Chapter 106 - 102: Surprise
This blow left the Ink Python on the brink of death.
Because Lü Zhong had deliberately aimed, the blow had landed seven inches below its belly—clearly a vital point. Now that it had been severed, death was only a matter of time.
Lü Zhong himself was stunned by the force of his own attack.
’I never thought that combining the Light Body Skill, the Wind-Avoiding Divine Technique, and the Meteor Technique could have such a devastating effect.’
But the move also took a heavy toll on his body.
If he hadn’t practiced the Spiritual Universe Dharma Body, which made him physically stronger than the average Loose Cultivator, he would probably be severely injured by now. The physical strain of that single moment was not something one could easily endure.
Striking while the iron was hot, Lü Zhong directed the Golden Devourer Sword to press the attack.
Just then, Bai Xiaohan, who was standing nearby, quietly took a few steps back. A small knife, shimmering with a faint purple light, appeared in her hand. Her once-beautiful face now looked sinister.
Before long, the Ink Python finally gave out, collapsing to the ground.
At that exact moment, as if by silent agreement, they both hurled their Magical Artifacts at each other.
CLANG!
The Golden Devourer Sword clashed with the small knife in midair.
"It seems Fellow Daoist Lü is a cautious man indeed! In that case, the one who was following me the other day must have been you." Bai Xiaohan seemed to have expected her sneak attack to fail. She summoned a Bronze Umbrella and began chanting. As she spoke, her hands flew through a series of hand seals, causing the umbrella to spin rapidly. It then fired a volley of Light Needles, blanketing the area around Lü Zhong.
Seeing this, Lü Zhong wasted no more words. With a flick of his Golden Devourer Sword, he charged at her, weaving past all the Light Needles. Then, with a light leap, he brought his sword down toward Bai Xiaohan’s head.
A small smirk played on Bai Xiaohan’s lips, her expression otherwise unchanging.
Her fingers formed a strange Hand Seal, and with a rush of wind, another Bronze Umbrella appeared beside her. It sprang open and began to spin wildly, parrying Lü Zhong’s Golden Devourer Sword. Scraping against the ground and throwing sparks like a wheel, it then shot toward Lü Zhong.
Seeing this, Lü Zhong was not the least bit flustered.
He first sidestepped the Bronze Umbrella. Then, just as he had done to grievously wound the Ink Python, he ignored the potential for aggravating his own injuries and unleashed the same combination on Bai Xiaohan: Light Body Skill, Wind-Avoiding Divine Technique, and the Meteor Technique.
"Ah!" Bai Xiaohan cried out in alarm.
Just then, a protective shield flared to life around her as a Jade Pendant on her person shattered. It was a Life-saving Talisman worth dozens of Spirit Stones.
The shield blocked Lü Zhong’s sword, but its power was completely spent in the process.
Finding him so close, Bai Xiaohan was both shocked and frantic.
She stomped her foot, flipped her hand over to reveal a vial of Pills, and downed its contents without a second glance.
A cloud of smoke erupted. Lü Zhong vaguely glimpsed a serpentine shadow flash past, and a cloyingly sweet scent filled his nostrils. Then, his vision went black, and he passed out.
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
Lü Zhong slowly regained consciousness, only to find he was alone.
As for Bai Xiaohan, she had vanished without a trace.
Remembering how he had lost consciousness, a jolt of alarm went through him.
’Don’t tell me... I fell into her trap!’
But after checking his body, he found nothing wrong apart from the physical strain caused by using the Meteor Technique.
’What just happened?’
Lü Zhong was baffled. He could only look around his surroundings.
Although the cave was dark, he could see clearly thanks to his Qi Observation Skill.
He soon spotted a pile of clothes—the very ones Bai Xiaohan had been wearing. Her Storage Bag was even there among them. Leading away from the clothes was a distinct slithering trail. The discovery brought a strange expression to Lü Zhong’s face.
’A Transformed Snake, or was she one all along...’
It was a question destined to remain unanswered.
Lü Zhong picked up the Storage Bag and swept his Divine Sense inside. There was quite a lot of stuff. He estimated it would fetch a hundred or so Spirit Stones if sold. Among the items was a Magic Technique Book—the very *Flying Star Sect’s Magic Introduction* he had been longing for. He never expected to obtain it like this.
He beckoned, recalling the Golden Devourer Sword from the ground, and walked over to the Ink Python’s corpse.
An Ink Python this large... setting aside the valuable Python Skin, the meat alone had to be worth a good number of Spirit Stones.
Skinning, butchering, deboning...
After going through the whole process, Lü Zhong successfully stored the entire snake corpse in his Storage Bag.
He couldn’t help but praise his own foresight. He had brought a full five Storage Bags with him, ensuring nothing would go to waste.
...
「On the mountain path, a thick mist hung in the air.」
A young man dressed in a black Dharma Robe was walking alone.
The young man was Lü Zhong. After leaving Ghost Cloud Valley, he had come to the Cold Mountain Path.
He followed the map’s directions with every step.
Thanks to this, and his constant vigilance, he had encountered his fair share of trouble—demons, beasts, and ghosts—but little that was life-threatening. A simple Light Body Skill was usually enough to get away.
’If all goes well, the ruins of the military post should be just ahead.’
The military post ruins dated back to the Human Race’s expansion against the Southern Barbarians. The Cold Mountain Path itself was a relic left behind by the Ancient Cultivators of that era.
Otherwise, how could there be a ten-foot-wide, flat road for him to walk on today?
When he first set foot on the Cold Mountain Path, Lü Zhong had been more than a little startled. In his opinion, this was no ’path’—it was a veritable ’highway’ carved into the mountainside.
It was worlds apart from the overgrown, winding goat path he had imagined.
Staring at the road that stretched straight into the mist, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but think, ’If some faction could clear out the dangers along this route, the Cold Mountain Path could easily become a major trade artery.’
But alas, such a vision was destined to remain a fantasy.
He continued onward. Ahead, a stretch of ruins appeared, shrouded in the dense fog.
At the sight of them, Lü Zhong immediately stopped.
Based on his experience so far on this journey, ruins like these were often home to lingering ghosts. Although they were merely wandering souls formed from condensed Yin Qi, they were still trouble if they touched you.
He approached cautiously, the Golden Devourer Sword in one hand and a stack of Evil Exorcism Talismans in the other.
After crossing an ancient, dried-up moat, he looked up at a plaque on the ruined gatehouse. It confirmed he had reached the encampment known as the Military Post Ruins. He then headed for the nearest gate.
The map had noted that the Cold Mountain Path was extremely dangerous at night.
Lü Zhong had no desire to test that claim. He decided to follow the map’s advice and spend the night in the encampment, waiting for daylight before continuing his journey.
He passed numerous stone chambers, many of them blackened by soot and fire. Extinguished campfires littered the ground, a clear sign that quite a few cultivators had spent the night in these ruins. He even saw fruit peels that hadn’t yet rotted, suggesting someone had been here within the last month.
’Someone was here recently. It should be relatively safe,’ Lü Zhong thought.
This was definitely good news.
He found a clean stone chamber and decided to spend the night there.
He closed his eyes to meditate, while simultaneously using his scene replay ability to probe the surroundings and guard against any approaching danger.
...
「The moon reached its zenith.」
Lü Zhong remained seated cross-legged, but his eyes were now open, staring straight ahead.
The Golden Devourer Sword rested flat across his lap. Beside him lay a stack of Evil Exorcism Talismans. He was ready to use either at a moment’s notice, prepared for any danger that might arise.
Soon, dark clouds drifted across the moon, blocking out all the moonlight.
The ruins suddenly grew ’lively’.
Illusory, wandering souls began to appear. Some crawled out from within the city walls, while others clawed their way up from the ground.
Though the wandering souls were numerous, none dared to venture within ten feet of Lü Zhong.
The reason was simple. Every so often, he would activate an Evil Exorcism Talisman. The Yang Qi it contained was lethal to the wandering souls; even the slightest trace lingering in the air could reduce them to ash in an instant.
At the same time, Lü Zhong could feel a persistent, spying gaze upon him.
It was filled with undisguised malice!
The gaze came from outside the post station.
Using his scene replay ability, Lü Zhong saw the thing’s true form: an utterly twisted, blood-soaked human face. It was just a face—or rather, a flayed sheet of skin.
There was nothing else.
’What is this thing? It feels very similar to a Soul of the Dead...’ Lü Zhong didn’t look directly at it, instead using his scene replay to observe it. He needed to know if the blood-stained face would come inside so he could react in time.
After a short while, the dark clouds gradually dispersed, and moonlight once again cascaded down.
When Lü Zhong checked again, he found the thing had already vanished.