Encounter

An hour later, Xiao Yu arrived at a small valley. Lush vegetation filled it, flowers bloomed everywhere, and birds chased one another at play from time to time. The sight soothed the heart and lifted the spirits.

Xiao Yu's mood brightened at once. Cultivators in the Forbidden Grounds kept their nerves taut at all times, inevitably growing weary and mentally exhausted!

But after that brief moment of relaxation, he grew tense again. Xiao Yu knew that moments like these were precisely when things could most easily go wrong.

After slowly making his way several li into the valley, Xiao Yu abruptly stopped. A pool had appeared several dozen zhang ahead, with a few purple flowers growing along its bank.

From stem to blossom, the flowers were entirely purple, with faint wisps of mist hovering around them, lending them an air of exquisite nobility!

At that moment, Xiao Yu swiftly recalled what he knew about this spiritual herb. Purple mist vine, a water-aspected spiritual herb, usually grows around pools rich in spiritual energy. A relatively precious herb, it increases in value with age and is one of the main ingredients in certain pills that advance the cultivation of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.

Joy surged through Xiao Yu's heart, but he still cautiously swept his spiritual sense ahead!

Gradually, he sensed something amiss. Although he detected no cultivators, something felt strange. The surroundings were far too quiet, completely unlike the stretch of path near the valley entrance.

An idea stirred in Xiao Yu's mind. Without betraying anything, he scanned his surroundings several times, then headed out of the valley!

At that moment, someone hiding in the grass several dozen zhang ahead saw Xiao Yu almost reach the pool, only to circle around a few times and turn back. Alarm shot through him!

Did he discover me? Impossible! I'm still several dozen zhang away from him. Even a cultivator at the peak of the thirteenth level of Qi Refining couldn't detect me from this far away! He's only at the twelfth level! Count yourself lucky, brat. If I run into you again, I'll kill you! After viciously cursing in the direction Xiao Yu had left, the man resumed his silent wait!

Just as Xiao Yu was about to reach the valley entrance, alarm suddenly stirred in his heart. He immediately activated his Aura Concealment Technique and Concealment Technique at full strength, turned around, and hurried a short distance back into the valley before darting into a patch of grass and disappearing!

A short while later, a beautiful woman at the twelfth level of Qi Refining entered the valley. She was quite cautious, moving slowly as she examined her surroundings. She had also summoned a brocade handkerchief, which spun continuously above her head.

As she gradually approached the pool and saw the purple mist vine growing there, her eyes lit up. She looked around, then probed with her spiritual sense for a long time. Only after confirming that no one was there did she walk toward the bank.

When the beautiful woman was still several zhang from the pool, a transparent, lusterless silver needle artifact silently appeared behind her, then shot toward her in a flash!

The woman sensed something wrong and desperately twisted to the side. Though she avoided a fatal strike, she failed to dodge the silver needle entirely, and it pierced straight through her shoulder.

"Ah!" Clutching her shoulder in pain, the woman darted back several dozen zhang. Her eyes flicked frantically around as she cried, "Who ambushed me?"

At that moment, a cultivator in his thirties with triangular eyes emerged from the grass. He was at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

A Spirit Beast Mountain cultivator!

Watching from a distance, Xiao Yu recognized his affiliation at once. The man wore garishly colorful clothes, and several bags hung from his waist, including both storage bags and Spirit Beast Bags.

The triangular-eyed cultivator looked the beautiful woman up and down, then sneered. "Not bad, girl. You're lucky! You actually managed to keep my Shadowless Needle from striking a vital spot!"

"A thirteenth-level Qi Refining cultivator! Are you a disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain?" the woman asked, panic showing on her face.

"Heh heh, whether I'm from Spirit Beast Mountain or not, you're going to die today!" the triangular-eyed cultivator said viciously.

He slapped the storage bag at his waist, sending out an axe-shaped artifact about a foot long. After he formed several Spell Seals, the small axe cleaved down through the air, trailing yellow light! The woman's expression changed drastically! Forming a Spell Seal with one hand, she sent the brocade handkerchief above her head wheeling up to intercept the axe-shaped artifact! At the same time, she took out a flying sword and poured magical power into it, ready to strike at any moment.

Feeling the searing pain in her shoulder, the woman called out, "Senior Brother, if you would spare me, I would gladly give you my storage bag!"

"Heh heh, once I kill you, I can take your storage bag anyway. And I'll rid myself of any future trouble for good!"

With another sneer, the triangular-eyed cultivator slapped a slightly smaller gray bag. A loud buzzing immediately rose from it!

Several dozen bees flew out of the bag. Each was about an inch long, with a yellow body and a pair of pale silver wings that flashed with silvery light as they beat.

At the sight, the woman's lovely face paled even further. She hurriedly pleaded, "Senior Brother, please spare my life! I'm willing to spend a night with you!" With her life under threat, she could no longer afford to care about shame.

Hearing this, the triangular-eyed cultivator paused, temptation showing on his face. After a brief struggle between beauty and profit, his expression turned savage. He muttered a few words, formed a Spell Seal with one hand, and pointed at the woman. The several dozen inch-long Silver-Winged Bees immediately surged toward her!

The beautiful woman's face instantly went bloodlessly pale. She hurriedly launched her flying sword, letting it replace the brocade handkerchief in blocking the axe-shaped artifact controlled by the triangular-eyed cultivator.

Then she recalled the brocade handkerchief to protect her entire body. At the same time, she took a talisman from her storage bag, murmured a few words, and slapped it onto herself!

A golden barrier immediately enveloped her. Still uneasy, she took out a shield artifact and formed a seal with one hand, enlarging it to three or four feet across and placing it in front of her.

Seeing the woman's defensive measures, the triangular-eyed cultivator merely sneered.

After he formed a few more Spell Seals, the swarm split into three squads of roughly twenty bees each. Two squads repeatedly rammed and attacked the brocade handkerchief and shield artifact respectively.

The remaining squad of roughly twenty Silver-Winged Bees circled around the shield and brocade handkerchief and landed on the barrier, biting and stinging it furiously!

Whatever strange breed these Silver-Winged Bees were, their attacks were outrageously powerful. The golden barrier protecting the woman looked exceptionally tough, yet before the swarm, it might as well have been made of paper.

Within moments, the bees had chewed countless tiny holes through the barrier. Then they darted inside and began tearing into the woman's body!

Agonizing pain erupted all over her body, and the woman could not help letting out one terrible scream after another. "Ah... ah... you treacherous bastard! Even as a ghost, I won't let you get away with this!"

"Say that once you've become a ghost." The triangular-eyed cultivator watched her with mocking eyes as he taunted her.

Only moments later, the woman's screams abruptly ceased!

The swarm suddenly rose into the air with a buzz, and the triangular-eyed cultivator collected the bees into his Spirit Beast Bag!

Where the woman had stood, no trace of her remained. Only a small shield, a brocade handkerchief, and a little pink bag lay on the ground to prove she had ever been there. The flying sword that had been resisting the axe-shaped artifact had also fallen to one side upon its owner's death.

The triangular-eyed cultivator walked over and picked up the artifacts and the little bag. He hefted the bag in his hand, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.

Suddenly, he looked toward Xiao Yu's hiding place with a mocking expression and said, "Brat, you've enjoyed the show for long enough. Isn't it time to come out? Your Concealment Technique is impressive, and I can't detect you, but my little darling can!"

As he spoke, the triangular-eyed cultivator beckoned, and a drab gray butterfly flew into his hand. This butterfly was another of his spirit insects, which he had released early on to keep watch. No movement within the valley had escaped his surveillance, so he had known the moment Xiao Yu returned.

This was another reason Spirit Beast Mountain cultivators were so troublesome. They possessed all sorts of bizarre spirit beasts with different abilities, making them impossible to guard against. Often, their opponents never even knew how they had fallen victim.