Su Hao had already closed in, his swordplay flowing without end, its momentum as fierce as raging fire.
In contrast, Zheng Tu strolled about at his leisure, lightning qi shielding his body. He could easily evade the sword strikes.
Strands of crackling electricity darted about, trying to coil around Su Hao.
After several breaths, Su Hao's sword momentum instead grew increasingly ferocious.
Zheng Tu could no longer smile. That invisible pressure kept climbing, rising step by step, and a trace of horror gradually appeared in his eyes.
Clearly, the Crimson Flame Sword Art was an extremely low-level technique, one cultivated only by the lowest-ranking cultivators. Yet in Su Hao's hands, it was exquisite beyond compare, containing the essence of sword intent.
Zheng Tu unconsciously lost focus. It was as if he saw the shadow of the outer sect's number-one person—the Sword Cultivator—on Su Hao.
Bang~
The lightning qi protecting his body was shattered by a single sword strike.
Zheng Tu came to his senses and acted decisively. Several Heavenly Thunder Talismans in his hand exploded, lightning bursting forth as the shockwaves destroyed several great trees.
Only by taking advantage of this opening did he manage to pull away from Su Hao.
Lightning exploded beneath his feet. Borrowing the recoil, Zheng Tu retreated dozens of meters, using the trees as cover.
"Junior Brother, your attainments in the sword dao are extraordinary. Looks like I underestimated you... You can't possibly be only at Qi Refining Level 7. You're just as sinister as He Tieniu.
"With such astonishing sword talent, why did you need to buy talismans from me? You're abandoning the root for the branch!"
Zheng Tu's expression grew somewhat solemn. Though he felt pressured, it had not yet reached the point where he feared for his life or fled.
If he had enough talismans to form a talisman array, he could kill the mysterious youth before him just as easily as he had killed He Tieniu.
However, even without enough talismans, his advantage of being one minor realm higher remained. Besides, he cultivated a powerful lightning-type art renowned for its domineering, vigorous, and supremely yang nature. It was not the slightest bit inferior to Sword Cultivators, who were famed for slaughter.
The only thing he could not understand was this: since his opponent was a Sword Cultivator, why rely on an external object like talismans? That did not fit a Sword Cultivator's style.
The next second, Zheng Tu suddenly grew alert. His secret technique sensed and locked onto the aura of the talismans, yet their position had not shifted in the slightest.
His opponent had not moved at all. Could he be using stillness to counter movement, waiting for Zheng Tu to attack first?
Zheng Tu flashed out, more than a dozen talismans in hand. Then his expression abruptly changed.
Su Hao was gone!
A storage pouch hung from a nearby tree branch.
Zheng Tu was filled with unease. He had been able to pinpoint Su Hao's location so precisely only by relying on the hidden talisman-spirit marks within those talismans.
Even in a place as thick with Killing Intent as Tiger Fall Cliff, he could still pinpoint the talismans' location at all times.
But Su Hao had evidently guessed this method and deliberately left behind the storage pouch containing all the talismans.
Even if Zheng Tu fully spread out his spiritual sense, the interference from the Killing Intent here made it impossible for him to determine where Su Hao was.
He slowly turned in place, watching in all directions and staying alert for a possible sneak attack, while extending a hand toward the storage pouch.
Zheng Tu had sold most of his talismans to Su Hao and had very few left himself. Otherwise, he would not have been at a disadvantage just now.
But now, as long as he retrieved the talismans in the storage pouch, his odds of victory would increase by two or three points!
His right hand drew closer to the storage pouch inch by inch. Zheng Tu swept his gaze across the lush but gloomy vegetation around him while forming another set of incantations, condensing his secret body-protection art once more.
He was confident that even if his opponent launched a sneak attack, this body-protection secret art could withstand it.
Whoosh...
A sharp sound tearing through the air descended from above his head.
Rip~
A severed limb flew through the air. Blood gushed out, splashing across the ground covered in dead leaves in a curved line, while half an arm fell to the earth.
"Argh!" Zheng Tu's scream was shrill. His fully activated protective spiritual power tore apart like paper, failing to impede the sword's edge in the slightest.
He instinctively lunged forward. With his only remaining left hand, he took out the flying dharma artifact—the Moon Wheel Flying Shuttle.
As long as he could catch his breath, he could immediately control the artifact and flee without looking back!
Suddenly, sword light that was both icy cold and blazing hot made Zheng Tu's entire body break out in gooseflesh.
From the corner of his eye, he caught only a glimpse of a figure resembling a god of slaughter, its eyes red as fire, one hand wrapped in blazing sword light that came crashing down and enveloped him completely.
"Don't..."
Zheng Tu's head rolled across the ground, his eyes still wide in death.
His headless body flew several meters before collapsing to the ground.
Su Hao's entire skin was flushed red, blue veins bulging across him as he appeared like an evil ghost.
It was none other than the fully activated Extreme Intent True Art, doubling his strength!
The instant Su Hao landed, he put away the Spirit Snake Sword, pressed down on Zheng Tu's corpse, and used an art of soul refinement to refine the soul into the soul banner.
"Absorb Talent Power: Talisman Control (Blue), Lightning Palm (Blue)!"
Afterward, he picked up the storage pouch on Zheng Tu's body, the Moon Wheel Flying Shuttle on the ground, and the storage pouch of talismans hanging from the tree branch.
Every movement flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water.
He had no time to deal with the corpse and immediately ran toward the depths of the mountain forest.
The Extreme Intent True Art was not yet perfected. After using it, there would be a side effect lasting a full hour, during which he could not use spiritual power.
In a place like Tiger Fall Cliff, cultivators who killed and robbed others could pass by at any moment.
Su Hao did not want to let someone else profit as the fisherman. He quickly fled into the depths and found a secluded cave to hide in.
Sure enough, the commotion from the battle attracted several nearby disciples.
They lingered around the outskirts, tentatively edging closer.
Even after seeing the corpse on the ground, those people did not approach rashly.
Eight or nine out of ten cultivators near Tiger Fall Cliff were habitual killers and robbers, deeply versed in the ways of the trade.
The mantis stalks the cicada while the oriole lurks behind?
Who was the mantis and who was the oriole had nothing to do with who came first. It depended on who was stronger.
Approaching rashly could also mean falling into someone else's trap and being dealt with along the way.
After waiting for a while, a black-robed cultivator summoned his courage and approached. When he saw the bloodstained head on the ground, he exclaimed, "This person... is this person Zheng Tu?"
"Zheng Tu!"
Several cultivators followed over.
"Damn, it really is Zheng Tu!"
"Senior Brother Zheng relied on his superb attainments as a Talisman Master to earn spirit stones with ease. Why would he come to Tiger Fall Cliff?"
"Could he have been tricked into coming here and ended up as someone else's prey?"
"Tsk, tsk. Not long ago, I saw Senior Brother Zheng display his might and kill He Tieniu across a minor level. I heard he was seriously wounded at the time, yet still killed several blind fools who wanted to kick him while he was down."
"I didn't expect that he still couldn't escape death."
"..."
Sighs and uproar spread through the crowd.
For some reason, everyone felt a pang of sorrow. Even a talisman-making genius like Zheng Tu had died. How long could disciples like them, struggling at the bottom, keep living on?
"Ultimately, he was just too foolish. So many people had tried to recruit him. Whether it was the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion or the Hundred Goods Studio, as long as he signed a contract, they could guarantee his safety until Foundation Establishment. All they wanted was a regular supply of talismans."
"I wonder which senior brother made the move."
At dusk, Su Hao waited for the side effect to disappear. Once his spiritual power had recovered somewhat, he quietly left Tiger Fall Cliff and returned to Heavenly Medicine Mountain.
As soon as he returned to his cave dwelling, he began inspecting the storage pouches.
In the mountain forest of Tiger Fall Cliff, Su Hao had not dared make any major movements, let alone count his spoils.
Now, unable to wait any longer, he first inspected the many talismans he had bought at great expense.
Fortunately, they could all be used normally, and none of the spirit stones or pills had been damaged.
Su Hao was filled with delight as he began counting Zheng Tu's inheritance.
The spirit stones and pills he had traded for returned to his hands, along with more than two hundred spirit stones from Zheng Tu's own savings.
In other words, he had spent nothing at all and obtained a great many talismans of considerable power.
There were not many talismans left in Zheng Tu's storage pouch—only ten Heavenly Thunder Talismans.
There was also a complete set of precious talisman-making tools. The core item, the talisman brush, was extraordinary in quality, ancient and elegant yet exquisitely crafted. Its shaft was covered in countless profound talisman patterns and emitted a faint jade-like glow.
For a Talisman Master, talisman-making tools were of paramount importance.
The talisman brush, talisman paper, ink, and other materials were all crucial. It went without saying that most of Zheng Tu's savings had been spent on them. This set of tools was worth a fortune!
Su Hao could not determine its exact value.
But he knew the value of that flying dharma artifact very well.
The Moon Wheel Flying Shuttle! The signature dharma artifact of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, selling for 1,000 spirit stones!
Adding in Zheng Tu's soul at Qi Refining Level 9 and the two blue talents—
This trip had made him rich!
"This time, I have the eruption of the Extreme Intent True Art to thank. Without it, I couldn't have killed him in an instant."
Su Hao sighed inwardly. He had been slacking off these past few days and had not studied this secret art further. Since that's the case, I'll continue trying to break through the spiritual apertures right now. Two blue talents are enough to open two spiritual apertures.