"Not good... they're direct-line cultivators of the Zhong Family!"
Zeng Shu sent out a page-shaped artifact to guard himself. Feeling the Late Qi Refinement spiritual pressure emanating from those white-robed figures, his face turned pale as paper. "How can we be this unlucky?"
His expression hardened. "Junior brothers, form the formation and hold to the death! This place is very close to the sect gate; the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators will arrive in no time!"
With Zeng Shu taking the lead, the Azure Sea Sect cultivators drew out formation flags one after another. This was something they had rehearsed beforehand, specifically to deal with cultivator ambushes.
Buzz buzz!
A layer of emerald radiance rose up, completely disregarding the fishponds outside as it sealed off the cultivators' cave residences without a crack.
"First-Order High Grade—Azure Wave Formation!"
After examining it, Fang Qing nodded to himself. The cultivators are banding together to defend themselves, while yielding the fishery and allowing these people to loot and destroy it... If the enemy were even slightly weaker, they could make a killing and complete their mission before leaving.
Unfortunately, the Zhong Family cultivators across from them did not merely intend to wreck the fishery and make a killing.
The white-robed figures moved apart to either side, revealing a white-haired—no, a delicate-featured youth who looked almost feminine, his entire head covered in white hair.
His cultivation had astonishingly reached Qi Refining Great Perfection. He carried a heart-palpitating spiritual pressure, while a chill that seemed capable of freezing one's heart permeated his surroundings.
"Zhong Family... Zhong Lingxiu?!"
Fang Qing's eyelid twitched. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he turned and fled.
For the sake of peace and quiet, he had deliberately chosen the most remote cave residence back then. At this moment, it proved to have been foresight.
Zhong Lingxiu formed hand seals with both hands. Layers of Ice-Soul Cold Radiance emerged, transforming into an ice-crystal phoenix. It spread its wings, carrying a storm with it, and let out a clear cry toward the heavens.
The ice phoenix then flapped its wings and flew toward the Azure Wave Formation.
Crash!
A vast quantity of hailstones and emerald water ripples canceled each other out. The Azure Wave Formation instantly froze, then exploded open with a massive breach.
Zeng Shu, Li Yusu, and the other cultivators maintaining the formation all changed expression at once and spat out mouthfuls of essence blood.
"Kill them all. Leave none alive."
Zhong Lingxiu spoke coldly, then glanced toward the direction Fang Qing had fled. "Wufu, he is yours."
"Yes, Young Master!"
A Zhong Family cultivator immediately stepped forward, riding a pair of Profound Ice Wheels as he chased after Fang Qing.
"It's Zhong Lingxiu?!"
When Zeng Shu saw Zhong Lingxiu, a trace of despair immediately surfaced on his face...
"Sure enough... the thing I most need to replace is still this Green Leaf Boat."
Riding the Green Leaf Boat, Fang Qing had only just escaped Red-Scale Lake when he saw a Zhong Family cultivator pursuing him on a pair of ice wheels. He could not help cursing inwardly.
This flying artifact was a standard-issue sect item, only First-Order Low Grade. Since he had not previously needed to fight or flee for his life, he had never gotten around to replacing it.
But now, it seemed that only the living could keep producing. He really ought to have prepared a life-saving artifact.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before he could even finish thinking, two ice spikes condensed in the air and shot toward him in an instant!
Crack!
Fang Qing twisted his body, bending his neck and waist to nearly ninety degrees. With an unimaginable yoga pose, he evaded the ice spikes' ambush.
Although he felt that even if the two ice spikes hit him, they would at most scrape his skin, his trump cards still needed to remain hidden.
"Hm? A Qi Refinement Seventh Layer cultivator... ice-element spells... that pair of ice wheels under his feet looks rather good. They should be high grade?"
With Spiritual Sense assisting them, cultivators in battle were practically granted heavenly eyes, gaining an enormous advantage.
Fang Qing took out the Sea-Transforming Pearl and formed a hand seal with one hand.
The Sea-Transforming Pearl immediately turned into a streak of blue light. Like a shooting star, it flashed in a blaze of lightning-fast speed and arrived before the Zhong Family cultivator.
"Hm?"
Seeing a "Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement" cultivator suddenly erupt with power and skillfully wield a high-grade artifact, the Zhong Family cultivator was startled.
He hurriedly sent a White-Scale Shield flying from his storage pouch, positioning it before himself.
Bang!
The Sea-Transforming Pearl struck it, doing nothing but making the White-Scale Shield sway slightly.
Seeing this, the Zhong Family cultivator could not help feeling smug.
The Profound Ice Wheels beneath his feet and this White-Scale Shield were both high-grade artifacts. He had poured over half his fortune into them.
A mere Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivator, even if he possessed one high-grade artifact, could never break his defen—wait, what was this?
Before the Zhong Family cultivator could react, it was as though a small lake had appeared over his head, and one hundred thousand jin of seawater came crashing down.
Several Water Arrow Techniques were mixed within the seawater as well.
"Just seawater."
He jumped in fright and instinctively wanted to cast an ice-element spell. Yet, with his extensive battle experience, he immediately suppressed the thought and formed a Water-Repelling Formula.
"You want me to freeze myself? Hehe... do you think I'm that stupid?"
"If it were those inexperienced rookies in the family who had never seen blood, they might panic for a while. But I've killed quite a few cultivators."
Pfft! Pfft!
The water arrows struck the White-Scale Shield and likewise failed to break through its defense.
Just as the Zhong Family cultivator was preparing to counterattack, a black shadow suddenly appeared before him. It was Fang Qing!
His release of the seawater had chiefly been meant to conceal his own figure, allowing him to approach in secret.
It would be best to end this quickly. If Zhong Lingxiu catches up, it will still be somewhat troublesome.
At that thought, the illusory Demon-Subduing Vajra Pestle shot out from Fang Qing's sea of consciousness and smashed into the Zhong Family cultivator's brow. The man was struck as though by a heavy hammer, unable even to activate the talisman in his hand.
Fang Qing's blood and qi surged explosively. A layer of Body Refinement spiritual radiance covered him as his five fingers suddenly closed into a fist.
Within his sea of consciousness, the Seed Syllable representing Great Vajra Divine Strength suddenly blazed with brilliant light!
Bang!
The Zhong Family cultivator felt as though he had been struck head-on by a mammoth elephant. A massive dent appeared in the White-Scale Shield as he was blasted far away, while his protective spiritual radiance shattered instantly.
Pfft!
He spat blood, disbelief filling his face. "A Second-Order... body refiner?"
Crack!
Fang Xing lunged forward, spread his five fingers, seized the man's head, and pressed it into his chest.
"I'm not Second-Order. After all, I only have the strength for one strike... This Great Vajra Divine Strength is truly useful."
He let out a long breath, swiftly cleaned up the traces, and collected the spoils.
He also secretly sensed within himself and discovered that even the Seed Syllable in his sea of consciousness could be erased by the Dao-Born Pearl. He could not help letting out a deep sigh of relief.
"The Red-Scale Fishery has suffered a great calamity. This is just the right time for me to remain adrift outside for a while... I'll make plans after the great battle has been decided."
Fang Qing rode the Green Leaf Boat away, deciding to head to Ancient Shu and lie low for a while.
The ground was utterly silent.
After a moment, a streak of white light flashed, and Zhong Lingxiu arrived in pursuit.
"Young Master, Zhong Wufu is dead..."
The two Zhong Family cultivators exchanged looks, their hearts secretly trembling.
Their strength was evenly matched with Zhong Wufu's. If they had been the ones pursuing him, would they not have died as well?
"Useless trash! He could not even hold him off for this short time!"
Zhong Lingxiu frowned. "But useless trash or not, he was still from my Zhong Family. Since an outsider dared kill him, he will pay with his life!"
He formed hand seals with both hands, and dots of white light suddenly appeared in midair.
The other two cultivators both recognized it. This was a tracking spell.
With the Young Master's escape speed, so long as the other party had not fled too far, he should be able to catch up before that person returned to the sect gate, torture him viciously, and then kill him.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Zhong Lingxiu halted his spell and watched the spiritual light go out. "It failed? Did that person get too far away? Or did a Foundation Establishment cultivator use Spiritual Sense to remove the mark on Zhong Wufu?"
Land of Ancient Shu.
"How sinister..."
Fang Qing took out Zhong Wufu's storage pouch and poured out a pile of spirit stones.
The moment he picked one up, his own Spiritual Sense detected a tiny Spiritual Sense imprint on it.
If one were not a cultivator who had likewise cultivated Spiritual Sense, one would never be able to see it.
"As expected of a Zhong Family genius. He truly cultivated Spiritual Sense while still in Qi Refinement..."
Fang Qing waved his hand and destroyed the mark on the spirit stone. He could vaguely sense its aura, and it was identical to Zhong Lingxiu's from before!
"But you want to track me? Unless you can cross worlds too!"
After sighing, he began inspecting the other spoils.
"A First-Order High Grade flying artifact—the Profound Ice Wheels? Hm, and this First-Order High Grade White-Scale Shield. Though it is somewhat damaged, it can still be used after repairs... With this, my flight, defense, and offense are all high-grade artifacts. I count as a wealthy man among the sect's Late Qi Refinement cultivators."
Although the Profound Ice Wheels were best suited for cultivators practicing ice-element techniques, they were like the five-element spells: anyone could learn them, with only the level of execution differing.
Fang Qing then looked through the other miscellaneous items and found that aside from spirit stones, there were several bottles of pills, a stack of talismans, and several booklets.
"Hm? The Ice Chill Formula? It seems to be an advanced cultivation technique of the White Water Formula?"
Thinking of the White Water Formula, Fang Qing could not help thinking of Zeng Shu and Li Yusu, in whom he had invested.
From the looks of it, the two of them were likely doomed.
Still, investments came with risks. He had already prepared himself for losing every last drop, so he did not feel particularly heartbroken.
He then looked at the other booklets and discovered that they were miscellaneous books, account ledgers, and the like.
"Eh?"
Fang Qing removed a page tucked inside one of the books and looked at the chant written on it. "This is... a chant for condensing Ice-Soul Spirit Water?"
His spirits rose, and he hurriedly studied it. He found that it was indeed so.
This Ice-Soul Spirit Water was a famous spirit water, extremely cold in nature. It could be used in many Water-Method Alchemy processes.
Moreover, its main use was in cultivating spells.
For instance... the Zhong Family's renowned Ice-Soul Cold Radiance!
"This should have been prepared for Zhong Lingxiu? His subordinates gathered and refined Ice-Soul Spirit Water for him to improve his cultivation?"
"This Ice-Soul Cold Radiance is also a highly renowned spell in the hands of the Zhong Family's Foundation Establishment cultivators, slaughtering countless foes... I even heard that the Zhong Family ancestor at the Core Formation Stage has already cultivated the Ice Soul Mystic Light Divine Ability. Even though our sect ancestor's realm is higher, it is difficult for him to do anything to that person..."
This page of chanting instructions was clearly only a page torn from some cultivation technique.
With the chant alone, one could only condense spirit water. It was impossible to cultivate the Ice-Soul Cold Radiance spell, much less advance it further.
"It is obviously a measure to prevent leaks... But that is fine. I only need Ice-Soul Frostwater and spirit water. I can normally use them for alchemy, and at critical moments, I can also use them against enemies. Their utility is quite good."
Thinking of how he had previously asked Li Yusu to gather materials, only for her to find him a commonplace Hundred-Poison Water pill formula, Fang Qing felt that he had made quite a profit this time.
For cultivators, murder and arson truly were the fastest road to a golden belt.
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