Chapter 184: After all, it is still a trap

Seeing Shang Rui change her address to call him "Grandmaster Xia," Xia Daoming was slightly startled, then gave a faint smile and said, "Sister Rui, one takes money to resolve disasters for others. Since I have already taken your Foundation Establishment Pill, I naturally must continue to accompany you in searching for the Nether You You Yuan Cao."

"You should stop mocking me. With your strength, how could a single Foundation Establishment Pill possibly be enough to hire you? Not to mention, you just saved my life a moment ago." Seeing Xia Daoming change his address to call her "Sister," Shang Rui was also slightly startled, then quickly showed a self-deprecating look.

"You don't still think I came here for the reward, do you?" Xia Daoming looked at Shang Rui with a half-smile.

Shang Rui, who had always been aloof and indifferent, faced Xia Daoming's half-smiling gaze and, for the first time, her old face flushed red, and she lowered her head.

"But regardless, even close brothers settle accounts clearly! Now that I have re-evaluated you, the reward should still be adjusted. I will add two more Foundation Establishment Pills for you, and in addition, add one hundred Qi Gathering Pills, twenty Cloud Condensing Pills, and five hundred mid-grade spirit stones. As for the debt of saving my life, we can slowly repay it if there is a chance in the future." Shang Rui quickly returned to normal, looked up, and said calmly.

"There seems to be no talk of life-saving debts between close brothers; there is no need to mention this matter again," Xia Daoming said, though he was overjoyed inside.

Another huge windfall!

Shang Rui was slightly startled, then, for the first time ever, gave Xia Daoming a faint smile and said, "What you say also makes sense."

The male cultivator saw that Sui Yudan was definitely no match for Xia Daoming, and feared that once he killed Sui Yudan, the next target would be him, so he finally began to harbor thoughts of retreating.

"Hoo!" Shang Rui let out a long sigh of relief; her forehead was covered in cold sweat the size of peas, though she didn't know when it had appeared.

Xia Daoming's attention, however, was not on the island in the center of the lake, but rather he frowned slightly and said, "If this is the territory of the Nether You Shui Jiao, we have now intruded into its territory; it should have appeared by now."

"Wait!" Xia Daoming suddenly shouted at this moment.

Fresh blood sprayed out instantly, scattering like rain.

And almost at the same time, on the other side, a hazy light had long since shone down upon the male cultivator.

Rolling green smoke surged into the sky, and the shrill, sharp hissing of a snake sounded again.

"Haha! Where can you run!" The handsome male cultivator closer to Xia Daoming felt the sudden eruption of Xia Daoming's blood-Qi strength and couldn't help but laugh out loud. At the same time, he flipped his palm, and a flying sword shot toward the direction Xia Daoming was about to flee.

"This is the place; the Nether You Shui Jiao should live in this lake. If there really is Nether You You Yuan Cao growing here, it is nine times out of ten on the island in the center of the lake," Shang Rui said, her eyes looking toward the island with a trace of burning anticipation.

Shang Rui's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and her gaze immediately scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

As soon as the mirror was taken out, rolling cold air was released from it, turning into ice mist that surrounded Sui Yudan.

However, the news about the Nether You Shui Jiao is true; it's just that I allowed that person surnamed Ding to resell this information once more, and promised him that I would keep you here.

However, as the two continued to go deeper into the Black Abyss Mountain.

It was precisely because of this that the handsome cultivator felt Xia Daoming was foolish and ridiculous.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Not only did the powerful demonic beasts encountered increase significantly, but sometimes they were in groups, numbering in the dozens or even hundreds, and every single demonic beast reached the level of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even with Xia Daoming's strength, he could only take Shang Rui and run rapidly, not daring to clash head-on.

"Is that person surnamed Ding one of your people? Did you let him release the news to lure me here?" Shang Rui said with an ugly expression.

The black dragon transformed from the left-hand spear steadily suppressed her black python, while his right-hand saber continued to pierce into her ice mist barrier. The saber Qi penetrated her body, already causing her meridians to ache in waves, and the circulation of her true Qi and magic power began to show significant disorder and stagnation.

Seeing this, the corners of the three people's mouths all curled into a mocking sneer.

It might even have begun to approach the power of a False Core ancestor.

A cold glint had already lit up as Xia Daoming ran wildly.

"Didn't expect that we would meet here, did you?" the woman sneered.

Sui Yudan panicked, and the saber edge took advantage of the momentum to enter like a hot knife through butter.

Not only that, but broken ice within the ice mist barrier constantly lashed at the saber edge, emitting a crisp sound of metal clashing.

However, in her view, he was mostly likely still preparing to flee.

As a result, Shang Rui never dreamed that Xia Daoming's true intention was not to paralyze the opponent and win a chance to escape, but that he had planned to ambush and kill the opponent from the very beginning.

But Xia Daoming not only used the mirror light to bind him for a moment, but also used a ghost magic tool to trap him briefly.

The male cultivator's expression changed drastically.

Shang Rui had naturally recovered her senses by this time.

"Fine, but it's only a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; it's easy for the three of us to join forces and capture her alive," the man on the left said with a relaxed expression.

With a loud bang, the fire dragon's thick tail fiercely whipped the Red Flame Linglong Tower back, then it turned around, coiled around the male cultivator, and prepared to escape.

The black clouds and mist emitted Yin-evil death Qi, completely covering the blood-Qi of the two.

"Mm, okay." Shang Rui's heart trembled, and then she nodded hurriedly.

When Xia Daoming moved toward the gap in the defensive line just now, he was actually also closing the distance between himself and the handsome cultivator closest to that gap.

However, the handsome male cultivator had only just released his flying sword when his eyes suddenly widened.

Xia Daoming didn't even think and sacrificed the Ten Thousand Snake Yin Soul Banner, turning into clusters of black clouds and mist to wrap the two.

As a result, Xia Daoming's performance once again completely exceeded her expectations.

Sui Yudan woke up with a start and hurriedly retreated rapidly toward the direction of the other cultivator. At the same time, a long black whip had already left her hand, turning into a large black python to entangle the broadsword.

The Red Flame Linglong Tower and the fire dragon collided, erupting into clusters of flames and a huge sound.

But she still had some buffer time, especially since her defensive magic tool, the Yi Water Cold Ice Mirror, was now being fully activated. It still couldn't block the saber edge transformed from the opponent's strength from slashing in, which shows that at such a close distance, his strength could already erupt with power not at all inferior to a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator.

The handsome cultivator had just reacted, and as he flipped his palm, a shield broke through the air, but the sharp saber edge had already arrived.

Following the handsome cultivator's scream, the saber edge cut through the magic power barrier he had released in his haste as if it were breaking through paper.

A black dragon killed its way out, blocking the black python.

The black mist dissipated, and Shang Rui looked at the three corpses on the ground, her mood unable to calm down for a long time.

"Yudan, since the person has already come, let's finish it early. After all, this is the Black Abyss Mountain, not a safe place. That Ink Cloud Eagle that flew over from above yesterday almost discovered us," the man on the left frowned and said.

She didn't know if Xia Daoming was truly preparing to flee or falsely preparing to flee.

"Shang Rui, stop putting on that righteous face for me! Cultivation is an act of defying heaven to begin with, so where do these innocent living beings come from?" Sui Yudan said with a ferocious expression.

While the male cultivator's expression changed drastically, on the other side, Xia Daoming had already drawn his saber, turning into a streak of light, and killed his way into the black mist.

As the firelight stalled, gusts of Yin wind howled from all directions.

Just as Xia Daoming and Shang Rui were walking, they suddenly felt an extremely dangerous aura coming from above their heads.

Such a battle record, let alone a mere Martial Grandmaster, even a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator could not achieve.

From the moment she saw Sui Yudan and the three appear, Shang Rui thought she would definitely die this time.

Even Xia Daoming would be dragged down here.

It turned into a huge saber edge carrying a cold, murderous intent.

She put away the Red Flame Linglong Tower, sacrificed her green flying sword, and killed her way into the black mist, cooperating with Xia Daoming to conduct long-range attacks.

"I thought you would arrive very quickly, but I didn't expect to wait for several more days, and it's very surprising that you actually only brought a Martial Grandmaster with you," the woman said, her gaze looking at Xia Daoming with quite a bit of surprise.

All the changes were simply too fast.

But Xia Daoming, a mere Martial Grandmaster, had actually achieved it!

This certainly had to do with his strength, but Shang Rui believed it had even more to do with his meticulous mind and his foolproof schemes.

"Shang Rui, this little friend is much more vigilant than you. At your age, have you lived your life in vain?" When Shang Rui scanned the surroundings vigilantly, a woman's mocking voice came from the forest.

The water of the mountain lake was black, emitting a cold aura.

But the black mist was like thick ink, and there were tens of thousands of Yin snakes. For a time, the firelight released by the fire dragon not only couldn't burn them away completely, but also couldn't coil around the male cultivator to break through the encirclement of the black mist and Yin snakes.

"You have been hiding in Changqing City like a turtle for thirty years; what else could I do? I had to lure the snake out of its hole. If I didn't lure you out, wouldn't I regret it for the rest of my life once you died of old age?"

For him, a mere Martial Grandmaster, wanting to escape under her nose was simply wishful thinking.

"Senior, I beg you, please spare this little one's life. This little one still has two beautiful wives at home; this little one is still young, this little one really doesn't want to die!" Xia Daoming bowed repeatedly to the three, but his gaze was darting toward the gap in their defensive line, and his footsteps were quietly moving toward that side.

The two joined forces in long-range and close-range attacks, and their power was almost comparable to the joint effort of a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator and a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After all, she didn't have many years to live, so if she died, she died; there was no need to drag Xia Daoming down with her.

This man looked like a middle-aged person and was very handsome, even handsome to the point of being a bit bewitching.

That seemingly thin mist was actually extremely thick and carried icy power. When the saber edge slashed in, it was like falling into a quagmire, and as it swept through the mist, it emitted a harsh friction sound.

There was a small island in the middle of the mountain lake. The island was lush and green, not only full of grass and trees, but there was also a small hill more than ten zhang high in the middle of the island.

The firelight suddenly flared up, igniting the black mist.

A dragon and a python fought in the air, stirring up sand and stones that filled the sky, and one didn't know how many large trees were knocked down or uprooted.

This time, if he hadn't come, there would have been no need to deliberately put himself in danger.

It was precisely because of this that Shang Rui thought Xia Daoming's choice to hide his strength and beg for mercy to leave was the wisest choice.

She didn't hesitate and immediately released the Red Flame Linglong Tower, which whistled as it fiercely collided with the fire dragon.

Even though Shang Rui already knew Xia Daoming's strength was very powerful, every time she saw this scene, she still couldn't help but feel her heart jump.

Along the way, while killing demonic beasts, he also habitually restrained quite a bit of his strength.

Strands of cold air followed the saber edge transformed from his strength and penetrated into Xia Daoming's meridians, causing his meridians to feel waves of chill.

Cold saber Qi and murderous intent penetrated his body.

"Sui Yudan!" Shang Rui's expression changed suddenly.

The two followed the map to the side of a mountain lake shrouded in black mist.

Xia Daoming did not kill the withered old man in front of her, and when he struck to kill the beautiful young woman, he deliberately restrained his power while slashing at the blood-colored light barrier. He did not break it in one blow, but waited until Shang Rui also smashed down with the Scarlet Flame Linglong Tower, only then seizing the opportunity to kill the beautiful young woman.

"I am just an assistant invited by Shang Rui; I have no hatred for you at all. I ask that you seniors spare this little one's life," Xia Daoming bowed and begged.

In their view, Xia Daoming's little tricks naturally couldn't escape their sharp eyes, and they were happy to give him a big surprise, treating it as a bit of fun before killing Shang Rui.

Logically speaking, a sixth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, even if holding a magic treasure, couldn't withstand a single impact from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Boom! Boom!"

On the way, the two would encounter demonic beasts from time to time.

These three were all late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Almost at the same time, Sui Yudan flipped her palm and an extra mirror appeared, which had flowing water patterns on it and exuded a cold ice texture.

If it were said that the accomplice died due to underestimating the enemy and misjudgment.

Xia Daoming seemed completely unaware that his thoughts had been seen through by the three, and continued to beg bitterly while moving toward the identified escape direction.

If he hadn't reacted quickly just now and immediately covered himself with the Ten Thousand Snake Yin Soul Banner, once that Ink Cloud Eagle smelled his blood-Qi, it would definitely have been a life-and-death tribulation, and he would very likely have become the Ink Cloud Eagle's meal.

In her view, with Xia Daoming's strength, dealing with one late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator should be no problem, but three joining forces was definitely not something he could match, and the chance of death was very high.

And the mocking look on the two male cultivators' mouths became even more intense.

Along the way, everything had gone quite smoothly, and he even hunted some demonic beasts that could be exchanged for spirit stones, making a small profit, which made Xia Daoming inevitably develop a trace of pride and arrogance.

However, Xia Daoming's meridians were exceptionally tough; he only felt the chill, and his strength surged out, almost unaffected.

Every time Xia Daoming swung his saber, Shang Rui only saw a figure and a cold glint flash, and then the demonic beast would collapse to the ground with a bang.

"Ink Cloud Eagle!" Shang Rui was scared pale on the spot, her limbs cold.

Until just now, Xia Daoming realized that he had thought of the Black Abyss Mountain too simply.

"Your son killed a large number of innocent living beings to refine an evil tool; even if I didn't kill him, others would definitely have killed him," Shang Rui said.

The surrounding Yin-evil death Qi suddenly disappeared, and Shang Rui felt a chill for no reason, her gaze toward Xia Daoming adding a different color.

In this way, once Xia Daoming moved, it became throwing himself into the net, seeking his own death!

He stabbed fiercely.

The male cultivator's soul was eaten clean by the Ten Thousand Snake Yin Souls as soon as it left his body.

With the opponent's contempt, given his strength and speed, his escape was almost a foregone conclusion.

Almost at the same time, Sui Yudan felt her internal blood-Qi and magic power turbulent, as if she had been fiercely slashed by several sabers, and fresh blood slowly flowed from the corner of her mouth.

Sui Yudan's Yi Water Cold Ice Mirror had just been sacrificed to form an ice mist protection area when several cold saber lights flashed past. The large black python was actually slashed into several segments, returning to a long black whip, its light dim, showing signs of falling to the ground.

This time, he had already earned a full pot, and it seemed there was no need to go deeper and take risks.

So much so that Shang Rui had always believed that once Xia Daoming suddenly erupted at close range, he should be able to exert combat power equivalent to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The saber edge continued to advance within the ice mist barrier.

And at this moment, a dragon's roar sounded.

Looking at Shang Rui's complex expression, Sui Yudan couldn't help but show a look of relief and hatred.

It was so fast that not only were Sui Yudan and the other cultivator's minds blank, unable to believe what their eyes saw, but even Shang Rui, who already had some understanding of Xia Daoming's strength, had a blank mind at this moment and couldn't react.

But at this moment, Shang Rui suddenly realized that she seemed to have imagined the man in front of her too simply.

Not only that, Shang Rui also spat out a mouthful of essence blood, which turned into a blood talisman and merged into the magic tool.

"Squeak!"

Sometimes, when it was difficult to avoid, Xia Daoming had no choice but to swing his saber to kill, and incidentally earn a little small money.

He never dreamed that Xia Daoming, a sixth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, could actually use magic tools and spells to trap him, a dignified late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, for a moment.

Even at this moment, Xia Daoming had a thought of turning back.

Because her heart was tied to the Nether You You Yuan Cao, she had lost her vigilance for a moment.

Just at this moment, the saber edge had already slashed toward the ice mist barrier.

The black mist rolled, and tens of thousands of snakes surged in the black mist, swallowing the male cultivator.

The Ink Cloud Eagle, which blotted out the sky and sun, scanned below with lightning-like eyes, showed a trace of disgust, flapped its wings, and left, turning into a small black dot in the blink of an eye.

It killed its way to her chest in one go.

Just at this time, a powerful blood-Qi strength erupted from Xia Daoming's body.

The saber edge stirred up gusts of cold, sharp wind blades, cutting through the void like a bolt of lightning.

"No!"

He thought that with his strength, this Black Abyss Mountain was a huge hunting ground for him.

Xia Daoming quickly put away the Ten Thousand Snake Yin Soul Banner.

Xia Daoming looked up at the sky and saw a huge black eagle flying rapidly from the direction of the depths of the Black Abyss Mountain like a mass of dark clouds.

"What is it?" the man on the right looked at Xia Daoming with interest.

Xia Daoming also let out a long sigh of relief and put away the Ten Thousand Snake Yin Soul Banner.

The fire dragon's light suddenly flared up, and its body also expanded significantly.

However, Xia Daoming quickly dismissed this thought.

"Originally, if you didn't flee, with the strength of the two of you, there should still have been a glimmer of hope for survival. Unfortunately, you were too cowardly and selfish." Killing his way into the black mist, Xia Daoming slashed at the man one saber after another, while not forgetting to mock him and conduct psychological attacks.

Then, one woman and two men walked slowly out of the forest, forming a semicircle, surrounding Xia Daoming and Shang Rui.

But since they had come, they certainly couldn't be timid and retreat just because they encountered a little danger.

While speaking, the three flipped their palms, and each held a magic tool.

Not long after, the male cultivator had his head slashed off by Xia Daoming's saber and died.

Sui Yudan showed a look of extreme horror.

While Xia Daoming was conducting physical and verbal attacks on the man, Shang Rui, who had lived for a long time, naturally wouldn't forget to cooperate.

Penetrated the body.

"Sister Rui, it's fine now, let's go." Xia Daoming seemed completely unaware that the Ten Thousand Snake Yin Soul Banner had cast a layer of sinister color over his upright and righteous image. He looked at Shang Rui, who still had cold sweat hanging on her forehead, and said in a deep voice.

The gap between the sixth layer of Qi Refinement and the late stage of Foundation Establishment was simply too large.

Under normal circumstances, the two adopted a strategy of avoidance and were unwilling to cause extra trouble.

Terrified in his heart, Sui Yudan had already spat out a mouthful of essence blood without hesitation, which turned into a blood talisman and merged into the black python long whip.

Because of that previous battle, Xia Daoming had already established an upright, righteous, and loyal image in her heart.

As a result, in the blink of an eye, her companion actually wanted to abandon her and flee alone. Seeing this, Sui Yudan couldn't help but turn pale, her heart in a panic.

"Damn it!"

Otherwise, with his terrifying physical attack power, how could the defensive magic tool released by the beautiful young woman in her haste withstand his strike?

The mountain lake was half-moon shaped; one side of the moon arc faced the vast primitive forest, and the other side was a thousand-zhang cliff that pierced the clouds.

"Rip!"

What surprised Shang Rui even more was that Xia Daoming's speed and strength were even more astonishing than he had previously shown, so astonishing that he killed that handsome cultivator with one saber directly, leaving him no chance to defend.

Shang Rui looked at Xia Daoming as he begged bitterly while moving toward the identified loophole in the defensive line, a complex look in her eyes.

That magic tool just now was clearly an evil magic tool.

"Kill!" Seeing this, Sui Yudan's companion made a decisive decision to sacrifice the Fire Dragon Dart, flicked it at Xia Daoming, and it turned into a fire dragon that pounced and killed him.

"Rip!"

"A mere martial artist, Qi Refinement, kid, just end it yourself." The handsome cultivator nodded, looking at Xia Daoming with a smile.

"Sui Yudan, grievances have their source and debts have their masters. He is just an assistant I temporarily pulled in, just a small person. You are all powerful late-stage Foundation Establishment figures, so killing him would inevitably be beneath your status," Shang Rui said.

But now, Xia Daoming erupted suddenly, but he didn't flee toward the gap, but went against the trend and headed straight for him, which was completely beyond his expectations. Added to the speed bonus of the Wind Chasing Boots, in almost the blink of an eye, he was already two zhang away from that handsome cultivator.

At this moment, she really hoped the three would let Xia Daoming leave.

The black python long whip, which had been dim, suddenly erupted, emitting a shrill hiss, opening its bloody mouth, and pouncing toward Xia Daoming to kill him.

"Kill!"

Seeing that Xia Daoming didn't run wildly in the direction he had predicted at all, but instead came straight toward him like a flash of light.

"Boom!"

The sudden eruption of blood-Qi strength just now should also have been a wild run toward the gap.

Wherever it passed, the entire forest was shrouded in darkness.

"Fine, I want to capture her alive. This old woman killed my son; I must torture her to death slowly!" Sui Yudan said, the muscles on her face constantly twisting due to hatred, appearing exceptionally ferocious.

Sui Yudan saw Xia Daoming with a gun in his left hand and a saber in his right.

While Shang Rui's mind also went blank, Xia Daoming had already shouted sternly while swinging his saber again to kill Sui Yudan, who was closest to the handsome cultivator.

One day later.

Sui Yudan's strength was not as good as Xia Daoming's to begin with, and because she underestimated the enemy, she was killed to a distance of four or five zhang. One mistake led to another, and now she was just struggling to support herself, waiting for her companion to come to the rescue, to help her, to let her catch her breath, and to increase the distance from Xia Daoming, so that she would have a chance to escape.

Just as he had said to Ji Wenyue earlier, cultivation is an act of defying heaven; it is absolutely impossible to become an immortal and attain the Dao by hiding in a comfort zone; one must definitely experience hardships and tempering.

"You have a grudge?" Xia Daoming asked suddenly.

The firelight wrapping the male cultivator stalled.

After all, staying behind to accompany her had a high possibility of falling, and taking advantage of the opponent's contempt for him, with his strength and speed, the possibility of erupting and escaping was very high.

The Ten Thousand Snake Yin Souls, which had been fiercely burned by the fire dragon's flames, not only didn't weaken after devouring the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's soul, but became even more condensed and powerful.

"The hatred of killing my son is irreconcilable!" Sui Yudan said through gritted teeth.

He had actually killed the opponent again, and this time it was three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

While speaking, the two quickly continued on their way.

Even a False Core ancestor might not be able to keep all three, only a Golden Core ancestor could keep all three with 100% certainty.

Especially the ruthlessness with which Xia Daoming killed the handsome cultivator just now made this male cultivator's heart tremble whenever he thought of it.

The handsome cultivator's body suddenly split from the middle and fell to both sides.

Otherwise, with the strength of the two of them, it is estimated that their greatest battle record would only be to defeat and injure the three; wanting to keep the three was absolutely impossible!

Continuing the two-in-one chapter today, update completed.

Thanks to ricky007, Wannian de Dengdai, Yu Jinkun, Qiu Zhi Shenguang, Zhong Youshi, Xizi Huakai, Huajizi, 120714210451056, and other book friends for their tips.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 185 =====