149: Hunting down demonic cultivators! Obtaining a Core Formation spiritual treasure!

Chapter 149: Hunting Demonic Sect Cultivators! Obtaining the Core Formation Spiritual Item!

Cold Wind Slope, located in the east-central part of Golden Drum Plain, is a mountainous area with relatively steep terrain where bone-chilling winds howl year-round.

With jagged rocks, sparse vegetation, a relatively open view, and easy concealment, it is one of the classic hunting grounds where Foundation Establishment Cultivators from both sides frequently clash.

The mission requirement was to intercept and harass Demonic Path Cultivators entering this area; one could form a team or act alone.

Lu Qiu chose to act alone without hesitation.

He had too many secrets—whether it was the Illusion Spirit Butterflies, Spirit Shocking Thorn, Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis, or the Blood Soul Gu and blood devouring pearl—none of them were suitable to be easily revealed in front of others.

Although acting alone increased the risk slightly, it offered higher freedom and made it more convenient for him to use his methods.

He put on the invisibility gauze and circulated the Myriad Transformations Hidden Origin Art to perfectly conceal his aura. Like a stubborn rock blending into the environment, he quietly slipped into the depths of Cold Wind Slope, choosing a hidden rock crevice with a good view and shelter from the wind to lie in wait.

His powerful Divine Sense, like an invisible spider web centered on him, cautiously spread outward, covering a radius of several miles, monitoring the sound of the wind, Spiritual Qi fluctuations, and any subtle movements.

The wait did not last long.

About half an hour later, two dim Escape Lights, also cautiously concealing their auras, flew in from the west at low altitude and entered the Cold Wind Slope area.

Both were Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, wearing the standard black robes of the Ghost Spirit Sect. With vigilance on their faces, they looked around as they flew.

Just as they flew over Lu Qiu's hiding spot and prepared to lower their altitude to search for any possible Yue State Cultivators.

Silently, hundreds of Illusion Spirit Butterflies, which Lu Qiu had already quietly released and perfectly hidden in the cold wind and light, suddenly attacked!

There were no violent Spiritual Qi fluctuations, only an extremely thin, seven-colored halo that almost merged with the surrounding environment, rippling out like water waves and instantly enveloping the two Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators!

Both of their figures froze at the same time!

The leading Cultivator felt the scenery before his eyes instantly distort and change!

He seemed to have instantly returned to the gloomy main hall of the Ghost Spirit Sect, receiving rewards and precious treasures from the Sect Leader... His heart was filled with wild joy, and his vigilance plummeted.

The other person seemed to have fallen into an endless illusion of a sea of blood, being torn apart by countless hideous ghosts, terrified and losing control of his mind.

Now!

Two highly condensed, invisible, and intangible "Spirit Shocking Thorn" arrived later but struck first, accurately piercing into the cores of their Sea of Consciousness, which had been left wide open due to the illusions!

"Ugh!"

Two extremely faint muffled groans.

The light in the eyes of the two Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators instantly dissipated. The expressions of wild joy or terror on their faces froze, and their bodies went limp, falling straight down from mid-air like puppets with their strings cut. Before they even hit the ground, their Divine Souls were already extinguished.

Lu Qiu's figure flashed out from the rock crevice like a ghost, catching the two corpses with a wave of his hand to prevent them from making too much noise upon landing.

He quickly took their Storage Pouches, and with a thought, released a small amount of the Blood Soul Gu that had been nurtured in a special clay jar.

Dozens of strange, reddish-black insects with blood-red patterns on their backs vibrated their wings excitedly, turning into a faint blood mist and pouncing on the two still-warm corpses.

Their mouthparts opened and closed, easily piercing through clothing and skin to burrow into the bodies.

Visibly, the blood color of the corpses quickly faded, becoming gray and shriveled, and even the remaining weak Divine Soul fluctuations were swallowed up.

In just a few breaths, the two corpses looked as if they had been weathered for years, with only skin and bones remaining, and not a trace of blood or Soul Power left.

The Blood Soul Gu, having had their fill, seemed to have a slightly thicker blood mist around them. They emitted satisfied faint hisses and automatically flew back into the clay jar in Lu Qiu's hand.

Lu Qiu flicked two balls of Chixiao True Fire, incinerating the mummified corpses into ashes and completely erasing all traces.

The entire process was clean and efficient. From the activation of the illusion to the destruction of the evidence, it took only a short ten or so breaths, without causing any violent Spiritual Qi explosions or sounds.

"Decent efficiency." Lu Qiu weighed the two slightly shriveled Storage Pouches in his hand. He didn't stay any longer, his figure turning into a faint, barely perceptible trail of green smoke as he quickly left Cold Wind Slope and headed southwest toward Yuanling Valley... Yuanling Valley, located in the west-central part of Golden Drum Plain, was a quiet valley sandwiched between two mountains with a stream running through the middle.

The Spiritual Qi in the valley was relatively dense, and some low-grade Spiritual Plants grew there. On ordinary days, it was a place for low-level Cultivators from both sides to collect resources or take a short rest, and thus it had become a high-frequency area for ambushes and counter-ambushes.

Before Lu Qiu even approached the outskirts of Yuanling Valley, his Divine Sense, which was powerful enough to approach the Middle Stage of Core Formation, keenly captured the violent Spiritual Qi fluctuations and shouting coming from within the valley!

The battle had already begun and might even be nearing its end.

He concealed his aura even more carefully, like a true ghost. Using the cover of the terrain and vegetation, he silently approached the valley entrance, hid behind a giant boulder, and cautiously extended his Divine Sense into the valley.

The scene inside the valley came into his "view."

Three Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators dressed in Tianque Fortress attire were standing back-to-back, struggling to resist the fierce attacks of two Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators.

Of the two Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators, one was at the Late Stage Foundation Establishment Stage with a sinister face—likely the Lü Yang from the intelligence—while the other was at the Middle Stage.

The three from Tianque Fortress were clearly at an absolute disadvantage; two of them were already heavily injured, their protective spiritual light was dim, and their hand seals were disorganized.

While the two from the Ghost Spirit Sect held the advantage, their auras were also slightly fluctuating, showing that the previous battle had taken a significant toll on them.

"Surrender! Hand over your Storage Pouches, and maybe we'll give you a quick death!" Lü Yang grinned sinisterly, driving a ghastly green Ghost Head Blade. The blade light transformed into ghostly shadows, constantly tearing at the defenses of the Tianque Fortress Cultivators.

"In your dreams! You demonic villains, we would rather die than surrender!" a heavily injured Tianque Fortress Cultivator roared, gritting his teeth to spit a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the shield Magical Artifact in front of him. The shield's spiritual light flared, barely blocking a strike, but his face turned even paler; he was clearly at the end of his rope.

"Stubborn! Then die!" A fierce light flashed in Lü Yang's eyes as he and his companion intensified their assault.

"Puchi!" "Argh!"

Two screams rang out almost simultaneously!

The two heavily injured Tianque Fortress Cultivators finally couldn't hold on anymore. Their defenses were broken, and they were pierced through the chest by the Ghost Head Blade and another Bone Spike Magical Artifact, dying on the spot!

The remaining Tianque Fortress Cultivator's eyes nearly split from rage, but seeing his companions' tragic deaths, he knew he was no match. Without hesitation, he slapped his Storage Pouch and summoned a golden Talisman—an Intermediate Escape Talisman!

"Want to run?" Lü Yang had long been prepared. With a sneer, a streak of black light arrived later but struck first, hitting the activated Escape Talisman.

"Sizzle!" The spiritual light of the Escape Talisman was interfered with by the black light. Although it was successfully activated, the teleportation effect was greatly affected.

The Tianque Fortress Cultivator's figure became blurred and distorted. He didn't completely disappear but turned into an unstable golden stream of light, staggering away toward a certain direction outside the valley. Although fast, the trajectory was clearly unstable.

"Chase him! He won't get far!" Lü Yang called out to his companion. Cruel, cat-and-mouse smiles appeared on their faces as they prepared to give chase.

Having killed two people in succession and forced the third to flee in panic, they had consumed a lot of energy, and their minds were slightly relaxed.

In that subtle moment when their old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise, and their minds were slightly lax due to victory.

Nearly a thousand Illusion Spirit Butterflies, which Lu Qiu had already quietly released and perfectly hidden using the valley's breeze and the shadows of plants, suddenly attacked! They were spread throughout the area near the valley entrance.

The seven-colored, blurry halo was like a silent tide, instantly drowning Lü Yang and his companion!

The scene before their eyes changed abruptly!

Lü Yang seemed to see himself successfully killing all his enemies and returning fully loaded, receiving a heavy reward from the Sect Leader and making a Breakthrough to Core Formation... In his wild joy, his wariness dropped to the freezing point.

His companion fell into an even more terrifying illusion, his mind trembling.

Almost at the same time the illusion was activated, a dark-gold afterimage shot out from behind the giant boulder where Lu Qiu was hiding at a speed exceeding the reaction limit of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

The Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis!

Its incomparably sharp forelimbs carved two barely perceptible cold glints in the air, like the scythes of a reaper, sweeping toward the necks of Lü Yang and his companion!

"Puchi! Puchi!"

Two soft sounds, almost inaudible.

The wild joy on Lü Yang's face instantly froze, his eyes still holding remnants of his vision for the future.

The terror on his companion's face was completely fixed.

Two heads soared into the sky. Before blood could spray from the severed necks, the two headless corpses were already pierced and carried away by the Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis's forelimbs.

The dark-gold figure made an extremely agile turn in the air and instantly vanished into the shadows behind Lu Qiu.

From the activation of the illusion to the Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis's attack, kill, and removal of the corpses, the entire process was as fast as lightning, taking only one or two breaths.

In the valley, aside from the lingering faint smell of blood and the traces of the battle, it was as if those two fierce Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators had never appeared.

Lu Qiu's figure slowly walked out from behind the giant boulder, his expression calm.

He raised his hand and made a beckoning gesture, and the Storage Pouches falling from Lü Yang and his companion flew into his hand.

Then, a few sparks of Chixiao True Fire were flicked out, incinerating the bloodstains on the ground, the lingering aura, and the two heads that had not yet landed into nothingness.

He glanced in the direction where the Tianque Fortress Cultivator had fled; there was no longer any sign of the golden stream of light.

"Crystal Condensing Marrow..." Lu Qiu's Divine Sense probed into Lü Yang's Storage Pouch and quickly found a jade box protected by layers of Restrictions.

Upon opening it, inside was a small section of a strange jade stone, about the thickness of a baby's arm. It was milky white and translucent throughout, with jade marrow slowly flowing inside, emitting a pure spirituality and a stable Dao charm. It was exactly the "Crystal Condensing Marrow"!

"Silver Opportunity, obtained."

Lu Qiu satisfiedly put away the jade box, then quickly checked the Storage Pouches of the others. He kept the valuable items and destroyed the useless junk along with the Storage Pouches themselves.

He did not stay long. With a flash of his figure, he seemed to blend into the shadows of the mountain forest and quickly moved away from Yuanling Valley.

Today's harvest was already quite significant.

As for whether that Tianque Fortress Cultivator who narrowly escaped would cause subsequent trouble?

Lu Qiu was not worried.

The other party was too busy looking after himself and had not seen clearly who had acted.

On this chaotic battlefield, the "mysterious disappearance" of two Demonic Path Cultivators was more than normal.