Chapter 20 – Midnight Misadventures (Gone Awry)

A few days later, the sect initiated a lockdown to search for a "thief", yet after finding no lead, they forgot about it.

The sect deacons figured, a few outer disciples, what would their treasures amount to?

But what they didn't know is that, a mighty artifact was stolen from one of the disciples.

Dong Fang, of the Dong clan, a mid-class clan, being its Young Master, he would of course have some treasures.

But this particular treasure was one where he exhausted all the luck he had and he'd ever have.

And right now, he's planning on his suicide…

"Did you hear the sect's going on some tournament trip for a few days?" Ye Meng said, strolling into their usual meeting spot looking as disheveled as ever.

Xin Yang laughed. "Looks like our resident playboy's been busy again." He ruffled Ye Meng's hair, eliciting an annoyed swat. "But if the sect's really leaving, this could be our chance. We've been planning to sneak in and 'borrow' a few artifacts from their vault."

"With your void steps and Bai Lihua's illusions, we could slip right in and out before anyone's the wiser," Ye Meng said.

Bai Lihua nodded. "As long as we're careful. The sect master usually stays behind and leaves a deputy in charge. But if we time it right, most of the disciples will be gone too busy celebrating their win to notice us."

"Then it's settled," Xin Yang said, eyes glinting with determination. "Tonight, we make history as the first to rob a sect's vault!"

The trio laughed, already reminiscing about the shocked faces sure to greet them upon the sect's return. Little did they know far more than a few forgotten artifacts awaited them, or the chain of events their mischief would set into motion...

The moonlight cast an eerie glow over the sect as the trio crept toward its outer perimeter.

"You sure your illusions will hold?" Ye Meng muttered, aura-sense straining for any flicker of discovery.

Bai Lihua scoffed. "Just be ready to grab Yang if his clumsy void steps give us away."

"Hey, I heard that!"

They bickered in hushed voices, more out of habit than real annoyance. After so many heists together, they worked like a well-oiled machine.

Bai Lihua spun illusions to cloak them while Xin Yang unraveled the perimeter formations. Ye Meng kept watch, but not even his sharp senses could pierce the mist of confusion Bai Lihua wrought. The guards merely yawned and rubbed their eyes, blithely oblivious to the intruders strolling past.

The trio crept through the forbidden sector under Bai Lihua's illusions. At last they reached the vault, a formation glimmering across its entrance. With a whispered incantation, Xin Yang performed the Divine Void Steps and slipped inside.

For a moment they could only stare, dazzled by the trove of riches. Rare spirit stones and shining artifacts filled shelf after shelf. unlabeled pills undoubtedly of godly origin were heaped in jars.

With a gesture, Xin Yang opened his void realm and the "servants"--shadowy extensions of his will--set to work tossing everything inside. In minutes the vault was stripped bare, not a speck of dust remaining.

"Phase one complete," Xin Yang said with a grin. "Now for the alchemy elder's stash..."

Before departing, he left a parting gift: a talisman primed with a bit of Ye Meng's corrosive aura, set to detonate in minutes. The explosion would serve as perfect distraction for their next target.

An alarmed cry rang out as the talisman erupted, drawing all eyes to the ravaged vault. The trio seized the chance to slip up the peak housing the alchemy elder's residence. While Bai Lihua and Ye Meng plundered the medicinal field, Xin Yang rifled through the house, looting everything of worth. As the richest man in the sect, the alchemy elder's trove of treasures was nothing short of stupendous.

Phase two complete.

Stepping outside, they gaped at the ruin of the medicinal field. Plants were haphazardly uprooted, soil spilled across winding paths.

Xin Yang pinched his brow with a pained smile. "Just how did you two manage to butcher harvesting so thoroughly?"

Bai Lihua sniffed. "These were herbs. Some were even high-grade."

At that, Xin Yang's expression suggested she might be a brain-dead horse. Deciding silence the wiser course, he shook his head and strode off. "We should move before the sect locks down."

Bai Lihua wove illusions to conceal their trail, but if the enraged sect master thought to turn his strength their way... A soul transformation cultivator was a force to daunt even Xin Yang's courage. Power like a natural calamity, enough to rend heaven and earth.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a roar shook the peaks. "Stay where you are!"

Pressure slammed the trio as they spat blood in unison. Barely could they cling to thought, let alone movement.

All but Xin Yang, veteran of a "saint's" might. With haste he flung Bai Lihua and Ye Meng into his void realm, narrowly spiriting himself away in turn with the void steps. Though the sect master gave chase, threat of death and a supreme one's might proved catalyst for insight: the void steps attained major accomplishment, traversing fifty miles in an instant's breath.

Nor did Xin Yang stop there, drawing on the dregs of spiritual energy to fracture space and bolt who knew how far. As consciousness faded, he found himself caught in a steadying hold, but by whom, or to what end, mysteries awaiting awakening...