“Hm? This kid actually didn’t fall for it?!” Seeing that Su Twelve not only did not approach, but even ran away without a moment of hesitation, the silk-headband youth’s eye twitched. A burst of Qi force erupted from his entire body.
“Rip!”
Under the impact of the Qi force, the trap turned to dust.
Before his feet even touched the earth, a fierce wind swelled up, catching his body and carrying him forward at an even greater speed.
In the blink of an eye, he caught up to Su Twelve.
“Kid, let’s see where you can run to today!” The young man in the silk headband sneered, his expression dark. Trailing right behind Su Twelve, his hands rapidly formed seals.
“Entangling Art! Go!”
Following his command, a rustling noise arose. Five or six vines, like slithering snakes, rapidly spread across the ground.
Caught completely off guard, Su Twelve was directly tripped by two of the vines. His center of gravity shifted, pitching him forward toward the ground.
“Not good!”
Fortunately, his martial foundation was solid. With a twist of his waist, he executed a side aerial flip and stabilized his footing.
The moment he landed, the vines coiled around his ankles and climbed upward, binding him tightly in an instant.
“Senior Brother, what is the meaning of this? There shouldn’t be any grudge or enmity between us, right?!” Su Twelve secretly circulated his energy. With only his head exposed, he sized up the young man who had chased him down.
“Indeed, we have no grudge. But what did you mean by setting up a trap to harm me?” The young man crossed his arms over his sword and walked over with a cold smile.
“Senior Brother, you are wrongly accusing me. This is my first time in this place as well. How could I have possibly set up a trap for you?” Su Twelve said with a smile.
“Is that so? Then why did you run the moment I was trapped?” The young man’s face darkened, his cold gaze scanning Su Twelve.
“Senior Brother, you must be joking! How could a tiny trap like that possibly hold you? I ran because I suddenly remembered an urgent matter I had to attend to. The sect manual clearly states that sect disciples are strictly forbidden from private brawls and killing one another.”
Su Twelve laughed. Breaking free from these vines would not be difficult for him.
But this person had tracked him all the way here, clearly harboring ill intentions. He was far more interested in finding out exactly what the other party was after.
“Sect rules? Hmph! I have no time to waste arguing with you. If you want to live, hand over all your Qi Gathering Pills,” the young man said indifferently, fixing a fierce, piercing glare straight at Su Twelve.
Su Twelve’s heart skipped a beat as the image of Female Cultivator Chu instantly surfaced in his mind. He knew perfectly well that this matter absolutely had to be connected to her.
“Senior Brother, you have the wrong person! Qi Gathering Pills are only given to Senior Brothers at the sixth level of Qi Condensation or higher. How could a fourth-level rookie like me possibly have any?” Taking a deep breath, he smiled, having no intention of admitting it so easily.
“Is that so? In that case, there is no need for you to live either.” The young man’s gaze chilled, two rays of killing intent shooting from his eyes.
He formed seals with both hands, causing the True Essence in the air to surge violently.
Immediately, the surrounding temperature spiked, and a head-sized fire crow manifested in front of him.
“Don’t! Don’t be rash! I do have one bottle of Qi Gathering Pills! As long as you spare me, Senior Brother, I will hand it over right now!” Su Twelve hurriedly cried out. He stared at the opponent, secretly alarmed; this fire crow was vastly more powerful than the fireball he could summon with his Fire Control Art.
He knew perfectly well that the gap in strength between them was too vast. If he wanted to defeat this enemy, he had to take a desperate risk.
“Hmph, you had better not play any tricks. Otherwise, I guarantee you will die a miserable death!” The young man snorted coldly. One hand controlled the fire crow to keep a lock on Su Twelve, while his other hand cast a spell to loosen a portion of the vines binding him.
Confident in his own formidable Spiritual Power, he had no fear of Su Twelve trying anything funny.
“The Qi Gathering Pill is in this bottle. Please accept it, Senior Brother.” With his hands freed, Su Twelve decisively pulled a porcelain bottle from his robes and tossed it over.
There was not a single pill inside the bottle. He had slipped a first-grade Middle Grade Flame Explosion Talisman inside it beforehand.
He had prepared no fewer than five of these bottles, specifically for emergencies like this.
The young man caught the porcelain bottle in one smooth motion. Just as he was about to lower his head to inspect it, a sudden, howling rush of wind swept past his ears.
“Wind Summoning! Go!”
Su Twelve’s brow lifted. As he tossed the bottle, he immediately cast the Wind Summoning Art.
A wild gale roared forth, blowing directly into the fire crow hovering before the young man. Catching the wind, the flames reversed course and rushed back toward their master.
“Hmph! Courting death!” The young man had been on guard against Su Twelve all along. Seeing this, he sneered and casually threw out a Rain Condensation Talisman.
A flash of water-blue light rippled through the air. A sudden downpour fell from the sky, perfectly extinguishing the oncoming flames.
But right at that moment, a violent surge of energy gathered directly in his palm.
“Not good! It’s a Flame Explosion Talisman?!” The young man’s expression twisted. Only then did he realize that the porcelain bottle in his hand contained no Qi Gathering Pill at all, but a Flame Explosion Talisman!
He had guarded against every possibility. When he saw Su Twelve launch a sneak attack, he had focused all his attention on the boy, completely failing to anticipate this hidden trap waiting for him.
With no time to think, he frantically tried to hurl the porcelain bottle away. At such close range, a first-grade Middle Grade talisman—let alone a first-grade Low Grade one—was enough to inflict severe injuries.
But it was already too late. The instant the bottle left his hand, it detonated with a thunderous roar.
“Bang!”
A pillar of fire shot into the sky, instantly engulfing him.
“Ah—! You bastard! I… I will kill you!” The flames roared, igniting the dead branches and leaves on the ground to transform the area into a blazing sea of fire. From within the inferno came the young man’s shrill, agonizing screams.
He had been thoroughly played by Su Twelve!
“Success!”
Seeing this, a look of joy flashed across Su Twelve’s face. His pupils constricted, and a flaming crow appeared in his palm. He slapped it onto the vines binding his legs, burning them to ash on contact.
He broke free in an instant, his gaze turning fierce. Activating the Shadowless Phantom Step, he drove a punch from the Eight Level Eight Trigrams Fist straight at his opponent.
Strike while the enemy is down! Su Twelve knew this principle well.
“Not good!” But just as he closed the distance, a terrifying sense of crisis crashed down upon him.
The next second, the young man’s furious roar erupted from the flames.
“Kid, did you really think a single Flame Explosion Talisman could severely wound me? Today, let me teach you a lesson. I will show you just how unwise it is to make an enemy of a sword cultivator!”
Su Twelve’s pupils contracted, his expression changing in an instant, but he was too late to react.
In his line of sight, the two streaks of sword light interwove into a cross shape and shot explosively out of the flames. The sword light was swift and vicious, radiating a sharp killing intent, its power enough to take lives.
Su Twelve’s heart sank. At such close range, dodging was impossible. Though he inwardly despaired, his hands did not slow down in the slightest.
Without a fraction of hesitation, he reached into his robes. A first-grade Top Grade Defense Talisman would be enough to block an attack like this.
But the moment he pulled the talisman out, his face fell once more. The talisman in his hand was no first-grade Top Grade Defense Talisman—it was clearly just an ordinary first-grade Middle Grade Defense Talisman!