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The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 225: Synergistic Techniques
🕑 Added 2025-01-20 23:30:01 +0000 UTCLi Lang quickly huddled with Long Yi in the center of the Skyrunner. They knew tough enemies had appeared, and the best thing they could do was stay out of their allies’ way.
“Should we jump down?” Long Yi whispered.
Their vehicle was currently suspended in mid-air by the roots that had suddenly sprouted all over them. Their friend, Wei Ping, had even fallen off to the ground. It made the question easy for Li Lang to answer.
“Yes, do it.”
The two discreetly moved over to the edge. The four ambushers were still approaching them from four different directions, so it was inevitable that their actions would be noticed, but they didn’t care. Instead, these assailants had their full attention on the two Nightmoon Valley cultivators.
The two didn’t dawdle and jumped from the roof of the Skyrunner. However, the cultivators around them took that as a signal to strike!
Two of the four assailants were even devious enough to target Li Lang and Long Yi instead. It made them grit their teeth as they summoned their weapons, ready to defend themselves.
Their efforts turned out to be needless, as a familiar figure materialized in front of them and dragged them back onto the roof of the Skyrunner. Ma Kong had appeared at lightning speed! Then the darkness came. It consumed everything in the area within a second and continued to expand. It didn’t subside like before, trapping everyone within the lightless domain.
“Don’t move,” Ma Kong’s voice called out to Li Lang and Long Yi. “These four are different. We can’t have you running around or they’ll use you against us.”
He then turned his attention back to his enemies and sliced out the air before him with a knife-hand. The light shone through the darkness with much higher intensity than before. It didn’t subside right away either, and two cries could be heard in the distance.
“Is this the seniors getting serious?” Li Lang pondered. “Their techniques seem to synergize, growing stronger in each other’s presence.”
“Li Lang, is it really the time to be analyzing right now?”
“What else can we do? The seniors will take care of it, but we aren’t allowed to move.”
Another cry rang out from somewhere, causing Li Lang to nod appreciatively as he resumed his analysis.
“Seems like they really have it under control. I wonder who dared to attack us when two members of Nightmoon Valley were openly standing guard on top of our Skyrunner? Are they truly just demonic cultivators who suffered from cultivation deviation to the point of losing their minds?”
Long Yi shrugged.
“Senior Ma Kong may have said they were mindless, but that didn’t seem to apply to the four who appeared at the end.”
“Right. So an organized attack on members of the Nightmoon Valley. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn out to be anything big.”
The two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators shared their opinions for a little longer before the darkness that enshrouded them finally faded away. The figures of Zhu Yi and Ma Kong reappeared, along with the four attackers, who were lying motionless on the roof of the Skyrunner. They each had a talisman on their forehead and their limbs were tightly bound together.
Almost immediately, Li Lang and Long Yi jumped off the vehicle to retrieve their friend. Zhu Yi exchanged a quick glance with her partner, forcing Ma Kong to sigh as he went after them. After all, their mission was to protect them. Specifically, Li Lang, who owned the pocket realm. To carry out this goal, he constantly scanned the surroundings as he descended.
His searches turned out empty, which was a good thing, but it was also the reason he became so alarmed when he heard Long Yi’s cries.
“How can this be? Where is he?”
Looking down at the scene, Ma Kong found Li Lang and Long Yi frantically looking around, desperate to catch sight of their comrade. However, there was nothing but shrubbery and trees all around them.
The panic on their faces started to grow. It didn’t take long before Long Yi ran off in a random direction to begin his search. As for Li Lang, he crouched near the ground, carefully inspecting any clues.
Ma Kong grunted at this turn of events. He quickly decided to follow after Long Yi, as he knew his partner noticed the situation by now. He was right. Zhu Yi also descended to the ground level soon after.
“Do you know any divination techniques?” Li Lang asked without bothering to turn around.
“No. Divination techniques are not easy to learn. Even our Nightmoon Valley doesn’t have many who are proficient in them.”
This caused Li Lang to frown. He began to regret not studying this esoteric technique. He had only studied ways to counter it and now it came back to bite him. His emotions blinded him to the fact he had never come across any proper divination techniques to practice or reference in the first place. It was a futile attempt to try to learn something he had so little data on from scratch.
Zhu Yi silently watched on as the young man continued to desperately search for clues that may have scattered onto the ground. He suddenly plopped himself onto the ground, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes to channel some sort of Qi art.
After failing to find any clues, Li Lang decided to employ a certain technique they had prepared. The trio had come up with various contingency plans over the years. After their encounter with the demonic cultivator from the Drenched Earth Sect just outside Polarity City’s area of influence, finding a way to stay in touch naturally became a priority.
Previously, Li Lang failed to use his concealment talisman because their attacker had stolen his space ring. This caused him to split up from his friends as he fought for his life.
The solution to their program was simple. They already had the correct tools to address it. It was the Qi art they had won in the auction, the Tracing Origin Art. The trio had placed a mark on each other’s clothes. They would’ve preferred the flesh itself if it was viable, but the technique wouldn’t last nearly as long due to the body’s passive defences against external influences.
Still, it was adequate to track each other down. It took some time to attune to something in an unknown direction and not nearby, but Li Lang eventually felt it. A faint mark off in the distance, moving at rapid speeds.
“Long Yi!” he yelled. “Come back!”
His giant of a friend never ventured far. He ensured Wei Ping didn’t roll into a bush somewhere nearby, so he searched around in a circle. He swiftly returned and Li Lang began informing him of what he knew and then turned to Zhu Yi.
“They’re flying north, deeper into the mountain ranges. We have to go quickly, so can we borrow the strength of a Skyrunner from one of you esteemed seniors? After all, the people who attacked us were deviators, right? We don’t have much time.”
The two Nightmoon Valley members exchanged glances and shrugged.
“We haven’t interrogated them yet. It’s hard to say, given that these four still retain some clarity of mind. Though it’s not rare for that to happen among people suffering from cultivation deviation, we can’t discount the possibility of another force manipulating from the background.”
“Regardless, we can’t let them kidnap our friend. We have to catch up to them before they do anything to him!”
“Right!” Long Yi agreed. “They’re bad demonic cultivators who’ll suck Wei Ping dry to progress their cultivation, right?”
“Only if they notice he’s not a demonic cultivator—which isn’t unlikely. They should’ve discovered this secret the moment they made direct contact with him.”
Orthodox Qi and demonic Qi had a unique reaction to each other. As long as one took the time to inspect, it wasn’t hard to confirm which path of cultivation someone belonged to.
“The only saving grace for your friend is that he is still a mortal,” Zhu Yi said with a sigh. “The one who captured him should be the one who had managed to sneak his dreadful seeds onto us, that caused all those vines to sprout. That means the person is in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even if his technique steals life force from humans, using a mortal won’t benefit his cultivation much. He will likely interrogate him for information or sell him to someone who has uses for him.”
“Regardless, it’s still a race against time. Hurry, Senior. Please summon your Skyrunner.”
Zhu Yi nodded, no longer hesitating at her charge’s desperate plea. A new Skyrunner materialized. One that was larger and had more sophisticated engravings.
The group didn’t spare any time to appreciate it and quickly boarded it. They retrieved Li Lang’s vehicle before flying off in pursuit of their captured ally.
They could only hope that wherever they were taking him, they wouldn’t come across anyone they couldn’t handle. Otherwise, by the time they called for reinforcements, it might already be too late.
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Comments
Tavon Runecaster
they took the weakest, possibly as bait? this sounds like a cruel trap.
Pepperbell
What the heck they took Wei Ping?
