Cao Ru immediately circulated her spiritual energy to protect her dantian, attempting to force the demonic qi out.
The two beside her, Yuan Dawei and Qi Feiyang, also realized that something was wrong. They immediately shielded Cao Ru, buying her time to expel the demonic qi.
But right after the demonic qi invaded Cao Ru, Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei discovered that formation markings had suddenly appeared on the ground beneath their feet.
In an instant, all kinds of formation patterns surrounded them, severely restricting their movements.
“Be careful. This is a Spirit Suppression Formation. It can greatly suppress one’s cultivation.” Cao Ru was multitasking as she spoke. “A Spirit Suppression Formation takes a very long time to inscribe. They must have prepared it long ago. They even used talismans to conceal the formation’s aura. These people definitely aren’t doing this for the first time.”
“It’s three against three. It’s not that difficult.” Qi Feiyang quickly composed himself. “Focus on expelling the demonic qi. We’ll handle the rest.”
“Exactly. If we lose to three sorry excuses like them, everyone will laugh us to death when we get back.” Yuan Dawei’s expression was solemn, but he had already tightened his grip around his sword.
This was the first time they had faced a situation that demanded a fight to the death. Fear would do them no good; only fighting desperately could give them a chance of survival.
“They haven’t let fear of their enemies get the better of them at a time like this. I’d give them a passing grade for that. But they have absolutely no tactical sense, so I’ll deduct a point.” Shu Xin hovered cross-legged high in the air some distance away, propping her chin up with one hand as she yawned. “If it were me, I’d pretend to be weak and sob my eyes out, trick one of the cultivators into coming close, and then kill them in a surprise attack. That would turn the situation into three against two, and Cao Ru’s pressure would be much lighter.”
【It’s their first time encountering a situation like this. Their performance is actually pretty decent.】The Sword Spirit spoke, believing itself to be perfectly impartial.
【Of course, compared to the way you handled your first kill, they’re still a little lacking.】
In all fairness, Shu Xin had also encountered formidable enemies after making a contract with it back then.
At the time, even the Sword Spirit had thought Shu Xin was going to die. It had never expected that she would beg for mercy while crying her eyes out, only to chop her enemy into mincemeat.
That experience had made the still-naive Sword Spirit realize that the weak and ordinary human girl it had contracted with was actually something far more difficult to describe.
“Oh? This is interesting.” Shu Xin’s eyes suddenly lit up. “The bonus point has arrived. They’re not bad after all.”
【Hmm?】The Sword Spirit grew curious and followed her gaze.
“Much of the credit goes to the fairy’s secret technique.” Zhang Zhensheng smiled broadly when he saw the brother and sister appear.
The siblings looked young and tender, but in reality, they had already lived for several hundred years. They deliberately maintained this appearance to let down other people’s guard.
“I hope the things they have on them won’t disappoint me.” The female cultivator at the head of the group had a sinister look on her face. Her gaze grew especially greedy when it swept over Cao Ru’s smooth skin. “To keep them from discovering the truth, my junior brother and I even took cultivation-dissolving pills, just so we would look like a couple of low-level Qi Refining cultivators.”
“They come from a clan, so the magical artifacts they carry are worth quite a lot. I only want the share we agreed upon beforehand.” Zhang Zhensheng spoke indifferently. “As for their corpses, you can do whatever you like with them.”
“These two men look promising. They still possess their pure yang essence, so we can sell them to the cultivators of the Hehuan Sect. Once those women have finished harvesting their essence, we can sell the corpses to the Yin Corpse Demon Sect. As for this female cultivator, this skin of mine won’t last much longer, and I rather like hers. A Core Formation female cultivator so young isn’t someone you can find just anywhere.”
“Either way is fine.” Zhang Zhensheng nodded and deliberately took two steps back. “Go ahead, then. I can’t kill them myself. Otherwise, when their masters come looking for the real culprit, it’ll be very easy for them to trace it back to me.”
In the cultivation world, quite a few sects possessed methods for investigating who had killed their disciples.
To be safe, Zhang Zhensheng had decided to find some helpers.
This pair of demonic rogue cultivators was the help he had summoned.
“Then we’ll be taking you up on that.”
Weapons had already appeared in the hands of the senior sister and junior brother. They lunged at Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei from either side, stabbing toward them.
Cultivators trapped within the Spirit-Suppressing Formation would be restrained by the array. However, having long since grown accustomed to such restrictions, the senior sister and junior brother were barely affected.
Zhang Zhensheng simply watched from the side, prepared to charge in and act at any moment. His presence placed tremendous psychological pressure on Yuan Dawei and Qi Feiyang, forcing them to spare part of their attention to guard against a sneak attack from him while they fought.
Cao Ru was frantic with worry, but she could only force herself to remain calm and focus on expelling the demonic energy first.
The demonic energy within the jade ring was extremely faint; if it had been even slightly stronger, Cao Ru would have noticed it.
Although the demonic energy was weak, expelling it was a painstaking process. In a situation like this, it was also extremely difficult for Cao Ru to keep her mind undisturbed.
Zhang Zhensheng quietly watched the battle between the four people, paying most of his attention to Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei.
Within the Spirit-Suppressing Formation, cultivators were often constrained in every movement. For an ordinary Core Formation cultivator to display even half of their full strength within the array was already impressive.
Yet Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei moved with ease, their coordination flawless.
The senior sister and junior brother had remained at the Core Formation stage for many years. If the two of them joined forces, even Zhang Zhensheng would find them troublesome.
And yet, despite being caught off guard and facing the support of the formation, they were still stopped by Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei working together. The two men firmly kept the senior sister and junior brother more than three feet away from Cao Ru.
Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei were slightly weaker than the pair in terms of cultivation, but the various divine abilities they displayed were so numerous and unpredictable that one careless mistake could easily leave their opponents caught in a trap.
The difference in foundation was being laid bare at this very moment.
Without the formation’s restraints, the senior sister and junior brother would likely have already lost.
So this was what the cultivation arts of disciples from great sects were like?
Zhang Zhensheng’s eyes gleamed with fascination.
He already knew that these three cultivators were penniless. Aside from the magical artifacts in their hands, which were at least passable, they possessed practically nothing of value.
What Zhang Zhensheng lacked, however, were foundational cultivation manuals capable of guiding one all the way into the later stages of cultivation, along with the various divine abilities needed to bring out the full potential of his spiritual root.
Such cultivation resources formed the foundation upon which any sect or clan established itself. They almost never found their way into the outside world.
Most rogue cultivators only had access to scattered, commonplace cultivation techniques. More often than not, once they reached the later stages, they could no longer make any further progress. If they wanted to improve their cultivation, their only option was to switch to another technique.
Zhang Zhensheng knew that even if he served his master loyally, it would still be difficult for him to obtain a decent cultivation method.
So when he heard Qi Feiyang and the others say that all they needed to do was focus wholeheartedly on cultivation, he knew his opportunity had arrived.
Perhaps he could obtain from these three disciples a cultivation method that led all the way to the Grotto-Heaven stage—or even the Wugou stage!
When that happened, who in this vast world would be able to find him?
Even his master, who believed himself to possess extraordinary abilities, would no longer be able to restrain him!
For this reason, he had secretly sent a message to the infamous brother and sister, joining forces with them.
“Old Zhang, what are you still waiting for?” the female cultivator shouted. “These three are tougher than we expected. Once that woman expels the demonic aura, we’ll lose our advantage.”
“Coming.” Zhang Zhensheng drew his sword. With a blur of movement, he instantly joined the battle.
Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei had already begun adapting to the siblings’ attacks. They had not expected Zhang Zhensheng to join in at this moment, and the situation was reversed in an instant.
What was more, Zhang Zhensheng had been observing from the sidelines the entire time, so he was already prepared for the abilities Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei had displayed.
At once, the pressure weighing on Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei’s shoulders grew considerably.
At the critical moment, Cao Ru, whom they had been ignoring all this time, suddenly threw out a formation disc.
Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei immediately scattered, then moved to Cao Ru’s side without delay.
Cao Ru had not chosen to focus solely on expelling the demonic aura. Instead, she had secretly been inscribing a formation disc, intending to use it to suppress the Spirit-Sealing Formation in turn.
She had seen clearly that although the three cultivators, Zhang Zhensheng included, possessed slightly higher cultivation than them, their strength was no more than a castle in the air. Their foundations were weak, and their control over spiritual energy was crude and clumsy.
Without the aid of the formation disc, opponents of this level could never have been a match for her two senior and junior brothers.
Thus, when forced to choose between prioritizing her own recovery and assisting her fellow disciples, Cao Ru had decisively chosen the latter.
Although she appeared to have her eyes closed while expelling the demonic aura, she had actually been secretly working to break the formation.
With the formation disc Cao Ru had thrown out, the power of the Spirit-Sealing Formation immediately weakened.
“Damn it.” Zhang Zhensheng had not expected this sharp-tongued yet soft-hearted and, in truth, easily deceived Cao Ru to possess such skill in breaking formations. His jealousy deepened at once.
Formation techniques, talisman crafting, alchemy, and artifact refinement were skills that ordinary rogue cultivators could not even approach. He had never expected this female cultivator to know them.
“What are you two waiting for? Stop holding back!” Zhang Zhensheng knew the situation was turning bad and immediately shouted at the siblings beside him. “If they don’t die, we will. Move, now!”
The brother and sister nodded as well. “Then stand back. We’re going to use our ultimate technique.”
Zhang Zhensheng sensibly retreated a little farther. “We’ll attack together. Don’t give them any chance to fight back.”
Qi Feiyang and the others grew wary as well.
Although the suppression of the Spirit-Subduing Array was now gone, the three cultivators before them were still considered formidable opponents among those of the same realm. Had they not been prepared beforehand—and had their master not been so strict with their cultivation—they might well have fallen here today.
“Take this!” The female cultivator suddenly produced a handkerchief-shaped magical artifact.
The handkerchief swelled in the wind, growing to several hundred zhang across in the blink of an eye. Like a black cloud blotting out the sky, it descended upon them, enveloping even Zhang Zhensheng, who had deliberately kept some distance away.
At the same time, a strange box appeared in Zhang Zhensheng’s hand. When he opened it, thick smoke poured out, obscuring everyone’s vision.
“Run.” The brother and sister turned and fled without the slightest hesitation, paying no heed whatsoever to whether Zhang Zhensheng lived or died.
With the Spirit-Subduing Array broken, their greatest advantage was gone. What was left to fight for? Better to flee first and live to fight another day.
As for comradeship? Sorry, they had none.
If Zhang Zhensheng’s death could buy them even a little more time to escape, they would be grateful to him for it.
Zhang Zhensheng showed no inclination to fight either. After releasing the smoke from the box, he too turned and ran without hesitation.
Qi Feiyang swung his sword, cleaving the handkerchief-like artifact apart in a single strike. For a moment, he was rather taken aback.
It had been nothing but a diversion?
And the sight of Zhang Zhensheng and the demonic cultivator siblings immediately turning tail and running left Qi Feiyang and the others stunned for an instant.
Were they really this quick to surrender?
“Not good—after them!” Qi Feiyang came to his senses and immediately shot forward on his flying sword, chasing after Zhang Zhensheng without hesitation.
“His divine sense can see through my black smoke?” Zhang Zhensheng’s thoughts raced as he increased his speed.
“...You two run fast, don’t you?” Yuan Dawei stood there blankly for a moment before he had no choice but to direct his spirit sword after the fleeing siblings.
Turning one’s back on an enemy was foolish.
Eldest Senior Sister had said it before: when cutting weeds, pull out the roots.
If these enemies escaped, who knew how much effort it would take to find them again later?
The enemy would be hidden in the shadows while they remained out in the open. That was far too dangerous.
Qi Feiyang’s speed on his flying sword was astonishing. His control over spiritual energy had reached a nearly terrifying level, far beyond that of a rogue cultivator like Zhang Zhensheng.
Zhang Zhensheng could only watch as the distance between them steadily shrank. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a number of talismans from his storage ring and used them to hinder Qi Feiyang’s approach.
But they accomplished little.
Meanwhile, once Cao Ru was no longer threatened by enemies from the side, he successfully expelled the demonic energy and joined the pursuit as well.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Yuan Dawei’s spirit sword split into four, surrounding the siblings in the blink of an eye.
“Wait, let’s talk this over. We can...” The pursued brother and sister had never expected to run into opponents this tough.
It was not as though they had never killed disciples from major sects before. But Core Formation cultivators this powerful were exceedingly rare.
And these people were merely retainers?
Even the core disciples of those great sects were probably no stronger than this.
Had they known their opponents were this powerful, they never would have come looking for trouble.
They still knew very well which people could be provoked—and which could not.
Yuan Dawei had no intention of listening to another word. Without hesitation, he drove his spirit sword through their dantians, then formed a hand seal and burned both their bodies and primordial spirits to nothing. Only their magical artifacts and storage pouches remained.
Eldest Senior Sister had said that not a single word from a demonic cultivator could be trusted.
He could not make the same mistake Cao Ru and Meng Wenrui had.
“Junior Sister, let’s go help Senior Brother,” Yuan Dawei said, sweeping up the siblings’ storage pouches before turning to Cao Ru.
“Don’t worry. He won’t get away.” Cao Ru’s expression was vicious. “And when we get back, you are not to tell Eldest Senior Sister that I was fooled. Otherwise, we’re no longer fellow disciples!”
Yuan Dawei curled his lip. “Fine, fine.”
[Sorry, but she already knows—and your Eldest Senior Sister recorded the whole thing, too,] the Sword Spirit said gleefully.
Shu Xin smiled at the recording stone in her hand, grinning like a cat that had successfully stolen the cream.
At the same time, after repeatedly accelerating while flying on his sword, Qi Feiyang overtook Zhang Zhensheng around a bend and successfully cut him off.
“Stop. Now that we’ve escaped, you have nowhere left to run.” Qi Feiyang looked at Zhang Zhensheng coldly. “Speak. Who was pulling the strings behind you?”
“So you had noticed long ago.” Hearing Qi Feiyang’s question, Zhang Zhensheng immediately understood that they had been suspicious of him from the start. It seemed he had underestimated this group.
“I can tell you,” Zhang Zhensheng said, “but you must first swear a Dao Heart Oath that, once I reveal the person behind this, you will let me go.”
“In your dreams!” Cao Ru and Yuan Dawei snapped in unison as they caught up from behind.
They had nearly been killed because of Zhang Zhensheng. Did he really think a few casual words would make everything disappear? If he wanted something that good, why didn’t he just fly to the heavens?
“If you refuse to talk, we can still learn the truth by killing you and using a soul-searching technique,” Qi Feiyang pressed.
“You truly dare to search the soul of someone like me?” Zhang Zhensheng’s voice softened. Now that he had been surrounded, he seemed even calmer. “Aren’t you afraid I may have left safeguards within my soul, which could turn the tables and harm you instead? I know I wronged you, but the strong devour the weak—that is simply how this world works. Besides, I was acting under another’s orders, so there were mitigating circumstances. If you let me go, not only will I tell you the whole truth, I will also sign a contract and serve you for twenty years as compensation. What do you say?”
“Thanks, but we wouldn’t dare keep someone like you around,” Yuan Dawei said sarcastically. “We’re not so bored that we’d invite trouble into our own camp.”
This man still wanted to take everything and walk away with his life?
Keep him by their side? Pah.
It was obvious he had no good intentions.
“So you’re determined to kill me, then?” Zhang Zhensheng’s expression changed. “You lofty cultivators from great clans—what do you know of the hardships we independent cultivators endure? Up in the mountains, all you need to do is cultivate diligently. You have no idea what we have to go through, how desperately we have to fight, for a single spirit stone or a single magical artifact, just to make it this far.
“If anyone is to blame, it’s you, for making yourselves such obvious targets. You clearly don’t lack the spirit stones the Hu family gives you, yet you insisted on coming here for some ridiculous ‘training experience.’ Do you think I’m the only one who wants you dead? Let me tell you—every Core Formation cultivator who came to the Hu family wants to kill you!”
Qi Feiyang’s expression shifted slightly.
“Not only is he trying to guilt-trip us, he’s even elevating his personal actions into some kind of collective cause. The man certainly has a talent for sophistry,” Shu Xin remarked admiringly. “Looks like the independent cultivators have improved their standards after all.”
If Zhang Zhensheng had not been their enemy, Shu Xin might actually have wanted to sit down with him and discuss how to manipulate people through moral pressure more effectively.
Unfortunately, he was an enemy. That meant they should stab him to death as quickly as possible—and the more thoroughly, the better.
“Senior Brother, don’t listen to his nonsense.” Cao Ru had already been burning with anger over being the first to fall for the trap. Now, hearing Zhang Zhensheng ramble on and on only made her temper flare. She immediately rushed forward and began fighting him.
Cao Ru looked delicate and frail, but the path she cultivated was instead one of seemingly clumsy simplicity. The techniques and divine abilities she used appeared straightforward, yet each was an immensely powerful killing move.
After exchanging only a few blows with Cao Ru head-on, Zhang Zhensheng’s arms had already gone numb, while the spiritual energy within his body was being depleted at a terrifying pace.
No wonder that pair of demonic cultivator siblings had lost so quickly.
These people could not possibly be mere servants. They were more like the exceptional talents painstakingly groomed by major sects.
“Who exactly are you?” Zhang Zhensheng retreated, narrowly evading Cao Ru’s attack. “With cultivation and techniques like yours, you can’t possibly be servants.”
No matter how generous a sect or great clan might be, it would never devote such care to training a few attendants.
“As if I’d tell you.” Cao Ru pulled out a pair of Mountain-Shaking Hammers from her storage pouch. She had clearly been truly provoked.
Even Yuan Dawei, Qi Feiyang, and the others silently stepped back a couple of paces. They merely positioned themselves in front of and behind Zhang Zhensheng to prevent him from escaping, leaving the rest to Cao Ru.
They all knew what Cao Ru was capable of. They also knew that Zhang Zhensheng would be defeated in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick.
The longer Zhang Zhensheng fought, the more chilled he became. Looking at the formation around him, how could he fail to understand what was happening?
“Wait—we can talk this out.” Cao Ru’s attacks had left Zhang Zhensheng’s scalp tingling. “I… I didn’t lie to you. I was forced into this. My parents, my wife, and my children are all in my master’s hands. If I don’t obey him, my whole family will die.”
Cao Ru paused briefly, then resumed her assault.
“I’ll tell you who he is first, all right? Just listen to me. This time, we were acting on the orders of—”
Before Zhang Zhensheng could finish, his body abruptly stiffened. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and the spiritual energy inside him began to surge wildly.
“Not good—he’s going to self-destruct!” Qi Feiyang lunged forward, throwing out a protective artifact to shield Cao Ru.
The next instant, an overwhelming wave of divine sense swept toward the three of them.
A Nascent Soul cultivator?!
The defensive artifact in front of Cao Ru let out a deafening hum. Under the assault of such divine sense, all three of them went pale, drenched in cold sweat.
Even though Qi Feiyang and the others far surpassed ordinary Core Formation cultivators, the gap of an entire major realm still left them struggling.
Just as they were preparing to endure the attack head-on, a familiar voice—one that immediately made them feel safe—rang out across the battlefield.
“It’s hardly proper for a senior to bully juniors.”
Shu Xin released her own divine sense, ruthlessly driving back her opponent’s attack.
The other party’s divine sense collapsed beneath Shu Xin’s power. Without lingering for even a moment, it vanished without a trace.
Clearly, the attacker had only intended to silence them and kill them while they were at it. The moment they realized Shu Xin was present, they fled without hesitation.
“Eldest Senior Sister.”
“Eldest Senior Sister!”
At a time like this, nobody had the energy to argue about whether they had addressed her incorrectly.
Shu Xin descended slowly, two swords circling her as they flew around her body.
“Mm. Your performance was passable, I suppose.” Shu Xin stepped forward and tossed them several pills to help them recover. “You fell into their trap at the beginning, but at least you knew how to fight back afterward. That earned you back a few points.”
Qi Feiyang and the other two finally came down from the joy of having been rescued by their Eldest Senior Sister.
“E-Eldest Senior Sister, how much did you see?” Cao Ru asked nervously. At that moment, she was even more anxious than when she had realized they had been deceived.
Shu Xin gave her a gentle smile and slowly uttered two words.
“Everything.”
For a moment, Cao Ru dearly wished she could just die.
Qi Feiyang and Yuan Dawei looked equally miserable, both suddenly seized by the urge to run away and hide.
“Oh, Eldest Senior Sister, we were just hit by a Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine sense. My head hurts a little.”
“M-Me too. I’ve run out of spiritual energy, and my whole body hurts.”
They were clearly trying to muddle through by playing pitiful.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you—I've had a recording stone activated from beginning to end. It captured every single one of your performances.” Shu Xin dropped the bombshell casually. “Are you sure you want to speak to me in that state?”
A recording stone?
Wasn’t that just a little trinket children used to record their cultivation sessions for self-reflection?
The three of them immediately straightened up, becoming solemn and proper.
They could handle rogue cultivators like Zhang Zhensheng, as well as those demon cultivator siblings.
But their Eldest Senior Sister? She was simply impossible to deal with.
