"A Core Formation Cultivator took a hit from a Mountain-Shaking Talisman and was barely hurt!"
Wang Chan cried out.
"Go, stop him! Today, I'll make sure you die without a place to be buried!"
At Wang Chan's furious roar, a swarm of Low-Rank Cultivators converged on Lu Shang like ants.
Although Lu Shang was already badly injured, he was still not someone these low-level cultivators could trample at will.
Lu Shang swallowed several medicinal pills and prepared to cast spells to slaughter these low-level Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators.
Once he had recovered a little, Lu Shang began clearing them out.
Before long, the corpses of numerous Low-Rank Cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect littered the ground.
Bodies fell in wave after wave.
Meanwhile, Wang Chan had not been idle. He drew another talisman from his waist.
This one was clearly not a Mountain-Shaking Talisman, and Wang Chan was having some difficulty activating it.
Although blocking Lu Shang's attack with a magical treasure had left Wang Chan short of spiritual power, activating a talisman was merely a matter of time.
Having suffered that Mountain-Shaking Talisman's blow not long ago, Lu Shang knew he could not let his guard down against the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master.
If he was careless, he really might fall into the hands of this young master who had not even reached core formation.
Sure enough, Lu Shang spotted the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master taking out another talisman.
This talisman was clearly no weaker. If it hit him, he would probably be doomed.
These Low-Rank Cultivators were merely buying Wang Chan time to prepare his talisman.
Lu Shang hurriedly cast spells to drive them back.
"Die!" Wang Chan roared!
As his shout rang out, a talisman hurtled toward Lu Shang.
Boom-
When the dust settled, not even a trace of Lu Shang remained at the center of the blast.
"Congratulations on taking that man down, Young Master!" Zhong Wu approached the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master, his face wreathed in smiles.
Smack!
"Do you take me for a fool?!" Wang Chan roared.
After being slapped, Zhong Wu hurriedly dropped to his knees.
"Young Master, I truly don't know how I've offended you. Please explain, Young Master..."
Listening to Zhong Wu kneel and beg for his life did nothing to soothe Wang Chan's temper. It only made him angrier.
Wang Chan kicked him away.
"Get lost! A bunch of useless trash!"
"He can't have gone far! Find him!"
Over a hundred li away, a man lay beneath a tree, his clothes in tatters, his hair disheveled, his body covered in wounds and his mouth full of blood.
"I nearly died back there!"
As he spoke, a mouthful of hot blood spilled out.
This was the first time Lu Shang had suffered such serious injuries since he began cultivating, and it had truly dealt him a blow to the head.
The instant that talisman attacked, he had used a divine ability akin to teleportation.
Long ago, Lu Shang had already gained the ability to draw a sliver of lightning power from the thunder within his dantian.
From that blood-colored thunder, Lu Shang had learned this escape technique.
Lu Shang called it Blood Thunder Escape.
This lightning escape technique required very little spiritual power and placed no burden on him.
However, with Lu Shang's current strength, he could only travel a dozen or so li with each use.
Lu Shang had been forced to use it several times in succession before reaching the woods over a hundred li away.
This had taught him a lesson. He had only himself to blame for underestimating cultivators with powerful backing.
Wang Chan came from the Ghost Spirit Sect and was its young master, so it was only natural for him to carry numerous magical treasures. Besides, Lu Shang had threatened his life not long ago, so it was hardly surprising that he had acquired more magical artifacts after returning.
Fortunately, his demonic body incarnation had blocked the first attack, while his lightning escape had avoided most of the damage from the second, allowing Lu Shang to escape with a fright rather than a fatal injury.
Yet a difficult problem now lay before Lu Shang.
After this incident, even if the Ghost Spirit Sect's influence did not extend to every corner of the Heavenly South, remaining there would still be extremely dangerous.
The Ghost Spirit Sect was one of the Six Demonic Sects. Its influence in the Heavenly South was considerable, and it also had numerous cultivation clans under its sway.
Even if the Ghost Spirit Sect was not particularly friendly with the other sects, finding a Core Formation Cultivator for it would hardly be difficult.
As for joining the Righteous Path Alliance, as noted earlier, the alliance had no reason to antagonize the Six Demonic Sects over a cultivator like Lu Shang.
His other option was to use the Teleportation Formation to reach the Chaotic Star Sea ahead of schedule.
That way, he could avoid being discovered by the demonic sects while beginning his plans there straightaway.
And once he advanced to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, he would have enough strength to return to the Heavenly South and settle accounts with the Ghost Spirit Sect.
A month later, the spirit mine where Lu Shang had been injured was teeming with Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators, with a Core Formation Stage cultivator stationed there as well.
The moment the Core Formation Stage elder sensed anything amiss, he would send word.
Lu Shang knew that if a Core Formation Stage cultivator held him up, other high-level cultivators would converge in an extremely short time.
To avoid stirring the grass and startling the snake, Lu Shang first made preparations some distance from the spirit mine.
Lu Shang knocked a Foundation Establishment Stage disciple unconscious, changed into his clothes, and only then headed toward the spirit mine.
The journey was fairly uneventful, and he reached the vicinity of the spirit mine without mishap.
There were many guards stationed inside the spirit mine, and spirit stones were constantly being shipped out.
Although many of the spirit stones inside the Spirit Mine had been tampered with, a high-level cultivator could deal with that.
That was why they were constantly being shipped out, and why a late Core Formation Stage cultivator had been assigned to guard the place.
Although Lu Shang was confident he could win within a quarter of an hour, there was still the possibility of a signal being sent.
If only ordinary Core Formation Cultivators were nearby, that would be manageable. At most, they would pose a few obstacles.
But if a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Six Demonic Sects happened to be stationed nearby, or merely passing through, it would be all but fatal for Lu Shang.
After a month of rest, Lu Shang had recovered roughly ninety percent of his strength, but the lesson from last time remained vivid in his mind.
A single talisman carrying the power of a Nascent Soul stage strike had been enough to shatter his current four-armed demonic body.
If a genuine Nascent Soul stage cultivator were here, Lu Shang could practically prepare to be reincarnated.
Lu Shang strode brazenly into the spirit mine.
He used his divine sense to examine every path leading deeper inside.
What Lu Shang needed was not speed, but to remain undetected.
He followed the less crowded paths.
A short while later, Lu Shang reached a passage lit only by torches, without a single person in sight.
Something's wrong. Why isn't anyone here?
The deeper Lu Shang went, the more wrong things seemed.
"Seize him!"
A voice rang out.
Lu Shang could no longer afford to worry about anything else. The Teleportation Formation was only a short distance away, so he could only rush toward it.
Ignoring where the voice had come from, Lu Shang sped toward the Teleportation Formation, constantly unleashing sword qi to cut down the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators who came to block him.
Before long, Lu Shang reached the Teleportation Formation.
He immediately cast a spell to activate it.
As he brought out the Great Shift Seal, the Teleportation Formation slowly began to activate.
Damn it, it even takes time to activate.
"Lu Shang!"
The voice sounded both furious and familiar.
Lu Shang looked up. Sure enough, it was Wang Chan.
"Lu Shang, I want you dead! Destroy the Teleportation Formation!"
At his command, hundreds of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators began hurling spells and arrows at the Teleportation Formation.
Among them, four Core Formation Stage cultivators swiftly charged toward the Teleportation Formation at the same time.
Although the Teleportation Formation had decent defenses against Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, Lu Shang was far less confident about its ability to withstand Core Formation cultivators.
Lu Shang could only keep unleashing sword qi to hold them back.
"Lu Shang! Die!" Wang Chan screamed with heartrending fury.
Then Wang Chan took out a strange blood-colored blade.
Wang Chan handed the blood-colored blade to a nearby Core Formation Stage cultivator.
The moment the Core Formation Stage cultivator took the weapon, black demonic qi appeared around him.
His eyes glowed red as he charged at Lu Shang.
Lu Shang had intended to take out the Silver Frost Dragon Halberd, but the Teleportation Formation had just finished activating.
"Hmph! Wang Chan, just you wait a hundred years!" Lu Shang left him with that fierce threat.
When Lu Shang had first formed his golden core, he had probably never imagined that a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator would force him into such a predicament.
"Lu Shang! Die!" Wang Chan screamed again, his voice tearing with fury.
The Core Formation Cultivator from moments before had actually been hurled back by a surge of energy erupting from the Teleportation Formation.
The blade emanating that eerie aura fell to the ground as well.
Blinded by the humiliation Lu Shang had inflicted on him, Wang Chan could think of nothing but attacking him.
Had a nearby Core Formation Stage cultivator not held him back, he would likely have hurled himself at Lu Shang regardless of everything.
A dazzling column of light rose from the ground and shot straight into the clouds.
A moment later, it vanished completely.
Lu Shang, too, vanished entirely from the Ghost Spirit Sect's sight.
"Lu Shang!!!!!!"
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