Chapter 276: Fire Array (Part 1)

Chapter 276: Fire Array (Part 1)

The ethereal beauty's Cultivation was very high, so she could naturally make a rough estimate of Zhou Lang's Cultivation base based on his True Qi fluctuations.

Zhou Lang's Cultivation was far inferior to hers. She had thought she could easily bind him with a single lash of her whip, but she hadn't expected his staff techniques to be so exquisite that he actually broke her move and slipped away.

This came as a great surprise to her.

"Huh?"

The ethereal beauty muttered to herself and called out, "With your meager Cultivation, you actually think you can escape from me, Lin Chen? I, Lin Chen, cannot afford to lose face like that!"

With that, she shook her long whip again, and it swept toward Zhou Lang once more.

Although Zhou Lang was invisible, she could still accurately pinpoint his location. This was the difference in their Realms. If it were another Cultivator of a similar Realm to Zhou Lang, it would not have been easy to find him, as Zhou Lang's concealment skills were actually quite good.

The whip was extremely fast. Although Zhou Lang accelerated his escape, the whip quickly caught up to him and wound toward his neck. It was basically impossible for him to dodge it, so he had no choice but to swing his staff back to block the beautiful Lin Chen's long whip.

As staff and whip collided, their True Qi clashed.

This time, the ethereal beauty, Lin Chen, intensified her attack.

Although Zhou Lang blocked the whip, he was blown back quite a distance by the terrifying force transmitted through it.

"Your Cultivation is not high, but I didn't expect your Martial Skills to be so exquisite. However, I advise you to reveal yourself as soon as possible and explain your purpose for entering my Villa. Otherwise, I will have to use a lethal move!"

Seeing that she still hadn't captured Zhou Lang, Lin Chen's pretty face shifted, and her expression filled with Killing Intent.

"Beautiful lady, I have no intention of offending you. It's just that a friend of mine accidentally ruined her clothes in the sea, so I came here to borrow a set of clothes. I left money as compensation, so please forgive me."

Zhou Lang said while remaining on high alert. He wouldn't be foolish enough to actually reveal himself. Who knew what this woman would do to him?

Right now, Lin Chen at least had to lock onto his aura to sense his location before she could strike. If he revealed himself directly, Lin Chen could attack him at any moment without needing to search for him, and he would probably struggle to block even a few of her moves.

"You… you entered my bedroom? And opened my wardrobe?"

The anger on Lin Chen's face grew even more intense. She didn't care about the money, but her wardrobe contained all kinds of clothes, including her underwear. She was a pure and chaste girl; if her intimate garments had been touched and taken by a man, she would truly want to kill him.

"This…"

Zhou Lang stammered. He could already feel the rage radiating from Lin Chen and didn't know whether to tell the truth or lie.

"Young Miss, someone did enter your bedroom. A set of clothes was stolen, and one of your intimate garments was also taken. However, that person wrote a note and left five thousand yuan as compensation."

But right at this moment, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl leaped down from the fourth floor of the Villa and reported to Lin Chen.

Although the girl was very young, she wore denim clothes and looked like an action girl. Surprisingly, she had the Cultivation of a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

She was not a Cultivator, so she could not sense Zhou Lang's presence.

"Who on earth is this Lin Chen? Even a teenage sidekick of hers is a Martial Arts Grandmaster?"

While thinking that things were looking bad, Zhou Lang was also extremely shocked. He had a Martial Arts Grandmaster follower like the Poison Venerable, but the Poison Venerable was already a middle-aged man, whereas Lin Chen's young follower was so youthful. Her potential for development was undoubtedly far greater, and becoming a Cultivator was almost a certainty for her.

"You bastard! How dare you even take my intimate wear! Do you think leaving a note makes it okay? I must kill you today!" Hearing the young girl's words, Lin Chen's anger flared even more.

"Xiao Yu, catch."

This time, Lin Chen stopped attacking with the long whip. She threw the whip to her young follower, waved her hand, and twelve long arrows appeared out of thin air in her grasp.

Knowing things were bad, Zhou Lang moved and immediately fled.

Lin Chen threw the long arrows in her hand. The twelve long arrows flew out and stabbed into the ground, forming a large circle.

Before Zhou Lang could escape, he was trapped inside this circle, which was about two hundred meters in diameter.

Just as Zhou Lang wanted to rush out, a raging fire suddenly erupted within the circle formed by the twelve long arrows. A massive blaze surged toward him, like a beast baring its fangs and claws to devour him.

In his desperation, Zhou Lang's entire body surged with True Qi, which he instantly released outward, barely managing to resist the oncoming raging fire and keeping the flames from touching him.

Even so, he could still feel the scorching heat blasting against him, making him extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh no, Lin Chen knows Formations. I'm trapped inside a Fire Array."

Zhou Lang had already studied Formations to some extent; he just lacked the Cultivation to set one up for now. He immediately recognized that Lin Chen had deployed a Fire Array.

A Formation channels the energy of heaven and earth for the creator's use, possessing immense power. If he couldn't break out of the Formation today, he certainly wouldn't last long inside and would be burned alive.

"Lin Chen, the most poisonous thing is a woman's heart! I only took a set of your clothes and even left you money, yet you want to kill me. Isn't that a bit too vicious?"

Zhou Lang shouted at Lin Chen while trying to figure out a way to escape.

He had originally thought that getting a set of clothes for Ye Qingcheng would be a piece of cake, but he hadn't expected to run into a powerful Cultivator, putting his life in danger at any moment.

"Who told you not to reveal yourself and play invisible in front of me? I have no choice but to burn you to death. With your Cultivation, you definitely won't last ten minutes in this Array." Seeing Zhou Lang trapped, Lin Chen showed a smug expression and said, "If you show yourself, I might still spare your life."

"We are both Cultivators; you must keep your word."

Looking at the raging flames around him, Zhou Lang felt a wave of scorching heat and felt as if he was about to be roasted alive. He knew that even if he got out of the Fire Array, nothing good would be waiting for him, but as long as he broke out of the Formation, he could still think of a way. If he stayed inside, he would truly turn into a roasted pig.

"That depends on your attitude. If you come out obediently and apologize to me, I can spare your life," Lin Chen said coldly. Having taken control of everything, she felt that Zhou Lang was already a trapped rat.

"Fine, I'll show myself. Once I do, you must withdraw the Formation."

Zhou Lang thought about it and said. Then, he peeled off the Invisibility Talisman stuck to his body, instantly revealing himself before Lin Chen and Xiao Yu.

"Young Miss, he's a handsome young guy. Let's not burn him to death, okay?"

Xiao Yu looked at Zhou Lang with a trace of pity and pleaded with Lin Chen.

"Xiao Yu, you're good in every way, except you're too boy-crazy. This man is already twenty-three or twenty-four, yet his Cultivation is only at the Peak Qi Refining Stage. What kind of future can he have? A man needs to be strong so that he can support you on the path of Cultivation and be a true Fellow Daoist. What's the use of just having a nice-looking face?"

Lin Chen lectured Xiao Yu.

Being at the Peak Qi Refining Stage in one's early twenties was actually dismissed by her as having no talent. If anyone else heard this, would they spit blood in anger?

"I understand, Young Miss,"

Xiao Yu said aggrievedly. Although she said this, her beautiful eyes kept darting toward Zhou Lang from time to time. It seemed this teenage girl was indeed boy-crazy; she thought Zhou Lang was quite good-looking and couldn't bear to see him die.

"A man who steals women's clothes is not worthy of you. Although you are my attendant, you must still find an outstanding and powerful man."

Lin Chen continued. Judging from her words, she probably possessed a Heaven-Defying background.

"Lin Chen, I've revealed myself. Can you withdraw the Array now?" Seeing that Lin Chen was still lecturing Xiao Yu with no intention of letting him out, Zhou Lang couldn't help but grow anxious.

"What's your hurry? You won't burn to death just yet."

Lin Chen chuckled and waved her hand. The twelve arrows surrounding Zhou Lang instantly vanished without a trace, and the raging fire disappeared as well. It seemed Lin Chen possessed some kind of treasure like a Storage Ring.

Once the surrounding heat waves dissipated, Zhou Lang finally breathed a sigh of relief. By now, he was drenched in sweat. If another two or three minutes had passed, his clothes would probably have been scorched.

"What is your name? Why haven't you apologized to me yet?" Lin Chen looked at Zhou Lang, speaking in a completely condescending manner.

"Miss, I am Zhou Lang. As the saying goes, 'out of blows, friendship grows.' How about we just let this matter slide?"

Zhou Lang said. Encountering such a powerful woman, he could only sue for peace. Of course, he refused to admit defeat in his heart. If he had brought Xiao Xi with him, or once his Cultivation improved in the future, he would definitely settle today's score with Lin Chen.

"Zhou Lang, what do you mean 'out of blows, friendship grows'? Intimate wear is a girl's private property. You took my intimate wear. Unless you kneel down and apologize to me, I will gouge out your eyes and chop off your hands."

Lin Chen said, refusing to let the matter go.

"It's just a small matter, is this really necessary? We are both Cultivators, please show some grace, alright?"

Zhou Lang was completely speechless. This was the first time he had met such an overbearing woman, and to make matters worse, her strength was so formidable that she suppressed him completely.

"You say I have no grace? Do you want to experience my Fire Array again and taste what it's like to be a roasted pig?" Lin Chen's expression darkened as she spoke.

"Lin Chen, I indeed cannot defeat you, but if I truly want to escape, it might not be impossible," Zhou Lang said, his tone suddenly shifting, which caught Lin Chen by surprise.

"It seems you won't shed a tear until you see your coffin," Lin Chen sneered, making a move to set up the Formation again to trap Zhou Lang once more.

But this time, Zhou Lang changed his strategy. With a stir of his Divine Thought, he immediately entered his ancestral copper coin and vanished without a trace.

As a man, backbone was very important. If he knelt and apologized to Lin Chen, he could undoubtedly leave, but he could not bow his noble head. Since pleasant words had failed, he could only escape into the Qiankun Palace of his ancestral copper coin.

He wasn't very confident about whether hiding inside the ancestral copper coin was safe or if Lin Chen would discover him, because Lin Chen was likely a Cultivator at the Peak Foundation Establishment Stage, a full Realm higher than him and far more powerful.

But he could not bow his head to this woman. With no other choice, he could only take a risk and try.