Chapter 57 – Despicable and Shameless Devious Trickster
The mother elephant couldn't avoid being struck by a bolt of lightning. Fortunately, these types of demonic beasts had thick blood and tough skin, so she didn't die but was severely injured.
She noticed the situation behind her and was secretly shocked, not knowing who was helping them from the shadows.
"What?"
"More enemies!"
The two cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining behind her turned pale and halted their steps.
The moment the cultivator in front died, their minds raced. Without a word, they turned and fled in different directions, each pulling out life-saving items to shield themselves.
They used everything—talismans, pills, magical treasures—and ran for their lives, sparing no effort.
Xu Hei sneered inwardly. The moment he made his move, these two were doomed. If he didn't act, fine, but once he did, none would be left alive.
The two had just fled a few meters when they were horrified to find themselves surrounded by a dense swarm of small lizards.
"Kill!" Xu Hei shouted.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
The small lizards simultaneously spat out white beams of Spiritual Qi, shooting from all directions and hitting the two men.
As late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, they couldn't be taken down by such small lizards. Their magical treasures glowed, blocking all attacks, though they looked a bit disheveled.
The two cursed inwardly. They were clearly ambushed, but as long as they could reach Hua Yuntian, they would be saved.
But at that moment, they suddenly noticed several small lizards flying out from the barrage, each carrying a burning talisman.
"Is that..."
"Top-grade Fire Explosion Talismans?"
"Not good, retreat!"
The two screamed shrilly.
Retreat? There was nowhere to retreat! The lizards carrying talismans were not just one or two but a whole swarm, coming from all directions.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Fire Explosion Talismans detonated, shattering their protective barriers. The white beams from behind surged forward, leaving bloody holes in their bodies.
Screams echoed continuously.
In just a few breaths, the two were blasted into meat paste.
Xu Hei quickly collected the storage bags of the three and had the small lizards burn their bodies with Fireball Talismans.
Low-grade talismans were of no use to Xu Hei, but they were good for destroying bodies.
"These small lizards have too simple attack methods; they must carry talismans. But top-grade talismans are limited and too wasteful."
"Next time, I need stronger puppet beasts, like that giant frog or that big snake..."
Xu Hei pondered the battle as he returned.
Taking out that ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator was straightforward, a single Earth Spike did the job.
The other two took some effort.
If they had been a bit smarter, had more trump cards, and used a life-saving talisman like Ye Haichuan, Xu Hei could only watch helplessly.
"My preparations were still insufficient; this time was just luck," Xu Hei shook his head inwardly.
...
Time slowly passed.
On the other side, Hua Yuntian was already getting impatient.
"Those three idiots, why aren't they back yet?" Hua Yuntian's face was gloomy.
"With Xue Yang's trio's cultivation, they should have finished in half a stick of incense. It's almost a full stick now; did they run off with the loot?" a female cultivator said.
At this moment, the group of male elephants was already on the verge of death, their bodies pierced with spears and spikes, and a large number of flying swords. Their wounds were deep, with blood flowing everywhere, forming small streams.
Two had already died, no longer breathing.
However, the remaining ones continued to resist, still emitting sonic attacks.
"Roar!!!"
The deafening roar stirred up a hundred meters of dust, shaking in all directions. Many people had their ears ringing, blood flowing from their ears.
"I'll go take a look."
The female cultivator who had just spoken leaped towards the direction the three had chased.
Hua Yuntian didn't stop her. After such a long time, it was indeed necessary to check.
"Whoosh!!"
Suddenly, not far from where the female cultivator flew, an Earth Spike shot up from below, aiming at her lower body.
"Not good!"
Hua Yuntian's face changed drastically. He threw out a flying sword, slashing at the Earth Spike with lightning speed. But Xu Hei had already calculated the timing; how could it be so easily blocked?
The Earth Spike was cut into two, but the front half still soared, piercing through the female cultivator's body from back to front. She fell from fifteen meters high, crashing to the ground, dead.
The speed was so fast that she couldn't even react, not having time to activate her defensive magical treasure, dying instantly.
Everyone froze. Hua Yuntian stared for a few seconds, his eyes bulging with extreme anger.
"Earth Spike? Mountain Movers Sect? Impossible! Who is it? Get out here!"
Hua Yuntian roared in fury, his Divine Sense sweeping out, covering a radius of three hundred meters, but finding nothing.
The severely injured male elephants also looked puzzled.
After using that move, Xu Hei immediately activated an Invisibility Talisman, hiding underground, motionless.
"This person's Divine Sense doesn't seem as strong as Ye Haichuan's?"
Xu Hei was puzzled.
From previous observations, although Hua Yuntian was also in the Foundation Establishment Stage, he was on a completely different level compared to Ye Haichuan.
The latter's spells, magical treasures, flying swords, and Divine Sense were all far superior to Hua Yuntian.
Even his cunning and scheming were several levels above Hua Yuntian. In comparison, the person before him seemed like a reckless fool, failing to control the situation from the start and letting a few elephants escape.
"It seems that even Foundation Establishment cultivators vary in strength. I can't be careless, whether this person is truly weak or just pretending!"
Xu Hei remained vigilant, always giving his all against any opponent.
Moreover, this person had reached Foundation Establishment at a young age, surely a genius with many life-saving items.
"Get out! Get out!"
After a bout of hysterical roaring.
Hua Yuntian panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot. He stopped attacking the giant elephants and stared ahead, his face gloomy. "What is your purpose? Just speak up. Why hide and be laughed at!"
The remaining people looked at each other, all highly alert, standing back to back, watching their feet to prevent another spike from appearing.
Xu Hei thought for a moment and decided to trick him.
He controlled a small lizard to fire a beam at a certain spot.
"Boom!"
A giant rock shattered.
Hua Yuntian instantly reacted, slashing with his sword and scattering a large amount of Revealing Dust in that area.
The sword light roared, covering a hundred meters, and the Revealing Dust quickly spread, but no invisible creature was found.
"Despicable, shameless scoundrel, dare to fight me head-on!"
Realizing he had been tricked, Hua Yuntian was furious, roaring to the sky.
The others were silent, not daring to say a word.
Seeing this, Xu Hei had the small lizard fire another shot, and Hua Yuntian rushed over again, slashing wildly at the void.
"Here's my chance!"
Xu Hei's mind moved, Earth Spike.
"Thud!!"
A sharp stone pillar shot up from beneath a seventh-level Qi Refining disciple, piercing through him despite his defenses, including his armor and magical treasure bell, which were penetrated as if made of paper.
The corpse fell with a thud, dying a miserable death.
A terrifying shadow spread in everyone's hearts.
Unconsciously, everyone moved closer to Hua Yuntian, not daring to be alone.
Hua Yuntian's face was ashen, like he had eaten something foul. He grabbed the lizard that had fired the shot and crushed it.
"Puppet Mechanism Technique? Earth Spike? Who the fuck are you?!"
Hua Yuntian was about to lose his mind. He had never been so humiliated, being toyed with like a monkey, watching his men die in front of him.
He could already imagine the hidden person's sinister smile.
His eyes scanned around, his Divine Sense shooting out like arrows, covering every inch, growing more and more gloomy.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Suddenly, a thunderous rumble came from afar, growing louder and louder, shaking the heavens and earth.
It wasn't the ground shaking, but the void.
A vast and terrifying demonic aura swept across the sky, turning it black.
Sensing this demonic aura, the severely injured male elephants immediately raised their trunks, making excited sounds, cheering and calling for help.