Chapter 424: Golden Illusion Butterflies

What was somewhat unexpected was that after their master died, the number of these spirit insects decreased significantly, as if they had suddenly vanished into thin air. This struck Song Qingming as rather strange.

However, he had no time to dwell on this now. After using his spiritual sense to sweep up the storage bags of the three men he had killed, he turned and flew directly toward Xu Ziyan.

The purple-clad woman, still locked in combat with Xu Ziyan, had not expected the unremarkable-looking Song Qingming to dispose of her three companions so quickly. Seeing him charging toward her, she was seized by panic.

She immediately flung out a second-tier mid-grade talisman to force Xu Ziyan back, then swiftly broke off the engagement, leaped onto the flying boat she had arrived in, and fled southward, abandoning her remaining companion without a second thought.

She had completely underestimated Song Qingming's strength. In her eyes, Song Qingming was not a disciple of a major sect like the Xiaoyao Sect; based on his individual strength, she had assumed he would be only slightly stronger than the average rogue cultivator.

Although the two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators responsible for pinning Song Qingming down were mediocre, she had still possessed some confidence in the methods of the withered old man at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

She had assumed that the three of them working together would at least be able to hold their own against a common late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone be defeated so rapidly.

She had not expected Song Qingming to possess such exquisite magic treasures and such formidable cultivation techniques, far surpassing those of a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator. Moreover, ever since Song Qingming had descended the mountain to begin his cultivation journey, he had experienced countless battles; his combat experience was far beyond that of an ordinary cultivator.

The three men who had besieged Song Qingming had not even brought out any high-quality magic treasures during the fight. Only the withered old man's spirit insects had posed any real threat. The best defensive treasure among the other two was merely a first-tier low-grade item, which could not even withstand Song Qingming's long-practiced "Formless Escape Needles."

The purple-clad woman was now filled with regret. They had originally only targeted Xu Ziyan and her companion, but the sudden appearance of a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert like Song Qingming had caught them completely off guard.

When Song Qingming had declared his intention to intervene, the purple-clad woman had hesitated, but faced with the temptation of a Core Formation-assisting treasure like the Golden Sun Fire Essence, she had been unable to resist and chose to attack. The result was the loss of all her companions.

"Witch, don't you dare run!"

Seeing the opponent attempting to flee, Xu Ziyan pursued her relentlessly, still hoping to capture her. Unfortunately, the flying sword beneath her feet was significantly slower than the flying boat controlled by the purple-clad woman, and she was quickly left behind.

In the other skirmish, the bald man fighting Xu Ziyan's junior sister, seeing the purple-clad woman abandon him, panicked and attempted to break off the fight to flee.

His luck and skill, however, were not as good as the woman's. Before he could get far, he was intercepted again and soon perished at the hands of Song Qingming, who had turned back to provide support.

After killing the man, Song Qingming and the others waited in place for a while until Xu Ziyan flew back, her face flushed with indignation as she shouted:

"That witch! Her escape methods are quite something. If I run into her again, I certainly won't let her off so easily!"

"Haha! Do not pursue a desperate foe. Captain Xu, do not dwell on it. That purple-clad woman's abilities are not to be underestimated; she is likely no ordinary rogue cultivator. If you encounter her again, you must be careful!"

"Indeed, Senior Sister Xu. We encountered a calamity, and being able to emerge unscathed is already a blessing from the heavens. We owe it all to Brother Song's righteous intervention." Seeing Xu Ziyan still fuming, her junior sister stepped forward to comfort her with a smile.

Xu Ziyan nodded with a smile, then turned with her junior sister to face Song Qingming, bowing deeply with cupped hands:

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Song, for your assistance. If not for your righteous intervention today, my junior sister and I would surely have met a tragic end at the hands of those villains."

Song Qingming stepped forward to support them, shaking his head with a smile: "Captain Xu once helped me during my Foundation Establishment. Since I happened to run into this today, how could I stand idly by? Consider this a chance for me to repay that kindness."

After helping Xu Ziyan and her companion up, Song Qingming scanned the surroundings and said: "The commotion here was quite significant; it may attract other cultivators. It is not wise to linger. Let us quickly clean up and depart."

The three shared a smile and began to clear the corpses and the spiritual items left behind on the ground.

Aside from the storage bag of the bald man, which was taken by the junior sister, the magic treasures and storage bags of the three who had besieged Song Qingming all fell into his hands.

Although the bald man had ultimately died at Song Qingming's hands, the junior sister had done the bulk of the work against him. Song Qingming did not quibble over this; he already had enough spoils and did not care for one extra bag.

By contrast, Song Qingming was far more interested in the golden spirit insects still fluttering aimlessly in the sky. Since the end of the battle, his gaze had never left them.

"These insects are quite strange. Their master is already dead; why do they still linger here?" Seeing Song Qingming staring at the insects, Xu Ziyan walked over.

Seeing that both Song Qingming and Xu Ziyan were puzzled, the junior sister, who had just finished casting a fireball to incinerate the corpses, held up a white bag and said softly:

"If I am not mistaken, these should be a very rare type of spirit insect called Golden Illusion Butterflies. I once saw them recorded in a sect manual on spirit insects. The reason they linger here is that these insects, once bonded in their juvenile stage, cannot leave their master's spirit beast bag for long."

"No matter how long they are out, they must return to the spirit beast bag to rest every day. Otherwise, without sufficient spiritual energy replenishment, they cannot survive long in the wild."

After explaining, the junior sister opened the white bag in her hand. The golden spirit insects fluttering about immediately swarmed toward her and entered the bag.

"I found this spirit beast bag on that old man. Brother Song, if you are interested in these insects, you may take them back to study at your leisure." Having secured the Golden Illusion Butterflies, the junior sister handed the white spirit beast bag directly to Song Qingming, who had been watching her.