If Elian had been greedy for the cave abode's opportunities and recklessly entered, it would have been like a dragon diving into shallow water, likely leading to his downfall.
This near miss was not due to Elian's carelessness but because he hadn't expected such cunning tactics from these individuals.
They crafted maps for sale but only sold incomplete fragments, which subtly increased the credibility of the maps.
An experienced cultivator with decades of experience might have seen through their scheme. However, young cultivators, newly ventured out from their families, could easily fall victim to such a trick.
"Ninth-level Qi Refining, yet he has a defensive artifact?"
Seeing Elian block his flying sword, the leader of the group revealed a glint of greed.
Most ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators didn't possess mid-tier first-tier defensive artifacts—such treasures were exceedingly rare.
Despite years of ambushing and killing naive young cultivators, this leader had never encountered such a treasure. Thinking of this, he immediately called out to his companions:
"Attack together—don't hold back!"
In an instant, several artifacts flew toward Elian.
Elian reacted quickly, summoning his own artifacts to counter the assault.
Among the three opponents, the leader was at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Besides his flying sword, he wielded a ruler artifact, both mid-tier first-tier artifacts, making him the most dangerous of the group.
The flying sword was a wood-attribute artifact with low offensive power, but the three-inch red glow from the ruler could threaten the shield barrier created by Elian's green shield.
Unwilling to let the ruler attack freely, Elian kept his Greenleaf Sword locked in combat with it while evading the other attacks.
The tall, thin man, at the seventh level of Qi Refining, wielded a set of mother-and-child flying daggers. The set consisted of one large dagger and nine smaller ones, which turned into ten streaks of blade light when deployed, making them incredibly hard to defend against.
The youngest-looking member, possibly the leader's relative, was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining and posed little threat.
As the battle unfolded, Elian found the tall, thin man to be the most troublesome of the three.
The mother-and-child flying daggers were swift as lightning. While each individual blade wasn't very powerful, their continuous barrage could overwhelm the green shield.
Forced to evade repeatedly, Elian used his Golden Light Blade to intercept the daggers.
"This won't work."
Knocking away the daggers again, Elian watched them regroup and streak toward him like starlight. He frowned slightly.
The saying "prolonged defense leads to defeat" rang true. Elian wasn't one to passively endure attacks, and in a flash, he directed the Golden Light Blade straight at the tall, thin man.
The man's expression changed, and he immediately called back his daggers to intercept the Golden Light Blade.
Seizing this moment, Elian's eyes turned cold, and he unleashed his trump card.
The Crimson Iron Blade Embryo transformed into a streak of blade light, slicing through the man's protective barrier in a flash and cutting him in half.
"Second Uncle!"
"Second Brother!"
The other two cultivators were horrified and immediately tried to flee.
But at this point, there was no way Elian would leave behind potential threats. He quickly pursued the leader.
To end the fight swiftly and prevent the third person from escaping, Elian disregarded his spiritual energy consumption and used the Crimson Iron Blade Embryo again. The attack severely damaged the leader's flying sword and ruler.
He then unleashed the Heart-Piercing Golden Needle, breaking through the leader's defensive spell and piercing his dantian.
"Ah—"
The man screamed as his dantian was destroyed. He turned to Elian with a look of terror and pleaded:
"My dantian is ruined; I'm now a cripple. Please, spare my life!"
"Killing others leads to being killed."
Elian's gaze was icy as the Greenleaf Sword flashed, severing the man's head.
With two of the rogue cultivators dead, the third didn't escape either. Elian caught up and decapitated him shortly after.
After the battle, Elian collected the storage bags of the three cultivators and used a Fireball Spell to destroy their remains, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"Whew."
Although the battle seemed straightforward, Elian knew he had the upper hand only because of his superior artifacts.
Two of the three opponents were seasoned cultivators with decades of experience. Without the Crimson Iron Blade Embryo, victory would not have been so easy.
This world was brutally realistic: a high-quality artifact or divine ability could elevate a person's combat power significantly.
Elian's advantage also stemmed from years of tempering his body with Primordial Purple Qi. His meridian strength and resilience far exceeded ordinary cultivators, allowing him to channel much more spiritual energy than his peers.
An average ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator could barely control three mid-tier first-tier artifacts simultaneously, let alone the Crimson Iron Blade Embryo.
Even Han Mo had needed his blood essence to activate the Blood Transformation Demon Blade. Though its power had diminished since then, it remained an extraordinary weapon.
By Elian's estimation, a typical ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator would need to exhaust all their spiritual energy to wield the blade embryo, leaving no energy for other artifacts or spells.
Setting these thoughts aside, Elian swallowed a few pills and spent half a day recovering most of his strength before approaching the cave abode.
Without the three cultivators controlling the formation, it no longer actively attacked intruders. After several cautious tests with his artifacts, Elian confirmed it was safe and stepped inside.
"A second-tier spiritual vein."
As soon as he entered, Elian noticed the abundant spiritual energy, far surpassing that of Linghu Isle.
The deeper he ventured, the more he realized the danger he had narrowly avoided. This cave abode had belonged to a senior cultivator and was built around a lower second-tier spiritual vein. It also housed a second-tier upper-grade formation called the Fiery Destruction Array.
This formation consisted of seven formation flags and could unleash second-tier flames capable of incinerating even Foundation Establishment cultivators. A mere Qi Refining cultivator like Elian would have stood no chance.
"No doubt, these three stumbled upon this cave abode and decided to use it as a trap for ambushing others."
"Who knows how many people have died unjustly to this formation over the years?"
Elian sighed as he examined the formation inside the cave.
Further exploration confirmed his suspicions. He discovered numerous identification tokens belonging to low-level cultivators, mostly from the younger generation of various cultivation families.
Among the remnants, Elian also found clues revealing the cave's original owner.
It had once belonged to Yang Yuanqing, a mid-Foundation Establishment wandering cultivator. A century ago, he had been a renowned figure in Yu County.
...
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