145: Chapter 145 Number of Enhancements

"Damn it! Stop right there!" Li Hu watched helplessly as Qin Changsheng escaped, the rage and unwillingness in his eyes almost burning up.

He turned abruptly, intent on pursuing in the direction Qin Changsheng had fled.

He had only one thought in his mind: retrieve the Secret Treasure and kill Qin Changsheng!

But just as he took a step, Hu Nan instantly blocked his path.

Hu Nan's spiritual power surged, his attacks pressing in one after another, becoming increasingly fierce as he tightly entangled Li Hu, not giving him the slightest chance to escape.

"Damn it!" Li Hu roared sharply, his sword swinging wildly as he unleashed his spiritual power, attempting to repel Hu Nan, but Hu Nan was like sticky taffy, clinging tightly to him; no matter how much force he used, he could not shake him off.

The rage in Li Hu's heart grew even more intense, but it was accompanied by more confusion and unwillingness.

He truly could not understand what kind of identity that person who took the Secret Treasure had.

Why was Hu Nan so respectful toward him, willing to give his all to cover his retreat, even at the cost of his own life?

Confusion aside, Li Hu knew very well that this was no place to linger.

The suppression force of the spirit suppressing pearl could not last for long.

The Green-Striped Toad was, after all, a Golden Core Stage Yao Beast, and it would not be long before it broke through the suppression and regained its Golden Core Stage strength.

Once the Green-Striped Toad recovered, they would all become its food; at that point, let alone retrieving the Secret Treasure, whether they could leave the bottom of Qingyun Lake alive would be an unknown.

"Retreat!" Li Hu made a prompt decision, feinting a move, and taking advantage of the gap while Hu Nan dodged, he quickly retreated backward, his figure moving like a ghost as he fled toward the distance outside the great hall.

Seeing this, the remaining Blood Demon Sect Disciples also snapped to their senses, not daring to delay for a moment, and hurriedly followed behind Li Hu, scrambling to flee into the distance, fearing they would be caught by the recovering Green-Striped Toad.

Hu Nan did not linger either, rapidly speeding off in the direction of the Misty Forest.

The moment Hu Nan disappeared, the white light gradually weakened, and the massive body of the Green-Striped Toad vibrated slightly; its Golden Core spiritual power began to slowly revive, and its violent aura strengthened accordingly—clearly, the suppression force was about to dissipate.

...

Qingyun Lake camp.

At this moment, the camp had become a complete mess.

Most of the camp's tents were torn to shreds and scattered across the ground; some were even shredded by the sharp claws of the Yao Beast, with canvas and wooden frames mixed together in a wretched state.

And the most shocking sight was at the entrance of the camp.

More than a dozen corpses lay scattered there.

There were Outer Sect Disciples and Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Their faces were twisted, their eyes filled with residual fear and despair, and their bodies were covered in hideous wounds; some had been torn apart by sharp claws, others corroded beyond recognition by venom—clearly, they had been ambushed by the Green-Striped Toad while completely unprepared and had fallen before they could even resist.

In the open space at the center of the camp, Lin Zhentian stood there.

His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, and a trace of undried blood remained at the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating he had been seriously injured in the battle with the Green-Striped Toad.

At this moment, Lin Zhentian could not understand why that Golden Core Stage Yao Beast had suddenly appeared here.

If the Golden Core Stage Yao Beast, the Green-Striped Toad, hadn't suddenly retreated, more Cultivators would likely have died.

Just then, the sound of rapid footsteps rushed in from outside the camp: "Elder Lin! Elder Lin! Something terrible has happened!"

Hearing this, everyone looked up and saw a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, looking flustered, rushing toward them.

Lin Zhentian snapped back to reality and shouted in a deep voice: "Panicking like this, what kind of decorum is this! What matter is so urgent?"

Even though he was seriously injured, his voice still carried unquestionable majesty.

The Cultivator stumbled to a halt in front of Lin Zhentian: "Reporting... reporting to Elder Lin, the Golden... Golden Core Stage Yao Beast! That Green-Striped Toad, it... it has appeared again, just outside Qingyun Lake, and is slowly approaching the camp!"

"What?!" Lin Zhentian's expression changed drastically.

He had never imagined that the Green-Striped Toad would return, and that it would come so quickly!

At this moment, he was seriously injured with chaotic spiritual power, and the surviving Cultivators in the camp were all exhausted; if they were to encounter another ambush by the Golden Core Stage Yao Beast, it was unlikely that anyone would survive!

Lin Zhentian could no longer bother to count the losses of the camp or collect the bodies of the fallen Disciples: "All of you, listen to my command! Stop all actions immediately, abandon the camp, and retreat to the Heavenly Sword Sect! Speed is essential, do not delay for even a moment; violators will be dealt with according to Sect punishment!"

"We obey Elder Lin's command!" Upon hearing this, the surviving Cultivators all felt as if they had been granted amnesty; not daring to linger for a moment, they struggled to stand and ran toward the direction of the Heavenly Sword Sect outside the camp.

Lin Zhentian waved his hand, and a Flying Sword appeared in his hand.

He did not even look at the injured Disciples and headed toward the Heavenly Sword Sect first.

Meanwhile, Qin Changsheng's figure had also arrived nearby.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the group, he quietly blended into the ranks of the Outer Sect Disciples.

Clad in Outer Sect attire, with an inconspicuous figure, he kept his head down, feigning a look of panic and wretchedness as he followed the group forward, indistinguishable from the other Outer Sect Disciples, not attracting anyone's attention in the slightest.

Qin Changsheng understood that the Golden Core Stage Yao Beast was likely there to pursue the Secret Treasure.

Qin Changsheng followed silently in the middle of the group, his gaze sweeping across the group without drawing attention, keeping an eye on the surroundings while also secretly observing the Cultivators in the group to prevent any accidents.

Just then, a familiar figure came into his view.

Zhang Han was standing not far away, but at this moment, Zhang Han no longer had his usual smugness.

His left arm was empty, his sleeve soaked in blood, and blood was still seeping from the wound; clearly, his left hand had been severed during the Golden Core Stage Yao Beast's ambush on the camp just now.

Fortunately, that Golden Core Stage Yao Beast did not pursue them; it had only caused a ruckus at the edge of Qingyun Lake before retreating back into Qingyun Lake.

...

Inside the Outer Sect courtyard.

Qin Changsheng had already returned to the small courtyard.

Upon stepping into the courtyard, Qin Changsheng immediately raised his hand to set up a simple concealment Formation, isolating the courtyard from the outside world to prevent anyone from intruding and spying on his secrets.

After doing all this, he breathed a sigh of relief, slowly removed his clothes stained with a little blood, and changed into a clean set of Outer Sect clothes.

Qin Changsheng first looked into his Storage Space.

He discovered that the treasure mirror had completely vanished without a trace.

Immediately after, Qin Changsheng looked at his attribute panel.

At the very top of the attribute panel, a brand new golden notification had appeared, the font brilliant and carrying a faint Heavenly Dao Pressure, crystal clear: [Ding, congratulations on obtaining a heavenly dao fragment, you have gained one opportunity to Enhance trait!]

The notification sound seemed to ring directly in his Sea of Consciousness, crisp and clear; as the notification appeared, a strange yet familiar stream of information surged like a tide into Qin Changsheng's mind, instantly filling his Sea of Consciousness, and the origin and function of the heavenly dao fragment became clear one by one.

Qin Changsheng closed his eyes, silently digesting the information in his mind; his expression gradually turned from astonishment to calm, and then a sharp glint flickered in his eyes.

It turned out that the peculiar bronze mirror he had seized at the bottom of Qingyun Lake was not a complete Magic Treasure, but a heavenly dao fragment from a shattered Divine Artifact.

According to the information stream, that Divine Artifact was a vessel for the power of the Heavenly Dao; due to war, the Divine Artifact shattered, turning into one hundred heavenly dao fragments that were scattered across every corner of the Cultivation world—some hidden within famous mountains and rivers, some guarded by Yao Beasts, and others accidentally obtained by various Sects or Cultivators, hidden from the world.

And the function of the heavenly dao fragments was far beyond Qin Changsheng's expectations.

As long as one found a heavenly dao fragment, one could gain an enhancement opportunity to upgrade their own Golden Trait into a more powerful Heavenly Dao Trait.