36: Duobao Nu! Madman Feng Yue!

"Feng Yue, Zhou Qian..."

"Neither of these two will be easy to deal with."

Lu Qiu gazed at the small silver characters on the information panel and fell into deep thought.

He had once spent Spirit Stones in a market to buy basic information on the elite Disciples of various major Sects participating in the Blood Colored Trial.

Zhou Qian of the Yanyue Sect and Feng Yue of Tianque Fortress were both listed, considered elite figures in this trial.

More interestingly, in his memories of the original story, both had crossed paths with Han Li.

Zhou Qian was the "Treasure Maiden" famous for her immense wealth, an unlucky soul who was killed by Feng Yue's sneak attack during a battle with Han Li.

And the madman Feng Yue didn't get to enjoy his triumph for long, dying under Han Li's heavenly thunder seed.

Now it seemed his appearance had already caused the original plot trajectory to deviate.

Before Han Li could even encounter them, this Treasure Maiden was actually going to clash with Feng Yue first.

These two possessed extraordinary strength and were both equipped with Top-Grade Magical Artifacts, perhaps even having a talisman treasure for protection.

Taking advantage of them to reap the rewards as a bystander would not be a simple task.

With the slightest carelessness, he, the "oriole," might become someone else's prey.

"However, there's no harm in taking a look."

"If there really is an opportunity..."

After a moment's hesitation, Lu Qiu made up his mind.

Riches are found amidst danger.

With his current strength and endless trump cards, he had absolute confidence in escaping safely if he faced either of them alone.

Not to mention waiting until they were both wounded.

These two—one a famous Treasure Maiden, the other a madman who murdered for treasures—both possessed unimaginably vast wealth.

If he could succeed, this single haul from the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land trip would be worth decades of hard cultivation for an ordinary Cultivator.

"It's still early; I can go and make some preparations in advance."

Lu Qiu put away the information panel, took out a beast-skin map, carefully identified the location of Wulong Pond, and then sped off in that direction on his wind and cloud boat.

Wulong Pond was less of a pond and more of a swamp that emitted a putrid stench.

The pond water was an eerie inky black, with rotting branches and leaves floating on the surface, while bubbles occasionally rose from the bottom, releasing a nauseating, fishy odor upon bursting.

Lu Qiu stopped in a dense forest several hundred feet away from Wulong Pond.

He did not rush to approach but instead found a sufficiently hidden depression and skillfully took out a Formation Flag and Formation Plate from his Storage Pouch.

Forming hand seals, he struck out several streaks of spiritual light.

The Mist Obscuring Eyes Formation, a Breath-Concealing Talisman, plus his own Formless Qi Concealment Art.

Under this triple concealment, his figure and aura completely merged with the surrounding environment; even if a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator arrived in person, they would find it difficult to notice anything amiss without a careful search.

Having done all this, Lu Qiu sat cross-legged and waited quietly.

Time passed bit by bit.

After a full two hours, there was finally movement on the distant horizon.

A brilliant rosy light and an earthy yellow escape light, one after the other, tore through the sky and sped toward Wulong Pond.

Within the rosy light was a beautiful woman wearing a pink palace dress—it was Zhou Qian of the Yanyue Sect.

Closely pursuing her was a tall man with a hideous face—Feng Yue of Tianque Fortress.

The two seemed to have already clashed elsewhere, and both appeared to have consumed a significant amount of magic power.

"Feng Yue! Do you really want to fight me to the death? I'll just give you that Dragon Blood Vine!" Zhou Qian shouted in a delicate voice as she fled.

"Hehe, Fairy Zhou must be joking. I want the Dragon Blood Vine, and I want the treasures on you too!" Feng Yue let out a burst of mad laughter, his speed increasing rather than decreasing.

The two landed by Wulong Pond one after the other.

Zhou Qian's face was frosty. Without further words, she patted her Storage Pouch, and a shimmering qing ning mirror suspended itself before her.

Top-Grade Magical Artifact, qing ning mirror!

Simultaneously, her other hand held a crystal-clear crystal ball.

Seeing this, Feng Yue gave a sinister smile and also summoned his own Magical Artifact.

It was a giant earthy-yellow umbrella with runes flowing across its surface, emitting a heavy aura.

Top-Grade defensive Magical Artifact, yellow net umbrella!

He also wore a pair of blue short boots that flickered with faint light, clearly an extraordinary auxiliary Magical Artifact as well.

"Kill!"

Feng Yue shouted violently and struck first, several sharp Spells blasting toward Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian activated the qing ning mirror; the mirror's surface flashed with light, blocking all the attacks.

The two instantly engaged in a fierce battle.

The roar of clashing Magical Artifacts and the spiritual light of exploding Spells rose and fell one after another by the small Wulong Pond.

It had to be said that the title of Treasure Maiden was not for nothing.

Besides the qing ning mirror and the crystal ball, the endless stream of Talismans and various disposable offensive Magical Artifacts in her hands once left Feng Yue in a state of frantic confusion, forced to rely on the yellow net umbrella for passive defense.

However, Feng Yue's combat experience was clearly more seasoned.

Relying on the sturdiness of his defensive Magical Artifact, he actually withstood Zhou Qian's barrage, constantly draining her magic power.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zhou Qian's offensive clearly weakened, and her aura became disorganized.

Feng Yue seized the opportunity, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a Talisman.

The Talisman spontaneously ignited in the air, transforming into a cold, glittering inch-long small knife that instantly pierced through the qing ning mirror's defensive light curtain at a speed difficult for the naked eye to discern.

A talisman treasure!

Zhou Qian let out a cry of alarm and hurriedly activated the crystal ball to block.

But the power of that small knife talisman treasure was simply too great; the crystal ball held out for only a moment before letting out a mournful hum and falling to the ground, its spiritual light dimmed.

The knife's momentum remained unchecked as it pierced straight through Zhou Qian's chest.

This "Twin Prides of Yan Yue" member, who was treated like a star in her Sect, had a look of unbelievable shock on her face as she slowly collapsed into the mud.

"Hahaha! I'm rich! I'm really rich this time!"

Seeing this, Feng Yue let out a sky-shaking mad laugh.

He stepped forward quickly, snatched the Storage Pouch from Zhou Qian's waist, and swept his Divine Sense inside, the look of wild joy on his face deepening.

But in the very next instant.

An invisible, sharp, stabbing pain exploded in his mind without warning!

A Divine Sense attack!

Feng Yue groaned, feeling as if his Primordial Spirit had been ruthlessly pierced by a red-hot iron needle, instantly falling into a brief blankness.

And in that moment of distraction.

A pitch-black light, like a life-claiming decree from the depths of Hell, silently shot toward him from behind.

Fast!

Extremely fast!

By the time Feng Yue barely recovered a trace of clarity from the intense pain and tried to activate the yellow net umbrella for defense, it was already too late.

Puchi!

The dark light accurately pierced through his back, bringing out a spray of hot blood.

Feng Yue lowered his head, looking at the bowl-sized hole in his chest, his eyes filled with bewilderment and resentment.

Until his death, he couldn't understand that after the mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows, there was actually an eagle.

Lu Qiu's figure slowly emerged from the dense forest.

With an expressionless face, he walked forward and took both the Storage Pouch tightly gripped in Feng Yue's hand and Zhou Qian's Storage Pouch.

Then, he cautiously suspended the golden origin bell above his head, letting down a misty golden light before finally speaking.

"How much longer does Fellow Daoist intend to hide?"

All was quiet around, with only the wail of the wind blowing across the swamp.

There was no response.

"If Your Excellency does not show yourself, then don't blame This Lu for being heartless."

Lu Qiu also held the qingming sword in his hand, blue light flowing over the blade, in a posture ready to strike at any moment.

The surroundings remained silent.

After a long time.

"It seems there really is no one."

Lu Qiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A desperate criminal like Feng Yue was one thing.

But behind the Treasure Maiden Zhou Qian stood a Core Formation Stage powerhouse.

If today's events were to leak out, he would surely face endless pursuit.

He delayed no longer, quickly stepping forward to strip the cloud treading boots from Feng Yue's feet as well.

Then, with a flick of his fingers, the two corpses were turned into ashes.

Having finished all this, he did not stay for a moment longer, mounting his wind and cloud boat and quickly disappearing into the horizon.