Chapter 136

「He actually struck first? 」

Qian Rui and Yu Fan were both shocked in their hearts.

They indeed had the intention to ambush this trip; even if Yunhe were willing to give them the items, they would not let him leave just like that—they first needed to obtain the items, then find a suitable opportunity.

But they never expected that a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator on the other side would dare to act without hesitation against two of them—a late-Foundation Establishment and a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator—and strike first?

Moreover, they are cultivators of the Spirit Beast Sect; their presence here doesn't mean they're alone—even the gray-feathered eagle beneath their feet is a mid-second-stage demon beast!

However, they didn't have much mind to waste on wild guesses.

Because the water-entwined bracelet had already approached close; the mana coiled upon it indicated this attack was not to be trifled with, not to be underestimated in the slightest.

「Be careful, this is a high-grade spiritual artifact! 」

Qian Rui gave a solemn reminder, hastily cast a seal, and the gray-feathered eagle beneath his feet let out a sudden cry; as its wings lifted, its claws gleamed with a metallic sheen, and its black talons struck at the incoming Xuanwu bracelet.

「Ding!! 」

A clear metallic collision rang out; the Xuanwu bracelet was flicked away, and the gray-feathered eagle swiftly retreated to increase distance.

Seeing the sudden attack blocked, Qian Rui secretly breathed a sigh of relief, still wanting to struggle a bit, and said:

「Yun Dao Friend, my fellow disciple and I were sent by our master to exchange for items; your sudden lethal attack disregards the relationship between the Spirit Beast Sect and the Qingzong Sect? 」

「Sorry, fellow Daoists, I just spent a lot of spirit stones at the market; I'm a bit short on funds and need your help. 」

Yunhe let out a low laugh, stepped forward without the slightest hesitation, and as the Li Fire Pearl flew forth, he infused it with a seal.

Exchange for items?

First of all, the two had set a trap to lure him here and intercept him, showing no sincerity in buying items at all.

Just the fact that the 「Thousand Gu Myriad Insects Technique」 was targeted is something he cannot tolerate.

Actually, from the moment they set up a checkpoint to intercept him, regardless of the reason, Yunhe had already decided not to let them off.

He couldn't handle the Spirit Beast Sect's Jie Dan Stage Elder Xiao, but slaughtering his two disciples would pose no problem.

When they saw Yunhe produce a second high-grade spiritual artifact, Qian Rui and Yu Fan's expressions changed; they almost simultaneously opened their spirit beast bags, and a late-second-stage Pan Tu Elephant and a mid-second-stage Iron-backed Golden-winged Falcon appeared.

Ang!!

The Pan Tu Elephant raised its trunk and cried out; layers of earthen ramparts rose from the ground, and the thick earthen wall flowed with streams of light.

Cry!!

The Iron-backed Golden-winged Falcon also spread and retracted its wings fiercely, shooting straight like a sharp arrow, the sound of tearing air echoing.

Furthermore, as the two continuously cast seals, the aura of these two demon beasts surged, their might greatly increasing.

It must be said, their offense and defense complemented each other quite well.

But Yunhe remained unmoved, even directly ignoring the incoming Iron-backed Golden-winged Falcon; he shifted his inner mana and unleashed a palm seal.

Then he saw the Xuanwu bracelet and the Li Fire Pearl draw near; the two high-grade spiritual artifacts almost simultaneously released brilliant light, but water and fire did not cancel each other out—instead they complemented each other.

Water and fire in harmony!

Boom!!

The erupting power and destructive force were actually not inferior to a top-grade spiritual artifact, and even slightly surpassed it.

The earthen wall released by the Pan Tu Elephant collapsed under this water-fire blended attack, and even the residual momentum surged rapidly toward the two.

Seeing this, Qian Rui and Yu Fan were shocked in their hearts; they never expected that a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator on the other side could unleash such a powerful strike.

The two immediately each threw out talismans; Qian Rui directed the Pan Tu Elephant to condense earth to block again, while Yu Fan had to recall the Iron-backed Golden-winged Falcon that had rushed out to provide rear support and defense.

Just.

Before Yunhe, what attack could be withdrawn before it even landed?

He shifted his mana and threw out the spirit insect bag.

Hum——

A large swath of dense golden-red clouds burst forth, sweeping over the two like a sky-covering veil.

「Insect cultivator?! 」

Seeing so many red-ringed gold-spotted bees numbering in the thousands, as Spirit Beast Sect disciples, they naturally knew best what this meant.

More importantly, from that single red-ringed gold-spotted bee with only two pairs of wings and extreme speed, they felt a tremendous threat.

This is no ordinary spirit insect!

Yunhe curled the corner of his mouth, his hand seal shifting; instantly the bee swarm split into several streams, wrapping from different angles.

Undoubtedly the first to suffer was Yufan's Second Stage mid-phase iron-backed golden-winged falcon; in an instant it was dyed gold‑red by the red‑ringed gold‑spotted bees, without uttering a single miserable shriek, and when the swarm dispersed not even a speck of debris remained.

Yufan's face turned deathly pale, his widened eyes filled with terror bordering on despair.

"What kind of spirit insect is this?"

You know the iron‑backed golden‑winged falcon is a demonic beast whose whole body is sheathed in metal, and demonic beasts already have sturdy bodies; yet in the blink of an eye it was devoured completely?

He had never seen such a terrifying spirit insect.

Moreover, these spirit insects were not just one or two, a hundred or two hundred, but thousands!

How could a cultivator capable of simultaneously controlling so many spirit insects possibly be only at Foundation Establishment mid-phase?

Could the opponent be a Golden Core Great Expert hiding his strength?

Qianrui's expression was no better than Yufan's, his heart tumultuous.

Seeing the bee swarm already lunging at the two of them, Qianrui shouted in haste:

"Fellow Daoist Yunhe! Senior Yunhe! We two have erred in this matter; please, for the sake of the Spirit Beast Sect and for your master Xiao Shanhe's sake, spare us this once!"

But Yunhe paid no heed to his plea for mercy.

He even increased his mana output, causing the swarm's speed to rise again.

Seeing this, Qianrui's face turned ashen, and he immediately sent a mental message to Yufan:

"If you want to live, junior brother, don't think about holding back your essence!"

Yufan let out a bitter laugh; of course he understood this senior brother's meaning.

However, what the other party said was indeed true.

Immediately, the two almost simultaneously formed the same hand seal, then hastily took out spirit talismans—Qianrui directed his at the Stone Soil Elephant, while Yufan directed his at the Gray-feathered Eagle.

For a moment.

The two beasts' aura surged instantly, their eyes turned red, presenting a ferocious appearance.

Regarding this move of the Spirit Beast Sect, Yunhe, who had crossed blows with Xiao Qiyuan, naturally understood it perfectly; he merely revealed a thoughtful smile as his raised hand came down heavily.

"Unite!"

However, he saw that each cluster of bees actually glimmered with a hazy demonic power.

"A formation?!"

Seeing this, Qianrui and Yufan couldn't help but show despair.

"My master Xiao Shanhe will definitely avenge us!"

Accompanied by a mournful cry, Qianrui left only these words.

The swarming bees dispersed, leaving nothing on the ground—whether the late Second-stage Stone Soil Elephant or the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Yunhe waved his hand, and the bee swarm returned to his spirit insect pouch like swallows returning to their nests.

With three Second-tier Beasts and two Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Crimson-ring Gold-spotted Bees had a hearty feast this time, and many spirit bees should gain considerable benefit from it.

The two never imagined that their interception mission was actually just delivering "feed."

After putting away the storage and spirit beast bags brought back by the bee swarm, a sharp glint flashed in Yunhe's eyes and vanished.

"Revenge?"

"Unless he prevents me from successfully forming my golden core, I will sooner or later go find him."

He waved his hand, dropping a vast cloud of fire that burned the area clean, erasing all traces.

Before acting, Qianrui and Yufan very likely had sent a message to Xiao Shanhe, who probably already knew that he possessed the "Thousand Poisons Myriad Insects Art."

Of course, it's also possible they didn't obtain accurate information, after all they only confirmed his identity after he arrived near the Qingyu Domain.

But for a Golden Core cultivator, does attacking a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator require absolute certainty?

No.

As long as they suspected he truly had what the other side wanted, that was enough.

Yet once he returns to the sect, he will inevitably be sent on missions; if that old thing Xiao Shanhe disregards martial ethics and launches a sneak attack, it could become quite troublesome.

"And there's the 'Blessing Silkworm'."

Yunhe took out the palm-sized, plump white silkworm from his storage bag, then rummaged through Qianrui's and Yufan's storage bags.

The other party must have used some special means to locate him via the Blessing Silkworm.

Otherwise, with the auction house's capabilities, it would be impossible not to find clues left on the Blessing Silkworm.

"Hmm?"

However, in Qianrui's storage bag, Yunhe hadn't yet found any device bound to the Blessing Silkworm; instead, he first found a bottle of essence blood.

Essence blood of a third-tier beast, the Blunt-horned Folded Yellow Rhino!

Yunhe's expression turned somewhat strange.

The item he had refrained from bidding on due to reservations ended up in his hands after all.

With Qianrui being a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would still be difficult to win an item just below a third-tier beast's inner core, unless he used some of Xiao Shanhe's resources.

Moreover, to be fair.

Beast essence blood indeed holds greater allure for the Spirit Beast Sect, so it's understandable that they would bid on this item.

But Yunhe truly didn't want to get involved with something that might become a "hot potato" at first.

He let out a faint sigh.

"Well, I'll reluctantly accept it then."

"Use it up quickly; it's not a big problem."

He immediately realized.

"Wait, if they won it, shouldn't no one be coming after them?"

He once again extended his divine sense, scanning the surroundings.

Little did he know that, although the winner of this item was indeed a Spirit Beast Sect cultivator, it was not Qianrui and Yufan.

How could a Spirit Beast Sect cultivator not know that winning third-tier beast essence blood would inevitably draw attention?

Therefore, they had already secretly completed the exchange within the market town.

Yet they never imagined that Yunhe, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, could easily slay the two of them.

His divine sense detected no trace of demonic or nefarious cultivators.

Yunhe put away the essence blood.

After another search, he finally found a compass.

At the compass's center lay a strand of milky-white blood.

"The blood of the Blessing Silkworm?"

Yunhe sighed.

He tossed the Blessing Silkworm in his hand into the air, then immediately waved his hand to unleash a flame.

It turned out to be a tracking method using the blood plus some special means; who knows, the other party might have left more than just a strand of blood, and carrying it could still allow them to lock onto its position.

It's just a pity for such spirit insects.

Afterwards, he briefly inspected the contents of the two storage bags, stuffed them into another storage bag, and then erased them along with the two spirit beast bags.

Having done that, Yunhe once again boarded his flying boat and fled toward the Qingzong Sect.

As for when the time comes, the sect will arrange a mission.

If it really doesn't work out, he will wait for this period to pass, then leave the sect for a trip, trying to secretly go to the United Region to hunt down a few demon cultivators to silence the sect's mission department.

Believing that with Huā Xīn backing him up, the sect shouldn't make things too difficult for him.

Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range.

「Ang!!! 」

The angry roar spread across the vast mountain forest.

A extremely bulky and horribly terrifying blunt-horned folded-yellow rhino lifted its head and let out a long, continuous howl, frightening countless demon beasts in the mountain range to flee in all directions at high speed.

At the same time.

In the mountain range, more and more roars rose and fell one after another.

The demon beasts throughout the mountain range also seemed to become restless because of this.

Suddenly.

「Roar——!! 」

A resounding dragon's cry rang out, causing the entire restless mountain range to suddenly become exceptionally quiet, even the anger-filled blunt-horned folded-yellow rhino ceased its roar.

Gurgle——

A clump of fresh blood slowly writhed and coagulated in a secluded corner.

Afterward, ghostly qi, corpse qi, and yin qi quietly emerged.

(End of chapter)