Chapter 62 Ambush on the Mountain Road, Here Comes the Soup

Within Qingning County.

Inside the Red Candle Inn, three young talents from the martial arts world—Yang Huayu, Liu Xian, and Yun Fei—are conversing in a room.

Yang Huayu said, "Haitang went to ask for help, and a whole night has passed. Why hasn't she returned yet? Could something have happened to her?"

“Brother Yang, you are overthinking it. Haitang has a distinguished background; she is the daughter of Constable Li. Who would dare to easily harm her?” Yunfei said calmly.

"I'm afraid there might be some blind fools," Liu Xian said.

Yang Huayu said, "That immortal in the altar has long since entered the Essence Devouring Realm, and he is very difficult to deal with. What if he escapes again this time?"

"Hehe, aren't we at the Essence Consumption Realm? If it weren't for his superb lightness skill, we would have been caught long ago." Liu Xian chuckled smugly.

Including Li Haitang, the four are all hunting down Yun Zhongxian. Li Haitang is the daughter of a master constable, only fifteen or sixteen years old, and has just entered the martial arts world, needing to capture the culprit and make a name for herself.

Yang Huayu is the young master of Yang Family Manor in Ziqiong County. His cousin was once kidnapped and drunk by the Immortal of the Altar, and he has a deep hatred for that villain.

Liu Xian and Yun Fei, on the other hand, came from Qiongtianfu and, for various reasons, were also investigating the immortal in the altar.

They met along the way and joined forces to kill the Immortal in the Altar. However, the Immortal in the Altar was extremely cunning and repeatedly escaped danger.

They chased him all the way to Qingning County.

Just then, Li Haitang returned on horseback, went up to the inn, and joined the three of them.

"how?"

The three immediately surrounded them.

Li Haitang nodded. "The one in the manor is Wen Caitang."

“Wen Caitang?” Liu Xian opened his folding fan and said with an elegant air, “She is the one known in the martial arts world as the ‘Sword-Broken Lady’.”

Li Haitang said, "That's right, it's her."

"If we could get her help, the Immortal in the Altar would be a piece of cake," Yang Huayu sighed.

“Hehe, how could she lower herself to kill a mere immortal in the altar?” Li Haitang said. “However, out of respect for my father, she sent thirty men.”

"Oh? Where is it?" Yunfei was overjoyed.

Li Haitang opened the window and pointed to the street, where thirty people were standing and waiting.

Yang Huayu said, "If these people had a foundation in martial arts, they could easily be overwhelmed if they joined forces to kill them."

Li Haitang said, "A head-on confrontation is ultimately not advisable. Although these people are servants, they were obtained by using my father's name."

"The more people die, the more my father will owe her. But I don't want my father to owe her anything. Everyone knows she has a lot of enemies."

Liu Xian sighed, "Madam Wen is unparalleled in her elegance and noble appearance, attracting the covetousness of many. However, she is not someone to be trifled with. She is ruthless and vicious. When she was young, she heard that Fang Meng of the Flower Cage Sect had her heart ripped out and died."

“This feud is no small matter; Fang Meng is the nephew of the Flower Cage Sect’s leader,” Yun Fei said.

"Pah, that Flower Cage Gate is no good either. My cousin is beautiful, so they sent people to harass her and try to kidnap her," Yang Huayu said.

Yang Huayu's cousin, Yang Mengluo, was a renowned beauty. Unfortunately, her beauty was short-lived; she was captured by a celestial being and had her blood steeped in water to be drunk.

Yang Huayu was now furious with the Immortal in the Altar. He vowed to kill him.

"Enough, business is more important." Li Haitang interrupted, "You all proceed according to plan. I'll go teach them the Iron Net Murder-Catching Formation."

"Okay!" Liu Xian, Yang Huayu, and Yun Fei said in unison.

...

Outside Qingning County.

"You shall form groups of ten: four with iron nets, two with spears, two with iron shields, and two with longbows."

"Hear my command, form the battle formation!"

Li Haitang raised the command flag and began a temporary rehearsal of the battle formation.

He simplified the family's "Iron Net Catch-the-Evil Formation" and passed it on to everyone.

This formation is simple and easy to learn, emphasizing seamless teamwork. Mastering it requires a long period of practice and refinement, but grasping its basics can be done quickly.

Li Xian, holding a longbow, observed the changes in the formation. He felt it was quite extraordinary; each person's position and angle followed the principles of the Eight Trigrams, cooperating and restraining each other, as if they were a unified whole.

Advance and retreat, attack and defense, feints and real attacks... this formation of ten people is ever-changing.

But the killing blow lies with the archer.

"If I were to fall into this trap, I would have no choice but to surrender."

Put yourself in their shoes.

He had absolutely no way to break the formation. What surprised Li Xian even more was that this formation did not require any strong martial arts skills.

If you're smart enough, you can quickly grasp it and apply it flexibly.

"Very good, very good."

Seeing that everyone had grasped the concept, Li Haitang nodded, feeling very pleased.

He then summoned Li Xian and the other two second-class guards to his side and said, "The immortal in that altar has a very unusual appearance and is easy to recognize."

"He is currently hiding in the mountains."

"My companions and I will search the mountains later. With my ability to identify tracks, we will find him quickly. He will surely put up a stubborn resistance and try to escape at all costs. This thief is very good at light footwork, and we can't catch him."

"Listen to my command, lay in ambush at three dangerous intersections in advance, and do not concern yourself with anything else."

...

After briefly explaining the situation, they split up. Li Haitang met up with Liu Xian, Yun Fei, and Yang Huayu and went into the mountains to search.

Li Xian and the others headed towards the pre-arranged mountain path to lay in ambush.

If you encounter a Cloud Immortal, simply restrain him with all your might.

"Master Li, what should we do if we really encounter that immortal in the jar?"

One of the nurses traveling with us, a third-class nurse, said with some concern.

"If we do encounter them, then let's face them." Li Xian remained calm. "Remember the formation. As long as we don't panic, taking them down shouldn't be difficult."

He wasn't entirely confident either. But in front of his subordinates, he had to appear assured, otherwise, if morale plummeted, the group would fall apart.

Noon.

Li Xian led his team to the mountain path.

The mountain path is very long. The first half is lush with vegetation, making it very suitable for Tibetans. The second half has a very different terrain, with towering stone pillars and narrow mountain crevices.

He gestured for everyone to hide in the bushes on both sides of the mountain path and wait for the fish to take the bait.

"The idea of ​​meeting the Cloud Immortal sounded intriguing. I both hoped to meet him and worried about meeting him; my feelings were quite complicated."

"If I encounter them, let me see what these so-called ruthless gangsters look like and how powerful they are."

"If you don't find him, going back to Commander Pang and receiving the reward for nothing is also quite good."

Li Xian held his breath and focused his mind.

He didn't care about the progress of Li Haitang and the others, and just quietly did his part.

"The terrain here is treacherous; even the immortal in the clouds might hide here."

"I just don't know how Li Haitang and the others will find them, hiding in a place like this."

After a long while, there was still no movement, so Li Xian pressed his ear to the ground.

Listening for any subtle sounds, everything remained as usual.

For the first few hours, there was not a sound, and the immortal in the altar was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn't help but feel relaxed.

However, around 3 PM, Li Xian suddenly heard footsteps.

Approaching rapidly from afar, Li Xian was startled, realizing he had hit the jackpot. He pelted the group with pebbles, signaling the arrival of a formidable foe.

Panic flashed in everyone's eyes.

"Don't be afraid."

Li Xian gave an encouraging look and held up three fingers. He silently counted down from three, and just as he reached one, a dark figure entered his field of vision.

"put!"

Li Xian roared. The four guards holding nets stood up instantly and scattered the iron nets.

The figure was startled and dodged left and right, but the iron net spread out in the air, covering a very large area.

This is so sudden, it's really hard to avoid.

They were suddenly covered by an iron net.

"Hehehe, how dare you, how dare you, another batch of soup is coming." A shrill voice rang out.

(End of this chapter)