Si Xuesong

Lu Qingshan took a fresh set of clothes from his Storage Bag and put them on.

While changing, Lu Qingshan kept his wits about him and did not replace the outer robe he had stripped from Song Qing.

These were the clothes Song Qing had worn today. They might prove useful in what came next.

After changing, Lu Qingshan left the cave where he had been staying.

The Corpse Refining Cave was enormous. Lu Qingshan guessed it had originally been a natural underground karst cave, discovered by the Blood Corpse True Person and transformed into the Corpse Refining Cave it was today.

The caves containing the three Corpse Pools were interconnected and located at the deepest part of the Corpse Refining Cave. To leave this place, he would inevitably have to fight the remaining Qi Refining cultivators.

Though a fight was unavoidable, how he fought still required careful consideration.

No matter how experienced Lu Qingshan was, he was currently only a first-layer Qi Refining sword cultivator who had mastered no Sword Skills and possessed no Sword Weapon.

Speaking honestly, his frontal combat strength was probably a five.

If he charged in without a care in the world...

Well, within seconds, he would probably find himself under siege from two cultivators. If they went easy on him, perhaps he could return to his spawn point—the Corpse Pool—and experience the feeling of soaking in a hot spring again.

If those two hit a little harder, he probably would not even leave behind an intact corpse.

It looked brave, but it was not advisable. Cross that out!

This world he had transmigrated into was indeed a game world, but Lu Qingshan understood that he was no longer playing a game. He had lost the players' most important cheat: infinite resurrection. He had only one life, so he needed to be as prudent as possible in everything he did.

Lu Qingshan's plan was to defeat them one by one.

It would be best if he could deal with the fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator first. With the 60 experience points he currently had, he could make it to 100 and level up first.

Yet things never went as smoothly as planned.

Lu Qingshan slowly crept toward the exit of the Corpse Refining Cave, careful not to make the slightest sound.

But he had barely gone any distance when a shadow appeared in his line of sight.

Without another word, Lu Qingshan cast a Heavenly Eye Technique at it.

Let me see what kind of little demon you are.

Si Xuesong (Human)

Class: Magic Cultivator (Primary)

Cultivation Method: Qi Guiding Technique Lv.6 (235/600)

Realm: Qi Refining

Attributes: Strength 1, Agility 1, Mana 4, Soul 1, Charm 1, Endurance 1

Health: 11/11

Spirit Power: 70/70

Skills: Fireball Technique Lv.3, Fireball Spell Lv.1, ???, ...

Talents: None

Lu Qingshan's heart jolted, and he silently cursed his rotten luck. Running into someone was bad enough, but it had to be the sixth-layer Qi Refining second senior brother.

Damn planners! Pah!

"Junior Brother, why are you sneaking around like a thief? What are you doing?" Si Xuesong asked, looking utterly confused.

The Corpse Refining Cave was illuminated entirely by luminous pearls embedded in the walls, and the lighting was actually quite poor. From even a little distance away, one could see only a hazy silhouette.

Seeing Lu Qingshan in Song Qing's clothes from afar, Si Xuesong instinctively took him for his junior brother.

Lu Qingshan slightly lowered his head, hiding his face in the shadows. His steps did not change as he slowly approached Si Xuesong.

Yet his left hand had already slipped quietly into his clothes.

There lay all the offensive talismans he had seized from Song Qing's Storage Bag.

"I heard some movement near the Corpse Pool, so I went over to take a look," Lu Qingshan explained.

Si Xuesong frowned, sensing that something was off. "Junior Brother, why is your voice so deep today?"

Trusting the Mist Array set up by the Blood Corpse True Person, Si Xuesong never considered the possibility of an outsider infiltrating the Corpse Refining Cave.

So even though he had noticed a trace of something unusual at first, he had not become vigilant.

"Wait, Junior Brother, why do I feel like you've gotten much taller today?"

As he spoke, Lu Qingshan had already drawn much closer to Si Xuesong. By now, Si Xuesong had sensed that something was wrong. He focused his eyes—and saw an unfamiliar face.

Si Xuesong inwardly cried that things were bad.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. In the split second of Si Xuesong's astonishment, Lu Qingshan flung his left hand, full of Spirit Talismans, toward him!

Fireball Talisman ×5!

Gold Blade Talisman ×3!

Earth Spear Talisman ×2!

This was no time to save items. In one breath, Lu Qingshan activated every offensive talisman Song Qing had accumulated and hurled them at Si Xuesong.

The two were already extremely close—so close that it was unsuitable to use Spirit Talismans.

At the current distance between Lu Qingshan and Si Xuesong, even the Fireball Technique unleashed by the Fireball Talismans would affect Lu Qingshan.

This could already be called killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of his own... uh, not that much. Five hundred, then.

But only at this distance could Si Xuesong be left with no time at all to react and cast a defensive spell!

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

A series of thunderous explosions rang out.

You received 1 point of spell damage!

You received 1 point of spell damage!

You received 1 point of spell damage!

Five identical notifications flashed past.

Even though Lu Qingshan had only suffered damage from the Fireball Technique's aftershock, and even with Thick Skin and Flesh reducing spell damage by 20%, he had still lost a full quarter of his health!

Meanwhile, aside from facing five Fireball Techniques head-on, Si Xuesong also had to withstand three Gold Blade Techniques and two Earth Spear Techniques.

Under such an assault, Si Xuesong, with only 11 health points, should have been killed instantly if he had not cast a defensive spell.

But Lu Qingshan's eyes narrowed. At the instant before the spells triggered by the talismans struck Si Xuesong, a clear golden shield appeared around him.

Metal Element Spell: Golden Light Shield!

Si Xuesong possessed an automatically triggered defensive Spirit Artifact. This Golden Light Shield should have been cast automatically by the artifact.

Though the shield shattered and vanished beneath the barrage of spells in only an instant, the severely weakened spells that struck Si Xuesong afterward no longer dealt enough damage to kill him.

Damn it. I absolutely can't let Si Xuesong react and cast a spell!

At this life-or-death moment, Lu Qingshan instead became exceptionally calm.

Without hesitation, Lu Qingshan rammed directly into Si Xuesong.

Brute King's Charge!

Si Xuesong's Strength attribute was not higher than Lu Qingshan's. Under Lu Qingshan's heavy, powerful collision, the spell Si Xuesong had just begun gathering Spirit Power and forming hand seals to cast was instantly interrupted again. (Spell Interrupted)

Die!

Lu Qingshan locked both arms tightly around Si Xuesong's body. At the same time, he threw his head backward, then slammed it forward, smashing it viciously into Si Xuesong's head.

Lu Qingshan felt a wave of dizziness surge through his mind, stars dancing before his eyes. A searing pain erupted from his forehead; he did not need to look to know it was surely covered in bruises.

But Si Xuesong was no better off. That blow had split his head open, leaving blood streaming down his face.

Let's see you cast a spell while your head is spinning like this!

Lu Qingshan hardened his heart.

"The attack spells unleashed by those Spirit Talismans made such a huge commotion. The remaining third senior brother at the fourth layer of Qi Refining couldn't possibly have missed it. He'll probably come to investigate in a few seconds."

Lu Qingshan knew he did not have much time.

If he could not deal with Si Xuesong before reinforcements arrived, then once it became one against two, he would have absolutely no chance of victory.

With that thought—

A sharp glint burst from Lu Qingshan's eyes. His mind stirred, and his knee shot upward, driving brutally between Si Xuesong's legs.

It was as if he heard something egg-shaped shatter.

Forget a Qi Refining cultivator—even if Si Xuesong were a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could not possibly endure such a close-range strike.

Si Xuesong's expression twisted as his entire body instantly went limp.

Strike him while he was down and take his life.

Lu Qingshan swiftly drew Song Qing's short blade from the Storage Bag at his waist and plunged it straight into Si Xuesong's heart.

Urgh—

Si Xuesong's pupils abruptly dilated. His body curled like a shrimp as he convulsed in unwilling struggle once, then fell completely still.

Target killed. You killed Si Xuesong (Lv.6) and gained 60 experience points!

Si Xuesong had not managed to cast a single spell before dying. That was what happened when a low-level Magic Cultivator was approached at close range—unless that Magic Cultivator's surname was Gan.