Chapter 149: One Step Forward, One Step Back

"Meimei, the space here is too tight, which is unfavorable for Lightning to give full play to his speed advantage. The two of us must create a better opportunity for him."

Luan Shi Daolang transmitted his voice to Fang Junmei.

"What method do you have?"

Fang Junmei asked.

Hearing this, Luan Shi Daolang replied in a cold and ruthless tone, "We must force them backward, drive them into the hall where we emerged from the teleportation array. Although it is still a bit small, it should barely be enough for Lightning to maneuver."

Fang Junmei nodded, but then sighed with a headache, "These three fellows are no ordinary cultivators; they won't simply retreat easily. Although both of you and I have already cultivated sword and saber intent into our very bones, Feng Wanhai has also reached the realm of sword intent into the bone, and Wu Zixu is presumably no less formidable."

"That's why... we need to think of some other tricks!"

Luan Shi Daolang said with a wicked smile.

Fang Junmei glanced at him and smiled, "What other tricks do you have that I haven't seen yet?"

Luan Shi Daolang chuckled and said, "Have you ever heard of Thunder-Striking Beads?"

Thunder-Striking Beads?

Fang Junmei was slightly stunned. Wasn't this the bizarre item Feng Wanhai used back then to deal with Fan Lanzhou? Fan Lanzhou had suffered quite a heavy blow from it.

"It seems you have heard of them."

Luan Shi Daolang smiled and said, "Our Luan Shi clan has the highest number of lightning cultivators, and the Thunder-Striking Beads are precisely what our family excels at refining the most. I still have a few left on me, possessing extremely powerful might. They were left behind by my parents for Liangyan and me to protect our lives. In any other place, they might be able to dodge them—previously when I fought against Luan Shi Xing, he managed to dodge one. But the terrain here is not only restricting us, it is restricting them as well."

Fang Junmei nodded in agreement, feeling for the first time that when Luan Shi Daolang put his mind to work, he could also be lethal.

"How many do you have?"

Fang Junmei couldn't help asking, not without a trace of eager anticipation.

Luan Shi Daolang gave him a sideways look and said, "I can't tell you!"

"Such a stingy fellow!"

Fang Junmei couldn't help cursing.

Luan Shi Daolang burst out laughing.

Both of them communicated entirely through spiritual consciousness, so the three opponents on the other side had no idea what they were discussing.

"Have the two of you figured out a way or not?"

Lightning had suffered a loss today and was burning with deep resentment. Seeing Fang Junmei and Luan Shi Daolang exchanging glances and smiling happily, it felt even more disgruntled.

"We've figured it out. This time, leave it to Daolang."

Fang Junmei transmitted his thoughts to it.

...

Luan Shi Daolang took a slight breath, reached into his storage pouch, and without another word, fished out a cluster of objects and hurled them fiercely toward the direction of the three men!

A streak of silver radiance cut through the void at a blistering speed. At the very center of the dazzling silver glow was unmistakably a silver, thunder-ball-like object.

"Thunder-Striking Bead, go!"

Feng Wanhai, the cultivator who had previously used a Thunder-Striking Bead, recognized it first. His expression changed drastically as he let out a loud shout and turned on his heels to flee toward the rear.

Boom!

A massive explosion followed closely behind. At the center of the blast, a sheet of silver radiance erupted like a bursting silver star, dazzling the eyes of everyone present and blinding them so they could no longer see a thing.

The earth shook, and rolling shockwaves surged forth!

After waiting for a moment, Lightning was the first to charge forward in pursuit, followed closely by the other two. Along the path they traversed, the tunnel walls were not blown to pieces; only the lingering debris of the stone puppets had been blasted into fine powder.

Further ahead in the distance, golden sword radiance and black smoke struck out once more, blocking Lightning's path of pursuit.

Wu Zixu and his companions were indeed extremely cautious.

Luan Shi Daolang raised his hand to fish out another object, hurling another Thunder-Striking Bead forward.

Boom!

Another explosion echoed.

"This bastard is clearly just a minor, low-status kid from the Luan Shi clan, so how does he possess a Thunder-Striking Bead of such terrifying power?"

Following the sound of the explosion came Wu Zixu's curses.

Luan Shi Daolang sneered. After forcing his way forward for a certain distance, he hurled yet another Thunder-Striking Bead!

...

Advancing!

Retreating!

The only place Wu Zixu and the other two could flee to was the direction of that teleportation hall. If they went into the other two doors, not only would they have to face the attacks of even deeper stone-statue puppets, but their only escape route would also be sealed off by Fang Junmei and the other two, trapping them like turtles in a jar.

Soon, Fang Junmei's group suppressed the opponents and forced them into the hall outside the teleportation array. It was clearly visible to the naked eye that behind the golden sword radiance and black smoke, Wu Zixu and the other two were already standing upon the teleportation array, casting dark and gloomy gazes at the two men and one beast.

"Brats, consider yourselves ruthless today. We will meet again."

Wu Zixu said sinisterly, pulling out seven top-grade spirit stones and shooting them into the array's slots.

Fang Junmei remained expressionless, his heart filled with utter disdain. He thought to himself that it was no wonder the former sect master of the Jedi Sword Palace wanted to track down Long Jianyi. Someone like Wu Zixu, even with a few tricks and a decent cultivation realm, probably couldn't even compare to Fan Lanzhou in terms of future achievements.

A sudden burst of white light!

The figures of the three gradually disappeared.

...

The golden sword radiance and black smoke also slowly subsided.

The two men looked at the teleportation array, coming to a synchronized halt. Neither of them was foolish enough to immediately chase after them, their eyes filled with cautious contemplation.

"What are the two of you doing? Why aren't you activating the teleportation array and chasing after them to kill them?"

Lightning let out a long neigh of dissatisfaction, its hooves lifting high and stamping down hard, its golden mane fluttering in the air, radiating a domineering yet somewhat reckless and brainless aura.

Fang Junmei glanced at it and said, "There are two possibilities on the other side. First, they have already destroyed the teleportation array on that end at the fastest possible speed to prevent us from pursuing them."

Luan Shi Daolang nodded in agreement.

Fang Junmei continued, "Second, they have already prepared their strongest counterattack at the very first moment, ready to give us a crushing blow the moment we chase after them."

Luan Shi Daolang said, "If I were them, I would definitely choose the second option!"

Fang Junmei nodded and cast a look at Lightning; the unspoken words needed no further explanation.

"Are we just going to let them off like this?"

Lightning was filled with grievance.

Fang Junmei smiled and said, "I'm afraid it can only end here for today. Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities to fight them in the future. The cultivation paths of the two of us have only just begun."

Lightning snorted repeatedly, still unable to let it go.

"Junmei, we cannot leave this teleportation array intact!"

Luan Shi Daolang said, "If they could discover it, others might discover it as well. There are still quite a few days left. If Wu Zixu and his group manage to gather a large faction of cultivators, not only will the competition intensify, but danger will await the two of us and Lightning."

Hearing this, Fang Junmei did not immediately agree, his brows furrowing slightly.

Originally, he had kept this teleportation array as an escape route in case of emergencies, just like Luan Shi Daolang's grandfather. Destroying it meant having no way back, forcing them to push forward no matter what.

"Compared to those crafty fellows, I'd rather deal with the weirdness here."

Luan Shi Daolang added.

Fang Junmei thought carefully for a moment and finally nodded. It was time to eliminate any future troubles for themselves!

Boom!

Seeing him agree, Luan Shi Daolang drew his saber and slashed forward. With a resounding crash, the teleportation array was blasted to pieces.

From this moment on, the two of them no longer needed to worry about cultivators approaching from behind.

...

Returning to the Eight-Treasure Hall from earlier, the two men and one beast took a brief moment to rest and recover. Luan Shi Daolang was already injured, and Lightning had also suffered quite a few flesh wounds.

"Brother Lightning, is it really impossible to take even a single treasure? At least let's grab a few!"

Luan Shi Daolang cried out mournfully while meditating. "You must have seen the state in which Gumu Weng and Lu Xiao were injured. As long as we don't reach our hands blindly inside, there shouldn't be any problems. You certainly have a way to break that protective layer and retrieve the treasures."

While pleading, he didn't forget to flatter the beast.

Naturally, Fang Junmei couldn't bear to miss such a great opportunity either. Hearing this, he too cast a pleading look at Lightning.

"Lightning, the seniors who set this up here definitely didn't do it just to lure in unsuspecting cultivators and feed on their arms; perhaps there is some other arrangement. Think of a way again."

Upon hearing this, this fellow Lightning simply closed its eyes and ignored them entirely.

The two of them were infuriated yet utterly helpless.

...

After resting for more than two hours, the two men and one beast continued to explore further ahead. After tracing the tunnel to its very end, they were dumbfounded. The end was truly a dead end—there was nothing there except thick, solid walls, with no other paths or doors to be found.

Although there were some text-like inscriptions on that wall, neither of them could understand a single word!

"We took the wrong path. Let's enter those two doors!"

With a declaration, the two men and one beast immediately turned around.

Stepping out of this room and entering the one on the left, the path ahead was once again filled with stone-statue puppets. The two men and one beast fought fiercely through them.

Of course, the victory was primarily due to Lightning's efforts.

Only after clearing them all out did they realize that this path was also a dead end. Emerging from the door, they turned toward the rightmost path—the very last door.

Another round of slaughter ensued, but upon reaching the end, the two men and one beast were dumbfounded once again: it was still a dead end.

All three paths were dead ends, and the teleportation array leading back had been destroyed by their own hands. A creeping sense of ominous foreboding began to spread in the hearts of the two men and one beast.

"Junmei, what is the meaning of this?"

Luan Shi Daolang asked.

Fang Junmei's brows sank deeply as he fell into contemplation. A sharp gleam flashed brilliantly in his eyes, and he muttered to himself, "It can't be this simple. There must be another arrangement somewhere."

...

Time ticked away second by second. Fang Junmei's eyes suddenly lit up as he said, "No, something is strange. Apart from those stone statues, there is nothing in the left and right doors. Only the middle door holds those three treasures. The exit must lie either within those three treasures or those three statues."

Hearing these words, Luan Shi Daolang awoke as if from a dream.

"Let's go!"

With a shout, he bolted out ahead of the others.

Lightning looked at the actions of the two and muttered inwardly, wondering if these two fellows were making this up on purpose just to get their hands on those three treasures.

Muttering aside, it still followed along.

The two men and one beast returned once more to the Three-Treasure Hall. Wasting no time, they began carefully inspecting the three statues one by one.

This search took another quarter of an hour.

Finally, Fang Junmei and Luan Shi Daolang exchanged glances and both shook their heads. Luan Shi Daolang said, "The trick isn't in the statues, so it must be in the treasures."

Fang Junmei nodded and said, "It seems we must take the treasures out in order to find the exit."

With that, he turned to Lightning and said, "This time, you really have to make your move."

"Junmei, wait a moment!"

Luan Shi Daolang furrowed his brows and suddenly spoke up, "Junmei, there are a total of three treasures here. Is there perhaps a specific order in which they must be taken? Those inscriptions probably hold some hints, but neither of you nor I can read them!"

Hearing this, a sharp light flashed in Fang Junmei's eyes. The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and finally, he was left utterly speechless.