Chapter 154: Crushing to Death

Shortly after Chen Luo’s departure, Elder Qu also left. With his task uncompleted, he couldn’t afford further delays. The sect leader’s condition remained uncertain, making it crucial to resolve matters swiftly.

Once both Foundation Establishment elders had departed, Elder An’s expression turned grim from his seat. His aura flared, instantly sending Situ Feng and the others flying due to their proximity.

Thud!

Their bodies slammed against the rear railing, causing their blood qi to surge chaotically.

“It’s all because of the trouble you’ve caused!”

Chen Luo’s refusal to give him face greatly displeased Elder An. Reflecting on how these issues stemmed from this group, his anger flared. He conveniently forgot about the promises he made while accepting bribes earlier, displaying a complete disregard for past commitments.

Situ Feng and the others dared not respond, suppressing their discontent as they obediently stood aside.

They still relied on Elder An’s protection; without him, Chen Luo would crush them effortlessly.

“Here’s a mission I’ve arranged for the five of you. You’ll depart tonight.” Having cooled down, Elder An presented a plan.

The day’s conversation had not gone well; the newly appointed Elder Chen showed little deference to him. Consequently, Elder An now had to consider the lives of these five individuals more seriously, especially Situ Feng’s. Losing him would make future harvests from the Situ Clan’s spirit fields difficult, resulting in significant losses.

‘I’ll approach that young man again tomorrow,’ Elder An thought with a fluctuating expression. ‘If he still refuses to cooperate…’

After weighing his options briefly, he ultimately decided against taking any further action.

Engaging in conflict over such minor gains was unwise, especially for someone like him, a pill master, who was not adept at combat.

“Many thanks, Master.”

Situ Feng and the other four bowed their heads in gratitude.

“Hmm.”

Elder An acknowledged them with a nod, then closed his eyes, showing no interest in looking at them further.

Realizing this, the five disciples could only leave.

Upon exiting the cultivation gardens, they headed straight to the Missions Hall and collected the ‘guard duty’ assignment arranged by Elder An. Their hearts sank upon seeing the location.

It was at the farthest northern point of Changnan Kingdom, near the Corpse-Raising Sect.

That area was practically uninhabitable, with hardly anyone willing to venture there. Rumors even suggested occasional incursions by Corpse-Raising Sect cultivators refining corpses, posing a deadly risk if one were not careful.

“That old bastard is truly despicable! Why didn’t he mention these risks when accepting our payment!”

Seeing the task location, their faces filled with frustration. They had spent spirit stones, yet the trouble remained unresolved.

“What do we do now?”

The five gathered together to discuss their next course of action.

“Let’s leave, right away.”

Situ Feng understood the situation best; Elder Chen clearly wasn’t going to let this matter rest. Two thousand spirit stones were insufficient for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Unfortunately, Elder An had stripped them of all their wealth, and now that he had turned against them, they had no choice but to flee.

“Get some concealment spirit medicines,” someone suggested.

Quickly dividing tasks among themselves, they prepared everything needed for their escape. As experienced Plunderer Cultivators, they fully comprehended the gravity of the situation.

On Wu Dao Peak,

As soon as Chen Luo returned, he noticed an additional person waiting at the entrance. It was none other than Elder Sister Shen, whom he had met briefly before. From her appearance, it seemed she had recovered from her injuries, albeit with an unstable aura—indicating possible damage to her divine soul, which would be difficult to heal later. Unless something unexpected occurred, Elder Sister Shen’s prospects for reaching Foundation Establishment appeared dim.

“Elder Sister, many thanks for your life-saving grace,” Elder Sister Shen expressed her gratitude respectfully to Chen Luo.

Without his intervention, those five individuals would have undoubtedly reduced her to dust—a common practice among Plunderer Cultivators to avoid further complications.

“As long as you’re safe, that’s what matters.”

Chen Luo retrieved the twenty thousand spirit stones he had extorted from Elder An and handed them all to Elder Sister Shen and Huang Ying. Initially, he planned to keep some for himself, but seeing Elder Sister Shen’s predicament, he decided to give it all away.

Besides, he intended to return later that night, ensuring his losses would eventually be recovered.

“This is compensation from those five Plunderer Cultivators. Divide it equally between you and Huang Ying.”

“Many thanks, uncle-master.”

Elder Sister Shen accepted the bag of holding, intending to share some with Chen Luo. However, he waved her off immediately. Their relationship wasn’t as close as hers with Huang Ying, so she didn’t press further. After expressing her gratitude once more, she turned and left.

Night fell, silent like still water.

On Medicine King Peak, numerous lights remained lit across various locations, indicating disciples practicing their pill concocting skills. Pill concoction was a craft built over time; not everyone could master it instantly. Even refining the most basic Qi Nourishing Pill typically required several years of practice by an average alchemist before achieving consistent success. Producing high-grade Qi Nourishing Pills demanded over a decade of experience.

A dark silhouette streaked through the sky as Chen Luo directly flew back to the rear side of Medicine King Peak using his sword.

This area was much less populated.

Unlike Wu Dao Peak, Medicine King Peak housed a large number of disciples. Every newcomer to the immortal sect harbored dreams of becoming an alchemist, resulting in Medicine King Peak having several times more disciples than other main peaks. Even the cemetery on the mountain’s rear side accommodated at least ten residents.

Chen Luo landed at a highly concealed spot. With his Foundation Establishment strength, only Elder An on Medicine King Peak, aside from the mythical beasts guarding the mountain’s foot, could detect him. Even if other disciples passed by, they might not notice his presence.

“True to its name, Medicine King Peak has nearly twice as many graves compared to Wu Dao Peak.”

Surveying the vast expanse of tombs before him, Chen Luo retrieved a shovel and deer-hide gloves, ready to begin his work.

The disturbance caused by grave-digging quickly alerted the Medicine King Peak disciples residing nearby. However, their cultivation levels were low, and with a subtle use of Soul Techniques, Chen Luo plunged them into illusions. By the time they ‘awakened’ from their illusory state, Chen Luo had already finished ransacking the graves.

‘Dead person detected, Degradation Rate 99%, Read Now?’

Finally, after excavating seventy-nine graves, Chen Luo discovered the tomb of a Foundation Establishment alchemist. The count of external brains containing Foundation Establishment cultivators increased once more.

Two hours later.

Having completed his digging, Chen Luo skillfully filled the disturbed graves back up and then proceeded to visit Elder An’s small training courtyard. Expecting a potential confrontation, he was surprised to find that the elder was not present.

With slight regret, Elder Chen ‘cleaned’ the individual’s house before transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon.

On the main road,

A horse-drawn carriage swiftly traveled under the cover of nightfall.

The five occupants chose not to fly using their qi, knowing it was futile to compete with Foundation Establishment cultivators in speed. Instead, they devised a plan: they rented a carriage from the market and affixed spirit talismans outside to conceal their presence. This method could deceive most Qi Refinement stage cultivators, though whether it would work against Foundation Establishment ones remained uncertain.

Inside the silent carriage, all five individuals were exhausted. Over these past few days, they had depleted their resources just to survive, ultimately ending up in this desperate flight.

“This journey can be considered as serving the sect, akin to fulfilling a mission. That newly promoted Foundation Establishment elder wouldn’t dare to openly intercept and kill us,” one of the Plunderer Cultivators broke the silence, unable to bear the tense atmosphere.

“It’s not that I’m worried about him; rather, I’m considering what we should do next.” Situ Feng glanced back at the fading sect, his eyes flickering with resentment.

“Old Ghost An took our money but failed to deliver; I won’t forget this grudge. Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I’ll make him pay dearly!”

“And that Chen fellow! Just got lucky with his Foundation Establishment, didn’t he? When we brothers achieve it too, we’ll gang up and eliminate him. Then, we’ll kill those two women he cares about as well!”

As their conversation unfolded, the pent-up negative emotions of all five individuals erupted.

The night wind blew gently.

A dark cloud drifted across the sky, above which stood Chen Luo, clad in black robes, overlooking the carriage below. In his hand, a pitch-black spirit talisman flickered.

These five were cautious, but they couldn’t anticipate his move during daylight hours. That brief glance earlier was not without purpose. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator specializing in divine souls, Chen Luo could imperceptibly leave traces of his soul on opponents, and each of these five bore such marks from him.

“I haven’t yet tested the power of the Xin Mo Art since reaching Foundation Establishment.”

Chen Luo raised his hand, gathering a swirl of black energy in his palm. As the energy coalesced, something unseen seemed to be drawn towards it from the depths of the void.

This force was invisible and undetectable to ordinary individuals.

However, with his Xin Mo Art activated, Chen Luo could perceive it clearly.

He observed a white specter emerging from the void, then circling around the black sphere in his hand continuously. Its lower half appeared hazy like mist, leaving elongated trails in the air. Faintly, he seemed to hear low-frequency whispers, but upon closer attention, they vanished without trace.

“Let me hasten your journey.”

Chen Luo extended his palm and gently pushed downward.

The black aura flattened momentarily before explosively dispersing into a cloud of fog. The pale smoke, resembling a long serpent, swiftly spiraled out and merged with the carriage below. Unaware of any change, the five individuals inside readily absorbed this force as they continued their conversation.

“You want me dead?!?” A sudden furious shout echoed; Situ Feng’s eyes turned bloodshot as he roared angrily.

With a loud cry, he produced a whip-like magical artifact and lashed out at the other four within the carriage.

Spiritual energy erupted, instantly reducing the carriage to dust.

“I knew all along you harbored ill intent.”

The others also drew their magical artifacts, launching their most vicious attacks towards each other.

Just moments ago, these five individuals were discussing future plans for revenge together. Now, they fiercely battled one another as if facing mortal enemies, unleashing the darkest and most savage aspects of their emotions.

In a brutal struggle lasting mere moments, life and death were swiftly decided among them.

Situ Feng brutally tore his companions to shreds, sending bloodied remnants flying everywhere.

Victorious, Situ Feng stood atop the wreckage, clutching his comrades’ hearts, and threw back his head in raucous laughter. His eyes, crimson with an unknown vision, blazed intensely.

“Hahaha, I’ve finally reached Foundation Establishment!”

Boom!

Mid-laughter, the flow of spiritual energy within him abruptly halted, followed by his body rapidly swelling like a balloon before exploding into pieces.

A rain of blood left behind only chaos on the ground.

Hovering above, Chen Luo observed a white figure emerge from amidst the five corpses, circling once in the air before vanishing without a trace.

“Not bad.”

Dissipating his power, Chen Luo glanced indifferently at the five bodies below, then transformed into a streak of light, disappearing amidst the clouds.

The aftermath of the blood rain left chaos and devastation behind.