Chapter 480: Fu Xue Targeted

At Qingfeng Mountain.

Roughly two hours before Fu Xue called Ning Xueluo.

Fu Xue was traveling with Xu Ruochu, flying in a helicopter.

As the granddaughter of the Special Management Bureau’s director.

After leaving the ancient martial world, she was being escorted by helicopter from Tianyuan Town back to S City.

The helicopter, of course, was of the highest safety standards, with a negligible chance of malfunction—

But there’s always a “what if.”

While flying over Qingfeng Mountain.

For some unknown reason, all the electronic equipment on the helicopter malfunctioned.

Even the experienced pilot couldn’t figure out why and could only watch helplessly as the helicopter went down.

Fortunately, Fu Xue, Xu Ruochu, and the three other Special Management Bureau members onboard were all skilled martial artists.

So, although they sustained injuries, all five of them survived the crash without fatal consequences.

Now, on the desolate mountainside.

Standing before the burning wreckage of the helicopter, the Special Management Bureau members looked grim, thinking about how close they had come to death.

“Sister Xue, there’s something strange about this place.”

“Not only is there no cell signal, but even the satellite phone isn’t working.”

“I suspect the malfunction of the helicopter’s equipment is related to this!”

“……”

Fu Xue also sensed that something was off, so she could only give orders reluctantly.

“For now, let’s head to that village up ahead.”

“Let’s figure out exactly where we are first!”

With Fu Xue leading, the five of them began walking toward a distant village.

The village consisted of dozens of dilapidated wooden houses, appearing desolate and uninhabited.

“……Deserted…”

Moreover, there was still no signal here.

“That doesn’t make sense… even the satellite phone can’t connect…”

If the satellite phone couldn’t connect, it wasn’t due to equipment issues.

It was highly likely that the signal was being blocked.

“A signal blockage of this scale… is it caused by natural factors… or human interference…”

Unfortunately, none of the five were familiar with Qingfeng Mountain, so they couldn’t identify their location.

And although it was already past 9 a.m., the mountain was still shrouded in mist, making it even harder to navigate.

As the five stood uncertain about what to do.

“Creak—”

Suddenly, the sound of an old wooden door opening came from behind them.

Turning around, they saw an elderly man with kind eyes and white hair stepping out of one of the wooden houses.

He looked at them and asked slowly, “Dear guests, do you have business in our village?”

“……”

Fu Xue spoke up, “Elder, why is there no one in your village?”

“Oh, that’s because today is our village’s sacrificial ceremony, so everyone has gone out.”

“But this old man has bad legs and couldn’t go, so I stayed behind.”

Looking at Fu Xue, the old man smiled warmly:

“Come, come, come inside and sit.”

“In a little while, the villagers will return.”

“……”

“……”

By all appearances, the old man seemed perfectly ordinary.

“Hehe, dear guests, come inside and have a seat?”

But for some reason, despite his kind demeanor, Fu Xue felt an eerie sense of foreboding.

It was like a hunter locking onto its prey.

Moreover—

This abandoned village didn’t look inhabited at all.

A light breeze blew, and she shivered involuntarily.

A chilling sense of dread rose in her heart.

“No, no, I must be overthinking…”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world…”

“This place… must just be too poor, so the houses are run-down…”

Fu Xue tried to reassure herself, shaking her head as she declined the old man’s “kind offer.”

“Thank you, but we have other matters to attend to.”

“We need to leave!”

She motioned for the others to follow her and started to leave.

But the old man blocked their way.

“Hehe, don’t go!”

“You don’t know your way around here. Better to wait for the villagers to return!”

He fixed his gaze on Fu Xue, “Come inside, have a seat, and drink some tea!”

“……”

Fu Xue’s sense of foreboding grew stronger.

She quickly stepped forward, “Let’s go, now!”

“……”

Finally, seeing that Fu Xue wasn’t “listening,” the old man dropped his act.

Lowering his head, his voice turned sinister and low, “Hehehehe, if you won’t come in…”

“Then there’s no other choice…”

In the next instant, the old man raised his head again.

But now, his once-kind face had turned pitch black, with bulging veins clearly visible.

“?!”

“W-what is this?!”

As they watched, the old man suddenly floated into the air, his body swelling to several times its original size.

The five of them stared in shock, their eyes wide.

The now-enormous “old man” grinned wickedly, “Kehehehe, such delicious-looking young girls…”

Ignoring the others, it fixed its ravenous gaze solely on Fu Xue.

Then it lunged toward her.

“Hehehe, become my food!”

“Get lost!”

Instinctively, Fu Xue unleashed her full strength as a mid-transformation stage martial artist—

But it only managed to momentarily halt the creature’s advance.

“Damn it, what is this thing?!”

She could feel that her attack hadn’t been blocked by the creature but had passed right through its body.

Seeing its faintly translucent form, she immediately thought of the soul-body nine-tailed fox spirit Wang Haoran had captured.

Although this creature’s strength and aura were far inferior to Tushan Yingyu, it shared the same immunity to physical attacks.

It was a tough opponent.

Dodging another lunge from the creature, Fu Xue, realizing she couldn’t outrun it, grimly pulled out the protective charm her grandfather had given her.

“Grandfather’s true energy… I hope it works…”

But just as she was about to use it.

Suddenly—”Swish!”

A golden light flashed before her eyes.

“Ah—!!” The previously dominant creature clutched its face and let out a scream!

“What is this?!” Following the direction of the golden light, she saw a wooden sword embedded in the ground.

Then.

A young male voice called out from the distance:

“Foul creature!”

“With this Daoist here, you shall not harm anyone!”