30: Chapter 30 Encirclement and Slaughter

The middle-aged man motioned for the three to wait while he went ahead to check if the cave was dangerous.

After a moment, he came over to Zhang Huahu's side and whispered something to him.

Then, Zhang Huahu looked up and shouted loudly, "Come out! Stop hiding! This old man has already discovered you. I'll give you ten breaths. If you don't come out, don't blame this old man for being unmerciful!"

Hearing this, the woman and Zhang Shiheng were somewhat stunned. Once they gathered their thoughts, it dawned on them—there was someone here! Could the Cultivators from the Zhao Family and Zhou Family have already hunted them down here?!

Up in the tree, Chen Changqing frowned slightly. 'I almost went down. So he was bluffing me.' He had almost revealed himself just now, but luckily realized in time that the other party was bluffing. After all, with his current aura, even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn't detect him, let alone Zhang Huahu, who was merely at the Perfection of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

Earlier, time had been too tight, so he hadn't managed to erase his traces in the cave. Thus, it was normal for them to find something.

"Ten, nine, eight..." Seeing that no one showed up, Zhang Huahu began counting down. The other three immediately pulled out their Magical Artifacts, scanning any potential hiding spots around them with vigilant expressions.

"...Three, two, one. Since you won't come out, don't blame this old man for being ruthless." Just as Zhang Huahu was about to summon his Magical Artifact, a person climbed down from a tree behind him.

The person who came down was not Chen Changqing, but an ordinary-looking grey-robed Cultivator.

"Dammit! Wasn't this Concealment Talisman supposed to block the perception of someone at Perfection of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining? How was I still found out? Seems I'll definitely have to settle accounts with that dishonest merchant next time I return to Qinghe Market." The grey-robed Cultivator looked furious. He had been tailing them just fine, only to end up discovered in the end.

"Who is Your Excellency?" Zhang Huahu appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was extremely nervous. If this person was also here hunting them for the bounty, then there were bound to be even more Cultivators behind him.

However, the grey-robed Cultivator immediately threw an Explosive Talisman, turning and fleeing without the slightest hesitation.

Such a decisive way of fleeing left the few people present momentarily stunned.

"Don't let him get away, or the others will discover us too!" Though he said so, ever since the Explosive Talisman detonated, the group's location was doomed to be exposed.

Being the highest in cultivation, Zhang Huahu launched a set of Flying Swords from his Storage Pouch, instantly slashing toward the grey-robed Cultivator.

Upon seeing a set of Flying Swords slashing toward him, fear finally surfaced in the grey-robed Cultivator's eyes. He was merely a Loose Cultivator who had spent fifty Spirit Stones to buy a First-Order High Grade Concealment Talisman to launch a sneak attack when they let their guard down, so he didn't have many Spirit Stones left to buy other treasures.

Seeing the Flying Swords right before his eyes, he gritted his teeth with a pained expression, pulled out a brown Talisman, activated it with his spiritual force, and threw it behind him.

When the brown Talisman was less than a zhang away from him, it quickly emitted a brown light. The ground trembled a few times, and a layer of thick earth rose, blocking the space between both sides.

Zhang Huahu's expression remained unchanged as he continued driving his Flying Swords with full strength.

Whoosh!

Like lightning, the four Flying Swords swiftly pierced through the earthen wall and slashed toward the grey-robed Cultivator.

"Wait, I have something to say!" the grey-robed Cultivator cried urgently, now regretting how foolish he was to come after these four alone.

"Heh! Go speak to the King of Hell!" Zhang Huahu snorted coldly and increased his output of spiritual energy.

Splat!

A large head flew up from the grey-robed Cultivator's neck, rolling several times on the ground before stopping. His headless corpse stumbled a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

Up in the tree, Chen Changqing looked on in surprise. As expected of someone who hailed from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator background at Perfection of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining; an Eighth Layer Qi Refining Cultivator was slain on the spot without the slightest ability to resist.

Zhang Huahu quickly darted forward, retrieved the grey-robed Cultivator's Storage Pouch, burned the corpse to ashes with a Fireball Technique, and immediately turned to say to the three, "Let's run! We shouldn't stay here long."

Just as the four were about to bolt, a Willow-Leaf Sabre launched an attack at them.

"Found you at last." Turning around, the group saw a crew of Cultivators arriving before them on a White Cloud Boat.

Behind the White Cloud Boat, dozens more Cultivators pursued them one after another to this spot. The lowest among them was at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, and there were no fewer than seven or eight at the Late Qi Refining Stage. This force was sufficient to wipe out most Qi Refining families.

"The Zhao Family? It's you?" Zhang Huahu said in horror.

Chen Changqing looked over as well. Not only was the Zhao Family on the boat, but the Zhou Family was there too. What's more, Chen Changqing recognized one of them—it was Zhou Minghong, who had struck up a conversation with him and Sixth Aunt at the auction a year ago.

"You lot, go down and keep Zhang Huashan company!" Standing at the very front of the boat was an old man with divine demeanor, white hair, and a youthful complexion. Judging by the aura he exuded, he was also a Cultivator at Perfection of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

After discovering the figures of these Cultivators, Chen Changqing immediately cast the Disguise Technique, transforming himself into a middle-aged Daoist, and continued watching the conflict unfold.

"Attack," Zhao Huaian said calmly.

Below the White Cloud Boat, many Cultivators immediately scrambled to encircle and attack the four.

Knowing that all was lost today, Zhang Huahu immediately pulled a Talisman Treasure from his hand and began to activate it.

The attacking Cultivators saw the Talisman Treasure and immediately backed away, unwilling to step forward as the first sacrificial lamb.

"Hurry, attack! Don't let him activate the Talisman Treasure!" Zhao Huaian urged anxiously. But after he spoke, not a single person dared to take a step forward. Why risk having money but no life left to spend it? Besides, the Family Cultivators weren't charging in either—wasn't that clearly using them as cannon fodder?

Seeing that no one was willing to go up, Zhao Huaian cursed silently in his heart and continued, "An extra five hundred Spirit Stones for every kill!" This time, all the Loose Cultivators went wild and ramped up their attacks. There were only four targets, and as Loose Cultivators, an opportunity to gain so many Spirit Stones was a once-in-a-century occurrence; they were all terrified that others would steal the kills from them.

Zhang Huahu was shielded behind the other three, who desperately held off the onslaught from all the Cultivators.

The Zhang Family threw out all of their remaining foundation at this moment. The three hurled out numerous Talismans from their hands, including Low Grade First-Order, Medium Grade First-Order, and even several High Grade First-Order Talismans.

With so many Talismans unleashed by the trio, they actually managed to temporarily hold off the offensive of dozens of Cultivators.

Seeing that a few moments had passed while Zhang Huahu activated the Talisman, not only were the attacking Cultivators getting anxious, but even Zhao Huaian and Zhou Minghong on the boat grew restless.

Zhao Huaian immediately summoned his High Grade First-Order Magical Artifact, the Willow-Leaf Sabre, and struck at Zhang Huahu.

"Fifth Uncle, watch out!" Seeing the terrifyingly powerful Willow-Leaf Sabre charge toward Zhang Huahu, the middle-aged man urgently warned him and personally stepped forward to block the hit for Zhang Huahu.

Otherwise, once Zhang Huahu was slain, the three of them would truly be helpless to turn the tide.

Pfft! The High Grade First-Order Magical Artifact, the Willow-Leaf Sabre, instantly pierced through the middle-aged man, dragging out a spray of fresh blood.

"Ninth Brother!" "Ninth Uncle!" the woman and Zhang Shiheng cried out tragically.

Seeing yet another junior die right before his eyes, Zhang Huahu felt an overwhelming bitterness in his heart. He could only continue channeling all his strength to activate the Talisman Treasure in his hands.

"Retreat, quick!" Zhou Minghong shouted in alarm. Right as the words left his mouth, the Talisman Treasure finished activating, and a brilliant red light illuminated everything in the surroundings.

Boom! Boom, rumble!

In an instant, the terrifying power of the Talisman Treasure swept across a hundred zhang radius, even involving Chen Changqing in its blast.