Minglong

Chapter 359 The mantis stalks the cicada
Rumbling--

The majestic mountain range lies nestled among the mountains, its light flickering in and out of the lightning, resembling a raised black dragon's spine from afar.

The vast power of the heavens spread throughout the mountains and fields. All the birds and beasts seemed to sense that inexplicable force, surging from all directions, crossing mountains and valleys. As a result, the trees in sight swayed, and the roars of tigers and howls of wolves could be heard from time to time.

"Roar--"

"Ouch~~"

Rumble…

And on the mountainside of Longji Mountain, above a natural cave.

Mo Yuan, like a lifeless object, lurked in the crevices of the rocks, his gaze fixed on a bluish-white dot of light dozens of miles away.

Fang Qingxuan stood to his side, twirling a three-inch flying sword between his fingers, his gaze slightly hesitant.

"If we don't seize the opportunity given by Heaven, we'll suffer the consequences. We should take the opportunity and leave as soon as possible. We might gain the most from this. If we wait here for Xie Jinhuan to walk into our trap, we might end up losing more than we gain."

Mo Yuan's purpose in coming here was to ambush Xie Jinhuan, but he really didn't expect that God would be so gracious. As soon as he arrived in the vicinity of the Snake King Cave, he discovered that the Azure Dragon God's Gift had not only appeared on the surface of the earth, but was also within his field of vision, making it as easy as taking something out of a bag.

However, the divine opportunity contained too much spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and it would take a quarter of an hour or two to peel off the supreme yang divine lightning covering it before it could be incorporated into the body. If someone attacked during this time, they would undoubtedly become public enemies, and not only would their plans be completely disrupted, but they might also be dealt with by Xie Jinhuan at his peak.

Mo Yuan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:
"In this situation, taking the initiative to remove Yang Lei will only benefit others. Our priority should be dealing with Xie Jinhuan, who is far more important than any opportunity. Speaking of which, your master should have prioritized killing Xie Jinhuan in Daizhou last time. If he had succeeded then, things wouldn't be in this situation now."

Fang Qingxuan and Mo Yuan weren't actually very familiar with each other, and he didn't really trust this high-ranking member of the Underworld God Sect who had already made a mistake once. Upon hearing this, he responded:

"You think my master didn't make a move? He was stopped by Monk Wuxin. This kid has an extraordinary background and must have a protector behind him. We're setting up an ambush here, but we also have to be careful that the elders behind the scenes don't jump out to protect their own."

"Master Qixia can't come, and the Valkyrie has a personal grudge against the City Lord, so even if she were alive, she wouldn't dare to show her face. As for the others, we can only leave it to fate..."

The two were chatting in hushed tones when, after a short while, they noticed thunder rumbling in the distance.

Then, the golden-red light streaked across the sky and arrived near Dragon Ridge. Because the power of heaven and earth in this place was too strong, the cultivators could no longer control it stably and had to land in the wilderness.

However, the divine opportunity appeared on the surface of the earth, which was too conspicuous. It could be seen even from the ridge. Therefore, after landing, the person rushed to the ridge and did not even need to search. He ran directly towards his destination.

Mo Yuan's pupils contracted slightly as he carefully examined the newcomer, noticing he was dressed in a black and yellow Taoist robe. He frowned slightly.
"It's Lü Yan. The others will arrive soon. Things are about to get chaotic. Keep an eye on Xie Jinhuan's movements."

Boom——

No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening roar echoed through the mountains.

Lu Yan had just crossed Dragon Ridge when he saw the open-air opportunity. His expression wasn't exactly one of surprise, since he could see it, and the sect leader and patriarch would also be able to see it later. There was no chance to use the chaotic world to hide and harvest it.

But with the opportunity presented to him, Lü Yan couldn't miss it. He rushed forward, harnessed his energy to envelop the thunderous ball of light, and carried it in his hand as he fled wildly into the mountains, trying to find a secluded spot to devour it.

Almost simultaneously, several streaks of light, like falling meteors, crashed into the distance, then surged up Dragon Ridge like dragons and pythons, chasing after Lü Yan. Leading them were Madam Han and Zhang Jiwu, who loudly rebuked him from afar:

"Fellow Daoist Lü had better know his place; you can't take this thing away."

"If Xie Xiao'er doesn't come, do you think you can catch up with this old man?"

Holding the Azure Dragon Divine Gift containing primordial power, Lü Yan couldn't even cast the Ten Thousand Mile Divine Travel Spell. Seeing this, he could only use the Fire Edict Token to unleash the Eight Gates Burning Array to seal off the area within ten zhang around him, and then retreat into it to forcibly refine the opportunity.

However, this move was tantamount to trapping oneself. As Madam Han and the others arrived, several streaks of light also displayed their unique abilities and landed within a hundred miles of the surrounding area. Some hid on the spot, while others approached secretly, without immediately launching an attack.

After all, separating the Yang Lightning in the early stage is a necessary process. Now that they have seized it, they cannot directly incorporate it into their bodies. In the chaos, they may also be injured by the Supreme Yang Divine Lightning. If they wait until Lü Yan has dealt with the opportunity more or less before making their move, it will be much easier for them to take advantage of it completely.

Lu Yan was obviously aware of this, but as long as he successfully refined it, the opportunity would be his, and all that was left was to escape with all his might. He was not without a chance to break through the encirclement, so he did not stop moving even when surrounded by dozens of cultivators.

Rumble…

The towering flames illuminated the thunderous, rainy night. However, a few moments later, a large number of first-grade cultivators arrived from afar and began to lie in ambush in areas far from the core area. Half of them crouched on Dragon Ridge, while some others went into Snake King Cave. In the vast wilderness, it looked like only Lü Yan and a few others were there, but in reality, the place was full of grass monsters.

Although Mo Yuan was very old, this was the first time he had encountered a situation involving hundreds of cultivators in a chaotic battle. At this moment, he hurriedly searched the mountains and fields, trying to find Xie Jinhuan's whereabouts, but as more and more people gathered, he began to lose track of who was who.

On another mountain peak, not more than ten miles away, Nangong Ye, dressed in a black dress and hidden among the bushes, carefully surveyed the tense standoff in the core area, a hint of amazement showing in her beautiful phoenix eyes:
How many people have come?

Bu Yuehua was considered a top-tier sect leader, but he didn't dare approach the area where the Eight Gates Burning Array was located. He whispered:

"It's hard to tell. Many people must have hidden themselves in the city beforehand and didn't show themselves at the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. It might not be easy to seize an opportunity in this situation."

Empress Dowager Guo, dressed as a sorceress, stayed with Bu Yuehua, her expression rather calm.

"This time it appeared on the surface, and there was only one, so the situation was relatively clear. A hundred years ago, when Master Qixia was vying for the opportunity, Shang Lianbi had not yet monopolized Dragon Bone Beach. The three opportunities were scattered in different places, and those who came to seize the treasure did not know the location. They could only deceive each other and attack and defend each other in their search."

"Then, halfway through the fight, they suddenly saw a young Taoist nun carrying two opportunities and running away. She had already devoured the last one, and along the way, she was taunting everyone with 'Wow, look what this is!' This angered everyone, and they turned around and chased after her all the way into the Southern Dynasty, but they still couldn't catch her. The reason why the Northern Taoist sects are not good at thunder magic now is because of that failed treasure-hunting incident..."

Nangong Ye was quite familiar with his master's origins, but he knew that sect histories were bound to be embellished. Hearing this, he asked with doubt:
"According to historical records, the master obtained it by chance and left without a trace. He had already obtained the phone by chance, so why would he deliberately show it off to other treasure hunters?"

Empress Guo was actually being quite subtle in her statement. After all, she was one of the victims of that desperate act. Not only could she not catch up, but the bandit Mei Cong Gao also made a 'nee-nee-nee-nee' sound along the way, which almost shattered her Dao heart. However, before her final corpse dissolution, Mei Cong Gao gave her another opportunity to let her rest in peace. This is why Mei Cong Gao came to rob her of everything as revenge last time.

In front of the younger generation, Empress Dowager Guo could not recount these old stories, but she carefully surveyed the area around Longji Ridge.

After waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour, Lü Yan, who was in the Eight Gates Burning Formation, had gradually shed the Yang Divine Lightning, revealing a gentle blue ball of light in his palm, but there was still some lightning mixed in. Therefore, the sect leaders and elders around him were still waiting and preparing to unleash their power.

Just as everyone's attention was focused on the divinely granted opportunity, a sudden roar erupted in the previously peaceful mountains and fields:
Sa——

Boom——

The crowd was already on edge, and when they sensed the sudden surge of powerful energy, they almost reacted impulsively and attacked those nearby.

But when he turned his gaze to the side, he saw lightning and fire, towering sword intent, and rolling sandstorms mixed in with the mountains and fields a hundred miles away.

"Ok?"

The many sect leaders and elders who were surrounding Lü Yan all turned their heads upon seeing this, clearly puzzled as to why anyone would be fighting in the edge area at this time. After all, the opportunity was about to be obtained, and now they were running outside to fight with others. After they finished fighting, would they still be able to find anyone?
Nangong Ye noticed the disturbance and raised his eyes to investigate:

"It looks like Xie Jinhuan has arrived. Who is he fighting with?"

"It seems to be that old man Sha Tu..."

……

Mo Yuan, who was lurking in another location, judged the combatants by the afterglow of the thunder and fire, and frowned, saying:
"How did Xie Jinhuan run into that old man Sha Tu?"

"Shall we go over there?"

"The distance is too far, and we can't ride the wind yet. It's too late to go now. Xie Jinhuan is already here, so he can't give up the Azure Dragon's Gift. He'll come over after dealing with the Sand Slaughter. We just need to keep an eye on the opportunity's movements."

After Mo Yuan finished speaking, he turned his gaze back to the core area.

However, the Eight Gates Burning Formation was still burning fiercely in the rainy night, but the cyan light sphere and Lü Yan, dressed in a black and yellow Taoist robe, disappeared without a trace as if they were swallowed by the flames...

"hiss--"

Mo Yuan gasped, looked up from his hiding place, and searched the mountains and fields for clues. Fang Qingxuan turned around and saw this scene, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jiwu and the others who were blocking the way nearby were also drawn to the battle in the distance. They only turned their heads to look once, and when they found that old man Lü Yan had disappeared, chaos immediately broke out.

"Where are they? When did they leave?"

"I don't know, this old Taoist priest is truly cunning..."

"Quick, after him! He can't have gone far..."

……

(End of this chapter)