"Take it easy, take it easy. Little Friend Taiping, please come inside first. We can discuss this matter after you have had your fill of food and drink."
Mr. Yashan said with a smile, waving his hand.
Xia Taiping shook his head, his gaze firm as he extended a hand and said,
Upon hearing these words, Mr. Yashan's face immediately darkened.
"Xia Taiping, don't refuse the wine and end up drinking the penalty wine. Inviting you to join the Cloud Tower Association is a sign of respect."
Mr. Yashan placed his hand on his abdomen, his tone full of threat as he looked at Xia Taiping.
The two pretty maids then closed the courtyard gate and stood behind Xia Taiping, one on each side, forming a surrounding posture.
"I have no interest in the Cloud Tower Association."
Xia Taiping shook his head, placing his previously raised hand on the long sword at his waist. The true qi in his dantian began to surge through his entire body like a raging river.
A powerful aura instantly spread throughout the small courtyard.
Xia Taiping's progress might not have been fast, but it was solid. Each strand of true qi in his body had been refined dozens of times, and his meridians were nourished by true qi every day.
Now, he was like a small but very hard stone.
At this moment, Mr. Yashan suddenly laughed heartily and said,
"Since Little Friend Taiping doesn't want to have this meal, I won't force it."
After saying this, he turned his head to look inside and continued,
"Old Qian, go bring out the little monkey and return it to Little Friend Taiping."
Upon hearing this, Xia Taiping frowned, looking at Mr. Yashan with some caution.
His intuition told him that things couldn't be this simple.
However, to Xia Taiping's surprise, from the moment Old Qian brought out the little monkey safely until he held it in his arms, Mr. Yashan did not show any abnormal behavior throughout.
"Little Friend Taiping, since you don't wish to stay, I won't see you off."
After returning the little monkey to Xia Taiping, Mr. Yashan smiled, clasped his hands in a salute, and then turned around and walked into the courtyard without looking back.
The little monkey clung to Xia Taiping's arm, somewhat nervously.
"It's fine now, let's go home."
Xia Taiping patted the little monkey, his expression returning to normal as he stepped toward the courtyard gate.
Before he reached the gate, the two maids smiled and bid farewell to Xia Taiping.
"Taiping, be careful behind you!"
At this moment, Fairy Lingyue's voice echoed in Xia Taiping's mind.
Without hesitation, Xia Taiping injected true qi into the golden bell talisman in his hand, and a golden bell-shaped light shield instantly enveloped his entire body.
Almost simultaneously, a sound like a bell ringing echoed.
Xia Taiping, who had already turned around, saw Mr. Yashan appear behind him, holding a sharp sword and thrusting it straight at him.
Upon closer inspection, the sword, enveloped in a sword aura, had already pierced through the golden bell shield and was almost touching Xia Taiping's body.
Xia Taiping was stunned, as he had just seen Yashan enter the house.
However, he clearly didn't have time to think about it. He suddenly pushed off the ground with his toes, causing the ground to indent, and his body shot backward.
Before his feet touched the ground, the two women, who had been smiling, suddenly pulled out short swords from their sleeves and stabbed at Xia Taiping from both sides.
Clearly, this was a pre-planned attack.
Xia Taiping crushed another golden bell talisman.
Because of his timely reaction, the golden bell talisman blocked the attack from the two women.
However, what made Xia Taiping feel somewhat chilled was that Yashan, who had just been chasing him, had now vanished in front of him.
When Xia Taiping saw Yashan again, he had already appeared behind him and was striking a palm at his back.
The force of this palm was extremely fierce, and the air blade formed by the palm energy, like a large sword several feet long, heavily struck the golden bell shield around Xia Taiping's body.
After just a few moments, the golden bell shield around Xia Taiping's body shattered again.
This low-grade golden bell talisman was a one-time use item and could hardly sustain the enemy's attack for long.
At the same time, Yashan disappeared again in front of him, and the two women once again stabbed at his back with their short swords, timing it perfectly.
Xia Taiping crushed another golden bell talisman.
He blocked the attack from the two maids again.
This was his last golden bell talisman, but he did not feel regret or panic. Instead, his eyes showed a hint of clarity.
Through the two attacks just now, he was certain that Mr. Yashan's disappearance was not due to fast movement but the use of some kind of invisibility device.
Even if you have an invisibility device, you must reveal yourself to kill me, right?
Xia Taiping thought this as he formed a circle with his index finger and thumb in his sleeve.
Sure enough, just as the golden bell shield blocked the attack from the two maids, Mr. Yashan's figure appeared again behind Xia Taiping, striking a palm at the already cracked golden bell shield.
A loud noise, and the golden bell shield shattered.
Seeing this, Mr. Yashan sneered, and the hand he had hidden behind his back, holding a long sword with a flashing sword aura, stabbed at Xia Taiping's back.
But just as his sword was about to strike, a sound of a gas explosion echoed through the mountains, and a wind wall barrier spread out from Xia Taiping's body.
This wind wall naturally came from Xia Taiping's Azure Phoenix Ring.
The wind wall was incredibly sturdy, causing Mr. Yashan's precious sword to break upon impact.
Mr. Yashan, terrified, was about to use his invisibility to escape, but Xia Taiping had already drawn his sword, and the steel long sword, carrying a whistling sword energy, slashed toward Mr. Yashan's neck.
Just as the sword was about to decapitate Mr. Yashan, a jade pendant flew out from Mr. Yashan's neck and quickly transformed into a shield.
Although the jade pendant shattered on the spot, Mr. Yashan finally got the chance to escape.
"Don't just stand there, attack together!"
Mr. Yashan, who had narrowly escaped, rolled and crawled away, shouting without regard for his dignity.
"Swish, swish, swish, swish..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of swords being drawn echoed from outside the courtyard, and four or five figures with strong aura fluctuations rolled into the courtyard, charging at Xia Taiping in unison.
Clearly, there were more ambushes within Peach Source Ridge.