Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Five seconds later, three devils gradually seeped out of the walls in a remote alley. They condensed into three sharp-edged shadows quietly and gazed at the guy walked close from the end of the alley.

The man was wearing ragged clothes that were stained with blood. He was walking in a hurry and watching the crystal processor on his wrist every now and then, like a white-collar worker who was late for work.

The weird image was utterly incompatible with the burning city.

Although the devils did not have much thinking ability, they did feel that it was somewhat strange. However, before they dwelled on the uncanniness any longer, their instincts to assault and slaughter drove them to utter blood-breezing shrieks as they lunged at the man.

Suddenly—

The three devils were frozen in midair in a hilarious posture as if a spell had been cast upon them. Even their shrieks came to a sudden halt, like roosters whose throats had suddenly been cut off.

‘Surrounded’ by the three devils, Li Yao tapped on the crystal processor and searched for the latest information about Hellsword.

As he expected, there was no more news about the enemy.

According to the model of Hellsword’s capability that Li Yao had constructed, as time went by, the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator was slowly recovering bit by bit even though he was not taking any medication.

Right now, the success rate that Li Yao estimated had dropped to 28.1%.

But he did not dare dream that Hellsword would be silly enough to confront another Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator so that he could take the advantage.

At this moment, Hellsword’s combat ability was approximately 55% of the original.

It was a very perfect number.

If it were any lower, with the wisdom and resolution of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, Hellsword would definitely retreat from the battlefield without looking back. He would not be bewildered by petty benefits and put his life in danger.

Even though Hellsword still stayed there, Li Yao estimated that he would not act again.

Since the Temple of Immortals had prepared for the operation for a long time, there were bound to be a lot of secret bases littered about the tenth space ring. Hellsword would definitely try to avoid the hunting of the hostile Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and sneak into the secret bases for his recovery.

Then, he would decide whether to continue his assassination or retreat as quickly as possible according to the status of his recovery and the situation of the battle in the outside world.

Therefore, this was the moment when Hellsword was the weakest. He would not get any weaker.

The biggest problem, however, was how to lock onto Hellsword.

Although he only had half of his combat ability left, a lone wolf like him who had made as distinguished accomplishments as those of pirate gangs all by himself must be really good at hiding and stealth.

With the invasion of the devils, the city was in havoc. More than ten Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators might not be able to locate Hellsword even if they joined hands.

It was even less likely for Li Yao to find him.

However…

He could not find Hellsword, but it did not mean that Hellsword could not find him.

“Let’s make a gamble, Hellsword,” Li Yao mumbled with a vague smile tugging at the corners of his lips, but there seemed to be two clusters of freezing ice inside his eyes.

Common bait would definitely not be tempting enough for Hellsword in his current status.

However, Li Yao believed that he was different.

Firstly, he had sabotaged the Temple of Immortals first big operation on Iron Plateau and facilitated the reconciliation and communication between the Iron Plateau natives and the space residents.

Secondly, of the four kings of the Temple of Immortals, Yan Xibei, the Mountain King, had been killed by him. If ‘Hellsword’ was the real ‘Black King’, he would surpass the deceased Mountain King and the other two kings after he killed Li Yao even though he had never thought of avenging the Mountain King.

Lastly, and most importantly, Li Yao had just been assaulted by Hellsword half a day ago.

When one entered the Nascent Soul Stage, be they Cultivators or Immortal Cultivators, they would all become perfectionists more or less and hate not finishing what they had started. At least, that was so for Li Yao.

The target whom he failed to kill was now waltzing about in broad daylight right before his nose again. Li Yao believed that such humiliation and temptation would be too much even for a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

Hellsword, the prey that ran loose a moment ago now feeds itself to your mouth. Will you take action or not?

Li Yao thought through the thirteen traps that he had devised before and made sure they were the best he could do for now. He nodded his head in satisfaction, then—

CRACK!

He took off the crystal processor distributed by the command center and, browsing through the key information for the last time, crushed the crystal processor.

The crystal processor immediately exploded and turned into dust.

Li Yao cut off all communication with other Cultivators and became all by himself again.

Although the crystal processor could provide him with a lot of valuable information, other people might have been able to track and lock onto him through methods such as ‘hot spot sensation’ and ‘telepathic thought mining’ as long as he was within the coverage of the Spiritual Nexus.

Right now, Li Yao was almost sure that the Immortal Cultivators had infiltrated the world of Cultivators on a deep and large scale.

He found it impossible to tell whether those behind the Spiritual Nexus were Cultivators or Immortal Cultivators.

Therefore, he decided to believe in nobody and rely solely on himself!

A man and a sword were enough to roam the universe!

The real strength of the Immortal Cultivators is much lower than that of Cultivators, but since they are hiding in the darkness, they can always make plans, set up traps, or launch assaults without any concern. When the Cultivators form a large troop ready to strike them, they can always dismiss themselves and vanish into thin air.

Darkness is their most powerful magical equipment!

But now, I have such magical equipment, too!

The Cultivators are in the light while the Immortal Cultivators are in the darkness, but I will sink into places that are darker than darkness. I will strike the Immortal Cultivators just like how they strike the Cultivators!

Li Yao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The air was stinky, mixed with the scent of gunpowder and rust. It smelt both cold and sweet and reminded him of the days long, long ago in the magical equipment graveyard when he stared at formidable enemies from the dark corners of the trashes with the sharp blades made of wasted iron in his hand.

No. Not enemies.

They were food.

The Vulture’s food.

Licking his lips that had fractured because of his excitement, Li Yao smiled and walked out of the alley.

It was not until he was ten footsteps away that the three devils that were frozen in midair resumed the ability to move around.

They were dazed for a moment and were about to lunge out again, but they were torn into thousands of shreds within a breath before they had the chance to scream.

Li Yao waved his hands as if he had just slapped three flies.

…

In an underground parking lot at the center of the city, hundreds of shuttles were packed to the brim with shuddering citizens.

The atmosphere was very intense. Many people wanted to cry, but they feared that the devils outside might notice them so could only bite their hands, trying to control their emotions.

A dirty old man was squatting in a corner. His white hair was messy and stained with dry leaves and mud.

He was wearing a coat that was riddled with holes, and he did not move for a long time. There was no telling whether he was alive or not.

Such devastated old men were everywhere after the arrival of the extraterrestrial devils.

But nobody knew that he was in fact ‘Hellsword’ Zhuang Ziyou, a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!

Behind the scared face, deep inside his grey, brown eyes, there was nothing but tranquility and indifference. Beneath his coat, he triggered a lackluster light beam without alarming anyone and learned the latest status of the battle through his spies outside.

Hiu!

A tiny sound of air being break apart pierced into his ears.

Hellsword sniffed, knowing that a hostile Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator had just flown past him on a flying sword.

But so what?

He had compressed his capability to the minimum with the Soul Converging Technique. Unless the ten or so Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators surrounded the parking lot and examined the refugees one by one, there was no way that he would be found.

The terrible wound on his waist was temporarily sealed, and his shattered liver was stuck together by his spiritual energy, which stopped his combat ability from further declining.

After he took a few pills, his spiritual energy and soul power had recovered a lot, enough for him to fight new battles.

After successfully slaying two Core Formation Stage Cultivators, seventeen Building Foundation Stage Cultivators, and countless Refinement Cultivators and having a head-on clash with another Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, he would say that it was not a bad result at all.

This place was 3.4 kilometers away from the nearest secret base of the Temple of Immortals.

Inside the secret base, there were fully-equipped med bays and deep sleep capsules. His combat ability would be restored to above 95% within three hours.

But Hellsword was still waiting for an opportunity.

Several Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were doggedly searching for him everywhere. He would be seeking death if he revealed himself.

After all, the wounds on his body were not fatal. He could just wait there patiently. As a lone wolf, he was always patient, and he knew the power of darkness best.

In a moment, reports of his subordinates came over.

“Master Elder, two members of the ‘Eight Blades of Black Spider’ exposed themselves on purpose and attracted the attention of all the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. Also, on the West Lake District, another secret altar has been activated and is drawing a lot of devils close. It is estimated that many Cultivators will go there!

“Right now, there are no traces of hostile Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators in the 15.5 square kilometers around you. Besides, due to the chaos of spiritual energy and the mayhem that the devils caused, the hostile Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators’ search range has been minimized. They will not be able to find you from ten kilometers away!”

Hellsword smiled casually. “You’ve all been troubled. Ask the Eight Blades of Black Spider to tread lightly. Right now, we are still seriously outnumbered on the battlefield, and we will be dead for sure if a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator catches up!

“Bear our goal in mind. We are not fighting the battle to win, and it’s impossible for us to win. As long as we spread horror among the ordinary people and diminish the strength of the Cultivators as best as we can, it will be good enough!

“Protecting yourselves is the top priority. Striking the enemy is secondary. If the situation is not right, retreat immediately and do not be headstrong!

“After all, we have planted the seed of terror in the hearts of ordinary people and low-level Cultivators, and we have achieved the purpose of the battle. Now that the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators are all arriving, and the extraterrestrial devils are gradually being cleared, it’s time we move on to the next phase and prepare our retreat.”

His subordinate nodded. “That’s very wise of you, Master Zhuang.”

Hellsword coughed hard and stood on his feet slowly, leaning against the wall. He went to the deeper part of the parking lot, ready to return to the secret base.

Right then, a new message on the light beam attracted his attention.

“Sand Scorpion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, has shown up alone!”