Counter-kill

Wang Hong crept deeper into the stone forest, the spiritual energy growing more concentrated the further he went. Along the way, he spotted several Spirit Fruit trees. He directly summoned his Flying Sword, selected one of each type, dug them up by the roots, and tossed them into his Mysterious Space.

Monkeys are fond of alcohol and are skilled brewers. The Hundred Fruit Wine they brew, also known as Monkey Wine, is a rare delicacy. These fruit trees were likely what they used for brewing.

Wang Hong was in need of Spirit Fruits for brewing, so he couldn't pass up so many varieties of Spirit Fruits laid out before him. It was a pity his Mysterious Space was too small with not much room to spare; he could only select smaller ones of each type.

He suddenly stopped as he advanced, quickly flashing behind a large boulder.

He saw a black-robed cultivator emerge from the front. The cultivator walked to where Wang Hong had been standing, stopped, and called out towards Wang Hong's hiding spot, "Fellow Daoist Wang, come out!"

This person was the Cultivator Ding who had fled earlier. Wang Hong no longer hid and walked out from behind the boulder.

He spoke, "Cultivator Ding, you've got quite a plan. Your purpose in luring us here was likely to have us draw away the monkey pack for you, so you could sneak in and obtain the treasure, right?"

"Hahaha! Fellow Daoist Wang is truly a wise man, but unfortunately, you know a little too late. I'm quite happy to kill for treasure once in a while. I've had my eye on Fellow Daoist Wang's assets for a long time," Cultivator Ding said, stepping closer to Wang Hong.

As he approached Wang Hong, his aura also climbed steadily, from Qi Refining Layer Four to Qi Refining Layer Five, Qi Refining Layer Six... stopping only at Qi Refining Layer Eight.

The pressure from the Qi Refining Layer Eight aura made Wang Hong struggle to breathe, even extinguishing any thought of resistance. He took a deep breath, guarded his spirit, to resist this negative state. Then, he slapped several layers of Earth Armor Talismans onto himself.

Wang Hong endured the pressure, roared, and charged at Cultivator Ding with his spear.

Still three to four zhang away, Cultivator Ding summoned a Golden Flying Sword, which turned out to be a High-grade Metal Element Flying Sword.

The Golden Flying Sword emitted a blinding light and slashed down at Wang Hong. In a hurry, he raised his spear with both hands to block. With a "crack," the spear broke into two pieces.

The Golden Flying Sword continued its descent. After cutting through the spear, its remaining momentum was much weaker, but it still broke through two layers of Earth Armor Talismans before stopping, causing Wang Hong's chest to ache faintly.

Wang Hong was inwardly horrified. If he hadn't been habitually cautious and used a few more layers of Earth Armor Talismans, he would likely be a corpse by now.

He hurled the two broken pieces of his spear at the opponent and simultaneously took out a stack of talismans, throwing them all at Cultivator Ding.

Cultivator Ding pushed off the ground, his body moving like a phantom, quickly drifting back two zhang, easily evading the talisman attack.

Seeing this, Wang Hong took out another stack of talismans and hurled them all at Cultivator Ding. Then, he turned and bolted, not forgetting to add two more layers of Earth Armor Talismans and a Swiftness Talisman to himself as he fled.

He unleashed the Wind Riding Technique, pushing his speed to the limit. The wind blowing against him stung his face. Trees and rocks on the periphery rapidly blurred past behind him.

Just as he thought he had far outrun his opponent, he took the opportunity to look back, intending to mock his pursuer. He glanced back and his heart sank halfway. The words he had prepared died in his throat.

He discovered that Cultivator Ding was still trailing him at a moderate distance, appearing relaxed and seemingly with energy to spare.

He couldn't fight him, and he couldn't outrun him. With no other option, he could only continue his desperate flight, hoping for a turning point.

The chase lasted for over three hours. Wang Hong had used up seven Swiftness Talismans and drunk five servings of Spirit Wine.

"Damn it!" Cultivator Ding cursed fiercely. He had just seen Wang Hong use another Swiftness Talisman and couldn't understand how the brat had so many.

Swiftness Talismans cost over ten Spirit Stones each. Who would carry so many when going out? At the same time, his heart was bleeding. These were his talismans, burning his Spirit Stones. Wang Hong's storage bag contents should have belonged to him. Now, this brat had wasted it all.

It wasn't that he wanted to toy with Wang Hong by following slowly; he had his own troubles he couldn't speak of!

In the past, when he killed for treasure, he had killed a minor rogue cultivator at the Qi Refining stage. He obtained a map that marked the location of a cave dwelling.

After extensive investigation, he learned that deep within that area of Spirit Fruit trees lay the ruins of a cave dwelling, left behind by at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The group of demon monkeys guarding it outside were something he absolutely couldn't handle alone.

Thus, he devised a plan to lure other cultivators there. He had previously hinted to the cultivator surnamed Lei that there was a vast Spirit Fruit orchard here, guarded by over ten demon monkeys.

Then, the previous scene unfolded. Everyone else drew away the demon monkeys for him, while he secretly crossed the river, quietly infiltrating the cave dwelling.

However, the deceased occupant of the cave dwelling was not at peace even in death. He was trapped by a formation within the cave dwelling, sustaining some minor injuries that would require a few days of recuperation to recover.

Now, as he ran, his wounds throbbed with knife-like pain, and faint traces of blood seeped out. He hadn't expected an opponent he thought he could finish off in a few moves to be so slippery.

His magic power was already largely depleted. The magic power of the late Qi Refining stage was vast, but replenishing it was also very difficult.

Ordinary Spirit Wine could only satisfy his taste buds, with negligible effect on replenishing his depleted spiritual power.

As for higher-grade Spirit Wine, the supply was insufficient, and it wasn't something that could be bought with just any amount of Spirit Stones.

Wang Hong fled, unable to find an opportunity to escape, but he had run into a dead end. Looking at the cliffs surrounding him ahead, unless he could fly, he couldn't get away.

When paths cross, the brave prevail. He had been a soldier, coming from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. At critical moments, he never shied away from a fight to the death. Even if he died, he would tear off a piece of flesh from his opponent.

Wang Hong summoned a Black Flying Sword, which circled and danced above his head and around his body. This sword was a Mid-grade Flying Sword he had confiscated from Lin Junjie back then. He stood his ground, quietly waiting for his opponent to approach step by step.

"Oh ho! Weren't you quite good at running? Why aren't you running anymore? Hand over your storage bag obediently, and I can spare your life. My reputation among treasure-hunting cultivators is quite good." If he could coax Wang Hong into willingly handing over his storage bag, that would be good. Otherwise, if they were forced into a desperate fight, it would be a waste of many good things.

"Do you take me for a three-year-old child? If I hand over my storage bag to you, I'll just be at your mercy. Stop the nonsense and come at me!"

"Fine! I'll see how many more times you can jump around," Cultivator Ding said, summoning that Golden Flying Sword. It transformed into a golden light and slashed towards Wang Hong.

Wang Hong sent his Flying Sword into the air to intercept, while simultaneously charging forward and throwing a handful of Iron Thorns seeds.

The two swords met in the air, colliding with a dazzling radiance. Then, the Black Flying Sword was sent flying backward.

At this moment, the Iron Thorns seeds were nearing Cultivator Ding. He once again used that phantom-like movement technique, drifting two zhang to the side to dodge them.

The Iron Thorns seeds missed and fell to the ground, taking root and sprouting into thorny bushes over a person tall.

The Golden Flying Sword slashed at Wang Hong again but was entangled by the Black Flying Sword. The Black Flying Sword was repeatedly knocked away, and the cracks on it grew more numerous. It likely wouldn't last much longer.

Wang Hong took the opportunity to gulp down a bottle of Spirit Wine and charged at the opponent again. At the same time, he threw another handful of Iron Thorns seeds.

Thus, a strange scene unfolded. In the air, Wang Hong's Black Flying Sword was being beaten back steadily. On the ground, Wang Hong was chasing Cultivator Ding, wildly throwing Iron Thorns seeds.

Cultivator Ding drifted two zhang to the side and shouted, "Aren't you wasting them by throwing them around like this!"

"Even if I waste them all, I won't let you have them," he said, and then willfully threw another handful of Iron Thorns seeds.

With a sudden explosion in the air, the Black Flying Sword shattered into pieces and rained down from the sky.

At this moment, the Golden Flying Sword slashed at Wang Hong again. Wang Hong took out another Flying Sword and threw it at the Golden Flying Sword. Fortunately, he had kept the Flying Swords he had captured earlier instead of discarding them. He charged forcefully towards his opponent again, recklessly tossing a handful of Iron Thorns seeds.

Seeing the Iron Thorns seeds flying towards him, the Cultivator Ding finally noticed that thickets of Iron Thorns had grown all around him, to his rear and left. It turned out this brat had planned this all along. What seemed like a random, impulsive act was actually intended to use the Iron Thorns thickets to restrict his movement.

In his haste, he could only dodge to the right, his figure flickering as he drifted to the right. Little did he know that Wang Hong had anticipated his move to the right. Even before he could dodge, Wang Hong had already launched a handful of Iron Thorns seeds at a spot two Zhang to his right.

The Cultivator Ding ran headfirst into the Iron Thorns seeds. A few seeds latched onto him and quickly ensnared him tightly.

At this moment, his Flying Sword was shattered again, and the Golden Flying Sword descended to strike him.

Meanwhile, the Cultivator Ding produced a small knife Magic Artifact, cutting at the thorns wrapped around him. In at most one breath, he would break free from the thorny entanglement. Once he was on guard, it would be difficult to trap him again.

Wang Hong gritted his teeth. "I'll risk it!" He ignored the incoming Flying Sword. He pulled out a large handful of talismans and hurled them at the Cultivator Ding, who was struggling to cut through the thorns.

Just as he threw the talismans, the Flying Sword struck his head. In his haste, he had no time to think and could only quickly dodge a few inches to the right.

The Golden Flying Sword broke through three layers of Earth Armor Talismans, its momentum only slightly reduced. It sliced along the edge of his left ear, aiming for his left shoulder. It severed his collarbone, shattered his shoulder blade, broke his ribs, and cut open his lungs.

Simultaneously, a large handful of talismans exploded around the Cultivator Ding. The Cultivator Ding only managed to let out a pained howl before turning into a pile of ashes.

With the Cultivator Ding dead, the Golden Flying Sword lost its control and became lodged in Wang Hong's chest. His left shoulder was separated from his body, the wound gaping like a bloody maw, his left arm hanging limply.

He took out several Healing Medicines from his right hand and swallowed them, then sprinkled some Blood-stopping and Muscle-regenerating Powder on the wound. Only then did he carefully pull out the Golden Flying Sword lodged in his chest. As the sword was removed, blood sprayed out over a foot away. He immediately applied more blood-stopping powder and pressed down hard. After a quarter of an hour, the bleeding gradually stopped.

"That was close! The wound was only an inch away from my heart. Why didn't I dodge to the left back then? It wouldn't have been this dangerous."

Fortunately, the three layers of Earth Armor Talismans had slowed it down, and coupled with his minor success in body refinement, his physical defense was strong. Otherwise, he would have been split in half long ago.

He hastily bandaged his wound, picked up the Flying Sword and the Cultivator Ding's storage bag, and left in a hurry.