Chapter 683: 683 fellow disciples
The six Foundation Establishment cultivators realized they were deceived, but they still thought Tan Shaoting was just a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator. Even if there was some array, they could easily capture him.
"Dad, you must be careful."
"Hmm, no matter what happens, don’t go out. Do you understand?"
The three children all nodded.
"I said, no matter what happens." Tan Shaoting solemnly reaffirmed. After speaking, he went out.
This Fifth-rank Array Plate integrates a Trapping Array, Killing Array, and Illusion Array. Therefore, the six Foundation Establishment cultivators inside were very uncomfortable.
They had just had a skirmish, and after Tan Shaoting saw it, he decided to leave the array.
He first released a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who was the most seriously injured.
This way, he could conserve spiritual power and achieve a swift victory, which was most advantageous for him.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator had been in the environment just now. After coming out, he was still in a daze and hadn’t reacted yet when Tan Shaoting’s sword had already pierced through his dantian.
The second sword quickly ended the fight. Tan Shaoting didn’t expect it to go so smoothly.
Without delay, he collected the storage bag and buried him underground.
The second one released was also unclear about his injuries. Such a Foundation Establishment cultivator must have some background; after all, their abilities were among the weakest of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
With the same operation as the first, Tan Shaoting had not yet exhausted his spiritual power. After settling two, the third and fourth were relatively easy.
But the remaining two were not so easy to deal with. Tan Shaoting was thinking of a way; the Divine Sense Attack could only be used once, so it had to be saved for the last one.
Because that Foundation Establishment cultivator was indeed very strong. Tan Shaoting’s sneak attack on the fifth cultivator was unsuccessful, and they fought against each other.
In this confrontation, Tan Shaoting was injured. The three children inside the array were very tense. They held hands tightly, watching outside nervously. Seeing their father injured, the three children’s eyes were filled with tears.
"Why do we have to go through this? We haven’t hurt anyone?" Qi Wen was very angry.
Qi Yan pulled his sister’s hand, unsure how to comfort her.
The two fought for nearly an hour, but in the end, Tan Shaoting barely won.
Now he had nothing to worry about. He directly drank two cups of Spiritual Spring Water but didn’t return inside the array. He needed to restore his spiritual power immediately.
Now they were outside, and moreover, the four of them were being pursued. Having no spiritual power was very dangerous.
When half of his spiritual power was back, Tan Shaoting entered the array again.
He was worried about the children and wanted to reassure them, especially since his Divine Sense had sensed someone coming again.
So for the Foundation Establishment cultivator inside the array, a Divine Sense Attack would inevitably be needed.
"Dad." The three children rushed over.
"It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t worry. There’s one more left for me to handle. More people have come outside."
The three children remained silent. They were afraid of disturbing their father.
Tan Shaoting looked at the cautious cultivator inside the array and directly launched a Divine Sense Attack.
Seeing him collapse, he quickly exited the array, then gave him another sword strike to thoroughly resolve it. He then took out a storage bag to collect the individuals inside the array.
Inside the array, it’s really impossible to bury these people underground.
Once everything was organized, Tan Shaoting re-entered the array. He needed to recover quickly as the others were arriving soon.
He put away the outside Fifth-rank Array Plate; they couldn’t break this array, which also bought him some time.
The ones coming over were three Foundation Establishment and five Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators.
The eight people stopped at a distance.
"Junior Brother Tan, I am Zheng He from Sword Three Peak of the Shushan Sect. I mean no harm. You rest inside; leave the outside to us."
Tan Shaoting didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t know how to respond to such matters. Although they were all from the Shushan Sect, he couldn’t wholly trust them.
The three children formed a protective stance around their father.
Zheng He and the others sat outside the array in a protective posture as well.
After about an hour, Tan Shaoting’s spiritual power had been restored. "You three stay inside and wait for me. I’m going outside to take a look."
"Dad, can we trust them?"
"We’ll know once we go outside and take a look. Still the same, no matter what happens, don’t go out."
After receiving affirmation from the three children, he exited the array.
As Tan Shaoting emerged, Zheng He ended his meditation and stood up.
"Junior Brother Tan."
"Uncle Master."
"No need to be so polite. Have you recovered now?"
"Yes, I’m all good, thanks for protecting me, Uncle Master."
"No need to mention it. We are all from the Shushan Sect and should watch out for each other.
Are you also heading to the auction, Junior Brother Tan?"
"Yes, taking the three children to see the world a bit."
"Then let’s go together. This way, we can look out for one another."
"Thank you, Uncle Master. Excuse me for a moment, the three kids got a bit frightened, and they’re cultivating now. They should soon be done."
Zheng He nodded, understanding. He had also heard about the triplets, despite their young age, one had already caught the eye of the Peak Master of Sword One Peak to be taken as a closed-door disciple.
Tan Shaoting apologized and then re-entered the array. Soon, he dismantled the array and came out with the three children.
The three little ones had been in the sect for over half a year, so they were familiar with some of its customs.
Thus, the three children politely greeted the three Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, as well as the five Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators.
"Alright, let’s set off. With our group now, generally no one dares to make a move."
Foundation Establishment cultivators could use Sword Flight, while the remaining five Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators were divided to accompany the three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Tan Shaoting didn’t quite like this arrangement, so he released a Flying Boat.
After asking the five Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, they didn’t board the Flying Boat.
"Dad, does that mean no one will come to trouble us now?"
"Not necessarily, but this is one of the benefits of belonging to a sect. They’ll certainly be wary of the Shushan Sect."
Come nightfall, they would disembark to rest, while during the day, the three children organized the eleven storage bags they’d obtained in the Flying Boat.
Foundation Establishment cultivators are indeed wealthy; this time, they acquired over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones alone, as well as numerous medicinal herbs, demon beasts, and several array plates—though only of the Third Rank, they still require a lot of Spirit Stones to buy.
"Dad, this time at the auction, we probably won’t need to spend our own money."
"Good items can be extremely expensive."
"Dad, we don’t really need anything fancy."
"Hmm, no need to skimp. If you like something, just let me know."
The more sensible the children were, the more distressed Tan Shaoting felt. These were treasures raised with care by his wife, now with him, he felt he had truly wronged them.