Chapter 57 - 56: Are You Awake? 1
Just as he was about to step forward and completely exterminate the Grass Puppet.
Suddenly, a golden Sword Qi shot out like a lightning, reaching the Masked Cultivator in the blink of an eye.
“What kind of Sword Technique is this?!”
The Sword Technique was so sudden and swift that the Masked Cultivator didn’t have enough time to deploy his defense magic artifact.
In a desperate moment, he had no choice but to barely turn his body. There was a whoosh.
The golden Sword Qi pierced straight through his shoulder, instantly causing blood to gush out and stain the Spirit Field.
The momentum of the Sword Qi didn’t diminish, piercing into the wall of the courtyard behind him.
“Run away quickly!”
Despite the excruciating pain coursing through his wounded shoulder the Masked Cultivator had a thought flash across his mind-he must escape this Spirit Field.
With his wealth of experience, he knew that such a Sword Technique was not something a Small Loose Cultivator of the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation could unleash.
With a few more similar Sword Techniques, or even just one more, he would risk dying here.
A gust of wind came from behind, as a Silver White Blade swiftly followed him. The Masked Cultivator’s thoughts moved quickly, his Spiritual Energy circulating rapidly. A wall of ice materialized mid-air, just in time to block the Silver White Blade heading towards him.
Unexpectedly, just before the blade collided with the ice wall, the Silver White Short Blade silently split into dozens of thin fragments, which attacked the Masked Cultivator from all directions like silver butterflies.
This unexpected attack method threw the Masked Cultivator into chaos, with fragments piercing his limbs, shoulder, and chest.
Before he could react, a nimble black Spirit Beast materialized in front of him, its emerald-green pupils coldly watching the Masked Cultivator. Its bewitching gaze left him momentarily dazed.
Before he could regain his senses, the Spirit Beast raised its thick white paw and landed a blow on his head, knocking the cultivator to the ground. After rolling around a few times, he passed out from the pain.
The Masked Cultivator consciousness slowly emerged from unfathomable darkness.
Rather than opening his eyes to survey his surroundings immediately, he carefully sensed the current state of his body.
The situation was dire. As he tried to circulate his internal spiritual power, it felt like he was throwing stones into the sea-the Qi Sea in his Dantian was destroyed, and his cultivation level was completely lost.
At the same time, his body was tied up and unable to move. Wounds on his limbs were exposed to the air, causing waves of intense pain.
His throat, heart, and lower body areas felt a distinct cold sharpness. It seemed that any slight movement would allow these sharp chilly feelings to invade his body.
“Are you awake?”
A gentle voice sounded not far from him.
The cultivator remained with his eyes closed, as if still in deep slumber. “If you don’t really wake up, then I’ll make sure you never wake up again.” The soft voice casually spoke.
With no other option, the Masked Cultivator opened his eyes. His pupils moved, taking in the entire situation.
He was in a simply furnished room, bound by grey-black grass ropes. The silver fragments that had once threatened his life were right before his vulnerable points.
A young cultivator was standing in front of him, his eyes clear and bright. I didn’t expect you, a No-Organization Spirit Plant Master, to hide so deep.” “That Sword Technique… it’s almost at the level of a grandmaster. Even the experienced swordsmen I’ve met before seldom have such superb swordsmanship.”
“Moreover, you’re still so young.”
“And your cultivation level… It’s definitely way beyond the Third Layer.” The more the Masked Cultivator thought about it, the more regretful he became. Initially, he thought taking down a Small Loose Cultivator of Qi Cultivation would be a piece of cake. But he didn’t anticipate that he would meet with such a disaster, and now he was severely injured and easily captured.
“Speak, why did you enter my mansion and try to harm me?”
Lu Xuan ignored the masked cultivator and asked with a smile.
“I was just passing by and wanted to sneak into your spirit field to steal a few spirit plants. I didn’t expect to run into trouble.”
The masked cultivator casually made up a reason, attempting to bluff his way out.
“Do you think I would believe that?”
Lu Xuan found it amusing. His expression turned cold, and the remnant piece hovering in front of the cultivator’s throat sank a bit deeper, piercing his skin and letting out a drop of dark red blood.
“Just say who sent you.”
The masked cultivator fell silent.
“Actually, whether you speak or not, I have a pretty good idea who it is.”
“I am usually a recluse and we do good deeds. Anyone who wants to provoke
me to the point of wanting me dead- think about it for yourself.”
“But if you won’t speak, the ending will be very different. This magic artifact in front of you will cut you into thin slices and try its best not to kill you.” “When you are barely breathing, I will then send you to the black market. There, many evil cultivators buy cultivator’s souls. You, a middle-stage Qi practitioner, should fetch a good price.”
Lu Xuan spoke coldly.
‘If I talk, would you let me go?”
“If you talk, I will give you a clean end. If not, you will have to endure the endless torment of both your body and soul. You can choose for yourself.” “It was Zhou Hai Wen, a Spirit Plant Master. He promised me a spirit stone to come and kill you. He promised me all the spirit plants in your spirit field, as long as I give him the book jade slip from you.”
Without any more hesitation, the masked cultivator laid out everything.
“Indeed, it’s the relentless Spirit Plant Master. He probably wants to glean the
method for planting perfect quality spirit plants from me.”
Lu Xuan had suspected all along. After hearing the masked cultivator’s answer,
he was completely certain.
“Tell me his address, and don’t attempt to lie to me. You know that he and I are both Spirit Plant Architects hired by the Hall of Hundreds of Grasses, it’s not difficult for me to get his information.”
“Fine, I’ll tell.”
After revealing the information about the Spirit Plant Master, the masked cultivator no longer had any reservations, laying out everything he knew, holding onto the slim hope that Lu Xuan might spare him.
“Alright, you can rest now.”
Lu Xuan softly whispered, the thin piece in front of the cultivator’s throat suddenly lunged forward, piercing deeply into his throat.
After killing the cultivator, Lu Xuan circulated his spiritual power, and a fireball the size of a head appeared above the cultivator’s corpse.
Then, it turned into sparks of fire, falling onto his corpse. Within a few breaths, it turned him into black ash.
Lu Xuan took out an Evil Banishing Talisman, a layer of white light centered on
the black ashes, rippled outward.
Without any anomalies occurring.
Only then did he completely relax, sweeping the thick layer of black ash on the ground and scattering it in the soil of the spirit field.
“You guys dodged a bullet today, here’s some good fertilizer for you to make
up.”
After Qin Ming, another cultivator has ended up in his spirit field, his body crushed into ashes and turned into a fertilizer.
Lu Xuan briefly cleaned up the courtyard, scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sense, left the Bi Jing Cloud Treading Mink to guard the mansion, and silently moved outside.
There are cultivators patrolling day and night within the market, but the strength of the protection in each area varies.
In the outer areas of the North District where Lu Xuan previously lived, it was a mixed bag with virtually non-existent security.
The courtyard he now resides in is slightly closer to the center and has considerably increased security, but it’s generally only a handful of low-level Qi cultivators patrolling for show.
Only the core area has middle and even high-ranking Qi cultivators providing proper protection to prevent evil cultivators or demon envoys from invading. A moment later, Lu Xuan arrived at his destination, outside the courtyard of the surnamed Zhou Spirit Plant Master..