The Attack of the Wastrel

Gu Lingzhi was oblivious to the crazy infatuation Gu Chengze held towards Qin Xinran. She was troubled on how to expose Qin Xinran’s true colors to him.

After all, Gu Lingzhi believed that Gu Chengze’s slightly entitled personality would be unsuitable to handle Qin Xinran’s cruel one.

Inside the Cangwu Realm, the entire place was covered in sand and dust, looking barren and desolate. Even the occasional rock that seemed to appear was one that formed from the temporary piling of sand. This being her first time in the Cangwu Realm, Gu Lingzhi was puzzled as to how the spiritual energy in the air even came about, not to mention finding any living creatures.

As the only person that has been to the Cangwu Realm, Gu Hongyan took on the role of explaining to everyone, “Every time the Cangwu Realm opens, it stays open for a month. When the time ends, everyone in it will be teleported out onto a random spot on the Thousand Mountains Range. The entire Cangwu Realm looks like this, empty and barren. There is no way to know where you are by looking at landmarks. Hence, in order not to get lost, you will need to use a compass.”

Gu Hongyan then retrieved a compass. Realization hit Gu Lingzhi as she retrieved the compass that she had gotten earlier from her Storage Ring.

Initially, she had thought that it was sufficient for Martial Artists to use their five senses to navigate and there was no need for something like the compass. However, upon listening to Gu Hongyan, she was glad that she had a compass. Around her, everything looked the same. It was okay if she was here for a short while, but if she had to stay here for a few days, she would not be able to differentiate North, South, East or West and could only count on luck.

Seeing the concentrated looks on everyone’s faces, Gu Hongyan became more excited. Lowering his voice mysteriously, “I bet you all are wondering how the thick spiritual energy in the air came about.”

“Nope.” Annoyed by the cocky look on his face, Qin Xinran did not care about what he felt as said simply, “The spiritual energy in the Cangwu Realm is given out by Heavenly Law Fragments in this realm. As long as these fragments are present in the Cangwu Realm, the spiritual energy will forever persist.”

“Yes, that is right,” Gu Hongyan laughed dryly as he looked resentfully at Qin Xinran. He finally found something he could show off but was cut off by her. This lady from the Qin family was too uninterested in gossip.

In contrast to his unhappiness, in Gu Chengze’s eyes, this action of Qin Xinran was simply adorable. The intensity in which he looked at Qin Xinran increased. He had to win over this cute girl’s heart!

Noticing the smitten look on Gu Chengze’s face, Gu Lingzhi sighed inwardly. Her attention was however turned to the direction in which the thick spiritual energy was flowing from.

Close enough to be visible, five different colored streaks danced in the air. Each streak was about as thick as a finger and was about one foot long. Bouts of spiritual energy were produced from the Heavenly Law Fragments and it was located at the spot where they had entered the Cangwu Realm.

To a big clan, cultivation resources were not what they are concerned about. What they needed most, other than talented individuals, were these Heavenly Law Fragments from the Cangwu Realm. It was able to greatly increase the enlightenment of any strong Martial Artist. It was also rumored that if they were able to obtain the entire fragment piece of any particular spiritual energy, they could even ascend directly to a True God. It was just that in so many years, no one has ever been able to do that.

Two days later, the group of about ten people reached the place where Gu Hongyan had first discovered the Red Half-moon.

The Red Half-moon was a spiritual plant that only grew in a place that was extremely infertile, yet was filled with spiritual energy. Located amongst grit, it utilised the spiritual energy in the air to grow. Before it flowered, the plant resembled a plain cactus. However, upon flowering, the entire plant looked like a glistening gem. The scarlet flower had a half-moon shape and continually absorbed spiritual energy, causing the entire plant to give off a faint luminous glow.

Unfortunately, standing beside the Red Half-moon, were a few other people. Amongst them, the highest ranking participant was a peak grade Martial Practitioner, similar to Gu Hongyan.

“What should we do? Should we snatch it?” Gu Hongyan hesitated. He was under Gu Rong’s orders to personally retrieve the Red Half-moon for Gu Lingzhi. Looking at the current circumstances, it seems like the only way to get it would be to fight for it.

Gu Hongyan subconsciously glanced at Qin Xinran. This was because the people that were standing beside the Half-moon plant were from the Qin clan.

“First Mistress.”

“First Mistress, how come you are with them?”

A few greetings were made as the people from the Qin Clan looked at those from the Gu Clan with an unfriendly gaze.

On the surface, the Four Great Clans maintained a good relationship. But in the Cangwu Realm, things were different, there was no need to consider relationships as strength and ability decided everything. It was a place where all the hidden unhappiness was shown. No one listened to anyone. Since Qin Xinran was standing with the Gu Clan, everyone naturally assumed that she had been caught by the Gu Clan.

In a moment, the atmosphere became hostile.

“Qin Shou, bring everyone away. I want this Half-moon plant.”

Through the tension, Qin Xinran suddenly opened her mouth. Immediately, she was thrown several surprised looks from the Qin Clan, “First Mistress…”

Did she think they were outnumbered? There were a few of the Qin Clan’s strongest fighters amongst them and they were confident that they would be able to win.

“What? Are you disregarding my orders?” Qin Xinran’s eyes curved as she looked at the people in front of her. Those that caught her look immediately became terrified as they threw down the Red Half-moon and left. If their own mistress was able to threaten them, it showed that she did not need any rescuing.

Gu Lingzhi was a little dumbfounded at the Qin Clan’s response. She felt like she understood Qin Xinran’s authority in the Qin clan a little bit better.

Qin Xinran loosened her shoulders as she signalled for Gu Lingzhi to pick the Red Half-moon.

Gu Lingzhi smiled and thanked her. She stepped out from within the group and headed towards the Half-moon plant. The scarlet-coloured flower stood out from the barren landscape. The moon-shaped flower petals resembled blood on the floor, giving off an uncomfortable vibe.

This was when things changed.

Just as Gu Lingzhi’s fingers touched the Red Half-moon, a sharp piercing sword energy slashed through the air causing the surrounding air to freeze.

“Protect the First Mistress!” Gu Hongyan shouted in surprise. He immediately directed his spiritual energy to build a mud wall around Gu Lingzhi.

However, the enemy was definitely prepared as the mud wall only withstood one blow before it was broken through. The sword energy was headed directly towards Gu Lingzhi seeming like it was the end.

“Lingzhi!” Qin Xinran cried out as she shot out a fire sword that clashed with the sword energy. Unfortunately, it was only able to slow it down for only a second before her fire sword was completely defeated. Thankfully, this extra second was enough for Tianfeng Jin to react.

Unsheathing her sword, she advanced towards the sword energy. Gu Lingzhi’s emotions were thrown into a frenzy before she forced herself to calm down. She did not just stand there but quickly activated her Sparrow Wings movement technique to dodge the attack. In a few steps, she distanced herself from the attack and Tianfeng Jin was able to counter the attack and started heading towards the direction of the attack. Gu Hongyan hesitated for a moment before following along.

Although the immediate danger had passed, they did not relax but were alert as they surrounded Gu Lingzhi in a protective circle. Their eyes scanned the surroundings for any signs of danger.

However, their surroundings were completely empty and had no signs of movement, as if whatever happened was just a dream.

“Did they run away?” Qin Xinran frowned as she asked Tianfeng Jin and Gu Hongyan, who had returned empty-handed.

“Mm, they were well-prepared. Immediately after they released that attack, they used a special technique to escape, without leaving any traces.” Gu Hongyan seemed vexed.

At this moment, a few kilometres away, a guy dressed in greyish silver appeared. His face filled with disappointment.

“There are too many people protecting Lady Gu. We have to formulate a plan if we want to kill her.”

On the other hand, the Qin Clan that were chased away by Qin Xinran were ambushed a few kilometres away. In the massacre, only Qin Shou was able to escape as he hid from his attackers in the Cangwu Realm. He was completely battered and covered in blood.

Somewhere else in the Cangwu Realm, a similar thing was happening. In just three days, the Cangwu Realm that opened once every ten years, had caused tens of people to vanish without a trace.

Those that have not been ambushed continued to navigate around using their compass, heading in the Northwest direction of the Cangwu Realm. That was where the Heavenly Law Fragments were gathered – Lingjiutian.

After the attack that day, everything was quiet around Gu Lingzhi. However, this calm made everyone uneasy.

“Do you all think…it is unusually quiet in the Cangwu Realm?” Gu Chengze asked seriously after they had not bumped into anybody for a few days.

Although the Cangwu Realm was big, people from the Four Great Clans were bound to meet. They would then escape or fight one another. However, this lack of human interaction for a few days was starting to be strangely scary.

“That’s right, First Mistress, there is something going on. Even if the Cangwu Realm is big, we should have bumped into someone by now.”

“Maybe they have already reached Lingjiutian.” Gu Lingzhi said unsurely. A sense of unease settled over her as they neared Lingjiutian. It was as if something bad was about to happen.

But since they were already here, there was no reason to head back!

Three days later, the group reached the boundary of Lingjiutian and came across a wave of people.

Among them were people from the Gu Clan as well as from the other three clans. Everyone gave each other a simple greeting whenever they met and continued on their way, maintaining a distance.

Although she should have been happy to see other people, Gu Lingzhi could not help but feel even more uneasy. Even when she saw the multitude of Heavenly Law Fragments dancing in the sky, Gu Lingzhi could not get rid of the anxiety she felt.