Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Black Mountain Hunters

“At least a Tier One Advanced Level Array!” The expressions of the two worshipper guards turned grave as they instinctively took a step back.

The Flying Ship is a Flying Magical Artifact, relatively weak in defense. At such close range, the opponent’s offensive-type artifact could shoot it down in an instant, not even time for an emergency turn.

Lu Zhenhua had no choice but to step forward, clasping his fists and bowing to the group of robbers:

“Fellow Daoists, this Lu is merely a Loose Cultivator, fleeing with family and friends from the vortex of the Inverted Mountain unexpectedly meeting you here, a fortunate encounter indeed!”

“Ha ha, a Loose Cultivator? An advanced Flying Ship, Tier Two talismans… what an extravagant Loose Cultivator!” The leader, a one-armed elder, said with a sinister smile.

Called out so bluntly, Lu Zhenhua sighed internally, helplessly skirting the topic, opting for directness:

“May I ask, fellow Daoists, what would it take for you to let us leave?”

“Worry not, Daoist Lu,” the one-armed elder said with a composed smile. “We Black Mountain hunters are always merciful, we only rob, not kill, our reputation unmatched, all you need to do is hand over your storage bags, magical artifacts, talismans, and all your assets to leave unscathed!”

Lu Zhenhua’s eyes instantly narrowed, a chill rising from within!

From the moment Li Jizhou saw the robbers emerge from the array, he began thinking about how to escape.

One must admit, the art of arrays is indeed remarkable, borrowing the power of the land to unleash power beyond one’s level.

Even though his Divine Sense was comparable to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, he didn’t notice it immediately.

However, the art of arrays ranks behind the path of talismans for good reason.

Setting up an array requires time, materials for the Array Hub, Spirit Stone energy for maintenance, and once established, it’s very hard to move.

This group of self-proclaimed Black Mountain hunter robbers set up a Concealment Array here, not only for surprise but also for their self-preservation.

They surely won’t leave any survivors.

Their delayed assault is merely to minimize casualties.

Once the magical artifacts and talismans, their life-saving cards, are surrendered and their guard is down, they’d strike with lethal force.

With a moment’s thought, Li Jizhou had already retreated slowly to the stern of the ship.

Apart from taking advantage of the chaos to escape, there was no better option.

Twenty-two Late Stage of Qi Cultivation practitioners, all adept at life-and-death combat; even with Li Jizhou’s current Early Stage of Foundation Establishment Divine Sense pressure, they wouldn’t necessarily retreat.

Foundation Establishment is a threshold, signifying a qualitative enhancement in strength.

Even at the initial entry to Foundation Establishment, he could easily battle ten with his burgeoning magical power against those in Late Stage of Qi Cultivation.

However, should twenty Late Stage of Qi Cultivation practitioners coordinate their offense and defense, fearless of death, the outcome would be reversed.

“Everyone, at the brink of life and death, we can only leave it to fate; let’s resort to our own devices!” Suddenly, Lu Zhenhua’s voice transmitted over.

Panic erupted among the people on the Flying Ship, especially the eight Early Stage of Qi Cultivation receptionists sitting tensely in the middle of the ship.

However, before they could react, a talisman in Lu Zhenhua’s hand erupted in golden light, shooting toward the one-armed elder.

“Hmph! A cornered beast that struggles, nothing but futile!” Despite the might of a Tier Two talisman comparable to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, the one-armed elder remained unfazed as if accustomed to it.

The next moment, several people behind the one-armed elder stepped up, activating several layers of Late Stage of Qi Cultivation Mana Shields, with three shield-type magical artifacts placed in front.

“Boom

~

” A loud explosion; however, it only breached five layers of Mana Shields before being stopped by a dark round shield.

The moment Lu Zhenhua activated the talisman, he was about to steer the Flying Ship.

But a flying sword had already broken through the air.

“Swish

~

” The ship’s shield shattered, and the entire Flying Ship split into two, quickly shrinking to palm size.

Everyone on the Flying Ship used magical power to float in mid-air.

One unfortunate small practitioner receptionist sitting right in the middle was sliced in half along with the Flying Ship by a single sword, his blood spilling into the sky, his life ended.

“Disperse!” Lu Zhenhua again tossed several Tier One talismans to create chaos, shouted loudly, and flew alone north.

The two worshipper guards had already, without waiting for Lu Zhenhua’s instructions, also thrown a few talismans haphazardly before fleeing towards the Inverted Mountain.

The four middle-stage deacons instantly scattered and fled.

Only the seven remaining Early Stage of Qi Cultivation small practitioners, facing the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation group, lacked even the courage to flee.

Meanwhile, Li Jizhou, taking advantage of the confusion, also activated a few talismans and seeing the Black Mountain hunters chasing without any hesitation, eventually mingled among the seven Early Stage small practitioners, cooperating by trembling.

The one-armed elder led four men personally in pursuit of Lu Zhenhua, evidently recognizing him as the big catch.

Three more chased after the two worshipper guards of Qi Cultivation Ninth Level.

As for the four Qi Cultivation Middle Stage deacons, two pursued each one.

In the blink of an eye, only three relatively weaker robbers remained, one of whom was an Array Master.

“Hmph, a mere insect seeking to shake a great tree, laughable overconfidence!” The three exchanged a glance with their comrades who went off in pursuit, snorted coldly, then cast malicious eyes on the eight Early Stage small practitioners.

“Speak! Which faction are you? Why so many talismans?” a Qi Cultivation Seventh Level robber asked sinisterly.

“I beg you, senior, please spare us. We are receptionists from the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion. I’m willing to hand over all my possessions for just a life!” One of the receptionists instantly pleaded.

“Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion! Ha~

Today indeed we’ve hit the jackpot!”

The robber’s face briefly flashed with elation.

“Is that Lu your shopkeeper?”

“Yes, yes, that’s the shopkeeper.” All seven receptionists vied to answer, fearing that a slow response would anger the robbers.

“Are all the Pavilion’s talismans on him?” One robber’s eyes glinted.

“Yes, yes, all in his storage bag!”

“How many?”

“Over a hundred Tier Two talismans, more than five hundred of Tier One Advanced, over a thousand Middle Level…”

“This truly is a huge deal.” The three robbers were overjoyed.

Since deciding to set up the Concealment Array here half a month ago, this was their first big catch!

It isn’t easy being a robber; first, the competition is fierce, second, there’s robbery amongst peers, third, they’re entirely seen as villains, and fourth, there’s always the danger of some big shot playing possum to trap tigers.

This group had been surviving in this chaotic area for decades, with their fallen companions’ graves long covered and barren again, year after year.

Surviving the great waves left these twenty-two elites in this trade, realizing many truths, they swore brotherhood and engaged in this blade’s edge licking endeavor.

Initially, they were closer to the Inverted Mountain, able to get to prey first.

But a Fake Pill master inside the city took notice of them, requiring tributes periodically.

Reluctantly, they withdrew several hundred miles to avoid being the black hat.

Yet being too far meant less prey, mostly filtered by peers ahead.

And experienced prey would send reconnaissance Spirit Pets beforehand, easily exposing them.

Moreover, some self-proclaimed righteous big shots would specifically come to this area for counter-raids.

Thus half a month ago, they resolved to invest heavily in setting up a Concealment Array here.

First, to avoid prey detecting their presence prematurely.

Secondly, to avoid counter-raids from those big shots!

“Boss must catch that shopkeeper!” The three looked eagerly in the direction Lu Zhenhua fled,

wishing they could chase too, as the wealth amounted to ten thousand Spirit Stones!

Subsequently, their gaze turned murderous towards the group.

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