Chapter 347

Chapter 347: Beware the Snake

On learning that the two captives weren’t Tie Sha and Wen Hou, Lou Yun felt some of the tension in his heart ease a little, quietly sighing in relief!

This didn’t mean Lou Yun was heartless. The point was that his relationship with Tie Sha and Wen Hou was closer than brothers. Naturally, he didn’t want it to be them who had been captured!

After fully grasping the situation in the basement, Lou Yun began considering how to rescue these two people. First, of course, he had to eliminate the three evil weapons masters. All three had reached the Mystery Rank level or higher in their evil cultivation, making them rather troublesome adversaries.

In a one-on-one fight, Lou Yun was absolutely confident he could finish any of them off easily with a single move. But facing three at once, having to succeed with one strike, and needing to avoid making too much noise presented a difficult challenge for him.

Lou Yun mentally reviewed all the weapon techniques he was skilled in. Suddenly, he realized that the weapon techniques he currently mastered now seemed, in his own eyes, riddled with flaws and completely inadequate.

This was natural because his discernment and perspective were vastly different now, far beyond his past self. Furthermore, after gaining his own insights into the Way of nature and the power of heaven and earth, looking back at these techniques he had once practiced, they certainly seemed insignificant.

The only one that still seemed passable was the high-level rank technique taught to him by Chang Xiang: "Sword Moment". But even so, in Lou Yun’s view, it still possessed many defects and room for improvement.

Now, Lou Yun finally understood why higher-ranked weapon techniques were so precious and scarce. Kun-level techniques were already extremely rare, while Qi-level techniques were practically extinct, only heard of in legends! It was because higher-rank techniques possessed truly formidable power!

Actually, Lou Yun’s thought wasn’t absolute. In the presence of truly super-powerful masters, even the lowest-level weapon technique could unleash an extremely powerful force.

It was just that Lou Yun hadn’t yet stepped into that realm. Therefore, what he could see and think of naturally hadn’t yet reached those heights.

After weighing it over, Lou Yun suddenly shook his head with a bitter smile. Because he realized—why did he have to rigidly insist on using a weapon technique to eliminate the enemy? Relying solely on his physical body and movement techniques, attacking in the most ordinary way, might actually yield far better results than forcing a weapon technique!

In fact, Lou Yun himself didn’t fully grasp just how strong the power he currently possessed really was. One must understand that anyone capable of sensing the Way of nature and absorbing the energies of heaven and earth to cultivate had already undergone a complete bodily transformation. Their strength experienced a vast, earth-shattering increase compared to the past. Forget these three paltry Mystery Rank evil weapons masters before him; even a human level or Earth level opponent would be easily dealt with by Lou Yun.

Of course, it was when Lou Yun made up his mind and actually took action that he finally recognized this fact!

At this moment, a thin layer of foul energy still clung to his body. The three men inside the room hadn’t discovered his presence at all. His speed was absolutely extreme. He covered five or six meters in a single step, arriving directly behind the three. The chilling gleam of his Dream Emperor Sword flickered silently in his right hand as it pierced into the dantian of one target. With his left hand, his fingers jabbed forward like a knife, chopping viciously at another target’s neck.

Two faint "puff" sounds later, these two Mystery Rank evil weapons masters collapsed limply to the ground, like violently deflated balls.

Lou Yun’s speed was simply too fast. The remaining evil weapons master couldn’t react at all. He could only stare blankly as his two companions suddenly collapsed to the ground. He neither knew to cry out for help nor thought to go examine them.

It was only when Lou Yun’s Dream Emperor Sword also plunged into his dantian that unspeakable agony finally jolted him awake. But it was already too late. He could only fix his eyes fiercely on Lou Yun, his face etched with obvious resentment, before slowly toppling backwards.

Three Mystery Rank evil weapons masters—in the blink of an eye—all lay lifeless on the ground!

Staring at the three corpses, Lou Yun still found it a bit hard to believe that this was his doing. He had become this formidable?

Though Lou Yun’s movements had been utterly silent, the two bound prisoners had certainly seen and heard it all. They both lifted their heads, their expressions a mixture of bewilderment and wariness as they looked at Lou Yun. One spoke in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

It made sense that they’d ask. Lou Yun had killed evil weapons masters, meaning he was naturally their enemy. But Lou Yun’s current appearance was far too bizarre, so the two captives also harbored some doubt that he was actually here to save them.

Pulled from his daze, Lou Yun put away the Dream Emperor Sword. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he cupped his ear and listened intently for a few moments.

Ensuring that killing these three hadn’t attracted the attention of others in the building, he then smiled faintly. "I am Lou Yun!"

As he spoke, Lou Yun extended his arm. His arm pierced through the foul energy-condensed "garment", revealing to the two captives a black chain tied around his wrist.

According to Zhuge Mou’s words, there were seven Heaven’s Prides in total. Lou Yun had only seen three; the other three he had never encountered, not even knowing their names. At the time, Zhuge Mou—whether intentionally omitting or simply forgetting—had only told Lou Yun that the identifying mark of a Heaven’s Pride member was the wrist chain.

Lou Yun had long noticed similar chains adorning the wrists of these two captives, confirming they were Heaven’s Pride members. So, he proactively displayed his own chain, avoiding the need for lengthy explanations.

However, it seemed these two had heard of Lou Yun. Upon seeing the wrist chain, unmistakable flashes of joy appeared on both their faces.

They immediately stated their identities. A square-faced young man said, "So it’s Brother Lou! I am Chang Feng."

The other young man whose voice startled Lou Yun, for it revealed it was a woman speaking: "Brother Lou, I am Mo Bingju."

Mo Bingju had evidently undergone skillful disguise and possessed rather delicate features, so Lou Yun hadn’t recognized her gender at first.

Lou Yun nodded in understanding and whispered cautiously, "I’ll get you out of here first. We can talk more outside!"

The Dream Emperor Sword reappeared in Lou Yun’s hand, ready to cut the chains binding them. Yet, as the sword lifted, his face abruptly twisted with fury.

Because these chains weren’t merely binding them—they penetrated their bodies! Entering from the back and exiting through the front of their chests!

Without saying a word, Lou Yun brought the sword down in a sharp flick. He easily severed the chains. This merely temporarily released their physical restraint; two segments of the chain remained trapped inside their bodies.

Lou Yun wasn’t entirely sure of the extent of their injuries. There was no time now to extract the embedded chains, so temporarily, he left them be. They would deal with it once safely away.

"Can you walk?" Lou Yun gently supported them, one with each hand, helping them rise.

"Y-Yes," Chang Feng nodded. "But I fear if we go out like this, we’ll definitely be discovered by the people here!"

Indeed, while they could move, their bodies were severely wounded. Carrying segments of chain within them, sneaking out undetected was absolutely impossible!

Lou Yun considered for a moment. "Alright then, here’s the plan. I checked earlier; there are probably twelve or thirteen evil weapons masters in this building. Besides the three I killed, about ten remain. The rest don’t worry me, except for the one with the highest cultivation here. He should be their master. Fortunately, he’s in seclusion. I’ll go eliminate a few. You two recuperate here, gather your strength. Then we leave."

As he spoke, Lou Yun took out a few restorative pills from his ring-space and handed them to the duo. He turned to leave, but Chang Feng suddenly called out urgently, "Wait, Brother Lou!"

Lou Yun turned back. "What is it?"

Chang Feng’s face was grave with concern. "Brother Lou, we haven’t seen the master you mentioned. But you must be careful of the snake!"

"Snake?" Lou Yun frowned slightly, bewildered by this sudden turn. A snake? "What snake?"

"A huge snake. It was amidst the foul energy earlier, so we couldn’t clearly see its actual size. But it was definitely massive. That snake’s entire body was harder than steel, incredibly agile, and it could spew poisonous mist from its mouth! Utterly unpredictable! Brother Lou, if you encounter it, you must be extremely careful!"

As Chang Feng spoke, Mo Bingju beside him wore a face full of terror. Being a girl, she had a heightened fear of snakes and rodents.

Lou Yun had always been puzzled about how Chang Feng and Mo Bingju—both Heaven’s Pride members—had been captured by the evil weapons masters. He had battled Tang Qianqiu before. Though the evil weapon was strange, he was even more familiar with the strength of Tie Sha and Wen Hou. Since Chang Feng and Mo Bingju were also Heaven’s Pride, their strength similarly shouldn’t lag behind, especially given the potent, mysterious force contained within them. Logically, they shouldn’t have been captured here.

Now Lou Yun understood. Though their strength was formidable, they likely weren’t immune to all poisons. They must have been sprayed by the snake’s toxic mist, poisoned into paralysis, allowing their capture.

Lou Yun glanced at them both. "You were caught unprepared and brought down by that snake, weren’t you?"

Chang Feng nodded, a flush of shame staining his cheeks. "We had gathered information about this place before coming. But we never imagined they kept such a huge snake at this location. We were careless and got sprayed by its toxic mist, that’s how they captured us!"

"I understand," Lou Yun nodded. "Focus on recuperating here. If I am discovered, I’ll find a way to hold them off. I’ll notify you with a long whistle. Seize the chance to escape!"

Chang Feng’s eyes flickered. He was clearly about to object. Lou Yun preempted him, "I know you want to fight alongside me. But my sole purpose here is to rescue you both. As long as you get out safely, I will find a way to escape!"

Though Lou Yun phrased it tactfully, Chang Feng and Mo Bingju were not fools. They understood clearly that their current injuries not only rendered them useless in a fight but would become burdensome hindrances if they recklessly joined. They bowed their heads in silent assent.

Lou Yun gave them one last firm nod. Only then did he turn and stride purposefully away.