147: New experimental tools

A few days later, Su Ling appeared near the last warning Formation, his brow slightly furrowed.

Where the Formation Plate was hidden, withered trees and rocks lay scattered in disarray.

Newly dried lava and footprints were everywhere.

Clearly, a Demon Species had passed through here and triggered the Formation.

Su Ling did not immediately reveal himself, but instead activated his Divine Sense, cautiously sweeping the surroundings.

A quarter of an hour later, he slowly materialized at the Formation Plate's hiding spot.

Just as he was about to retrieve the Formation Plate to inspect it, a sense of danger transmitted through his Divine Sense.

Almost instinctively, he activated the coiling dragon shield, and simultaneously activated the Spell 'Thunder Flash' attached to his thunder-rushing cloud-treading boots, appearing a hundred zhang away in an instant.

"Clang!"

A fiery red short blade struck directly onto the coiling dragon shield.

Amidst the sparks, five figures darted out from the shadow of a giant rock.

The leading Cultivator curled his lip into a sneer, "He's quite alert, but unfortunately, only one person came."

Su Ling's gaze swept over the five people; all were Late-stage Core Formation Cultivators, and their robes were embroidered with the Yangquan Sect's unique 'Silver-Black Stripes'.

They were all direct Disciples of the Yangquan Sect.

"Senior Brother Wu, quickly take care of this kid. Maybe another group of people will arrive."

A young Core Formation Cultivator glanced at the three Magic Treasures Su Ling had exposed, a flash of greed in his eyes. He raised his hand and flung out two Fire Ropes, which coiled straight toward Su Ling.

"Junior Brother Liu, be careful not to kill him. We still need to interrogate him for information."

Senior Brother Wu watched calmly, arms crossed.

The other four, seeing that Su Ling was only a Core Formation Mid-stage Cultivator and not a direct Disciple of the Bitao Sect, paid him no mind.

They simply occupied the surrounding areas, trapping Su Ling in the center.

The Thunder Flash just now had genuinely startled them.

But seeing that Su Ling did not use Thunder Flash again, they realized it must have certain restrictions.

The Fire Ropes transformed into two Fire Snakes in the air, carrying a searing aura as they wrapped toward Su Ling's limbs.

The fiery red short blade stabbed directly toward his waist and abdomen, clearly intending to end the fight quickly and capture him as soon as possible.

Su Ling was expressionless. With a light step, his figure evaded the Fire Snakes like a phantom. At the same time, he flipped his left hand, revealing nine dark green mother-son soul-chasing needles floating in his palm.

He was in no hurry to activate the mother needle. Instead, he flicked his finger, shooting three son needles toward that 'Junior Brother Liu' first.

The needles carried dark green poison patterns and made almost no sound while flying. By the time the Cultivator noticed, the needles were already close.

"A mere trick!"

'Junior Brother Liu' commanded his fiery red short blade to block, but he didn't expect the son needles to twist in mid-air, bypassing his short blade and shooting straight for his body.

A fiery red magical power shield instantly opened. Before the disdain on 'Junior Brother Liu's' face could vanish, the three son needles had already pierced through the magical power shield's defense.

With a 'poof', two son needles grazed his arm, while the other struck the Heart-Protecting Mirror on his chest.

'Junior Brother Liu's' expression changed slightly. He was just about to hold his ground and mock, 'What is this slight injury?'... when a piercing pain suddenly erupted in his arm, and the flesh around the wound visibly blackened at a rapid pace.

The poison rapidly spread along his Meridians, causing even his spiritual power to become erratic.

"These needles are poisoned?!"

'Junior Brother Liu' screamed, quickly circulating his magical power to suppress it.

But the poison seemed sentient; the more he suppressed it, the more it burrowed toward his Sea of Consciousness.

In just three breaths, his face turned pale, his eyes unfocused, and he could no longer control his short blade.

Seeing this, 'Senior Brother Wu's' pupils contracted. He quickly activated a sharp Flying Sword to intervene.

The other three also took action, wanting to save that 'Junior Brother Liu'.

But Su Ling raised his right hand, and the mother needle, along with the remaining six son needles, transformed into a dark green stream of light and shot toward them.

The mother needle locked onto his Dantian, while the son needles attacked his limbs and glabella, respectively. The chilling aura emanating from the needles made his Divine Soul tremble just by sensing it.

'Senior Brother Wu' gritted his teeth and threw out a shield, attempting to block the mother needle.

However, the mother needle flexibly bypassed the shield and directly pierced his Dantian defense.

With a 'poof', the moment the mother needle entered his body, he felt an agonizing pain, as if his Dantian was being chewed by ten thousand poisonous insects.

Simultaneously, the dark green poison spread from his Dantian. In less than two breaths, he vomited black blood, collapsed on the ground convulsing violently, and his skin visibly began to fester.

The other three Yangquan Cultivators, seeing their comrades fall one after another, were scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Gone was their previous relaxed demeanor; they turned and tried to flee.

But they were wrapped up by the Dragon-Binding Silk shot out by Su Ling, causing them to all tumble down.

Su Ling pointed his finger, and nine mother-son soul-chasing needles shot towards the backs of the three men.

After the needles entered their bodies, the poison rapidly sealed their spiritual power Meridians, preventing them from even self-destructing. They could only lie paralyzed on the ground, watching helplessly as their flesh blackened and rotted.

In just a moment, all five Yangquan Sect Cultivators were dealt with.

Only then did Su Ling step forward and retrieve the mother-son soul-chasing needles.

The dark green poison patterns on the needles were still vibrant, indicating the poison had not been exhausted.

He glanced at the five convulsing Cultivators on the ground, his eyes devoid of emotion. "The defense-breaking effect of the mother-son soul-chasing needles, combined with the poison of the Bone-Corroding Soul-Devouring Pill, is indeed quite overbearing!"

In reality, with his Divine Sense comparable to the Nascent Soul Stage, he had long ago detected the five people hiding in the dark.

If he hadn't wanted to test the combat effectiveness of the mother-son soul-chasing needles and the Vajra Coiling Dragon Silk.

He wouldn't have allowed these five people the chance to attack him.

The result of the experiment left him very satisfied. Aside from their soul-chasing characteristic, the mother-son soul-chasing needles had an excellent defense-breaking effect against magical power shields formed by the Cultivators themselves or their Magic Treasures.

This was a common characteristic of flying needle type Magic Treasures.

The Vajra Coiling Dragon Silk was also very good. The instant it touched the opponent, it rapidly extended and wrapped them up like a zongzi, preventing them from using any magical techniques or incantations.

Although it lacked the soul-controlling effect of the Soul-Binding Silk, its obstruction of magical power circulation was quite effective.

Back then, Su Ling had used the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother to initiate a large-scale control. If a Cultivator possessing these two Magic Treasures were given a chance to strike, the threat to him would be considerable.

He casually tossed out a few Ice Flames, releasing the five men from their suffering, and collected the spoils of war.

Su Ling turned and walked toward the location of the warning Formation Plate. After a careful inspection, he found that this Formation Plate was indeed damaged.

Using the Materials he carried for excursions, he simply repaired it and then departed... For the following period, Su Ling carried out solo missions outside.

Occasionally, he would delve deeper into the Yangquan Faction territory, kill one or two reconnaissance teams, and then return.

His accumulated points also grew steadily, gradually reaching 1.6 million.

Unfortunately, the Nether Prison Plane seemed to lack Thunder attribute resource points. Otherwise, going to such a place would be quite beneficial for Su Ling's cultivation growth.

A month later, Su Ling returned from another excursion.

While handing over his mission, he unexpectedly encountered a face he remembered vividly.

"Lu Tao?!"

"Su Ling?!"

Lu Tao, whose cultivation was already stabilized at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, pointed at Su Ling and exclaimed in disbelief.

Having not seen each other for over seventy years, Lu Tao, who had seemed a bit green back then, now possessed a much more mature aura.

But the moment he confirmed it was Su Ling, he flashed forward, grabbing Su Ling's arm tightly, just as he had when they parted, his face filled with pleasant surprise. "Su Ling, it really is you!"

Su Ling rarely showed such a sincere smile. "I also didn't expect to run into you here."

"Not bad! You're already Core Formation Mid-stage!"

"Core Formation Mid-stage is nothing. You formed your Nascent Soul ten years ago!"

"Haha, I guess I'm a bit more powerful!"

"Yes, yes, yes, you are the most powerful."

The two chatted as if no one else were around, until Lu Tao noticed the strange looks from the people nearby. He then quickly pulled Su Ling out of the cave.