zhang Lin: "What do you plan to do?"
Zhang Lin had already prepared a plan, and when his master asked about it, he calmly replied, "This disciple would like to request that Master submit this evidence to the Criminal Law Hall to impeach the Zhou family for intercepting and killing a direct disciple of the sect."
He paused, then added, "As for the disciples, they will not return to the sect for the time being, but will remain in Qingluo City until things settle down."
Lu Yuanshan nodded slightly: "You were right not to return to the sect."
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze passing over Zhang Lin and landing on the deep night outside the window, as if he were pondering something.
"The Zhou family has been operating in the Danxia Sect for hundreds of years. Nearly half of the deacons of the eighteen outer peaks are connected with the Zhou family, and they also have allies among the eight inner peaks."
"If an ordinary disciple were to sue the Zhou family, the person would probably be silenced before the evidence even reaches the court of law."
He withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhang Lin, "But you are no ordinary disciple. You are a direct disciple of Cuiping Peak, and a disciple of Laozi Lu Yuanshan. This evidence, handed to you, is irrefutable and no one can suppress it."
Zhang Lin understood the weight of his master's words.
The master-disciple lineage and the aristocratic family lineage have been locked in a standoff within the Danxia Sect for many years, with each side experiencing victories and defeats, but never truly breaking ties.
Now that the evidence of the Zhou family hiring someone to ambush and kill their direct disciple has fallen into the hands of the master and disciple lineage, this is no small matter, but a heavy blow that can cripple the aristocratic lineage.
Lu Yuanshan made this trip personally not only to obtain evidence, but also to seize control of the situation before the Zhou family could destroy it.
"I will return to the sect immediately and present this evidence to the sect leader." Lu Yuanshan stood up. "As for you, be careful in Qingluo City. There's no need to rush the auction. Collect the spiritual items slowly. Safety first."
"The Zhou family is too busy taking care of themselves to look after you right now, so you can rest and recuperate for the time being."
He walked to the door, paused, and glanced back at Zhang Lin.
"I won't ask you why you were able to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was a level above you." His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "But you must remember, keep as many trump cards as you have hidden."
"Don't reveal everything unless absolutely necessary. The path of cultivation is long, and today's trump card may be tomorrow's lifeline."
Zhang Lin stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "This disciple will remember."
Lu Yuanshan glanced at him again, his eyes filled with a hint of satisfaction, and something else that was hard to describe.
His eyes held the look of an old farmer gazing at the best-growing crop in his field, a look of both satisfaction and anticipation.
He took a step to leave, but suddenly stopped and turned back.
"If anyone causes you trouble, just kill them."
His tone was as calm as if he were saying the weather was nice today, but every word he uttered was firm and resounding.
"If anything goes wrong, I'll take care of it."
Having said that, he vanished into the night in a flash.
Zhang Lin stood by the window, watching his master's figure transform into a streak of azure light, passing through the protective array of Qingluo City and speeding towards Yunmeng Continent, disappearing into the vast night in an instant.
The night breeze of late spring blew in through the window, carrying the dampness of the river and the fishy smell of the freshly turned soil in the distant fields.
The myriad lights of Qingluo City spread out beneath my feet, like a galaxy reflected in the human world.
One by one, the lights on the tall building of Tianbao Pavilion in the distance lit up, turning half of the night sky white.
Zhang Lin stood by the window for a long time.
His master's last two sentences echoed repeatedly in his mind.
"Just kill. If anything goes wrong, I'll cover for you."
These words gave him more peace of mind than any elixir or superior technique.
Since his transmigration, he has traveled from Chuzhou in Huainan Province to Qingyun Town, from Qingyun Town to Qingxuan City, from Qingxuan City to Danxia Sect, and from Danxia Sect to Liangjie Mountain.
proceed cautiously, as if walking on thin ice.
Every move he makes requires careful planning, and every decision he makes requires repeated consideration, because no one can guarantee his safety.
The slightest misstep could lead to utter ruin.
But now it's different.
He was no longer that lonely, helpless, and impoverished cultivator.
He is a direct disciple of Lu Yuanshan, the master of Cuiping Peak, and a rising star cultivated by the Danxia Sect's master-disciple lineage.
Behind him stood a peak master in the late Foundation Establishment stage, hundreds of disciples of Cuiping Peak, and a master-disciple lineage from Danxia Sect that had been in confrontation with the aristocratic families for hundreds of years.
This confidence is more precious than any magical artifact or spiritual weapon.
Zhang Lin looked away and closed the window.
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Lu Yuanshan left Qingluo City, riding a streak of azure light, and sped towards Danxia Sect.
He did not use the teleportation array.
All teleportation arrays have teleportation records, and spies from powerful families have been planted next to the teleportation arrays in major cities.
If he were to use the teleportation array, the moment he stepped into the Danxia Sect's mountain gate, the Zhou family would know that he had returned to the sect, Zhang Lin's whereabouts would be exposed instantly, and the secret transmission of the jade talisman would no longer be able to be concealed.
The sky was cloudless, and the moonlight, as silvery as silver, spilled over the surging sea of clouds, dyeing the entire world a cool, silvery-white.
The night wind whistled in his ears, making his Taoist robe flutter. The light carrying him broke through the clouds, and in the blink of an eye, he was already a thousand miles away from Qingluo City.
Lu Yuanshan remained calm, but he was making plans in his mind.
The contents of the Zhou family's secret jade talisman were enough to make the Zhou family lose face at the elders' meeting.
However, the Zhou family is powerful and may not give up easily.
If they were smart, they should have destroyed all the evidence before he returned to the clan, made Zhou Mingxuan a scapegoat, and protected their own family.
But the Zhou family has always been arrogant and domineering, and they may not be willing to suffer this injustice in silence.
They must already know he left the sect, and given the usual practice of aristocratic families, they might send someone to intercept and kill him.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Lu Yuanshan shook his head slightly.
To ambush and kill the leader of a peak is a crime equivalent to treason.
Even if the Zhou family is daring, they wouldn't go this far, would they?
He activated his escape light, increasing his speed even further.
Runes lit up one by one around his body, and a pale blue spiritual light enveloped his figure, breaking through the resistance of the airflow, making him nearly twice as fast as an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As we traveled over a desolate area, the sea of clouds ahead suddenly began to churn violently.
Three spiritual senses belonging to the Foundation Establishment realm locked onto him from three directions without any concealment.
Lu Yuanshan's expression darkened, and with a flash of light beneath his feet, he came to a steady stop in mid-air.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze piercing through the sea of clouds as he swept over the three figures.
The visitor is not good.
Three figures stopped a hundred feet away, forming a triangle around him.
The night wind howled, and the robes of the three men fluttered in the wind. Each of them released their aura without reservation, and the three auras intertwined, pressing down on all sides like three great mountains.