"Hiss!" Just as Zhang Guodong was filled with surprise and doubt, the two powerful figures made their move without warning. Old Monster Mu unleashed a cloud of green mist towards his opponent; it was actually an incredibly slender demonic vine. Wherever the green line passed, the air hissed, and plumes of white mist rose. Its speed was far beyond anything Zhang Guodong could match. If it weren't for the fact that his senses covered a radius of two thousand meters, he would never have been able to detect this attack.
"Old monster Xingmu! You've gone too far! Others may fear your rotten wood poison, but I, Lei Xuan, am not!" Lei Xuan roared in fury, and at the same time, a thick lightning chain crashed into the green line.
Lightning flashed. Their formation was no less imposing than their opponent's. The initial exchange was merely a test, but Lei Xuan's face showed no ease; in fact, it was somewhat grave. This expression betrayed his inner tension.
Clearly, facing the old monster Xingmu's attack of rotten wood and poisonous vines, he was wary of being a disciple of...
"Thunder is the nemesis of evil and yin-type things, but it has little effect on me!" Old Monster Xingmu laughed strangely, full of sarcasm, much more relaxed than Lei Xuan.
Zhang Guodong, below, sensed it clearly and thought to himself, "Indeed, experts don't waste a single bit of their life force in battle." The attack even unleashed a wisp of demonic vine, though this was merely a test between the two sides.
This also demonstrates the precise and meticulous control that experts exercise over their life force. Lower-level plant cultivators, on the other hand, would typically unleash their entire natal vine, wasting a significant amount of life force. Of course, lower-level plant cultivators also have their own unique fighting style; the explosion of countless vines can overwhelm opponents of similar levels.
"Sizzle!"
As soon as the Thunder Demon Vine came into contact with the Rotten Wood Demon Vine, the power of lightning exploded, and most of the rotten wood poison was instantly dissolved.
However, the power of the Thunder Demon Vine was almost completely exhausted, which shows how powerful the Rotten Wood Poison is. In a short time, it actually melted away the enormous lightning power of a Thunder Demon Vine belonging to a level 60 plant cultivator, almost reaching the level of one to two!
Lei Xuan's expression changed. But with a cold snort, the second lightning vine disintegrated the opponent's attack. Lightning attacks have two main characteristics: speed and destructive power. So the two attacks came one after the other, but almost simultaneously.
"Not bad, the Thunder Demon Vine's attacks are indeed powerful. It actually managed to neutralize one of my attacks with two of its own. Hmph. This is just an appetizer. I feel that my control over the Rotten Wood Poison attacks has improved recently. I'm just using you to test my skills!" Old Monster Xingmu chuckled.
The scarcity of spiritual energy in the outside world greatly surprised the people of the Plant Cultivation Realm. This was the realm where their ancient ancestors resided, yet now its spiritual energy had been depleted to such an extent.
Both Xingmu Old Monster and Lei Xuan realized this point. The rampant consumption of life force now required even more careful planning. Once it was over-consumed, the recovery time would be very long, and more crystals or pills would be needed, which were extremely scarce in the outside world.
Lei Xuan remained unmoved, and with a wave of his hand, he launched an attack. A dozen or so lightning vines, resembling more than ten lightning dragons, roared and pounced towards Xingmu Old Monster, as if they could swallow him whole.
To have complete control over all attacks is impressive!
"The Yin-Erosion Treasure Mirror!" Old Monster Xingmu patted his storage bag, and a small red mirror, about the size of a palm, appeared in his hand. It grew larger with the wind. Facing the dozen or so thunder dragons, a dense red light enveloped them.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Nearly half of the lightning dragons exploded before they even reached Old Monster Xingmu; the red light emanating from the Yin Erosion Mirror was incredibly powerful. Each of those lightning dragons filled Zhang Guodong with trepidation and envy, yet they were destroyed before even reaching him!
High-level magical artifact! Or even top-tier magical artifact!
Zhang Guodong had never personally witnessed a high-level magical artifact, let alone a top-level one. He hadn't even seen a mid-level magical artifact up close. Naturally, he didn't know that this magical artifact's power could be so strong. Now he understood the importance of magical artifacts.
The level 60 plant cultivator's natal demonic vine attack was instantly destroyed!
"Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions followed. The remaining thunder dragons and the Yin-Erosion Mirror had come into close contact; the thunder dragons burst apart, and the red light vanished. Old Monster Xingmu put away the Yin-Erosion Mirror, then swiftly patted his storage bag, and a dozen or so blue needle-shaped magical artifacts floated before him, humming incessantly.
"go!"
"A top-tier magic weapon, the Netherworld Needles!" Lei Xuan was shocked when he saw the dozen or so blue lights that were even faster than the Thunder Demon Vine.
"Not good!" Lei Xuan dared not take the attack directly this time and dodged downwards. The jungle became his best cover. The Netherworld Needles were one of the most powerful magical artifacts in Xingmu Old Monster's collection, specifically designed to damage the soul. In close combat, an attack of more than a dozen Netherworld Needles was unstoppable by ordinary magical artifacts.
That's a top-tier magical artifact! This old monster Xingmu actually brought out his most powerful offensive magical artifact right from the start!
"Trying to run!" Old Monster Xingmu roared, putting away the Netherworld Needles, and a boat-shaped flying artifact appeared beneath his feet. The Wind Transformation Artifact was three meters long and one meter wide, instantly doubling Old Monster Xingmu's speed! "You still think you can escape this time? Let's see where you run to!"
The Netherworld Needle is a powerful magical weapon for close-quarters combat, but if the opponent runs away at the beginning and you fail to trap him, the Netherworld Needle will not be very effective.
Lei Xuan cursed Xingmu the Old Monster in his heart, his feet already on his Thundercloud Shuttle. He flew forward headlong, like a bolt of lightning, disappearing from Zhang Guodong's sensing range in the blink of an eye. Lei Xuan appeared reckless, but he was extremely shrewd. If his appearance deceived him, his opponent would be in deep trouble. His plan was indeed to escape. But he couldn't just run away right away; how could Xingmu the Old Monster be fooled? In terms of speed, he had a slight advantage, but in terms of sheer strength, he was no match for Xingmu the Old Monster.
Old Monster Xingmu has been famous for a century, and is now level 67, seven levels higher than him. The higher the level, the greater the difference between each level, let alone a difference of seven levels. Furthermore, Old Monster Xingmu's natal demonic vine is extremely troublesome; it's the dreaded rotten wood poison, which would cause great damage to the vine. Moreover, Old Monster Xingmu has lived for hundreds of years, and that time hasn't been wasted. With exceptional luck, he even encountered a top-grade material, Nine Heavens Cold Nether Iron.
This set of Netherworld Needles was made from this material and is already considered a top-tier magical artifact.
It's important to know that in the world of plant cultivation, materials are divided into four categories: ordinary materials, intermediate materials, advanced materials, and top-tier materials. As for whether there are even higher-level materials, very few people know, but the compiler of the comprehensive history of the Great Six Kingdoms also made a distinction, classifying them as spirit-level materials. This means that materials at this level are not lifeless, inanimate objects.
For example, the spatial jade is so precious that it can be considered a top-tier material. Materials commonly found in the void, such as blue flame stone, rare star stone, earth spirit stone, and red copper, are generally classified as high-grade materials.
Generally speaking, top-tier materials significantly increase the chances of crafting top-tier magical artifacts, while artifacts crafted from high-grade materials have only an extremely low chance of being top-tier.
Just like the elders in the Elder Hall of Fengdu City, most of them use high-level magical artifacts, but whether top-level magical artifacts exist is another matter. It can be seen that top-level magical artifacts are very precious, and not all high-level people possess them.
The Shadow Mirror is a high-level offensive magical artifact that can emit a beam of nether light that is indestructible and can pierce through anything.
The two flew dozens of miles in the blink of an eye. When Lei Xuan saw that Xingmu Old Monster was still following them, he smiled bitterly. Last time, he had been more fortunate and found a large tombstone containing black jade in a field. He never expected to run into Xingmu Old Monster. Fortunately, he ran away immediately, and by the time Xingmu Old Monster arrived, they had already run dozens of miles away.
Black jade is a high-grade material, one of the most precious materials for refining pill furnaces, and it's extremely valuable even in the world of plant cultivation. Unfortunately, it encountered someone—and that someone was none other than the Starwood Old Monster, who was covered in poison!
The chase between the two wasn't a problem. It was a real hardship for Zhang Guodong, as he simply couldn't keep up at his speed. Should he continue chasing? No way!
Just as he was hesitating, a loud explosion came from afar. The noise was so great that even Zhang Guodong could feel the shockwave.
"A clash of magical artifacts?"
It was indeed related to magical artifacts. However, it wasn't a collision of artifacts, but rather a self-destruction. Seeing that Old Monster Xingmu was determined to catch up, Lei Xuan gritted his teeth, patted his storage bag, and took out a high-grade magical artifact!
This was one of his only three high-level magical artifacts: the Thundercloud Shuttle, a flying artifact comparable in rarity to top-tier magical artifacts; the Heaven-Shaking Hammer, a high-level physical attack artifact; and the Soul-Devouring Axe, another high-level physical attack artifact. He usually used the Soul-Devouring Axe. The artifact he chose to self-destruct was the Heaven-Shaking Hammer.
When the Heaven-Shaking Hammer exploded, countless fragments burst apart, instantly tearing the air apart. Its power was comparable to a full-force attack from a top-tier magic weapon!
"Luo Xiaoyi!" Upon seeing this, Old Monster Xingmu immediately took out an object that radiated light and enveloped him. It was a white jade-like material defense magic artifact, also a high-level magic artifact.
"Bang! Bang! Eyes!"
The fragment struck Luo Xiao's clothes. His defenses were shattered, instantly piercing eighty percent of them. The Starwood Old Monster's expression changed drastically. He immediately retreated hundreds of meters. The remaining fragments, like meteors, crashed to the ground with deafening booms. Even the beasts and birds in the jungle were affected, their cries creating a chaotic cacophony.
Luo Xiaoyi was indeed a decent material defense artifact, and Old Monster Xingmu was in a bit of a mess. But it did manage to defend against the attacks from the fragments of those high-level artifacts after they self-destructed.
But when he glanced at Lei Xuan, he found that Lei Xuan was already gone!
"Lei Xuan, I swear I will not rest until I have reduced you to ashes!" Old Monster Xingmu roared in fury. He actually managed to escape!
Although Lei Xuan paid the price of a high-level material attack magic weapon, it was worth two of those two compared to that large piece of black jade!
Zhang Guodong heard it clearly, shuddered, and immediately felt that this was not a place to stay for long and that he had to leave immediately.
He sped back the way he came, giving it his all! He traversed the mountains and forests with abandon.
"If only I had a flying artifact!" Zhang Guodong thought to himself. He used to think he was very fast, so fast that he was proud of it. Now, however, he felt ashamed. Even experts like Xingmu Old Monster and Lei Xuan, who were over level sixty, were dozens of times faster than him without flying artifacts.
At this level, ordinary bullets can barely hurt them; they can dodge them all. Unless you're standing still without any physical defenses or magical artifacts, you'll be bombarded by artillery shells and bullets.
They were almost out of the mountains, and Lishi Village was in sight. Zhang Guodong was concerned about Fatty's situation. He wondered how things were going on Fatty's end. The number of thieves there was more than twice as many as there were on Fatty's side.
"Jin Xiangyang and his men were armed. The other side shouldn't be that crazy!"
Just then, a sharp crack echoed from over a kilometer away, the sound of a dry branch snapping underfoot.
Zhang Guodong immediately held his breath and squatted down. Upon further sensing, it was indeed a person! A burly man, his face pale, was sitting cross-legged in the nearby woods, seemingly injured and about to receive treatment.
Lei Xuan?
Zhang Guodong was dumbfounded. The aura emanating from this person was extremely weak at the moment. If one didn't get close, it would be impossible to detect the presence of a plant cultivator here, not even for the Starwood Old Monster. But Zhang Guodong was an exception. Relying on the Peach Blossom Spring Space, he could clearly sense everything within a two-thousand-meter radius.
Zhang Guodong couldn't see the fight between Xingmu Laoguai and Lei Xuan clearly with his naked eye, but he sensed it. The injured person was indeed Lei Xuan!
But how did he get injured? Could it be related to that explosion just now?
Zhang Guodong's eyes lit up instantly. This was a level 60 expert! His storage bag was bound to be full of treasures! Intermediate magic artifacts, high-level magic artifacts, and countless crystals!
Kill him and I can get everything! But he's a level 60 expert. Even if he's injured, he could probably kill me with a single finger, right?
Lei Xuan was indeed unlucky; he had just self-destructed a high-level magical artifact to escape the pursuit of the Starwood Old Monster. But self-destructing a magical artifact isn't something that can be done casually. If a magical artifact self-destructs or its spiritual imprint is erased, the soul will be injured. It will take a very long time to recover.
The night before, he had exhausted most of his life force and demonic energy to shake off the Starwood Old Monster. Now, only one night later, he had only recovered half. And now, facing the Starwood Old Monster again, his life force and demonic energy were down to half. He hadn't expected that old monster to be so cunning. He hadn't even left.
People often say that the most dangerous place is the safest place, but this time Lei Xuan doesn't care.
This was the second time Lei Xuan had escaped the pursuit of Xingmu Old Monster, and the second time he had returned to the most dangerous yet safest place!
"Hmph, even if your cultivation is much higher than mine, you probably didn't expect me to come back here!" Lei Xuan thought to himself. Upon arriving here, Lei Xuan, whose head was throbbing, naturally noticed Zhang Guodong. He was surprised to see that Zhang Guodong was only a level seven plant cultivator, but he didn't take him seriously.
These low-level plant cultivators were easily crushed by him with a flick of his thumb. Usually, such low-level plant cultivators would run as far away as possible upon seeing someone above level fifty, so Lei Xuan didn't take them seriously. He should hurry and recover! He dared not recover his cultivation level for now; the aura of the exploding crystals would easily attract the attention of Old Monster Xingmu. Therefore, he needed to heal his soul injuries first and expel the corrosive poison!
The moment the putrefactive poison spread, all the animals within a hundred-meter radius died, and Lei Xuan was also infected with some. However, this amount of putrefactive poison posed no great threat to him; it was enough to force it out in time.
Ignoring Zhang Guodong's presence, Lei Xuan sat cross-legged in the nearby woods and began to expel the poison.
At that moment, Zhang Guodong hardened his heart and decided to snatch the spoils from the tiger's mouth! The temptation of those magical artifacts was too great, and Zhang Guodong could find no reason to give them up!
Lei Xuan's face was deathly pale, and treating his injuries in this dangerous place would only worsen his condition. This was his chance!
Defender: Today took a long time. I didn't write a single word at first, several hours later. Then it started pouring rain here, and I finally woke up and started writing. Sigh, this one chapter took me seven hours, and this is all I got. To be honest, I don't know how to write battle scenes in "Heavenly Dao." I'll learn slowly in the future.
This is another 4,000 words; there won't be any more tonight. Something's come up in the Heavenly Dao. Everyone, please don't wait any longer. To find out what happens next, please log in to the 6th floor for more chapters. Support the author and support genuine reading!
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