“Hey! Are you done talking?”
At this moment, the Foundation Establishment stage Evil Cultivator leader was already growing impatient.
“I originally thought it would be some Foundation Establishment cultivator, someone I should be wary of, but it turned out to be a Qi Refining Seventh Layer—hmpf, and a crippled one with a damaged Spirit Sea at that.”
He glanced disdainfully at Dongfang Xiaotian and said, “Everyone, attack together. Make sure he’s completely ruined. Don’t give him a chance to cause trouble!”
With that, the Evil Cultivator leader led all his underlings rushing towards Dongfang Xiaotian!
Though his words were full of contempt, his attitude was extremely cautious, showing no intention of holding back.
A Qi Refining Seventh Layer, especially one with a damaged Spirit Sea, definitely couldn’t be a Talisman Cultivator or Sword Cultivator.
In fact, Sword Cultivation originally branched off from Talisman Cultivation. But because Sword Cultivation was too strong, easy to practice, and had unique traits, it became a separate cultivation path.
Still, both shared a “common root,” as they both relied on spiritual energy.
The main difference was that Talisman Cultivators primarily cultivated the Five Elements’ power, while Sword Cultivators centered their training around the sword itself.
Talisman Cultivators were more comprehensive, while Sword Cultivators excelled in the art of killing. Both used the same kind of energy—spiritual energy.
For cultivators like Tushan Bingxian, a Talisman Cultivator, their dependence on spiritual energy was the most severe.
Next were the Sword Cultivators, who also relied on spiritual energy. Without spiritual energy, both were practically useless.
In other words, if this young man in front really belonged to either of these two paths, then with his spiritual energy blocked, his strength was capped.
Even if he was a prodigy, his power wouldn’t surpass Foundation Establishment.
If he was a fragile Sword Cultivator, that would be ideal. If a more versatile Talisman Cultivator, then there was no way he could withstand simultaneous attacks from multiple directions.
If he was a side path like an Array Master or Talisman Cultivator, he would have to raise his spiritual talismans.
Within ten meters would be their death line, and the moment he raised his hand to cast, that would be his end.
In short, the cultivation system determined the opponent’s ceiling, and his low cultivation level only magnified his weaknesses.
The Evil Cultivator sneered coldly. What did he have to lose?
“Hoh, this Evil Cultivator has some brains.”
Dongfang Xiaotian was a bit surprised.
Whether it was the last Evil Cultivator team they encountered, who was clearly late Foundation Establishment but still used bait tactics against seemingly weak teams, or the Evil Cultivator leader before him now, both struck at him with lightning-fast attacks the moment they realized he lacked direct combat power.
The distance between them was less than ten meters—a distance a Qi Refining cultivator could cover in under a second, and even faster for a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
If it were an unprepared Third Rank or lower Talisman Cultivator, they’d be subdued the moment they tried to take out their talisman during the spellcasting’s pre-motion.
But the problem was…
“I’m just crippled, not dead.”
As he spoke, Dongfang Xiaotian grabbed the blade of a sword slashing at him with a speed they couldn’t comprehend, then smashed it into several other Evil Cultivators even faster!
The Evil Cultivator leader noticed the sudden change and raised his weapon to block, but was knocked back several meters by the sheer brutal force.
His face immediately darkened. In just an instant, several of his Qi Refining cultivators were smashed into bloody pulp.
The Evil Cultivator leader’s mind went blank for a moment before he realized—this was a Body Cultivator!
Also known as “Cross Training.”
This was a rather obscure cultivation system. If other cultivation paths were “boring,” then Body Cultivation was “deadly” and expensive.
One wrong move meant broken bones or torn tendons; one slip could damage internal organs. Apart from Poison Cultivators, Body Cultivation had the highest mortality rate.
But Body Cultivators weren’t as mysterious as Poison Cultivators.
The problem was, in a world where everyone else had ranged attacks, the Body Cultivator was the only one who couldn’t attack from afar, so often they just got beaten up.
But if you dared step into their attack range, that would be the last thing you tried.
Just like now, as soon as the Evil Cultivator leader realized what he was dealing with and tried to swing his sword and retreat, it was already too late!
The moment he decided that ten meters was Dongfang Xiaotian’s death line, Dongfang Xiaotian was already waiting for them to step into his attack range.
Dongfang Xiaotian took a sword slash to the shoulder. The fabric was torn, but when the blade hit his bone, it felt as if hitting tempered steel—no penetration.
Yet his wrist was grabbed by the youth before him, accompanied by the sound of bone snapping, followed by a pot-sized fist smashing into his head.
“How much of your strength have you recovered?”
Looking at the Master Brother who easily slew a Foundation Establishment Third Layer and several Qi Refining cultivators instantly, Tushan Bingxian curiously looked toward Dongfang Xiaotian.
“Apart from spiritual energy, everything else is fine,”
Dongfang Xiaotian shrugged at the Second Junior Sister, showing no intention of hiding his strength.
Unlike the NPCs who, upon realizing his strength, would come with endless side quests and send him to do Black Work, this Second Junior Sister, Tushan Bingxian, had known Dongfang Xiaotian’s abilities all along and deliberately let him do Black Work.
If Dongfang Xiaotian could reveal his strength to anyone in Ling Tian City besides the protagonist Junior Brother, it would be this Second Junior Sister.
Because unlike others in the Four Saints Academy who were siblings by sect, this Second Junior Sister was taught by the same master as Dongfang Xiaotian.
In all of Ling Tian City, the person who knew Dongfang Xiaotian’s background best was this fox demon Second Junior Sister right before him.
“By the way, why are you here in Ling Tian City if you’re fine?”
Dongfang Xiaotian looked at Tushan Bingxian, who was kneeling on the ground. Her white fox ears, white hair, and cyan eyes, along with her tattered robes, could not mask the fresh elegance of the girl.
Dongfang Xiaotian came to Ling Tian City mainly to heal his injuries, but he couldn’t figure out why his Second Junior Sister came here. She didn’t seem homeless like him; why not just go home to cultivate?
“Mind your own business.”
Tushan Bingxian’s eyes darkened slightly but she quickly said, “Forget it, the Third Elder is down in a cave over there. I’ll take you.”
“What about my Junior Brother?”
Dongfang Xiaotian asked the question he cared about most, looking at the Second Junior Sister.
“No idea…”
Tushan Bingxian shook her head. “We all scattered and escaped, but we should all still be in the Miasma Forest. Anyway, the Third Elder is severely injured. We have to save those in front of us first.”
Scattered and escaped?
Hiss, this ruins incident was far bigger than Dongfang Xiaotian had imagined.
Normally, a protagonist being chased by a powerful enemy usually resulted in one of two outcomes.
The first was what Dongfang Xiaotian was doing now: a big shot coming to help.
The second was running away, being locked up, or jumping off a cliff—basically ending up in some Cave Paradise, gaining temporary upgrades, and then emerging to crush the boss.
The first was easy to explain, but the second, if it wasn’t the novel’s opening event, meant the boss forcing the protagonist to spend a huge amount of time leveling up was insanely powerful.
The more Dongfang Xiaotian thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, this was an ancient ruin!
Such things usually involved some kind of hidden adventure, so it made sense the protagonist would suddenly discover a secret passage.
He just hadn’t expected the event to be so intense—to have a boss strong enough to force the protagonist to spend so much time leveling!
These bosses were usually key figures who could even alter the layout of a map!
Come to think of it, even the late Foundation Establishment Third Elder of the Four Saints Academy was almost killed—this boss must be ridiculously strong, probably a Golden Core stage.
Thinking this, Dongfang Xiaotian felt a bit sorry for his fox demon Second Junior Sister. Clearly, she wasn’t the focus of this event, let alone a heroine.
After all, she nearly died before the protagonist could save her. What kind of heroine is that?
Besides, the second scenario usually also involved some romance subplot, where the protagonist secluded with a heavenly beauty for a time, naturally leading to love and adding a harem member.
Clearly, this silly Second Junior Sister was not that, and was almost sacrificed by a higher-tier NPC on the spot.
Originally, the “Senior Sister in Distress” plot just required finding the troubled senior sister. Now it seemed they might have to wait for the Junior Brother’s yearlong or half-year-long seclusion.
Isn’t that just wasting time to increase protagonist affinity?
Damn, why didn’t they lock her up with the Junior Brother?
“Hey, what’s with that disdainful look?”
Tushan Bingxian glared at Dongfang Xiaotian’s “I’m disappointed” expression, instantly unhappy. “I—I haven’t washed for half a month! But I sprayed Flower Dew; I don’t smell at all. Smell!”
In ruins exploration, going ten days or half a month without bathing was common.
Though spiritual energy could sometimes achieve the legendary effect of clothes not gathering dust, low-level cultivators’ spiritual energy was limited, and they couldn’t constantly use it to clean themselves.
Many female cultivators were very concerned about their scent, which was why items like Flower Dew—similar to perfume—existed to mask odors.
“I don’t want to. If you have time, you’d better hurry and lead the way.”
Dongfang Xiaotian said disdainfully, “After sending you back, I still have to keep looking for Junior Brother. You must know roughly which direction he fled, right?”
Though Dongfang Xiaotian knew this was probably triggering the second kind of plot, where the protagonist was already hiding in some Cave Paradise to level up with a heroine, he still had to check it out.
“I’m injured. If you carry me to the Third Elder, I’ll tell you.”
Tushan Bingxian opened her arms, giving the “if you don’t carry me, I won’t get up” look.
“No. I’ll carry you if you turn into a fox, but otherwise, you’re too dirty.”
Dongfang Xiaotian looked at the girl, already filthy from blood and muddy water but still radiating an incomparable beauty, then showed a disdainful expression. “And you’re heavy too.”
“You!”
Tushan Bingxian almost shouted in frustration. Didn’t the book say men usually responded to women’s coaxing like this? Why did he show no sign of cherishing her?
She even felt like punching him, but held back, reminding herself: injured fragile junior sister—can’t break character now!
“Alright then.”
Tushan Bingxian turned into her true form as Dongfang Xiaotian expected, grumbling discontentedly, “Hmph, coward.”
Watching the Second Junior Sister transform into a fox once again with a “whoosh,” Dongfang Xiaotian felt as if Darwin’s theory of evolution had been dragged through the mud.
Use it or lose it didn’t apply in this world.
Luckily, he wasn’t a biology student.
Thinking this, Dongfang Xiaotian carried the dirty, injured fox demon, stuffing her mouth with Poison Cultivator pills and Healing Pills while asking, “By the way, what exactly did you encounter that left you like this?”
Dongfang Xiaotian was puzzled. His Second Junior Sister wasn’t like Beichen Yue, a sheltered young lady who never left home. She had plenty of life-saving items on her.
To force someone like her into such a desperate situation… Indeed, the enemies attracted by Junior Brother’s protagonist aura were absurdly strong.
The more so, the more Dongfang Xiaotian felt how right his choices had been.
“One of the leaders of the Deity of Evil cult,”
Tushan Bingxian slowly sighed, “Named [The Sage].”
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