Chapter 367: Waving the Hoe in Front of Them Again, the Old Habit Returns!
"You… you're a one turn Dou Zun? How is that possible?!" Yao Xingji's face was filled with shock and disbelief. In the Medicine Clan, even their strongest prodigy, Yao Tian, had only managed to reach the turning stage of Dou Zun by consuming a ninth grade treasured pill. How could this person, a waste with no bloodline power, have done it?
"Nothing is impossible," Lu Bu replied indifferently. "Your Medicine Clan has long been nothing more than dried up bones in a tomb, on the brink of annihilation. It's no surprise you can't see the changes in the world or recognize that the times have changed."
"Don't talk nonsense! Even if the Taixu Ancient Dragons were wiped out, the Medicine Clan would never fall!" Yao Xingji yelled furiously, his face flushed red.
"Enough. It's time to send you on your way," Lu Bu said with a cold smile, flicking the dust off his sleeve.
Boom!
A scorching and sinister aura erupted instantly. Flames surged from Lu Bu's hands, and his eyes turned pitch black, the whites of his eyes disappearing entirely. They looked like two black holes dark, deep, and terrifying.
An overwhelming suction force exploded outward, and Yao Xingji felt his forehead throb violently, as though his soul was about to be torn from his body and drawn into the eerie black eyes before him.
"You can't kill me!" Yao Xingji screamed in terror. "There are fallen Dou Sheng ancestors of the Medicine Clan within the Heavenly Tomb. If you kill me, they'll take revenge!"
"Huh?" Hearing this, Lu Bu paused in surprise. The Medicine Clan had Dou Sheng ancestors in the Heavenly Tomb?
What a lucky find.
Swish!
Taking advantage of Lu Bu's brief moment of distraction, Yao Xingji let out a low cry. The Nine Nether Wind Flame enveloped his body, and the howling storm surged around him. His speed skyrocketed as he retreated rapidly into the distance.
He was escaping!
A one turn Dou Zun Yao Xingji didn't stand a chance. Even as an eight star Dou Zun, and despite not being skilled in combat, Yao Xingji knew that even someone stronger than him, like Gu Yao, would struggle against this opponent.
"Hmph… trying to run?" Lu Bu sneered, his fingers forming a blade as he slashed forward. A scorching purple black flame blade flashed through the air.
Pfft!
A spray of blood erupted. Yao Xingji stumbled with a scream, his right arm severed at the elbow and falling to the ground.
However, instead of slowing down, his speed only increased. With a desperate roar, he pushed himself even harder, disappearing from Lu Bu's sight in an instant.
"Heh… looks like your companion abandoned you," Qing Lin said mockingly, her aura surging. Her slender, jade like hands weaved through the air, striking and slashing as she unleashed waves of killing intent and icy energy. Despite being a six star Dou Zun, she completely overwhelmed Yao Yi, a seven star Dou Zun, leaving him with no choice but to defend.
Yao Yi gritted his teeth, his face alternating between pale and flushed. He couldn't utter a single word. On one hand, Yao Xingji's desertion left him feeling uneasy and afraid. On the other hand, he truly wasn't skilled in combat. Qing Lin's overwhelming killing intent left his scalp tingling and his heart trembling in fear, making him unable to mount any sort of counterattack.
"Time to finish you off!" Qing Lin's figure flashed like lightning as icy white energy howled around her, condensing on her delicate jade like fingers.
"Icy Sovereign Energy: Frozen Finger!"
With a clear cry, Qing Lin's finger, as crystalline and flawless as white jade, jabbed toward Yao Yi's forehead. A pillar of white light shot out, shrouded in icy mist, freezing everything in its path. Death's shadow enveloped Yao Yi's soul in an instant.
"Don't even think about it!" Facing a life and death crisis, Yao Yi's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared in fury. A bright light radiated from his forehead, and his aura surged dramatically, rising in an instant to the peak of the nine star Dou Zun level, with one foot stepping into the turning stage.
He had activated the clan imprint!
"Ha!" Yao Yi roared as white flames erupted violently around him. His right fist, cloaked in flames, shot forward to meet the icy light head on.
Boom!
The searing heat and intense cold clashed violently, the opposing energies colliding and eroding each other in a frenzy. After a brief stalemate, the flames swelled and surged forward, roaring toward Qing Lin.
Seeing this, Yao Yi's face lit up with joy. Without hesitation, he turned and fled into the distance. His will to fight had already crumbled.
Even using his last resort, he could barely hold his ground against Qing Lin. How could someone as unskilled in combat as he was hope to fight the commander of the Black Abyss Army?
Escape. He had to escape!
The white flames he left behind, no longer supported by his energy, were instantly suppressed by Qing Lin's Frozen Finger and shot toward Yao Yi.
But it was too late. Yao Yi's speed was astonishing, and the brief delay allowed him to escape Qing Lin's attack range.
"Hmph!"
At that moment, a cold snort rang out, carrying a surge of powerful soul energy that slammed into Yao Yi.
Instantly, his Dou Qi trembled, his blood churned, and his soul fell into chaos. Yao Yi froze in place, completely immobilized.
Pfft!
A cold light pierced through, striking Yao Yi's left shoulder. In an instant, icy blue frost spread across half his body, encasing it in thick ice and plunging him into a deathly stillness.
However, the extreme cold jolted his soul back to clarity. With a low growl, Yao Yi ignored everything else and fled with all his might, vanishing completely from Lu Bu and Qing Lin's sight.
"Young Master, you're letting him go?" Qing Lin asked as she landed lightly beside Lu Bu, her movements graceful as a butterfly. She looked puzzled if Lu Bu had made a move, neither of them would have escaped.
"Yes, I'm letting both of them go," Lu Bu said with a faint smile. "I've set my sights on their clan's Dou Sheng energy cores… so, you get the idea!"
"Hehe… Young Master, you're so devious!" Qing Lin giggled, covering her mouth. Young Master was truly skilled at manipulating people.
"Still, we didn't leave empty handed…" Lu Bu said, raising his hand. A severed arm flew over, blood still dripping from the wound. However, neither of them paid any attention to the gruesome sight.
Lu Bu removed the storage ring from the arm and let black light swirl around his fingertips, forming thin black threads that pierced into the ring, effortlessly breaking its defensive seals.
Before the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, soul imprints were no match.
"Here, take a look and see if there's anything valuable inside," Lu Bu said, handing the ring to Qing Lin.
"Let me see what treasures the richest Imperial Clan has," Qing Lin said with a laugh, taking the ring. As the steward of their group, she was most adept at managing loot.
"Let's go find out if there are any nine star Dou Zun energy bodies nearby," Lu Bu said, holding Qing Lin's hand with a smile.
"But, Young Master, I still need to inspect this ring…"
"No problem. I'll help you!" Lu Bu grinned mischievously. Bending his waist, he wrapped one arm around Qing Lin's shoulders and the other around her knees, lifting her into a princess carry.
"Ah! Put me down! What if someone sees us?" Qing Lin struggled, flustered.
"Hmph… if anyone dares to look, I'll crush their heads!"
As they spoke, their figures disappeared into the thick fog.
…
Elsewhere in the Heavenly Tomb, Yao Yi and Yao Xingji sat slumped on the ground, breathing heavily, looking utterly defeated. Their usual elegance as noble alchemists was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, as Yao Xingji began to relax, his body stiffened, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyes. He tilted his head back and roared, "That bastard broke into my storage ring! He opened my storage ring!"
Yao Yi said nothing. Though he had survived, Yao Xingji's desertion during the battle had left a thorn in his heart.
"Let's go. We need to reach the third layer as quickly as possible. Our ancestors will destroy those lowly mortals!" Yao Yi said, standing up with a deep breath. The ice that still clung to his body remained firmly in place.
The strike that pierced his left shoulder hadn't hit his heart, but the extreme cold had nearly frozen it. His bloodline power had been affected, and recovery would take time. Though not life threatening, the injury left him simmering with resentment.
…
Meanwhile, on a large rock, Lu Bu furrowed his brows as he examined a scroll in his hand, his soul power slowly radiating from his forehead.
This is a fairly decent eighth grade pill formula found in Yao Xingji's storage ring. It's called the Wulian Pill, a type of pill that aids in cultivation. Its effects are similar to those of the Lesser Advancement Pill and the Solution Pill, helping the user advance by one level. The Wulian Pill specifically enables a turning stage Dou Zun to advance by one level for instance, from one turn to two turn, or from two turn to three turn, and so on.
However, Lu Bu had never heard of this Wulian Pill before. To be cautious, he decided to study it further.
Aside from the pill formulas, Yao Xingji's storage ring contained numerous pills and medicinal ingredients, but Lu Bu didn't touch them. Many of them had peculiar smells and were laced with restrictive formations, clearly tampered with by the Medicine Clan. Since Lu Bu didn't lack such resources, he couldn't be bothered to waste effort breaking through the restrictions.
Still, aside from the pill formulas, the Medicine Clan had a few unique techniques that caught Lu Bu's eye. For instance, a small formation called the "Pill Transformation Array," which was designed for eighth grade alchemists to deal with pill beasts. After Medicine Clan alchemists finished refining pills and endured the pill thunder, they often found themselves in poor condition. Thus, they developed the "Pill Transformation Array." When activated, this formation could suppress a rampaging pill beast and transform it back into a pill.
Although the methods differed, the effect was similar to the "Pill Fusion Ring" used by Void Swallowing Flame. However, the difference between the two methods was so vast that it couldn't even be compared.
Qing Lin stood nearby, her beautiful eyes glowing faintly with green light. Three small flowers rotated slowly in her pupils as her gaze swept across the surroundings, remaining vigilant.
"Hmm?" Qing Lin suddenly let out a soft exclamation. In the distance, the mist churned as several energy bodies rushed forward like frightened beasts. Among them, the strongest was an eight star Dou Zun energy body.
Qing Lin frowned slightly before waving her sleeve. Ten dark gold puppets, tall as iron towers, landed with a heavy thud. A formation quickly activated, their auras connecting and surging dramatically.
Rumble!
The dark gold energy rolled like a giant serpent, pouring into the lead seven star Dou Zun Heaven Demon Puppet.
In an instant, a faint purple glow appeared on the puppet, spreading rapidly across its entire body. It now resembled a towering purple iron figure.
With its aura skyrocketing, the seven star Dou Zun Heaven Demon Puppet's strength surged to the nine star Dou Zun level before stabilizing.
"Roar!"
The purple Heaven Demon Puppet let out a thunderous roar, stomping the ground and lunging forward. Its fist clenched tightly as it aimed a punch at the eight star Dou Zun energy body.
The eight star Dou Zun energy body let out a sharp scream. Its limited intelligence warned it of impending danger, but… it was too late!
Bang!
With a muffled sound, the eight star Dou Zun energy body trembled violently before bursting into streaks of light. Only a single crystalline energy core remained, floating in midair.
In the distance, Qing Lin pursed her lips into a faint smile and prepared to command the Heaven Demon Puppet to retrieve the energy core. But at that moment, the mist on the horizon churned, revealing three powerful energy bodies looming in the gray fog.
"Huh, nine star Dou Zun?" Qing Lin's eyes gleamed, and her brows furrowed slightly. What was going on?
"Not good, there are strong fighters ahead!" The three nine star Dou Zun energy bodies let out terrified cries, like startled birds, and immediately turned in another direction.
"Wait, those are puppets. That girl is only a two star Dou Zun!"
If eight star Dou Zun energy bodies had the intelligence of a four or five year old child, then nine star Dou Zun energy bodies were almost as sharp as normal humans.
Seeing Qing Lin's seemingly weaker state, the three nine star energy bodies sneered. In a flash, they lunged toward her, charging through the air like ferocious predators. They had gone far too long without tasting human flesh and blood!
"Hmph." Qing Lin snorted coldly. Behind her, the phantom of a nine headed serpent appeared, exuding an overwhelming aura of slaughter.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Before the three energy bodies could approach, three streaks of fire shot out, instantly piercing through their foreheads.
The three energy bodies let out anguished cries before shattering into light and leaving behind three crystalline energy cores, which floated quietly in place.
"Young Master, you're awake?" Qing Lin asked with a light laugh.
"Yeah, I was just reading, not cultivating," Lu Bu replied, gently brushing Qing Lin's hair with a smile.
"Something seems off over there…" Qing Lin pointed toward the direction where the three nine star energy bodies had appeared. "I sense Dou Qi fluctuations it seems like someone is fighting."
"Let's go check it out," Lu Bu said, taking Qing Lin's hand as they flew toward the location. He was curious about who might be over there. And if they happened to have nine star energy cores… heh heh heh, they'd better not blame Soul Clan's Hun Yu for being ruthless!
With a sinister laugh, black mist surged around Lu Bu, enveloping both him and Qing Lin.
Ahead, the Heaven Demon Puppet waved its large hand, sending an eight star energy core and three nine star energy cores flying toward Qing Lin.
Ever the efficient treasurer, Qing Lin stored the cores into her ring with a satisfied smile. These were valuable resources that could be used by Yun Yun and the others once they left the Heavenly Tomb.
…
In a ravaged valley, Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yan panted heavily. Around them, thick, oppressive mist had been blasted apart, leaving the ground in ruins. Scattered droplets of molten lava sizzled, and broken chains lay in pieces.
"Xun'er, let's get out of here," Xiao Yan said gravely, swallowing a pill. "After causing such a commotion, we're bound to attract attention."
"Damn it, Hun Yu!" Xiao Yan cursed, glancing around the destroyed valley. He had barely escaped death in their earlier battle.
"Agreed," Xiao Xun'er nodded. "This place isn't safe…"
Heh heh heh…
Suddenly, a sinister laugh echoed through the mist. Two clouds of black fog emerged, carrying an icy, menacing aura. "Quite the intense battle you've had. You must have some great loot. Hand over your energy cores, and I, Hun Yu, promise to spare your lives!"
Clang, clang…
As he spoke, two dark chains slithered out of the mist, rattling ominously.
"…Lu Bu?" Xiao Yan's face darkened. This guy wasn't pretending to be Hun Yu to rob people, was he?
What a brilliant idea!
"How did you recognize me?" Lu Bu muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching. This time, it seemed he couldn't follow through.
"I just fought Hun Yu." Xiao Yan pointed to the broken black chains on the ground, then suddenly erupted in anger.
"You bastard! What did you do this time?" Xiao Yan roared. "Why is Hun Yu out for revenge? He fought me like I killed his father!"
Lu Bu scratched his head awkwardly as the black mist dissipated. Things had gotten… complicated.
"Wait… Xun'er didn't clarify that it was me who ambushed Hun Yu? Isn't she good to me?" Lu Bu blurted out without thinking, his tone tinged with gratitude.
The atmosphere fell silent.
Xiao Xun'er: "…"
This guy… still so insufferable!
Xiao Yan: "…"
Qing Lin jabbed Lu Bu discreetly. "Young Master, you can't act like this!"
Realizing his mistake, Lu Bu coughed lightly, feeling regretful. His habit of speaking without thinking had struck again.
"Let me handle Hun Yu," Lu Bu said, his expression darkening. "I won't let him walk out of the Heavenly Tomb alive."
(End of chapter.)
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