In the sky, Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan could clearly see a group of uniformed horses and men running straight to Ma Tianchang's central camp from afar. They took out the decree in front of the tent. After a while, Ma Tianchang brought a group of people out of the central camp to tour the army.
"They are really prepared this time," Junior Leopard said in a low voice glancing at Jin Yuquan.
"Let's go down." Jin Yuquan laughed and patted Junior Leopard. The golden light was pressed down, and his body was like a meteor falling straight from the sky. The target was Jin's central camp. Junior Leopard activated the Snake-like Breath Holding Skill and the Magic Crane Change of the Nine Changes of Heavenly Birds. He floated down leaving no trace of earthly air.
The weather was gloomy. Ma Tianchang's central camp had some experts at Level Four-Five surrounding it. The strongest was Level Six. They couldn't possibly detect Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan.
They successfully entered the central camp.
Due to Ma Tianchang's leaving, there were only four personal guards at Level Five in the tent.
The surface area of Ma Tianchang's central camp was several times larger than the other camps. However, its design was simple. There was a large fire basin in the middle of the camp. A small table was placed near the north side of the tent. The north wall had a detailed and complete topographic map of Northern Yuan. Beyond that, there wasn't even an additional chair.
In this central camp, apart from Ma Tianchang, no one else was able to sit down.
The four personal guards were easy to settle. Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan dealt with two each. Very quickly, they sealed off their acupoints without making a noise. The four personal guards stood as usual like four door-gods without any abnormality.
Without a doubt, this time around, the Immortal Palace's preparations were sufficient. Jin's imperial court was also very cooperative.
This batch of personal guards took over the shift when the imperial court's troops came. They had to stand watch until dawn. Hence, the newly appointed supervisor would delay Ma Tianchang until dawn.
During this time, the entire central camp's defenses were weakest.
"How could Ma Tianchang leave an ancient treasure like the Clear Glass Jade Bottle in the central camp? Logically, he should be bringing it with him," Junior Leopard asked.
Jin Yuquan replied, "If it is on him and we don't find it in the tent, we will still receive the remuneration. Other matters don't involve us. However, he won't bring the treasure with him."
Jin Yuquan seemed very sure of this. Although Junior Leopard didn't quite understand, he didn't ask anymore.
They entered the tent. Though it was a large tent, its simplicity made it easy to take everything in at a glance. There wasn't anywhere to hide an object.
"Crash!"
Junior Leopard smashed Ma Tianchang's table. Apart from wood shreddings, there was nothing else. Following that, he smashed the chair in front of the table to bits.
"Hey, go easy!"
"Don't worry, it's an ancient treasure that could subdue a Mysterious Realm expert. It's impossible that it can't even withstand a strike," Junior Leopard replied in an indifferent tone.
Jin Yuquan was speechless. Indeed, an ancient treasure of this level, how could it be smashed to bits by Junior Leopard's palm?
"I meant you should keep the sound down,"
Jin Yuquan said helplessly. At the same time, Junior Leopard had already kicked the fire basin to one side. The ashes in the basin scattered on the floor. He picked up the basin and carefully looked at it for a while, but he didn't find anything.
"Ma Tianchang won't put it in the fire basin." Seeing that Junior Leopard was researching it for a long while, Jin Yuquan began to grow impatient.
"Then what do we do? Dig the ground?" Junior Leopard smiled bitterly.
"It doesn't... what are you doing?"
Jin Yuquan exclaimed. As soon as Junior Leopard threw away the fire basin, his body exploded with a green sword light.
The sword light shot like rain in all directions. Like small daggers, the sharp Sword Qi shredded everything in the vicinity.
"Are you crazy? This is the central camp!" Jin Yuquan was shocked and shouted.
"Star river burning, break!"
Junior Leopard ignored Jin Yuquan, holding an emerald dagger. The sword light was unruly like stars painting a river. In an instant, the entire tent was enshrouded in dazzling starlight.
"This is---!" Jin Yuquan's eyes flashed in wonderment. Though he was a Level Seven expert and had cultivated Gang Qi, things were happening too fast. Junior Leopard suddenly exploded using one of the three killing movements of the Silver Moon Sword Technique. Jin Yuquan didn't have time to prepare, but since Junior Leopard wasn't targeting him, he didn't move.
Drops of dazzling starlight enveloped the entire central camp. Following that, it all violently burst apart.
"Boom, boom, boom...!"
When every drop exploded, it was at least the degree of a Level Six expert attacking with full force. Thousands of starlight drops exploded at the same time producing a power that was not below that of a Level Eight expert's full force.
"You are god damn cra...!" Jin Yuquan exclaimed. Instead of yelling out the last word, he looked around with a stony face.
After this round of explosions caused by the Sword Qi, everything began to dim. The central camp's interior had not changed from before.
The four restricted personal guards were still standing there. The table and chair were still in bits, stacking there. The huge Northern Yuan map was shredded to pieces and landed on the floor. The basin was flipped and the ashes were scattered everywhere. Everything seemed so familiar, yet foreign.
Instantly, Jin Yuquan's expression darkened.
"This is—! "
"Illusion," Junior Leopard said gravely. "The moment we entered, we were caught in the opponent's illusion. It's so realistic that we were not aware of it!"
"Damn it, I was too careless!" Jin Yuquan's face flashed regretfully.
He was the main lead for this operation, the senior in the Immortal Palace, with Level Seven cultivation, and much older than Junior Leopard. Now, Junior Leopard was the first one to discover that something was wrong. If Junior Leopard didn't discover it, like an idiot, he would be searching for it within the central camp, and he might even have dug into the ground. If that was really the case, he would have lost face.
His shame quickly turned to anger.
He violently pressed upon his body numerous times with his hands. Waves of intense pain assaulted his brain. This was the most stupid way of breaking through an illusion, but it was also the most effective.
Although this method brought pain, it didn't have any other effects.
"It looks like a formation. We are caught in a formation!" Seeing Jin Yuquan's actions, Junior Leopard nearly laughed.
"Formation?" Jin Yuquan curled his lips and coldly laughed. "So what if it is a formation?"
In between words, golden light exploded from his body. A golden rooster appeared within the golden light. Both of its wings flapping, a pair of claws appeared and followed Jin Yuquan's stance, clawing at the ground.
Four Golden Claw.
The first move.
Shredding the ground!
Shining with golden light, the claws violently struck the ground, shredding it from both sides.
The claw's effects were just like its name. Under two claws, the ground trembled. Junior Leopard felt a tremendous amount of energy flowing beneath his feet. He subconsciously moved his body and actually jumped up into the air. Beneath his feet was a piece of green light. He was Reining Sword. Looking at Jin Yuquan, under his claw, the ground was forcefully torn apart.
"Hu---!"
At the instant the ground was shredded, a wave of white smoke flowed out from the hole. It didn't even take a breath's time to cover the entire central camp.
"Let's get out!" Junior Leopard shouted. The green light flashed, rushing towards the exit of the central camp. Jin Yuquan didn't dare to hesitate. Enveloping his entire body in a layer of golden light, he rushed out of the tent.
"Giggle, giggle, you two, since you have come here, are you in a hurry to leave without sitting for a while? You aren't giving face to me!"
A coy laughter sounded out at this moment. At the same time, Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan rebounded back into the central camp by a soft power. The tent became enshrouded in a thin layer of green gas.
"If you aren't satisfied with the environment here, I can take you elsewhere and treat both of you!"
As the words sounded, the fog began to scatter. They were was no longer standing in the central camp. Instead, they were in a place with mountains and rivers, a beautiful sight to behold.
A tall mountain in the distance with its peaks and the rivers were like a painting!
A round moon hung in the sky scattering its endless silver light upon the earth.
In a small pavilion at the peak of a mountain, there was a lady in white clothes with a green veil covering her face. She was silently sitting on the pavilion's stone table holding a wine pot. "Esteemed guests from afar, if you don't drink at least two cups of wine, and it gets out, people will say that I don't treat my guests properly. Please!"
Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan shockingly looked at each other.
Surprised and unaware, they were caught in a magic matrix, turning their shock into fear.
Yes, fear!
The surroundings though real appeared like a dream. They could detect no traces of illusion. They could even feel the moonlight emanating from the bright moon above without any trace of abnormality.
As for the small pavilion in the mountain, it was at least 100 feet away from them far exceeding the size of the central camp. With the distance so far away, there seemed no point in trying to escape.
"What, any concerns?"
"Since Madam has invited, we don't dare to disobey!" Jin Yuquan straightened his back and lifted his legs to move towards her.
Junior Leopard didn't say a word and followed.
When they started walking, they realized there was a stone path appearing beneath their feet extending slowly towards the pavilion on the mountain. On the way, they encountered no obstacles and successfully reached the pavilion.
"Both of you, please sit." The white-clothed lady smiled and pointed at the two stone benches in front of the stone table. "To visit so late at night, I wonder what is it for?"
"May I know who you are?" Junior Leopard and Golden Rooster didn't sit down. After being tricked for half a day, their mood wasn't that good.
The white-clothed lady laughed again, "Who am I? A woman to appear in the central camp, who else could she be?"
"Dancer?" Junior Leopard blurted out.
"Swish!" A white light appeared.
"Ouch!"
Junior Leopard exclaimed. He retreated 30 feet and tried to rush out of the pavilion. His legs in a mess, he stepped onto the small path outside. The previously soft power that caused him to rebound back into the tent appeared once again. This time, he wasn't so lucky. It lifted him high up over 100 feet in the air. A layer of faint white fog pressed down from the sky towards the peak of the mountain.
"Bang---!" A dull thud occurred. Junior Leopard smashed into the pavilion like a broken sack. His face turned pale, a layer of faint green light surrounded his body, and his eyes flashed a ghastly trace. If he hadn't reacted in time activating the Poison Cold Shield to protect his body, he might have been seriously injured.
"Aye, the Poison Cold Shield, you actually refined this!"
Once the Poison Cold Shield was released, it was just like a faint layer of green mist. Within the mist, there was a beautiful light faintly shimmering. Seeing that Junior Leopard had refined the Poison Cold Shield, the lady seemed surprised. She extended her hand to reach towards Junior Leopard's Poison Cold Shield.
Junior Leopard's expression changed. He lifted his finger, and drops of sword light rained down like star drops immediately enveloping the lady within.
He didn't like to suffer disadvantages, but he suffered greatly under the lady just now. To not get back at her was not his style.
"A pure sword practicer, interesting!"
Being enveloped by the sword light, the white-clothed lady didn't seem surprised. Instead, she puffed into smoke. No matter how the sword light passed through, she wasn't hurt at all.
The sword light passed through her white-clothed body as she completely transformed into white smoke. After the sword light vanished, the white smoke condensed, and she returned to form. Still smiling, she offered them two full cups of wine.
"It is curious, Little Fire Snake, how did you manage to see through the flaw?"
Little Fire Snake?!
Junior Leopard was stunned into silence before realizing that she was addressing him. "The fire basin's temperature wasn't right. Perhaps you didn't know how hot it should be. Even though it was very hot, it was still easy to spot the mistake. Furthermore, I'm Xiao, not Little Fire Snake!"
"Oh?" The white-clothed lady seemed surprised. She saw the ring that Wang She gave Junior Leopard. "Could there be an additional snake within the Immortal Palace?"
"Madam, you know that we are from the Immortal Palace?" Golden Rooster took the initiative and asked.
"Obviously. You guys haven't changed your uniforms for hundreds of years. It's a wonder I would not recognize you!" Even though her face was covered by a white veil, Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan could still feel that underneath the veil, she was curling her lips and looking at them with disdain. "The Immortal Palace now is really in shambles. You even commit acts of theft for rewards!"
Junior Leopard didn't feel any attachment towards Immortal Palace, so he felt nothing. However, Jin Yuquan flushed, "Madam must be joking. We are not thieving around!"
"Not thieving around? The two of you sneaked in from the outside and made a mess of everything. What are you doing if you aren't thieving?" She laughed. "Could it be that you are here to catch thieves?"
"You!" Jin Yuquan was agitated by her, and his face began to boil.
"Golden Rooster, be careful. Your mood seems to be very unstable," Junior Leopard said coldly. He used internal strength in his words, which was exploding in Jin Yuquan's ears like thunder. He was waking up as if a pail of cold water was thrown on him. In an instant, his mind cleared. He quickly retreated two steps, and golden light shrouded his body. "Be careful, the air has problems!"
"Hehe, boy, to think that you are so young yet you have so many methods up your sleeves!" The white-clothed lady looked at Junior Leopard surprisingly. "You have the Poison Cold Shield protecting you. You shouldn't be afraid of my Free Will Demonic Smoke!"
"The Free Will Demonic Smoke, you are Moon Vixen of Heart!"
Pointing at the lady with an incredulous look on his face, Jin Yuquan exclaimed, "This is impossible, how could you be..."
"How could I be Moon Vixen of Heart?" The lady laughed. "Looks like the Immortal Palace has another Moon Vixen of Heart, correct?"
Hearing her speak in such a manner, Jin Yuquan thought of something. His facial became respectful. His eyes flashed a helpless smile. "Unexpectedly, we would meet Senior here. The family doesn't recognize fellow family members. Had we long known that Senior is here, we wouldn't be afraid to come."
"Don't tell me that you are here to improve your relations with me? I don't wish to grow closer to either of you!" The white-clothed lady's voice instantly became cold. "Now, I don't have any relationship with Immortal Palace. Today, you came here for my Clear Glass Jade Bottle. There's only the Great Jin Emperor who could ask the Immortal Palace to do this. I can tell you that the bottle is in my hands. If you want it, then take it. I want to see if you have the ability to take it away from me!"
"You must be joking. Since you are a Senior from the palace, no matter whether you are right now, there isn't any sense in us robbing you. Today's matter is a misunderstanding. If there's any offence on you, Golden Rooster pays his apologies right now!"
"So we are one family!" After listening to her words, Junior Leopard immediately exclaimed. Now that they were ridiculously trapped in such a weird illusion, his heart was also in tenterhooks. Now that he heard that the opponent was actually someone from the palace, or least was once from, his heart relaxed, "Hehe, I was really foolish just now. I didn't know Senior was from the palace. I'll also pay my apologies here!"
"You two are really sly!" The white-clothed lady laughed coldly. "Do you know what the greatest mistake you have made today?"
When they heard this, their hearts dulled, and they felt a premonition.
"Senior here, Senior there. Do I look very old?"
The lady's tone carried an endless resentment. She violently slapped the stone table, and the table instantly turned into a ball of white smoke.
"Be careful!" Junior Leopard said in a low voice. The green mist instantly covered both him and Golden Rooster. At the same time, the surroundings instantly changed. The mountains disappeared, as did the water, moon, and pavilion. What remained was a completely empty space surrounded by the white smoke.
Endless white smoke came crashing down from all directions with a heavy weight onto the Poison Cold Shield.
Under the heavy pressure, the shield began to tremble.
The smoke connected to Junior Leopard's divine thoughts transmitting a huge pressure. "Golden Rooster, what's this Free Will Demonic Smoke? Why is it so strange?"
"I don't know!" Golden Rooster said.
"What, you don't know?!" Junior Leopard exclaimed. "How could you not know? Isn't she from the Immortal Palace? Didn't you speak of her origins? How could you not know?!"
"I really don't know!" Golden Rooster said bitterly. "I only know the Free Will Demonic Smoke is the method of Moon Vixen of Heart. As for what power it has, I really don't know!"
"F**k, really unlucky," Junior Leopard scolded in a low voice. He exerted the Poison Cold Shield to the maximum. At the same time, he brought Golden Rooster to search for the road.
They became entangled in a hollow of layered green smoke with white smoke surrounding it. Though the white smoke was vast and powerful, Junior Leopard guarded himself tightly so that white smoke was unable to harm him. Slowly, he began to adjust to the pressure brought about by the white smoke. Gradually, he could even expand his shield. The pressurizing cold feeling spread in all directions. Occasionally, it would cause the white smoke to solidify. Even though this lasted for only a short while, it was outside of the white-clothed lady's expectations.
"What Evil Qi did you use to refine your Poison Cold Shield? It has such a dense cold feeling to solidify my Free Will Demonic Smoke!" her voice rang from within the white smoke.
"I don't know either. I found it by accident. It's amount wasn't much but enough to refine the Poison Cold Shield." Junior Leopard smiled. "Senior, no, Madam, you see that this smoke of yours isn't very effective. We can't find you. Why not just let this be? You release your Free Will Demonic Smoke and keep your Clear Glass Jade Bottle. Let's peacefully end things, shall we?"
"Cunning little fellow. You have the shield protecting you so I can't do anything to you, but don't forget that your shield is only for protection. Can you find the exit? As long as I keep you remain trapped, when the general returns, you can't leave. Do you really think that you can escape under my Clear Glass Jade Bottle?"
"Since that is the case, there's no choice. I can only offend, Madam," Junior Leopard's said helplessly. Suddenly, his whole body emitted a wave of extremely fierce Qi Power.