119: Azure Thunder Demon Cultivator

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

Within the theater of operations belonging to the Seven Sects' camp, any resource point capable of producing Spiritual Qi or Ore had long since been occupied by the camp's Cultivators.

A wide variety of Formations now completely enveloped these resource points.

Only at the intersections of the camp boundaries did the explosive booms of clashing magical power occasionally echo through the clouds.

The vanguard units of several camps had already become entangled in skirmishes here, the frequency of combat rising steadily like a surging tide.

With the exception of the Wuyun Sect Disciples, the Cultivators of the other Six Sects had become increasingly cautious about using Formations.

Previously, when they attacked in Formations, they could achieve significant gains relying on the power of the array, but the consumption of magical power was also startlingly high.

Often, just as one battle concluded and before the Cultivators could even catch their breath to recover, another team of enemy Cultivators would arrive with their own Formation, completely wiping out the exhausted survivors.

After such tragic lessons played out several times, the surviving Cultivators completely shed their reliance on Formations.

Instead, guerrilla tactics by small squads of several Cultivators, relying on their flexibility and mobility, gradually became the preferred choice for all sides.

Thus, amidst the undulating mountain peaks, lurking assassinations and ambushes became the norm.

In every inch of shadow cast by grass or trees, a fatal killing intent might be hidden.

Cultivators from various camps who had broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage also began to make a name for themselves on the battlefield.

They often led large teams of a thousand Cultivators to raid resource points single-handedly, reaping massive amounts of merit points in the process.

However, most of these resource points were located in the core power zones of each camp; only occasionally were a few situated in the buffer zones.

The struggle for ownership of resource points in these buffer zones quickly became the main theme of the battlefield.

Even though Nascent Soul Cultivators possessed formidable strength, they could only influence the outcome of small-scale battles; their impact on the overall situation was ultimately limited... At the boundary intersection between the Wuyun Sect and the Wuji Sect, a dark and damp swamp emitted a foul stench.

Broken withered leaves floated on the surface of the dark green silt. Occasionally, bubbles surged up from the bottom of the mud, and when they burst, the splashing mud was mixed with the remains of unknown insects.

A seven-man squad was moving quickly through the swamp. The two Core Formation Cultivators at the front and rear had their brows furrowed, holding Magic Treasures, occasionally waving a beam of spiritual light to clear away the poisonous vines blocking their path.

The Divine Sense of the seven men was interwoven like a net, scanning the surroundings over and over, unwilling to let even the slightest movement under the silt escape them.

Half a year of slaughter on the battlefield had long since caused everyone to develop a habit of extreme vigilance.

Unbeknownst to them, in a patch of silt only ten zhang away, a pair of pitch-black eyes quietly peeked out.

Su Ling lay in the mud like a stubborn stone, with only his eyes exposed. His magical power was not manifest, and even his breathing was suppressed to the extreme.

With a slight flicker of thought, shadowy remnant souls suddenly emerged from the ground within a one-mile radius.

Under the pull of the ten thousand souls banner, they all emitted a sharp hiss at the seven people.

“Wandering Soul Screech!”

The shrill soul-piercing sound was like an invisible needle, instantly stabbing into the Sea of Consciousness of the seven people.

The seven Cultivators suddenly froze, their faces twisting in pain, their eyes becoming vacant, and their overflowing Divine Sense instantly scattering.

The next moment, a streak of azure thunder light pierced the dead silence of the swamp.

The thunder shadow sword, carrying crackling lightning, swept past the seven people from behind like a bolt of lightning.

The moment the sword light flashed, before six of them could even react, they were skewered by the Flying Sword like candied haws.

“Clang!”

A piercing sound of metal clashing suddenly rang out.

The thunder shadow sword stabbed directly at the back of the leading Cultivator's head, but it was blocked by a dark gold helmet that suddenly appeared.

The sword blade struck the helmet, erupting in dazzling sparks, and was actually bounced away directly.

That Cultivator suddenly snapped back to his senses, and the spiritual energy in his body erupted. A set of dark gold battle armor emerged from under his skin, protecting him thoroughly from head to toe.

The surface of the armor was engraved with profound patterns, each glowing with a faint spiritual light. It was clearly a Magic Treasure of no low quality.

“A high-grade magic treasure armor?!”

Su Ling cursed inwardly, his fingers quickly forming hand seals. The bounced-away thunder shadow sword spun in the air and once again slashed toward the opponent, carrying thunder.

Although his Immortal Eye of Treasure Appraisal could see through all things, the opponent had not previously activated the Magic Treasure and had hidden the armor inside his body; thus, he could not peer into the secrets within the Dantian.

This dark gold helmet was a completely unexpected variable.

“Hah!”

The man roared, and surging blood-qi gushed from his body, condensing into the phantom of a zhang-tall giant ape around him.

The phantom’s fur stood on end, its eyes were blood-red, and it even carried a hint of the pressure of a primeval Vicious Beast.

He clenched his hands into fists and swung them fiercely at the thunder shadow sword, and the giant ape phantom moved with him.

Two massive fists smashed down like boulders, carrying a whistling gale that even distorted the air above the swamp.

The thunder shadow sword continuously split its light and transformed its shadows in the air, attempting to avoid the fist force.

However, the scope of the giant ape phantom's fist intent was extremely broad. After dodging several times, the azure sword light was eventually struck by the wind from the fists.

With a "buzz," the lightning on the thunder shadow sword dimmed slightly, and it was shaken and sent flying backward.

“Come out!”

The man stabilized his stance, firmly maintaining his fist posture. His eyes, like a hawk's, stared intently at the surroundings as he said in a deep voice, “I didn't expect to meet you here—Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator!”

A High Grade lightning-attribute Flying Sword, the ability to command remnant souls, and a mastery of stealth and ambush... Over the past half year, this title had already spread throughout the camps of both sects in the intersection zone of the Wuji Sect and the Wuyun Sect.

According to incomplete statistics, the remnant souls of over a hundred Cultivators had already been collected into the opponent's ten thousand souls banner.

If it weren't for the fact that when the opponent gained points, the token at his waist would flicker with emerald green light...

Those Cultivators who were lucky enough to escape would have had no way of telling which camp he actually belonged to.

And the title ‘Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator’ was less of a disparagement and more of a “respectful title” given to Su Ling by the Cultivators of the two sects.

After all, he only had a cultivation of the Early Core Formation Stage, yet several Peak Core Formation Stage legacy Disciples from both sects had already fallen by his hand.

As for Peak Core Formation Stage Loose Cultivators who died under his sword, there were more than twenty.

Now, these Wandering Souls had all become main souls within the ten thousand souls banner, turning back to deal with the Cultivators of their former camps.

“A legacy Disciple of the Wuji Sect. I wonder which general's command you serve under?”

Over ten zhang away, Su Ling slowly rose from the silt.

The spiritual power around him circulated slightly, and the cleaning technique built into the vajra jade washing robe instantly took effect, stripping away all the adhering silt. The robe remained as white as new, without a single stain.

Although the opponent was not wearing the iconic Divine Martial military uniform of the Wuji Sect, that blood-qi as surging as a river and the giant ape phantom condensed around him were clearly the unique Body Refining abilities of a Wuji Sect legacy Disciple.

Ordinary Body Refining Loose Cultivators could not possibly cultivate such thick blood-qi.

“Zhenbei Army, Wuwei Camp Captain, Li Hanchuan.”

Li Hanchuan took a deep breath, his tone incredibly solemn. When his gaze swept over the six subordinates who had already perished on the ground, a trace of sorrow could not help but surface in his eyes.

This time, he was only ordered to go out and scout for movements at resource points. He was a full two thousand miles away from the last known location of the ‘Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator,’ yet he never expected to encounter an ambush here.

Just now, he had not only used Divine Sense to probe, but had also employed the unique blood-qi detection method of the Zhenbei Army, yet he still failed to discover the opponent's tracks.

This setback was not undeserved.

“Please!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Hanchuan moved his feet, his body charging toward Su Ling like an arrow from a bow. The giant ape phantom pounced with him, its fists once again smashing down with a world-destroying Aura.

The silt in the swamp was kicked up by the wind from the fists, forming pillars of turbid mud. The entire swamp seemed to tremble under this power.