"Huh? This kid actually didn't take the bait?!" Seeing that Su Shi'er not only hadn't come over, but had even fled without hesitation, the Youth in Silk Scarf's eye twitched. A surge of force burst from his body.
"Riiip!"
Under the impact of that force, the trap was reduced to dust.
Before his body even touched the ground, a powerful gust appeared, swept him up, and carried him forward at even greater speed.
In the blink of an eye, he caught up to Su Shi'er.
"Kid, let's see where you can run to today!" The Youth in Silk Scarf followed behind Su Shi'er with a gloomy face, forming hand seals.
"Entanglement Technique! Go!"
As his voice rang out, a rustling sound followed. Five or six vines slithered rapidly across the ground like serpents.
Su Shi'er was caught completely off guard and was tripped by two vines. His center of gravity failed, and he pitched forward, about to fall.
"Not good!"
Fortunately, he had martial arts training. With a twist of his waist, he performed a side flip and steadied himself.
But the moment he landed, the vines coiled up from his ankles and, in the blink of an eye, bound him into a giant dumpling.
"Martial Brother, what is the meaning of this? There doesn't seem to be any grudge between us, does there?!" Su Shi'er secretly circulated his power. With only his head exposed, he sized up the Youth in Silk Scarf who had chased after him.
"Indeed, there is no grudge between us. But what did you mean by setting a trap to harm me?" The Youth in Silk Scarf crossed his arms over his sword and approached with a cold sneer.
"Martial Brother, you've wronged me. This is my first time here too. How could I possibly have set a trap to harm you?" Su Shi'er said with a smile.
"Is that so? Then why did you run when I was trapped?" The Youth in Silk Scarf's face darkened as his icy gaze swept over Su Shi'er.
"Martial Brother, surely you're joking! How could such a tiny trap possibly hold you? I ran because I suddenly remembered I had something urgent to handle. The Sect Manual clearly states that sect disciples are strictly forbidden from fighting privately or killing one another."
Su Shi'er said with a smile. Breaking free of these vines would not be difficult for him.
But this man had followed him all the way here, clearly harboring ill intent. He wanted even more to know why the other party had come.
"Sect rules? Hmph! I don't have time to waste words with you. If you want to live, hand over all your Qi Gathering Pills." The Youth in Silk Scarf spoke indifferently, two savage glints fixed directly on Su Shi'er.
He came for the Qi Gathering Pills?
Su Shi'er's heart skipped a beat, and the image of the female cultivator surnamed Chu instantly surfaced in his mind. He knew clearly that this matter was absolutely inseparable from that female cultivator.
"Martial Brother, you've got the wrong person! Only Martial Brothers at Qi Refining Stage Six and above have Qi Gathering Pills. How could a rookie at Qi Refining Stage Four like me possibly have any?" Taking a deep breath, he replied with a smile, with no intention of admitting it so easily.
"Is that so? Then there's no need for you to keep living." The Youth in Silk Scarf's gaze turned cold, and two flashes of killing intent burst from his eyes.
He formed hand seals, and True Yuan began to surge through the air.
At once, the temperature in the area abruptly soared, and a Fire Crow the size of a human head appeared before him.
"Don't! Don't be hasty! I really do have one more bottle of Qi Gathering Pills! As long as Martial Brother spares me, I'll hand it over right away!" Su Shi'er hurriedly said. As he watched the other man, alarm rose within him. This Fire Crow was far more powerful than the fireball he could summon with Fire Control Technique.
He knew clearly that the gap in strength between them was too great. If he wanted to defeat his enemy, he had to take a dangerous gamble.
"Hmph, you'd better not try any tricks. Otherwise, I guarantee you'll die a miserable death!" The Youth in Silk Scarf snorted coldly. One hand controlled the Fire Crow as it watched Su Shi'er closely, while the other cast a spell to loosen some of the vines binding Su Shi'er.
Confident in the strength of his Mana, he was not afraid of Su Shi'er trying anything.
"The Qi Gathering Pills are in this bottle. Please accept them, Martial Brother." Once his hands were freed, Su Shi'er decisively pulled a Porcelain Bottle from his robes and tossed it over.
There were no pills inside that Porcelain Bottle at all. Instead, he had stuffed a Level 1 Mid-grade Flame Burst Talisman into it beforehand.
He had made no fewer than five such Porcelain Bottles, all for emergencies.
The Youth in Silk Scarf caught the Porcelain Bottle in one hand. Just as he lowered his head to inspect it, a rush of wind sounded by his ear.
"Wind Calling! Go!"
The instant Su Shi'er threw the Porcelain Bottle, his eyes narrowed, and he activated Wind Calling Technique without hesitation.
A fierce gale howled forth, blowing directly at the Fire Crow hovering before the Youth in Silk Scarf. Driven back by the wind, the flames swept toward the Youth in Silk Scarf casting the spell.
"Hmph! Courting death!" The Youth in Silk Scarf had been guarding against Su Shi'er all along. Seeing this, he sneered and flung out a Rain Condensing Talisman.
A flash of watery blue light streaked past, followed by a shower falling from the sky, extinguishing the flames rushing at him.
Having easily neutralized Su Shi'er's sneak attack, cold light flickered in his eyes as he prepared to strike again.
But at that moment, a violent energy gathered in his palm.
"Not good! A Flame Burst Talisman?!" The Youth in Silk Scarf's expression changed. Only then did he realize that there were no Qi Gathering Pills in the Porcelain Bottle in his hand—it contained a Flame Burst Talisman!
He had guarded against every possibility. When Su Shi'er seized the chance to launch his sneak attack, he had focused all his attention on Su Shi'er. He had never imagined another move was waiting for him.
Without time to think, he hurriedly tried to throw away the Porcelain Bottle. At such close range, even a mid-grade talisman—let alone a low-grade one—would be enough to inflict serious injury on him.
But it was too late. The instant the Porcelain Bottle left his hand, it exploded with a roar.
"Bang!"
A pillar of fire shot into the sky and swallowed him whole.
"Ahh! You bastard, I... I'll kill you!" The flames roared and burned, igniting even the dead branches and fallen leaves on the ground, turning the area into a sea of fire. The Youth in Silk Scarf's miserable screams rang out from within.
This time, Su Shi'er had truly set him up badly!
"Success!"
Delight appeared on Su Shi'er's face. His pupils contracted as a Fire Crow appeared in his palm, and he struck it against the vines binding his legs and feet. The vines burned the moment they touched fire.
The next moment, he broke free of his restraints. His eyes hardened as he decisively activated Shadowless Illusionary Steps and raised his Eight-Level Eight Trigram Fist, smashing it toward the other man.
Strike while he was sick and take his life! Su Shi'er understood that principle well enough.
"Not good!" But the moment he rushed in front of his opponent, he immediately felt danger descend upon him.
The next moment, the Youth in Silk Scarf's furious roar came from within the firelight.
"Kid, do you think a single Flame Burst Talisman can severely wound me? Today, I'll teach you a lesson, so you'll understand just how unwise it is to make an enemy of a sword cultivator."
Su Shi'er's pupils suddenly shrank, and his expression changed at once. But before he could react—
Two sword lights intertwined into a cross-shaped pattern and shot out from the flames. They were swift and vicious, radiating sharp killing intent with the power to hook souls and seize lives.
Su Shi'er cried out inwardly that things were bad, but at such close range, it was already too late to dodge. He groaned bitterly in his heart, yet his movements did not slow in the slightest.
Without the slightest hesitation, he thrust his hand into his robes. A Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman would be enough to block such an attack.
But when he drew out the talisman, his expression changed again. The talisman in his hand was not a Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman at all—it was clearly only an ordinary Level 1 Mid-grade Defense Talisman.
Before you continue