Chapter 421

Chapter 421: Crushing

“Junior Brother Cui, let’s fight him!”

“Aren’t there just two Void Refinement stage cultivators? We’re not pushovers either.”

…

Voices shouting from behind them reached Cui’s ears. As Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators, they each had their own trump cards, and being disciples of a large sect made them less afraid of the Void Refinement stage cultivators; they felt they could take them on.

But Cui knew that with their strength, they likely would not be a match for Du Yuankang and his group.

Though they could indeed handle one Void Refinement stage cultivator, now there were two, with Du Yuankang and several Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators nearby.

Facing this situation, Cui felt troubled. Though he only possessed the Nascent Soul Stage, he believed he could escape from the two.

However, if he ran away, the others present would not be able to survive.

This left him feeling uneasy.

After pondering for a moment, Cui came up with a plan.

He thought that he could wait until the others were all done for before making his escape. This way, he would feel better inside, knowing he fought until the last moment.

Even though running away alone was somewhat dishonorable, he saw no better option in this situation.

It was a pity that the team he had struggled to form would, after this incident, lose the protection of these brothers, making him act more cautiously in the future.

All thoughts of investment were cast aside; if he were done for, what good would any investment be?

If worse came to worst, he could head to the lower levels of the secret realm; that place was much safer.

“Hmph, stubborn and unrepentant!”

Seeing that Cui and his group had no intentions of handing over the spiritual plants, the two Void Refinement stage cultivators from the Xuantian Sect snorted coldly and no longer hesitated.

One of them unleashed a massive web of spiritual energy, enveloping everyone.

As the net spread, it completely cut off any hope of escape.

Even though they were not afraid of the group fleeing with their realms, it could still pose some trouble; this way, they would have no worries from behind.

The other Void Refinement stage cultivator from the Xuantian Sect held a treasure resembling a wooden comb in hand.

This treasure shone with spiritual light, and with each attack, a powerful force surged toward the group.

The first to bear the brunt of the attack was a Late Spirit Transformation cultivator. When he saw the oncoming strike, he stepped forward without hesitation, his face full of confidence.

After all, he was a genius within the sect, just a step away from reaching the Void Refinement stage. Though only a small realm apart, he felt confident that their chances of victory were high.

But as he bravely faced this attack, the powerful spiritual energy contained within it sent him flying back several meters.

His originally rosy complexion turned pale in an instant, and the confidence on his face vanished without a trace.

Though he had managed to block the attack, it made him acutely aware of the gap between them; he would never be a match for his opponent. If a few more attacks like that came his way, he would have no strength left to fight back.

Looking at his opponent, he saw them wearing a look of ease, clearly indicating that this was an attack they had sent out casually and had yet to use their full strength.

“Senior Brother Li, are you alright?”

…

The others saw that their strongest senior brother had been injured by the enemy’s strike and looked worried.

At this moment, everyone finally remembered to escape. After all, with so many Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators, if they scattered, there was a good chance they could survive.

But looking at the web of spiritual energy that surrounded them, a sense of dread filled their hearts.

With no hope of escape, they could only fight desperately.

“Junior Brother Cui, I have a set of Formations here. If we activate this formation, we won’t have to fear those two.”

“Junior Brother Cui, I still have two heavenly lightning bombs in hand! We can use them at a crucial moment.”

The heavenly lightning bomb was a consumable item in the Cultivation World with lightning attributes. When it exploded, it could unleash power equivalent to a Void Refinement stage cultivator, and it was expensive, often saved by cultivators as a last secret weapon.

“Junior Brother Cui, I have a token engraved with a Great Teleportation Array. Once activated, it can teleport us hundreds of miles away, but it will take some time to activate.”

…

Cui heard the transmissions from several others around him. Listening to their messages, Cui sighed in relief that he hadn’t run too far; these brothers still had supplies.

Both the formations and the Teleportation Array token could help them weather this crisis temporarily.

Unfortunately, setting up these items required some time, and he didn’t know if they could do it in time.

But no matter what, they had to try.

Just as Cui prepared to secretly transmit messages to the others to buy more time and set up the formations, he heard laughter coming from ahead:

“Hahaha, you might not know, but I have a primordial spirit Secret Technique that lets me hear transmissions within a radius of several miles, even from cultivators one realm higher than me.”

“So, don’t hold onto the foolish idea of setting up any formations.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two attacks flew toward the group, with the primary target being the cultivator who had just shared about the formations and the Teleportation token.

Clearly, he had heard their transmissions and paid special attention to him.

Under the attack of this Void Refinement stage cultivator, the two had no time for anything else and could only rush to escape; they had no time to set up the formation.

At the same time, the web of spiritual energy, controlled by the other Void Refinement stage cultivator, began to slowly converge and shrink around the group.

Once the web completely enveloped everyone, there would be no escape. They were like meat on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered.

“Do you two brothers need Junior Brother’s assistance?”

At this moment, Du Yuankang still smiled and asked.

But the only response was the indifferent voice of one Void Refinement stage cultivator:

“No need; you will only complicate matters further.”

Hearing this blunt refusal, a sheepish smile appeared on Du Yuankang’s face, but due to the gap in strength, he could only endure it.

However, seeing Cui scrambling in front of him, Du Yuankang felt considerably better.

After leaving, he had fortuitously encountered two sect brothers who were heading to the upper levels of the secret realm, and he had a good rapport with them. Thinking back to the lost spiritual plants and the left-behind Qingying Powder, Cui had warmly invited the two brothers to join.

Upon learning about the existence of the “Tianrihong” plant, they readily agreed.

It was just a pity that with the addition of these two brothers, the Top-tier Spiritual Plant was likely no longer going to return to him, and that had been his promised reward for their journey.

Moreover, he might need to contribute some other items as well.

Although the loss was significant, it seemed he could still receive some compensation from Cui and the others. At that time, things that these two brothers looked down upon would become a decent gain if they fell into their hands.

Furthermore, he and Cui were originally not on good terms; this time he could conveniently deal with this enemy and weaken the He Dao Sect’s strength. Why not take advantage of such an opportunity?