Chapter 1362: Slaughtering Peers Like Dogs

Their primary objective for this mission was to kill Shangguan Tianque. Therefore, it was most appropriate to deploy two cultivators of the same Late-stage to deal with a Late-stage Great Cultivator.

The remaining two would be left to the last masked cultivator, who would lead the other three to a swift slaughter. This was a relatively easy task, and it was imperative that no one was left alive.

But from that masked cultivator’s perspective, he was extremely reluctant. Who landed the killing blow on Shangguan Tianque would make a difference in the rewards they received back home.

However, to achieve their goal quickly, now was not the time to argue. He still followed the other’s suggestion to bring the matter to a successful conclusion.

He figured that as long as the three Mid-stage cultivators could tie down one of them, he would first quickly kill one, then go over and finish off the other.

Then, he could immediately rejoin the others. The three of them together would kill Shangguan Tianque, and his contribution would actually be greater.

He was closer to the gray-robed elder, but he had never spoken to him, let alone communicated. So, by sheer coincidence, both he and the elder chose to target Li Yan.

With that, the battlefield situation became clear.

On the other side, Donglin Tingyue saw all of this and was overjoyed. Everything was happening just as she had thought.

The enemy had dispatched two Late-stage cultivators to deal with Shangguan Tianque, which was not unexpected, given his cultivation level.

What surprised and delighted her was that the last Late-stage Great Cultivator had also chosen Li Yan. She didn’t know if the enemy had seen through their illusions and knew that the two of them were from the same sect, or if her luck was just that good.

But at this moment, she no longer cared about Li Yan or Shangguan Tianque. An opportunity like this was rare.

As Donglin Tingyue shot skyward, two figures from below and to her sides also rapidly closed in, intercepting her path in a pincer movement.

A light flickered in Donglin Tingyue’s eyes. Suddenly, her body blurred, and the space around her instantly distorted. In a flash, two identical figures of the youth separated from her.

As soon as the two figures appeared, they twisted in mid-air, then suddenly split apart, fleeing rapidly in two different directions.

This sudden development stunned the two figures rushing up from below. They immediately understood that their opponent had used some kind of illusion art, and only one of the figures was real.

But when their Divine Senses swept over them, they discovered that the auras of the two youths were completely identical. They couldn’t detect the slightest hint of illusion.

This stunned the two for a moment. They could only exchange a quick glance before splitting up, each chasing after one of the figures.

All of this was witnessed by the others, and even the masked cultivator in red rushing toward Li Yan paused his actions for a fraction of a second.

Even with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t see any difference between the auras of the two youths. Their substance and solidity were completely the same.

‘What a brilliant cloning illusion!’

But in the instant he hesitated, the elder chasing Li Yan had an unexpected mishap. He failed to intercept his target. Li Yan dodged him with a twist of his body.

The figure of the bald elder, Li Yan’s disguise, flickered again and was instantly far away.

“Damn it, a bunch of useless pigs!”

The masked cultivator in red suddenly realized that in his brief moment of distraction, the two enemies he was supposed to contain had both broken through the encirclement and fled.

He was instantly enraged, cursing the other three in his mind for being as stupid as pigs. If they had been his subordinates, he would have killed them himself after this was over.

He didn’t even consider his own fault. He, too, had been contemptuous just now, thinking they were merely two Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. He had believed that with a single turn, he could wipe them from existence.

Now, his plan to quickly kill the two small fry had completely failed.

Enraged, he stamped his foot in the void, and his entire person instantly merged into the emptiness of the world. In the next moment, a small red gleam appeared on the horizon, having already surpassed the elder who was chasing Li Yan.

As he fled, Li Yan’s Divine Sense carefully scanned his surroundings. In his heart, he had become interested in Donglin Tingyue’s cloning illusion.

‘Even with the strength of my Divine Sense, I can only faintly discern a slight clue. Among Nascent Soul cultivators of the same rank, it would be extremely difficult to tell them apart. This art is truly marvelous…’

Thoughts raced through Li Yan’s mind. He wasn’t paying much attention to the pursuit behind him. Instead, he scanned the two directions in which Donglin Tingyue’s two figures were fleeing, a look of interest in his eyes.

His Divine Sense had already reached the level of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, while his opponent was only a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, yet Li Yan couldn’t distinguish the real from the fake at first glance.

He was stunned for a moment. After another careful scan, he finally noticed a tiny clue, but he still couldn’t be too certain.

In this world, cunning people were as numerous as locusts. Perhaps this tiny clue he had discovered was just a smokescreen deliberately left by his opponent to confuse others.

The fact that he couldn’t be sure which was the real body made Li Yan feel it was quite remarkable. If Donglin Tingyue were to improve this divine ability a little more, would it mean that even Spirit Transformation cultivators wouldn’t be able to see through it?

These thoughts flashed through Li Yan’s mind, but this was not the time for deep contemplation. He quickly focused his Divine Sense behind him, where a world-shaking battle was raging, and Shangguan Tianque’s furious voice could be heard.

“Liu Huaigu, it’s you…”

Then, Shangguan Tianque’s voice was cut off by an even more intense explosion of techniques. Clearly, his opponent did not want his shouts to be heard.

At this moment, both sides had engaged in a life-or-death struggle. Especially since Shangguan Tianque was being besieged by two Late-stage Great Cultivators, he was forced to unleash his full power in an instant.

When a Great Cultivator fought for his life, his two opponents also had to respond with their full strength.

Under these circumstances, their respective cultivation methods and divine abilities could no longer be held back. Instantly, their techniques were exposed, and they immediately recognized each other’s identities.

‘So it really is Liu Huaigu! Then who is the other person, and the Late-stage cultivator chasing me?’

As Li Yan’s Divine Sense swept over them, he saw Shangguan Tianque roaring at the scrawny youth, who simply sneered in response, not bothering to reply.

Li Yan’s mind raced as he quickly pondered the situation.

In the midst of their chase, the masked cultivator in red had already surpassed the Mid-stage Nascent Soul elder and was rapidly closing in on Li Yan. The three of them flickered, covering over a thousand li in an instant.

And this was with Li Yan not even using his full speed. Otherwise, the two behind him would never have been able to catch up. Sensing the aura behind him getting closer and closer, Li Yan let out a cold laugh in his heart.

But he still maintained his current speed. He didn’t want his move to be seen by others at close range. The battle over there was intense, so they naturally wouldn’t be paying constant attention to his side.

Seeing the bald elder in front of him still fleeing with all his might, while he himself was rapidly closing the distance, a look of mockery appeared in the eyes of the masked cultivator in red. He had started later but arrived first. This old man’s speed was not slow; letting him run this far was already a bit of an embarrassment.

“This is as far as you go!”

He shouted silently in his heart, and the magical power in his Dantian surged violently. The void beneath his feet rippled, and then his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, a red figure appeared above Li Yan’s head, his eyes behind the mask filled with ferocity and killing intent.

He had caught up to his opponent without a sound. The coldness radiating from the masked cultivator grew even more intense. That his opponent had managed to escape this far under his nose was already quite an achievement.

Hovering in the air as if he were a god in control of everything, he raised a single hand and pressed it gently downward. From his palm, a zigzagging bolt of lightning instantly shot out, reaching the top of Li Yan’s head in a flash.

But just as the lightning was about to strike the other’s head, the masked cultivator in mid-air suddenly felt a bone-chilling coldness rise from the bottom of his heart.

He himself didn’t even know where this coldness was coming from. For a moment, he was filled with terror and a deep sense of confusion…

“Crack!”

With a loud bang, the bald elder below was struck by lightning. His body, still running wildly, was instantly split in two from the top of his head. The two halves of his body continued to run forward, their movements puppet-like…

Above, the masked cultivator, his hand still suspended in the air, felt his own body stiffen. His eyes, however, revealed boundless terror.

Only then did he suddenly realize that tiny specks of golden light had appeared around his body at some point. Under the bright sunlight, they were so inconspicuous that he might have thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, dazzled by the sun.

Then, the spiritual energy around him, which had been so vibrant and seemingly omnipresent just moments ago, seemed to have vanished. This caused the protective light shield around his body to momentarily lose its connection to the power of the outside world.

There are generally two ways for a cultivator to form a protective light shield: it can be condensed from pure magical power within the body, or it can be formed by the cultivator using a technique to draw upon the spiritual energy of the outside world, which would only consume a small amount of their own magical power.

Usually, over ninety percent of the time, the second method is used. Otherwise, who would be willing to constantly deplete their own magical power?

If they did, no matter how abundant their magical power was, it wouldn’t be able to withstand such consumption. They would find themselves in a weak and dangerous state, especially during a duel, when magical power is as precious as life itself.

Once a cultivator can harness certain laws, they all use a small amount of magical power to activate a manual and mobilize the power of heaven and earth to annihilate their enemies. They rarely resort to a war of attrition with pure magical power.

This is also why a cultivator’s cultivation base increases dramatically after reaching the Nascent Soul realm. Otherwise, no matter how vast a cultivator’s internal magical power, it would be impossible to destroy a continent. The amount of magical power their physical body can store is still limited.

The moment the masked cultivator in red sensed the spiritual energy around him seemed to disappear, he was caught completely off guard. The flow of his protective shield briefly stagnated.

He finally understood the source of his fear. But before he could circulate his magical power to remedy the situation, the specks of golden light, almost indistinguishable from the sunlight, broke through and reached his body.

Some instantly penetrated his body, while others crisscrossed around him, drawing thin, almost invisible golden threads.

“What is this…”

Just as this thought arose, he desperately tried to circulate all the magical power in his body, intending to retreat first, but his retreating figure came to an abrupt halt.

His back slammed against invisible bars, as if he were trapped in a cage.

What terrified him even more was that the magical power surging within him did not respond as he had expected. While still in his meridians, it was being blocked off section by section, as if it had been sealed.

Then, the masked cultivator in red saw the two halves of the bald elder disappear, and another bald elder appeared before him. He had turned around abruptly, his eyes filled with boundless indifference and ruthless cold…

Hu Changqi was a rogue cultivator who had been stuck at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul realm for over six hundred years, unable to break through to the Late-stage.

This time, at the market, he had unexpectedly run into Liu Huaigu of the Green Goat Temple. The two had some history, having even teamed up with others to venture into the Heavenly Demon Prairie. They had a decent enough relationship.

After some catching up, Liu Huaigu proposed that Hu Changqi help him with a matter—assisting in killing an enemy of his. Of course, the reward would be generous.

After hearing him out, Hu Changqi did not immediately agree. Although his relationship with Liu Huaigu was decent, he had survived this long not just by luck, but by extreme caution.

He began to carefully question Liu Huaigu about the details. Liu Huaigu told him there were two opponents: one Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator and one Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

His own side would have four people. Besides Hu Changqi, there would be two other Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

The enemy’s Late-stage Great Cultivator would be handled by Liu Huaigu himself first. Once the three of them had teamed up to quickly kill the Mid-stage enemy, the four of them would then join forces to kill the Great Cultivator.

Under those circumstances, Liu Huaigu said he had a sixty percent chance of killing both of them without a trace.

A sixty percent chance of completely annihilating them, not just injuring them and letting them escape—for someone like Hu Changqi, who lived on the edge, this was already a significant guarantee.

They were all quick-witted individuals. Seeing his hesitation, Liu Huaigu quickly promised a reward that Hu Changqi couldn’t refuse. Liu Huaigu knew what a rogue cultivator like him needed…

After some thought, Hu Changqi finally agreed, with the condition that if the actual situation during the ambush was different, if the enemy was stronger than Liu Huaigu had described, he would immediately turn and leave.

Liu Huaigu immediately swore that there would be no problem. Otherwise, Hu Changqi could leave whenever he pleased.

However, a few days ago, when they were setting out, Liu Huaigu brought two masked men in red robes, and their strength was terrifyingly high. Either one of them had the ability to kill him.

This caused Hu Changqi and the other two to be quite dissatisfied in private. If the objective was still the same—just two people—why did Liu Huaigu call the three of them?

Liu Huaigu immediately saw what they were thinking and pulled the three of them aside to explain.

The two masked men in red robes were acquaintances he had met by chance. Considering the cunning of the enemy, he had invited them along as extra insurance.

Liu Huaigu repeatedly assured the three of them that the rewards he had promised would not be diminished in the slightest.

After reconsidering, the three finally agreed again, but they made a new pact with Liu Huaigu. If they discovered that their destination was a dangerous place, the three of them would leave without hesitation.

Of course, there was still a great danger here. If Liu Huaigu and the two other Late-stage Great Cultivators had malicious intentions toward the three of them, it would be extremely perilous.

Fortunately, among the three, only Hu Changqi was a rogue cultivator. The backgrounds of the other two were even greater than that of the Green Goat Temple.

Plus, they had cooperated with Liu Huaigu before and had some understanding of his character. They knew he wouldn’t dare to easily make an enemy of their sects.

Steeling their hearts, they all understood the principle of seeking wealth in danger. The generous rewards offered by Liu Huaigu couldn’t be obtained without taking risks.

Thus, the three of them followed along. However, they also secretly conspired and formed a small team among themselves.

‘Three enemies have appeared. Did Liu Huaigu guess that the number of opponents would change? Otherwise, why would he so coincidentally invite two more people to help…’

Hu Changqi thought to himself as he chased Li Yan. At this point, he felt he had been overthinking things. Liu Huaigu’s cautious approach was the right one.

Otherwise, in a four-on-three situation, the final outcome would have been uncertain. His side might have even suffered some losses.

‘Not bad, it’s just a quick trip. But that gray-robed elder’s speed is not slow, and my cultivation is not as profound as the masked man in red. If he kills the target first, the benefits I get will be much less…’

Hu Changqi’s speed was not much slower than Li Yan’s. At this moment, his Divine Sense had already scanned the scene ahead. The masked man in red was already attacking the gray-robed elder from the air.

He sighed in his heart. He could forget about getting any of the treasures on the bald elder.

But just as he was thinking, he suddenly felt the magical power in his body stagnate. Before he could understand what had happened, his entire person instantly “floated” up.

“What’s happening?”

Hu Changqi’s face was filled with astonishment. As he “floated” up, he saw a headless corpse below, still flying forward as a brilliant rainbow of blood gushed from its neck cavity.

And the clothes and running body of that corpse were so familiar to him!

It seemed to be exactly the same as what he was wearing. It was a scene of you flying in the sky, and me chasing on the ground…