Realms In The Firmament

Chapter 32 – The Mountain, The Bamboo Forest And The Maid

The Lunisolar Shadow!

It was a skill used to conceal oneself and become untraceable. Ye Xiao had obtained the scroll of Lunisolar Shadow after he had killed a one-footed robber in the Qing-Yun Realm. The robber had just reached the mystical Grade of Daoyuan. But it had actually taken Ye Xiao, who was at the peak of the Grade of Daoyuan at that time, an entire month to track him down!

If the robber had not eventually exhausted himself, Ye Xiao might not have been able to catch him.

After Ye Xiao took the scroll of Lunisolar Shadow from the robber’s dead body, he came to know that the Lunisolar Shadow was truly something outstanding!

The most wonderful thing about this skill was that he could use it to conceal himself instantly and then flee away as per his convenience!

Such a miraculous skill was truly something that could keep him safe under any circumstance. Moreover, using it only cost a tiny bit of his energy, which made it unreasonably powerful!

Ye Xiao had mastered this skill only after he had spent a lot of time to practice. But, in spite of all these benefits, this was the first time that he had been forced to use it.

The Xiao Monarch had been so powerful that he did not even have to hide from anyone. He had never been in a situation in which he had been forced to use this skill, that is, until now!

Ye Xiao had been diligently following this man. The man seemed very cautious and kept changing directions at unexpected intervals. Maybe, he had felt that something was wrong. In fact, he had changed no less than fifteen times.

When daybreak came, he actually stopped and stood still. He kept looking around for fifteen minutes until he finally chose a direction and shot off without any warning.

Ye Xiao was caught off guard.

The man’s cultivation level should be around the 6th rank of the Grade of Diyuan. Although Ye Xiao was not strong enough to perform the Lunisolar Shadow perfectly, he could still conceal himself to a satisfying extent. But the man really had a superior spiritual sense!

Ye Xiao kept following the man at a distance of about three hundred yards. He usually kept a distance of a hundred yards while shadowing people , but he wasn’t strong enough at the moment, so he kept a longer distance, so as to avoid being noticed. But he still had drawn the attention of this man, who had tried several times to shake him off.

It was not until Ye Xiao had drawn back another hundred yards, that the man finally relaxed.

Ye Xiao had realized that this man’s spiritual sense was superior to ordinary cultivators, so he didn’t dare get any closer.

The man finally reached the base of a mountain and quickly started to make his way to the peak. He kept on jumping, seemingly floating, to reach the top. Ye Xiao was just about to follow him before he sensed something and immediately backed off. Ye Xiao was scared half to death, and sweat started rolling down his back.

It turned out the man had suddenly turned around to check for followers, when he had just steadily landed on the mountain.

And then the man transformed into several ghost shadows which ran rapidly into different directions and then disappeared.

“This guy could really make one’s hackles rise with his unbelievable caution.” Ye Xiao thought and quietly came down from a tree, and then he gingerly moved along the grass.

He guessed that this place should be where the man’s base was located.

He was sure about it as he had seen the man acting with increased caution over here.

Whoever had been backing this man should be beyond this mountain. Ye Xiao might not be able to confirm it, but he could at least get to know something if he went ahead and investigated.

However, this place must be extremely dangerous!

What troubled Ye Xiao most was that this mountain wasn’t just any normal mountain. It was completely devoid of any vegetation!

Whoever crossed the mountain top would definitely get exposed!

Ye Xiao sneaked forward and only peaked his head above the mountaintop, and then he immediately drew back.

There was a bamboo forest in front of him, a sea of bamboo trees.

It wasn’t surprising that a bamboo forest existed among the mountains. But, it was a totally different situation when it was inside the capital. Ye Xiao thought that this bamboo forest must be under the protection of the government. Therefore, it was either something which belonged to the government like the Royal Garden or something which belonged to someone… Who even the government wouldn’t dare to mess with.

Ye Xiao had just taken a glance and had seen nothing but the forest.

Although he had just taken a single glance, he could confirm that there were no constructions within the forest.

“This bamboo forest is truly weird somehow.” Ye Xiao pondered.

He couldn’t believe that there actually was something in this mortal world that he couldn’t figure out…

Ye Xiao quickly analyzed what he had seen with that glance, and suddenly two words emerged in his mind.

‘Energy Arrays!’

As soon as he realised this, a feeling of danger invaded his senses.

The very next moment, Ye Xiao ran away at top speed.

Right after Ye Xiao left, about fifty men arrived from all over. They were obviously trying to quietly outflank Ye Xiao.

Every one of them was equally strong as the man Ye Xiao had been tracing; in fact some of them might even be stronger.

Anyway, each and every one of them was a lot stronger than the present Ye Xiao.

If Ye Xiao had left a bit later and fallen into their trap, then he would’ve definitely died; even if he had a thousand lives, it wouldn’t be enough to survive!

However, at least Ye Xiao had something in mind this time.

All the framing, the assaults and the disturbances… were originating from this place.

This mountain.

This forest.

…

Just before Ye Xiao had stumbled upon the bamboo forest, the man in white was sitting on his wheelchair that was being pushed by Wan-er. They were walking leisurely.

Dozens of men in black ran across the forest and gathered around him one after another, but none of them dared to make a single sound. They just stood silently.

“Did Hei-Yi come back?” The man in white spoke with half-closed eyes.

“No. But he wouldn’t get into any accidents with his strength in such a place.” One of the men answered humbly.

“Anything in the world could go wrong. Nothing is absolute.” The man in white took a deep breath and said, “It is always better to be cautious.”

The words just came out of his mouth right before another man in black wearing a mask arrived quietly.

The masked man was just about to speak, when the man in white suddenly opened his eyes looking to his left and said seriously, “Someone has tracked you here! Go get him!”

The masked man in black felt ashamed and his face immediately turned red.

The other men were all looking at him with an open-mouth.

The masked man couldn’t believe that he had just drawn an enemy home.

In fact he wouldn’t even have noticed the tracer if his master hadn’t said it!

He was extremely abashed.

With the order from their master, the men in black flew out to intercept the invader.

“Nobody’s here. What’s going on?” When they arrived at the barren mountaintop, they were surprised.

They thought their master could not have made such mistakes, so if he said there was a tracer, there must be a tracer.

But where was he?

A slender figure suddenly arrived at the mountaintop with a delightful scent. It was Wan-Er.

She took a deep breath and then looked into the distance. The path she was looking at was exactly the direction toward which Ye Xiao had fled.

The next moment, Wan-Er frowned and said softly, “It was an expert!”

“What do you mean, young lady?” Hei-Yi was a bit relaxed and felt lucky when he saw that nobody was here, but he turned nervous again when he heard Wan-Er.

“This man was hiding here and waiting for a chance to take action.” Wan-Er looked down at the grass on the mountaintop. The grass was pale green and was obviously ill.

Along the direction where Wan-Er was looking at, there were actually some bent blades of grass. It was not very obvious, but it couldn’t be hidden from her sight.

“Here. There is grass over here, but only three blades are broken. It means that this guy is very good at movement skills and is very cautious. The three broken grass blades are the result of his panic. He panicked because he noticed our presence. This guy has a perfect hiding skill.

The spot where I was standing is the best place to hide on the mountaintop. It is the only spot on the three mountains from which he could watch down on us and wouldn’t be detected… That means he is an attentive and experienced man.

A very short period of time had passed between the time Hei-Yi left this place and the time master noticed the tracer. Even if he had seen us, he could take no more than a glance.

We came here very quickly, but found nobody.

This guy must have a very good spiritual sense, so he noticed the danger and left after just a glance.

He is decisive. He has no hesitations. He had a very scary resolution. Most people will definitely watch us for a longer time, because it is impossible to figure out our array using a single glance. However, this man just left decisively…

This man must be very resolute! If a poisonous snake bit his arm, he would cut his arm off decisively!

Moreover, this guy has a particular smell. It was a pure smell of nature. He must have achieved the ablution of muscles and bones. Otherwise he won’t carry such smell.

The three broken grass blades are not in the same spot. One of his knees must have pressed on one of them; his hands must have pressed on the others. His other knee must be bent and he must’ve been preparing to move. Otherwise there would be four broken grass blades instead.

According to the three marks, he can’t be very tall… but he is big, well, unless he had changed his appearance with disguise skills…”

If Ye Xiao was to hear the analyses made by this girl, he would be astonished.

It was hard to believe that the girl actually had inferred so many details by only three marks of broken grasses.

It was very difficult to develop such skill – extremely difficult.

This girl, Wan-Er, was just a maid to the man in white!

If a maid was already this strong, what would her master be like?