Chapter 113: Severing the Tail

The others did not react much, but Xu Tianlang’s face showed some displeasure. Xu Ziyan and Xu Lin’s current wealth may not be any less than the Xu Clan’s hidden treasures. Others were not at that status so they did not care about this issue. Only Xu Tianlang, who had been the leader of the younger generation in the clan before Xu Ziyan arrived, did not see Xu Qi as very important in his eyes. Now that he knew the Clan Leader had told the clan’s secrets to Xu Qi but not him, he felt a little uncomfortable inside.

Even now, for one thing, they were on the run, and his father Xu Haoliang had told him before leaving to listen to Xu Qi. For another, he saw that Xu Lin, whose cultivation level was higher than his, and Xu Ziyan, who had already caught up to him and had shone brightly on the duelling platform the day the clan alliance had trouble, showed no displeasure about this matter at all. So he had to suppress his inner unhappiness. If this had been before, Xu Tianlang would probably have jumped up long ago.

Xu Ziyan waved her hand at Xu Qi and softly said, “What I want to talk about is not the clan’s hidden treasure, but the danger this treasure brings us! It can’t be just one group of people who have recognized us; that’s clear from the pursuers all along the way. They must have figured out that we are on the run, and also deduced that we might be carrying the treasure’s hiding place with us. So they reported it to their own clan while also gathering all the strength they could muster to try to capture us alive. That’s why the people who first chased us had such low cultivation levels.

Then the second wave who came were probably those who received their reports. Those people were a bit stronger, so they continued reporting upward while gathering forces to chase us. That’s why each wave is more powerful than the last. I think when their highest level sends people, it might be more than we can handle.”

The private room became very quiet. The atmosphere was unusually heavy, as if the air itself had weight, pressing down on everyone until they felt they could hardly breathe. Cold sweat unknowingly trickled down their foreheads. At this moment, everyone, including the team leader appointed by the clan, Xu Qi, was completely directed by Xu Ziyan. They all stared hopefully at Xu Ziyan. Seeing Xu Qi in that state gave Xu Tianlang a flash of satisfaction in his heart. People are like this, especially young people; when they see their rival act in a way that doesn’t suit their status, they can’t help but give them an extra push, even if it brings no real benefit to themselves. So Xu Tianlang cooperatively asked,

“What should we do then?”

No one realized Xu Tianlang’s true intention, but he had voiced what everyone was thinking. Even Xu Qi looked over with hopeful eyes.

“We must cut off the spies who have been following us, and then disguise ourselves…”

Ten people left the restaurant, and without staying in Bowang City for even a moment, they headed straight out of the city toward the outskirts. They did not dare to fly on swords; ten people flying together might attract too many cultivators’ attention. So they just ran on foot toward the outskirts. In a less populated area, Xu Ziyan and the others used their light-body technique, their feet skimming the tips of the grass, pulling ten afterimages as they swept forward like the wind.

Soon, they came to a vast Great Grassland with not a single tree in sight, completely open. They kept flying until they reached the center of this open area. Xu Ziyan raised her hand to signal everyone to stop, looked around, and finally nodded in satisfaction, saying,

“Right here!”

Everyone nodded, each sitting cross-legged on the ground, closing their eyes as if entering a state of meditative rest.

Two quarter-hours later, five stealthy figures appeared from the direction of Bowang City. They kept about fifty meters apart. They seemed to know about each other’s presence, yet there was a kind of unspoken agreement; they did not disturb each other, all carefully approaching Xu Ziyan and the others. When they got within a certain distance, they hid there, completely still.

Xu Ziyan’s eyes suddenly snapped open. Before those five people had even reached their current positions, Xu Ziyan’s Foundation Building Stage spiritual power had sensed their presence. After waiting a full two quarter-hours and finding no more followers, Xu Ziyan abruptly opened her eyes fully. As she sprang up from the grass, a talisman appeared in her left hand and five talismans in her right hand. With a flash of red light, the talisman in her left hand turned into a red bow. Xu Ziyan gripped the bow with her left hand, and with her right hand’s fingers, she nocked the five talismans onto the bowstring. Instantly, she drew the bow like a full moon. As she drew the bowstring, the five talismans in her right hand turned into five arrows releasing The Flame.

Xu Ziyan’s spiritual power had been locked onto those five people all along. It happened in the blink of an eye. Just as the five tracking, hidden individuals reacted to Xu Ziyan suddenly standing up, Xu Ziyan had already gracefully released her right hand from the bowstring. Five flaming fire arrows whooshed as they shot toward the five hidden trackers.

At this moment, Xu Ziyan did not bother about the fate of those five people. Instead, she quickly took out two more talismans, nocked them on the bowstring, and drew the bow again. Her gaze locked directly onto a gray eagle circling persistently above them. She let go of her hand, and the two talismans transformed into sharp arrows, like two miniature Fire Dragons, instantly catching up to the eagle that had just begun to flap its wings to escape.

Along with five howls from the ground, the eagle in the sky cried out in distress almost at the same time and fell from the sky. Before it even hit the ground, it had already been burned to ashes.

“Let’s go!”

Xu Ziyan gave a low shout. A flying sword flew out from her storage pouch, circling around her body. Xu Ziyan stepped onto the flying sword and said in a low voice,

“Fly close to the ground!”

Ten people, with Xu Ziyan flying at the front, the green grass beneath their feet surging like waves. The other nine followed closely behind, riding their swords just above the grass tips, swiftly flying into the distance. Behind them, the grass rippled like waves!

Xu Ziyan and the others soon rushed into a mountain forest, then found a small valley to rest in. When it was very late at night, ten figures shot up into the sky from the small valley, flying high and speeding away into the distance.

By the time dawn arrived, Xu Ziyan and the others reached a forest about five li from a small town. Xu Ziyan, Xu Mei, Xu Lan, and Xu Meiruo, the four girls, each asked Xu Qi and the others for a set of male clothes. Then they hid deep in the forest to disguise themselves. These four girls, including Xu Ziyan, were all good at sewing. Soon they altered the clothes to fit well, then dressed up as four young boys and walked out from the depths of the forest.

Seeing the stunned expressions of Xu Qi and the other six boys, the four girls smiled together, pursing their lips, then left the forest and walked toward that small town.

The four girls, Xu Ziyan and the others, followed the crowd into this small town. Though the town wasn’t big, it had quite a flow of visitors. Many merchants came here to buy mountain goods, then transport them to bigger cities. Xu Ziyan and the other three first bought various clothes, then purchased three carriages and several good horses. They also bought many mountain goods, filling two carriages. Then they drove the carriages and led the horses back to the forest five li from the town.

In the forest, they split into boys and girls to disguise themselves. Xu Ziyan dressed up as a young lady—this was the result of their collective discussion. Ever since Xu Ziyan’s words in the restaurant, everyone in their hearts had been sincerely convinced by her. Unconsciously, they had already begun to see Xu Ziyan as their backbone. Even Xu Qi willingly gave up his position as team leader. Thus, they needed someone to give orders; they couldn’t have Xu Ziyan dress as a maid and then issue commands.

So Xu Ziyan pretended to be the young lady of a small trading company, while Xu Mei acted as her personal bodyguard. Xu Lan and Xu Meiruo played the roles of two maids. Xu Qi and the other six dressed up as six guards of the trading company. They put their flying swords away in their storage pouches, hidden inside their clothes. They carried the ordinary swords and knives that Xu Ziyan had bought for them in the town.

After everyone finished disguising themselves, they met in the forest, looked at each other, and burst into laughter. This laughter actually eased a lot of the oppressive feelings from being on the run. Xu Ziyan’s eyes swept over everyone, and she slightly furrowed her brows, saying softly,

“Wait here for a moment!”

After saying that, she climbed into the carriage, took out a talisman brush and talisman paper from her storage pouch, and quickly made nine breath-concealing talismans. Then she jumped down from the carriage and walked over to the puzzled group, handing each one a breath-concealing talisman, then explaining how to use them. After that, Xu Ziyan set an example herself. Under everyone’s gaze, she adjusted the breath-concealing talisman already inside her body, showing a cultivation level of Tenth Layer of Houtian.

Although they had just heard Xu Ziyan’s explanation, seeing it with their own eyes still left everyone stunned for a moment. Xu Mei raised her hand to cover her small mouth, her beautiful eyes wide as she said,

“Big Sister Ziyan, have you been hiding your cultivation level all along? No wonder you could defeat Yang Linglong, the top genius of Northern Region at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining! Big Sister Ziyan, quickly tell us, what is your real cultivation level?”

As soon as Xu Mei finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned toward Xu Ziyan, the sharpest gazes coming from Xu Lin and Xu Tianlang.

Xu Ziyan had already anticipated this question while making the breath-concealing talismans. She just smiled faintly and said,

“Just a little higher, not by much.” Seeing Xu Mei about to speak again, she clapped her hands and said,

“Alright, everyone quickly adjust your own cultivation levels!”

“Um… Little Sister Ziyan, what cultivation level should we adjust to?” Xu Lin asked, looking at the breath-concealing talisman in his hand.

Xu Ziyan had already thought it through before making the breath-concealing talismans. So she said softly,

“I adjusted to the Tenth Layer of Houtian. Xu Mei, as my personal bodyguard, should adjust to the late peak of the Eleventh Layer of Houtian. As for Xu Lan and Xu Meiruo, adjust to the Fourth Layer of Houtian.”