Chapter 69 – Deeper
Mo Ya and Jin Yan reached out for the cloak at the same time but Mo Ya, being slightly stronger of the two, reached it before Jin Yan could.
Mo Ya’s lips curled into a smug smile, and as he was about to grab the cloak, a cheeky grin appeared on Jin Yan’s face. Suddenly, a green scroll appeared in Jin Yan’s hand.
He tore the Mystic scroll and released a thousand runes long sequence in the air. The runes shone, spun, and transformed into a black mink. Its fur was shiny, and there was static electricity on its hair covering its body. This was nothing other than a terrifying Lightning Mink.
Famed for its speed, the Lightning Mink was a powerful Myst stance that even condensed prime Warriors could not easily deal with due to the runic mink’s agility.
Just as Mo Ya’s hand touched the purple chiffon cloak, the runic mink appeared in front of him and bit him hard with its razor sharp teeth. The bite together with being shocked by the mink caused him to loosen his grip. But the mink didn’t stop attacking. It quickly climbed up Mo Ya’s sleeve and continued biting and scratching him as he took a step back attempting to rid himself of the mink by shaking his body.
Mo Ya’s face turned ashen after shaking off the runic creature with great effort. He took a few steps away making sure he was safe from the minks relentless attacks at least momentarily. Although the electric mink was from a scroll and weaker than its true form when used by a condensed prime Warrior, the speedy strikes even weakened were not to be taken casually, not even for Mo Ya.
“You are not stingy at all! Are you?” Mo Ya didn’t expect Jin Yan to use a scroll that cost at least a hundred thousand silver.
“It’s just a scroll! I’m getting a medium-grade Mystic Arm in return. I think it is definitely worth it!” Jin Yan flicked his sleeves while laughed at Mo Ya and slowly reached for the purple-gold cloak.
Just as Jin Yan fingers touched the cloak, he heard a sweet voice. “This is my cloak!” Then a slender hand appeared in front of him, and one of the delicate fingers from this hand curled and flicked forward onto the back of Jin Yan’s hand.
When Lin Zi Yan’s finger landed on Jin Yan’s hand, he felt like his hand was struck by a bolt of lightning. His whole body shook, and he reflexly pulled his arm backwards.
The prideful smile on his face instantly disappeared. He looked down at his trembling hand and shouted, “Who are you!?” He couldn’t believe someone other than Mo Ya was strong enough to contest for these medium-grade Mystic Arms.
Jin Yan widened his eyes then cautiously hid his numb hand behind his back while staring at Lin Zi Yan. She was kneeling and folding the cloak up then put it in her bag. He tried to hide the fact that he was surprised, but seeing the person was a small girl he couldn’t accept his defeat.
All of this did not escape Mo Ya’s eyes as he got rid of the mink. He saw how Jin Yan was stopped by a discrete finger flick, and he too was surprised to see the intrusion of this unknown person. His eyes were fixed on her as she stood up. Just as he was confused trying to guess her identity, Mo Ya made a brief moment of eye contact with Lin Zi Yan.
When he saw her purple eyes, his face twitched. He gasped and went through shock, euphoria, and fear within seconds.
Without consulting Jin Yan, Mo Ya said, “Yea, you can take this cloak!” He took a deep breath and regained his cool. At this moment, Jin Yan’s opinion didn’t matter to him anymore.
“Bullshit! I broke the barrier with you Mo Ya! Why are you on her side? She didn’t even help us? Listen girl! You better hand the cloak back before I lose my temper!” Jin Yan said in a cold tone as he furiously stared at Lin Zi Yan. He was clearly annoyed by Mo Ya’s reaction.
‘I worked together with Mo Ya to break the shield and even used a medium-grade Mystic scroll to get this cloak, and you’re going to sneak up on me and take my treasure out of nowhere?! Do you have a death wish?’ Jin Yan knew that Lin Zi Yan was strong, but with his spear he was confident. He believed that he could take on anyone in this Bloodmist Labyrinth. ‘I’m not afraid of anyone; I’ve fought condensed prime Warriors with this spear in my hand! I’m not going to let anyone disrespect me, especially not a girl!’ Lin Zi Yan exposed Jin Yan’s sensitive side.
“I would have broken the barrier myself, but you two just got to it first. Don’t glorify yourself and make it sound like a harder task than it really was.” Lin Zi Yan said coldly. She frowned and turned around to stare at Jin Yan.
The moment Lin Zi Yan’s purple eyes set on Jin Yan, he felt like he was being strangled. He wanted to speak, but words just would not come out. His lips went pale and were shaking in awe when he saw the hue of her pupils.
“You are…” What Mo Ya said suddenly made sense to Jin Yan now that he could see Lin Zi Yan’s eyes for himself. ‘Mo Ya… Mo Ya was right. You can have the cloak.’
Everyone saw how Lin Zi Yan appeared out of nowhere and took on the infamous geniuses from Ning City. To take a medium-grade Mystic Arm off their hands by only using one finger, and then to have the advantage in a standoff with them… ‘Are Mo Ya and Jin Yan afraid of her?! People don’t just give medium-grade Mystic Arms away!’
The spectators were shocked and started to wonder where this girl was the whole time whileeveryone had been trying to break the shield. And that if she was strong enough to take things off Jin Yan’s hands, how had she managed to keep such a low profile before.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but you two are not here for these Mystic Arms?” Lin Zi Yan clicked her fingers to interrupt Jin Yan from possibly revealing her identity. Then she shifted her focus to two paths at the back of the hall behind where the shield used to be.
After hearing what Lin Zi Yan said Jin Yan and Mo Ya went quiet. They looked at each other and narrowed their eyes. To Lin Zi Yan their frowns were good enough answers. Medium-grade Arms were valuable, but comparing to what the Ning City duo were after in this Bloodmist Labyrinth, these items were nothing.
Seeing Mo Ya place his hand on the hilt of Autumn’s Grace and Jin Yan tightening his grip on the spear, it became apparent to Lin Zi Yan that their generosity only went as far as handing her the cloak. It was obvious that they did not want to share the real treasure they sought.
The atmosphere became heavy, and all the cultivators who were close stopped fighting over the low-grade Mystic Arms and stepped away from Lin Zi Yan, Mo Ya, and Jin Yan. They could sense that a colossal fight could break out any second and did not want to become collateral damage. As the crowd quieted down, Ye Wei could finally see where Lin Zi Yan was, and he was worried sick seeing the three of them in a standoff.
Lin Zi Yan could see Ye Wei too. She looked at him then rolled her eyes slowly towards the direction of the exit, signaling that he should leave this place.
Then she turned back to Mo Ya and Jin Yan, “Is this what you want? A fight?” She asked with a beckoning smile on her face as the purple flame in her eyes burned brighter. “Let’s play catch instead!” She calmly glared at Mo Ya and Jin Yan then turned around and ran towards the rightmost path that led into the depths of the labyrinth.
Her Shadowshift stance brought her to the path’s entrance in no time, and the only thing that stopped her from proceeding was yet another barrier. She gently exhaled and blew on her right hand, coating it with a layer of purple Qi. The barrier softened at her touch, and she was walked right through it. ‘Don’t worry little Wei; I will get you what you need! Just get out here safe and remember to use your scrolls if you’re in danger…’
Just as she went through the barrier, it lit up and became rigid again blocking the passage.
Ye Wei started to wonder what it was that drew Lin Zi Yan, Mo Ya, and Jin Yan’s interest. He was just here for the Welkin Leaves and did not expect he would be left alone by Lin Zi Yan.
Mo Ya released his tight grip and lowered his sword while he spoke to Jin Yan. “Interesting, I think us two may have to work together for the time being!” They both wanted to chase Lin Zi Yan but couldn’t match her speed.
“Pfft! I want to see if people from that family are strong as rumored!” Jin Yan grunted and said pridefully. He followed Mo Ya towards the path to the right, and they walked through the barrier as effortlessly as Lin Zi Yan had.
As the three disappeared into the depths of the labyrinth, the cultivators in the hall started fighting again The floor quickly became covered in blood, and if one were to fall to the ground, it would be the end for them.