Too Arrogant, Shameless Sneak Attack

Half a day later, Chen Dengming, who had been secretly on guard all along, realized that he seemed to have overthought things.

That sparse-haired old cultivator seemed to have only wanted to toy with him, lacking any intention of using him as bait to lure out the so-called Demon Beast.

Because before long, many cultivators had already departed, even the corpses on the ground were carried away, and the stationed old cultivator had also vanished; it seemed that after the Demon Beast appeared here, no cultivators would approach again for a short time.

As for Chen Dengming, he also successfully utilized the traps set up in the previous few days, cooperating with his exquisite Finger Flick Divine Art, to drive two Spirit Fishes into the configured traps, capturing them ashore.

On the plush green grassy meadow by the lake, the two Spirit Fishes were suffused all over with faint spiritual light, flashing with spiritual energy fluctuations.

Such spiritual creatures were most suitable for cultivators to consume; eating a single meal of their stewed, fresh fish soup and meat could easily compare to several days of bitter cultivation.

However, for mortals, or even Xiantians, such Spirit Fishes were also extremely difficult to capture, often roaming in the deep waters and being exceptionally nimble.

And in the deep waters, there also lurked some fierce aquatic Demon Beasts, which even cultivators dared not rashly enter.

Over these past days, Chen Dengming had also relied on traps set up by cultivating the Stone Gu to successfully catch this kind of Spirit Fish.

The Stone Gu was originally cultivated slowly by burying toxic substances together with stones in damp soil.

Once this Stone Gu leaped onto a person's body or into their stomach, at first it felt hard; after three or four months, the Stone Gu became able to move and chirp, while the person gradually grew constipated and emaciated, and it could further fly into both hands and feet—within three to five years, that person would surely die.

At this moment, inside the bellies of the two Spirit Fishes were Stone Gu, their abdomens already bulging with mild poisoning.

Chen Dengming was quite delighted.

His many days of bitter effort had finally not been in vain, but the very moment he rejoiced and relaxed, the Blood Centipede Gu inside his ear canal suddenly twitched in warning.

Bad!

Omens of alarm erupted in Chen Dengming's heart, and he immediately executed his movement technique, rapidly leaving his original spot.

"Whoosh—"

Almost instantly, a point of sharp brilliance rushed past along with the surging airflow, carrying a piercing chill that pierced the air at high speed, instantly piercing through the trees directly in front of his original location.

The combat experience Chen Dengming had accumulated over decades in the Martial World took effect at this moment; from the trajectory and attack angle of the incoming cold radiance, he had already judged the enemy's location and the possibility of follow-up attacks.

Hastily gathering his breath and mobilizing his full internal energy, he swiftly shifted his body another half a zhang to the left, while the muscles on his back bulged and the Startle Cry Blade leaped forth on its own. Relying purely on intuition, he executed a single blocking slash.

"Clang!—"

The cold radiance that had veered to strike instantly was slashed squarely by Chen Dengming's long blade.

Yet in the blink of an eye, the blade qi collapsed, and a chip broke off the Startle Cry Blade in his hand.

Chen Dengming let out a loud shout and retreated, the Blood Centipede Gu shooting out from his ear and vanishing among the forest foliage.

Almost simultaneously, a pain flared in his shoulder, and the hard-body cultivation technique gathered throughout his entire body was instantly shattered.

A type of spiritual energy far more formidable than True Qi invaded and entered his body.

"Oh?"

A light exclamation suddenly came from the forest to the side, and closely following that, a figure stepped out from behind the trees—strikingly, it was none other than the sparse-haired old man from the Golden Character Workshop earlier.

"I didn't expect that you, mere mortal Xiantian, could actually block this strike of mine. Not bad at all."

With a gloomy expression, Chen Dengming gazed fixedly at the old man who had appeared opposite him, feeling his heart sink as he perceived the undisguised murderous intent in the other's eyes.

An immortal cultivator had actually hidden in the shadows to launch a sneak attack on a Xiantian Martial Artist like him; should he say the other party was far too cautious, or that he himself was far too honored?

"Brat, you have some tricks up your sleeve to actually be able to catch Spirit Fishes. However, you've been lingering outside the old man's cultivation dwelling—what are your ulterior motives?"

The old man calmly stared at Chen Dengming, the scrutiny in his eyes clearly tinged with high and mighty disdain.

Beside him, the magic tool that had just attacked Chen Dengming hovered and rotated slowly, flashing with spiritual light; its shape resembled a flying shuttle, swift as lightning and fast as startling thunder.

"A cultivation dwelling?"

Chen Dengming's gaze locked as he noticed that the mist was surging in the woods behind the old man; amid the billowing clouds and vapors, a wooden house was faintly visible among the trees in the rear, and beneath the wooden house were patch after patch of vegetable gardens.

This was something he had not noticed all these days, as if a tree house had popped out of thin air in this place; clearly, this immortal cultivator must have used some kind of blinding technique or set up an illusion array.

However, simply because he lingered outside the dwelling, the opponent actually launched a stealthy and fatal attack in secret?

This was obviously just a pretext; the other party's goal was feared to be merely the Spirit Fishes he had caught in his hands.

To kill someone over a mere two Spirit Fishes was perhaps entirely due to the immortal cultivator's contempt for mortal Xiantians—killing a Xiantian person was of no more concern than slaughtering a pig. The cruelty of the Cultivation World still exceeded his imagination.

"Esteemed Immortal Master, this junior merely came here inadvertently and did not know this place was the Immortal Master's residence. I beg the Immortal Master for magnanimity! Might these two Spirit Fishes serve as this junior's apology?"

Chen Dengming quickly gathered his wits, cupping his fists toward the old man, while his mind had already tightly connected with the inconspicuous Blood Centipede Gu lying dormant among the forest leaves, ready to launch a sudden assault at any moment.

Retreat? He had nowhere left to retreat. The immortal cultivator's utter disregard for mortals and contempt for mortal lives caused the fury in his heart to soar wildly, leading him to decide to fight for his life.

At this moment, the meridians in his shoulder throbbed with a pain as if they were tearing inch by inch. With the profound True Qi he had cultivated over many years, he was simply unable to resist the spiritual energy that had just invaded his body, and he was driven back step by step.

If this delay continued, without the opponent needing to make another move, half of his body would become paralyzed and he would lose his combat capability.

The might of an immortal cultivator still surpassed his expectations.

Or rather, the formidable and piercing nature of spiritual energy far exceeded True Qi.

"A mere 'unaware', coupled with a paltry two fish, and you think to let this pass? Ridiculous!"

The old man gave a faint, light chuckle, a trace of mockery in his eyes, his withered face filled with cold indifference.

He had long since perceived this youth's restrained dissatisfaction, which was why the killing intent arose in him; how could he easily let him go?

Chen Dengming's heart sank, yet abruptly he saw the flying shuttle opposite flash. His eardrums were filled with piercing whistling sounds through the air, and his vision was a flurry of silver radiance. Clusters of sharp airflows kicked up bursts of fierce, howling gales as they closed in, the razor-sharp edges shredding countless tree branches along their path into snapped fragments that scattered everywhere.

"Bastard!"

Chen Dengming let out a long howl. Having practiced martial arts for many years, the martial world's hot-blooded passion in his heart had never boiled as fiercely as it did at this moment.

The long blade in his hand surged upward with a ferocious slash, conjuring wave after wave of blade billows like thousands of silver snakes drilling through the sky, instantly colliding with the strands of sharp airflow assailing him from the magic tool.

Clanging explosions erupted all at once.

Chen Dengming's garments whipped backward, snapping loudly in the wind. His body trembled as if struck by lightning, blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, and numerous notches were chipped into the long blade in his hand.

"Mortal."

The mockery on the opposing old man's face grew even heavier.

He only needed to make the slightest move, and a mere Xiantian mortal could only struggle to save his life with all his might.

This was the gap between immortals and mortals, and this was also why he was unwilling to waste words. There was nothing to waste words on with a dead man, a mortal.

As for the technique by which this mortal had managed to catch the Spirit Fish, he was only slightly interested; if he didn't beat him to death later, he would ask about it, and if he did beat him to death, then so be it.

His goal indeed was the two Spirit Fishes, but naturally he would not voice it out loud.

"Go!"

With a hand seal pinched in his hand, the thousands of silver rays from the flying shuttle instantly condensed into one.

Yet right in that fleeting, transient blink of an eye, Chen Dengming roared, leaped high with his blade in hand, and with his wildness fully exposed on the brink of perilous danger, he abruptly unleashed a frantic slash.

A wild dragon rises above Green Hill!

Boom!!

A staggering, dozen-zhang-long silver-blue blade qi rampaged across, crashing down like a rainbow bridge fiercely bearing down upon the old man, its momentum astonishing.

"Hm? Martial Dao Divine Ability?"

The old man was startled at first, but then chuckled dismissively. Changing the finger seals he was pinching, he instantly burned a talisman, causing the golden spiritual light outside his body to surge violently and form an ancient, rotating golden shield!