Chapter 287: The Small Four Symbols Combined Beast Killing Array

Xing was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, ‘Duh, you’re rushing out of the camp gate radiating a killing aura, who doesn’t know you’re going to kill people?’

“Are we just going like this? Aren’t we going to prepare first?”

Qin Haoxuan didn’t slow his pace. “Prepare? What is there to prepare? Where would I find the time? Thirty rogue cultivators aren’t thirty lambs that I can kill whenever I want. If I don’t hurry, when will I get to see Little Sister Xu Yu? I have to explain to her in person that I didn’t write that letter!”

A cold killing intent permeated Qin Haoxuan’s expression and tone. Only when he mentioned Xu Yu did his voice soften slightly.

Standing at the camp gate with a breezy smile was Li Jing, watching Qin Haoxuan approach from a distance. Having broken through from the Twelfth to the Thirteenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm in just a short month, he was feeling quite pleased with himself. Several fawning followers stood behind him, waiting for Qin Haoxuan, who had been away for a month, to walk over and greet him.

“Senior Brother Li, Qin Haoxuan is back! With the care you’ve shown him in the past and your current battle achievements, Qin Haoxuan, knowing he is inferior, will surely come over to greet you and mend your relationship.”

“With Senior Brother Li’s current strength, let alone a mere weak-seeded Qin Haoxuan, even Xu Yu, whom he relies on, is no match for you!”

“Senior Brother Li is the undisputed number one on the battlefield. You will surely be highly regarded by the Sect Master. Such unparalleled battle merits certainly won’t be rewarded with a mere three hundred thousand low third-grade spirit stones.”

These followers showered Li Jing with flattery, and he accepted it calmly. Ever since he had started using the Reverse Blood Pills for his cultivation, his progress had skyrocketed. In just one month, he had broken through from the Twelfth to the Thirteenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm. Although he was still not as strong as Xu Yu, he was confident that in a year, with the help of the pills and the ‘Tyrannical True Dragon Art’, he would definitely surpass her, and perhaps even Zhang Kuang, to become the most dazzling disciple in the Taichu Sect.

‘Xu Yu and Zhang Kuang will have to look up to me. Qin Haoxuan, you are just a mere weak seed. What do you have to compete with me?’ Li Jing’s eyes burned with a fervent, gleaming light of immense self-confidence. ‘Before long, I will become an existence you can only look up to. If you come over and show me goodwill now, with a sincere and humble attitude, I might consider taking you in as a subordinate. Otherwise, in the Taichu Sect of the future, you will find it impossible to take a single step!’

Ever since obtaining the Reverse Blood Pills and cultivating the ‘Tyrannical True Dragon Art’, Li Jing felt as if the Sect Master’s throne was beckoning to him. With just a little more effort, he would be able to suppress the other two Purple Seed disciples, to say nothing of the weak-seeded Qin Haoxuan.

Even now, Li Jing still believed that without the Qi-Circulating Pills refined by Xu Yu, how could the weak-seeded Qin Haoxuan possibly enjoy his current fame?

But to Li Jing’s disappointment, Qin Haoxuan didn’t even spare him a glance. He walked straight out of the camp gate, radiating a surging killing aura, as if the enemy rogue cultivators were all sheep and he was a fierce tiger returning to the mountains, his fangs and claws bared, ready for a great slaughter.

Qin Haoxuan’s disregard did not anger Li Jing. He simply smiled faintly, waving his hand to silence the indignant protests of his followers, and said indifferently, “Just a weak seed. Not worth mentioning.”

Indeed, in Li Jing’s heart now, Qin Haoxuan was just an ignorant weak seed who didn’t know his place. Under equal conditions, he was certain he could make him understand that an Unsurpassed Purple Seed was a true genius!

…

Xing followed cautiously behind Qin Haoxuan. At this moment, he felt that Qin Haoxuan was like a fierce tiger that had been starved for half a month and was now searching for lambs to sate its hunger.

Qin Haoxuan did not choose a spot to lie in wait. The Seven Zhang Abyss battlefield was vast, and the chances of successfully ambushing anyone were too low. Encountering even one person a day would be considered lucky. Now that Xing’s strength had grown so much, and his own strength and Spiritual Sense had also greatly improved, if the two of them attacked together, they wouldn’t even fear a Thirtieth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm rogue cultivator. And even if they ran into a tough opponent, they could still use a Thousand-Mile Talisman to escape!

The chances of encountering rogue cultivators by lying in wait were low, but the chances of finding them by searching openly were much, much higher.

The two of them swaggered along, searching for rogue cultivators. Not far from the formation, on a main road, they saw four of them. They were standing one in front and three behind. When they saw Qin Haoxuan and Xing, a murderous glint appeared in their eyes, along with a greedy expression.

One of them chuckled in a low voice, “A Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm brat leading a fellow who isn’t even at the tenth leaf dares to walk so openly on the road? Don’t they know that even a Twentieth-Leaf cultivator wouldn’t dare be so arrogant?”

“Ignorance is bliss. Perhaps this is their first time on the battlefield. The Taichu Sect has suffered too many casualties recently. To think they’re even sending out low-level fools like these. It seems we’re about to win.”

“I hope these are two fat sheep.”

Amidst the disdainful sneers of the four rogue cultivators, the murderous Qin Haoxuan had already drawn near.

Because Xing had used the True Demon Transformation to disguise himself as Hua Lao, and the transformation itself had the effect of concealing some of his strength, the Spiritual Senses of these four rogue cultivators were so weak they could be ignored. How could they possibly see through Xing’s true power?

When Qin Haoxuan and Xing were only a hundred steps away, the four rogue cultivators wiped the sneers from their faces and stood ready to fight. Although their opponents were of a low realm, they were, after all, from the Taichu Sect. It would be a shame to be overturned by some powerful attack talisman.

Two of the four rogue cultivators made their move. They both unleashed their most proficient attacks simultaneously. Even though they believed Qin Haoxuan and Xing were weak, the fact that they were Taichu Sect disciples was enough to warrant using their strongest killing moves to finish them in one blow.

“Die, brat! It’s your good fortune to die at the hands of us four brothers!” one of the rogue cultivators shouted. With a flip of his palm, he unleashed a spiritual art. A phantom of his palm instantly expanded, solidifying into a giant golden hand that shot towards Qin Haoxuan, as if to crush him.

The other rogue cultivator threw out a red silk ribbon. The ribbon billowed in the wind, transforming into a massive, blood-red saber that dripped with fresh blood as it chopped towards Xing.

The saber’s qi was sharp and bone-chillingly cold, enough to scare an ordinary person to death.

The other two rogue cultivators watched coldly, as if they could already see Qin Haoxuan and Xing being killed, after which they would go and collect the spoils.

As the golden hand reached for him, Qin Haoxuan sneered and unsealed the Ghost Soldiers on his left and right arms. The two Ghost Soldiers appeared and, under his command, met the golden hand head-on, blocking it.

As for the blood-red saber chopping at Xing, it didn’t even touch a single hair on his head. With a nimble flash of his body, Xing dodged the sharp blow. The saber continued to attack him, but Xing easily evaded it just by moving his body. The rogue cultivator attacking him was strong, but not strong enough to be a threat to Xing.

Xing formed a hand seal, and the shrunken Iron-Backed Centipede Talisman Beast that he had put away suddenly shot out. Under his command, it slammed into the blood-red saber, knocking it back.

The four rogue cultivators were greatly alarmed. They had not expected these two Taichu Sect disciples to be so formidable, especially Qin Haoxuan’s Ghost Soldiers, which were just two sinister, shadowy figures from which one could vaguely make out green faces and long fangs, and whose strength seemed quite impressive.

After all, Qin Haoxuan had been away for a month, and these four had arrived recently, so they didn’t know his name. And even if they did, with their own strength—the strongest at the Twenty-Third-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm and the weakest at the Twenty-First—why would they be scared off, even if their two opponents’ performance was surprising?

The rogue cultivators were horrified, and countless thoughts flashed through their minds: ‘Who are these two? Could they be the Taichu Sect’s Li Jing? No, Li Jing is at the Thirteenth-Leaf, a higher realm than them!’

‘They actually managed to block the attacks of the boss and the third brother. We must use our trump card, the combined Talisman Beast, to kill them before anything else happens!’

The four of them exchanged a look, then their hand seals changed, and they began to chant an incantation. The formation they had laid out beneath their feet lit up—it was a Small Four Symbols Array!

The four rogue cultivators summoned their Talisman Beasts simultaneously. As the four beasts appeared, their auras surged, and the light of a four-pointed star array flickered. As the rogue cultivators’ hand seals changed and their spiritual energy fluctuated, the four Talisman Beasts began to entwine, merging into a single, bizarre creature. It was over three zhang long, with four heads and four limbs. Its upper half had the stripes of a vicious tiger, its middle section had leopard spots, its lower half was covered in the scales of a python, and its four thick limbs ended in the sharp talons of a bird of prey.

“A Combined Talisman Beast!” Xing’s eyes lit up as he identified their technique.

Qin Haoxuan felt the powerful aura emanating from the strange beast. He stood on guard and asked, “What’s a Combined Talisman Beast?”

“Through a Small Four Symbols Array, the summoners can combine their Talisman Beasts. When the four of them form this array and combine their beasts, the power they unleash is multiplied!” Xing explained, his expression also wary.

The rogue cultivator at the front, who was at the Twenty-Third-Leaf realm, snorted coldly. With a change of his hand seal, he directed the four-headed beast to pounce at Qin Haoxuan. They thought to themselves, ‘Our Combined Talisman Beast is something that even a Thirtieth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator can’t block. No matter how many tricks you have, you will surely die!’

The Combined Talisman Beast was their ultimate trump card! It was the reason the four of them dared to stand in the middle of a main road to ambush Taichu Sect disciples.

The Combined Talisman Beast was nimble, and in the blink of an eye, it was before Qin Haoxuan. Its claws glinted with a dark light, clearly coated in a deadly poison. The claws swung towards Qin Haoxuan with an unstoppable momentum that seemed capable of splitting the heavens and the earth.

No matter how tough Qin Haoxuan’s body was, he didn’t dare to take this blow head-on.

The reflexes he had honed in the Illusory Sea of Consciousness now showed their effect. The moment the beast’s claws swiped at him, Qin Haoxuan had already sensed the danger and immediately retreated.

Seizing the moment when the beast’s attack had lost its momentum, Qin Haoxuan shook his arms! Two Ghost Soldiers, each several zhang tall, appeared like divine generals descending to the mortal realm. They pounced at the Combined Talisman Beast and, at the same time, spread their arms wide, locking the beast in a death grip so it couldn’t move.

Although these two Ghost Soldiers were no match for the Combined Talisman Beast in a direct confrontation, they still possessed the strength of the Twenty-Fifth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm. Working together to hold the beast, the creature was actually unable to move, and for a moment, they were locked in a stalemate.

“How is this possible? Even a Thirtieth-Leaf cultivator can’t block our beast’s attack…”

Xing gave Qin Haoxuan a deep look, filled with admiration for his cleverness. His two Ghost Soldiers had the combat power of a Twenty-Fifth-Leaf cultivator at best and were definitely no match for the Combined Talisman Beast in a direct fight. But Qin Haoxuan didn’t fight it head-on. Instead, he used the Ghost Soldiers to restrain the beast. Although the beast was powerful, it was not a true Thirtieth-Leaf cultivator. For a moment, it couldn’t break free. Meanwhile, Qin Haoxuan was charging towards the rogue cultivators to engage them in close combat.

Without the support of their Talisman Beast, how could these rogue cultivators, who were only around the twentieth-something-leaf realm, possibly be a match for Qin Haoxuan in a melee?

(End of Chapter)