Chapter 113: Whereabouts
After leaving the area around those corpses, Leo collected several more spiritual herbs along the way. None were particularly old, but they were ones he needed - secondary ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills or Rejuvenation Pills. Their age didn't matter to him; he could always accelerate their growth with spirit stones inside his boundary space.
By afternoon, Leo leaped onto a large tree to conceal himself.
Not long after, a middle-aged man in a green daoist robe stumbled frantically through the forest. He looked up and spotted the young man hiding in the tree, trying to see what was happening below. Confusion crossed his face, then disbelief, then desperate pleading. His expressions shifted rapidly.
"You... you're Fellow Daoist Leo! Fellow Daoist Leo, save me!"
It was Kai. The team leader who had abandoned them all those years ago in the Moonwatch Mountains when they encountered powerful enemies.
Kai had reached the twelfth layer of Qi Refining - impressive progress. But right now, he was a mess. His daoist robe was torn in several places. Close behind him were two cultivators in Seven Stars robes - disciples of the Star Palace. Their leader radiated power and moved noticeably faster than Kai. At this rate, he would catch up soon.
Leo's expression hardened. He had no intention of saving someone who would abandon his teammates without a second thought. Besides, these two Star Palace disciples looked formidable. Better to leave now.
"I know where there's Purple Ginseng! That's why they're hunting me - to silence me!" Kai's voice cracked with desperation when he saw Leo turn away.
"Purple Ginseng!" Leo stopped in his tracks, already dozens of meters away. Collecting other valuable herbs could eventually earn him a Foundation Establishment Pill, but he knew his mediocre aptitude. One or two pills might not be enough.
Purple Ginseng was a main ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills. He already had most of the secondary herbs. If he could get Purple Ginseng, gathering the rest would be easier. Then he could refine his own pills, and Foundation Establishment wouldn't seem so distant.
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For the location of Purple Ginseng, it was worth fighting these Star Palace disciples.
"We were going to let you go, but since you heard about the Purple Ginseng too, you can die with him." The broad-nosed Star Palace disciple in the lead grinned savagely and launched a giant green axe at Leo's head.
Kai had seen that axe crush several cultivators' skulls. He didn't think Leo could block it. Back in Moonwatch City, Leo's cultivation was lower than his. A mere loose cultivator, even with some luck, couldn't match disciples with magic artifacts. Letting Leo share the pressure was fine, but he had no intention of dying here. Seeing the broad-nosed disciple engage Leo, Kai smiled slightly and kept running.
"Some things never change." Leo cursed inwardly. "But if he thinks he can escape, he's dreaming." Activating Wind Riding Technique, Leo chased after Kai.
The axe missed, but seeing Leo run in Kai's direction, the disciple laughed. Let him go after Kai - that saved them the trouble of splitting up.
"Fellow Daoist Leo, running like this won't work. Better turn and fight." Kai's face fell as Leo's speed surpassed his, overtaking him in moments. He would be the first target when their pursuers caught up.
"You're both dying here!" The broad-nosed disciple's expression shifted when he saw Leo's speed. He activated a talisman, his speed surging, and dozens of meters later, he leaped and landed ahead of them. His axe expanded several times and swept toward both of them at once.
Kai dove aside, barely avoiding it, only to be intercepted by the other Star Palace disciple. He hastily raised a small black shield to block a killing strike.
Leo eyed the incoming axe gravely. This man's spiritual power was deep, his attacks sharper than Sylas's. Not to be underestimated. Leo unleashed the Demon Binding Rope and struck several times, but the axe was resilient. Each time it was deflected, it immediately came back with a vengeance.
"This guy's tough." After several exchanges, Leo made his move. He summoned the golden flying sword and, concealed behind it, fired all three Shadowless Needles. Tiny, nearly invisible, highly lethal. Hidden behind the sword, they were impossible to detect. Most shields, even top-grade spirit armor, couldn't stop them. One hit, and the venom would end the fight.
But the broad-nosed disciple's danger sense was sharp. He produced a small oil lamp. Its light formed a curtain around him. The three needles struck it - the curtain flickered, dimmed, but held. Slowly, it began to brighten again, its defense recovered.
At the same time, a cyan flying dagger shot from his storage pouch.
"Trying to ambush me? I'll bury you here." The disciple's face darkened. Seeing his Star Lamp's light nearly extinguished by those needles, he shuddered. Without it, he would have been dead. Enraged, he revealed all his cards, sending both attack artifacts at Leo, determined to kill this man who had nearly killed him.
"Two attack artifacts and a defensive one?" Leo cursed inwardly. Even some Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't have this many. And that defensive artifact seemed to consume little spiritual power - no way a Qi Refining cultivator could sustain three artifacts otherwise. The lamp's defense apparently weakened under heavy attack, then recovered. Even so, Leo was frustrated. He'd caught the man off guard once, but now, with a defensive artifact, the fight would be much harder.
"You're the first to push me this far." The broad-nosed disciple growled, driving both axe and dagger at Leo.
Leo's expression flickered. This man was too strong. He could barely control two artifacts at once. Killing him quickly was impossible. But for Purple Ginseng, he had to fight.