Chapter 55: An Encounter on the Road

Months later, a sudden movement occurred within his dantian, and his essence surged forth like a spring. Lu Xiaotian was overjoyed; he hadn't expected that his life-and-death adventures in the Moon-Watching Mountains, stimulated by constant crises, would cause his cultivation to progress even faster than usual. He had actually broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, several months earlier than anticipated.

It was a truly unexpected windfall. This trip into the mountains had yielded great rewards; the various spiritual objects and artifacts accumulated within the barrier alone were worth thousands of spirit stones, and he had also learned several secret techniques. He estimated that other cultivators must have also gained significantly—provided, of course, they managed to survive these months of adventure.

Soon, Lu Xiaotian frowned slightly. He still needed four more types of spiritual herbs required by the Azure Pill Palace and three more for the Lingxiao Palace. He had not yet fully collected them all. With only a few days left before the immortal sects began recruiting disciples, staying in the mountains any longer held little meaning. Other cultivators likely faced the same problem; encountering spiritual objects in the mountains was entirely random, and it was impossible for them to be exactly what one needed. He suspected that in Moon-Watching City, many people were already exchanging the spiritual objects they required; if he arrived too late, he might miss out on everything.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiaotian immediately stood up and hurried toward Moon-Watching City. His use of the Wind-Riding Technique was much more proficient than when he first entered the mountains, and his speed had increased considerably.

Along the way, he occasionally saw returning squads of cultivators. At this time, most people were eager to return home. However, some had not gained much and were setting their sights on those returning to the city. After months of adventure, most rogue cultivators returning to the city possessed considerable wealth.

Lu Xiaotian encountered several similar skirmishes along the way, where both sides often suffered significant casualties. After all, those who could survive months of adventure were not to be trifled with.

"Hmm?" Lu Xiaotian bypassed several fighting squads and walked a few more miles before seeing several people surrounded by a small group. The opponents numbered six or seven, while the besieged were only four—none other than Luo Yuan and his sister, along with Zhang Guang, Zheng Shiqi, and one other. Luo Yuan's left chest was soaked in blood, but his injury did not look too severe; however, his current situation appeared quite dire.

"What do you want? Most people are starting to head back to the city now. Do you really want to engage in a bloody fight with us at this time?" Luo Yuan said in a heavy voice.

"We didn't originally intend to, but after months in these mountains, we haven't gained anything; instead, we've consumed a large amount of spirit stones and ended up at a loss. Since you four have managed to hold out until now, you must have made some gains. If you just share some with us, we wouldn't want to be the villains," the middle-aged man leading the group said. He had a large black mole on his left cheek, and while his tone sounded like a negotiation, his meaning was unmistakable.

"Preposterous! You only have a slight numerical advantage, and your extra members are only at the early stages of Qi Refinement. Do you really think we are afraid of you?" Zheng Shiqi said with fury, drawing his weapon.

"Exactly! Damn it, we've been hiding and dodging since we entered the mountains, finally managing to keep our lives, and now we have to deal with extortion from these scumbags? Let's fight!" Zhang Guang, a former general, had retained some of his military habits, and his temper was exceptionally explosive.

"In that case, don't blame us." The black-moled middle-aged man's expression changed. They couldn't handle powerful demonic beasts, so they were unwilling to let go of a squad that was slightly weaker than themselves.

"Hand over your storage bags, and I'll spare your lives!" A clear voice drifted from a distance.

The black-moled man's expression shifted. He had thought Luo Yuan's squad consisted of only four people, but he hadn't expected another to appear, and with such an arrogant tone. He must have some skill. Although their squad had seven members, aside from himself at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, there were only two at the fourth or fifth layers. The remaining four were at the early stages of Qi Refinement and were of little use.

"Brother Lu!"

"Brother Lu, you're not dead! Haha, that's great!"

Luo Qing, Zhang Guang, and the others were overjoyed. They hadn't expected to encounter such a reliable and powerful reinforcement here. In the treacherous Moon-Watching Mountains, a trustworthy teammate was more important than anything else. In their eyes, Lu Xiaotian was exactly that kind of person.

"Brother Lu, where have you been? After we were separated, we searched for you for a while but couldn't find a trace of you. We were also afraid of running into that group with the Big-Headed Freak—wait, that's not right, why is the Big-Headed Freak's black gourd in your hands?" Zheng Shiqi was first delighted, then his face filled with shock and disbelief.

"Eh? Brother Lu, you've reached the sixth layer of Qi Refinement?" Luo Yuan was also startled. Even for an alchemist, this rate of advancement was far too fast.

"The Big-Headed Freak chased me for a while, but I eventually trapped and killed him with a formation. Naturally, the gourd fell into my hands," Lu Xiaotian said with a calm smile.

"Brother Lu, you are truly amazing! It's all because of that damn Taoist Fan Qing. If he hadn't been the first to flee, with Brother Lu's skill, our squad wouldn't have been picked off one by one," Luo Qing said indignantly after their initial shock subsided.

"Let's not talk about that. Now, will you hand over your storage bags, or do we have to act?" Lu Xiaotian stepped forward a few paces.

"Haha, so you've come to this day too. I despise people like you the most—lacking the ability to hunt demonic beasts or find spiritual objects yourselves, you only know how to prey on other rogue cultivators." Zhang Guang, Luo Yuan, and the others held their spirit blades, splitting into several directions to block the group's retreat.

"Although you are also an expert at the middle stage of Qi Refinement, our squad still has two more members. If we fight, it will inevitably result in mutual destruction. How about we call it a draw?" the black-moled man said with a grimace.

"Mutual destruction? You overestimate yourself. It seems you refuse the polite offer and insist on the hard way!"

Lu Xiaotian lightly tapped the black gourd, and its mouth opened, releasing dozens of Shadow Ants. They emerged with a buzzing sound like a small cloud, swarming toward the black-moled man. These Shadow Ants were not fed with his own flesh and blood, so his command over them was not as smooth as the Big-Headed Freak's. The Big-Headed Freak could command seven squads in an organized manner, whereas Lu Xiaotian could barely manage six. However, even so, they would be extremely troublesome for a middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

Seeing Lu Xiaotian take action, Luo Yuan and the others struck without hesitation.

"Damn it, it's a bug cultivator!" The black-moled man's face turned pale. Gritting his teeth, he slapped an Earth Escape Talisman onto himself and dove into the ground. When he resurfaced, he was already dozens of yards away, fleeing for his life just like Fan Qing had done, abandoning his teammates.

Lu Xiaotian frowned. Their cultivation levels were similar, and his speed was not much faster than the other's; chasing him would be troublesome, so he had to let it go.

The other man also used an Earth Escape Talisman to try and flee, but his cultivation was too low. He hadn't escaped far before being intercepted by Luo Yuan.

"Stop! Stop fighting! We surrender!" One of the early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, who had nearly been dismembered by Zhang Guang's blades, hurriedly threw down his spiritual tool and raised his hands, crying out with a wailing face. Seeing that they could not escape, the other rogue cultivators also made the wise choice to surrender their storage bags rather than lose their lives.

"At least you know what's good for you!" Zheng Shiqi huffed after kicking one of them down.

"Though their strength isn't much, their wealth is quite substantial. It's a pity one got away. Brother Lu, you saved my life, so you choose first," Zhang Guang said casually, taking the spiritual objects out of the several storage bags and presenting them to Lu Xiaotian.

The six storage bags were worth over two hundred spirit stones in total. There were no spiritual herbs that Lu Xiaotian was interested in, so he unceremoniously took his deserved share. After dividing the goods, the rogue cultivators fled in panic, fearing that Lu Xiaotian and the others might change their minds.

"Brother Lu, it's so good that you're back. We thought we'd never see you again. After we were separated, the four of us were lucky enough to reunite. We searched for you for nearly half a month but found no sign of you. Worried about being attacked by other squads, the four of us moved around constantly and stayed cautious. Fortunately, we didn't run into major trouble, but we didn't expect to be ambushed on the way back to the city. If you hadn't appeared in time, Brother Lu, things would have been very dangerous this time," Zheng Shiqi said with great emotion as they traveled back to Moon-Watching City together.

After reuniting with the four, Lu Xiaotian felt somewhat more at ease. Being alone, there were many situations he could not handle. Through conversation, he learned that after their group fell apart, the four of them had not been in a good situation. However, unwilling to return directly to Moon-Watching City, they had spent their time hiding and moving around, collecting some spiritual objects and hunting a few demonic beasts. It wasn't until they were returning to the city today that trouble arose. Fortunately, they had met him, and with little effort, each of them walked away with over forty spirit stones, making it their most successful day yet.