71: Chapter 71 Timing

Li Qing flew carefully, getting closer and closer to the area of the fight, before finally putting away his iron wood boat.

This iron wood boat made too much noise; since he wanted to sneak over now, he couldn't afford to expose himself.

Immediately after, he circulated his Spirit Concealment Art to its limit, suppressing all his spiritual energy fluctuations, aura, and even his breathing until they were virtually undetectable. Like an ordinary rock, he slowly crept closer to the battlefield bit by bit.

Once he hid behind a thick ancient tree and peeked out, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Damn, it's still five against one."

A woman in white, incredibly beautiful with her fluttering white dress and cold, aloof temperament, looked like a fairy descended from the heavens. Yet, she was currently surrounded by five Cultivators, seemingly in imminent danger.

Needless to say, this woman was Fairy Luoshui, Luo Bing.

She was a famous Genius throughout the entire Yunling Mountain Range, possessing a true Heavenly Spiritual Root, and moreover, the extremely rare Mutated Ice Spiritual Root—the most talented Prodigy Disciple of the Yunling Mountain Range.

Compared to the Houtu Sect's Houtuzi and the Blazing Flame Sect's Lieyanzi, she belonged to the absolute top tier, publicly recognized as one of the most promising Prodigy figures among the Ten Great Schools.

Seeing five against one, and five men bullying one woman at that, Li Qing felt a trace of disdain in his heart. This was simply too unprincipled, actually resorting to such dirty tactics of outnumbering an opponent.

He was in no hurry to move, quietly crouching behind the tree to watch, wanting to get a clear grasp of the situation first.

But as he watched, Li Qing began to sense that something was off.

This female Cultivator named Luo Bing was far stronger than he had anticipated.

Both being at Qi Refining Perfection, Li Qing silently compared her to Deacon Hu Fei, whom he had fought before and who was also a skilled expert at Qi Refining Perfection. Yet, if Deacon Hu Fei were to fight Luo Bing, Li Qing was certain that Deacon Hu Fei wouldn't even last three moves before being frozen solid.

He then looked at the five people besieging her.

The first one was the most eye-catching, dressed in a gaudy outfit of mismatched red and green patches, embroidered with all sorts of messy patterns. He looked both tacky and ostentatious, and his cultivation was also at Qi Refining Perfection.

The more Li Qing looked at this outfit, the more familiar it seemed. After a quick search of his memory, he immediately remembered.

This was no ordinary Cultivator; this was Hua Zirong!

A Loose Cultivator who committed evil everywhere, he was not only on the Houtu Sect's wanted list, but even the Luoshui Sect and Blazing Flame Sect were hunting him down. He was a notorious Flower-Thief with a massive reputation in this region, far more prominent than a minor character like Li Qing.

Standing next to Hua Zirong was a Cultivator completely wrapped in a black robe, covered tightly from head to toe so that even his face was invisible. One could only sense a cold, sinister aura from him, and he was at the Qi Refining Peak.

Li Qing frowned; this look strongly resembled someone from the Blood Corpse Valley.

The remaining three were even stranger—they were actually triplet brothers who looked exactly identical. Their faces were completely indistinguishable, their height and build were identical, and their cultivations were all at Qi Refining Level 9.

Each of these three held a fiery red Formation Banner, standing in fixed positions. They chanted incantations and continuously poured spiritual energy into the banners, clearly working together to set up a Formation.

Li Qing could see clearly that Luo Bing was currently trapped in the center of their Formation, confined within a fiery red barrier of light that restricted her movements.

She had to prop up an icy Qi barrier to block the external attacks while simultaneously diverting her strength to attack the Formation in an attempt to break it. Yet even under such circumstances, amidst the frenzied onslaught of Hua Zirong and the black-robed Cultivator, not a trace of panic showed on Luo Bing's face. Her gaze was as cold as ice, incredibly steady.

As Hua Zirong launched Spells to attack, he also began spewing vulgar words to disgust her on purpose, hoping to disturb Luo Bing's state of mind and cause her to make a mistake.

"As expected of Fairy Luoshui, a great figure on the Chuxiu Ranking, you truly are formidable!"

"However, this is the Three-Talent Burning Ice Array prepared specially for you. Let's see how long you can hold out."

"Jie jie jie! Once we capture you in a moment, I wonder if you will still be this cold in bed, and if you can serve the five of us well?"

These words were as offensive as they could get, intended solely to humiliate Luo Bing.

Yet Luo Bing acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. Instead, the cold energy radiating from her grew heavier, and the surrounding air began to freeze. Even Li Qing, hiding far away, could feel waves of bone-chilling cold and couldn't help but shiver.

Li Qing admired her secretly; such a state of mind was truly beyond what ordinary people could match.

He didn't stay idle either, quietly slipping a High Grade offensive Talisman out of his Storage Pouch. Holding it in his hand, he stared unblinkingly at the battlefield, ready to strike at any moment.

Li Qing knew very well that saving someone required choosing the right moment.

Although Luo Bing was surrounded right now, she clearly still had strength to spare, her spiritual energy was not yet depleted, the Formation had only just trapped her, and the Three-Talent Burning Ice Array had not yet unleashed its full power. It was far from a life-or-death crisis.

Rushing out to help now would at most be considered a casual favor. She would just politely say thank you and move on; the gains would be too small, not worth it at all.

Nor could he wait until Luo Bing truly couldn't hold on, ran out of spiritual energy, was about to be captured, or was even on the verge of dying on the spot before suddenly charging out. That wouldn't be saving someone; it would be throwing his life away. After all, he was no match for these five on his own.

The correct approach was to wait until Luo Bing still had the strength to counterattack, then launch a sneak attack while the five men were unprepared to break the Formation, and then join forces with Luo Bing.

For now, the best choice was to stay well-hidden, watch closely, and wait for the perfect timing.

Li Qing continued to crouch in the dark, watching Hua Zirong continuously provoke her with vulgar insults, the black-robed Cultivator waiting for a chance to launch sneak attacks, and the three brothers tightening their Formation. Luo Bing's white dress fluttered slightly amidst the clashing Spells, her icy Qi exploding and condensing time and time again.

Li Qing could clearly sense that Luo Bing's spiritual energy was draining bit by bit. Although she remained calm, the pressure from the Formation was growing heavier, and Hua Zirong and the black-robed Cultivator were starting to go all out, no longer holding back.

In a little while longer, the situation would definitely shift.

Li Qing gripped the High Grade Talisman in his hand, his fingertips tightening slightly.

He was waiting—waiting for the most perfect moment to strike.

The moment Luo Bing showed signs of defeat and her aura faltered, he would immediately rush out and use this Talisman to break the Formation directly, catching them completely off guard.

When that happened, he would firmly secure this favor from Luo Bing.

Given Luo Bing's talent and status, this favor would be far more valuable than any Spirit Stones or Magic Treasures.

The wind grew colder and the battle intensified. Li Qing lightened his breathing even further, not relaxing his Spirit Concealment Art in the slightest. He completely dissolved into the darkness, like a hunter waiting for his prey to expose a weakness.

He was in no rush.

He had plenty of patience.

Meanwhile, Luo Bing was still fighting off the five Cultivators alone in the clearing. Her white dress remained unstained by dust, and her icy intent did not diminish, but everyone knew that if this war of attrition continued, she would eventually be unable to hold out.

The lecherous grin on Hua Zirong's face grew wider, the black-robed Cultivator's aura became colder, and the light from the three brothers' Formation Banners shone brighter and brighter.

The true moment of life and death was about to arrive.

Li Qing's gaze also sharpened bit by bit.