Without any visible movement from him, the long sword being restrained suddenly split into seven indistinct, ghostly pale slashes like the forked strike of a venomous serpent!
The sword light resembled seven claw-like white bones that seemed to claw at the soul, carrying a bone-etching chill wind, fanning out to fiercely tear at every vital spot around Lu Qiancha’s body!
The angles were cunning and ruthless, cutting off every possible escape route!
Lu Qiancha’s body twisted into a distorted afterimage under the drive of the Yunhai Wandering Dragon Steps!
By the slimmest margin, he narrowly evaded two fatal strikes aimed directly at his heart and dantian!
Then, his fingers brushed over his Storage Bag, lightning-fast, pulling out a bottle filled with a thick, pure black potion.
Taking advantage of his backward momentum, he flicked his wrist sharply, hurling the bottle toward his opponent.
“Hmph, overestimating yourself.”
The Gray-Clad Man sneered in his heart, anger and surprise igniting into a violent rage fueled by the stubborn resistance of this mere ant.
“Condense Mountain! Don’t move!!!”
At the peak of the Divine Transformation, spiritual power swirled in his hand, and a massive ancient shield, three feet thick, pitch black and carved with countless intricate mountain patterns, appeared from thin air.
“This Divine-Pattern Shield was forged from the essence of the Cold Mountain refined over ten thousand years!”
“The divine patterns were inscribed by a Grandmaster Stage expert! Don’t say you, a mere Nascent Soul brat, even an ordinary Crossing Tribulation cultivator…”
The Gray-Clad Man’s arrogant declaration still echoed through the forest as the seemingly ordinary bottle smashed hard against the black shield with a sharp crack.
Pfft!
The bottle shattered on impact!
What followed was bizarre—the liquid inside did not scatter with the shards, but instantly vaporized, turning into a dense, sticky, foul-smelling poisonous cloud.
The toxic mist seemed alive; it ignored the imposing shield and, like maggots gnawing at bone, seeped right through it, suddenly lunging toward the Gray-Clad Man’s forearm.
“What—?!”
The Gray-Clad Man’s smug expression froze into pure horror as a cold sensation spread along his arm, then an excruciating pain burst forth like a tidal wave.
Sizzle!
The chilling sound of corrosion was clear!
The sleeve and flesh touched by the poison mist seemed to be devoured by an invisible beast, rapidly melting and rotting before their eyes until only a horrifying blackened skeleton remained.
Before the Gray-Clad Man could even catch his breath, another bottle was hurled at him like an arrow.
His face paled, preparing to dodge with a burst of movement, but suddenly a long spear sliced through the air.
Pfft!
The spear pierced his chest, killing him instantly.
Without hesitation, Lu Qiancha drew out a Soul Collecting Pearl from his Storage Bag and smashed it onto the corpse.
The pearl spun lightly in midair, absorbing a barely perceptible wisp of faint green light. In an instant, not even a trace of lingering soul remained, utterly dissipated into the world.
He reached out and retrieved the Soul Collecting Pearl along with the Gray-Clad Man’s Storage Bag.
Then, with a subtle movement of his spiritual sense, the spear planted in the ground hummed, shooting like an arrow into the nearby bushes, striking a lurking Black Armored Beetle.
A crisp crack rang out as the beetle exploded into fragments.
Picking up the Demon Cube dropped on the ground and just about to leave, a voice suddenly whispered in Lu Qiancha’s ear.
“Xiao Qiancha, wouldn’t it be a pity to let such pure Ling Power go to waste?”
The voice of Canxin echoed inside Lu Qiancha’s mind.
“Let me absorb it, and I can share some benefits with you.”
“Forget it. I’d rather not use such demonic means unless absolutely necessary.”
Lu Qiancha replied calmly. His cultivation had advanced too quickly; his foundation was unstable, like walking on clouds with the risk of falling into an abyss at any moment.
“Heh,” Canxin scoffed arrogantly, “Who told you Ling Power is only for raising your realm? Pouring it into your magic tools can greatly enhance their power!”
Lu Qiancha was slightly surprised at this. Strengthening his magic tool? This time she was serious.
“How exactly do I do that?”
He restrained his expression and asked. Such a guaranteed gain was definitely worth the effort.
“Just stab my sword blade into that corpse.”
Canxin chuckled and instructed.
Lu Qiancha complied, summoning the heavily rusted long sword. Clasping it with both hands, he steadily plunged the tip downward into the corpse’s chest.
Hum—
A sudden strange phenomenon appeared! Countless shimmering lights flickered above the corpse as if drawn by an invisible force, swiftly converging toward the Demon Cube in Lu Qiancha’s hand.
The runes on the cube’s surface lit up repeatedly with a faint glow, flickering several times before gradually settling back to normal.
Lu Qiancha immediately extended his spiritual sense to carefully probe.
The cube’s structure and material seemed unchanged, but… its internal channels were far clearer now.
The cooldown interval was shortened. Where before the Demon Cube could only be activated once every four hours, it now required just three and a half hours.
Hmm, quite a substantial improvement.
Lu Qiancha’s fingertips brushed the smooth surface of the cube, a trace of satisfaction flashing across his eyes.
Combined with the resources from this person’s background, even if he didn’t collect any herbs on this trip, the harvest was already considerable.
From the memories collected by the Soul Collecting Pearl, Lu Qiancha learned much about these people’s goals and arrangements.
The assassin who attacked him was named Zhanjiu, a Grandmaster Stage cultivator near the peak of Huan Shen, hired with spirit stones as a ruthless cultivator specialized in dirty work.
The reason for the attack was to seize the Message Talisman on Lu Qiancha’s person, intending to lure Xuanmo Shigu here.
Once Xuanmo Shigu arrived, this group planned to strike Baiyan and Zhuangyang, using them as bait to trap Xuanmo Shigu in a Formation Trap….and their true target was none other than the Sixth Princess of some kingdom—Shangguan Yunzhu.
However, their goal wasn’t to kill Shangguan Yunzhu. The elaborate scheme seemed designed to achieve a far more sinister purpose.
Judging from the fragments of the assassin’s memories, the mastermind behind it all seemed to be either her kind-hearted junior brother Qingfeng, or some secular force behind Qingfeng.
Lu Qiancha’s lips curled slightly as he thought, “You really can’t judge a person by their face. This ‘warm guy’ is warm only on the surface, not at heart.”
But all this was unrelated to her. Her mission had never changed—still to obtain the main ingredient of the Rebirth Pill—the Essence-Returning Fruit.
As for their plot to frame Xuanmo Shigu…
Such an elaborate scheme to lure Xuanmo Shigu into a trap clearly showed they dared not face her head-on.
Lu Qiancha had no reason to worry about her.
***
At the Donghai Coast, on a stretch of sandy beach, hundreds of disciples were locked in fierce battle with Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals relentlessly surging from the sea.
Behind several huge reefs at one corner of the battlefield, a few Qi Refining stage disciples formed hand seals, rushing to support several senior brothers and sisters charging ahead.
But all their gazes were drawn to a graceful figure standing not far away.
Gantang raised her delicate hand, gently pouring droplets of crystalline medicinal liquid from a milky-white porcelain bottle.
A strand of pure Ling Power drifted out softly, caressing the scattered liquid droplets.
In an instant, the liquid transformed into a dense, ink-black mist that rolled toward a dozen Shrimp Demons charging forward.
The Shrimp Demons instantly slowed, as if trapped in an invisible quagmire. No matter how they struggled, their movements became sluggish, as though trudging through heavy mud.
Gantang lifted a short sword and floated forward, striking down each demon precisely, piercing their Alchemic Cores with elegance befitting a fairy.
Before long, she spun around and floated back to her original position, awaiting the next wave of the tide, completely unaware that she had already become the focus of many fellow disciples’ gazes.
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