It was already dark and the moon had risen. The dark treetops at the foot of the mountain were covered in darkness, and a faint path led up the mountain.
There were thorny bushes on the roadside. On the platform halfway up the mountain, several huge pine trees swayed gently in the night breeze. The grass on the platform was sparse and the rocks were exposed.
Strategist Ji had been observing Li Yan. After he picked up the emptied water bag, he discovered something different. The color of the rock beside Li Yan was different from other places under the moonlight, and it was a little darker.
There is nothing wrong with the water stains getting darker in color after getting wet. After all, there was water flowing out of that place after a water bag was dumped there, so it is different from other places.
But just as Advisor Ji was about to look away, he suddenly felt something was wrong and looked towards that place again.
With his eyes focused and filled with spiritual energy, he discovered that there seemed to be a flash of crystal light in that place, which was obviously caused by the reflected light produced by water attached to something.
But because the distance was too far, he couldn't see clearly with his current magical power. He lowered his head and looked towards the foot of the mountain again, silently calculating in his mind.
There are no big trees from the foot of the mountain upwards, basically there are thorny shrubs spreading upwards. Most of these low vegetation grow horizontally from the roots to the ground, with branches and vines crisscrossing.
It is obviously extremely difficult to hide quietly, but there are still several tall trees at the foot of the mountain.
At that moment, Master Ji jumped down from the huge tree canopy like a nimble squirrel and landed on the ground in a few steps.
After a few more leaps, the man had arrived under the trees at the foot of the mountain. Then he chose a tree with the best view to observe Li Yan, and floated up again lightly.
Li Yan sat on a rock, closed his eyes and leaned against a pine tree. He seemed to be dozing off, but in fact he had increased his magic power to the maximum and was listening wholeheartedly to the sounds around him.
He had been here for more than two days, and just now, he suddenly felt as if he was being spied on, although he did not hear any sound and did not see any people or monsters.
But in that brief moment, the natural balance between heaven and earth that had become familiar to him suddenly seemed to be torn apart by someone.
"Is this him? It's a pity that I don't have time to cultivate to the second level of the Condensation Period. My consciousness cannot be released outside. Otherwise, the chances of survival would be much greater."
After several months of hard practice of the "Guishui Sutra", his magic power increased rapidly, and he also began to become familiar with the many functions of this magic.
This immortal technique is based on the cultivation of the five elements and their mutual generation, so the magic power is much higher than that of the cultivators of the same level. Ordinary cultivators can release their spiritual consciousness only when they reach the third level of Qi Condensation, while the "Guishui Sutra" can release its spiritual consciousness when it breaks through to the second level of Qi Condensation.
"Just now I can confirm that it was not Hong Linying. I have already given him the 'breath guidance technique' as the first level of the 'wooden Yin Gong'. Those formulas are genuine stuff.
He couldn't find any problems in a short period of time, but he had no spiritual roots and would never be able to develop the ability to sense spiritual energy.
But as long as he feels that the "secret book" is genuine, he will be able to see its extraordinary qualities. With his martial arts-obsessed nature, he will definitely come over and fight, trying his best to get the subsequent skills.
The strange feeling just now was most likely that Ji Wenhe had found this place. Although it was only a momentary feeling, it could still be basically determined.
But now Ji Wenhe has already caught up here, but Hong Linying has not yet arrived. Is it time for me to fight alone?"
Division Master Ji came to the treetop again. Although this tree only grew at the foot of the mountain and was not as tall as the trees he had been lurking around in before, he could still barely see the platform, and the line of sight was much closer.
After a while, a hint of mockery appeared on Division 3's dark face.
"It turned out to be a strong crossbow. Hong Linying actually gave this thing to him. It's really vicious. If one is not careful, it will be a big trouble."
"Strong Crossbow", the string is made of several ordinary monster tendons twisted together, equipped with a crossbow box, which contains seven strong crossbows. The crossbow arrows are loaded into the box in advance. The killing power is five or six times that of ordinary bows and arrows, and two or three times that of ordinary crossbow arrows.
Usually it is pulled by three to four people, but this is too impractical. Later, it was continuously improved by military craftsmen and can be operated by a master who has practiced internal skills. But even so, a second-rate master can only fire about three crossbows in succession.
Therefore, with further improvements, a groove was added on the back of the crossbow, which could accommodate the forefoot of an adult. The crossbow could be fired by the power of the legs, and an ordinary adult could also fire one, so it was also called the "strong foot crossbow".
This portable weapon with great destructive power can cause fatal damage even to low-level cultivators.
For ordinary cultivators who have not reached the foundation-building stage, apart from possessing magical powers and knowing some magic arts, their physical toughness is only slightly stronger than that of ordinary people. If they are hit by such a deadly weapon, they will also die.
However, there is also a type of cultivator below the foundation-building stage, whose physical toughness is far different from that of ordinary people. The specific degree of toughness depends on the physical training method they practice.
Division Ji carefully observed the small area and found that the "Strong Foot Crossbow" was hidden in the gap between the huge rock and the ground.
Maybe the gap was not big to begin with, and Li Yan wanted to take it out quickly but did not want to reveal his intention, so he only left a little bit of the bowstring exposed.
Just now, Li Yan accidentally knocked over the water bag, and some water drops were stuck on the bowstring. If he hadn't noticed the reflection of the water on the bowstring, he might have been caught by accident...
When he thought of this, Division Master Ji was filled with hatred towards Hong Linying. How could she give such a deadly weapon to Li Yan
Looking at the low thorny bushes extending up the mountain from under the tree, Division Master Ji frowned.
This place is about two hundred feet away from the halfway point of the mountain. If he can sneak another hundred feet, he is absolutely sure that he can get in front of Li Yan before he can react.
But soon, his brows relaxed. This was not a problem at all. Now that he had found Li Yan, all that was left for him was to wait for an opportunity.
To put it bluntly, this opportunity is to wait until Li Yan is tired. Even if he is at the third level of Qi Condensation like himself, he cannot use meditation to replace sleep, let alone him who is at the first level of Qi Condensation.
Li Yan just sat on the rock. The night in the valley was getting darker, but the moonlight above was getting cooler. Waves of fatigue came over him, and he slowly relaxed his body, leaning against the pine tree, and his eyes closed involuntarily.
Division Master Ji was lying on a tree, staring at Li Yan without blinking.
At this time, it was already midnight. Seeing Li Yan slowly closing his eyes, he also began to slowly close his eyes and slowly regulate the spiritual power in his body.
The two nights of extreme mental tension, coupled with the constant running around, had made even a cultivator as strong as him very tired.
Now that it was confirmed that Li Yan had fallen asleep, Advisor Ji immediately began to regulate his breathing and build up his strength, while also waiting for Li Yan to enter a deeper sleep.
Half an hour later, Advisor Ji slowly opened his eyes, looked at Li Yan for a while, and then disappeared on the tree in a flash.
Then, on the mountain road under the moonlight, the figure flashed again, and then disappeared again, and the next moment flashed again in a farther place. As he flew quickly, only occasionally the thorny branches and leaves on the path swayed slightly.
Looking at the platform on the mountainside getting closer and closer, Master Ji was calm as water. Li Yan became clearer and clearer in his eyes. He silently calculated in his mind that in two more breaths, he could get in front of Li Yan. Looking at Li Yan sleeping peacefully against the tree, Master Ji suddenly felt an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart.
"How can a person sleep so peacefully in this valley?"
Even though there were relatively few monsters in this place for unknown reasons, as Strategist Ji got closer and saw Li Yan's sleeping posture more clearly, the uneasy feeling in his heart became stronger and stronger.
Then, spiritual power surged violently into his legs, and he no longer hid his body.
Just as Strategist Ji made the 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 stretched one hand and one foot under the rock.
The next moment, he only needed to pick it up, put it on, and put it down.
Strategist Ji was still in mid-air. When he saw Li Yan's eyes suddenly open, he cried out in his heart.
"not good!"
He made a judgment in a flash, and rushed towards the "strong foot crossbow" with a quick turn of his body.
It’s a long story, but actually it happened in just a breath. Just as Li Yan’s hand touched the bowstring and was about to pull it out, Advisor Ji rushed over with the sound of his black robe rustling.
He curled his fingers into claws, grabbed Li Yan's outstretched wrist with one hand, and grabbed the bowstring in the crevice of the stone with the other hand.
Li Yan was shocked when he saw this, and he dared not even reach for the "Strong Foot Crossbow". He quickly retracted his arms, pushed the ground with his toes, and rolled to the side in a panic.
Division Ji's claw immediately grabbed nothing, this was because he had to grab two objects at the same time and was limited by his arm span.
At this time, his other hand had already grabbed the bowstring in the gap between the rock and the ground. His body had fallen to the ground exhausted. He pulled it outwards, touched the ground with his toes, and was about to take the crossbow and fly into the air again to capture Li Yan.
Li Yan had already rolled not far from the stone surface, and had not yet stood up. Advisor Ji only needed to jump up and down to reach him.
However, at this moment, Master Ji suddenly felt his feet tighten, and a huge force lifted him up headfirst, and in an instant he was already in the air.
With a loud "click", his body hanging in the air was suddenly pulled down by a huge force, and the whole person fell rapidly towards the cliff behind the pine tree, like a meteor falling to the ground.
This sudden change shocked Strategist Ji greatly. In a hurry, he felt dizzy, with wind whistling in his ears, and his body fell rapidly off the cliff like a meteor.
In just one or two breaths, he had fallen seven or eight feet.
What a good strategist Ji! He calmed down for a moment, snapped his fingers, and an arc-shaped wind blade flew towards his feet. Then his feet felt lighter and his falling momentum slowed down.
He saw the opportunity and grabbed the cliff with his other hand like lightning, and there was a dull sound.
"puff!"
He actually dug his five fingers into the hard granite wall, then pulled hard with his five fingers and lifted his body up again.
At the same time, he touched the protruding part of the cliff with his toes, and used the momentum to lift his body more than ten feet up. Then his feet hit several places in succession, and he was back on the cliff.
It was not until this time that Master Ji heard the faint sound of something heavy falling to the ground in the valley below. It seemed that the cliff was at least a hundred feet high.
As soon as Advisor Ji climbed up the cliff, he saw a figure rushing down the mountain.
It turned out that Li Yan had just stretched his head to take a look down the cliff, and saw that Strategist Ji had only fallen seven or eight feet. He then used his magic to cut the rope that was hanging from the huge rock under his feet, and flew up again. He suddenly felt something was wrong.
Upon seeing this, Division Master Ji shouted loudly.
"Evil disciple, where are you going!"
Despite his extreme caution, he was nearly killed by Li Yan's conspiracy. Advisor Ji was so angry that he wanted to kill him.
If he hadn't possessed magical powers, he would have been buried under the cliff. Until now, he still didn't know how he fell into that kid's trap.
This time he shouted angrily, his voice shaking the forest and valley, and flocks of birds in the forest flew out.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan in front became very anxious. In a panic, he rushed into the thorny bushes on the side of the downhill path. He did not care about the thorns cutting his body and rolled out sideways.
Seeing this, Division Master Ji snorted again and pounced into the air, but Li Yan also rolled over for his life, and his speed down the mountain was really much faster.
After several jumps, Master Ji was unable to stop Li Yan. After a few more breaths, Li Yan had rolled to the foot of the mountain.
But Advisor Ji had already caught up with Li Yan. He saw that Li Yan, whose black robe was already torn, had forced himself to stop rolling, and had stood up and thrown himself into the woods.
Strategist Ji was in mid-air, with a murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He flicked his finger again, and a blue arc of wind blade slashed towards Li Yan's legs. He was determined to cut off Li Yan from the legs down.
Li Yan's whole body was filled with spiritual energy. Although he had suffered a lot of injuries along the way, they were all superficial. His internal organs were protected by spiritual energy and were not hurt at all.
Just as he stood up and was about to disappear into the forest, he suddenly felt a sharp gust of wind rushing towards his legs, and he immediately became alarmed.
At that moment, the spiritual power was poured into the legs, and at the same time, the figure was twisted forcefully while rushing forward, and it actually went in the wrong direction.
But this time, Li Yan suddenly twisted his body in the wrong direction and felt his internal organs were suffocated, and he almost fainted.
Then he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Looking down, he saw a blue blade that had brushed past his thigh, leaving a piece of blood and flesh.
Although he reacted quickly, he was far behind the experienced Master Ji in terms of magic power, martial arts, and fighting experience, not to mention that Master Ji used magic to attack.
Although this blow did not cut off Li Yan's thigh, it still took away a large piece of flesh and blood from the leg.
Li Yan groaned and fell down due to the loss of strength in his legs. Seeing this, Advisor Ji smiled sinisterly and stepped forward.