88: Back to the Spirit Beast Mountain Market! Cultivator raid! Instant kill!

Chapter 88: Returning to the Spirit Beast Mountain Market! Bandit Cultivators! Instant Kill!

Looking at the Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis before him—scarred, its aura withered, yet still exuding a cold metallic texture and a lingering ferocity—Lu Qiu showed no urgency to treat its wounds.

This insect was ranked seventy-third on the list of strange insects. A mature specimen's strength was comparable to a Core Formation Stage Cultivator. He had just personally experienced its terrifying attack power and swift speed.

Had it not been heavily injured by Li Huayuan first, suffered a massive loss of Origin Qi due to its master's death, and then been completely exhausted after being trapped for several days, it would have been nearly impossible for him to capture it.

"A Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis at its peak is enough to go head-to-head with an Early Core Formation Cultivator... With my current cultivation and Divine Sense, even with the Dragon Imprisonment Seal, I might not be able to fully control it," Lu Qiu calmly assessed in his heart.

Although the Dragon Imprisonment Seal could force enslavement, if a spirit pet's strength far exceeded its master's, there was still a risk of backlash. At the very least, fine control would be difficult, and things could go wrong at a critical moment.

"For now, I'll maintain its current weakened state. I'll wait until my Great Evolution Art breaks through to the third layer and my Divine Sense surges again, or until my own cultivation breaks through to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, before considering healing it and helping it recover some of its strength."

Lu Qiu made up his mind. With a thought, the Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis obediently withdrew all its aura, its massive dark-gold body crouching slightly.

With a wave of his hand, he stored it into a specially designated area within the gray spatial bead, commanding it to lie still and rest without moving recklessly.

Due to the presence of the Spirit Spring Eye, the spatial bead was rich in Spiritual Qi. While it didn't have a specialized healing environment, it was sufficient to maintain the status quo and allow it to slowly recover some Origin Qi on its own.

Having dealt with the Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis, Lu Qiu did not linger. He took to his escape light and returned once more to Jiayuan City.

Inside the study at the Four Equalities Gang headquarters.

Gang Leader Sun Er Gou was pacing back and forth with an uneasy mind.

Ever since that green-robed immortal master left that day, he had been apprehensive, wondering if the immortal master had found the monster and how he would handle it.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and that familiar, awe-inspiring green-robed figure appeared silently in the room.

"Immortal Master!" Sun Er Gou hurriedly bowed, his heart thumping with anxiety.

Lu Qiu didn't waste words. With a wave of his hand, a burly but lifeless body appeared out of thin air and landed on the floor; it was the Physical Body of the monster.

At this moment, the body's eyes were tightly shut and it had no aura, making it no different from an actual corpse.

"I have handled this person properly; he will no longer cause trouble," Lu Qiu said indifferently. "Take good care of this shell and do not damage it. If my Junior Brother Han returns to Jiayuan City in the future, he will come to you to claim it."

Looking at the unresponsive monster on the floor, Sun Er Gou had many questions but dared not ask a single one. He quickly replied, "Yes! This lowly one understands! I will certainly keep it safe and await Young Master Han's return!"

Lu Qiu nodded, said no more, and his figure vanished again.

Looking at the empty study and the monster's shell on the floor, Sun Er Gou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered, "Young Master Han... this Senior Brother of yours is truly like a divine dragon, showing his head but never his tail..."

Leaving Jiayuan City, Lu Qiu was calculating something else in his heart.

"By helping Han Li preserve the monster's body, which has decent potential, I should take the Opportunity to get some benefits from him the next time we meet," Lu Qiu thought to himself.

"There's no rush for this. I'll find an Opportunity to bring it up after returning to Yellow Maple Valley."

Lu Qiu suppressed the thought for now and turned his escape light, speeding towards the Spirit Beast Mountain Market.

---

Spirit Beast Mountain Market, South District courtyard.

Zhao Wen was currently in the courtyard cultivating, preparing to push for Foundation Establishment.

Suddenly, the courtyard gate was pushed open silently, and a green-robed figure stepped inside.

"Master! You've returned!"

Zhao Wen quickly ceased his cultivation and stood up, bowing respectfully, his eyes filled with awe.

The control of the soul snatching pill combined with the gift of the foundation establishment pill made his attitude toward Lu Qiu extremely complex.

Lu Qiu nodded slightly and looked Zhao Wen over. "Prepare yourself. Follow me tomorrow to leave this place and head to the Yuanwu Kingdom."

"Yuanwu Kingdom?"

Zhao Wen was startled, but immediately replied, "Yes! This subordinate will go prepare right away!"

He had no questions. As a controlled servant, his master's command was the highest decree.

Moreover, being able to follow his master to another country and see a broader world might also be an Opportunity for him.

Lu Qiu's goal was clear—the Yuanwu Kingdom, by the Panlong River, that Core Formation Cultivator's Immortal Cave pointed to by the golden fiend sword!

A Core Formation Cultivator's Legacy was a significant temptation for him now.

The matters in Lanzhou Province were finished; it was time to start a new exploration.

---

The next morning, as the sky began to brighten.

Two inconspicuous escape lights quietly left the Spirit Beast Mountain Market, flying northeast toward the border between the State of Yue and the Yuanwu Kingdom.

Lu Qiu still suppressed his aura, only revealing a cultivation of Qi Refining Perfection.

Zhao Wen followed closely behind, piloting an ordinary Low Grade flying Magical Artifact.

To accommodate Zhao Wen's speed, Lu Qiu did not fly at full speed.

The two maintained a steady escape speed, crossing mountains and rivers.

When they were about dozens of miles outside the range of the Spirit Beast Mountain Market, entering a relatively desolate hilly area, a sudden change occurred!

From the mountain forest below, two escape lights of different colors rose without warning, one from the left and one from the right, instantly cutting off Lu Qiu and Zhao Wen's path!

The escape lights dissipated, revealing two Cultivators dressed in black, their faces covered by black cloths, leaving only a pair of fierce eyes visible.

Both their auras were at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and each held a top-tier Magical Artifact glowing with spiritual light—one a blood-colored long saber, the other a black ghost banner.

Clearly, they were Bandit Cultivators who had long been lying in ambush here, specifically to commit murder and seize treasures.

"Fellow Daoists, you seem to be in quite a hurry. Where might you be heading?"

The bandit holding the blood-colored saber had a raspy voice and an unfriendly tone. His gaze swept over Lu Qiu and Zhao Wen, lingering for a moment on the bulging Storage Pouch at Zhao Wen's waist.

The other bandit with the ghost banner added sinisterly, "If you're smart, hand over all your Storage Pouches. Perhaps we'll even leave you with an intact corpse!"

They had clearly mistaken the aura-suppressing Lu Qiu for an ordinary Qi Refining Perfection Cultivator, and Zhao Wen, at the Late Qi Refining stage, was even more unremarkable.

In their eyes, two Early Foundation Establishment Bandit Cultivators dealing with such a pair was a sure thing.

Zhao Wen's face instantly turned pale, and he subconsciously looked at Lu Qiu, his eyes full of tension.

Lu Qiu slowly stopped his escape light, his gaze calmly scanning the two Bandit Cultivators before him, though his heart was cold.

"It seems... I've been too low-profile lately."

He muttered to himself, his tone carrying a hint of faint mockery.

Acting low-profile was to avoid unnecessary trouble, not because he was afraid of it.

Now, even two Early Foundation Establishment small fry dared to openly block his path and try to kill him. Did they really think Lu Qiu was made of clay?

Just as the two bandits saw Lu Qiu's silence and thought he was scared witless, grinning as they prepared to strike—

A cold light flashed in Lu Qiu's eyes!

From his brow, three invisible and intangible yet extremely sharp Divine Sense spikes shot out without warning. Their speed exceeded the reaction limits of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

Spirit Shocking Thorn!

And he didn't use his full power; he only deployed three!

Poof! Poof!

Almost at the same instant, the sinister grins on the two Early Foundation Establishment Bandit Cultivators' faces froze!

The bandit with the blood-colored saber's pupils dilated, and blood slowly seeped from his seven orifices. The spiritual light on the saber in his hand extinguished, and he fell straight out of the sky like a puppet with its strings cut!

He hadn't even understood what happened before his Divine Soul was completely shredded by the three Spirit Shocking Thorn, dying silently!

"Not good! We've hit a steel wall!"

Seeing this scene, the other bandit with the ghost banner felt his Soul leave his body in terror.

His Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, he no longer dared to harbor any greed. Enduring the fear in his heart, he turned to flee in a streak of light!

However, since Lu Qiu had acted, how could he let him escape?

"You want to leave now? Too late."

Lu Qiu spoke coldly and waved his sleeve.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

Eighteen dazzling golden lights suddenly shot out from his sleeve!

It was the top-tier Magical Artifact—sky burning gilded plumes!

The eighteen plumes were like living golden lightning, instantly weaving a web of death in the air, enveloping the fleeing bandit from all directions!

The bandit was terrified. He desperately channeled the ghost banner, spewing out billows of black smoke and ghostly Qi for protection, while also manifesting a bone shield behind him.

But before the terrifying sharpness and incinerating power of the sky burning gilded plumes, all this resistance appeared weak and futile.

Chirp, chirp, chirp—!

The golden plumes sliced through the black smoke like a knife through tofu, easily piercing the bone shield and then the bandit's body from every angle in an instant!

"Argh—!"

The shrill scream came to an abrupt halt.

The bandit's body froze in mid-air and then exploded into a cloud of blood mist. Along with his Divine Soul, he was completely shredded and incinerated by the sharp golden light and scorching true fire, annihilated in both body and Soul!

Two masterless Magical Artifacts and two Storage Pouches fell from the blood mist. With a casual beckon, Lu Qiu took them into his hand.

The entire process, from the bandits appearing to their complete demise, took only three to five breaths of time!

Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!

Zhao Wen hovered in the air in a daze, watching the battle that had ended in a flash, looking at the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators who were fierce just a moment ago but were now nothing but blood mist and corpses.

He then looked at the green-robed figure standing with hands behind his back, as if he had just done something trivial, his mind a complete blank.

He knew his master was strong, but he never thought... he was strong to this extent!

Two Early Foundation Establishment Bandit Cultivators!

In front of his master, they were like chickens or dogs, failing to even last a single exchange!

Especially those eighteen terrifying golden lights that appeared at the end; the pressure they exuded made his very Soul tremble!

"Could... could Master be... a Core Formation Cultivator?"

This thought uncontrollably flooded Zhao Wen's mind, making his gaze toward Lu Qiu filled with unparalleled shock and a deeper level of awe.

Lu Qiu, however, acted as if he had just swatted two flies.

He checked the two bandits' Storage Pouches. Besides a few thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and some ordinary Medicinal Pills and Materials, there was nothing special inside. They were clearly just two Loose Cultivator bandits with no background.

"Let's go."

Lu Qiu put the items away and spoke flatly to the still-dazed Zhao Wen, "Continue our journey."

"Yes... Yes! Master!"

Zhao Wen snapped back to his senses and hurriedly followed, though his flying posture was even more respectful, even carrying a hint of caution.

Lu Qiu looked at the vast horizon ahead, his eyes calm and without ripples.

Being low-profile was for better progress.

But if someone was blind enough to block his path, he wouldn't mind using thunderous methods.