txolops Chapter 20 The Enemy Comes Knocking
Chapter 20 The Enemy Comes Knocking
"Damn it! This has to happen at this crucial moment! Just one day short!"
Han Xiaoliu cursed under his breath, and his originally youthful face now revealed a ruthlessness that was completely out of character for his age.
He suddenly raised his hand and slapped Yu Niangzi hard across the face.
"Snapped!"
A crisp slap echoed in the deathly silent room. Yu Niangzi's fair cheek instantly swelled up, and the burning pain brought her previously unfocused and dull eyes back to life. Tears welled up in her eyes, but the intense pain forced them back.
Daya, who was standing to the side, was terrified by this sudden turn of events. Her little mouth trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she dared not make a sound. She just huddled in the corner, shivering.
"Are you awake now?"
Han Xiaoliu withdrew his hand, his small body standing straight with his hands behind his back.
At this moment, he no longer seemed like a child who needed to be fed, but a lurking tiger cub, exuding a calmness and majesty that made people afraid to look directly at him.
Lady Yu covered her cheek, the fear in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a glimmer of clarity. She looked at the unfathomable young master before her and nodded heavily.
"How many people? What are their cultivation levels?" Han Xiaoliu spoke rapidly, his gaze shooting towards her like lightning.
Yu Niangzi took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in her heart, and said in a trembling voice, "One... I saw clearly, it was a cultivator who was close to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment."
We can't beat them!
Han Xiaoliu made a quick judgment. His opponent was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, while on his side, besides himself, this "old monster" who had just begun his cultivation, there was only Yu Niangzi at the early Foundation Establishment stage and a little girl at the Qi Refining stage. A direct confrontation would definitely lead to certain death.
Then you have no choice but to run, as fast as possible!
"Take Daya with us and let's run!" Han Xiaoliu made a quick decision and moved to grab Daya.
"Run? Heh heh, where do you think you're going!"
Just then, a sinister laugh seemed to come from all directions, followed by a heavy, mountain-like pressure that crashed down, enveloping the entire courtyard.
"boom!"
The roof tiles trembled under this oppressive force, and the tables and chairs inside creaked under the weight.
"I won't let this incredible achievement slip through my fingers."
In the sky, a streak of light hovered, and a middle-aged man in a gray robe stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the people below as if they were lambs to the slaughter.
The Foundation Establishment stage cultivator's divine sense swept across the room without reservation, pinpointing the positions of the three people and the beast.
"Chirp!"
Bubble, who had been lying on the table, suddenly bristled and jumped onto Han Xiaoliu's shoulder, grabbing his collar tightly with its two little paws, assuming a fighting stance as if facing a formidable enemy.
While keeping a wary eye on the sky, it transmitted a message to Han Xiaoliu through divine sense, its tone tinged with anxiety and teasing: "Boss, I'm afraid I'm going to die this time. I can turn invisible, so I'm sure I can survive. If you really die this time, I'll collect your corpse. I guarantee that this time we won't have to start from scratch as infants, we can start all over again."
Han Xiaoliu's lips twitched slightly, but he calmly replied telepathically, "Thank you."
Although he was being sarcastic, his brain was working at lightning speed, with countless solutions flashing through his mind and being rejected.
At this moment, Yu Niangzi looked at the terrifying pressure outside the house, and a resolute look flashed in her eyes.
She gritted her teeth, pushed open the door, stumbled into the courtyard, and looked up at the cultivator in the air, shouting, "The person you're trying to capture is me, it has nothing to do with anyone else! As long as you release the two children, I...I'll go with you!"
Upon hearing this, the gray-robed man in the air let out a piercing, maniacal laugh: "Come with me? Heh heh, little lady, you're still as devoted as ever. However, we're definitely going to take you with us, but... I'll take those two children with me too!"
His face was contorted with madness, as if he could already see the wonderful scene after capturing the Jade Maiden.
"You!" Lady Yu's face turned pale, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her eyes filled with anger and despair.
Just then, a cold and urgent divine thought entered Yu Niangzi's mind; it was Han Xiaoliu.
"Listen, stop talking nonsense. Take Daya and run towards the inner city, stall for as long as you can. Once inside, make a huge commotion, by any means necessary, to attract the attention of the Star Palace guards! Only when the Star Palace arrives will we have a chance to survive!"
Yu Niangzi stiffened, instinctively wanting to turn around and look into the room to ask Han Xiaoliu how confident he was.
"Hurry up! Do you want us all to die here?!" Han Xiaoliu's voice transmission rang out again, filled with undeniable anger.
Lady Yu trembled; she knew this was not the time to hesitate.
She whirled around, staring intently at the gray-robed man in the air, her eyes burning with a mad rage, and roared, "If you have the guts, then break in!"
After saying that, she turned around and rushed back into the house, summoned the flying sword magic weapon in her storage bag, poured spiritual power into it, and the sword hummed.
She turned to look at Han Xiaoliu, her eyes filled with reluctance and sorrow: "Young Master, that man was coming for me. If I run away and distract him, you'll be safer. If you can escape, then in the future..."
"You talk too much nonsense."
Han Xiaoliu coldly interrupted her dying words, which sounded like she was giving her last instructions.
With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a stack of talismans radiating purple lightning from his storage bag. Judging from the fluctuations in spiritual pressure, they were actually mid-level Five Thunder Talismans!
"Take it!"
Han Xiaoliu tossed the talisman into Yu Niangzi's arms, his eyes sinister and his voice terrifyingly low: "Make a big commotion! Remember, we can only live if the Star Palace guards arrive!"
Looking at the stack of precious talismans in her arms, and then at the young master who, though young, had piercing eyes, a strange power welled up in her heart.
She nodded emphatically, turned around, picked up Daya, and transformed into a streak of light, fleeing madly towards the inner city.
"Trying to run? Dream on! I'll catch you first, then I'll catch this kid!"
Upon seeing this, the gray-robed man in the air frowned and was about to give chase when he saw the silent child inside the house slowly walk out.
Han Xiaoliu stood in the courtyard, looking up at the high and mighty cultivator. A strange smile appeared on his lips. There was no fear in his eyes, only endless scheming and coldness.
"Eat shit!"
"Boom! Boom!"
A burst of spiritual light flashed at Han Xiaoliu's fingertips, and two mid-level Five Thunder Talismans were instantly activated.
Two blinding purple bolts of lightning, like raging pythons, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, slammed down on the gray-robed cultivator in the air from one behind and the other from the other, forming a pincer attack.
"Hmph, a mere trick!"
The gray-robed cultivator snorted coldly, his hands quickly forming hand seals, and his earth-yellow spiritual energy surged wildly around him.
A solid, earth-yellow ball of light gathered before him, then transformed into an extremely sharp earthen cone, shooting out with a muffled whooshing sound.
"Bang! Bang!"
The earthen cone struck the two Five Thunder Talismans precisely, and the violent collision of spiritual energy instantly exploded into dazzling bolts of lightning and billowing dust.
The lightning was instantly dispersed, but the earthen cone, still possessing great momentum, pierced straight towards Han Xiaoliu's face with a chilling shriek!
"Luo Yanbu!"
Han Xiaoliu's pupils shrank sharply, and his footwork instantly unfolded, his figure flashing to the left like a ghost.
"puff!"
The dirt spike flew past the hem of his clothes and embedded itself hard into the bluestone slab where he had just been standing.
Stone fragments flew everywhere, and the stone slabs cracked with a sickening cracking sound.
Han Xiaoliu dared not pause for a moment. He used the Luoyan Step to swiftly traverse the courtyard, leaving behind a series of afterimages. At the same time, he kept performing hand seals, throwing out Five Thunder Talismans as if they were free, turning them into a sky full of lightning, trying to disrupt the opponent's attack rhythm.
"Sizzle sizzle—"
The deafening explosions of lightning colliding with magic were incessant.
The cultivator in the air frowned, realizing that his rudimentary spells couldn't even touch the boy's clothes.
That kid's movements are too fast!
"court death!"
A ruthless glint flashed in the cultivator's eyes. He held back and pressed his hands down sharply, causing his spiritual power to surge. The earthen-yellow light instantly illuminated the entire courtyard.
"Earth Spike Technique!"
"Boom!"
In an instant, the ground within a radius of more than ten feet centered on Han Xiaoliu seemed to turn into boiling water.
One after another, sharp and menacing thorns burst forth from the soil, growing wildly like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, rising and falling, turning the entire area into a deadly thicket of thorns.
Han Xiaoliu activated his full divine sense, frantically sensing the location of each ground spike, and dodged to the limit in the narrow gap.
"Sizzle!"
However, the attacks were too intense, and he was ultimately a fraction too slow.
A spiked barb darted out from his side and back, tearing his calf.
A sharp pain shot through him, and blood instantly stained his trouser leg.
Han Xiaoliu gritted his teeth, exerted force with his feet, and finally broke out of the coverage area of the ground spike technique.
He glanced down at his still-bleeding calf, his eyes growing colder.
Fortunately, he had mastered the Elephant Armor Technique, making his body as hard as iron; otherwise, his leg might have been pierced through.
"Boy, you've achieved such cultivation at such a young age, and your movement technique is even more unpredictable. Which sect do you belong to?" The gray-robed cultivator looked at Han Xiaoliu, who had escaped unscathed, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes, and his tone softened somewhat.
"What? Scared?"