My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 205: Killing the Donkey Before the Mill Stops

Han Feiyu stopped in his tracks, pointing at the protective barrier with a grave expression.

“This barrier is the final shield protecting the core area of the Master’s dwelling. My sister and I have attempted to breach it many times, but our combined strength couldn’t shake it in the slightest. This Restriction is peculiar; not only is its defense astonishing, but it also possesses a powerful backlash ability. If an attack fails to break it in one blow, the Restriction triggers a counterattack, rebounding the force with multiplied intensity. Furthermore, the barrier itself strengthens instantly, making subsequent attempts even harder. This is why we needed to gather so many Fellow Daoists to strike together.”

He swept his gaze across the group, his tone serious.

“In a moment, everyone must attack with full force, concentrating your power on a single point! Remember, hold nothing back! Any hesitation could be fatal. If the combined force fails to reach the critical threshold, the backlash will be unimaginable, and the barrier will only grow stronger!”

“Last time, my sister and I attacked recklessly, which caused the defense to harden. We cannot repeat that mistake! Everyone must exert their absolute limit!”

He emphasized the last few words heavily.

Hearing this, Liu Mubai, Mo Xiuyuan, and the Han cousins—Meng and Lin—nodded solemnly, their expressions tense. Even the arrogant Mo Xiuyuan dared not underestimate a legendary ancient Restriction.

Chen Ping stood to the side, silently listening to Han Feiyu’s explanation. His eyes were calm, betraying nothing.

He found the situation strange, but he kept his suspicions hidden.

However, as Han Feiyu spoke, Chen Ping noticed several extremely subtle movements—tells that he had seen many times before. They were the subconscious gestures people made when lying.

For example, when Han Feiyu mentioned the “backlash ability,” his right index finger unconsciously brushed against the wing of his nose.

A classic sign of guilt.

And when he emphasized “must attack with full force,” Han Jingying, standing slightly behind him, darted a quick glance toward the jagged rocks on the left before immediately retracting her gaze.

She was avoiding eye contact, afraid her true intentions would be exposed.

Furthermore, the frequency of their eye movements was slightly faster than usual.

In this context, these were definitive signs of deception.

Chen Ping enjoyed observing human behavior. Over time, he had developed his own method of reading people, and his instincts were rarely wrong—eight or nine times out of ten, he was close to the truth.

Of course, the Han siblings’ movements were incredibly subtle. If not for Chen Ping’s superior observational skills and inherent vigilance, he would have missed the clues entirely.

To ordinary people—or even the other cultivators present—Han Feiyu’s explanation and demeanor seemed perfectly reasonable.

But to Chen Ping, their acting appeared somewhat immature.

After saying so much, they were deliberately concealing key information. Han Feiyu glossed over the real dangers while waxing poetic about the potential rewards to bewitch the group.

The Han siblings were masters of manipulation. Against hundred-year-old Foundation Establishment veterans, their rhetoric might have failed. But against this group of youngsters, none over 30, their words were lethally effective.

This Restriction… after being attacked, I’m afraid it won’t just ‘strengthen its defense.’

Or perhaps… this isn’t a Restriction at all. It’s a meticulously laid killing trap.

“Alright, everyone, get ready!”

Han Feiyu’s voice interrupted Chen Ping’s thoughts.

He pointed to a spot on the barrier that was slightly darker than the rest, swirling slowly like a vortex.

“Concentrate your attacks here! According to my investigation, this is the weakest point! Wait for my command!”

The others extended their Divine Sense to investigate. Sure enough, the defensive energy at that specific node felt thinner than elsewhere.

Everyone immediately focused, mobilizing their True Essence to the peak. Dharma Artifacts glowed, and Arts began to gather.

Lightning flickered in Mo Xiuyuan’s palm. Runes lit up on Liu Mubai’s folding fan. Han Meng and Han Lin summoned their artifacts, and the Han siblings assumed stances of full power.

“Three! Two! One! Attack!”

Han Feiyu shouted sharply.

Instantly, beams of light and torrents of Arts in various colors roared like furious dragons, carrying enough power to tear the air apart as they blasted toward the vortex node.

Mo Xiuyuan’s Palm Lightning, Liu Mubai’s golden sword qi, the Han brothers’ pillars of fire and wind blades, and the Han siblings’ sword lights and Talismans all converged.

And Chen Ping? He “exerted himself to the utmost” to activate a second-grade Middle Grade flying sword, shooting out a cyan sword beam that perfectly mimicked the full-force strike of a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After all, on the surface, that was exactly what he was. It was only natural for his attack to be weak.

Boom!!!

A deafening roar exploded in the valley!

The violent collision of Arts and artifacts slammed into the vortex node. The barrier dented deeply, twisting and distorting as its light flickered madly, emitting a groan as if unable to bear the load.

Just as everyone thought the Restriction was about to break, a sudden change occurred!

The vortex node erupted with a blinding, eye-searing light.

As the barrier issued the unbearable sound of cracking, it also emitted a terrifying, low hum—like an ancient beast awakened from its slumber in a rage.

The Restriction didn’t break. Instead, it rebounded the damage.

The cultivators’ full-force attacks surged back along their original trajectories with multiplied ferocity!

The speed was far beyond anyone’s reaction time. The force returned so quickly that no one had time to deploy proper defenses.

Chen Ping, however, had raised his vigilance to the extreme the moment the attack was launched.

His “full-force” sword beam was already the weakest of the group, containing the least True Essence. When the mountain-collapsing backlash surged back, he “perfectly” controlled the strength of his protective spiritual light, making it “barely” reach the defensive standard of a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed.

Chen Ping felt as if an invisible giant hammer had struck his chest. He “coughed up” a mouthful of blood—in reality, merely a bit of stagnant blood forced out by reversing his True Essence.

His body flew backward uncontrollably, tumbling a full dozen zhang away before crashing “clumsily” to the ground. He struggled for a moment before barely propping himself up, his face “pale as paper,” his aura “withered and weak.”

He looked severely injured, on the verge of death.

Of course, it was all an act.

His heart, however, was ice-cold.

These Han siblings are truly cunning. They plot against people down to the bone.

However, one thing puzzled him.

Why kill the donkey before the mill has stopped?

The treasure hadn’t been obtained yet. Why were they in such a hurry to eliminate their pawns? Didn’t the cannon fodder still have value? Why silence them before even entering the legacy site?

While Chen Ping sank into contemplation…

The others were in a truly miserable state.