As Guo Xiaoyu spoke, he squatted down on the ground and gestured, “There aren’t many henchmen patrolling around, about twenty or thirty people. None of them know martial arts, so they’re easy to deal with.”
"The biggest problem is that there are a few dilapidated houses to the west, where three or four people know kung fu. They are all at the 'beginner' stage, and there is a high possibility that there is even a master who has 'fully mastered' or even 'completely refined' their skills."
Seeing that Cheng Ruyi and Registrar Peng did not understand these terms, Guo Qinglan explained them to everyone in a simple way.
This is the current martial arts ranking system, from beginner to the highest level: "First Glimpse of the Path" - "Comprehensive Understanding" - "Mastery" - "Peak of Perfection" - "Divine Skill" - "There are always higher levels to reach".
"Although I have practiced martial arts since childhood, I am not talented enough and can only reach the 'beginner level'. Xiaoyu is currently at the 'master level', but she should not stop there in the end."
Cheng Ruyi frowned more and more as she listened. Why did this feel like she had accidentally stumbled into a male-oriented martial arts novel? So, not only does she have a war-torn scenario, but she might also have a martial arts scenario?
Seeing Cheng Ruyi's pale and frightened face, Guo Xiaoyu couldn't help but explain, "You don't need to worry too much. All martial arts manuals are extremely rare. Ordinary people can't even come into contact with them. At most, an average person knows a few basic fist and foot techniques!"
"Moreover, learning martial arts is all about talent. The vast majority of people in this world who want to learn martial arts stop at the 'first glimpse of the basics,' and only a few can reach the 'mastery.' Each of the later levels is a hundred or even ten thousand times more difficult than the last, and no one has ever reached the highest level."
After listening to Guo Xiaoyu's words, Cheng Ruyi felt more at ease and understood. It turned out that this was just a world of low-level martial arts and no supernatural elements, so at least it wouldn't be as absurd as two people fighting and then suddenly rushing out of the universe and ascending to immortality.
As long as their martial arts skills aren't fantastical, then the cheat system in her hand is the most fantastical thing ever!
After Guo Xiaoyu finished explaining the information, Registrar Peng immediately sent someone back to deliver a message, saying that these thieves were beyond their ability to deal with, both in terms of numbers and strength.
"Are we just supposed to wait outside like this and do nothing?" Guo Qinglan was a little frustrated. Unfortunately, her martial arts skills were too weak. If her older brother were here, he would have rushed in long ago and beaten these despicable bandits to a pulp, making them beg for mercy on their knees!
Cheng Ruyi looked up at the moonlight. The big, round moon was almost hanging directly overhead. At midnight, it was the time when the moon was at its zenith.
Thinking of what was mentioned in the letter, she knew that time was running out.
"While we can't confront them directly at the main gate, we should be able to disrupt things, at least prevent their ceremony from proceeding smoothly..."
*
Fifteen minutes later, Guo Xiaoyu led Guo Qinglan and Cheng Ruyi to a huge rock protruding from a hillside. Although it was a hundred meters away from the quarry, the high vantage point allowed them to see the situation below fairly clearly.
As they approached the quarry, they immediately smelled a strong, extremely disgusting odor, which Xiaoyu said was coming from the large, dark iron vat in the middle.
Upon seeing the shape of the object, Cheng Ruyi knew that it was not an iron vat at all, but an enormous bronze alchemy furnace.
Suppressing her discomfort, she tried to concentrate on observing what was below while frantically searching for a way out of the predicament.
There were supposed to be twenty or thirty patrolmen, but most of them were slacking off. Only a few were wandering around aimlessly, which hardly counted as patrolling. They probably thought that a bunch of kids couldn't possibly escape.
However, the houses on the west side, which were half collapsed, were brightly lit. Cheng Ruyi's eyes swept over the door of the house and she could vaguely see a large water vat and several empty wine jars lying on the ground next to it.
Sacrifice... Ritual... Blood... Alchemy Furnace...
The toxins of the red thorn are all on the thorns. Ordinary people need to touch the skin to be paralyzed. Theoretically speaking, if you use the poisonous thorns to make wine, the wine should also be contaminated with toxins!
As long as the people in the room are temporarily paralyzed or slowed down, Xiaoyu and Qinglan should have enough time to destroy the alchemy furnace and escape back!
Cheng Ruyi told everyone about the plan and poured all the poisonous thorns from the large bag she was carrying into the water bag that Xiaoyu carried with her.
"Can you manage alone? Although saving people is important, you don't need to take such a big risk for it." What Guo Xiaoyu really meant was that there was no need to sacrifice herself for it. In her opinion, Cheng Ruyi, who didn't know martial arts, was no match for her at all.
While shaking the water pouch, Cheng Ruyi explained, "According to the plan, Miss Xiaoyu, you need to lure away those people who know martial arts, and Sister Qinglan also needs to create chaos to distract them. Compared to that, secretly going into the house to poison them is the least dangerous. Don't worry, although I don't know martial arts, I'm quite agile, so escaping shouldn't be a problem."
Upon hearing this, Guo Qinglan recalled some details from last night and suddenly realized that Cheng Ruyi cooperated very well when she was being pulled up and down, and did not hold back when they were moving together in the cave. She must be quite agile, and she also has the life-saving weapon of poison thorns.
She looked at the peach wood sword that the other person had just handed her, saying she was to use it to smash the large iron vat... For some reason, she suddenly felt that the plan might be feasible.
"I think it's okay, but you need to make sure you're safe first. If there's any danger, run away immediately."
Seeing that even her young mistress agreed with the other party's plan, Guo Xiaoyu couldn't very well object alone.
"Don't worry, I'll tell you a secret: I actually... value my life the most!"
Cheng Ruyi thought she was very humorous, but the two people opposite her only gave her four eye rolls.
The three immediately split up to carry out their plan.
Just then, a gust of wind blew in, and the round, clear moon overhead was instantly blocked by a thick patch of dark clouds, plunging the entire quarry into deep darkness.
Looking at the dilapidated house in front of her, Cheng Ruyi estimated that the straight-line distance was less than 100 meters. With her current agility, she could definitely reach it within ten seconds.
She gripped two invisibility talismans tightly in her right hand, her body trembling slightly involuntarily. Although it was the dead of winter, her clothes were already soaked with sweat.
To calm herself down, she took a deep breath and took the opportunity to swallow one of the "moisturizing energy candy pills" she had prepared beforehand, slowly adjusting her breathing to try and calm herself down.
A few breaths later, a commotion suddenly came from the opposite side, and several figures immediately flew out of the dilapidated house to the west.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Ruyi immediately tore off the invisibility talisman and stuck it on her body. Then, she ran towards her destination with all her might, silently counting in her mind: one second, two seconds, three seconds...
She reached the doorway safely just as she counted to seven, and then in a second, she quickly poured half of the poisonous water into the large water tank at the door.
During this time, she looked up into the room and, finding no one there, rushed in without hesitation. She poured the remaining half of the poisoned water into the wine jar and several cups on the table. As soon as she finished pouring the water, the invisibility talisman became ineffective.
Hearing footsteps, she ran to the door while tearing off the last invisibility talisman. She had only run about ten meters and hadn't even had time to stick the talisman on when a gust of wind suddenly came from behind. Cheng Ruyi quickly twisted her body and barely dodged the slash from behind. Unable to run back in time, she could only jump into the nearby woods and then, under cover of cover, stick the invisibility talisman on her body to hide her figure.
The bandits who had been tracking them lost track of their target, but the target still cautiously circled around the area and did not leave immediately.
"Stop chasing them, come back!"
Just two seconds before the invisibility talisman expired, a loud voice came from inside the room: "The ritual is about to begin. Be careful of the enemy's feints. Everyone come back to protect the Holy Blood. The important matter is at hand!"
After hearing the bandits leave, Cheng Ruyi waited for a while longer, and when she found that there was still no movement, she was sure that they had really left. Even so, she did not dare to move around.
She touched her left arm, which had a bloody scratch, and felt a pang of emotion. Her poor left hand had borne all the pain on its own... Enough said, I'd better take another pill.
Because of her injury and the fact that she had accidentally deviated from her original route while escaping, she had no choice but to hide for the time being and quietly treat the wound on her arm.
Fortunately, things went surprisingly smoothly afterward.
At midnight, the sacrificial ceremony officially began. The people inside the house bowed to the moon, then each poured themselves a cup of wine and drank it at the same time. Instantly, they were paralyzed by the poison of the red thorns and collapsed to the ground...
The other henchmen at the quarry didn't have time to notice what was happening inside the room before Guo Xiaoyu suddenly appeared and overwhelmed them. Guo Qinglan arrived just two seconds later, and with a few quick movements, she cleaved the massive bronze alchemy furnace in two blows. A black, foul-smelling liquid instantly spilled onto the ground, and only now, at such close range, did they realize that the liquid was clearly blood...
Everything happened in an instant, so fast that no one had time to react.
The two did not linger in the fight. After destroying the alchemy furnace, they quickly fled. By the time the most skilled bandit leader regained consciousness and arrived, they had already safely returned to their previous location and hidden away.
Cheng Ruyi, hiding to the side, deliberately counted. The bandit leader was paralyzed for at least ten seconds before rushing out of the house, and then stumbled and took another five or six seconds to reach the alchemy furnace in the middle. At this time, the other bandits in the room had just reached the door.
The poisonous sting was more effective than expected. It seems that both the cultivation world and the system truly exist in a way that surpasses the current world. The poison of the Crimson Thorn is not only colorless and odorless, but it can even bypass their martial arts level and directly break through their defenses...
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