Chapter 80 "What a great partner.
"This is the place, Brother Qiu."
"Hmm."
Chen Qiu, his complexion deathly pale, nodded slightly. His fingertips trembled as the Golden Core fourth-layer resentful spirit that had been clinging to him suddenly burst forth like a tiger breaking free from its chains, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into substance and roared as it charged into the swamp's poison mist.
"Phew..."
The moment the Golden Core fourth-layer resentful spirit left him, Chen Qiu's complexion visibly regained some of its color, and his spirits lifted significantly. The coldness emitting from his body, which had been palpable, also ceased.
"Damn it..."
He watched the fading figure of the resentful spirit and couldn't help but curse under his breath.
The green entry "Resentful Spirit Summoning" was truly powerful. He relied on this resentful spirit to survive many crises, but the cost was also truly great. Just thinking about how close he was to being devoured by the resentful spirit sent shivers down his spine.
Now, he felt much better.
Although his complexion was still unsightly, this was due to the nearly ten thousand Demon Clan cultivator resentful spirits weighing down on him. He had originally found it quite unbearable, but after experiencing the intensity of the Golden Core resentful spirit, he found that the nearly ten thousand Demon Clan cultivator resentful spirits weren't as distressing.
It was bearable, after all.
Without comparison, there was no harm.
Earlier, when he attacked the Barefoot Immortal in the Qiantian Pavilion Market, he had not used these nearly ten thousand resentful spirits. Mainly because controlling resentful spirits caused too much commotion, and the surging resentful energy could almost instantly make the Barefoot Immortal become alert.
Only a quick-acting Killing Move like the Self-Destruction Term could seize the moment of the Barefoot Immortal's distraction and deliver a fatal blow!
...
Even after becoming a resentful spirit, the combat power might be slightly reduced, as they lack self-awareness and act purely on instinct. The poisonous substance blocked his Divine Sense, and since his Divine Sense couldn't extend that far from his body, he had no way to remotely control it.
He merely issued a simple command, kill all living beings in the swamp.
The rest was left up to its instincts.
After all, even as a Golden Core fourth-layer resentful spirit, crushing a Golden Core first-layer poison cultivator should be no problem at all.
However, moments later—
There suddenly came a cacophony of countless roars and curses from within the swamp.
Numerous spells exploded within the swamp, tearing gaps in the black mist, clearly indicating that there might be quite a few people inside.
"This is not good..."
The scholar murmured with a somewhat unpleasant expression, "Although I haven't seen anyone, the accents of those speaking sound very much like the Poison Sect. A sect where from the Sect Master to the outer disciples, all are poison cultivators, it seems they have consulted with Poison Thunder Old Man and sent quite a few disciples here for training."
"As far as I know, this sect often sends their disciples to various deadly places in Da Xia Country to train."
"They might not be Demon Cultivation, but their behavior is no different from that of Demon Cultivators."
"This sect ranks at number 78 in the 'Da Xia Sect rankings.' The Supreme Elder is an old poison cultivator with a mid-stage Golden Core. A genuine poison cultivator, from entries to spells, everything is distinctly poison-related and forms their unique system, unlike those Loose Cultivators like the Barefoot Immortal who don't have their own system."
"Of course, since it's training, the elders definitely will not be here, but... just in case a disciple escapes and remembers what we look like, we would be facing some retaliation from the Supreme Elder in the future."
"It's not a big issue."
Chen Qiu shook his head, "If we kill them all, there'll be no one to carry the message. We'll keep our distance, and even if they use Sound Transmission Talismans to send messages back, they won't know who killed them."
"You use your Flying Sword to hover around the swamp. If anyone escapes the swamp, eliminate them."
Having said that,
his nearly ten thousand Demon Clan cultivator resentful spirits on the surface of his body all materialized, enveloping the few of them like a vast army. Then, all at once, they let out a ghastly howl reminiscent of the wailing of ghosts from the depths of the underworld and madly charged into the Poison Mist Swamp.
Poison mist?
This thing has no effect on resentful spirits, how can you corrode a body that doesn't even exist?
...
"Ah?"
The scholar hesitated for a moment, then shook his head with an ugly expression, "Brother Qiu, the tactic used in Fufeng City can't be replicated here. My spiritual energy won't allow me to employ that sort of tactic in this environment."
"I can't manipulate the size of the Spiritual Treasure as I wish, nor can I use the Flying Sword for transportation."
"Moreover, my Flying Sword is at the end of its strength, unsuitable for confronting enemies. It can only penetrate something as soft as tofu that normal Golden Core cultivators are made of; otherwise, even the Protective Spirit Qi of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could shatter my Flying Sword."
"No need."
Chen Qiu shook his head, his expression calm, "You Sword Cultivators are so stubborn. Can't you think of a different approach?"
"The speed of the Flying Sword is an advantage in itself, why must you insist on using the sword to confront enemies?"
"Later, I'll load up your Flying Sword with talismans. Once you've found the target, you just control the Flying Sword to fly above their head, flip the sword over, and release the spiritual energy controlling the talismans on the blade. That shouldn't consume too much spiritual energy, right?"
"Can't you still confront the enemy that way?"
"It's not necessary for the Flying Sword to strike someone in order to confront the enemy."
"..."
The scholar, expressionless, fell silent for a long time before speaking hoarsely, "Since ancient times, there has never been a Sword Cultivator who fought like this. It feels... strange."
"And it's such a waste of talismans."
"Not a waste."
Without another word, Chen Qiu handed over the few dozen low-grade Foundation Establishment 'Summoning Thunder Talismans' to the scholar, "Consider it inventory clearance. These talismans, equivalent to a full-strength Foundation Establishment strike, are of no use to me now."
"Besides, as long as we don't let even one escape to send a message, a few talismans are worth the expense."
"Once we have more Spirit Stones in the future, I'll buy you some Golden Core Talismans to stick on your sword and throw around for fun."
"Take them."
"..."
The scholar took the stack of talismans with a dazed look, remaining silent. He couldn't shake the feeling that his path as a Sword Cultivator was veering off course, although it seemed this method was indeed quite suitable for him at the moment.
...
"So many disciples."
Chen Qiu glanced at the freshly spawned resentful spirits behind him. For every Poison Sect disciple that died in the swamp, a new resentful spirit was added to his side—for a total of over eighty now.
What a joke.
Demon Clan cultivators were nearly invincible among their peers, and even with a slight decrease in battle strength as resentful spirits, their overwhelming numbers were unstoppable as they swept through the Poison Mist Swamp.
Finally—
After a few sticks of incense had burned, no more sounds of battle emanated from the swamp.
Only a Golden Core shot out from the poison fog, attempting to flee the swamp, but the scholar, who had been lying in wait, trembled at the fingertip. The green sword shot out from his sleeve in an instant, piercing the Golden Core within a few breaths and returning to him.
"Truly a good partner."
Chen Qiu looked at the three-foot green sword floating in front of him, a Golden Core impaled on its tip, and couldn't help commenting with satisfaction. Without the scholar, even if he could kill a Golden Core cultivator through deception, he would have no way to seize this nourishing essence.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Back when he didn't even have a single Spirit Stone, how did he dare to promise the scholar 3000 Spirit Stones?
Looking back now, that decision was indeed correct.