Chương 33: Chapter 32: I'm in a hurry!
"You really dare to strike at me?!"
Li Jue's speed was incredibly fast, retreating while using his long knife to block.
His eyes filled with disbelief, an Outer Disciple at the Qi Refining Fourth Level daring to strike at a Martial Artist in the Condensed Liquid Realm, and even engaging in close combat, who gave him the courage?
However, the moment Li Jue's knife blocked the long spear, a numbness erupted at the base of his hand, a horrifying force spread, leaving him dumbfounded. This youth had hidden his strength, he was actually at the Late-stage Qi Refining!
But even so, how could the strength of someone in Late-stage Qi Refining be so terrifying?
Ning Daoran executed the Return to Nature Level Silver Dragon Spear Technique, which wouldn't cause any extraordinary phenomena as long as he didn't use any secret skills. For a moment, spear radiance danced wildly, strands of Silver Dragon Gang Qi enveloping the spear tip, actually suppressing the mighty Martial Artist of the Condensed Liquid Realm to the point where he could not retaliate.
"What refined spear technique..."
Li Jue's gaze turned icy, attempting to stay calm, but his heart couldn't settle down.
He recognized the Silver Dragon Spear Technique, but such a perfectly mastered Silver Dragon Spear Technique seemed to have turned into something unrecognizable.
"Good!"
Li Jue's face contorted fiercely, "I didn't expect a real dragon to be hiding in the gutter, it seems the first part of the secret technique is really on you, boy, you won't live."
He shook the long spear off with his knife in an instant, pulling out a jade bottle and swallowing down an elixir with a gulp.
Instantly, Li Jue's Blood Qi became more intense and started boiling, his movements with the short knife were not the slightest bit disordered, actually slightly obstructing Ning Daoran who was using the Returning to the True Body Tempering Technique and Silver Dragon Spear Technique!
The difference in cultivation was vast, the opponent was at the Condensed Liquid Realm and Ning Daoran was only at the Late-stage Qi Refining, a huge difference in realms, and the opponent being a battle-hardened martial artist, it was normal for him not to suppress him.
Seeing Li Jue growing stronger as he fought, Ning Daoran raised his hand and sent forth the Qiushui Sword from behind him, continuously infusing it with Evergreen Technique Power, forcing the opponent to retreat again and again.
"Now!"
With a shout from Ning Daoran.
Suddenly, a figure appeared silently behind Li Jue, it was the Big Stupid Deer transformed into a leopard form!
Its claws fell from the sky, immediately leaving crisscross claw marks on the back of Li Jue's inner armor, blood spraying everywhere, the First-tier Lower Grade inner armor was already ruined with one attack from the Big Stupid Deer!
"So it was you, you beast!"
Li Jue's eyes were filled with fury.
Just as he was about to finish off the Big Stupid Deer with one knife, suddenly, a blood-red thread swept past, and a Broken Porcelain, carrying blood, spun rapidly through the air.
"You..."
Li Jue's face was puzzled, and the next moment, his head was already rolling down from his neck.
...
Ning Daoran quickly searched the corpse and performed the Soul Search, then immediately a fireball was shot out, scattering Li Jue's ashes.
Looking at the corpses of Lei Chong and Zhao Yurou, he felt somewhat helpless.
"Senior Brother Lei, Junior Sister Zhao, I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time..."
He decided not to touch the two bodies.
Using the Concealing Breath Technique, Invisibility Technique, and Sound Absorption Technique together, he quickly left with the Big Stupid Deer using the Earth Tunneling.
An hour later, a hundred li away, the Big Stupid Deer dug a cave several tens of zhang deep, where Ning Daoran hid, activating the Perfect Level Breath Concealing Technique, planning to endure this period first.
Li Jue didn't carry many treasures, the inner armor was already ruined, and as a martial artist without Spiritual Power, he couldn't use the Storage Bag, so he just carried two gold ingots with him.
Naturally, he took the gold ingots, even if a mosquito's leg was small, it was still flesh.
As for the results of the Soul Search, it was quite surprising; the upper part of the Transformation Technique actually came from the legendary Five Saints Mountain.
The Five Saints Mountain, guarded by five Golden Core Demon Kings, forcibly carved out a territory in the lands of the Qingzhou Human Clan.
These five Demon Kings were too terrifyingly powerful, and despite combined efforts by the Qingzhou Government and various Immortal Sects multiple times over hundreds of years, they remained untouchable.
Even today, some experts stationed in the Zhenxian Towers across the realms had colluded with the Five Saints Mountain, Li Jue being among them.
Through the Soul Search, Ning Daoran could only get a rough outline of the truth.
Old Demon Ye was not just a master of the Demon Path but also carried the title of Thief King on Jianghu, his skills in Concealing Breath and Movement Technique were both considered exceptional. The upper part of the Transformation Technique was exactly stolen from one of the Demon Kings of the Five Saints Mountain by him!
And Li Jue was tasked with a secret order from the Five Saints Mountain to chase down Old Demon Ye and investigate the whereabouts of the upper part of the secret technique, Li Jue actually didn't understand the specifics very thoroughly.
In a nutshell, this whole affair was a bloodbath triggered by half of the Transformation Technique.
Now the Transformation Technique had been learned by the Big Stupid Deer, and indeed, it seemed his combat prowess was remarkable, a middle-phase First-tier attack, even Li Jue's physical body in the Condensed Liquid Realm couldn't withstand it.
"Old Lu, exciting, isn't it?"
"Awo~~~"
"Hahaha!"
Ning Daoran hugged its big head in his arms and vigorously rubbed it, laughing, "It's all because of this Transformation Technique that got us into trouble, you have to practice hard in the future, don't let today's harrowing experience go to waste."
The Big Stupid Deer responded by nudging him strongly.
...
Two full days later.
"Wu——"
A horn sound that penetrated through the mountains and wilderness came from afar, signaling the gathering of the Chaotic Sect.
Ning Daoran then crawled out from the depths of the cave with the Big Stupid Deer, covered in dirt.
In a valley less than ten li from the Chaotic Sect, numerous disciples gathered, several Foundation Establishment Elders had also arrived.
The decomposing bodies of Lei Chong and Zhao Yurou were collected back and stored in animal skins.
The faces of several Foundation Establishment Elders were not looking good.
"Ning Daoran."
Xu Ning's gaze was icily sharp, "If I remember correctly, after splitting up, you formed a team with Lei Chong and Zhao Yurou, how come they were both killed, yet you emerged unscathed?"
"Uncle Master does not know."
Ning Daoran had already thought of his excuse, "After entering fifty li into the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range, Senior Brother Lei felt that our search range was too small and suggested splitting into two groups, he and Junior Sister Zhao as one team, and I as another.
"After splitting up, I never saw them again; little did I know that it would be our last encounter."
Speaking, a look of shock crossed his face.
Xu Ning exchanged looks with several Elders but said little else.
Ning Daoran's explanation was tightly reasoned, and indeed his suggestion to split up was in line with Lei Chong's personality—arrogant, glory-seeking, and rash.
"Master Ning"
A Foundation Establishment Elder spoke, "I just found out you are the one who can cultivate Second-tier Spirit Rice on Qiongbi Peak. It's good you're safe; if something had happened to you, it would have been a real loss for the Chaotic Sect."
A group of fellow disciples looked on admiringly, none having expected that this young man had mastered the Second-order Spiritual Plant Skill.
"Let's all go back."
Xu Ning felt somewhat dejected, not only because they failed to capture Old Demon Ye but also because they lost several disciples.
Even Li Jue from the Condensed Liquid Realm had vanished without a trace, making the mission a complete failure.
...
Qiongbi Peak.
Ning Daoran stopped a few miles from the Spiritual Field Courtyard No. 77, along with Big Stupid Deer, and checked the memories of the Double-eyed Spider and the Sparrow, discovering that Old Demon Ye had visited again during his absence.
Fortunately, the spiritual medicines underground had all been stored in the Storage Bag, or they would have likely fallen prey to Old Demon Ye.
"This isn't good..."
He pondered heavily, feeling like there was a sword's tip pressed against his back, ever in danger of a lethal threat, now that he was targeted by this Thief King who moved without a trace.
"Old Lu..."
He turned to look at Big Stupid Deer beside him. "Someone knows our secret, and they might come lurking around any time; can you endure it?"
"Yo~~~"
A dozen veins bulged on Big Stupid Deer's forehead instantly, how could he endure? He must eliminate him!
"Alright."
Ning Daoran nodded. "You hide in the Spirit Beast Bag for a few days; I need to act alone to kill Old Demon Ye. Just bear with it a little."
"Ao??"
Big Stupid Deer nudged his arm. Why not bring him?
"I'm going to utilize a stealth attack; Taking you along would only lower the success rate."
Instantly, Big Stupid Deer jumped into the Spirit Beast Bag himself. Though it was uncomfortable, it was better than hindering his brother.
...
At that moment, the sky was overcast as Ning Daoran left the mountain alone.
Disguising himself as a middle-aged man in blue clothes, he headed for Yellow Dragon Square.
Originally, there were two brothels in Yellow Dragon Square that were large enough and with enough high-quality ladies – Flowers Pavilion and Zuihua Brothel.
Now, only the Zuihua Brothel remained after Flowers Pavilion was destroyed.
"Hey, come in and have fun, sir~~~"
A group of girls waved brocade handkerchiefs, cheerfully calling out to him.
Ning Daoran strode confidently into Zuihua Brothel, excited about visiting a brothel for the first time.
"Sir, would you like to listen to music, or something more direct?" the madam asked.
"I prefer the direct approach, bring over your pretty girls, I'll pick the one I like most!"
"Alright then, girls, come over here."
A crowd of women gathered around, and Ning Daoran quickly picked one. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her features somewhat resembled his class beauty from junior high, which sentimentally affected him, making her seem more attractive.
Entering the private room.
"Sir, how would you like to play?"
This woman was quite fiery, clad only in a thin layer of silk revealing a compelling figure. She placed a jade hand on Ning Daoran's shoulder and sat on his lap, smiling. "Quite handsome, aren't you? Is this your first time?"
"Go take a bath."
"Ah, I didn't expect you to be so impatient despite your refined appearance!"
She had just turned around when Ning Daoran struck her with a hand chop, rendering her unconscious—time for a Soul Search!
High-level Soul Search caused minimal damage to the victim; if Ning Daoran was willing, he could even avoid causing any harm to her Divine Soul.
However, if he so chose, after the Soul Searching, turning her into a fool would be an easy feat.
The result of the Soul Search did not disappoint him.
Old Demon Ye had indeed visited in the past few days, strictly speaking daily, but he always disguised himself differently out of caution. Nevertheless, Ning Daoran easily recognized Old Demon Ye from this woman's memory.
Just as the legends described, Old Demon Ye had a taste for pleasures of the flesh, unable to abstain even for a single day.
Now, it would be easier to handle.
He reconstructed a new segment of memory for the woman, casually opened a window to create the illusion as if a client had fled through it after a visit.
Fully deploying Perfect Level techniques of Concealing Breath, Invisibility, and Sound Absorption, he changed into dark clothes and wore a bamboo hat. Then, wielding the Big Green Dragon, he attached himself to a beam like a bat, quietly moving into position, waiting for Old Demon Ye.
...
He waited three days.
It seemed the disappearance of Li Jue had made Old Demon Ye cautious as he realized another force was monitoring this affair, and thus he had not visited the brothel.
Yet, he was reluctant to leave as he was waiting for Ning Daoran to appear.
On the fourth day, he could no longer resist.
In the dead of night, Old Demon Ye knocked on the door of the brothel, his eyes cold as he tossed a gold ingot to the madam, "I'm in a hurry, call out all the girls who aren't asleep!
And later, you come as well!"
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