Chapter 102: Chance Encounter
“Catch her, avenge our dead brothers!”
“Make Heavenly Master Dao lose all face!”
The crowd from Taiping Dao chased closely behind while excitedly shouting. Taiping Dao had been suppressed by Heavenly Master Dao for too long. Killing the Heavenly Maiden this time would definitely vent a great deal of anger for fellow Taoists under heaven!
The Heavenly Maiden was already drenched in fragrant sweat, her face pale. Every breath of air she took burned her lungs with searing pain. At this moment, she suddenly heard the sound of rushing water ahead. She hurriedly lifted her head with effort and indeed saw the stone cave mountain wall of Longmen Mountain right before her eyes.
A flicker of hope suddenly ignited in her heart. If she could jump into the Yi River, perhaps she could escape danger! With this thought, the Heavenly Maiden seemed to regain some strength. She staggered quickly to the cliff edge and looked down, only to feel her heart sink halfway— the ceaselessly surging Yi River was dozens of zhang away at the foot of the mountain!
Unless one was a Grandmaster or had something like Lu Ban Wings for aid, jumping from the cliff would absolutely lead to only one outcome— being smashed to pieces!
Moreover, the cliff face toward the Yi River was as smooth as a mirror. In her current state, wanting to climb down would also lead to only one outcome— still being smashed to pieces!
The Heavenly Maiden looked back at the pursuers, who were now just over a dozen zhang away. She could even clearly see the ferocious grins on their faces.
Unwilling to let Heavenly Master Dao be disgraced, the Heavenly Maiden steeled her resolve and prepared to leap off the cliff.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, she suddenly heard a voice as fine as a flute pipe by her ear. “Jump from here.”
The Heavenly Maiden was slightly stunned. Without time to think, she followed the voice and walked a dozen steps to the side.
By now, Taiping Dao’s pursuers had reached right behind her and were about to grab her shoulders. The Heavenly Maiden hesitated no longer and leaped off the cliff!
She only felt the mountain wind whistling past her ears as her body rapidly plummeted…
On the cliff, the Taiping Dao crowd watched this scene with gleeful malice, all convinced that Heavenly Master Dao’s Heavenly Maiden would definitely be smashed into a meat patty…
But the next moment, they were all dumbfounded— the Heavenly Maiden’s plummeting body suddenly vanished into thin air midway, with no trace of her left!
“What the hell!” The Taiping Dao crowd rubbed their eyes and shouted in disbelief: “Could Heavenly Master Dao have immortal arts?!”
“A bunch of idiots!” At this time, the little maidservant arrived at the cliff side accompanying the Saintess who had put her veil back on.
Seeing the Saintess arrive, the Taiping Dao crowd all fell silent and stood respectfully.
.
The Heavenly Maiden jumped from the cliff. Seeing her body plummeting completely out of control, a look of relief actually appeared on her face…
In these final moments of her life, she could finally stop and appreciate the beautiful scenery of the mortal world… The Heavenly Maiden struggled to open her eyes, looking at the various Buddha statues in the large and small stone caves on the mountain wall— some standing solemnly, some sitting slumped, some lying prone, some smiling, some pitying, some indifferent as they gazed at her about to fall. They must think her life was truly ridiculous, right?
Just as the Heavenly Maiden completely gave up hope and prepared to embrace death, a pair of powerful arms suddenly extended from a stone cave, catching her rapidly falling delicate body!
The Heavenly Maiden was instantly stunned. Could there really be gods and Buddhas in this world? Was that voice just now from some Buddha ancestor coming to save her?
But she soon felt the other’s body heat and heartbeat, then saw a young man with his face covered by a black cloth. The Heavenly Maiden couldn’t help but give a self-mocking smile. There truly were no gods, Buddhas, or demons in the world. Those who saved or harmed were all people…
The other caught the Heavenly Maiden, spun around a few times on the shoulder of the Buddha statue, dissipating all the force of her fall, then discovered she had already fainted.
Helpless, the young man untied his belt, strapped the Heavenly Maiden to his back, binding her to himself. Then the man crawled down the smooth mountain wall like a gecko and frenziedly ran off along the road at the mountain base.
“They’re there, quickly catch them!” On the cliff, the little maidservant had a clear view. She spotted the man the moment he landed.
But those subordinates struggling to climb down the cliff, how could they match that man’s miraculous movement technique? Someone eager to get down slipped and fell to his death at the base. The others could only steady themselves, focusing intently on finding the next foothold, not daring to hurry anymore.
“These idiots, by the time they get down, it’ll all be cold!” The little maidservant stamped her feet in anxiety, hurriedly looking toward her own miss, really hoping the omnipotent Saintess would come up with some clever plan.
Unexpectedly, the Saintess only kept staring at the figure speeding away below, completely ignoring her.
“Miss!” The little maidservant anxiously called out several times, but the Saintess simply closed her eyes, as if pondering some important matter.
The little maidservant then anxiously shut her mouth, not daring to disturb her miss’s train of thought.
Moments later, the Saintess suddenly opened her eyes, a glint flashing in them as she said: “Could it be him?!”
“Who is it?” The little maidservant asked puzzledly: “Miss, did you recognize the person who took away the Heavenly Maiden?”
“He might be the one who appeared in Bai Liu Village and took my Imperial Seal!” The Saintess could hardly conceal her agitation: “Though he deliberately changed his movement technique, that figure, I will never forget!”
“In this pitch black, and he’s carrying someone, yet Miss can still recognize him?” The little maidservant strained to look into the distance upon hearing this, but only saw a blurry silhouette, unable to believe it.
“It’s a feeling!” The Saintess clenched her fist tightly, gritting her teeth: “The moment I see this person, my heart stirs. That feeling can’t be wrong!” With that, she no longer cared about the Heavenly Maiden and coldly ordered: “Immediately report to the Sect Leader. He absolutely must not escape the Capital City again!”
“Yes…” The little maidservant hurriedly responded, then paused: “We’re not chasing anymore?”
“With these few?” The Saintess snorted coldly: “If they could catch him, how could I have let him take my Imperial Seal?”
“Understood.” The little maidservant secretly clicked her tongue. She had grown up with the Saintess since childhood and knew her miss was extremely competitive. This was the first time she had seen her admit inferiority like this!
.
The Saintess was not wrong; the one who saved her midway was none other than Lu Yun!
After returning home today, he deeply felt that hiding the Imperial Seal, cultivation method, and other things at home was far too risky. So after dark, he took the things and quietly slipped out of Luojing City, wanting to find a secure spot outside the city to hide them.
Though Luojing City’s gates were strictly guarded with soldiers patrolling the city walls everywhere, with Lu Yun’s abilities, slipping out was effortless. After leaving the Capital City, he headed straight for Longmen Mountain.
Before setting out, Lu Yun had already studied the terrain around Luoyang and selected the Longmen Grottoes to hide his Imperial Seal and cultivation method. The place was rarely visited by people, and the thousands of stone caves on the mountain walls were perfect hiding spots.
Unexpectedly, just as he selected an unremarkable stone cave and prepared to dig a hole under the Buddha statue, he heard women’s voices conversing from the mountain top.
‘Heavenly Maiden…’
‘You must be Taiping Dao’s Saintess Su Yingxiu, right?’
‘Hehe… Heavenly Master Dao is indeed formidable, even finding out my given name.’
Both women’s voices were extremely pleasant, like heavenly music, but Lu Yun wished he could find a block of tofu to smash his head against upon hearing them. How had he thought the Longmen Grottoes were rarely visited? On his first visit, he ran into the top figures of Heavenly Master Dao and Taiping Dao clashing here!
Lu Yun no longer dared to hide the things there. He hurriedly tucked away the Imperial Seal and cultivation method close to his body and reluctantly left the stone cave. But he did not leave immediately; instead, he quietly crouched by the cliff edge, eavesdropping on their conversation.
Lu Yun originally thought he might hear some shocking secret, but the two girls kept their mouths tight— barely two sentences before they were about to fight. Disappointed, Lu Yun changed his goal again— Taiping Dao’s Saintess and Heavenly Master Dao’s Heavenly Maiden were both his enemies. If he could kill them while they were both injured, tonight’s trip wouldn’t be in vain.
Heavenly Master Dao was his mortal enemy, and the Heavenly Maiden as a high-ranking member, Lu Yun naturally wanted to kill her as soon as possible. As for Taiping Dao, though it was still unclear if they were friend or foe, that Taiping Dao Saintess was the one who had fought him over the Imperial Seal! Now, she was ordering Taiping Dao to search the world for him. If not killing her now, was he to wait for her to bring people to kill him?!
