Fragmentation

"Trying to snatch food from a tiger's jaws? That depends on whether the blades in our hands agree." Luo Yuan stepped forward and glared furiously at Big Forehead Freak's group.

Zhang Guang had previously been ambushed by them and had nearly lost his life. He had long hated Big Forehead Freak to the bone. "Exactly. We even have one more person than them. If it comes to blows, we may not need to fear you despicable bastards."

Wang Yuan and the others drew their weapons, their expressions grave as they braced themselves. Each of them had expended a considerable amount of Origin Qi. If they did not band together now, they would only die faster. Besides, apart from Big Forehead Freak, a Sixth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator, the other side only had two at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Their overall cultivation was lower than theirs, so this was not necessarily a lost battle.

"Since that is how it is, we'll have to fight. Big Forehead, what is there left to say? The Silver-Winged Centipede is dead, and there may still be spirit insect eggs in the cave. Kill these fools who do not know what is good for them first, then enter the centipede cave and see what is inside."

The brocade-robed burly man behind Big Forehead Freak gave a cackling laugh. Carrying a spiked club, he slapped the spirit beast pouch at his waist. In the white mist, a black giant ape nearly a zhang tall excitedly beat its massive palms against its thick chest, producing booming thuds.

"That's right. These people have been in the mountains for over a month. Their storage pouches must contain plenty of spirit items." The others chimed in.

Big Forehead Freak laughed loudly and stared at Fan Qing. "Then let's kill them! Bloodhand Daoist, it seems that we are destined to fight today."

"You've gone too far!" Though Wang Yuan was a woman, she could no longer suppress her fury. She battled the brocade-robed burly man wielding the spiked club and the black ape at once. Even fighting one against two, she did not fall into disadvantage.

Wang Ping, Zhang Guang, and the others also found opponents of their own.

Luo Yuan and Hunchback He charged toward another pair of twin men with blue birthmarks on their faces. But just as Luo Yuan swung his sword at one of them, Hunchback He behind him suddenly revealed a savage expression, and the spirit sword in his hand shot toward Luo Yuan's back.

Although Luo Yuan sensed a sharp aura bearing down upon him, the distance was too short for him to evade. In his haste, he cast an Earth Armor Technique at top speed!

But before the earth armor could take shape, Hunchback He's sword was already about to touch Luo Yuan's skin.

"Idiot! Your side is the one that truly has fewer people. Die!" Hunchback He's aura suddenly erupted. He was actually also at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, having somehow concealed his true cultivation all this while.

"Brother Luo!" Zhang Guang and Zheng Shiqi were both startled.

"Big Brother!" Luo Qing's face drained of color. For a moment, she was so terrified that she did not know what to do.

Yet no one noticed that Lu Xiaotian had vanished at some point.

Whoosh! Someone suddenly burst out of the ground. It was Lu Xiaotian, who had disappeared only moments earlier.

A cold smile hung on Lu Xiaotian's face. Under Hunchback He's astonished gaze, he swung the short sword in his hand. Hunchback He had committed fully to his move and likewise had no time to dodge. He could only twist his body slightly and barely move his vital point aside.

"My arm!" With Hunchback He's scream, the arm holding his sword flew into the air amid a spray of blood.

Hunchback He staggered back several zhang. He hurriedly took out a bottle of healing pills, swallowed one, then stared at Lu Xiaotian with disbelief and venom. "How did you notice me?"

Big Forehead Freak and the others likewise stopped what they were doing, staring at Lu Xiaotian in stunned disbelief. They had used this same method to ambush two other adventurer teams, yet Lu Xiaotian had seen through it.

"Back in Moonwatch City, I already felt that something was wrong. You are a Fourth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator, not highly cultivated. Yet you not only possessed the pill formula for Origin Qi Pills, but also knew about the Silver-Winged Centipede. You were even thoroughly familiar with the route into the mountains. That was not something a Fourth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator should have been capable of. At that point, though, I only had some doubts."

"Later, when we were attacked by Green Bamboo Bees, I was suspicious, but there were too many ill-intentioned teams in the Moonwatch Mountains. I could not trace my suspicions to you. But when Big Forehead Freak's team appeared here, I had no choice but to become suspicious. I imagine that if a few more people in our team had been stung by the Green Bamboo Bees, you would have attacked us there."

"It was only because Big Forehead Freak saw that only one of us had been injured and our strength had not been seriously diminished that he was unwilling to fight us to mutual ruin. So you changed your plan and waited until we had fought the Silver-Winged Centipede to the bitter end before coming out to reap the benefits, killing people and taking their goods. Am I right?"

Lu Xiaotian spoke coldly. He had not wanted to waste so many words, but Luo Yuan, Wang Yuan, and the other team members had already used up much of their Origin Qi. Now that Hunchback He had betrayed them, everyone's hearts were unsettled. His first task was to steady the rest of the team. Otherwise, once hearts scattered, there would be no need to fight at all. Everyone would simply flee for their lives.

"We should have cut down this traitor with one stroke long ago." Zhang Guang angrily waved his spirit saber.

Luo Yuan said solemnly, "Brother Lu, I owe you my life."

"You gave me quite a scare just now. I thought this trip into the mountains would end in vain, but it turns out Fellow Daoist Lu had everything under control all along."

Wang Yuan giggled. Though they had lost Hunchback He as well, Lu Xiaotian's composure had infected them.

"After all that, you are still down another person. Though Hunchback He has lost an arm and that will affect a cultivator's spell battle to some extent, now that the bleeding has stopped, the impact is not great." The brocade-robed burly man swung his spiked club and spoke sinisterly.

"Is that so?"

Lu Xiaotian sneered. If an ordinary martial artist had suffered such a grievous wound, his combat strength would certainly have been greatly reduced. Cultivators were affected less severely. Hunchback He had concealed his cultivation; as a Sixth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator, merely casting spells from the side would allow him to hold off either Luo Qing or Wang Ping and steadily gain the upper hand. The situation was still unfavorable for them, but how could Lu Xiaotian have no backup plan at all?

"Ah!" Hunchback He had only just used a spirit pill to stop the bleeding when a twisting agony suddenly exploded from his chest. His entire face turned bluish-green.

"The sword... the sword was poisoned! You are truly despicable!"

Hunchback He's expression was incomparably ugly. His eyes nearly spat fire as he looked at Lu Xiaotian. If gazes could kill, Lu Xiaotian would likely have died countless times already. After his fury subsided, Hunchback He hurriedly pulled out every detoxification pill he carried from his storage pouch and frantically stuffed them into his mouth. But it was useless. Lu Xiaotian had coated his blade with several potent poisons. Within moments, Hunchback He's eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground, convulsing in agony.

"Compared to your attempt to send our entire team to its deaths, are we not allowed to strike back?" Wang Ping waved his great staff and said with a dark chuckle, "Fellow Daoist Lu did excellently. I, Wang, am thoroughly convinced."

"Big Forehead, this young man is an extremely skilled alchemist. He seems to have many Qi-Gathering Pills. He exchanged Qi-Gathering Pills for a great deal of spirit grass and spirit stones. Among the team, he has the most spirit stones. By my estimate, the spirit stones, spirit grass, and Qi-Gathering Pills on him are worth at least over two hundred spirit stones."

Nursing deep resentment, Hunchback He immediately spoke words extremely unfavorable to Lu Xiaotian. Sure enough, once he said them, the brocade-robed burly man and the others all looked at Lu Xiaotian with greedy eyes.

Big Forehead Freak nodded and took two steps forward, his tone sinister. "Now our numbers are equal. You are quite impressive, young man, but do you think I cannot see through your attempt to stall for time? It seems you have yet to witness my methods."

Lu Xiaotian's expression darkened. He should have killed Hunchback He with one sword strike earlier. He had spared him only to use his injury and their conversation to buy Luo Yuan and the others a little time to restore their Origin Qi. It was truly trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait.

Big Forehead Freak slapped the black gourd at his waist. Amid a buzzing sound, a swarm of green flying ants poured out, numbering more than a hundred. Because they were so close, the tiny green ants seemed to blot out the sky as they flew forth.

"Shadow Ants!" Wang Yuan and the others cried out, their faces turning deathly pale. Even Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators had to treat such a number of Shadow Ants with caution. Insect cultivators often held an advantage over cultivators of the same rank.

"Hehehe, at least you know your stuff." Big Forehead Freak gave a sinister cackle and commanded the Shadow Ants to split into several groups, each with ten ants. The leading Shadow Ant in every group was clearly a size larger.

Big Forehead Freak seemed able to control only seven groups of Shadow Ants. The remaining several dozen flew about everywhere like locusts.

Lu Xiaotian had not expected to encounter a fellow cultivator who raised Shadow Ants, but Big Forehead Freak's control over them was clearly superior to his own. The seven groups of Shadow Ants encircled him from several directions. Lu Xiaotian cast a Fireball Technique, but the leading Head Ant blocked it. Though the Head Ant shrieked miserably and swayed through the air after suffering injury, it did not die. Meanwhile, the other groups of Shadow Ants closed in from other directions.

After a brief moment of astonishment, Lu Xiaotian sneered inwardly. The Shadow Ants' killing power was secondary. The key was that these little flying ants were tougher than Green Bamboo Bees, and after being bitten only a few times, one's Origin Qi would circulate sluggishly. That was fatal during a spell battle. Perhaps Shadow Ants posed an enormous threat to others, but to him, they were merely a greater nuisance.

As Lu Xiaotian drew his spirit sword, he pinched an antidote pill in his left hand, ready to put it into his mouth. But then something completely unexpected happened. Fan Qing, the team captain and their main combatant, actually abandoned them and turned to flee.

Fan Qing's flight at the brink of battle had been carefully considered. He had fought Big Forehead Freak several times before and had never gained an advantage. He knew how formidable Big Forehead Freak was. Several of his spirit artifacts had now been destroyed, and less than thirty percent of the Origin Qi in his dantian remained. He was no match for Big Forehead Freak at all. Though Lu Xiaotian was quite calculating, he was still too young and might not be able to defeat Big Forehead Freak. Even if he could barely hold him off, their side's chances of victory would not exceed half.

More importantly, he had already gathered the final second-rank demon core required by the Savage Beast Sect. He had collected them all. Once he returned to Moonwatch City, he could join the sect. There was no need for him to continue risking his life in the Moonwatch Mountains.

"Shameless!" Lu Xiaotian, Luo Yuan, and the others cursed in unison. They had already been at a disadvantage, and now they had lost Fan Qing, their main combatant. It was like the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Our strength has already plummeted, and now we are down two more people. We can't win. I'm leaving first!"

Wang Yuan had originally intended to fight it out, but the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse. After weighing matters in her heart and deciding that their chances of victory were nearly nonexistent, she swiftly made her decision. With one slash, she forced back the brocade-robed burly man rushing at her, then slapped a Wood-Escape Talisman onto herself and leaped toward a nearby tree. Her figure immediately vanished. In the blink of an eye, she had appeared near another tree before disappearing into the weeds.

Immediately afterward, after his expression shifted several times, Wang Ping likewise cast the Wind-Riding Art and bolted wildly into the distance.

"Where do you think you're going?" An old man from the opposing side, wielding twin swords, gave chase at no slow speed.

"Brother Lu, what should we do?" Wu Guang, Luo Yuan, and the others looked anxious. Their situation had worsened beyond all measure. The few remaining people all trusted Lu Xiaotian deeply. Those like Wang Yuan and Wang Ping, who had been making their own calculations, had long since fled without a trace.

"With only so few of us left, what can we do? Let's each run for our lives. Whether we live or die is up to fate."

Lu Xiaotian spoke coldly, then turned and fled. He was not a heartless or faithless man. Within the limits of his ability, he would lend Luo Yuan and the others a hand.

But after Fan Qing, Wang Yuan, and the others fled separately, Big Forehead Freak's people had each set their sights on him. Naturally, this was because of Hunchback He's final words before the poison took effect: an alchemist with abundant spirit stones and pills. Now that Lu Xiaotian could barely save himself, how could he still concern himself with others?

"Hehehe, Fellow Daoist Zou, let's chase that brat surnamed Lu. Have two of the others guard the Silver-Winged Centipede's corpse, and let the rest continue the pursuit and slaughter!"

Big Forehead Freak's thoughts raced. Hunchback He had already succumbed to the poison and collapsed on the ground, his life or death unknown. No one had time to care about him now. The Silver-Winged Centipede was a cooked duck that could not fly away. But as an alchemist, Lu Xiaotian's wealth might truly be no less than the refining materials on the Silver-Winged Centipede's body.

If he went after Lu Xiaotian alone, then first, judging from what had happened earlier, Lu Xiaotian was deeply scheming and might still have some hidden trump card. Second, the other team members might be dissatisfied. By bringing along Zou Xin, the brocade-robed burly man whose strength was second only to his own, the two of them dividing the spoils would be better than dividing them among seven or eight people. Even if the others were dissatisfied, they could only swallow this mute loss with pinched noses.

"Haha, good. The two of us will join forces and slaughter this brat to avenge Hunchback He!" Zou Xin was extremely satisfied with Big Forehead Freak's arrangement. He immediately agreed, and the two of them chased wildly after Lu Xiaotian, one ahead and one behind.

Luo Yuan, Wu Guang, and the others exchanged glances, then quickly fled in other directions as well. At this point, it was no longer merely a matter of having made the trip in vain. Escaping with their lives would already be good enough.

"Little lady, don't run. Stay behind and have some fun with this lord!" A scruffy-bearded lecherous monk and a youth in green chased after the Luo siblings. Zhang Guang and Zheng Shiqi also had two tails behind them. In the blink of an eye, the former team had completely fallen apart.