Chapter 259

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

A series of three loud crashes—crack! crack! crack!—rang out almost simultaneously. The windows on three sides of the inner hall were shattered from the outside, and three short, stout figures dropped into the hall like falling meteors, landing in different spots around the room.

Zhang Xiaohua had initially expected some kind of mechanism or a large net in the inner hall that would ensnare everyone in one fell swoop. However, seeing that it was merely three people who had appeared, he felt somewhat relieved—at least, he wouldn’t be accidentally caught in the trap. But when he got a clear look at the trio’s faces, he couldn’t help but feel surprised and even amused—they were identical! Triplets, just like the legends!

Moreover, all three of them had the same small noses, small eyes, and chubby, round faces, making them look rather comical. Unfortunately, that was only Zhang Xiaohua’s first impression. Ying Fei, on the other hand, cried out in shock: “The Three Auspicious Treasures?!”

Qin Shiyue chuckled and said: “Old Ma, it looks like you’re dead set on cutting ties with the Divine Cult. The Heaven’s Way Alliance has really gone all out, even sending the Three Auspicious Treasures.”

Outside, Qiu Xidao sneered: “A fine bird chooses a good tree to nest in—that’s only natural. Lord Qin, instead of worrying about someone else’s future, you should be concerned about your own predicament.”

Qin Shiyue burst into laughter and said, “I, Qin, am nothing special, barely ranking among the top in the Cult Sect. But in the Jianghu? Even if the Heaven’s Way Alliance has sent their so-called Three Auspicious Treasures, what can they do to me?”

As he spoke, his brows arched, his eyes flashed with an imposing presence, exuding an air of disdain toward all. He didn’t spare even a single glance at the three newcomers. Seeing this, Qiu Xidao let out a cold chuckle. “Easy to talk big while sitting down. Words are cheap—why not prove yourself in battle?”

With that, he made a hand gesture. The short, stout trio exchanged glances, clearly in perfect sync. Then, in unison, they each retrieved two items from their robes—one was a small orange flag, triangular in shape and about the size of a palm, while the other was a fist-sized jade stone. The three then moved in perfect coordination, channeling their strength and throwing the flags onto the ground. Ssshh! The flagpoles pierced the smooth marble floor as effortlessly as if sinking into tofu. Immediately after, they raised the jade stones in their left hands and simultaneously formed a strange gesture with their right hands. When Zhang Xiaohua saw that gesture, it was as if a bolt of heavenly thunder had struck him—he stood frozen in place, utterly stunned!

Isn’t this the hand seal described in the [Earth Escape Technique]?!

The [Earth Escape Technique] Zhang Xiaohua had obtained was already incomplete, leaving only a single intact chant. Whether there were accompanying diagrams or annotations, he had no way of knowing. Over the past few days, he had exhausted his mind trying to comprehend the technique, yet he could never grasp its essence. One crucial reason was this very hand seal—he had never seen one before, so naturally, he had no idea how to perform it. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that a mere hand gesture could unleash such an incredible power. Moreover, with Qin Shiyue and Ying Fei present, he didn’t dare to experiment recklessly, which was why he had made no progress at all.

But now, the hand seals formed by the Three Auspicious Treasures struck his mind like a bolt of lightning, opening a door he had been desperately searching for but had never known how to push open.

His thoughts whirred, and his divine sense immediately swept toward one of the Three Auspicious Treasures like a flowing ribbon. Under his divine sense, he observed the changes in the hand seal with absolute clarity—he could even see how, under the influence of the hand seal, a faint surge of Yuan Qi emanated from the jade stone in their hands. This Yuan Qi was then guided toward the small flags on the ground, which absorbed the energy and began to glow faintly. The radiance grew stronger and stronger until, finally, an invisible barrier took shape and expanded outward. In the blink of an eye, the three small flags connected their barriers, forming a sealed, dome-shaped space. Just as the light screen was about to close completely, Zhang Xiaohua heard Qin Shiyue exclaim in shock: “The Three Talents Flag Gate Formation?! How does the Heaven’s Way Alliance have such a thing?”

With the closure of the barrier, Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense was immediately severed—it could no longer extend beyond the dome, completely confined within this enclosed space.

Zhang Xiaohua was utterly alarmed. Ever since he had cultivated his divine sense, it had been unstoppable, serving as his greatest secret weapon. Yet, this formation was actually capable of cutting it off entirely! It seemed that today’s situation wouldn’t be resolved peacefully.

At the same time, another question surfaced in Zhang Xiaohua’s mind. When he had probed with his divine sense earlier, he had noticed that the fist-sized jade stones in the hands of the Three Auspicious Treasures contained a faint trace of the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth. Could those fist-sized jade stones be Yuan Stones?

Hmm, that must be it. According to the records in the Carefree Heart Sutra, Yuan Stones were precisely like this.

Zhang Xiaohua pinched the small stone in his hand, puzzled, and thought: If what they are holding are genuine Yuan Stones, then what exactly is this little stone in my hand? A miniature Yuan Stone? Hehe, perhaps so. However, the Yuan Qi contained within my Yuan Stone seems to be far greater than that of the larger ones. Could it be that Yuan Stones also have an ‘outwardly strong but inwardly weak’ nature?

Zhang Xiaohua’s astonishment didn’t end there. When he withdrew his divine sense and looked around carefully, the scene before him had completely changed.

What he saw now was nothing like what he had perceived through his divine sense moments ago. The inner hall of the Ma Residence had disappeared—replaced by an endless, snow-covered plain. A bone-piercing chill assaulted his body, making him involuntarily shiver.

This was something he had never experienced since leaving Guo Village.

Zhang Xiaohua pondered for a moment before stepping forward. As he walked, he left behind a trail of footprints in the thick snow. Yet, despite walking for what felt like a long time, the frozen landscape remained eerily still. Not a single tree, bird, or even a mouse was in sight—only the boundless expanse of snow and the solitary line of footprints trailing behind him.

It was absolutely an illusion. After all, he was still within a relatively small inner hall—how could he possibly have walked so far?

At that thought, Zhang Xiaohua extended his divine sense once more. Sure enough, he was still standing in his original position, having barely moved at all. He mused for a moment before continuing forward, but this time, he kept his divine sense active. This attempt yielded a different result. With just a few more steps, he reached the boundary of the light barrier. Though the barrier appeared faint and transparent, his divine sense was completely blocked by it. Yet, his eyes could not perceive its existence at all, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.

Since there were no immediate threats within the barrier and he had no effective means of breaking it, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t concern himself with it too much. He hadn’t even bothered scanning Qin Shiyue and Ying Fei’s situation with his divine sense, nor did he intend to assist them in any way. Even if they were captured by the Heaven’s Way Alliance, he would merely become a prisoner alongside them. The enemy of my enemy is my ally. Surely, Ma Rulong and Qiu Xidao wouldn’t go out of their way to make things difficult for him. With this in mind, he figured that rather than making unnecessary moves, it was better to stay still and let the others fight it out. Who wouldn’t seize the chance to sit back and watch the tigers battle?

And so, Zhang Xiaohua sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began cultivating.

He had no idea that his unintentional steps had caused the Three Auspicious Treasures, who were presiding over the formation, to break out in cold sweat. Ever since they had obtained this Three Talents Flag Gate Formation, everyone trapped within it had behaved the same way as Zhang Xiaohua had at the beginning—wandering aimlessly within the confined space, unable to walk in a straight line for even a few steps. Yet Zhang Xiaohua had reached the edge of the light screen in just a few steps—something they had never encountered before. How could they not be shocked?

Fortunately, upon reaching the light screen, the boy did not take any further action. Instead, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to rest, an action that left them completely puzzled. However, whether they understood his behavior or not, the Three Auspicious Treasures had no time to waste on a mere servant. They had to focus all their efforts on maintaining the Flag Gate Formation and countering Qin Shiyue’s attacks.

The illusion within this Three Talents Flag Gate Formation was truly wondrous, manifesting according to one’s inner thoughts. The reason Zhang Xiaohua saw a vast snow-covered plain seemed to be connected to certain secrets buried in his heart. Ying Fei, like Zhang Xiaohua, was also deeply astonished when he heard Qin Shiyue’s loud cry of “Three Talents Banner Gate Formation”, unable to grasp the terror implied in Qin Shiyue’s voice. He felt that even if the three of them joined forces, they might not necessarily be weaker than him and Qin Shiyue. However, he lacked divine sense and thus could not perceive the closing of the light screen. As soon as Qin Shiyue’s shout fell, his vision went black, and before he knew it, a scene of a moonlit night appeared before him.

A masked assassin, clad in nightwear, was charging at him with a dagger. Was this not the exact scene from years ago when he was hunted down? Though many years had passed, this memory remained vividly etched in his heart. Without time for thought, he immediately turned and ran.

If one were to observe from outside the light screen, they would see Ying Fei running in circles, occasionally looking back in terror, and eventually stopping to punch and kick wildly in all directions—a truly comical sight. However, not only were those within the formation unable to see this, even those outside paid no attention to him. The Three Auspicious Treasures, Ma Rulong, and Qiu Xidao were all intently focused on Qin Shiyue at the edge of the formation.

What Qin Shiyue saw was different from the other two. He found himself standing in the middle of a vast, desolate mountain forest. In the distance, a few tiger roars echoed, causing his brows to furrow deeply. The scene before him was all too familiar—this was the place where he had once faced mortal danger as a child. He knew that, before long, a massive tiger would descend from the sky and seize him. Back then, his adoptive father had slain the beast and saved him. But now, there would be no adoptive father in this forest—only himself, facing inevitable doom.

Sure enough, a deafening roar split the night as a gust of foul-smelling wind swept in. A white-browed tiger with piercing eyes arrived as expected, lunging straight at Qin Shiyue. Yet, he did not panic. Instead, he took a half-step forward, allowing his body to slide beneath the tiger’s belly. With a flick of his wrist, he drew a flexible sword from his waist and slashed upward. A miserable howl shook the mountains as the tiger’s entrails and fresh blood spilled onto the ground, its life ended in an instant.

Holding his flexible sword, Qin Shiyue cautiously scanned his surroundings, secretly pondering. He had only heard of the Three Talents Flag Gate Formation from his master under highly coincidental circumstances, and he had dismissed it as nothing more than a story. If not for the striking appearance of those three orange-red banners, how could he have dredged up this long-buried memory?

With that thought, Qin Shiyue gripped his flexible sword tightly and advanced while contemplating a way to break through the formation.