Chapter 249: Siege
At Zuo Gaofeng’s shout, Lu Xiansheng whipped his head around. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened in recognition and he yelled, “You thief! Lucky you got away before, and now you’ve just walked right into our trap. Today, your head’s mine!”
He sounded suspicious, but he still had no clue that all four of his men chasing Zuo Gaofeng and the others were already dead.
A streak of light blasted from the back of Lu Xiansheng’s head. Bright red in the center, surrounded by blue flames with streaks of orange and green. It took the shape of a furnace. His carefully nurtured magical artifact. And it dove at Zuo Gaofeng like a sword-light.
The huge axe in Zuo Gaofeng’s hand suddenly grew seven feet longer, spinning into a massive circle of light that radiated unstoppable power.
The pill furnace slammed onto the glowing axe-wheel. Instantly, the axe froze. Its light dimmed under the crushing weight of the furnace’s four-colored flames. It shuddered, trying to break free. But it was useless. The blade was about to shatter.
A cultivator at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement was no match for someone who had already stepped into Foundation Establishment. Three moves at most, and it would be over.
Just then, a colorful bead shot through the air, spinning wildly as it streaked straight toward Lu Xiansheng’s face. It was the Toad Pearl, hurled by Dragon Mountain Wanderer to aid Lu Gaofeng. Dragon Mountain Wanderer had been at the peak of Qi Refinement for many years, and his control over the Toad Pearl was so refined it nearly rivaled a flying sword. The bead spun in unpredictable arcs, approaching from the most devious angles.
But Lu Xiansheng clearly had more tricks up his sleeve. With a flick of his wrist, a glassy shield appeared, sparkling and flowing like a curtain of water. It effortlessly deflected the Toad Pearl.
The furnace kept pressing down with brutal force, and Lu Gaofeng was nearly crushed beneath it. He gripped his giant axe with both hands, straining to hold it up, but the furnace’s weight was unstoppable. No matter how hard he fought, it kept forcing its way lower.
Just as it was about to slam down on his head, Fairy Huang Ye’s silver hairpin shot in from the side, expanding to over three feet long and as thick as a thumb. It wedged itself beneath the furnace, buying Lu Gaofeng a moment’s relief.
At the same time, Old Daoist Hu Du flicked his wrist, summoning a massive hammer whose head was shaped like a Bagua compass, yin and yang symbols swirling across its surface. He didn’t even have time to swing it at Lu Xiansheng. He drove it upward to brace the falling furnace instead, joining Fairy Huang Ye and Zuo Gaofeng in holding back its crushing power.
But the moment he made contact, Hu Du realized the terrifying truth. Once caught under the furnace’s shadow, there was no escaping it. Though it didn’t look large, its might was like a mountain pressing down from above, sealing them in completely.
The three of them together barely managed to halt its descent. But they were spent, their strength all but gone, with no hope of striking back.
And they didn’t need to fight back; the others were already on the move. Aside from Dragon Mountain Wanderer, Dai Shenggao, Qi Laoqi, Old Cripple, Wan Liming, Captain Hu, Cang Yuntian, and the rest all charged in together, unleashing every technique they had. In an instant, Lu Xiansheng was surrounded, the air bursting with light and the clash of countless magical weapons ringing nonstop.
Lu Xiansheng hadn’t expected that these supposed bandits would include so many late-stage Qi Refiners. Even though his cultivation was clearly above theirs, he still found himself overwhelmed, forced to defend himself on all sides at once.
The two fellow cultivators from Tianmu Mountain who had come with him tried to rush to his aid. But one was pinned down by the Huang brothers, while the other was blocked by Tan Bajhang and Mu the physician. They couldn’t get anywhere near him.
Liu Xiaolou hung back as the flexible backup, scanning the courtyard while the servants rushed around in a panic, shouting and scrambling in every direction. He kept looking, waiting for something dangerous to jump out... but honestly, he didn’t see anything threatening at all.
His heart finally settled. He turned to Li Bushan and Fang Bu’ai. “Go search the manor,” he said, “see if any of the seniors from Guzhang Mountain are here.”
The two obeyed and headed off. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaolou stayed crouched on the roof, calmly assessing the situation. He noticed that the opponent fighting Tan Bajhang and Mu the physician was quite skilled. It wouldn’t be easy for the two to win quickly. So he called out, “Bajhang, Mu! Go help the Huang brothers instead!”
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed out the formation disk, instantly pulling Tan and Mu’s opponent into the formation, trapping him within its illusion. His gaze then swept over the battlefield, ready for any unexpected turn.
No surprises came. As a matter of fact, with Tan Bajang and Mu the physician joining the fight, the Huang brothers quickly turned the tide. Within moments, the battle was one-sided. And the eldest, Huang Ziniu, ended it with a single, brutal thrust of his spear, killing the enemy on the spot.
Huang Ziniu, full of swagger, turned to Tan Bajhang. “See that, Old Tan? I said I’d strike him right in the crotch, and I did! No hesitation! That’s exactly how Lu Yuanji died, and you still didn’t believe me!”
Tan Bajang rolled his eyes. “Classless.”
Huang Ziniu burst out laughing.
With their hands now free, the five of them turned, ready to help Liu Xiaolou deal with the one trapped inside the formation. But Liu Xiaolou waved them off. “No need.”
So they shifted their focus to join the siege against Lu Xiansheng instead.
However, their cultivation levels were only around the sixth or seventh layer; none of them had reached the late stage. Against an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, they couldn’t even get close enough to make a difference.
Tan Bazhang tried to smack Lu Xiansheng on the head with his iron rod. He jumped into the air, yelling, “In the dark, I’ll—” but didn’t even finish before Lu Xiansheng flicked his sleeve, sending him flying. Luckily, Lu Xiansheng was already under heavy pressure from Dragon Mountain Wanderer and Dai Shenggao’s combined assault, so the hit didn’t land full force. Tan wasn’t hurt, but he crashed through a courtyard wall, his head ringing and vision spinning.
Seeing that, Huang Ziniu didn’t dare rush in. He waited for an opening and hurled his spear straight at Lu Xiansheng’s crotch. Amid all the flurry, Lu Xiansheng just flicked it with a finger, and the spear skittered across the ground. He stepped on it without even looking, and just like that, Huang Ziniu’s prized weapon was gone.
It wasn’t just him. His brothers Zilu and Zima went the same way. One exchange, and both lost their magical weapons. The three of them were left circling on the outside, gnashing their teeth, swearing up a storm, every curse aimed straight at Lu Xiansheng's genitals . Their relentless insults made Lu Xiansheng’s temper flare higher and higher.
Mu the physician’s magical weapon, however, was something unusual. A long, nearly invisible strand of silkworm thread that flickered in and out of sight. It clearly threw Lu Xiansheng off a bit, made him uncomfortable. But with such a gap in cultivation, it could only cause a tiny distraction.
Liu Xiaolou watched the fight closely, unsure how to jump in. His cultivation was only at the seventh layer, so he couldn’t hope to face an early Foundation Establishment cultivator head-on.
His Mysterious True Cord was useless here. The Three-Mystery Sword was soft and sluggish, no way they could pierce through. The Bewildering Fragrance was pointless in such chaos. As for the formation disk... could it really do anything against a Foundation Establishment expert? And even if it could, could he hold it together? Liu Xiaolou seriously doubted it.
After watching for a while, he found himself stunned by the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s strength. That man was only at the early stage, yet with nothing but a pill furnace and a glassy shield, he was holding his own against fifteen Qi Refining cultivators -- ten of whom were already in the late stage. Though he was clearly being pushed back, he still hadn’t shown any sign of losing. That kind of strength was truly frightening.
He racked his brain for a countermeasure but couldn’t come up with anything that would work.
Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden cheer came from one of the courtyards below. It turned out that Fang Bu’ai and Li Busan had found the Guzhang Mountain brothers!
Turns out the four of them weren’t dead;they’d just been caught by Lu Xiansheng. Each was bound tightly in Eightfold Restriction Cords, their bodies battered and bloody, faces bruised and swollen. Whatever they’d gone through, it hadn’t been pleasant.
No wonder, really. Lu Xiansheng had gone through all that trouble to capture them alive. It would’ve been stranger if he hadn’t tortured them for information about the others.
Once the Eightfold Restriction Cords were removed, the fifth brother immediately collapsed. He’d been the first to be interrogated, and the one who suffered the worst. The moment he saw Liu Xiaolou, the tension drained from him, and he passed out cold.
The eldest, sixth, and seventh brothers hadn’t been tortured yet, so their injuries weren’t quite as bad. They caught their breath for a moment, then struggled back to the cell, grabbed their poles, and with eyes blazing red, charged straight into the fight.