MTLNOVEL chapter 396
: Exploration
“Enemy attack!”
Almost in the next second after the blast, the cultivators on the deck sprang into action, rushing to their positions to prepare for defense and counterattack.
Some of the disciples looked frightened, but most were calm, after all, this was the Tian Luo Sect’s flying ship, with a solidity that rivaled some large sects’ mountain-protecting arrays. Ordinary attacks wouldn’t have any effect on the ship.
“For now, we can’t see where the target is. It’s likely a small, agile flying vessel with high stealth capabilities.”
Listening to the cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall deduce the enemy’s origins, Ye Yong was puzzled, because in the novel, the protagonist’s group hadn’t been attacked on their way to the Great Ming Dynasty. This was clearly a butterfly effect event.
Ye Yong took out the demon-tracking compass, which showed a light point nearby. He also opened the electronic map to check the GPS location, and without a doubt, it was one of Peng Zhang’s underlings.
Not to mention the ship’s strength, the Tian Luo Sect had two Dongxu cultivators, and a single Hua Shen demon king wasn’t enough to pose a threat. Ye Yong thought the opponent was just probing the Tian Luo Sect’s strength.
“Haven’t you found the source of the attack yet?” Liang Zhi Chao walked out of the ship’s cabin rest area.
“Very sorry,” the cultivator responsible for searching for the enemy replied, sweating profusely.
“What about the sentry team? Didn’t they detect anything beforehand? What have they been eating?”
The flying ship had cultivators responsible for sentry duty in all directions. Normally, when a ship approached, the sentry team would be the first to discover and issue a warning, but this time, there was no sign.
Facing Liang Meng Chao’s questioning, the sentry team members didn’t dare to speak up.
“This is strange,” Liang Meng Chao said, extending his divine sense to its maximum range, but he didn’t find any suspicious objects nearby. If it were an enemy attack, it shouldn’t have been just a single attack, and then complete silence.
Just as Ye Yong had thought, in the high-altitude cloud layer, a demon king with eagle eyes was observing the movements on the flying ship.
“The reaction is very quick, worthy of a human sect. The disciples are well-trained and not panicked. For now, I only see one Hua Shen cultivator, and there should be more in the cabin. As for the flying ship’s defensive array, it withstood the blow from Peng Zhang’s magic tool without any effect. Conservatively, it would take a Hua Shen cultivator above the tenth layer to break through. Wanting to kidnap that little ghost Ye Yong on the way is extremely difficult. When we arrive at the joint fighting arena, where human sect strong cultivators gather, it will be even more impossible to intrude.”
Notes
The demon king glanced at Ye Yong, then at Qin Shiming and the other girls, unable to help but lick its lips: “Young girls, their flesh must be quite delicious.”
Suddenly, the demon king felt as if Ye Yong had glanced in its direction.
At the same time, a figure was rapidly approaching from behind.
The senses of demon beasts were inherently sharper than those of humans, and the demon king sensed something was amiss. It immediately dodged to the side.
A terrifying sword aura sliced through a large expanse of mist, like a falling meteor shower, illuminating half the sky.
The demon king was taken aback; it didn’t understand how it had been exposed. The opponent was a sword cultivator at the Transformation stage, with a cultivation level higher than its own. Without hesitation, the demon king retreated. With the concealment treasure given by Peng Zhang, it quickly vanished without a trace.
“Did it get away…” The one who had struck was Liu Xuan, Long Tian’s master.
He appeared middle-aged, with piercing eyes and an extraordinary presence, his sword hovering in mid-air like a sword saint.
“At least at the fourth level of Transformation. Why would a demon king of this caliber come to test the strength of our sect? What are its intentions?” Liu Xuan pondered, flying back to the deck on his sword. Liang Mengchao had already witnessed the fight and naturally saw the figure hiding in the sky suddenly disappear, unable to track its direction.
“Are you sure that was a demon?” Liang Mengchao asked.
“Absolutely. Although it maintained a human form, those hawk-like eyes are not something a human should possess.”
“Hey, that Ye kid is quite interesting; he has a lot of peculiar treasures.” Liang Mengchao stroked his chin. Earlier, Ye Yong had secretly informed him of the location where the demon was hiding. At first, Liang Mengchao hadn’t believed it, as demons typically wouldn’t provoke large human ships. Moreover, he wielded a battle axe, which wasn’t advantageous for speed, making it difficult to exert his strength in the air. Just then, Liu Xuan had come out, so he had sent Liu Xuan to investigate, not expecting to actually discover something.
“From the looks of that demon king, it should have deliberately created a commotion to probe our response strategy. It’s unusual for high-level demons to take the initiative to offend us. I’ll report this to the deputy sect master.” Liu Xuan said as he walked into the cabin.
Liang Mengchao approached Ye Yong: “Your treasure is quite precise; are you selling it?”
Before Ye Yong could respond, Liang Xiaorou shot him an angry glare: “Dad, you’re old enough; can’t you stop coveting young people’s things?”
Liang Mengchao felt a pang of sadness. How could his daughter, whom he had watched grow up, not think to help him? He wiped his nose and said, “I was just asking.”
“Uncle Liang, I’m sorry.” Ye Yong had no complaints about this towering, clumsy man: “This is a treasure bestowed by my elders; I truly cannot part with it.”
“Hmph…” However, the clumsy man—no, the doting father Liang Mengchao felt that his daughter speaking up for someone else must mean she had been led astray by Ye Yong, and he showed no kindness: “Even if you sell it, I wouldn’t want it.”
After Liang Mengchao left, Liang Xiaorou felt embarrassed and explained to Ye Yong: “Dad is like that; his tone is harsh, but he means no harm. Please don’t hold it against him.”
“I understand.” Ye Yong nodded. Having read the novel, he was quite familiar with Liang Mengchao and couldn’t bring himself to dislike this iron-blooded man.
—
As for why Ye Yong revealed the location of that demon king? The reason is simple: to stir the other party, making Peng Zhang and the others believe that there are many extraordinary figures in Tianluo Sect. No matter how well they hide, there is always the risk of being discovered.
After this incident, Peng Zhang would definitely not send his subordinates over again. As long as Ye Yong remained within the protective range of Tianluo Sect, Peng Zhang and his group would not dare to act recklessly, thus avoiding some troubles and risks.
“The inevitable has come, hasn’t it?” The moment Ye Yong saw the light spots appear on the demon-hunting compass and the electronic map, he knew that Peng Zhang had already learned about the Black Water Secret Realm. Being targeted by a holy son of the demon race, to be honest, felt quite uncomfortable, but there was no way to avoid it. After all, severing the protagonist’s opportunities meant enduring corresponding tribulations. However, compared to the protagonist, the tribulations Ye Yong had to face came a bit earlier, and he could not rely on his own strength for self-protection.
Fortunately, he had many useful resources at hand, and due to the peace treaty between humans and demons, Peng Zhang did not dare to make a big show of it and come knocking. As long as he didn’t go off alone, he was still quite safe. If he were to be alone and discovered… the time treasure would have to be postponed again.
After enduring 55 days of inhumane closed-door cultivation, the highest priority for Ye Yong was undoubtedly the time treasure. With the time treasure, he could slow down the pace a bit, not having to rush to catch up with mainstream cultivation, achieving a balance between work and rest.
The demon race’s attack was just a minor episode. Since Liu Xuan and Liang Mengchao communicated through sound transmission, the people around were unaware of the situation. But with no danger, everyone quickly relaxed, returning to how things were before.
On the way, they did not encounter any further incidents. After another day and a half, the flying ship of Tianluo Sect reached the border of the Great Ming Dynasty.