Translator: Truth Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Lu Ye had been completely surrounded before he realized it. He counted at least twenty of them. The House of Wintry Blossoms must have been looking for him since they came through the Rift of Fortune. Otherwise, there was no way they could’ve gathered this many people and formed an encirclement in such a short time. If he was any other cultivator, this situation would’ve been a complete dead end. The tall woman standing thirty or so meters away from him was staring at him with anger and a hint of satisfaction. It was because her vengeance was soon to be fulfilled. She was also flanked by two cultivators. The first one was an extremely fat woman. Her fatness could not be natural because even her thick clothes could not conceal the massive layers of fat within. But unlike a normal fat person, her skin was incredibly smooth and fair. It made her look like the chrysalis of a silkworm. The other cultivator was a petite woman who didn’t seem to care much about her appearance. She had fairly short hair that was pulled into a short ponytail, and she was carrying a massive blade on her shoulders. Seriously, the blade was longer than she was tall by at least half her height. It painted quite the contrasting appearance. “Is that the one, Sister Chu?” The petite woman asked while looking Lu Ye up and down. She wasn’t admiring his figure though. She was searching for the right spots to sink her blade into just like how Lu Ye normally did to his enemies. The tall woman nodded, and the fat woman said with a smile, “He doesn’t look too bad. It feels a shame to kill him here. Any chance you might reconsider your decision, Sister Chu?” The tall woman uttered coldly, “Why not? I wasn’t planning to give him a quick death anyway!” The fat woman giggled behind her palm. “Thank you for your kindness, Sister Chu.” When she looked at him again, her gaze was a little more lustful than before. “Do you know who I am, Lu Yi Ye?” The tall woman barked at him. Lu Ye tossed a Spirit Pill into his mouth and chewed slowly. “Nope. Who are you?” She replied in a chilly voice, “Do you remember Chu Xue, at the Goldentip?” “You mean that immoral woman who tried to seduce me before I killed her dead? Sure.” How could he forget? She was the second person to challenge him during the Battle of Goldentip, not to mention he was on his way to visit the House of Wintry Blossoms before he got sidetracked by the Rift of Fortune. “My name is Chu Qing!” Chu Xue, Chu Qing. It could not be any more obvious that they were sisters. In fact, Chu Xue had brought Chu Qing to the Goldentip that fateful day, meaning that the woman had witnessed her sister’s death with her own eyes. If they hadn’t sworn a Heavenly Oath, and the battle hadn’t been witnessed by cultivators from both factions, she would’ve jumped in and torn him to shreds already. Before this, Chu Qing thought she would never have the chance to take revenge against Lu Ye. Imagine how surprised and livid she had felt when she saw him on the other side of the valley. She was careful not to stare at him so long that he would notice her though. Why alert him of her murderous intent then when she could get her revenge in the Rift of Fortune later? And that was exactly what she did. She gathered her people and searched for him as soon as she set foot in the Lost City of Xianyuan. Luck was on her side, it seemed. It wasn’t long before she found him and immediately moved to encircle him. “So, how do you want to die?” Chu Qing asked. She could not see how she could lose this. She had him surrounded tighter than a rat’s ass, and they outnumbered him more than twenty to one. He could sprout wings this instant, and he still wouldn’t be able to get away from this. Lu Ye swallowed the Spirit Pill he was chewing and lowered his gaze. He then gripped the hilt of his saber and said, “That’s my question, silly girl.” Windwalk flashed on his legs in an instant, and he rushed toward Chu Qing so fast he was a blur. At the same time, two flying weapons shot toward the fat and the petite women beside her respectively. “You dare!” Chu Qing raged at his gall before ordering, “Capture him!” She wasn’t kidding when she promised the fat woman to keep him alive, at least for now. For the longest time, the horrible images of Chu Xue’s death had haunted her dreams. There was no way she was going to kill him until she had tortured him to her heart’s content. They outnumbered Lu Ye over twenty to one, so Chu Qing was confident that they could handle him however they liked. Their flying weapons alone were beyond his ability to handle. Suddenly, cries of alarm erupted from all around them. It was because the cultivators of House of Wintry Blossoms found themselves struck by multiple Spirit Shackling Ropes right as they were about to attack Lu Ye. Those who were too slow to react were immediately bound and dropped to the ground. Even those who managed to dodge out of the way quickly found themselves fighting against multiple enemies at once. “It’s the Xianyuan City Watch!” Someone shouted in surprise. At least twenty sentries had ambushed them from behind, something they had never encountered until now. It completely nullified their numbers advantage to say the least. Their group had run into multiple sentry squads before this, but never more than one squad at a time. Moreover, the only one that possessed a modicum of intelligence within a squad was the sentry leader. Therefore, it took very little effort to take them out. If the sentry squads were their only opponents, then they still could’ve turned this around. After all, the sentry squads generally did not harm them unless they struggled too much or something. They also did not take a cultivator’s life after immobilizing them with the Spirit Shackling Rope. The problem was that there was a strange fat apparition wearing a landlord’s outfit among the sentries. He wielded a dice cup that fired three shiny dice, and he kept targeting the cultivators who were shackled by the Spirit Shackling Ropes. Three people had died to his attack in the blink of an eye. Somehow, their ambush had transformed into a counter ambush by the Xianyuan City Watch. It was so unbelievable that the cultivators themselves doubted this was actually happening. This was the work of Amber, of course. When Lu Ye realized that he was being followed, he did not send Yi Yi to scout the area like he normally would because the underground was sealed by an enhancement, and it was too dangerous. Instead, he sent Amber to look for his stalker. Imagine his surprise when Yi Yi came back and told him that only one ghost cultivator was stalking him, but dozens more cultivators were sneaking toward them from every direction… Knowing that these people were planning to ambush him, he did the only thing he could—have Yi YI and Amber counter-ambush them. The Ghost Spirits usually hid within Amber’s body until it released them, so there was little chance they would be discovered before they were ready. The reason he spoke with Chu Qing at all was to buy time for Yi Yi to set up everything. Otherwise, not even Protection would keep him safe from so many enemies. The current situation was much more manageable. His would-be ambushers were busy tangoing with the Xianyuan City Watch and Liu Sanbao, so they could not lift a hand against him. This meant that his only opponents were Chu Qing and the two women beside her. They were all Ninth-Order, sure, but so what? Clang! His two flying weapons were sent flying by the petite woman wielding the large blade. Holding her weapon with two hands, she weaved an impenetrable wall of steel that repelled everything within ten meters from her person. Nothing and no one could get close to her unless they broke her dance, and she was surprisingly nimble despite the blade’s powerful style. Although Chu Qing and the fat woman were surprised by the sudden turn of events, they did not lose their cool. Chu Qing launched a flying weapon that arced toward the right side of Lu Ye’s head. Lu Ye attempted to slash the weapon out of the way, but it nimbly dodged the attack before continuing its path, metal sliding against metal. Lu Ye just barely managed to flick it away at the last possible moment. By now, Lu Ye was just ten meters away from the three girls. He did not continue controlling his flying weapons after they were sent flying even though he was capable of fighting at close range and controlling them at the same time. It was because splitting his focus in a life-or-death battle like this would only shorten his lifespan. Before he was in the Seventh-Order, he envied his opponents for making him dance like a marionette with their flying weapons. It wasn’t until he was capable of the feat himself did he realize that the technique was more flawed than it seemed. It was good for mid-range combat and only that. Once the distance was closed, flying weapons were distractions at best and suicide tools at worst. But of course, this did not apply to scenarios where a companion was supporting the melee cultivator with flying weapons. In the end, any method that could kill the enemy was a viable one. It was up to the user to make it a good one. Lu Ye swung slowly yet fast at his enemy, but a blade sailed toward his face as soon as he made the move. He had no choice but to cancel his attack and block the blade. A series of metallic clangs erupted through the streets. Sparks flew everywhere as Spirit Artifacts clashed against Spirit Artifacts. Chu Qing and the fat woman were just about to assist their comrade when suddenly, they felt a flare of Spiritual Power behind them. They looked behind just in time to see a sentry squad appearing behind them and launching their Spirit Shackling Ropes. They were beyond shocked as a matter of course. Amber was currently in control of thirty one Ghost Spirits, and it had split them into six squads, as they were before they were captured. Five of the squads were currently engaging the other ambushers, while the last one was pit against Chu Qing and her two friends. Although Lu Ye was capable of fighting above his cultivation level, not even he could battle three Ninth-Order cultivators at once and win. However, it was a different story if he had the support of a sentry squad. The sneak attack was so surprising that even Chu Qing and the fat woman were unable to react in time. At the last moment, the fat woman moved in front of Chu Qing with a speed that did not match her appearance and blocked all the Spirit Shackling Ropes. For a moment, it looked like the ropes would cut into the woman’s flesh and turn this fight into a horror show. Then, she gritted her teeth, roared, and let loose a shockwave of vitality so thick that it was almost tangible. Behind her, Chu Qing dashed out while holding a pair of swords in each hand. Although she was a woman, she fearlessly charged toward a sentry and danced the dance of murder with her Spirit Artifacts.