vstars Chapter 12 The Clown Who Usurped the Nest
Chapter 12 The Clown Who Usurped the Nest
The mud, stained with blood, soaked Longyuan's war god uniform until it swelled and smelled foul.
The adjutant's hands were trembling. The moment his fingertips touched his chest, he heard a sickeningly sharp sound of bones cracking and grinding—three ribs were completely broken, the sharp bone fragments almost piercing through the flesh; his knees were swollen like steamed buns, and the excruciating pain of the comminuted fracture made this peak war god who had flattened ten enemy camps grit his teeth and even clench his teeth to move a finger.
Who would have thought that Long Yuan, who commands China's most elite special forces and is a force to be reckoned with, would be kicked out of the gate of that misty villa like a dead dog and rolled into this knee-deep mud pit?
"Chief!!" The adjutant's eyes were bloodshot and bulging, his gaze fixed on the enemy. He drew his pistol with a "whoosh," the sharp click of the bolt echoing through the mountains. "I'm calling in airstrikes right now! Blow this damn villa to ashes!!"
With red eyes, he was about to rush up the mountain when his wrist was gripped tightly by a cold, weak yet extremely powerful hand.
"Shut...shut up!"
Long Yuan coughed up a mouthful of black blood, the froth mixed with tiny fragments of internal organs, splattering onto his adjutant's hand, hot and pungent. He gripped the adjutant's collar tightly, his knuckles white from the force, his voice hoarse like a broken gong, each word seeming to be squeezed from his throat: "Retreat...retreat immediately! Not a moment's delay!"
The adjutant froze, his face filled with disbelief: "Chief? You're injured like this, and we're just going to leave like this? That guy surnamed Lu..."
"He held back." Long Yuan interrupted him, his eyes surging with fear that he couldn't suppress. He turned his head with difficulty and looked at the villa that was completely shrouded in thick white fog. His voice trembled slightly, without him even realizing it. "Otherwise, I wouldn't even be left with ashes."
Nuclear deterrence? Before he set off, he thought that with China's nuclear arsenal, they could even fight against a True God Realm expert. But just now, he didn't see even the slightest bit of fear of nuclear weapons in that man surnamed Lu's eyes—it was a cold indifference that looked down on ants, watching primitive people play with stones, as if his proud power and strength were nothing but a joke in front of the other party.
"Notify the capital." Long Yuan took a deep breath, the sharp pain in his chest causing him to cough again, but he still gritted his teeth and ordered, "The backup plan for File 0 is canceled immediately! Pass on my order: no one is allowed to provoke that madman again—even if he flattens Panlong Mountain, no one is allowed to approach!"
The once imposing armored vehicles now resembled stray dogs, their roar subdued as they slunk away from Panlong Mountain, not daring to linger over the bloodstains and mud on the ground.
……
Less than half an hour after the military vehicles disappeared at the end of the mountain road, a loud engine roar came from the foot of Panlong Mountain.
Four black Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles with local Jiangzhou license plates were parked haphazardly at the foot of the mountain. Their wheels rolled over gravel, kicking up clouds of dust. Their arrogant and domineering demeanor made it seem as if they were afraid no one would know they were there.
The car door slammed open, and an elderly man dressed in a bright yellow Taoist robe, holding a whisk, slowly stepped out, surrounded by four burly men in black. The old man had white hair and beard, and his face was covered with age spots, making him look very old. However, his eyes were surprisingly bright, filled with an almost morbid greed, like a wolf that had been starving for decades and had finally smelled the aroma of meat.
Chen Daoling, a grandmaster of Taoism.
A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and wearing a suit quickly approached him, bowing and scraping. Pointing to the white mist on the mountaintop, his voice was full of excitement and flattery: "Master, this is it! Look at that white mist—I had someone use the most advanced drones to measure it. That's not ordinary mist at all; it's liquefied spiritual energy! It's so thick it's almost condensed into water. This is definitely a powerful feng shui formation that has been lost for hundreds of years!"
Chen Daoling's fingers unconsciously twirled two heavily patinated walnuts, the "crack, crack" sound growing increasingly rapid, betraying his inner restlessness. He was already eighty-nine years old. Modern medicine had long since given his internal organs a death sentence, and he relied on exorbitantly priced intravenous nutrition to stay alive every day, each breath carrying the agonizing feeling of impending death. His extreme fear of death had driven him to search like a mad dog throughout China for remedies to prolong life, even for things that were merely rumored and unreal, he would fight tooth and nail to obtain them.
He was the first to notice the abnormality of the earth-shattering spiritual energy surge in Jiangnan Province just now—the spiritual energy concentration of Panlong Mountain was hundreds of times higher than that of other places. If this is not a stroke of luck, what is it?
Chen Daoling's cloudy eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins as he stared intently at the thick, impenetrable white mist atop the mountain. His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his voice, hoarse yet filled with undeniable greed, declared: "What a magnificent 'Hidden Dragon Ascending to Heaven' formation! What a divine creation array!"
"If I could cultivate in seclusion within this array's core, my lifespan could be extended by at least twenty years! I might even break through my current limitations and reach the legendary realm!"
He suddenly flicked his whisk, the hem of his bright yellow Taoist robe fluttering wildly, his tone extremely arrogant: "Let's go! Up the mountain! How can such a creation of heaven and earth fall into the hands of mortals? Today, I will claim this Panlong Mountain for myself!"
The group climbed the mountain in a grand manner, their footsteps and laughter echoing through the mountains, completely ignoring the military's earlier withdrawal—in Chen Daoling's view, the military was nothing more than a group of arrogant mortals relying on firearms, utterly unworthy of competing with him for such a blessed land.
At the very back of the group, Lin Wan'er, arm in arm with the man with the slicked-back hair, swayed her hips and followed along. She had changed into an exquisite dress and applied thick makeup to conceal her previous dishevelment, but her eyes still held a hint of barely perceptible resentment and smugness.
"Darling~" She whispered in the man's ear, her voice so sweet it could drip water, so cloying it gave him goosebumps, "That guy surnamed Lu has definitely been arrested by the military. Nobody's in charge of this villa now, so why don't we just move in and save ourselves the trouble of following Master around here?"
The slicked-back-haired man reached out and pinched her butt hard, grinning lewdly. "Don't worry, baby. Wherever Master sets his sights, no one in this vast land of China dares to disrespect him. Once Master has secured this location and is focused on cultivation, this villa will be our wedding home. Whatever you want then, I'll buy it for you!"
Lin Wan'er was overjoyed, and she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan, weren't you so good at fighting? Weren't you willing to risk your life to protect this villa? In the end, it still fell into my hands, didn't it? What good is your fighting ability? In this society, what matters is connections, background, and the influential people around me! You're just a nobody with no connections, how dare you compete with me?
The group chatted and laughed, and soon climbed to the top of Panlong Mountain, where the villa surrounded by white mist suddenly appeared before them.
But just as they approached the perimeter of the villa's courtyard, an invisible, transparent barrier suddenly blocked their path.
This was just a soundproof and dustproof array that Lu Yuan casually set up when he was adjusting his sister's meridians. To him, it was not even a beginner-level array, but to Chen Daoling and his group, it was like an indestructible invisible glass wall.
"Bang!"
The black-clad bodyguard at the front, unaware of the barrier, crashed headfirst into it. A large bump instantly swelled up on his head, blood gushed from his nose, and he staggered back several steps, clutching his head and groaning in pain.
"Master, something's strange!" The slicked-back-haired man's expression changed, and he quickly took two steps back, staring warily ahead. "There's something blocking this place; we can't get in!"
Chen Daoling frowned, slowly stepped forward, and extended his withered finger to gently touch the invisible barrier. The moment his fingertip made contact, a faint fluctuation of the array emanated, carrying a subtle but palpable pressure.
But the greed in his eyes didn't diminish; instead, it intensified, and a disdainful sneer even curled at the corner of his mouth: "A mere trick, daring to show off your skills before an old master? It's nothing but the lowest-level defensive formation; it's not worthy to stop me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a palm-sized Bagua bronze mirror from the wide sleeve of his Taoist robe. The surface of the mirror was covered with dense runes, faintly radiating spiritual light.
"Set up the formation!" Chen Daoling roared, his tone authoritative. "Today, I will break through this illusion, take control of this blessed land, and show the one who set up the formation what the methods of a grandmaster of the Xuanmen are!"
The disciples immediately dispersed, quickly unloading cinnabar, yellow talismans, peach wood swords, and various strange magical artifacts from the car. They quickly set up an array outside the villa gate—the Seven Stars Evil-Breaking Array, a formation used by the Xuanmen sect to break arrays. Each array eye was placed meticulously, with runes flashing and faint spiritual light surging.
Lin Wan'er stood aside, watching Chen Daoling's dignified and composed demeanor, feeling increasingly smug. She even began to fantasize that after breaking the formation, she would rush into the villa immediately, chop up the bed Lu Yuan had slept in for firewood, smash everything he had used to pieces, and vent her anger!
……
Second floor of the villa, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Lu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, his black shirt outlining his tall and slender figure. His deep eyes were calm and still, like a bottomless pool of cold water, as he coldly watched the group of charlatans from the Xuanmen sect bustling around outside the gate like clowns jumping around.
He had been busy regulating his younger sister Lu Yao's meridians. The little one had congenitally blocked meridians, which required him to slowly unblock them with his own spiritual energy. He simply didn't have time to deal with these arrogant scoundrels. But he didn't expect that these people would take advantage of his kindness, not only barging up the mountain but also daring to set up a formation to break through his barriers in front of him. They were simply courting death.
His thin lips parted slightly, and a cold sneer escaped his lips, carrying undisguised contempt and impatience: "What kind of Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to bark and rave at my door, disturbing my peace and quiet?"
Before he finished speaking, he reached out and pushed open the French windows. The evening breeze, carrying the spiritual energy of the mountains, rushed in and ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead. Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yuan put one hand behind his back, his figure swayed, and he leaped directly from the second-floor terrace—without any leverage or cushioning, he landed lightly, and the moment his toes touched the ground, not even a speck of dust was raised.
Below, Chen Daoling was holding the Bagua bronze mirror, preparing to activate the Seven Stars Evil-Breaking Formation, when he suddenly felt a suffocating pressure coming from above. His whole body stiffened, and he looked up abruptly, his face turning ashen white.
Lu Yuan stood not far away, looking at him coldly. His gaze was exactly the same as Long Yuan's memory—it was the indifference of looking down on ants, and the domineering aura of crushing dust.
"You...you're not dead?" Chen Daoling's voice trembled, and the Bagua bronze mirror in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered.
Lu Yuan didn't speak, he just raised his finger.
The next second, the transparent barrier that Chen Daoling regarded as a "trivial skill" suddenly expanded, and a terrifying force erupted. The Seven Stars Evil-Breaking Array, the Cinnabar Talisman, and the Peach Wood Sword that had been set up were instantly shattered into dust. The four burly men in black were also shaken so badly that they spat out blood, flew backward, and crashed heavily into the mountain wall, losing consciousness.
Chen Daoling trembled all over, his legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a thud. The greed on his face was completely replaced by fear, and even his breathing became cautious: "Senior...Senior, spare my life! This junior was blind and did not recognize you. I did not know you were here. I have offended you greatly. I beg you to show mercy and spare my life!"
Lin Wan'er was so frightened that her whole body turned ice cold and her face turned deathly pale. All her previous smugness and arrogance vanished. Her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground, unable to even cry. She never expected that Lu Yuan would not have been arrested by the military, and that his strength was so terrifying!
Lu Yuan slowly walked up to Chen Daoling, looking down at him with a tone icy cold: "You dare trespass on my property? You dare steal my things?"
Every word was like a cold, sharp knife, piercing Chen Daoling until he trembled and kowtowed repeatedly: "I dare not! This junior dares not do it again! I beg you, senior, to spare my life. This junior will leave now and never set foot in Panlong Mountain again!"
Lu Yuan lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over him before landing on the limp Lin Wan'er beside him. His eyes were devoid of any emotion, only indifference: "Too late."
As soon as he finished speaking, his fingertips twitched slightly, and an invisible force instantly gripped Chen Daoling's throat, lifting him up violently. Chen Daoling clutched his throat tightly with both hands, his face flushed red, struggling to breathe, his eyes filled with despair, yet he had no strength left to resist—before absolute power, his proud Xuanmen techniques were utterly useless.
Lin Wan'er was terrified. She scrambled to Lu Yuan's side and kowtowed repeatedly, tears and snot streaming down her face. "Lu Yuan! No, Senior Lu! Please forgive me! I was wrong! I shouldn't have come with them! I shouldn't have tried to steal your things! Please let me go! I'll never do it again!"
Lu Yuan didn't even glance at her, simply speaking calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion: "You just wanted to chop my bed up and use it as firewood?"
Lin Wan'er froze, her face instantly turning deathly pale. She even stopped kowtowing and closed her eyes in despair—she knew she was doomed.
In the mountains, only Chen Daoling's desperate sobs and Lin Wan'er's broken cries remained, while Lu Yuan's figure remained as upright as a pine tree and as indifferent as frost, as if he had only crushed a few insignificant ants.