Chapter 288: The Slaughtering Butcher Sweeps the Battlefield

When the four rogue cultivators saw their Combined Talisman Beast restrained by Qin Haoxuan’s Ghost Soldiers, unable to break free for the moment, and saw Qin Haoxuan charging at them for close combat, their faces filled with horror.

At this point, they no longer dared to underestimate him. Seeing him charge in for a melee, how could they dare to face him head-on? Since this fellow dared to attack, he must have his own formidable strengths!

The rogue cultivator at the front reacted the fastest, shouting, “Defensive barrier!”

The other three rogue cultivators snapped back to their senses from their shock. They immediately formed hand seals and began to chant. Just as Qin Haoxuan reached them, a pale light barrier enveloped them.

This was the defensive barrier that came with the Mang Star Array.

With the barrier up, the four rogue cultivators finally felt relieved. This barrier was, after all, created by the four of them, all cultivators in the twenties of the Spirit Sprout Realm. No matter how powerful this fellow was, he couldn’t possibly break it in a short amount of time.

Now, all they had to do was concentrate on controlling their Talisman Beast. Once it broke free from the two Ghost Soldiers, no matter how strong their two opponents were, how could they be a match for a Combined Talisman Beast with the combat power of a Thirtieth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator?

Qin Haoxuan had already reached the defensive barrier of the Mang Star Array. He narrowed his eyes, a vicious glint flashing within them. He condensed a Heaven-Cleaving Slash. Ever since he had broken through to the Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm, his Heaven-Cleaving Slash had also advanced to the fifth level. A purplish-red blade of light cut through space, tearing the air and shattering the light and shadows.

The blade qi of the Heaven-Cleaving Slash struck the defensive barrier, causing it to shake violently. The pale light barrier rippled, making the hearts of the four rogue cultivators within pound with fear. But fortunately, the barrier ultimately remained intact.

“What terrifying power!”

“The Heaven-Cleaving Slash actually has such might…”

“If I had been hit by that slash…”

The four rogue cultivators were horrified, but they were even more convinced that a defensive barrier created by the four of them, and enhanced by the Mang Star Array, could never be shattered by a Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator like Qin Haoxuan.

It was like an egg hitting a stone, but the stone shatters. Was that even possible?

Qin Haoxuan did not hesitate and once again condensed a Heaven-Cleaving Slash. Another purplish-red blade of light chopped down, the might of the fifth-level Heaven-Cleaving Slash in his hands was immense.

The defensive barrier shook again and then returned to normal, though the pale light barrier had dimmed a little.

“No… impossible… he can’t possibly break our defensive barrier!” one of the rogue cultivators said, as if trying to convince the other three, and also to bolster his own courage.

Qin Haoxuan did not stop. One after another, the blade qi of his Heaven-Cleaving Slash struck the defensive barrier.

The light of the barrier grew dimmer and dimmer, and after it had dimmed to a certain point, it suddenly shattered with a crash.

Seeing a Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator shatter their defensive barrier with his bare hands, the four rogue cultivators lost all confidence in fighting him in a melee. Like startled birds, the four of them scattered and fled in all directions.

How could rogue cultivators who had completely lost their will to fight possibly be a match for the wolf-like Qin Haoxuan in close combat, especially with the equally eager Xing watching like a tiger?

Qin Haoxuan shot forward, closing in on the Twenty-Third-Leaf rogue cultivator. The purplish-red light of his Heaven-Cleaving Slash flashed, shattering his protective spiritual energy, and then another punch landed on his head.

Smack. The strongest of the four rogue cultivators was dead.

Xing released his three Talisman Beasts, sending one after each of the remaining rogue cultivators. In just a few breaths, the three demoralized men were slain.

With the four rogue cultivators dead and no longer under their masters’ command, the four-headed Combined Talisman Beast, still held tightly by the Ghost Soldiers, disintegrated into fragments under their attack.

After killing the four rogue cultivators and taking stock of the spoils, Qin Haoxuan slung an arm over Xing’s shoulder. “Say, handsome Xing, you never told me about the Small Four Symbols Array or Combined Talisman Beasts before…”

Xing’s expression froze. His eyes darted around, and then he shot Qin Haoxuan a look. “Did you ever ask me? You never asked me before, so why would I say anything? Besides, you’re already so strong. Why would I tell you and make you even stronger?”

Hearing Xing’s honest reply, Qin Haoxuan was speechless… For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

Xing slung his arm back around Qin Haoxuan’s waist and said, “Just kidding… I forgot before. We’re good brothers, best buddies. The stronger you are, the happier I am! I swear to the great demon god, you are my best brother!”

Watching this fellow pound his chest and make vows, Qin Haoxuan couldn’t help but smile helplessly. His gaze then fell on the Small Four Symbols Array that the four rogue cultivators had set up.

After being broken by Qin Haoxuan and enduring a battle, the array was now in ruins. Qin Haoxuan sighed, “It’s a pity I didn’t get to memorize it.”

Xing said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already memorized this Small Four Symbols Array!”

Qin Haoxuan gave Xing another deep look, then began to count the spoils of war. After counting, he looked at the four badges in his hand and muttered to himself, “Twenty-six more to go.”

Xing, meanwhile, was enviously eyeing the loot that Qin Haoxuan had sorted. The four rogue cultivators had a total of thirty-two low second-grade spirit stones and a few dozen scattered low third-grade spirit stones, which was equivalent to over three thousand two hundred low third-grade spirit stones. To Qin Haoxuan, who possessed a huge fortune, this was just a small sum. Yet, he still pocketed it all without hesitation, with no intention of sharing any with him.

“Good buddy, best brother, don’t you think your stingy actions are a deep insult to our great friendship?” Xing repeatedly glanced at the spot where Qin Haoxuan had stored the spirit stones and said with a self-righteous tone, “Look, you told me not to eat rogue cultivators, and I did as you asked, right? But you can’t not even give me spirit stones, can you? I get half the credit for killing them, so I should get half the loot! If you take it all for yourself, it might damage our sincere friendship!”

Qin Haoxuan shot Xing a faint glance, his movements of packing up the loot only speeding up.

Xing couldn’t take it anymore and reminded him righteously again, “Your actions have already damaged our sincere friendship!”

Qin Haoxuan finished packing up the loot and changed the subject, his gaze seemingly piercing through the clouds to the sun behind them. His tone was full of certainty. “The weather is really nice today. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun is shining brightly!”

“Damn it, you’re so shameless!” Xing tore off his polite disguise and started cursing. “You, you have two or three hundred thousand spirit stones on you, yet you hoard even this tiny amount without any regard for your status. It’s like a rich man robbing a beggar. It’s… it’s just shameless.”

As a bona fide miser, even Qin Haoxuan’s old face couldn’t help but feel a little hot. He pulled a handful of spirit stones from his pocket, held them up to Xing with both hands, and said, “Master Xing, please enjoy.”

Seeing the few glittering low third-grade spirit stones, Xing was like a dog that had seen a meaty bone. He leaped up lightly, snatched all the spirit stones, and then tossed them into his mouth without hesitation, crunching on them noisily.

“These spirit stones were snatched from a beggar, and you’re fighting to eat them. You’re even more shameless than I am!” Qin Haoxuan retorted.

Xing was stunned for a moment, then shamelessly bellowed, “Shameless? When have you ever seen a demon with a sense of shame? This genius demon is not a human, so why should I be bound by your pitiful human morals? I… I am shameless!”

After a bit of shouting, the two of them set off again, continuing their swaggering search.

Three rogue cultivators hiding in ambush saw the swaggering Qin Haoxuan and Xing, and their eyes lit up with glee. More fat sheep to slaughter!

At this stage of the war, arrogant fools like these had long since been killed off. After all, there was always someone stronger out there. Even a Thirtieth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator wouldn’t dare to walk around so openly looking for people to kill.

‘Could these two fools be new? Otherwise, how could they have survived until now?’

The three rogue cultivators waited until Qin Haoxuan and Xing had walked into their optimal ambush circle, then immediately unleashed their strongest killing moves. Two of them targeted Qin Haoxuan, while the remaining one targeted the pretty-boy-looking Xing.

Qin Haoxuan sneered. Ever since his Spiritual Sense had grown stronger, its sensitivity had also increased greatly. Although these three rogue cultivators were well-hidden, he had sensed them long ago.

As two Talisman Beasts attacked him, he unsealed the two Ghost Soldiers on his arms without hesitation. The moment the Ghost Soldiers appeared, with two loud smacks, the two Talisman Beasts were smashed into dust.

The Talisman Beast that attacked the pretty-boy Xing had the most miserable fate. The now much stronger Xing, with his bare hands, viciously snapped the beast’s neck.

After killing the Talisman Beasts, without waiting for Qin Haoxuan’s order, Xing very tactfully pounced. Before the wolf-like Xing, these three rogue cultivators were nothing more than trembling lambs and were immediately beaten to death.

Qin Haoxuan took their three badges, looted all their belongings, and then got up to leave.

Xing was still looking reluctantly at the three corpses. If Qin Haoxuan hadn’t been here, these three would have been a meal for him.

“What a pity, what a pity!” Xing sighed repeatedly in his heart. Under Qin Haoxuan’s indifferent gaze, he had no choice but to quickly catch up, shouting, “Good buddy, best brother, share some spirit stones with me…”

Several low third-grade spirit stones were tossed out by Qin Haoxuan, landing accurately in Xing’s mouth and shutting him up.

The two of them wandered the battlefield like headless flies, killing several groups of hidden rogue cultivators, until they finally encountered a truly powerful one.

Observing through a Heavenly Eye Talisman, this rogue cultivator was at the Twenty-Seventh-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm. He met Qin Haoxuan and Xing head-on. Not far away, in a thicket, two Taichu Sect disciples who were hiding inside witnessed the entire process.

When the two sides first met, these two disciples, who recognized Qin Haoxuan and Xing, sighed. It seemed the Taichu Sect was about to lose two more disciples. This was a Twenty-Seventh-Leaf expert. In their eyes, no matter how strong Qin Haoxuan and Hua Lao were, their cultivation realms were still low. They couldn’t possibly be a match for this rogue cultivator. They had expected them to flee, but not only did they not run, they charged straight forward.

The battle that followed left the two disciples dumbfounded.

In his eagerness to see Xu Yu, Qin Haoxuan wanted to quickly kill thirty rogue cultivators, so he immediately unleashed his strongest killing move—a Spiritual Sense attack.

He condensed his Spiritual Sense into a golden arrow and shot it directly at the rogue cultivator’s soul. In the past, his Spiritual Sense attack would have only stunned him for a moment. But now that his Spiritual Sense was so much stronger, the attack directly struck the man, leaving his face pale and his mind blank, as if he were a wooden chicken.

As Qin Haoxuan rushed forward, the two Ghost Soldiers sealed on his arms appeared, their long spears piercing the rogue cultivator’s body. Qin Haoxuan’s fist also smashed into his head, and the pouncing Xing also landed a punch on his heart.

In just an instant, the poor rogue cultivator, whose Spiritual Sense had been attacked and whose mind was temporarily blank, couldn’t even summon his protective spiritual energy. His body was pierced by two spears, his head was shattered, and a bloody hole was punched through his chest.

Recalling his Ghost Soldiers, picking up the badge, looting the rogue cultivator’s belongings, and then leaving.

It was an absolutely crushing victory, an unquestionable win.

The two Taichu Sect disciples hiding in the shadows were dumbfounded. They had seen Li Jing kill people before. Although he could often achieve a dominant victory, if he were to face a Twenty-Seventh-Leaf rogue cultivator like this one, even if he could win, it would be after a bitter fight, and he might even lose.

The two of them were shocked by the dense killing aura emanating from Qin Haoxuan. Although everyone came out here to kill and earn merits, Qin Haoxuan’s killing aura was so thick it was as if he had several words carved on his face: “I am a butcher, and I am here to kill!”

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