Counterattack

For this expedition, Xu Chunniang had invested a full nine spirit stones altogether. She had to at least make her money back.

Early the next morning, Xu Chunniang left the marketplace and headed straight for the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range.

She encountered quite a few Rogue Cultivators along the way. The looks they gave Xu Chunniang were utterly undisguised, as though they had spotted a juicy slab of meat.

Xu Chunniang revealed nothing on her face, but inwardly, she became alert. She quickened her pace and headed in one direction.

Today, she was going to a place called Rabbit Slope. Rabbit Slope was practically on the outermost fringe of the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range, and it only had one type of demonic beast: the Lair Rabbit.

Lair Rabbits were earth-attributed. Not only were they fast, but they were also skilled at burrowing into the ground, making them exceptionally good at escaping.

Thus, although Lair Rabbits generally did not exceed the third level Qi Condensation in cultivation, catching one was no easy task.

Besides running swiftly and burrowing underground, Lair Rabbits possessed astonishing strength. Getting kicked by one would not feel pleasant.

However, Lair Rabbits generally lived alone, with no more than two in a single burrow.

Lair Rabbit meat was edible, but their fur was of little use.

A dead Lair Rabbit was worth only half a spirit stone, while a live one could sell for two spirit stones.

Xu Chunniang thought it over. Since this was her first time entering the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range, she had better be cautious. Lair Rabbits were not particularly dangerous, making them perfect for testing her spells.

Just as she was about to reach Rabbit Slope, Xu Chunniang sensed that someone seemed to still be following behind her.

Thinking of those people's gazes earlier, her heart sank. She immediately used Spirit Void Steps and dashed deeper into Rabbit Slope.

Not long after Xu Chunniang's figure disappeared, two furious cultivators arrived belatedly.

"Damn it! We finally came across such a fat sheep, and yet we lost her."

The tall, skinny cultivator was enraged.

A gloomy glint flashed through the round-faced, short cultivator's eyes as he said shrewdly, "That person is a Carefree Sect disciple. Her cultivation is only at the third level Qi Condensation, the same as ours. Since she chose to come to Rabbit Slope, she clearly isn't much of a fighter. Why not just wait here for her to come out?"

After weighing it for a moment, the tall, skinny cultivator agreed with the round-faced, short cultivator's suggestion.

After all, the two of them risked their lives fighting demonic beasts in the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range day in and day out, only earning a few spirit stones. How could that compare to robbing a fat sheep?

"Haha, exactly! Brother, you really have thought this through. Once we kill that girl, we'll split her things evenly!"

After using Spirit Void Steps to enter Rabbit Slope, Xu Chunniang did not go any deeper. Instead, she turned a corner, hid herself, then quietly drew near again.

Upon hearing their words, a chill flashed through her eyes. These two really were setting their sights on her.

There was only one path down Rabbit Slope. As long as Xu Chunniang left, she would inevitably have to pass through this road.

The two had deliberately stationed themselves here because they refused to let Xu Chunniang, this "fat sheep," escape. Had she lacked vigilance, she would have met her end in their ambush today.

Xu Chunniang watched the two discuss how to murder her in silence.

Before coming here, she had already prepared herself mentally. She knew there were numerous Rogue Cultivators in the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range, including no shortage of vicious, poisonous-hearted people who made their living robbing passing cultivators. Yet she had not expected to encounter them on her very first day.

They actually took her for a fat sheep waiting for slaughter. Fine. She would use these two scoundrels to test her hand first.

They wanted her dead, so she would strike first!

Water Bind Technique!

With a thought, she directly activated her spiritual energy and launched an attack.

The two men were immediately enveloped by two enormous water spheres—the binding space she had formed with spiritual energy.

The two cultivators were suddenly attacked and caught completely off guard. They flailed about in panic, trying to escape from the water spheres.

How could Xu Chunniang possibly give them that chance?

The next instant, she unleashed the Spirit Blast Technique. Eight clusters of Explosive Spiritual Qi, each split three times, flew toward the two men. Four clusters of Explosive Spiritual Qi surrounded each water sphere.

Spirit Blast Technique, explode!

Under Xu Chunniang's control, the Explosive Spiritual Qi rushed into the cultivators inside the water spheres and detonated directly.

Bang! Bang!

Two deafening explosions rang out. The water spheres burst apart, and two figures fell to the ground, devoid of all breath.

Looking at the two corpses not far away, Xu Chunniang's heart pounded wildly. She had killed someone!

Before coming to the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range, she had guessed that something like this might happen. But when it truly happened, she still felt dizzy and disoriented.

Was this the path of cultivation? Just moments ago, they had been two living, breathing lives, yet in the blink of an eye, they had become two corpses. It truly was incomparably cruel.

If she had not been on guard and struck first, then if those two had ambushed her instead, the one lying here would probably have been her.

After a long while, Xu Chunniang gradually calmed herself down.

These two had wanted to kill her first. She felt no psychological burden over killing them in return; she was merely somewhat moved by the thought.

Xu Chunniang got up and searched them. She only found one Storage Bag on the short, fat cultivator, and the contents inside were pitifully scarce.

Apart from some worthless low-grade medicinal herbs, three Low-grade Talismans, and a pile of miscellaneous junk, there were only six spirit stones.

After thinking it over, Xu Chunniang moved the two corpses together. She took out a Fireball Talisman from the talismans and burned their bodies to ashes, which counted as seeing them off on their final journey.

After cleaning up the scene, Xu Chunniang used the Spiritual Rain Technique to wash her hands. Only after drinking two bottles of spiritual dew to fully replenish her spiritual power did she enter Rabbit Slope.

There were many Lair Rabbits on Rabbit Slope. Before long, Xu Chunniang spotted several, but they were naturally timid and highly vigilant. The moment they sensed someone from afar, they fled.

Xu Chunniang used Spirit Void Steps and caught up to the Lair Rabbit nearest to her.

This unlucky Lair Rabbit was only at the second level Qi Condensation. No matter how fast it ran, it could not compare to Xu Chunniang, who was at the fourth level Qi Condensation.

Very quickly, the distance between the woman and rabbit rapidly shrank.

Just as the Lair Rabbit was about to be caught, it suddenly stopped. Its pair of hind legs kicked backward with all their might!

Xu Chunniang hurriedly adjusted her direction and swerved right, dodging the kick.

At the same time, a miniature Water Bind Technique dropped over the Lair Rabbit's head.

The Lair Rabbit was trapped within the water sphere. Its four legs struggled without pause, yet it could not break free no matter what.

Xu Chunniang smiled faintly as she looked at the Lair Rabbit by her feet. If she had not reacted quickly, it really would have kicked her. Fortunately, she had been guarding against that all along.

A live Lair Rabbit was worth two spirit stones, while a dead one was worth far less—only half a spirit stone. Naturally, Xu Chunniang wanted to catch it alive.

She took out a large cloth sack, retrieved a rope from the Storage Bag she had newly acquired, tightly tied up the Lair Rabbit, then tossed it into the cloth sack.

Living creatures could not be placed into Storage Bags, so Xu Chunniang could only carry the sack herself.

Fortunately, Lair Rabbits were small and not particularly heavy, so she did not find it burdensome to carry.

A bright gleam appeared in Xu Chunniang's eyes. As she looked at Rabbit Slope, it was as if she were looking at a spirit stone mine.

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