Chapter 223: The Snipe, the Clam, and the Fisherman

It wasn’t just that he had no strength to fight back.

An ant! A true ant! A Thirtieth-Leaf cultivator facing a Spirit Tree Realm Daoist was a true ant.

In that moment, Qin Haoxuan also understood why the deputy hall master who had led their trial looked at mortals the way he did. Even a Thirtieth-Leaf cultivator was an ant in his eyes. What, then, was a mortal?

All the mortal soldiers were so frightened by this single streak of sword qi that they broke out in a cold sweat, all their fighting spirit gone. The sword qi, more dazzling than the midday sun, had even caused many of the soldiers who had seen it to go temporarily blind.

“Ah! Why can’t I see anything…”

“It’s all white, there’s nothing around me. Am I in hell?”

…

One force can overcome ten skills. In the face of absolute power, all other tricks are just a fig leaf.

Wan Yao, who had been grievously injured by the single sword strike, was horrified. He shouted, “Senior, Senior! I am a disciple of the Taichu Sect! There may be some misunderstanding between us. I beg you to show mercy!” Knowing he was no match for the newcomer, he hurriedly brought out the name of his sect, hoping the other party would show some leniency.

“Hmph,” the middle-aged man sneered. “I, the Mountain Hermit Yunhe, have no need to give face to the Taichu Sect!”

The Mountain Hermit Yunhe!

Hearing these four words, Wan Yao could no longer hold himself up and collapsed to the ground. The Mountain Hermit Yunhe was a fairly famous rogue cultivator in the Soaring Dragon Nation. This person had the strength of the Spirit Tree Realm and possessed a true flying sword. His personality was capricious. Thirty years ago, the “Three Heroes of Yunhe,” for killing a disciple of the Nature Hall, had been found by Guyun, who had been traveling in the mortal world at the time. A great battle had ensued. In the end, of the three heroes, only Yunhe had survived; the other two had died under Guyun’s sword. To be able to escape alive from the hands of “One Sword” Guyun was not a shameful thing, but rather a matter of pride. From that battle, his fame had spread, and several great sects had extended invitations to him, all of which he had refused. Guyun had been searching for him ever since, wanting to kill him, but the man was cunning and clever, and Guyun had never been able to find a trace of him.

In Wan Yao’s terrified gaze, the Mountain Hermit Yunhe raised his sword and, with another wave, sent out a streak of white sword qi, ending his life.

After killing Wan Yao, he put away his flying sword and looked at the two fighting armies with an indifferent expression, as if he were thinking of something.

Seeing this, Qin Haoxuan said, “That strike just now was enough to kill a large number of mortal soldiers, yet he controlled the sword qi with extreme care and did not harm a single one. His comprehension of the sword is exceptionally terrifying.”

Xing sneered. “That’s because he couldn’t be bothered to kill them… this person is very proud.”

Qin Haoxuan was stunned for a moment, then understood. This Yunhe was not just ruthless, but also sufficiently arrogant. He believed that killing these mortals would dirty his flying sword, so he had deliberately avoided them all.

“So that’s how it is,” Qin Haoxuan lamented, recalling the heaven-shaking strike. “His strength is too great, far greater than the few cultivators who came to kill me before.”

Xing nodded seriously. “The path of cultivation is long; each leaf is a step up a ladder. You may feel that cultivation is not difficult now, that sprouting leaves seems simple. That is because you currently have sufficient resources. Things like Qi-Circulating Pills, which not even the Sect Master of the Taichu Sect could possibly have, you possess. Naturally, your cultivation speed is relatively fast. If you didn’t have so many resources, you would probably find it difficult to even sprout a single leaf.”

What he said was the truth, and Qin Haoxuan had to nod in agreement. If not for his magical little snake, which allowed him to enter the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley to find heavenly treasures, his cultivation speed would certainly not be what it was now. If it had been a Purple Seed like Zhang Kuang or Li Jing who possessed his resources, their cultivation speed would surely be even more astonishing. This was the difference between a Purple Seed and a weak seed.

Xing changed the subject. “Even if you have many resources, when you reach the Fortieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm, cultivation will become difficult. After that, sprouting each new leaf is as hard as ascending to the heavens, let alone cultivating to the Spirit Tree Realm. Every cultivator who has reached that realm has extremely high talent and great fated encounters.”

Qin Haoxuan nodded in agreement. His own master had cultivated his entire life yet was still only in the Spirit Sprout Realm, his strength not even comparable to an ordinary Legacy Disciple from the other four great halls. A lack of resources was a major reason, but other reasons were his inferior aptitude and fated encounters.

Xing looked at the middle-aged man, then at Qin Haoxuan. “I estimate he is probably Hua Yang’s master. What do you plan to do now?”

Qin Haoxuan gave a wry smile. “Fighting is impossible. He could turn me to ash with a single strike. But I’m using the Mortal Talisman now; he can’t find me. We’ll wait for this army to be defeated, then we’ll disguise ourselves as ordinary captives and look for a chance to escape.”

Just then, Yunhe, who had been standing there thinking for a while, suddenly waved his hand. A powerful spiritual energy surged from his every move, then formed into a giant portrait in the air. It was a picture of Qin Haoxuan and Xing.

“Anyone who has seen these two, report to me at once!” his voice boomed, seemingly ordinary, yet it echoed in the ears of every mortal. Under his command, the two warring armies couldn’t help but stop and look at the giant image in the sky. Many of them recognized Qin Haoxuan. In this past month, he had left an indelible impression on the soldiers of both sides.

Yunhe spoke again. “Cease this slaughter. Find these two, and you will be handsomely rewarded.” As his voice fell, the giant portrait in the sky instantly dissipated. The mortal soldiers had all seen the power of this cultivator, far greater than that of Qin Haoxuan or Wan Yao. To be able to do a task for him, the reward would surely be substantial. With his order to stop, how could either side dare to continue fighting?

Qin Haoxuan and Xing exchanged a look. At this moment, someone had already noticed them and was pointing. “High Immortal! Those two are over there!”

Not good, Qin Haoxuan thought. Without a second thought, he immediately activated the Thousand-Mile Talisman to flee, while Xing transformed into a suit of armor and attached himself to him. The moment the talisman activated, a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy was emitted, and his figure shot out like a bolt of lightning.

Yunhe, who was hovering in the air on his flying sword, swung it down. A giant fissure was cut into the ground where Qin Haoxuan had just been standing. If he hadn’t reacted so quickly, he would have died under that sword.

Seeing him flee, Yunhe was enraged. “Insolent brat! You dared to kill my four disciples! Hand over your life!” He drove his flying sword in pursuit, leaving a long rainbow of light in its wake.

Qin Haoxuan remembered the strike that Yunhe had delivered to Wan Yao, and his heart trembled with shock. He knew that even if Xing used the Dragon Demon Golden Body, he certainly could not block that strike. After all, the gap in strength between the Spirit Tree Realm and the Spirit Sprout Realm was an insurmountable chasm.

Soon, the energy in the Thousand-Mile Talisman was about to be depleted. Qin Haoxuan unhesitatingly refilled it with second-grade spirit stones. At this moment, he didn’t even dare to look back. Yunhe was in hot pursuit behind him. This man possessed a true flying sword; his speed was much faster than Master Chi Lian’s. It was impossible to shake him.

Xing, in his armor form, shouted anxiously, “This is not good! If this continues, we’ll be caught when we run out of spirit stones! We have to think of another way!”

Qin Haoxuan, who was in the middle of running, said, “Besides running, what other way is there? In front of a Spirit Tree Realm expert, I am completely powerless!”

Xing said, “Stop using the Mortal Talisman right now. As long as it’s no longer concealing your aura, you can lure Master Chi Lian here. Let him deal with him!”

Qin Haoxuan thought that was an idea. Master Chi Lian, who wanted to get the Spirit Liquid from him, would absolutely not stand by and watch him be killed. It was better to lure him here and let the two dogs fight each other.

After turning off the Mortal Talisman, he continued to run frantically. His speed greatly surprised Yunhe, who was in hot pursuit. “A Sixth-Leaf cultivator can actually have such a high speed. He must have a treasure on him!”

…

Master Chi Lian had been very frustrated this past month. Ever since Qin Haoxuan had escaped from under his nose, he had been unable to find him again, as if he had vanished into thin air. He had even called his own disciples down from the mountain to help, but after several days, there was still no news. This made him, who was nearing the end of his lifespan, extremely anxious. If he couldn’t find Qin Haoxuan, he would just have to wait to die.

These past few days, he had already searched several areas with strong geomagnetic fields, but had not found him. On this day, he happened to be heading towards Wan Yao’s army camp. After all, the killing aura of a military camp could also mask a cultivator’s aura.

He sent out his spiritual energy to search for Qin Haoxuan along the way. Just then, he suddenly sensed a weak cultivator’s aura directly in front of him. A careful check revealed that it was none other than the Qin Haoxuan he had been searching for for a month.

“Very good! I’ve finally found you! To hide for so long and make me search everywhere!” Overjoyed, he remembered the hardships of the past month and couldn’t help but say angrily, “Let’s see how I deal with you now!” To prevent him from disappearing again, he slapped a Godspeed Talisman on himself and rushed over.

Just a short time after turning off the Mortal Talisman, Qin Haoxuan felt a familiar fluctuation of spiritual energy from ahead. A figure was rushing towards him from a distance. A closer look revealed that it was none other than Master Chi Lian. He hadn’t expected him to appear so quickly. Qin Haoxuan was greatly relieved. Master Chi Lian, who wanted to get the Spirit Liquid from him, would not just stand by and watch Yunhe cut him down. That would be the end of his dream of extending his life.

From a distance, Master Chi Lian saw Qin Haoxuan. Having searched for him for a month, he was overjoyed. At the same time, he saw a cultivator on a flying sword following behind him.