Wang Hong quietly advanced into the depths of the Stone Forest. As he progressed, the concentration of Spirit Qi increased. Along the way, he encountered various spirit fruit trees. He summoned his Flying Sword, selecting one specimen of each type of fruit and digging them out with their roots before tossing them into his Space.
Monkeys were known for their love of alcohol and skill in brewing. The hundred-fruit wine they produced, also known as monkey wine, was a rare and exceptional delicacy. These fruit trees were likely used for brewing.
Wang Hong was currently in need of spirit fruits for brewing. Faced with a variety of options, he regretted the limited space in his Storage, allowing him to take only a small sample of each.
Suddenly, his movement halted, and he swiftly hid behind a massive rock.
A black-robed cultivator emerged from the front, stopping where Wang Hong had been standing. Facing Wang Hong's concealed location, he said, "Friend Wang, come out!"
This person was none other than Ding, the cultivator who had fled earlier. Wang Hong ceased hiding and stepped out from behind the rock.
Ding spoke, "Friend Wang, you've figured it out. Indeed, my purpose in leading you here was to have you help divert the monkey horde, aiding me in smoothly infiltrating and obtaining the treasure."
"Haha! Friend Wang is truly clever. Unfortunately, you've realized it a bit too late. I enjoy a good plunder every now and then. I've been eyeing your wealth for quite some time," Ding said, approaching Wang Hong step by step.
As Ding neared, his aura escalated from Qi Cultivation level four to level eight. The oppressive force of Qi Cultivation eight left Wang Hong breathless, unable to muster any resistance. Taking a deep breath, he focused his mind to withstand this negative state. Then, he slapped several layers of Earth Armor Talismans onto himself.
Withstanding the pressure, Wang Hong roared and attacked Ding with his Long Spear.
Despite the distance, Ding summoned a golden Flying Sword, a high-quality Metal Element Flying Sword. The golden sword emitted a dazzling light as it slashed toward Wang Hong. He hastily intercepted with his spear, resulting in a sharp sound as the Long Spear snapped in two.
The golden Flying Sword continued its descent, severing the Long Spear. Although its momentum weakened, it still broke through two layers of Earth Armor Talismans before stopping, leaving Wang Hong's chest throbbing.
Wang Hong, astonished, realized that if he hadn't been cautious and used extra Earth Armor Talismans, he might already be a lifeless corpse.
Swinging the broken spear fragments towards Ding, he also hurled a series of Talismans at him. Then, he turned and sprinted away, adding two more layers of Earth Armor Talismans and activating a Divine Movement Talisman.
Using the Wind Control Technique, he reached maximum speed, the wind causing discomfort on his face as trees and rocks swiftly retreated behind him.
Thinking he had left his pursuer far behind, Wang Hong prepared to mock his opponent. However, a glance back chilled his heart. Ding was leisurely following at a moderate distance, seemingly with energy to spare.
Unable to win in a fight and unable to escape, Wang Hong had no choice but to continue fleeing, hoping for a turning point.
After three hours of pursuit, Wang Hong had used seven Divine Movement Talismans and consumed five Spirit Wines.
"Damn it!" Ding cursed bitterly. Seeing Wang Hong use yet another Divine Movement Talisman, he couldn't fathom how the young man possessed so many.
Divine Movement Talismans cost over ten Spirit Stones each, and no one would carry so many. Ding's heart bled; these were his Talismans, burning through his Spirit Stones. The contents of Wang Hong's Storage Bag should rightfully belong to him. Now, it was all being wasted by the youth.
It wasn't that Ding wanted to toy with Wang Hong; he followed slowly because he had a bitter story to tell. He had previously killed a Qi Cultivation stage loose cultivator and obtained a map marking the location of a cave mansion.
After investigating, Ding learned that deep within the spirit fruit trees, there was a cave mansion left behind by at least a Foundation Building cultivator. The group of demonic monkeys guarding outside was beyond his ability to handle alone.
His plan was to lure other cultivators here. He had secretly informed a cultivator named Lei that there was a massive spirit fruit orchard guarded by over ten demonic monkeys.
The scene unfolded as planned, with Lei leading the monkeys away. Meanwhile, Ding quietly infiltrated the cave mansion.
However, the ghosts in the cave mansion weren't peaceful. He fell victim to the formation inside, suffering significant injuries that required several days of rest for recovery.
Now, as he ran, his wound throbbed like a twisting knife, and faint traces of blood seeped through. What he thought would be an easy opponent turned out to be quite slippery.
His magical power was now depleted by more than half. While the magical power in the later stages of Qi Cultivation was immense, replenishing it was a challenging task.
Ordinary Spirit Wine could only satisfy one's appetite, offering minimal replenishment of spiritual energy consumption.
Higher-tier Spirit Wines were in high demand and not something that could be easily bought with a few Spirit Stones.
As Wang Hong continued his desperate escape, he found himself on a dead-end path. Surrounded by cliffs in all directions, unless he could fly, there was no way out.
In a narrow passage, the brave emerge victorious. Wang Hong, a former soldier who had walked through fields of corpses, never hesitated to engage in a fight, even if it meant fighting to the death. If he were to fall, he would at least take a piece of flesh from his opponent.
Wang Hong summoned a black Flying Sword, which circled and danced above his head and around his body. This sword was the mid-tier Flying Sword he had confiscated from Lin Junjie. Standing still, he calmly awaited his opponent's approach.
"Hey there! Weren't you good at running? Why stop now? Surrender your Storage Bag obediently, and I might spare your life. I have quite a reputation among treasure-seeking cultivators," Ding said, hoping to coax Wang Hong into willingly handing over his possessions. Otherwise, a fierce confrontation would result in the loss of many valuable items.
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old child? Handing over my Storage Bag to you would be like offering myself up for slaughter. Stop the nonsense and come at me!" Wang Hong retorted.
"Alright! Let's see how much longer you can keep dodging." Ding unleashed his golden Flying Sword, slashing towards Wang Hong.
Wang Hong directed his Flying Sword to intercept in mid-air, simultaneously rushing forward and throwing an iron thorn seed.
The two swords clashed in a dazzling collision of light. Subsequently, the black Flying Sword was forced backward.
At the same time, the iron thorn seed failed to hit Ding and, upon reaching the ground, quickly took root and grew into a thicket several feet high.
The golden Flying Sword came at Wang Hong again but was entangled by the black Flying Sword. The black Flying Sword was repeatedly struck, developing more and more cracks, and it seemed it wouldn't hold up much longer.
Seizing the opportunity, Wang Hong gulped down a bottle of Spirit Wine and charged towards Ding again, throwing another iron thorn seed.
A peculiar scene unfolded: in the air, Wang Hong's black Flying Sword was pushed back, while on the ground, Wang Hong chased Ding, indiscriminately tossing iron thorn seeds.
Ding, floating two feet to the side, shouted, "Are you wasting these seeds recklessly?"
"I'd rather waste them all than let you benefit." Wang Hong defiantly threw another handful of iron thorn seeds.
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed in the air as the black Flying Sword shattered into pieces.
At this moment, the golden sword descended towards Wang Hong once again. Without hesitation, Wang Hong pulled out another Flying Sword and threw it towards the golden sword, thankfully having kept some confiscated Flying Swords earlier. Simultaneously, he continued his mad dash towards Ding, carelessly throwing another iron thorn seed.
Ding, realizing the incoming seed, found his surroundings covered with iron thorn thickets to his rear and left. It turned out that Wang Hong had planned it all along, seemingly tossing seeds haphazardly but strategically limiting Ding's movement with the iron thorn thickets.
In a hurry, Ding could only dodge to the right, but Wang Hong had already predicted this and had thrown an iron thorn seed to the right of Ding two feet away before he dodged.
Ding collided with the seed, and several seeds attached to him, quickly entangling him securely.
At this point, his Flying Sword was once again shattered, and the golden Flying Sword descended towards him.
Simultaneously, Ding produced a small knife, a magical weapon, to cut the thorns entwined around him. In just a moment, he could break free from the thorns, making it challenging to ensnare him again.
Gritting his teeth, Wang Hong thought, "It's now or never!" Ignoring the approaching Flying Sword, he pulled out a bunch of talismans and hurled them towards Ding, who was busy cutting the thorns.
Just as the talismans were released, the Flying Sword descended. In a rush, Wang Hong barely had time to move a few inches to the right.
The golden Flying Sword tore through three layers of Earth Armor Talismans, slightly losing its momentum. It sliced through Wang Hong's left ear, separating his left shoulder from his body, creating a wound that exposed his clavicle, broke his scapula, severed his ribs, and cut through lung tissues.
At the same moment, a bunch of talismans exploded around Ding. Ding managed to emit a horrified scream before turning into a pile of ashes.
With Ding's death, the golden Flying Sword lost control and wedged itself into Wang Hong's chest. His left shoulder disconnected from his body, the wound resembled a wide-open blood basin, and his left hand hung weakly below.
Wang Hong took out several healing medicines from his Storage Bag, swallowed them, and sprinkled some hemostatic and tissue-regenerating powder onto the wound. Then, he gently pulled out the golden Flying Sword lodged in his chest. As it was removed, blood sprayed over a foot away. Immediately, he applied hemostatic powder and pressed firmly. After a quarter of an hour, the blood flow gradually stopped.
"That was close! The wound is just an inch away from the heart. Why didn't I dodge to the left at that critical moment? At least it wouldn't have been so perilous."
Thanks to the three layers of Earth Armor Talismans and his well-trained body, his defense was strong enough; otherwise, he would have been cleaved in half long ago.
Hastily bandaging the wound, he picked up the Flying Sword and Ding's Storage Bag before hurriedly leaving.
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