Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Qian Yuan Appears

Lu Zhao’s Heart Spirit focused, and he commanded the Flowing Cloud Sparrow to expand its field of vision. Sure enough, about a couple of miles behind Old Wu, two figures emerged from the forest, leisurely chasing him!

Both were burly men; one was at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, and the other was shockingly at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer! They wore savage grins, their eyes like those of hungry wolves that had spotted their prey. It was clear they already considered Old Wu as good as caught.

’It’s not Qian Yuan...’ Lu Zhao’s heart sank with a trace of disappointment. The intel on Qian Yuan indicated he was at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer and skilled in concealment and sneak attacks. These two, on the other hand, had their auras on full display and acted ostentatiously, making them seem more like ordinary Tribulation Cultivators.

Old Wu was now less than a hundred yards from the ambush point. The two men behind him, apparently deciding they were far enough from the Marketplace, began to accelerate, shouting threats as they closed in. Old Wu was scared out of his wits, scrambling and stumbling in a desperate sprint toward Lu Zhao’s location. The terror on his face was anything but fake.

Just as Old Wu was a few dozen yards from Lu Zhao’s hiding place, with the two brutes closing to within a hundred yards, Lu Zhao moved!

His form was a faint black shadow as he shot out from his hiding spot. Empowered by the Wind Manipulation Technique, his toes tapped lightly on rocks and treetops, each push launching him nearly thirty yards forward! His figure streaked through the woods, a black line barely visible to the naked eye. In just a few breaths, he had already shot past the desperately fleeing Old Wu to intercept the two pursuers!

"Who goes there?!" The Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer brute, startled by the sudden appearance of someone moving at such incredible speed, instinctively slowed his pace and yelled.

Lu Zhao said nothing, his eyes as cold as frost. While still in midair, he had already retrieved the Hundred Waters Magic Disc from his Storage Bag with his right hand. He circulated the Little Spirit Rain Technique, furiously pouring his immense Magical Power into the disc! The rice-grain-sized Crystal Stone at its center flared with a brilliant blue light!

"Ice Cone Technique!"

At Lu Zhao’s low shout, Cold Qi on the Hundred Waters Magic Disc condensed in an instant, forming three eerie blue Ice Cones. Each was about a foot long, perfectly translucent, and radiated a bone-chilling cold. Their tips pulsed with a frosty glint as they shot forward in a triangular formation, whistling sharply through the air, aimed straight at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer Tribulation Cultivator!

The expression of the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer Tribulation Cultivator changed drastically. In his haste, he only had time to activate a few Protective Talismans, and a faint golden shield had just shimmered into existence!

PFT! PFT! PFT!

Three dull, piercing sounds rang out almost at once! The supposedly tough Vajra Talisman shield was like paper before the Ice Cones, empowered as they were by the Hundred Waters Magic Disc! The cones pierced his chest and abdomen without resistance. A terrifying burst of Cold Qi erupted, instantly freezing his organs and meridians solid! The Tribulation Cultivator couldn’t even scream before the vitality in his eyes dimmed and he toppled over, stiff as a board, a thick layer of white frost rapidly coating his body.

Instant kill!

The Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Tribulation Cultivator was terrified by the sight! His companion may have been weaker, but he was a genuine Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer cultivator, yet he had been killed instantly in a single exchange! This was a feat beyond any ordinary Late-stage Qi Cultivator! All his will to fight vanished. With a strange cry, his body flared with Spirit Light as he turned to flee without the slightest hesitation, pushing his Escape Technique to its absolute limit!

"Trying to run?" Lu Zhao sneered, and issued a mental command.

ROAR!

Five jet-black figures shot out from the shadows behind him like arrows loosed from a bow! They were the five Ice Wind Wolf Puppets, all radiating a biting Cold Qi! Their movements were as swift as lightning, their sharp claws glinting coldly. In an instant, they had blocked all of the Tribulation Cultivator’s escape routes and surrounded him completely!

The Tribulation Cultivator was horrified. He desperately swung the Big Saber Spiritual Artifact in his hand, its blade flashing as he tried to force the Puppets back. With his other hand, he activated a Middle-Grade Defense Spiritual Artifact, and a faint yellow Spirit Light enveloped his entire body.

However, the Ice Wind Wolf Puppets were fearless. The Ice Cold Power imbued in their claws and fangs continuously eroded his Body-Protecting Spiritual Artifact, causing his movements to become increasingly sluggish. The faint yellow Spirit Light flickered violently and grew thinner under the relentless assault, and a thin layer of frost gradually formed on the ground around him.

After just a few moments, under the siege of the five fearless and perfectly coordinated Puppets, the Tribulation Cultivator’s Body-Protecting Spiritual Artifact was finally torn to shreds. Like a bursting bubble, it dissipated with a POP into the frigid air.

Immediately after, with a sickening sound of tearing flesh, a wolf puppet’s sharp claws pierced through his throat.

The Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Wanderer collapsed without even letting out a scream.

Lu Zhao walked over, his expression impassive. He expertly collected the two Tribulation Cultivators’ Storage Bags and their intact Magical Artifacts, then incinerated their corpses with the Fireball Technique. Only after all this was done did he approach Old Wu, who had collapsed on the ground, his face drained of all color.

"You... did well. But it’s not enough. These two were not the person I’m looking for." Lu Zhao’s voice betrayed no emotion.

Old Wu shuddered and struggled to his feet, his face a mixture of post-calamity terror and profound awe for Lu Zhao. He stammered, "Th-thank you for saving my life, Sir! I... I know what to do! I’ll go back and say... I’ll say I ran into Tribulation Cultivators and barely escaped back to the Marketplace with my life! I would never dare reveal anything about you, Sir!"

Lu Zhao nodded, reasonably satisfied with his tact. After a moment’s thought, he took out three Lower Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and tossed them to him. "Take these. Do your job well, and I won’t treat you unfairly. Go back."

The old man looked at the smooth Spirit Stones in his hand, then at Lu Zhao’s indifferent yet imposing face. His awe deepened, now mixed with a hint of incredulous gratitude. He bowed repeatedly. "Yes! Yes! Thank you, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" After speaking, he scrambled and stumbled away, running toward the Black Cloud Mountain Marketplace.

「Seven days later, a similar scene played out again.」

Once again, Old Wu acted as the bait, and once again, Lu Zhao lay in ambush along the inevitable path. This time, in the Flowing Cloud Sparrow’s field of vision, there was only one Tribulation Cultivator in pursuit.

But this person’s cultivation was even higher—he was at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer! His aura was fierce, and his gaze was as sharp as an eagle’s. He was clearly an experienced and ruthless character.

However, in the face of Lu Zhao’s carefully prepared deathtrap, even a Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer cultivator couldn’t make any waves. This time, Lu Zhao didn’t use the Ice Cone Technique again.

He pushed the Hundred Waters Magic Disc to its limit, unleashing the more powerful "Thousand Overlapping Waves Skill." Layer upon layer of Water Spirit Ripples overlapped, forming a deep blue Water Blade so condensed it was almost tangible. With a single strike, Lu Zhao shattered the man’s Defensive Spiritual Artifact and left him on the brink of death.

The man tried to struggle before his death. He unleashed a Quasi-Tier Two Talisman, and one of the Ice Wind Wolf Puppets was hit and destroyed on the spot.

However, it seemed he only had that one Quasi-Tier Two Talisman. After his attack, the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer Tribulation Cultivator was swarmed by the other Puppets and died with regret on the spot, following in the footsteps of the first two.

Lu Zhao picked up the ruined Puppet and thought to himself, ’Everyone has a trump card. This time it was just a Quasi-Tier Two Talisman, so it would’ve been fine even if I’d gone in myself. But if he had possessed a Tier Two Attack Talisman and I had stubbornly rushed in to finish him off, that would have been dangerous.’

’Looks like I should let the Puppets deliver the final blow from now on,’ Lu Zhao thought.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Lu Zhao told the still-shaken Old Wu to move away. He stood in the forest, his brow slightly furrowed. Two ambushes, and neither had drawn out the main target, Qian Yuan. Instead, they had only attracted other Tribulation Cultivators who had caught wind of an easy mark.

Qian Yuan himself remained like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, nowhere to be seen.

’It seems this man is even more cautious and cunning than I thought...’ Lu Zhao mused. He decided to try one more time. If it didn’t work, he would give up.

’For the first two attempts, you could say Old Wu just had impressive life-saving skills. But if there were to be a fourth, even a fool would see it’s a trap.’

He found the still-terrified Old Wu nearby and said in a low voice, "One last try. If we still don’t succeed this time, we’ll call it quits. Whether it works or not, I’ll give you another five Spirit Stones for this final attempt."

Old Wu’s face was pale and his lips trembled, but seeing Lu Zhao’s unquestionable gaze and thinking of the five Spirit Stones, he finally gritted his teeth and nodded. "Alright. I’ll go."

「Six days later, on the desolate mountain path from Black Cloud Mountain Marketplace to Black Wind Ridge.」

Lu Zhao sat cross-legged in the shadow of a ravine, his Heart Spirit tightly linked to the Flowing Cloud Sparrow high above. Two consecutive failures had left him with little hope for this attempt. He was only making this final attempt, figuring the third time would be decisive one way or another.

He had even begun to calculate what he would do if this attempt also failed—how he would adjust his strategy, or whether he should seek more accurate intelligence from the Sect.

The Flowing Cloud Sparrow’s compound eyes, like the most precise lenses, slowly swept over the winding mountain road and dense forest canopy below. Suddenly, at the edge of its vision, on a small path in the woods near Black Wind Ridge, there was movement.

A figure was running and stumbling along—it was Old Wu! The terror on his face was real, practically overflowing, as if a demon was chasing him from behind.

’He’s here!’ Lu Zhao’s spirits lifted, but disappointment quickly followed. In the Flowing Cloud Sparrow’s vision, there was only one person trailing Old Wu!

The man was not tall and had an ordinary face. He wore a simple, dusty gray linen tunic, looking utterly unremarkable. His cultivation... was only at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer? His speed was neither fast nor slow; he didn’t seem to be chasing with all his might, just leisurely following about a hundred yards behind Old Wu.

’Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer?’ Lu Zhao was taken aback. ’Still, I can’t be sure. And I definitely can’t trust his appearance. That bastard has a Magic technique to alter his face and conceal his aura!’

’But the last two times, it was higher-level cultivators who took the bait. Why is it... Could it really be him this time? Or is this just more cannon fodder?’

However, just as Lu Zhao’s mind raced and he prepared to intercept as planned, the figure of the "Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer" Tribulation Cultivator in the Flowing Cloud Sparrow’s vision suddenly blurred in an extremely bizarre way!

Although it was fleeting, so fast one might dismiss it as an illusion, Lu Zhao had practiced the Thousand Threads Technique. His Divine Sense was far stronger than that of an ordinary Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer cultivator, so how could his Perception be anything but sharp? He instantly caught that flicker of abnormality—and a clammy, ice-cold aura with a unique earthy scent, a mix of decaying wood and pungent herbs!

The scent was like that of a rotten coffin buried deep underground for many years. Lu Zhao recalled it instantly—it was the earthy smell mixed with the scents of Yin Locust Wood and Bone Decay Grass mentioned in the Jade Scroll. It seemed the man had just used the face-altering and aura-concealing Magic, and its effects were still unstable.

"That aura... that Escape Technique?!" Lu Zhao’s pupils contracted abruptly! The disappointment in his heart was instantly replaced by immense surprise and heightened vigilance!

’There’s no mistake! That aura!’

’And that momentary blur... the speed of that Escape Technique is far beyond what an ordinary Cultivator can achieve.’

"Finally, you’ve shown yourself!" Lu Zhao’s eyes blazed with a cold light. His killing intent, sharp as a drawn sword, instantly locked onto the seemingly unremarkable "Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer" figure.

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