The Shame of Foundation Establishment

Wang Daoyuan stopped in the mountain valley. His mad dash this far was mainly thanks to various evasion talismans, so his own Spiritual Power and stamina hadn't been depleted much. To mislead his opponent, he still put on an act of being low on Spiritual Power and exhausted.

Zhang Dacheng panted like a dog in June, his tongue lolling out. When he saw Wang Daoyuan stop running, he also gasped for breath and felt much better. Otherwise, he would have truly suspected that the young man before him was actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator in disguise.

Zhang Dacheng circulated his Spiritual Power, pretending to be unfazed, attempting to maintain his image of having victory in hand.

These little tricks naturally couldn't fool Wang Daoyuan. Also to mislead his opponent, Wang Daoyuan used his Spiritual Power to force out sweat all over his head, making his face pale and devoid of color. Gasping for air, he said, "This junior~ is not good at running, I truly can't~ run~ anymore. If you want to kill~ or dismember me, I'll accept my fate."

Zhang Dacheng circulated his Spiritual Power, suppressing the surging Blood Essence and disordered breath. He put his hands behind his back, adopting the demeanor of a senior expert, and said, "If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? I originally had no intention of killing you. As long as you hand over all your possessions, I'll spare your life.

"Unfortunately, you are ungrateful and actually attacked me. You refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. I cannot let you live this time. Quickly hand over your Storage Bag, and I'll give you a quick end."

Wang Daoyuan put on a look of utter despair: "This junior knows he has offended a senior and dares not hope to survive. I am willing to hand over all my possessions, only asking that the senior leave my body intact, so my family can find me and bury me in the ancestral grave."

Zhang Dacheng feigned contemplation for a moment, then said, "Seeing as you have finally repented, hand over your Storage Bag, and I will leave your body intact."

Wang Daoyuan cupped a Storage Bag in his hands and tremblingly presented it to Zhang Dacheng, then slowly retreated.

Zhang Dacheng watched vigilantly until Wang Daoyuan retreated beyond ten Zhang. Only then did he relax. This was because the Spiritual Sense coverage range of cultivators below Qi Refining Peak generally did not exceed ten Zhang. The range for using talismans remotely was also within ten Zhang. Wang Daoyuan, being outside of ten Zhang, could not pose a threat to him.

At this moment, Zhang Dacheng hurriedly opened the Storage Bag. Inside, he saw a thick stack of talismans, over a hundred of them.

Of course, it wasn't all talismans. Wang Daoyuan wasn't foolish enough to actually hand over a large number of talismans. Inside were only about ten first-tier high-grade non-offensive, non-defensive talismans and one second-tier low-grade Golden Blade Talisman. The rest were blank talisman paper.

He grabbed all the talismans into his hand, his face showing a look of intoxication, counting them one by one.

In reality, a simple sweep of Spiritual Sense would reveal the quantity, yet Zhang Dacheng was counting them one by one like a mortal. This truly showed he had never seen money before! A dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet so pathetic.

As Zhang Dacheng was enthusiastically counting, he suddenly noticed one talisman was different. All the other talismans were yellow, but this one was purple and contained far more Spiritual Power than the yellow ones.

He took the purple talisman into his hand and was about to examine it closely when the purple talisman suddenly shattered. A golden blade appeared out of thin air and directly slashed towards his forehead.

Zhang Dacheng had completely let down his guard, and was also examining it closely. The purple talisman was only three to four inches from his forehead.

With such a close distance, and with one party prepared and the other caught off guard, Zhang Dacheng didn't even have time to react before the golden blade embedded itself into his brow.

Zhang Dacheng's face showed disbelief as he struggled to open his mouth and asked, "Why~?"

Wang Daoyuan finally relaxed, smiling easily, "My Spiritual Sense far surpasses cultivators of the same level."

With that, he replenished the blow to Zhang Dacheng's heart with a Golden Sword Talisman. Blood flowed continuously from the wound, yet Wang Daoyuan still dared not approach. After all, caution is the parent of safety, and a dying blow from a Foundation Establishment cultivator was not something he, a Qi Refining cultivator, could withstand.

Although Zhang Dacheng was a disgrace among Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was still a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his strength was undeniable. It's only by respecting your opponent that you can live longer.

After waiting for a considerable time, until Zhang Dacheng's blood had completely drained, Wang Daoyuan affixed five Golden Armor Talismans to himself and slowly walked over. The expected suicidal counterattack did not occur; Zhang Dacheng was completely finished.

He had originally thought this move might not work. If it failed, he would have thrown out all his offensive and defensive talismans, and if he couldn't kill him, he would have used the second-tier mid-grade Divine Movement Talisman to escape. This simpleton shouldn't have been able to catch up. He never expected it to succeed so easily; Wang Daoyuan himself could hardly believe it.

He muttered, "Truly a disgrace to Foundation Establishment cultivators, to be finished off by a mere second-tier low-grade Golden Blade Talisman, without even a struggle before death."

If Zhang Dacheng could hear his words, he would probably curse loudly, "I'm just poor, how am I a disgrace? I wanted to take you down with me before I died, but you're too cowardly! You only came over after my blood ran dry, how could I struggle then?"

Of course, Zhang Dacheng could no longer hear anything. Wang Daoyuan began to search the body. He took the Storage Bag and Spirit Beast Bag from his waist and also found a white jade token. One side was inscribed with "Myriad Spirit Sect," and the other with Zhang Dacheng's name.

Wang Daoyuan immediately felt a pang in his teeth. This was like stirring up trouble at the dragon's head. What kind of power was the Myriad Spirit Sect? It was one of the three major sects in the Zhao Kingdom, ranked first in strength, with seven or eight Golden Core cultivators, thirty to forty Violet Mansion cultivators, no less than five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, and countless Qi Refining disciples.

This was only their overt strength; who knew how much power they hid in the shadows.

Even a single strand of hair from the Myriad Spirit Sect was thicker than Wang family's waist! Could it be that he went out without consulting the almanac? How could it be that the two-bit Foundation Establishment cultivator he killed was a disciple of the Myriad Spirit Sect. Then again, cultivators don't consult almanacs.

Wang Daoyuan didn't panic. After all, Zhang Dacheng was a pauper and likely had no significant background. Within the Myriad Spirit Sect, he was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, and at the bottom of the barrel at that.

For a great sect like the Myriad Spirit Sect, it wasn't uncommon for Foundation Establishment cultivators to go missing while traveling. As long as they weren't descendants or disciples of Golden Core cultivators, they wouldn't conduct a large-scale search. At most, some old acquaintances would search for them voluntarily.

Therefore, as long as he wasn't caught red-handed, no one would come looking for trouble specifically because he killed Zhang Dacheng.

After all, the Wang family was in the territory of the Netherworld Sect, and Wang Daoyuan had gotten into this trouble because he was conscripted by the Netherworld Sect. Both in reason and in law, the Netherworld Sect wouldn't allow people from the Myriad Spirit Sect to openly cause trouble.

As for covert retaliation, the Wang family was in the position of "the more debts, the less worry; the more lice, the less itching." Their ancestor had killed several Golden Core Elders of the Crimson Sun Palace, which was a much bigger deal than this, yet the Wang family was still standing.

Even so, the aftermath still needed to be handled properly. Wang Daoyuan put Zhang Dacheng's corpse into an empty Storage Bag, and then put the Storage Bag into the Spirit Pearl Space. He then dug up a foot of soil from Zhang Dacheng's Storage Bag, Spirit Beast Bag, token, and the scene of the incident, and unceremoniously dumped it all into the space.

He carefully observed the surroundings for any remaining traces. Then, he cast a Rain Transformation Talisman, and a torrential downpour began in the valley, washing away all traces without a trace.

Wang Daoyuan did not continue heading towards Jade Spring Peak to the southeast. Instead, he turned northeast to mislead any potential pursuers.

After traveling hundreds of miles with a Swift Travel Talisman, he encountered a mountain stream. He then produced a Water Evasion Talisman, burrowed into the water, and followed the stream's direction, flowing downstream towards the southeast.

Among the Five Elements Evasion Techniques, Earth Evasion was the most practical because earth was everywhere. Fire Evasion was the fastest but also the most conspicuous, as a giant fireball shooting by could be seen by anyone. Water Evasion, however, was the hardest to track because water was constantly flowing. The traces left by Water Evasion would flow with the water and soon become untraceable.

Wang Daoyuan used the stream to escape. Unless someone was following him at this very moment, the traces and residual aura he left behind would disappear in moments.