Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-227

The leader blocked the attack again, but couldn’t avoid getting injured, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He used the blood to cast another spell which transported him another thousand feet away like a bolt of golden lightning.

After the two attacks were blocked, Lu Ping couldn't help feeling annoyed.

In terms of strength, the leader was only a fine line away from the ranks of the North Ocean 18 Warriors, but he had an astonishing skill set and a lot of items that made him almost unkillable.

Lu Ping's excitement of advancing into Peaked Blood Condensation Realm had now been doused.

A renewed determination to kill the leader rose up inside him. He cast the [Treading Waves Art] with Auspicious Cloud and caught up to the leader in the blink of an eye.

The leader turned and threw back two items, one of them a green jade talisman. In a situation like this, it was undoubtedly a talisman treasure.

Lu Ping also took out a talisman treasure from his interspatial ring, and three golden circles of light appeared protectively with him in the center.

The leader’s green talisman treasure exploded and turned into seventy-two green arrows that volleyed towards Lu Ping.

The arrows only shattered the light circles, and Lu Ping was left unscathed. Without missing a step, he continued chasing after the leader.

At that moment, the leader's second object also reached Lu Ping and exploded into a black fog, wrapping Lu Ping fully inside it.

The leader laughed mockingly. "I doubt you can catch up to me now after getting smoked by my Hundred Flowers Malodor Essence!"

Just as he said that, the black fog suddenly shrank and, right before his incredulous eyes, was fully absorbed by Lu Ping's golden aegis energy.

The Hundred Flowers Malodor Essence was the complete opposite of the Hundred Flowers Ominous Essence's quick rejuvenating and healing effect.

Not only did the Malodor Essence corrode the opponents' aegis and arcane energy, it also caused dizziness and delusions when inhaled.

The leader initially thought that the Malodor Essence could at least slow Lu Ping down, or in the best case scenario, make him give up the pursuit.

However, Lu Ping's Million Poisons Aegis Energy, formed by incorporating his aegis energy with Million Poisons Pulp, was hardly threatened by any toxins. In fact, toxins would only become tonics for his aegis energy.

Not only was Lu Ping unaffected, he also launched a third attack.

This time, the Verdant Dawn Sword turned into the Water Jiao. The Water Jiao was much larger than before—its horn shattered the leader's Hundred Flowers Aegis Energy and then it swallowed him whole.

A few moments later, the Verdant Dawn Sword flew back to Lu Ping with an exquisite interspatial pouch, while Verdant Luan, who had shrunk in size, landed on his shoulder with an interspatial pouch on her beak. The snake trio also swam over, with Lu Bi carrying an interspatial pouch on his head.

It had been a long time since he’d harvested the spoils of battle.

Lu Ping looked at the leader whose cultivation base was restrained by his [Water Binding Spell] and laughed. "I suppose I don't have to tell you what to do next, right?"

He repeated the exact words the leader said before they attacked.

The leader looked at the Verdant Dawn Sword lingering around him, as if it would cut off a piece of his flesh. He begged for mercy, "Please, please, I’ll tell you everything. We only came after you because someone in Three Clans City leaked your whereabouts."

Lu Ping took out a gourd from his interspatial ring and took a sip. With a sigh, he murmured to himself, "Well, the Hundred Brew Wine isn’t as effective now… Hmm, I should probably collect more spirit herbs and make Great Hundred Brew Wine or even Thousand Brew Wine. Oh, Hundred Brew Wine made from 1000-year spirit herbs might also be good."

He paid no mind to the leader, while the Verdant Dawn Sword started poking his waist as if measuring where to cut him first.

Stricken with terror, the leader’s eyes rolled furtively as he blubbered, "It was the Li Clan! No one else knew where you’d be other than them!"

Lu Ping continued to mutter, "I’ll also need a better flying mystic instrument. The Auspicious Cloud is good, but it's gradually becoming unfit for me now."

The leader's face paled at Lu Ping turning a deaf ear to his explanations. A white jade snake slithered up his leg with a chilling sensation that made him shiver.

The leader's jaw tremored, and he struggled to say, "Alright, alright, I confess! I'm from the Zhang Clan. I'm working undercover in the city to establish a force of rogue cultivators that can carry out their private dealings. The Zhang Clan is the strongest of the three clans, so we planted people in the Li Clan who can leak information to us, then we execute our orders.”

This time, Lu Ping finally looked at him and smiled. "You’re from the Wang Clan, right?"

The leader's pupils shrunk slightly, and his frightened expression twitched for a split second. This was all picked up by Lu Ping's keen divine sense.

The leader continued in a terrified tone, "Whatever you say, just please let me live! I'm just a pawn, I didn't have a choice! Please!"

As he finished saying that, he was shocked by a chilling sensation on his ankle. He quickly looked down and saw the little white snake had bitten down.

The chilling sensation spread through his bones, and he found that he couldn’t move his muscles. Incredulous, he looked at Lu Ping. "You… you…"

Then, the leader's body stiffened, and a thin layer of white ice formed over him.

Lu Ping turned around and stood on Dagui's back, they changed directions and quickly left the scene.

When Lu Ling slithered off the cultivator's body, she gently swung her tail—the leader's body shattered into pieces of ice and disappeared into the turbulent waves.

…

Just a few moments after the death of the leader, a furious whistle reverberated in the Wang Clan's residence. An overwhelming aura oppressed almost half of the city, and a shooting light flew out of the island to the southwest.

"Senior Sister Ting, Alchemist Lu Jiu went in that direction, right?"

"Hmph, this is a fool’s errand. He must be long gone by now. It looks like the Wang Clan sent out a considerably important disciple for the operation. Otherwise, one of its Enlightened Masters wouldn’t have left in a rage."

"That’s Enlightened Master Wang Hua, ranked third among the clan’s four Enlightened Masters. He’s also a famous philanderer, they say he has many illegitimate children..."

…

Right now, Lu Ping had changed course to the north.

He’d put on the Mirage Robe which cloaked his aura, and Enlightened Master Yang Xuan-Mu's red-face mask that changed his appearance. As an additional measure, he also cast the [Spirit Hiding Art] to change his cultivation base.

Even if he came across a friend, they wouldn't be able to recognize him.

Among the three interspatial pouches that he collected, Lu Ping was only interested in the leader's.

He was currently reading a jade scroll that he found in the leader's interspatial pouch.

"A map of the Fallen Rift? Hmmm, that seems like a good place to explore. It’s rife with dangers, but rich with resources. This Wang Clan cultivator sure is fortunate, no wonder he can cultivate the Hundred Flowers Aegis Energy!"