Death… and me

The experts were chasing after the three men like whirlwinds with 'whistling' sounds. However, those three had quickly gone far into the jungle. In fact, the forest was fairly silent now.

One person walked out from four different directions each after a long time had passed.

They were Meng Luo, Tu Qian Hao, Ou Du Xiao, and Tian Bu Hui!

"They should be headed to the north!" A trace of caution was flickering in Tian Bu Hui's eyes, "Ao Xie Yun is very cautious. He did the very opposite of what we had expected."

Ou Du Xiao waved his hand and sprinkled white mist in the air. The white mist filled the air at first. Then, it settled on the ground. And, three blank spots appeared on the ground as a result.

"They should've been here a moment ago. They shouldn't have been able to carry on because of their injuries under normal circumstances. But, they've suddenly became vigorous and lively. Something unexpected must have happened here."

Ou Du Xiao looked at the blank spots amidst the white mist. Then, he flipped his hand and sprinkled an odorless black mist. It suddenly turned colorless after it came in contact with the white mist. Then, bright-red bloodstains appeared on the ground. They were needle-tip sized, and were scattered on the ground.

"They've consumed the blood essence of a ninth grade spirit beast!" Ou Du Xiao solemnly said.

The others were startled by this strange and mysterious method. They had once again witnessed the formidable techniques of the Poison Spirit Clan.

No one could hide from this kind of mystical detection method!

"We have joined hands to hunt down Ao Xie Yun. We will become the butt of all jokes if he still manages to escape alive…" Meng Luo smiled in a soft yet devious manner.

"Hunt them down!"

Suddenly, a gloomy voice said, "You will never be able to kill Ao Xie Yun if you're too late to follow them."

A masked man's figure appeared on the treetop along with the voice. He was dressed in black. He was drifting in the face of wind. It was the Young Black Devil! He only sneered once as he soared like a black cloud. And, he headed north to chase after them.

"Humph!" all four of them snorted in unison. Yet, none of them dared to neglect him. They then got up and rushed towards the north.

…

"We'll reach the Chill Wind Forest after we cross this precipitous ravine in front of us!" Gu Du Xing was sweating profusely. After all, he was carrying a thousand kilogram of Star Iron. So, he obviously wasn't feeling light.

"Are we going to look for trouble with the Ou Clan in there?" Ji Mo and Luo Ke Di were somewhat eager to pick a fight.

"I don't think we can openly challenge the strength and qualification of an aristocratic clan by solely relying on the strength of us seven people." Dong Wu Shang snorted and said, "You can go if you're itching to do it. But, we won't accompany you."

Ji Mo and Luo Ke Di stuck out their tongues in response.

"We don't need to look for trouble with them. Perhaps, they're looking for us instead," Gu Du Xing calmly said, "The Ou Clan wouldn't dare to face our retaliation in a passive manner!"

"That's right," Chu Yang nodded in affirmation, "We must be careful."

Everyone had increased their vigilance along the way. Anyway, they hadn't anticipated that they would get through the Chill Wind Forest without experiencing any danger on the way. In fact, Gu Du Xing and the others had readied themselves to face the enemy as they advanced in the forest.

"How come there's no sound of activity here? How come there's no ambush here? Does the Ou Clan have no guts? They didn't even dare to attempt an ambush on us?" Luo Ke Di had an expression of restlessness. They had already passed through the Chill Wind Forest, and had arrived in front of a mountain. Second Young Master Luo had felt that his strength was increasing very rapidly these days. So, he was always looking for an opportunity to show off.

"Sigh…" Chu Yan heaved a deep sigh. Then, he firmly glared at Luo Ke Di. "Why do you have to be such a doomsayer?"

Chu Yang received a slight warning from of Sword Spirit just when he was dropping the last word on Luo Ke Di. [There's a massive enemy ambush in the mountain up ahead!]

"Remove your Star Irons weights! Take a rest first, and get ready to fight." Gu Du Xing and Dong Wu Shang became vigilant as Chu Yang waved his hand, "Is there an ambush?"

"There's an ambush!" Chu Yang swiftly halted behind a tree. He then held his breath, "It's not 'just' an ambush. Instead, it's a massive ambush!"

Everyone glared at Luo Ke Di when they heard this.

Luo Ke Di blinked. He felt somewhat confused… [My words can't possibly be this powerful, right? I only spoke a few thoughtless words… and they ended up calling out an 'ambush'…?]

Tan Tan shrugged his shoulders. He raised his nose up and said, "You guys are meager fifth or sixth grade Martial Kings. So, you shrimps should stay back. See how I blast them away with my fart!"

Everyone would've ganged up on Tan Tan if the present situation wasn't so unusual; they would've beaten him up because of this remark!

"Tan Tan and Bu Tong, you both go over from that direction in a pair. Wu Shang and Ke Di, you both go from that direction. Du Xing and Ji Mo, you both follow me. We will cover the middle. Remember that the ambush should be three-thousand feet away from here. You are free to attack and kill the enemy once you've gotten close!"

Chu Yang commanded without the slightest of hesitation.

Chu Yang would've normally said, [Listen to my orders and act in unison. We mustn't alert the enemy by mistake!]

However, Chu Yang had no other choice but to let his brothers act on their own now.

After all, all of them had molded their respective fighting tactics. So, he would only make his brothers lose their own styles if he were to blatantly constrain them.

And, they would never be able to work independently if they lost their personal style.

Everyone silently looked at each other after they had rested for a while. Then, Tan Tan and Rui Bu Tong dashed away like two cheetahs from the side while issuing 'shua' sounds.

Dong Wu Shang held the Black Saber in his hand. Luo Ke Di had hidden his sword behind his elbow. They then disappeared silently.

Gu Du Xing, Chu Yang, and Ji Mo also set into action. Chu Yang was at the front, and Gu Du Xing and Ji Mo were behind him. However, Gu Du Xing and Ji Mo were left startled after they had advanced more than a dozen steps.

Chu Yang's body had changed into a distorted blue smoke, and had crept forward within the dense forest. But, he hadn't issued any sound along the way.

It seemed as if his body hadn't even bumped into a leaf. It was possible that it may have bumped into a leaf or two, but the sound that emitted out was unlike the normal sound of collision of a human body with the leaves. Moreover, the sound was so feeble that it seemed as if a little bird had landed on the leaf, and the leaf had gently fallen down because of that.

"You must remember this while moving stealthily in a forest. First, each tree has its direction of growth. And, you must align yourself along the direction of that tree's growth as you go forward if you don't want to be discovered," Chu Yang softly said. Then, he silently chopped on two trees on his either side with his palms.

Chips of wood whirled about.

"Both of you must look at this. The pattern of this tree is laterally downwards. Now, look at the leaves on this tree. There are leaves of various shapes and sizes, but one thing is common – the tip section of the leafstalk will certainly be laterally downwards. These leaves will issue very loud sound if they are touched from any other direction. And, the experienced people of Jianghu will become alert from that sound. But, it will only issue a natural sound of falling off if it falls after you touch it laterally downwards along the direction of its growth.

"However, the tree on this side is somewhat spiral or helix. Such kinds of leaves often take more time to fall. Therefore, I will use my strength in a spiral direction when I pass by such a tree."

Chu Yang explained bit by bit, "This phenomenon can be clearly shown by the tree's bark as well."

Gu Du Xing and Ji Mo went ahead on either side, and nodded as they observed carefully.

"The next is your footwork. Don't just think about issuing energy from under your feet. Also pay attention to the direction of the wind, and the growing position of the underbrush. The underbrush at the foot of the tree is bound to be inclined towards the opposite direction of the tree. You must step on while following this inclination, and along the direction of the wind. Consequently, the sound issued wouldn't be much even if you don't issue energy. And, there wouldn't be any sound if you adapt to these directions."

Chu Yang continued, "You must pay attention to the colors of your clothes and to the appearance of the leaves behind you when there's sunlight like this. You must also pay attention to the mottled shadows falling on the leaves to your opposite side.

"You can make use of these aspects to stand in a suitable position if the enemy looks over. Then, your personal appearance will get camouflaged by the forest under these mottled shadows even if you don't have any place to hide. Consequently, the enemy wouldn't be able to spot you even after coming face-to-face!"

Chu Yang had made a movement to demonstrate while speaking this. He had rapidly moved from his original position, and had gone to the opposite side. And, Gu Du Xing and Ji Mo impressively discovered that there were bright and dark patches of shadows over his entire body even though he was facing the sunlight. Chu Yang's black robe seemed to have changed into a big tree under these effects. So, it had become impossible to spot him amidst the trees.

His face was also covered by the shadows of tree leaves under the bright sunlight. He had dark and bright shades on his face. They wouldn't have discovered him if they hadn't previously known that he was hiding in that place.

"It's a common knowledge that the night is the best time for stealth operations. But, the best time to hide in mountainous forests is daytime… when the sky is clear. It's because the bright sunlight can camouflage almost anything!"

Chu Yang lightly said, "Now, both of you keep pace with me. We will rush at them from the front while they will be looking towards us with their eyes wide open!"

They weren't words of bravery. But, Gu Du Xing and Ji Mo felt their warm blood rush in their hearts as soon as they listened to these words.

It felt as if a murderous aura of blood-thirst had been ferociously revived by these words!

"Let's go!"

The three silhouettes moved as if arrows had been launched by the bow string!

They rushed over to a thousand feet, and then again to five-hundred feet… they were close to the enemy now! And, they were getting closer and closer…

"There are fifty people!" Sword Spirit provided the accurate number.

The illusion created by Chu Yang's figure under the reflection of sunlight was that of a big lizard climbing up to the hilltop as he approached the enemy. He was only three-hundred feet away from the enemy right now.

Gu Du Xing and Ji Mo came up following him. The three of them looked ahead, and were startled by what they saw… [What's going on?]

The three of them looked at each other in dismay. They were unable to make sense of what they were seeing!

Majority of these people were from the Ou Clan. And, there was no doubt about this! After all, the Poison Spirit Ou Clan had a kind of cold and shady aura that no other could imitate.

This was indeed an ambush. Moreover, the troop lineup was quite vast!

Chu Yang took a quick look around, and felt that it was problematic. [There are at least fifteen or sixteen Martial Kings among them. Also, four of the auras are profound and unfathomable…]

"There are sixteen Martial Kings. And, the rest are ninth grade Revered Martial Artists! Also, there are four Martial Emperors. Two of them are second grade, and two are third grade," Sword Spirit gave a precise report.

Chu Yang wasn't baffled by the fact that there were four Martial Emperors among them.

However, what made him flabbergasted was… [They want to ambush us, okay. But, why are they facing the other direction?]

There were rows of backs and butts lined up in front of Chu Yang…

The experts lying in wait were stretching their necks, and were looking forward. A few of them were sitting cross-legged while being calm and composed. But, their backs were turned towards Chu Yang and the others.

[Can this be regarded as an ambush?] Chu Yang found it too bizarre. [You guys have come to kill us. But, you have turned your butts to us… This is the first time I'm seeing such a strange ambush!]

[Damn! Is it possible that you want to fart together in order to suffocate us to death?]

….