18: Chapter 18: A Cautious Counterattack Yields Great Success

[Just as that short blade was about to pierce your thigh, you moved!]

[Your body, which had been paralyzed with fear, sprang up from the ground like a coiled spring! The speed was completely beyond the scope of what a Mortal should have!]

[That Bandit Cultivator called Third Brother did not react at all; he only felt a blur before his eyes, and the target had disappeared.]

["What?!"]

[His heart skipped a beat, and subconsciously, he wanted to withdraw his blade and retreat.]

[But it was already too late.]

[With a sidestep, you flashed behind him, and at the same time, you silently thrust out the Low Grade Magical Artifact Flying Sword you were tightly gripping.]

["Puchi!"]

[A soft sound of a sharp blade entering flesh.]

[The Flying Sword precisely pierced into his back, penetrating his heart.]

[Third Brother's body stiffened abruptly. He looked down, staring in disbelief at the blood-stained sword tip protruding from his chest, making "he he" sounds as the vitality in his eyes rapidly dissipated.]

["Bang."]

[He fell straight down, dying with his eyes wide open in resentment.]

[All of this happened in the blink of an eye!]

[From your sudden burst of action to the kill, the entire process took less than a second!]

[Only after Third Brother fell to the ground did the One-Eyed Big Man and the other Bandit Cultivator snap out of their daze!]

["Third Brother!"]

["You... you are not a Mortal! You are a Cultivator!"]

[The One-Eyed Big Man was both shocked and angry. He finally realized that he had misjudged his target! The "herb farmer" before him who looked harmless to both humans and animals was not a lamb at all, but a vicious wolf in sheep's clothing!]

["Attack together! Kill him!"]

[The One-Eyed Big Man roared, his Qi Refining Sixth Layer Aura erupting completely. A ghost-headed saber appeared out of thin air in his hand, whipping up a foul wind as he slashed down at your head!]

[The other Bandit Cultivator also reacted, summoning his own Magical Artifact—a flying fork—and attacking your waist and ribs from the side.]

[The two coordinated perfectly, clearly accustomed to such activities of killing and looting.]

[Facing their pincer attack, there was not a trace of panic on your face.]

[This was the moment you had been waiting for!]

[You did not choose to fight head-on. Instead, you tapped your toes, your body drifting backward like a ghost, and at the same time, you threw the large stack of Talismans in your hand all at once!]

["Diamond Talisman!" "Godspeed Talisman!" "Explosive Flame Talisman!" "Ice Spike Talisman!"]

["Hum hum hum—"]

[Dozens of Talismans were activated simultaneously in the air, and colorful light instantly illuminated the entire cave as bright as day!]

[Golden shields, cyan acceleration halos, crimson fireballs, ice-blue spikes... all kinds of Spells were smashed toward the two Bandit Cultivators like they were worthless, covering the sky and earth!]

[The One-Eyed Big Man and his companion were both stunned.]

[They had never seen anyone fight like this in their entire lives! Who starts a fight by throwing dozens of Talismans? Whose prodigal son is this? Is his money burning a hole in his pocket?]

[They had no time to think, only able to frantically urge their Magical Artifacts to resist this sudden "Spell storm."]

["Boom! Boom! Boom!"]

[The cave was instantly submerged in explosions and roaring sounds, with rubble flying and smoke filling the air.]

[And you, the moment you threw the Talismans, had already used the acceleration of the "Godspeed Talisman" to retreat to the cave entrance.]

[You did not run away.]

[Your eyes were cold, your Divine Sense firmly locked onto the two Auras within the smoke.]

["Earth Wall Technique!"]

[You slammed your hands onto the ground, and at the cave entrance, a half-meter thick earthen wall rose from the ground, instantly blocking their retreat!]

["Want to run? No way!"]

[You sneered and cast a Spell. The Flying Sword that had just achieved success let out a clear sword hum, turning into a streak of light, and charged into the chaotic smoke without hesitation!]

["Ah!"]

[A scream came from the smoke.]

[It was the Fifth Level of Qi Refining Bandit Cultivator! Under the bombardment of the Talismans and the sneak attack of your Flying Sword, he was careless and had his throat pierced by the Flying Sword, following in Third Brother's footsteps.]

[Now, only the One-Eyed Big Man at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer remained!]

["Brat! I will kill you!"]

[From within the smoke, the One-Eyed Big Man's furious roar came out.]

[A violent saber light cleaved through the smoke, and he rushed out covered in blood, with several charred wounds on his body, looking disheveled, but his ferocity was even greater.]

[His single eye was filled with bloodshot veins, staring fixedly at you like an injured beast.]

["Go to hell!"]

[He poured all his mana into the ghost-headed saber. The saber lit up with a blinding blood-red light, transforming into a saber radiance several zhang long, and slashed fiercely at you with the force to split mountains and crack rocks!]

[This strike was his all-out effort! The power was already comparable to a full-strength strike from a Qi Refining Seventh Layer Cultivator!]

[You watched the terrifying saber radiance coming toward you, but your eyes were exceptionally calm.]

[You did not dodge.]

[You only extended one finger.]

["Fireball Technique."]

[You whispered.]

[An orange-red fireball, only the size of a fist and looking completely unremarkable, appeared at your fingertip.]

[But this fireball was as solid as glazed glass, with what seemed like magma flowing inside, emitting a terrifying, heart-palpitating high temperature!]

[This was a Fireball Technique at the Mastery level, cast using five times the pure mana of a Cultivator at the same level!]

["Go."]

[You flicked your finger.]

[That tiny fireball, trailing a long tail of flame, met that huge blood-red saber radiance head-on without dodging or evading.]

[In the One-Eyed Big Man's disbelieving eyes.]

[One small, one big.]

[One orange-red, one blood-red.]

[The two Spells of completely disproportionate size collided with a boom!]

[There was no earth-shattering explosion.]

[That small orange-red fireball was like a red-hot iron bead falling into a block of butter.]

["Chi—"]

[A soft sound.]

[The seemingly incomparably mighty blood-red saber radiance, the moment it touched the fireball, was rapidly disintegrated and swallowed, just like ice and snow melting! It didn't even stir up a ripple!]

[The fireball's momentum did not weaken in the slightest; its color even became deeper, instantly crossing the distance between the two and imprinting onto the One-Eyed Big Man's chest.]

["No..."]

[The One-Eyed Big Man only had time to let out one desperate roar.]

[The next second, his body was completely swallowed by the violent flame energy from the inside out.]

[Not even a trace of ash was left behind.]

[The entire cave instantly quieted down.]

[Only a hint of scorching air remained.]

[You stood in place, watching the empty space in front of you, and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.]

[You won.]

[With a Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivation base, you cleanly counter-killed three Bandit Cultivators of the same level.]

[But in your heart, there was no joy, only waves of lingering fear.]

[Your heart was pounding "thump thump," and your palms and back were drenched in cold sweat.]

[You leaned against the wall to barely stand steady, your legs feeling a bit weak.]

["Momma... that scared the hell out of me..."]

[You gasped for air.]

[Although the entire counter-kill process looked smooth and completely under control, only you knew how nervous you were just now.]

[This was the first true life-and-death struggle in both of your lifetimes!]

[Every step was walking on the tip of a blade. If a single link had gone wrong, it could have been you who died!]

[You slumped on the ground and rested for a long while before you came back to your senses.]

["No, I'm too nervous; my hands are shaking while picking up the loot."]

[You walked over tremblingly and scavenged the Storage Pouches from the bodies of the two Bandit Cultivators you had killed.]

[You didn't even let their ragged magical robes go; adhering to the principle that "even a mosquito is meat," you stripped them off and stuffed them into your Storage Pouch.]

[After doing all this, you used a few more Fireball Techniques to clean up the scene, ensuring that no traces would be left behind.]

[Only then did you flee from this cave as if escaping, moving overnight to another location more than ten miles away.]

[Not until dawn did you, still shaken, begin to count the harvest from this time.]

[The Storage Pouches of the three Bandit Cultivators added up to a total of nearly a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus a pile of miscellaneous Medicinal Pills, Materials, and a few Cultivation Techniques that looked quite sinister.]

[For a "poor ghost" like you, this was definitely a windfall!]

["Killing and arson lead to golden belts... the ancients truly did not deceive me."]

[You sighed with emotion, but then shook your head.]

["No, no, this money is too hot to handle, the risk is too high. It's better to honestly farm; that suits me."]

[This experience served as a wake-up call for you.]

[The world of cultivation is far more dangerous than you imagined. With your current strength, you are simply not enough in front of true experts.]

[You decided that after completing the mission, you would immediately return to the Sect, and before you had absolute self-preservation capability, you would never come out again!]

[Lay low, don't be reckless!]