The great sun's last rays sank beyond the horizon. Night should have shrouded the land.
Yet a brilliant shaft of roselight pierced the darkness, becoming the only color in the bronze-skinned man's eyes.
The light was magnificent and dazzling, without the slightest trace of savage killing intent. The burly man stared at it blankly, as though beholding the most beautiful sight of his life.
"Boss!!"
His companion's startled cry cut off abruptly-the burly man's body was slowly dissolving in the roselight, and he could no longer hear a sound.
The remaining three paled in horror. Never had they imagined that their leader, the strongest among them, would not even have time to deploy his dharmic instrument.
[You killed a level 6 wandering cultivator (red name)]
The Profound Cavern Roselight won its first battle, instantly killing someone upon its debut. Chu Mo recalled the roselight, forming a curtain of light before him, while the Blazing Fire Bow was already in his hand.
The bowstring thrummed, and a Fire Arrow tore through the air.
Powered by his Middle Qi Refining cultivation, the dharmic instrument was far mightier than before. It instantly pierced a robber cultivator on the left who was still frozen in shock.
Boom!
Scorching flames exploded against the man's chest, filling the air with the stench of charred flesh.
[You killed a level 4 wandering cultivator (red name)]
"Run!" Having witnessed Chu Mo's terrifying strength, the remaining two were scared out of their wits. They turned and fled.
"Profound Cavern Roselight! It must be Profound Cavern Roselight!" The triangular-eyed cultivator was fairly knowledgeable. Once he recognized the roselight, his terror reached its peak.
"Damn it! How did we end up provoking someone from the Duo'e Sect!"
He wanted to weep, but no tears would come. He had only seen someone traveling alone and hoped to make a quick windfall. How could he have known he would run into a ruthless member of the Duo'e Sect?
Had they known his identity, they would have given him a wide berth. They would never have dared to provoke him.
But before he could finish pouring out his regrets inwardly, that dazzling, terrifying roselight descended over his head.
His feeble protective spiritual light might as well not have existed before the roselight. It dissolved along with his flesh. His defensive measures were just as laughable before it as his body.
In the final moment before his consciousness sank into oblivion, he glanced at his companion. The other man's eyes were already closed, and a Red Steel Needle was slowly withdrawing from between his brows.
"So weak."
Chu Mo lowered the Blazing Fire Bow and raised an eyebrow.
These men were only slightly stronger than the Savage Natives, far inferior to his fellow sect disciples. Dealing with them had taken practically no effort.
Their protective spiritual light, in particular, broke with a single poke, as flimsy as paper.
Bow in hand, he walked over to their corpses and bent down to collect the drops.
[You obtained [Spell Coin] x63] [You obtained [Light Boat] x1]
"So poor." Looking at the loot in his Inventory, Chu Mo could not help shaking his head.
The four Qi Refining cultivators had pitifully little to their names. They possessed only three decent dharmic instruments, two of which were low-grade.
"Of all the people you could rob, you just had to pick me." He took out the Profound Scenery Refining Truth Banner and said, "Didn't you know I used to be in this business?"
When he first arrived in this world, he had fallen into a bandit den and been forced to spend some time robbing travelers. Only after turning the tables and killing the bandits had he regained his freedom.
So the scene just now had certainly stirred a few memories. If they had added, "I carved this mountain road, I planted these trees," they would have sounded even more like his former self.
The Profound Banner fluttered, summoning four muddled souls. The burly man's soul looked bewildered, clearly still unaware of what had happened.
The instant the triangular-eyed man saw the Profound Banner in Chu Mo's hand, however, terror filled his eyes. He immediately dropped to his knees and begged:
"Spare me, Senior! It was him! He ordered me to do everything!" Pointing at the burly man's soul, he kowtowed as rapidly as pounding garlic. "I had eyes but failed to see! Please show mercy and spare me!"
Hearing this, the burly man's soul was overcome with rage. He turned a savage glare on the other man and was about to speak when Chu Mo cut him off. "Heh, spare you? That won't do."
He waved the Profound Banner in his hand and said, "This treasure of mine happens to need a few banner spirits. Mu Yun."
A shadowy figure emerged at his call. Mu Yun cupped his hands respectfully. "What are your orders, Senior Brother?"
[Level 3 weak Yin Spirit (green name)]
Seeing the color of his name, Chu Mo paused slightly. He remembered it being yellow not long ago. Why had it suddenly turned green?
Though puzzled, he showed nothing on his face and asked casually, "The sect's soul cultivators should have specialized methods for refining souls, shouldn't they?"
Mu Yun glanced at the four souls nearby and immediately understood. He hastened to answer, "I do know a few rudimentary soul cultivation methods, Senior Brother."
"Good. I'll leave these men to you to train. Put your heart into it, and you'll have no shortage of rewards in the future."
"As you command!" Excitement flashed in Mu Yun's eyes. After thinking things over during these past days, he had come to understand completely:
His entire future rested on Senior Brother Chu. Only if Chu Mo did well could he fare well himself. He had to devote himself wholeheartedly to assisting him.
Not only did he think this way himself, but he also spared no effort in drumming it into the other two souls in the banner.
Having received his orders, Mu Yun ignored the four souls' wails. Drawing on the Soul Banner's power, he swept them into his own territory, ready to give them a thorough "education" on Senior Brother Chu's greatness.
Watching Mu Yun's enthusiasm, Chu Mo felt quite pleased.
With the Profound Banner in his hands, the other man's very existence as a soul hinged on a single thought from him. Still, forced obedience and willing service were entirely different in their efficiency.
He gently shook the Profound Banner, and a thought suddenly rose in his mind. Had I known robber cultivators were this pathetic, I should have flown more slowly.
How about... heading back to fish for a bite?
The Profound Scenery Refining Truth Banner still needed three more banner spirits before it could unleash its true power.
These robber cultivators had neither backing nor strength, yet they were so eager to volunteer. They were truly perfect candidates for banner spirits.
Chu Mo's eyes flashed. His mind made up, he acted at once. He changed his outfit, swaggered back into the Cultivator Market, and made a point of taking a turn through the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
Sure enough, as soon as he left the Cultivator Market, two cultivators furtively followed him.
He chuckled inwardly and pretended not to notice, deliberately slowing down to ensure they could keep up. When he reached a secluded stretch of water, his pursuers finally lost patience and leaped out of the water:
"Fellow Daoist, please wai-Aaah!"
Before he could finish his line, a streak of red light cut through the night sky and pierced his chest in an instant. Before the other man could react, his body was already dissolving in the roselight.
Immediately afterward, a gleam of ghostly light appeared, and the Soul Banner drew in two fresh souls.
"Not bad, not bad."
Sensing the spiritual essence growing richer within the Soul Banner, Chu Mo was quite satisfied. He repeated the process: change clothes, return, lure them out, kill them, capture their souls. His movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, all in one seamless sequence.
Before the next robber cultivators following him could figure out what had happened, they had embarked on a brand-new "soul life."
Once he had filled the Profound Scenery Banner's quota, Chu Mo mounted his Spirit Cloud and flew toward Thousand Currents Prefecture, thoroughly satisfied. Island Master Xu had not lied to him. The rogue cultivator market's "specialties" were excellent indeed.