Lone Walker

With only a few Spirit Talismans left, he didn't have an advantage in combat over other Rogue Cultivators. In fact, compared to cultivators who had been cultivating for ten or twenty years, Lu Xiaotian was inferior in the proficiency and application of Spells. The Origin Guarding Formation was merely a defensive Formation, only capable of luring enemies into it, making it quite limited and unsuitable for direct combat.

After much thought, Lu Xiaotian decided that his only option for now was to refine the Shadow Ants from the Big Forehead Monster. In this perilous Moon Gazing Mountain Range, this would give him a greater chance of self-preservation.

Lu Xiaotian's Spiritual Sense moved, and a large, winged Head Ant, like a small green ball in flight, flew out of the Black Gourd's opening. Upon sensing the scent of Lu Xiaotian, a living person, it immediately flew towards him.

"Overestimating yourself." Lu Xiaotian flicked out a Wind Blade. Snap, the Shadow Ant hit the wall of the tree hollow and fell. However, Lu Xiaotian hadn't used much force. The Shadow Ant quickly flew up again, heading towards Lu Xiaotian, the stranger, intending to bite this villain a few times. But how could Lu Xiaotian let this tiny insect have its way?

A series of crackling sounds. The Shadow Ant was knocked down by the Wind Blade again and again. Realizing the enemy before him was unbeatable, it turned and flew towards the outside of the tree hollow.

"Trying to escape? It's not that easy." A smirk played on Lu Xiaotian's lips. His fingers curled slightly, and a vortex formed in his palm. A powerful suction force pulled the Head Ant back. This repeated, until the Head Ant was too exhausted to even crawl. Only then did it show signs of submission, though Lu Xiaotian could feel the unwillingness within its surrender. After all, it had been raised by the Big Forehead Monster for some time, and to command it freely would require repeated refinement. The Big Forehead Monster had used its own vital blood. Now, with its death, the mental imprints on these Shadow Ants were gradually weakening and would soon disappear completely. Lu Xiaotian wouldn't use his own vital blood to nurture these Shadow Ants. Instead, as a second-best option, using the blood of Yao Beasts, along with Beast Spirit Pills, would be sufficient.

It took another two hours to refine the remaining Head Ants in the Black Gourd. After several thrilling battles and another two hours of exertion in the tree hollow, Lu Xiaotian was physically and mentally exhausted. He fell into a deep sleep within the tree hollow.

Two days later, on a desolate mountain somewhere, beneath towering trees. A Yao Rabbit was covered in small green flying ants. The Yao Rabbit writhed in pain on the ground, but soon lost its strength. It was then cut open by the green-robed youth and his sword, allowing the green ants to feast.

Five days later, a Bloodthirsty Yao Cat was completely devoured by dozens of Little Green Ants led by several Head Ants.

Ten days later, by an unknown stream, the water was clear, but a faint scent of blood floated in it. If someone were to look closely, they would find a pile of Yao Crocodile bones in the grass by the stream, with some residual meat scraps.

"Seeking death!" Lu Xiaotian snorted. He reached out and drew several Head Ants towards him. A ball of intense flame appeared in his palm – the Primordial Yang Fire formed from Origin Energy, potent enough to melt gold and forge stone.

Scorched by the Primordial Yang Fire, the Head Ants flew away in panic. In an instant, they appeared submissive to Lu Xiaotian, not daring to act rashly again.

Lu Xiaotian had spent most of his Energy these past few days refining the Shadow Ants. After more than ten days of effort, continuously removing the mental imprints left by the Big Forehead Monster and feeding them some Yao Beast blood and flesh, he had temporarily completed the control over several Head Ants. However, Lu Xiaotian noticed that after the Shadow Ants consumed the vital blood of bloodthirsty Yao Beasts, their nature became even more ferocious. What had just appeared was a backlash from these Head Ants after gorging on the Yao Crocodile's vital blood. But how could Lu Xiaotian let these Spirit Insects have their way so easily?

"Hmm?" Just as he was about to discipline these Head Ants further, Lu Xiaotian suddenly heard a strange noise. Someone was coming.

Lu Xiaotian's heart tightened, and he quickly hid himself among the weeds. These past few days, while refining the Shadow Ants, he had been carefully avoiding other cultivator teams. After all, he was alone now. Encountering another team could easily lead to him being surrounded and killed. Once trapped, escape would be impossible.

Now, he mostly chose less-traveled paths where cultivators were less active. If he found scattered Spirit Stones, Storage Bags, or the corpses of other cultivators along the way, Lu Xiaotian would either turn back or take a detour. Such situations were usually traps set by other cultivator teams, naturally intended to lure people in.

Some experienced Rogue Cultivators were not easily fooled. But many newcomers, fresh from Moon Gazing City, were short on funds, or some overconfident cultivators, refusing to believe it, insisted on trying. These people often met a tragic end.

However, no matter how careful he was, Lu Xiaotian had almost been surrounded by a few Rogue Cultivators. That was four days ago. He had spotted a Jade Fish Grass, a key ingredient for refining Origin Energy Pills. After checking the surroundings several times, he couldn't find any other Rogue Cultivators. So, Lu Xiaotian bravely went to collect the Jade Fish Grass. Unexpectedly, as he was collecting it, a Black Crow flapped its wings and flew up from the grass about ten meters away. At first, he was only suspicious, as it was just an ordinary Black Crow, not even a Spirit Beast. Such birds were abundant in the mountains and ridges.

But what surprised him greatly soon appeared. After the Black Crow flew up, it cawed a few times, and four or five gray figures simultaneously converged on him from several miles away.

Lu Xiaotian was furious. Someone had actually trained such an ordinary bird for their own use. Back in the Thunder Blade Sect, there were specialized trainers for carrier pigeons, and some skilled individuals could train flying eagles. However, these were the methods of ordinary people. Among Rogue Cultivators, he had hardly heard of anyone spending their Energy on such things.

If it had been a Spirit Bird or a Yao Beast, Lu Xiaotian would likely have detected it during his earlier search. But an ordinary Black Crow, found everywhere in the wilderness, he hadn't thought of it in that way at all. Who knew that this very oversight would lead to him being tricked. To rob and murder, these people would stop at nothing. Cultivators actually trained ordinary Black Crows as scouts. Anyone else would have fallen for it.

In his anger, Lu Xiaotian directly threw a small Fireball, burning the Black Crow to ashes. Then, he fled for his life.

There were opponents in several directions, but he was lucky. He encountered a black-faced cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Layer. Lu Xiaotian directly unleashed several Spells, then summoned his Ant Swarm, putting on a desperate front. The black-faced cultivator, seeing that his cultivation was far lower than his own, panicked and turned to retreat. When paths cross, fear and hesitation in such situations lead to a faster death. The black-faced cultivator was cut in half by his Wind Blade. Lu Xiaotian also took the black-faced cultivator's Storage Bag. Inside, however, there were only about six or seven Low-grade Spirit Stones and a few worthless Spiritual Grasses. The other cultivators who had converged were furious, stamping their feet. But looking at Lu Xiaotian's retreating back, they were helpless. They could only grudgingly accept this loss.

After this experience, Lu Xiaotian became even more cautious, his vigilance more than a hundred times higher than before. From far away, he could hear the slightest rustle of wind and grass.