Firmament Sword

”Master Mao?” Xu Luo’s face broke into an incredibly gentle smile. ”Do you have a way to get out?”

”Hmph!” Master Mao glanced at the Storage Ring on Xu Luo’s hand, snorted, and turned his face away.

”Want the Blood Pill?” Xu Luo said magnanimously, ”After we get out, we’ll split the loot!”

Beside them, the corner of Xu Su’s mouth twitched slightly. ’I never realized before,’ he thought to himself, ’that my little brother was such a shameless guy.’

Master Mao rolled his eyes and sneered, ”Cut the crap. Who knows if you’ll go back on your word after we get out? Give me the Blood Pill now. Otherwise, you two brothers can just prepare to live out the rest of your days in here!”

”Come on, Master Mao. You’re the Guardian Beast of the Ancient Emperor Tribe, after all. As descendants of the Ancient Emperor Tribe, you should be protecting us!” Xu Luo said earnestly. ”Besides, a cat’s got to be decent!”

”Get lost, you shameless bastard! This master is your Guardian, that’s true, but no one’s threatening you right now. You can cultivate here for a few decades, and when you get out, you’ll be invincible. Wouldn’t that be great!” Master Mao sneered. ”And how am I not being decent?”

”Sigh.” Xu Luo sighed, sat down casually, glanced at Xu Su, and said, ”Brother, let’s just cultivate here then. If we can’t get out, so be it. It’s no big deal. Maybe it’s even more dangerous outside right now!”

Master Mao sneered, ”Fine. You guys stay here then. This master will just leave by myself!”

With that, Master Mao walked a few steps forward, tail held high, and just like that, abruptly vanished from before Xu Luo and Xu Su’s eyes.

The two brothers looked at each other, neither knowing how Master Mao had managed to leave. Xu Luo, however, wasn’t worried that Master Mao would abandon him. After all, they had been through a lot together.

Besides, if Master Mao wanted to advance faster, he couldn’t do without his Star Power!

It wasn’t that Xu Luo was unwilling to give Master Mao the Blood Pill—he wasn’t that stingy. He just hadn’t figured out how to distribute the vial of Blood Pills yet.

He also didn’t think Master Mao was truly angry over this. Xu Luo was certain that in less than fifteen minutes, Master Mao would reappear before them, arrogant as ever.

”How did it leave?” Xu Su asked curiously.

Xu Luo thought for a moment and said, ”It absorbed the Thunder Beast’s blood essence. It must have received a significant part of the Thunder Beast’s inheritance, so of course it has a way to leave this place.”

”It’s not really going to leave us behind, is it?” Xu Su, naturally not as confident as Xu Luo, couldn’t help but ask.

Xu Luo smiled and said, ”Don’t worry. That guy may seem greedy, but in reality, he’s quite loyal...”

Before he could finish his sentence, a ”BANG” echoed through the air. And then... Master Mao appeared before them, covered in dust and looking defeated. All the fur on his body was standing on end, and he was radiating a thick killing intent.

”MEOW! Damn it!” Coming to his senses, Master Mao let out a roar, ”AAAAAH, this is pissing me off!”

”Got beaten back?” Xu Luo looked at Master Mao with some surprise, gloating.

”There are people outside!” Master Mao calmed down, ignoring Xu Luo’s taunt. He said angrily, ”And they’re all fucking powerful! The moment I showed my face, I was ambushed by some guy! Dammit, I’m so pissed! AAAAAH!”

”Powerful? An ambush?” Xu Luo raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Xu Su. ”Could it be people from Dubhe? They got here that fast?”

Xu Su was also unsure. ”I don’t know how much the Sect Leader of Stubborn Rock told Dubhe back then, but I imagine he wouldn’t have said too much. After all, at the time, the Stubborn Rock Sect Leader was very eager to claim the treasures inside these Ancient Ruins for himself.”

Xu Luo looked at Master Mao and asked, ”What exactly is the situation outside?”

Master Mao said, ”There are two groups of people fighting outside. One side is a young broad, and the other... is an old coot with three or four young people. The moment I went out, that old coot’s eyes lit up and he charged right at me. I thought I’d found someone to practice on, so I went up and took one of his moves. But... that old bastard’s strength is insane!”

”How strong?” Xu Luo asked.

”Even you and I together might not be his match!” Master Mao said, exasperated and a little dejected.

”What?” Xu Luo was genuinely surprised now. Although he was only a Tier Five Sword Venerable, he was confident he could defeat even a Tier Seven or Tier Eight Sword Venerable. Not to mention that the current Master Mao could kill a Tier Eight Sword Venerable with ease.

If he and Master Mao joined forces, they wouldn’t even feel pressured fighting a Tier Nine Sword Venerable. Could there really be an expert out there stronger than a Tier Nine Sword Venerable?

”That old coot’s power, using your human calculations, is at least at the Peak Realm of a Tier Nine Sword Venerable. He might... even be stronger!” Master Mao took a deep breath, his eyes filled with unwillingness as he said, ”If I had already refined Senior Thunder Beast’s blood essence, that old bastard would definitely be no match for me! Dammit! AAAAAH!”

’He might even be stronger...’ Xu Luo couldn’t help but fall silent. It seemed someone really had their eyes on this place and was waiting right outside. The moment they stepped out, they would be discovered.

”Are you sure they were lying in wait to ambush you?” Xu Su looked at Master Mao and asked, ”You just said the people outside... were fighting?”

”I’m not sure,” Master Mao said. ”But they were definitely fighting. That young broad is pretty tough, too. The three or four young guys on the other side were ganging up on her, but she wasn’t at a disadvantage.”

”What do we do?” Xu Su turned to Xu Luo and said, ”Are we really going to have to hole up in here and cultivate for a while?”

Xu Luo said, ”Holing up here to cultivate for a while would naturally be the best option, but we can’t afford to waste any more time right now.”

Xu Su nodded as well. ”Yeah. Back at the clan, Father is all alone. I’m afraid it will be hard for him to cope. And there are too many other things outside waiting for us to handle.”

Xu Luo said, ”Exactly. Right now, two sides are fighting outside. If we go out now, we should still have a chance!”

With that, Xu Luo looked at Xu Su and said, ”Brother, after we get out, Master Mao and I will cover you. You leave this place immediately.”

Xu Su shook his head slightly, looked at Xu Luo, and said seriously, ”No, I can’t leave first. Even though my strength is less than yours, I’m your older brother. How could I run away by myself at a time like this?”

”We don’t know the full situation outside, but one thing is clear: if they’re guarding this place, they must have noticed these ruins. If you don’t go, I’m afraid none of us will be able to leave!” Xu Luo said. ”Don’t worry. As long as you leave first, Miaomiao and I will definitely be able to escape.”

Master Mao chimed in from the side, ”If we go out and launch a surprise attack on those few people, we might have a chance!”

”Hmm?” Xu Luo glanced at Master Mao.

Master Mao said, ”I may have only absorbed a tiny bit of Senior Thunder Beast’s inheritance, but I can already leave this place at will and... appear wherever I want to appear!”

”In that case... we could launch a sneak attack!” Xu Luo muttered. Then, he raised an eyebrow and said, ”I have a plan!”

Xu Su looked at Xu Luo.

Xu Luo said, ”You stay here for now. Master Mao and I will go out and take a look. If we can fight, we’ll fight. If we can’t, we’ll draw them away. Then, I’ll have Master Mao come back and get you!”

Xu Su thought about it and felt it was a good idea, but he was still worried about Xu Luo and hesitated to speak.

Xu Luo smiled. ”Don’t worry, Brother. My strength might not be anything special, but my escape skills are definitely first-class!”

Xu Su had witnessed Xu Luo’s Shaking Light Step before, so he knew he wasn’t exaggerating. Hearing this, he nodded. ”Be careful!”

Xu Luo nodded. Master Mao then leaped onto his shoulder, muttering something. In an instant, the two of them vanished.

Xu Su stared blankly in the direction Xu Luo had disappeared. After a long moment, he shook his head slightly and sighed, ”Xiaoluo has finally grown up!”

...

Su Qianqian was in a foul mood. Anger was written all over her face as she used every trick in the book, frantically attacking the few young men surrounding her.

On the surface, it looked like they were besieging her, but in reality, she was the one relentlessly attacking them!

Their opponents’ attacks seemed fierce, but if an expert were present, they would see that these men were barely managing to keep Su Qianqian contained. Advancing any further was proving to be nearly impossible.

”You shameless bastards! This young lady has no quarrel with you, yet you dare to have designs on me! If you have any guts, tell me your sect! We’ll see if I don’t annihilate your entire clan later!” Su Qianqian cursed unforgivingly while frantically attacking the young men. ”A bunch of rats, hiding your faces and tails! Too scared to even name your sect, are you? You’d all better remember this: this young lady holds a serious grudge. Sooner or later, I’ll tear you cowardly rats to a million pieces!”

The young men surrounding Su Qianqian were red-faced with anger. They couldn’t believe that such a sweet and beautiful woman could be so venomous with her words.

”You lot, focus and calm your minds! This is a rare training opportunity!” an old man called out, standing on a large tree not far away, his gaze cold as he watched them.

”You old coot, you’d better remember me too! Don’t think for a second that this young lady gives a damn about your pathetic little strength! Later, I’ll have someone break your legs, break your arms, and then toss you into a pigsty to eat and sleep with the pigs!” Su Qianqian viciously attacked the old man with her words.

The old man had already been thoroughly and repeatedly cursed out by Su Qianqian. What was impressive was that her insults contained no profanity and she never repeated herself.

The old man’s face was ashen. He shouted coldly, ”Which sect’s disciple are you to be so rude? Today, I shall act on behalf of your elders and teach you a lesson, you insolent little girl!”

”Oh my, spit on you, you old bastard! Who do you think you are to teach me a lesson on behalf of my elders? You’re truly shameless. At your ripe old age, you’re still playing games of abducting young women.”