Dharma Protector Wang's movements were too fast; Ling Xiaoyun simply could not react in time.
Seeing the fireball hurtle toward her head, Ling Xiaoyun felt a wave of despair wash over her.
"Hmph, do you take me for a ghost?"
Accompanied by a cold voice, a fireball suddenly streaked out from Dharma Protector Wang's right, slamming into his fireball with a loud crash. Both fireballs burst apart simultaneously, scattering flames in all directions.
Immediately afterward, a dark green figure abruptly materialized right in front of Dharma Protector Wang.
Wang's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively reached for the signal flare tucked inside his robe. But how could Lu Li give him the chance? With a shout of 'Mountain Shaker,' a buzzing fist smashed squarely into Wang's face.
With a heavy thud, Wang's bulky frame crashed backward.
Lu Li pressed the attack, delivering a full-strength kick straight to Wang's chest.
The remaining three were already dumbfounded, swallowing hard before turning to flee.
"Leaving now? Don't you think it's a bit late?"
A voice of doom rang out behind one of them. The man's hair stood on end, and just as he wanted to beg for mercy, a sharp pain struck the back of his head, plunging him into darkness.
In little more than a dozen breaths, the final two also collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
Lu Li let out a long breath and looked at Ling Xiaoyun as she struggled out of the dirt. "Are you alright?"
"You... you said you weren't going to help me." Ling Xiaoyun turned her head away in a huff.
"Heh, still stubborn." Lu Li rubbed his nose, shook his head, and turned to deal with the bodies.
A moment later.
The Blood Soul Banner gained three more malevolent spirits, and he acquired two Storage Bags taken directly from Dharma Protector Wang. Without bothering to check their contents, Lu Li picked up four firework-like tubes and fell into thought.
Aside from the Great Chieftain at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, the Water Cloud Stronghold did not seem to possess any formidable experts. If he lured the Great Chieftain away, perhaps Ling Xiaoyun could safely descend the mountain.
With this thought, he pulled out five Swift Movement Talismans and five Explosion Talismans, handing them to her.
"Keep these talismans safe. Shortly, I will draw the Water Cloud Stronghold people toward the east. Two hours from now, use the cover of night to head west. Once you clear the forest, bypass Water Cloud Town and make your way straight back to the Qingyang Sect. Understood?"
Ling Xiaoyun stared at him in a daze. "Why are you helping me?"
Lu Li chuckled. "Heh, because you're good-looking."
Though spoken in jest, Lu Li genuinely wanted to help her-if only for the sake of his fallen brother.
"You!" Ling Xiaoyun rolled her eyes, suddenly finding that this person wasn't quite as detestable as she had thought.
"Enough, don't waste time. Head west now, but don't travel too far initially; find a place to hide. Wait until I set off the signal flare in the east, and after two hours, move out quickly."
"Can't we leave together?"
"No."
"Then... will you be in danger?"
"Rest assured, I'm far stronger than you. Nothing will happen to me."
"You might look like a villain, but you're actually quite good to me." Looking up with a worried expression, she said earnestly, "Senior Brother Lu, you must come back alive."
Lu Li froze for a brief moment. By the time he snapped out of it, Ling Xiaoyun had already vanished into the darkness.
"May fortune favor you."
Shaking his head, Lu Li turned and sprinted eastward. However, he refrained from using his Gale Steps; while fast, the technique drained True Qi rapidly and needed to be conserved as an escape trump card.
Less than half an hour later, Lu Li pulled out a signal flare. Driven by his True Qi, a brilliant flare shot into the sky and illuminated the heavens.
At the edge of the branch ridge, Xu Shan looked up and rejoiced, immediately rallying his men. "The target's trail has been found! Follow me!"
Expecting Lu Li to flee outward, he had concentrated his blockade on the periphery. To his dismay, the fellow had already pushed deep toward the main ridge-a development that alarmed him, as reaching the main ridge would technique trouble.
Seeing the flare bloom, Ling Xiaoyun silently prayed that he would remain safe.
After releasing the signal, Lu Li bolted at full tilt, covering over ten miles in a single breath before pausing to launch the second flare.
By this time, Xu Shan had gathered the entire Water Cloud Stronghold force-over twenty men surging forward in a formidable group.
Before they reached the first signal site, however, a second flare ignited further east. Xu Shan barked impatiently, "The brat is running! Step up the pace!"
As dawn approached, Lu Li had covered an immense distance. Unencumbered by Ling Xiaoyun, he felt lighter and moved without hesitation.
Without delay, he fired the final signal flare.
By now, Xu Shan and his men had fallen far behind. Seeing the flare light up yet again, Xu Shan cursed furiously, "Damn it! What did this kid eat to run so fast?"
Instead of pressing forward after releasing the flare, Lu Li reversed direction and slipped back along his path. After retreating roughly two miles, he leaped up, landing lightly atop the dense canopy of a towering redwood tree, and activated the God-Concealing Jade to cloak his aura.
Before long, Xu Shan flashed past directly beneath him without stopping.
After waiting a while longer to ensure safety, Lu Li dropped from the tree and headed toward the main ridge.
Rumor had it that the Lightning Fire Orchid grew upon the main ridge. It was time to track it down...
Three days later.
Lu Li finally scaled the main ridge of the Thunderfire Mountain Range. He discovered that the forests here possessed a deep blue hue, and the Spiritual Qi was vastly denser than on the branch ridges, nearly rivaling Tianjue Peak.
"Cultivating here would undoubtedly yield exceptional results."
He muttered to himself while scanning the surroundings for signs of the Lightning Fire Orchid.
Before long, Lu Li's eyes brightened. He strode forward into a clearing covered in fallen leaves roughly thirty paces away, where a spring-orchid-like plant with eight leaves emitted a faint blue radiance.
"The Lightning Fire Orchid! Ha, it really is here." Overjoyed, Lu Li carefully uprooted it. Unlike its blue leaves, the roots of the Lightning Fire Orchid were crimson.
After admiring his harvest with satisfaction, he transplanted it into his medicine garden. Finding one right upon arrival greatly bolstered his confidence.
......
Unawares, three days passed during his stay on the main ridge.
To his astonishment, throughout his journey, he encountered neither members of the six major strongholds nor a single Demon Beast.
Furthermore, Lightning Fire Orchids appeared with startling frequency. In three days, he had already gathered a hundred and twenty stalks, as if they had been left out merely for him to collect. Had the surroundings not been so desolate, he might have suspected he had stumbled into someone's private herb garden.
"Why does this feel so surreal?"
Frowning, Lu Li spotted yet another Lightning Fire Orchid thirty paces away, but instead of joy, a faint sense of unease gripped him.
"No matter, I'll harvest it first!"
With that thought, he stepped forward to pluck the herb.
However.
Before he reached it, a gray-robed old man suddenly lunged out from the adjacent thicket, barring his path.
Short and wiry with small eyes and a button nose, the old man stared at him with a mocking half-smile, speaking in a shrill tone, "Brat, you've got some nerve! You even dare to steal from Daylight Stronghold!"