Cloud Lian leaned into the young man’s arms, her face full of grievance, eyes rimmed with red, and her voice carrying a sob.
“Senior Brother! I finally found you!”
Seeing Cloud Lian so wronged, Chen Yuyang’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Slow down. What happened?”
“Senior Brother, just a few days ago, I was ambushed by three bastards from the Dongfang Family at the Nascent Soul stage. They spoke rudely to me and tried to kill me. If it weren’t for the soft armor and talismans you gave me, you might never have seen me again… And because of them, I lost all the over two hundred tokens I had saved up…”
Cloud Lian pulled a long face and recounted the day’s events in detail.
Chen Yuyang listened and understood.
No wonder there had been much less information about that “Lightning Element Cultivator” recently—it was because his junior sister had encountered this.
Still, he felt somewhat speechless.
He had given his junior sister those talismans and pills for self-preservation in a critical moment, but this girl had thrown them around like they cost nothing.
Although the effect was indeed good and had earned her quite a few tokens, Chen Yuyang always felt that this went against his original intention in giving them to her.
Oh well.
Chen Yuyang shook his head.
He wasn’t really upset about the talismans and pills that had been used up.
If anyone was to blame, it was his junior sister being careless and too flashy.
She still hadn’t fully grasped the principle of making a fortune in silence.
On the other side, Yan Luo and Xuan Keyi couldn’t help showing some surprise as they listened.
What do you mean, a Golden Core eighth-layer cultivator escaped from the encirclement of three Nascent Soul cultivators?
Was that something a normal Golden Core cultivator could do?
However, despite their surprise, they also knew this might involve some secrets, so they didn’t ask further.
But they both began to feel that the Hehuan Sect disciples were not simple.
Having learned of Cloud Lian’s experience, combined with the intelligence he had gathered earlier, Chen Yuyang felt it was time to strike against the Dongfang Family’s team.
Avenging his junior sister was one reason.
But even without this incident, the Dongfang Family was among the top contenders for the first few ranks, a problem that had to be solved.
Chen Yuyang then turned to Yan Luo and Xuan Keyi with a serious expression.
“Since that’s the case, let’s all sit down and discuss how to deal with them.”
Yan Luo and Xuan Keyi exchanged a glance and agreed tacitly.
The Dongfang Family disciples had always been arrogant, and neither Xuan Ke nor Yan Luo held much goodwill toward them.
Dealing with the Dongfang Family was almost a natural course of action.
Moreover, Xuan Ke and Yan Luo did believe that the Dongfang Family was the biggest obstacle in their way.
“Alright, we really need to discuss it properly.”
Hearing this, Cloud Lian’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“That’s right, Senior Brother! We have to teach those bastards a lesson and take back my tokens!”
Chen Yuyang gave a hum of agreement, then began to speak gravely.
“The Dongfang Family has three Nascent Soul cultivators, so their strength is not to be underestimated. However… according to Junior Sister’s description, those three Nascent Souls might not necessarily act together with their main force…”
As he spoke, Chen Yuyang raised a hand and patted Cloud Lian’s shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.
“But this might require you to make another sacrifice, Junior Sister.”
Cloud Lian blinked in confusion.
“What do you mean by that, Senior Brother?”
“It means you’re the best bait, Junior Sister.”
Chen Yuyang’s lips curled up cheerfully.
Cloud Lian’s eyes widened instantly, and she shook her head frantically.
“No, no, Senior Brother! Last time I almost got killed by them! They were ruthless!”
Killed?
Chen Yuyang raised an eyebrow.
Although they had indeed struck hard, in his view, it was far from truly threatening his junior sister’s life.
After all, the life-saving measures he had left on her hadn’t even been activated.
But it was true that they had been vicious.
That debt had to be settled with them properly.
Chen Yuyang smiled and continued, “From your description, the three of them are all prideful. Last time they let you slip right under their noses, they must be quite annoyed.”
“If they learn of your whereabouts, they’ll most likely come after you again.”
“And given the personalities they’ve shown, the chances of them bringing the whole team are low.”
He paused, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“But even if they do bring people, it doesn’t matter. As long as we can take out those three Nascent Souls immediately, the rest won’t be a threat.”
Cloud Lian hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“So, we spread news of my whereabouts, lure the Dongfang family members to come to us, and trap them in an ambush or a formation, taking them all down at once?”
“That’s about right.”
Chen Yuyang nodded and turned to look at Yan Luo and Xuan Ke.
The plan was simple but highly feasible.
Xuan Keyi and Yan Luo exchanged glances with Chen Yuyang and had no objections.
Xuan Ke thought for a moment, then spoke up.
“In that case, I have a formation that I can set up in advance to trap them for a while.”
Yan Luo frowned, however, thinking of some issues.
“That’s good, but how can we be sure they’ll hear the news?”
“There’s always some uncertainty. What if they really don’t get the information? That’s the first step of the plan, and also the most critical one.”
If the news doesn’t reach them, everything else is empty talk.
“So we need to take some measures to ensure they can learn as much as possible about the ‘Lightning Element Cultivator.’”
Chen Yuyang nodded, already having an idea.
“What do we do? You’re not really going to sell me out, are you?”
Cloud Lian tensed up.
“Of course not. Relying only on you, Junior Sister, would make too little noise.”
“Then what do you mean?”
Cloud Lian didn’t understand.
If she alone made too little noise, what would make enough?
“Nobody says there can only be one Lightning Element cultivator here, right?”
Chen Yuyang said with a faint smile, looking at the girl.
The three women were stunned, then realization dawned.
….
“One thousand three hundred and twenty-seven.”
Though the tokens piled up like a mountain, Dongfang Bai’s brow remained tightly furrowed, his tone laced with dissatisfaction.
“Our harvest in the past two days is getting smaller and smaller. I was hoping we could reach two thousand before the secret realm ends.”
“Be content, Brother Bai.”
Beside him, Dongfang Ge shook his head with a smile.
“The areas we’ve passed through have been almost completely cleared, with hardly anyone left. In this secret realm, who has more tokens than us now?”
Dongfang Yun sighed.
“A pity that little slut from the Hehuan Sect still got away. She must have at least two to three hundred tokens on her.”
At the mention of Cloud Lian, Dongfang Bai’s pupils contracted, and his face instantly darkened.
He had led Dongfang Yun and Dongfang Ge, three Nascent Soul cultivators, to corner someone who hadn’t even reached Golden Core Great Perfection, and yet she had escaped!
For the arrogant Dongfang Bai, that was an utter humiliation.
“Hmph, she’s probably hiding in some corner, too scared to show her face.”
Dongfang Ge scoffed disdainfully.
“No! We have to find her!”
Dongfang Bai’s expression darkened, but then he realized something.
“She alone has two to three hundred tokens. Although we have over a thousand three hundred now, if we divide them among the team, each of us gets less than she does!”
“Even if we three brothers take a larger share, the others in our Dongfang family will still be outdone by that girl from the Hehuan Sect. That’s absolutely unacceptable!”
Dongfang Yun frowned and nodded.
“Well said, Brother Bai. Besides, if she’s collected more tokens in the meantime, even if we split all the tokens among just us three, we might not be able to beat her.”
Hearing this, Dongfang Ge also dropped his contemptuous expression.
“Is it that bad?”
“That girl’s strength isn’t great, but those lightning talismans really are something… Their effect on us is limited, but ordinary Golden Core cultivators can’t withstand two of them,” Dongfang Yun replied.
Dongfang Bai immediately gave orders.
“Spread the word. Have everyone spread out and investigate. If you find her, don’t attack first. Try to ask around for any relevant information. This threat must be eliminated before the trial ends.”
It was already humiliating that she had escaped; if she surpassed them, it would only be more shameful for Dongfang Bai.
He gave the order.
Immediately, the Dongfang family disciples under his command fanned out, beginning a wide search.
Things went even more smoothly than Dongfang Bai had expected.
Only half a day later, a cultivator they had captured provided relevant information.
That Lightning Element cultivator was currently in the neighboring area, frenziedly attacking and plundering tokens from other cultivators.
“Hah, truly reckless and ignorant!”
Hearing the news, a fierce light flashed in Dongfang Bai’s eyes.
“She offended us and still acts so arrogantly! Hmph, maybe she thinks the trial is almost over and we won’t catch up, so she’s letting loose!”
With that, Dongfang Bai rose immediately.
“Let’s go! We’re going after her now!”
As he took to the air, he spoke to Dongfang Ge and Dongfang Yun.
“This time, we strike to kill the moment we meet, give her no chance!”
“Brother Yun, I recall that if your Mountain and River Seal is fully deployed, it can seal off space to some extent and trap her, right?”
Dongfang Yun nodded slightly.
“Rest assured, Brother Bai. I will. Last time, I was careless and didn’t prepare properly, which let her escape.”
“Good! This time, we won’t let her get away!”
“Should we bring the others in our team?”
Dongfang Ge asked, referring to the other five Golden Core cultivators of the Dongfang family.
“No need.”
Dongfang Yun immediately shook his head.
“Their cultivation is too low. They can’t withstand the lightning talismans. They’d only be dead weight and hamper our movements.”
On the surface, he gave that reason, but in his heart, Dongfang Bai had another calculation.
It was already a disgrace that they had let that woman escape last time.
If they needed so many people to capture her this time, wouldn’t it make them look even more incompetent?
He must redeem himself by his own hands.
Dongfang Bai and Dongfang Ge exchanged a look, understanding Dongfang Yun’s thoughts.
They were all proud men and didn’t want to become a laughingstock over this matter.
Having made their decision, the three wasted no time.
They transformed into streaks of light, speeding toward the dividing mountain range of the adjacent area.