Chapter 221: The Great Enemy Arrives from Taichu

After killing Long Tian’ao and Jin Chan, Qin Haoxuan collected forty-three second-grade spirit stones from their bodies. Holding them, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“I’ve finally killed all the cultivators who could threaten me. For a short time, at least, no one will come to bother me,” he thought, reflecting on the assassinations of the past few days, especially today’s perilous battle with Long Tian’ao.

Xing, seeing the spirit stones in his hand, his eyes shining, said, “Killing and plundering is pretty great, isn’t it? In just a few days, you’ve earned so many spirit stones. You now have over twelve thousand low-grade spirit stones; that should be enough for you to use.”

“It’s great, but if my luck had been a little worse, it would be others taking our things after we were dead, saying the same things as us…” Qin Haoxuan lamented the great danger of these life-and-death battles. Although the rewards were becoming more and more abundant, the risks were indescribable.

Changing the subject, he weighed the spirit stones in his hand. “But you’re right. Now that I have nearly thirteen thousand low-grade spirit stones in my hand, a great weight has been lifted from my heart. I no longer have to worry about them, and I can infuse the Bifang Talisman Beast with a clear conscience.”

The more spiritual energy was infused into the half-finished Bifang, the greater the power of its explosion would be. Thinking that he now had over twelve thousand stones, he didn’t mind spending some on it. If he could use its explosive power to kill Master Chi Lian in one fell swoop and eliminate this great threat, then he could finally be at ease.

Returning to the tent, Xing saw his cheerful expression and couldn’t help but deal a blow. “Don’t get too happy too soon. That Hua Yang’s master has already received the message. I estimate he’ll be here to kill us soon.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. At least we’ll have a few days of peace,” Qin Haoxuan said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. “After these past few days of fighting, I feel that I’ve gained some comprehension, and my spiritual energy has reached a certain limit. If there are no surprises, I should be growing another leaf soon.”

Xing blinked, looking at him as if he were a monster. Although he wasn’t a human cultivator, he knew how difficult it was to grow a new leaf. It had only been about twenty days since his last one, and now he was about to grow another. This speed of advancement, for a weak seed, was simply astonishing.

Qin Haoxuan sat cross-legged in meditation. Every day, besides setting aside a certain amount of time to infuse the Bifang, he spent the rest of his time cultivating.

On the fifth day after killing Long Tian’ao, he felt that the spiritual energy in his body had once again reached its limit and could no longer hold any more. The feeling was like a container that could only hold one bowl of water; if you wanted to hold two, you had to expand the container. And for a cultivator, expanding the container meant advancing to the next realm.

A clear fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated from his body, rippling outwards in waves. Xing, who was playing with a Talisman Beast, looked at him in surprise. Exactly one month after his last leaf, he had grown another one. This time, it was also a seven-veined leaf, but its color was a normal green.

If word got out that a weak seed at the Sixth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm actually had five seven-veined leaves, one of which, though veinless, was clearly stronger than the others, it would surely scare a whole group of people silly. Qin Haoxuan couldn’t help but marvel at the power of the Immortal-Demon Seed. Although it couldn’t grant him a thousand-mile-a-day cultivation speed for now, every leaf was seven-veined. This method of accumulating a solid foundation before a sudden burst of progress gave him a much more solid strength. But… so many days had passed, and Master Chi Lian’s mark was still on him. He was getting annoyed.

After breaking through to the Sixth-Leaf, Qin Haoxuan did not rest but immediately began to infuse the Bifang again. After about half an hour, he had used another two thousand low-grade spirit stones. Seeing that he only had fifty second-grade stones left, he finally stopped. In these five days, he had spent a total of over seven thousand low-grade spirit stones on the Bifang. The half-finished beast now contained a powerful spiritual energy, and he could feel that its power was already very strong. Even if it couldn’t kill Master Chi Lian in one blast, it could definitely injure him.

With the spirit stones he had gotten from killing and plundering nearly all spent, he was reluctant to continue. After all, both the Mortal Talisman and the Thousand-Mile Talisman required a large amount of spirit stones to activate. He shrank the Bifang and put it away. Now fully prepared, feeling that he could advance or retreat as needed, he stretched lazily. It was time to rest and welcome the possible crisis to come.

He hadn’t rested for several days and was about to lie down and sleep, but unfortunately, heaven had other plans. Just as he lay down, he felt the entire camp shake, and a strong fluctuation of spiritual energy came from outside.

He and Xing exchanged a look. Could their trouble have arrived so soon?

He went outside and called over a soldier. “What just happened?”

“Reporting to the High Immortal, another High Immortal has come to our camp. He was sent by the Taichu Sect to help our army.”

Qin Haoxuan waved his hand and dismissed the soldier, then said to Xing, “The sect has sent a cultivator. It seems the Sect Master already knows about the rebellion. Since they’ve sent other senior brothers, should I go and meet him?”

Xing thought for a moment and slowly shook his head. “It’s best not to. Although he’s from your sect, it might not be a good thing for you. This isn’t the sect’s territory. What if your senior brothers find out we’ve killed a few rogue cultivators and, coveting our valuables, decide to kill us and take our things? Or what if the person who came is one of Master Chi Lian’s men?”

Although Qin Haoxuan felt he was being a bit too paranoid, he was also afraid that the newcomer might indeed be one of Master Chi Lian’s men. In that case, wouldn’t he be walking right into a trap?

“Alright, then we’ll hide first and see who it is and what his intentions are,” he quickly decided. He unhesitatingly activated the Mortal Talisman, concealed his aura, and, along with Xing, put on mortal clothes and blended into the crowd of ordinary soldiers.

Just as they had mixed in, he saw the newcomer. He recognized him. It was Master Chi Lian’s disciple, named Wan Yao, a cultivator at the Thirtieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm. Seeing that it was him, he was thankful he hadn’t rashly gone to greet him. His name had not been on the list for the “Entering the Mortal World” trial; he must have been sent by his master to find him.

Wan Yao, under the enthusiastic guidance of Su Wu, entered the main commander’s tent and sat down in the main seat. Su Wu respectfully knelt on the ground and reported to this High Immortal from the Taichu Sect. “Reporting to the High Immortal, after the king rebelled, our army has clashed with three of his armies. All three of them have High Immortals in their camps.”

Wan Yao asked with curiosity, “Then how have you survived until now?”

“Reporting to the High Immortal,” Su Wu replied, “the first time, after I learned the enemy had a High Immortal, I immediately fled, and he did not pursue. Later, our army met another High Immortal, also from the Taichu Sect. Only then did we turn defeat into victory. Several of the enemy’s High Immortals were slain by him.”

“Oh!” Wan Yao, who had been lounging in his seat, immediately sat up straight. He took out a portrait from his robes, opened it, and said, “Look carefully. Is it him?”

Su Wu looked closely. Wasn’t that the High Immortal from his own army? He repeatedly nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s him! Do you also know him, High Immortal? He’s in our camp right now.”

Wan Yao shot to his feet and said sternly, “Where is he? Take me to him at once!”

Su Wu was startled. He finally realized that this new High Immortal and the other one were not on good terms. But how could a mortal general like him say anything? He hurriedly led the way to Qin Haoxuan’s tent.

Qin Haoxuan, with his Mortal Talisman concealing his aura, had clearly heard their conversation. He and Xing exchanged a look. This Wan Yao was indeed here for him.

Under Su Wu’s guidance, Wan Yao quickly arrived outside Qin Haoxuan’s former tent. He opened it and found it empty. “Where is he?” he roared, his fierce eyes fixed on Su Wu.

Su Wu cursed his bad luck. How could he possibly know where he had gone? He called over the guard who was responsible for his tent and learned that he had been there just a moment ago.

Should I report this to Master? Wan Yao wondered. This Qin Haoxuan is just a weak seed, but he’s on good terms with the new Unsurpassed Purple Seed, Xu Yu. For Master to go to such lengths to capture him, he must have a treasure on him that even Master covets. Otherwise, why would he bother with a Fourth-Leaf new disciple? Since Master can’t find him, if I can, and I capture him and force the secret of his treasure out of him, and then destroy his corpse, won’t that great benefit be all mine?

He quickly made his decision. He could not let his master know about this. Although his Thirtieth-Leaf cultivation was considered good among his peers in the Taichu Sect, his cultivation speed had slowed in recent years. If this continued, he might die of old age before he could reach the Spirit Tree Realm. For a cultivator, resources were equal to strength, and strength was equal to lifespan. Who would complain about having too long a life?