"Alright so does anyone have any questions before I tell you the plan?" Su Jia asked.

Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa shook their heads.

They were currently hiding out in a forest three kilometers from the outpost. While three kilometers was a relatively far distance to mortals. To cultivators, it was considered extremely short.

To Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa's surprise, Su Jia was incredibly punctual when it came to waking up in the morning. When they got up, she was already outside scouting the area for patrols.

Seeing this shift in work ethic, Yin Hui's opinion of Su Jia increased slightly. Perhaps she was more diligent then he originally thought.

"Our primary objective is to take out the leader of the outpost and his second in command. Once they are out of the way, the rest of the operation will be easy."

"Easy for you, assuming you aren't near death after fighting those two." Yin Hui retorted.

"Unlike you, I am very considerate of the people around me. That is why I prepared this in advance."

Su Jia held her hand out and opened her palm. A small ball of qi the size of an apple emerged, containing a complex array of circles and symbols within.

"This is a spell formation!" Yu Zhuwa gasped.

"That's right. This spell formation has the power to suppress all those with cultivations below peak Spirit Manifestation. Of course, I adjusted it so that you two would be unaffected."

Yin Hui's eyes widened.

"Formations like this really exist? I had no idea such a thing was possible! How did you do this?!"

Su Jia laughed.

"Haha! So you finally see me as a respected senior now? Tell you what, if you kneel before me, I'll let you hold it in your hand and experience it for a bit."

Yin Hui did not hesitate and immediately got on his knees. He even lowered his head and clasped his hands.

Yu Zhuwa looked at Yin Hui with a confused expression. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't imagine a situation where Yin Hui would act in such a subservient manner the way he was now.

On the other hand, a massive grin had formed on Su Jia's face. She was delighted. Seeing the normally cold and detached Yin Hui bow before her in utter reverence was a very satisfying feeling.

"Ah, that's more like it. Since you were so nice about it here you go. Just be sure to keep it stable so you don't accidentally activate it." Su Jia passed over the ball of qi containing the spell formation to Yin Hui.

When he received the formation, Yin Hui began to examine it as if it were the most precious gem in the world. He was like a deranged fanatic, analyzing the ball of qi at various angles and even sniffing it.

The confusion in Yu Zhuwa's face grew as he continued to spectate Yin Hui's strange behavior.

"Did Big Brother Yin Hui go crazy? Maybe this is just an after effect from being in the caves for so long." Yin Hui's antics were just getting too bizarre for Yu Zhuwa. It was as if he was looking at an entirely different person.

After a few more moments, Su Jia took back the spell formation.

"Okay that's enough. If you like this formation so much, I can pass you the instructions to make your own after everything is over."

"I'll hold you to that." Yin Hui replied solemnly. When the spell formation left his hand, Yin Hui's eccentric demeanor vanished and he returned to his normal self.

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Putting the formation away, Su Jia took out a dozen paper talismans from her bag of holding. She divided them equally and distributed them to Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa.

"These talismans have been enchanted with a spell that will create a massive explosion when activated. They can cause great damage to structures and buildings, but will not affect cultivators. Use them to cause a distraction while I sneak in and confront the leader. After I'm done, I will activate the formation and you two can flee to the Storm Province."

"Sounds good. We'll head to the front gate now to set up an attack. Xiao Yu, let's--"

Boom~

One of the talismans in Yu Zhuwa's hands exploded. The force produced by the talisman uprooted every single tree within a fifty meter radius and sent them flying into the air.

Outside the outpost castle, countless guards flinched as the sound of a massive explosion filled their ears.

"What was that?"

"An enemy attack?"

"It came from the forest! Send a patrol to investigate!"

Click~

The castle doors opened and a squad of four cultivators emerged from the castle. These cultivators were not weak either, with each of them possessing early Spirit Manifestation cultivation.

"To think that we are still being sent out on patrol duty despite being Spirit Manifestation cultivators."

"Perhaps this will be the last. After all, we just broke through not too long ago."

They were about to fly out towards the direction of the explosion, but stopped when they heard a pair of heavy footsteps approach them from behind. A middle aged man with a very ferocious looking face came out and joined the squad of Spirit Manifestation cultivators.

The guards standing outside gasped in shock.

"It's Lord Kai! What is he doing out here?"

"Is the situation really so severe that Lord Kai has to take action?"

While the four cultivators were considered strong in comparison to most in the outpost, Lord Kai was in an entirely different class of his own. That was because unlike the others, he was not an early Spirit Manifestation cultivator, but a peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator!

"Lord Kai. With all due respect, we are fully capable of investigating this matter on our own. There is no need for you to get involved." One of the Spirit Manifestation cultivators said.

"That's right. It is probably just another minor band of rogue cultivators. There is no need for you to dirty your hands with such a lowly task." Another added.

Lord Kai raised his hand.

"This was a personal order from the overseer himself. Are you questioning the orders of our leader?"

The two Spirit Manifestation cultivators who spoke earlier immediately lowered their heads.

"Forgive us Lord Kai. We did not know that this was an order from Lord Overseer."

"Indeed, we apologize for our ignorance."

Lord Kai scoffed, but did not reprimand the two cultivators further.

"For a band of rogue cultivators to get this close to the castle undetected is already enough cause for alarm. The strongest patrol squads we have in our ranks are lead by early Spirit Manifestation cultivators. If they could not detect the intruders then it is likely that we are dealing with an enemy with at least mid-stage Spirit Manifestation power."

The four early Spirit Manifestation cultivators took in a breath of cold air when they heard this. They felt extremely fortunate that they did not take off ahead of time. If it truly was a mid-stage Spirit Manifestation cultivator they were dealing with, then they would simply be walking into their graves. That was because despite possessing Spirit Manifestation cultivation, they did not manifest their ethereal spirits yet. The ethereal spirit was a key component of a Spirit Manifestation cultivators power. In fact, if all four of them were to face an early Spirit Manifestation cultivator with an ethereal spirit, none of them would stand a chance even if they were working together.

"Now that I am here, it no longer matters if it is a mid or even late stage Spirit Manifestation cultivator. Come, I want to see who would dare attack an outpost entrusted to us by the great Tang Clan!"

"Yes!"

With Lord Kai leading the way, the five of them took to the skies and flew in the direction of the explosion.

Back in the forest, Yu Zhuwa was repeatedly kowtowing to Yin Hui and Su Jia.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know integrating some of my qi into the talisman was going to activate it!"

Yin Hui sighed. He knew Yu Zhuwa was clumsy, but he didn't expect him to screw up this badly so soon.

Su Jia on the other hand, seemed to be taking it even worse. Her face tightened and she seemed to be trying her hardest not to lash out at Yu Zhuwa for his mistake. She was about to speak when all of a sudden she jerked her head to the side with a look of shock on her face.

"Su Jia what's wrong?" Yin Hui noticed Su Jia's change in expression and felt a bit of concern.

"The enemy has discovered us! There are five cultivators heading in our direction!"

"What? Who are they?"

"There are four early Spirit Manifestation cultivators and the last... Peak Spirit Manifestation! It's the leader's right hand man!"

Su Jia cursed under her breath. While these cultivators were of no issue to her, it was a big problem for Yin Hui and Yu Zhuwa. With a portion of her soul missing, she could not handle a peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator and protect the both of them at the same time.

However, there was no trace of panic on Yin Hui's face. Instead, the corners of his mouth arched up into a small grin.

"Su Jia, ignoring the four early Spirit Manifestation cultivators, can you prevent the leader's right hand man from getting anywhere near the two of us?"

Su Jia nodded her head.

"Of course, why?"

"Then there is nothing to worry about. I can take out the other four myself."