161: Chapter 161 What a bunch of trash they are!

Facing Wu Li's mockery.

The Hunchbacked Elder wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, pulled a dark red Medicinal Pill from his bosom, and shoved it into his mouth; the old woman and the Bald Elder each swallowed one as well.

The aura of the three suddenly changed.

The Hunchbacked Elder's back straightened slightly, and a glint of sharp light flashed in his cloudy eyes.

The Bald Elder's shoulders suddenly broadened, his withered arms bulged, and his aura continued to rise.

"Don't hold back, use your full power!"

The moment the words fell.

The three formed hand seals simultaneously.

"Bone Cage!"

The Hunchbacked Elder shouted sharply, pressed his hands onto his cane, and slammed it into the ground. The ground cracked, and rows of grey-white bone spikes drilled out from underground, dense and numerous, forming a circle that trapped Wu Li in the middle.

The bone spikes were wrapped in black corpse Qi, and the stench of decay filled the surroundings.

"Hmm?"

Wu Li flapped his wings, swept his fire halberd horizontally, and his Demon Power erupted, wreaking havoc in all directions.

"Witness my Thousand Needles Soul Eater!"

The old woman shrieked, waved her hands, and the bone needles flew from her grasp, splitting into three in the air, then into nine, and then into twenty-seven.

The twenty-seven bone needles turned into a green rain of needles, shooting at Wu Li from all directions. The tips of the needles glinted with a ghostly light, and the sound of them piercing the air was sharp and shrill.

"Break!"

Wu Li gripped the fire halberd with both hands, turned around, and swept out another wave of flames.

"Mountain-Suppressing Strike!"

From behind.

The Bald Elder roared and gripped his hammer with both hands.

Grey-white Spiritual Qi surged from the ground, condensing in the air into a giant stone fist that smashed down toward Wu Li's head. The stone fist was covered in runes and carried a heavy sense of oppression.

Bone spikes blocked the path, the needle rain locked the air, and the stone fist pressed down from above.

Three attacks struck simultaneously.

Wu Li swept the fire halberd in his hand left and right, gathering violent power.

"Colorless Profound Light!"

Wu Li's gaze flickered, and he waved his hands.

The Colorless Profound Light exploded from within his body, unleashed without reservation, erupting with full force.

The pitch-black light spread outward like a tidal wave, instantly covering several dozen zhang in all directions.

Wherever the Profound Light passed, the bone spikes shattered, the needle rain was swallowed, and the stone fist froze in mid-air before becoming covered in cracks and shattering with a boom.

"Wah, pfft!!"

The Hunchbacked Elder's cane exploded, and his body staggered backward.

The old woman's bone needles all shattered, the green light scattered, and she screamed, covering her face with her hands.

The Bald Elder was blown backward by the Profound Light, and the iron hammer in his hand fell to the ground.

"Pfft!"

The three spat blood simultaneously and collapsed to the ground.

The Hunchbacked Elder lay prone on the ground with fragments of his cane embedded in his chest, blood flowing out uncontrollably; the old woman rolled on the ground clutching her face, her nails gouging deep marks into the ground.

The Bald Elder lay on the ground, his chest heaving violently, his eyes fixed on Wu Li. His Spiritual Qi was in chaos, and he no longer had the strength to fight.

Wu Li did not give them a chance to catch their breath.

"Die!"

The Colorless Profound Light exploded from within him again, the pitch-black light spreading like a tidal wave, instantly re-enveloping the three. The power of refinement descended; the three had no strength left to follow up, could not resist at all, and all let out miserable screams.

"No!"

Before the Hunchbacked Elder could finish his cry, he was swallowed by the Profound Light.

Wu Li surged forward, thrusting the great flame dragon halberd out, piercing the Hunchbacked Elder's chest and pinning him to the ground.

He reached his right claw into the wound and gave a fierce grab.

The essence blood was extracted from the elder's body and surged into Wu Li's body along his right claw.

The scalding Golden Core essence blood surged through his Meridians, was refined by the Blood Eye Pagoda Sutra, and flowed into his Dantian.

Wu Li did not retract his right claw, continuing to grope inside the elder's body.

His claw tips touched the round Golden Core, and he gave it a fierce yank.

A grey-black Golden Core was dug out from the elder's body, its surface covered in cracks, with faint, dim Spiritual Qi circulating inside.

The Hunchbacked Elder's body went completely still.

Wu Li turned and walked toward the old woman.

The old woman was still rolling on the ground, covering her face with her hands, blood seeping out from between her fingers.

She sensed Wu Li's approach, her body stiffening suddenly. She wanted to crawl up, but her legs wouldn't obey, and she fell back down just as she had propped herself up halfway.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

Her voice was hoarse and weak, laced with a crying tone.

Wu Li did not answer. He thrust the great flame dragon halberd out, piercing the old woman's chest, reached in with his right claw, extracted the blood, and took the Golden Core—all in one smooth motion.

The old woman's body went limp, her fingers still clutching the ground, her nails filled with dirt.

The Bald Elder lay on the ground, watching his two companions die one after another, his eyes filled with terror.

He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't obey; he tried to push himself up twice but couldn't stand.

Wu Li walked up to him and looked down at him.

The Bald Elder's lips trembled, wanting to say something, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

The great flame dragon halberd descended.

Three corpses, three Golden Cores, three bodies' worth of essence blood.

"Hoo..."

"Refreshing!"

Wu Li leaned on the great flame dragon halberd and slowly stood up.

Carrying the three Golden Cores, Wu Li spread his wings, flew north for a distance, and landed in a secluded mountain hollow.

He stabbed the great flame dragon halberd into the ground, infused it with Demon Power, and carved out a cave large enough to shelter in with a few strikes.

He blocked the cave entrance with loose stones and sealed the gaps with Colorless Profound Light, isolating the inside from the outside.

The cave was not large, barely enough to sit upright.

Wu Li took all four Golden Cores out of his Stomach Storage and, along with the few bottles of essence blood he had collected earlier, lined them up in front of him.

Four Golden Cores, the essence of four Golden Core Cultivators—just looking at them made one's eyes burn with greed.

Wu Li sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and circulated the Blood Eye Pagoda Sutra.

The four Golden Cores hovered in front of him, the bottles of essence blood circling around. As he recited the incantations, the Blood Pupil opened on his forehead, and scarlet light enveloped the Golden Cores and essence blood.

The Golden Cores began to melt, and the essence blood turned into wisps of blood threads, surging into Wu Li's body along with the light of the Blood Pupil.

Half an hour later.

Wu Li opened his eyes, his expression not looking very good.

"Pah!"

"What kind of trash is this!"

Of the four Golden Cores, not a single one had complete spiritual essence. The Spiritual Qi inside was pitifully thin, like medicinal dregs that had been squeezed dry and left to dry out.

The first Golden Core Cultivator's Golden Core was barely usable, but the other three were even worse. After swallowing Medicinal Pills and forcibly driving their Cultivation Technique, the Spiritual Qi inside their Golden Cores had become mottled and chaotic. Refining them felt like pouring a basin of water mixed with mud and sand into his Dantian—gritty and clogging.

The essence blood was no better.

The four Golden Core Cultivators were all old things whose Lifespan was nearing its end; their essence had long since drained away.

Their blood was thin, their Spiritual Qi exhausted, and after the last three swallowed the pills, their blood had acquired a pungent medicinal odor. It was mottled and chaotic, and when he refined it, his Meridians felt faintly swollen.

"Damn it, what a bunch of trash!"

Wu Li looked down at the grey-black residue in front of him, his expression growing increasingly dark.

After refining the Golden Cores and essence blood of the four Golden Core Cultivators, the effect wasn't even as good as half a normal Golden Core.

The threshold leading to the Three Variations of the Blood Eye remained unmoved, not even a single crack had been shaken out of it.

"A wasted effort."

Wu Li stood up and swiped the residue away with a palm, his blood-red pupils filled with gloom.

"It seems I'll have to target those real Golden Core Cultivators."