Chapter 46: Slaying Another

“In that case, a fight is inevitable.” Zou Xin’s expression turned unsightly as he let out a whistle. He struck his thick chest several times with his palms, and in an instant, the black fur on the Black Ape's body and its exposed muscles transformed into a pale gold. It looked magnificent and imposing.

Zou Xin was extremely wary of Lu Xiaotian’s hidden trump cards, which was why he let the Black Ape lead the charge.

The Black Ape roared and charged toward Lu Xiaotian, its massive body causing the ground to tremble slightly as it ran. The physical strength of a demon beast is typically greater than that of a cultivator of the same rank. After the Black Ape cast the "Golden Armor Technique," its defensive power increased several times over, posing a significant threat even to a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

Lu Xiaotian’s brow furrowed slightly but quickly smoothed out. With a flip of his left hand, he threw out several Luoyan Fruits, which immediately released a massive cloud of black mist, completely obscuring everything within a radius of several yards.

“Not good, get back!” Zou Xin’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly ordered the Black Ape to retreat to avoid a sneak attack that might allow Lu Xiaotian to pick them off one by one. Simultaneously, Zou Xin cast a "Whirlwind Technique" and a "Spiritual Eye Technique" to prevent being ambushed, but he failed to notice the faint sound of objects hitting the ground.

“Fire Arrow Technique!” As the black smoke was blown away, Lu Xiaotian unleashed a low-level spell. Over a dozen fire arrows shot toward the Black Ape.

“Roar!” The Black Ape roared, dodging left and right with an agility that belied its massive size. It evaded most of the arrows, though several still struck it. However, the fire arrows seemed to hit a layer of iron armor, splashing sparks in all directions without being able to pierce the Black Ape's skin.

The Black Ape cried out in pain, jumping and scurrying about. As the black mist grew thinner, Lu Xiaotian noticed several bloody scratches on the Black Ape's surface. He couldn't help but smile; this was normal. Even if a low-level demon beast was strong enough to barely withstand his spells, it would still suffer minor injuries.

Furious, Zou Xin swung his spiked mace violently toward Lu Xiaotian’s head.

A flurry of swords and maces followed, and in an instant, the two had exchanged dozens of moves. Lu Xiaotian’s heart sank; he was using a short sword. Although the man in brocade was also using a mid-grade spiritual tool, the spiked mace held a massive advantage in terms of physical leverage. After dozens of clashes, Lu Xiaotian’s hands felt numb. Having to simultaneously dodge the Black Ape's harassment, he found himself in a rather precarious position.

“Is that all? Kid, you're dead.”

Zou Xin laughed loudly. Having experienced no fewer than a hundred battles of various kinds, he was extremely experienced. After a few exchanges, he had gauged Lu Xiaotian's strength; his cultivation was roughly equivalent to his own. His strikes were decisive, but he lacked seasoned finesse, which was consistent with his age.

However, this man possessed high intelligence. The main reason the Big-Forehead Freak had fallen to him was likely because the man possessed the antidote to the Shadow Ants and was skilled at setting traps. Furthermore, the man carried a large number of spiritual talismans, which led to Zou Xin's unexpected victory. It felt somewhat unjust.

“I doubt it.” Lu Xiaotian forced Zou Xin back with a sword strike, just as a gust of wind surged behind him. Lu Xiaotian hurriedly lunged forward several steps, though a stinging pain still radiated from his back. Without looking, he knew he had been wounded by the Black Ape's claws.

“Still acting tough? Then let me show you my real methods.” Zou Xin raised his hand and produced a strange, leather-like talisman. The pattern on the talisman was complex, differing from the elemental spiritual energy fluctuations of ordinary spell talismans. A violent and ferocious blood-煞 (blood-evil) aura pulsed from it.

“Blood Demon Talisman!”

A look of shock appeared on Lu Xiaotian's face. Ordinary talismans could only be used by cultivators, not demon beasts. However, long ago, powerful cultivators had researched a type of talisman that demon beasts could use: the Blood Demon Talisman! It could stimulate a demon beast's potential for a short time, causing its strength to skyrocket. However, using such a talisman came at a significant cost; once its effect wore off, the spirit beast's strength would plummet. The Black Ape, which was originally equivalent to the third level of Qi Refinement, would likely drop to the second level, or even the first.

“Correct, it is indeed a Blood Demon Talisman. You certainly know your stuff. It is your honor to die by my hand.” Zou Xin grinned savagely. He only had two of these talismans, intended for life-saving emergencies, and he had been reluctant to use them. However, due to the tragic death of the Big-Forehead Freak, Zou Xin remained wary of Lu Xiaotian, fearing the youth might have a large number of talismans and launch a surprise attack when he was off guard.

Without preparation, facing dozens of low-level spells would lead to the same fate as the Big-Forehead Freak—being killed in a frantic struggle during a sneak attack. Therefore, Zou Xin chose a more stable method: use the Blood Demon Talisman to stimulate the Black Ape's potential, let the beast take the brunt of the fight, while he handled the sneak attacks from the side. As long as he could take down Lu Xiaotian, even sacrificing the Black Ape would be a very profitable trade.

Lu Xiaotian hurriedly thrust several sword strikes toward Zou Xin. Zou Xin gave a strange laugh and blocked them repeatedly, having already activated the Blood Demon Talisman.

The talisman transformed into a streak of crimson light in mid-air, enveloping the Black Ape.

The Black Ape let out continuous, wild roars as its body suddenly grew several feet taller. Its fangs protruded, giving it a terrifying appearance. Its aura surged from a low-level demon beast to a second-order demon beast, jumping an entire rank.

“Haha, kid, just surrender!” Seeing the Black Ape's strength explode, Zou Xin felt greatly reassured. With two against one, no matter how cunning the kid was, he could not change the gap in strength.

“Is that so?” Lu Xiaotian smiled coldly. A person is often closest to success when they are at their most careless. The man in brocade thought this was a guaranteed victory, but how could Lu Xiaotian be unprepared?

Lu Xiaotian lunged forward with a desperate, life-risking posture. Zou Xin casually swung his mace a few times to neutralize Lu Xiaotian's attacks and retreated. Since victory seemed certain, he naturally did not want to risk close-quarters combat. However, Lu Xiaotian's consecutive sword strikes were quite fierce.

*The Black Ape is about to finish absorbing the power of the Blood Demon Talisman. Once my spirit beast pounces, it will be this kid's end,* Zou Xin thought viciously.

However, as Zou Xin retreated, he suddenly felt a strange sensation on his leg, as if something had crawled onto it. In his haste, he looked down and saw several Shadow Ants crawling on his leg, biting him. Dozens more ant corpses, which should have been dead, suddenly took flight from the ground and swarmed toward him.

Zou Xin was so terrified he nearly lost his soul. He hurriedly tried to strike the ants off his leg, but Lu Xiaotian's sword was already thrusting toward his chest like a knife toward meat. Out of necessity, since the Shadow Ants were already on his leg, his protective spiritual shield was useless.

Zou Xin had no choice but to swing his spiked mace to repel Lu Xiaotian. The strike, fueled by panic, was heavy and powerful, pushing Lu Xiaotian back more than ten feet. However, his leg was also bitten several times, causing the once-smooth flow of his essence in his body to stagnate. Then, more Shadow Ants flew onto Zou Xin's body and bit him; in an instant, he could no longer mobilize even a shred of magical power.

Zou Xin's heart sank to the bottom. He couldn't understand why. Weren't the Shadow Ants the Big-Forehead Freak's spirit insects? Even if Lu Xiaotian had obtained the remaining insects after the Freak's death, without proper training, it would be impossible to command them so precisely for such a sophisticated sneak attack in such a short time.

“This kid wasn't afraid of the Big-Forehead Freak's Shadow Ants earlier; he must have taken the antidote beforehand. He might be an insect cultivator!”

Zou Xin was struck with horror. The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Yet, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure it out. From the moment Lu Xiaotian began fighting the Big-Forehead Freak, he had watched everything clearly from within the formation; there was no sign of Lu Xiaotian using the Shadow Ants. Otherwise, it would never have escaped his eyes.

“You... how exactly did you do it?” Zou Xin screamed in rage as he saw Lu Xiaotian approaching again.

“Just be a fool.”

With a cold expression, Lu Xiaotian swung his sword to end his life. A roar erupted from behind. Lu Xiaotian cursed inwardly. The Black Ape had finished absorbing the talisman's power and was charging at him. Even if he could kill the man with one strike, the Black Ape's strength was now comparable to a second-order demon beast, not far behind his own. Furthermore, the Black Ape's physical strength was already several times his own; Lu Xiaotian did not dare to meet the beast's strike with his body, lest he end up dying alongside the man in brocade—a result he did not want.

After a brief calculation, Lu Xiaotian turned and struck with his sword. The massive force sent him retreating several steps. The Black Ape was, after all, flesh and blood; taking the hit left a gash on its claw, with blood gushing out.

However, the Black Ape did not slow down due to the injury; instead, it became even more frenzied, its wild eyes turning blood-red.

“You want to kill me? Not so easily!” Zou Xin cried out in despair. He was now completely powerless and could only hope the Black Ape would kill Lu Xiaotian. He attempted to use words to distract Lu Xiaotian during the fight.

“Noisy. Killing you will only take a moment.” After dodging a savage charge from the Black Ape, Lu Xiaotian glanced at Zou Xin.

“You think you can do it? If you have the ability, kill me now!” Zou Xin shouted provocatively.

“You really think I can't handle you? As you wish.” Lu Xiaotian pressed the spirit beast pouch at his waist. A flash of white mist appeared, and a leopard shook its head, revealing a lithe, agile body. With a ferocious glint in its eyes, it lunged at Zou Xin.

Zou Xin's face turned deathly pale. He hadn't expected Lu Xiaotian to have a spirit beast. Although its strength was low, equivalent only to a second-level Qi Refinement cultivator, to him at this moment, it was no different from a flood or a predatory beast.

The leopard ran a few steps, leaped, tackled Zou Xin to the ground, and bit through his throat in one bite.

“Back down!” Lu Xiaotian commanded the leopard to retreat from the Black Ape, fearing it might suffer a mishap; the leopard's strength could not withstand a blow from the now-boosted Black Ape.

Strength boosted by a Blood Demon Talisman could not be commanded as easily as one's own. Although the Black Ape's brute force was immense, Lu Xiaotian had ways to deal with it. With a wave of his hand, dozens of Shadow Ants flew up from Zou Xin's corpse, buzzing toward the Black Ape.

The Black Ape wildly swatted away over a dozen ants, but unlike a cultivator, it could not flexibly use spells or tactics to avoid them. It was soon bitten dozens of times by the Shadow Ants.

Taking advantage of the moment, Lu Xiaotian swung his sword and decapitated the Black Ape.

The leopard submissively brought Zou Xin's storage bag to Lu Xiaotian's feet.

“You're quite slippery.” Having finally resolved the crisis, a relieved smile appeared on Lu Xiaotian's face. He patted the leopard's head and said, “When we get back, I'll look for a higher-level Beast Spirit Pill recipe to see if I can raise your strength. Go back in.”

The leopard nuzzled Lu Xiaotian's leg happily before entering the spirit beast pouch.

Lu Xiaotian beckoned, pulling the storage bag into his hand. He then collected the remaining Shadow Ants and checked Zou Xin's corpse one last time to ensure nothing was missed.

With his current strength, he truly would not have been able to contend with Zou Xin, whose cultivation was equal to his, let alone a Black Ape boosted to second-order strength. Furthermore, his control over Shadow Ants was not as good as the Big-Forehead Freak's. A direct confrontation offered no chance of victory. However, Zou Xin had ultimately become overconfident. In fact, as soon as the fight began and Lu Xiaotian released the Luoyan Fruits, the black mist had spread. Lu Xiaotian hadn't done it to sneak attack, but rather used the "attack" as a ruse to divert Zou Xin's attention while secretly releasing his Shadow Ants to drop them on the ground.

During the previous battle with the Big-Forehead Freak, he had already killed or injured dozens of Shadow Ants, leaving the ground in a mess of pits and debris.

Having witnessed Lu Xiaotian's prowess, Zou Xin's attention had remained fixed on the youth, fearing a sudden barrage of talismans. During the intense struggle, he had no energy to notice the extra ant corpses on the ground. When Zou Xin later used the Blood Demon Talisman, believing victory was in his grasp, his vigilance dropped once more. Thus, he fell into Lu Xiaotian's trap and lost his life.

Lu Xiaotian waved his hand, throwing out two small fireballs. The corpses of the Big-Forehead Freak and Zou Xin were instantly reduced to ash. Lu Xiaotian quickly left the small grove. A series of intense battles had occurred here, and the residual fluctuations of magical power might attract the attention of passing cultivators. It was a place of trouble and not one to linger in.

At dusk, Lu Xiaotian arrived at a river valley and happened to see a stout brown bear crawling out of a hollow in a towering ancient tree. Lu Xiaotian smiled slightly; it seemed he had a place to stay for the night. Walking alone in the mountains at night was not very safe.

Taking advantage of the bear going out to forage, Lu Xiaotian nimbly climbed into the hollow. The interior was spacious enough to accommodate several people of his size, though it was pitch black. This did not bother him; as his essence circulated, his vision became clear. Though the light was still dim, he could see clearly using the "Spiritual Eye Technique."

Lu Xiaotian took out the two storage bags. He first opened the one belonging to the man in brocade, Zou Xin. Inside were sixty or seventy various spirit stones, some healing medicines, a large amount of spiritual herbs, several pieces of ore used for crafting, and some demon beast furs and materials that Lu Xiaotian had no interest in.

However, several of the spiritual herbs were actually mission items from the Lingxiao Palace and the Qingdan Palace. There was also a Blood Demon Talisman, which was exceptionally precious; he wondered how this man had obtained such a rare item.

Lu Xiaotian tossed all these items into his barrier, then opened the Big-Forehead Freak's storage bag. He was instantly shocked. He knew the man was wealthy as an alchemist, but he hadn't expected that someone who raised hundreds of Shadow Ants would have such a massive fortune, including over a hundred various spirit stones. From the bag, Lu Xiaotian also found several mission herbs from the Lingxiao Palace, some of which were duplicates of what he already possessed.

*The Fragmented Manual of Puppet Secret Arts* and *The True Explanation of Spirit Insects*!

(End of Chapter)