A hundred lifetimes of cultivation, merely seeking immortality in the cultivation world.

Chapter 206 The mantis stalks the cicada

Cui Jue was startled and instinctively raised his sword to meet the attack, but Lu Qingyun was faster and slashed his right arm off with a single stroke.

"No enmity or grudge?"

Lu Qingyun smiled and shook his head.

Cui Jue might not recognize him, but he could keep Cui Jue in his heart.

At first.

If he hadn't been prepared, he might have died at the hands of Cui Jue at Shen's Donghu mine.

Lu Qingyun remained unhurried.

"Fellow Daoist Cui is quite forgetful. I never thought you would forget about the Qingyuan Spring Mine so long ago."

"Fortunately, I still remember."

"So it was you."

Cui Jue's eyes narrowed, and a mysterious face suddenly appeared in his mind.

It was that mysterious person who killed Shen Buqun, the seventh elder of the Shen family, whom he had been trying to win over for a long time, in Donghu, thus thwarting his plan to seize the Shen family's mines and destroy the Shen family from within and without.

That person used a talisman to burn away all his beard and hair, forcing him to endure immense humiliation.

All the memories of the past flooded my mind.

He clearly remembered that the mysterious man's true cultivation level was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, but now his cultivation level had reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and even the pressure on his soul was faintly above the late stage of Qi Refining.

Who is this young master, or this powerful being who has possessed his body, that has set his sights on him?

Cui Jue's expression changed repeatedly, his body trembled uncontrollably, and in the end, only a cold, pale face remained.

This matter can no longer be resolved amicably.

Cui Jue let out a breath.

because.

Lu Qingyun came not only for money, but also to take lives.

Cui Jue chuckled coldly, his eyes no longer filled with fear, only composure, as if he had already taken life and death in stride: "Since you are unwilling to let me go, please give me a quick death. The victor is king, the loser is villain. I have nothing to say."

"You seem to know perfectly well what's going on."

Lu Qingyun's gaze remained indifferent as he looked at Cui Jue and nodded slightly.

He never intended to let Cui Jue go or do anything to repay evil with kindness.

Over the past three generations, he has killed many mediocre people, but it is rare to find someone like Cui Jue who, knowing that the outcome is already decided, has become calm and composed.

If given the opportunity and time, he might have become a half-step Foundation Establishment cultivator, but unfortunately, he fell into his own hands.

Lu Qingyun looked at Cui Jue meaningfully.

But we can't kill him now.

This person certainly had many ulterior motives; even on his deathbed, he still wanted to cause himself as much damage as possible.

bass!

Lu Qingyun swung his sword, the sword light flashing, instantly slicing away Cui Jue's magical power, severing his dantian, and destroying his spiritual root.

Then a magical rope flew out from his sleeve and bound Cui Jue.

"You...you actually knew!"

At this moment, Cui Jue's expression changed drastically. He seemed to realize something, and his heart sank into despair.

He wanted to grit his teeth and commit suicide, but suddenly found that the magical rope had been thrust into his throat, suffocating his mouth.

"That's right, all your plans have come to naught. In the end, you've only served to benefit me. No matter how unwilling you are, you can't change the outcome."

""

Lu Qingyun nodded and slowly walked into the treasure vault, acknowledging his guess.

"Long before I came to your Qiyang Cui Clan, I knew everything about your treasure vault. Only your two half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators and you and your father possess the key to this treasure vault, and this key is a bloodline treasure."

"Whether it's the fake item you privately copied or the genuine item your father had, they both share one characteristic: once the owner of the key, that is, you, dies, the gate to this treasure vault will close."

"What you were thinking just now was nothing more than wanting me to kill you, then trap me in this treasure vault, waiting for your half-step Foundation Establishment family to make a move and kill me, or at the very least, cause me some damage."

Lu Qingyun collected all the treasures in the vault, including the thousand-year-old willow branch, a wood-elemental treasure, and the earth-elemental treasure, Ksitigarbha Earth Essence, which he had been longing for. Both of these had been carefully stored by the Cui family in a magic jade box, but now they were at his disposal.

Besides, the spiritual herbs and magical artifacts in this warehouse alone are worth hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. Even if we don't go to plunder the Shen family later, this trip has already made us a fortune.

Then, he walked up to Cui Jue, clapped his hands, and said, "Your calculations are indeed excellent, and your decisiveness is admirable. It's just a pity that it's all meaningless."

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Cui Jue's life was completely ended.

His eyes were filled with fear and resentment.

At this moment, he finally began to regret why he had provoked Lu Qingyun in the first place, but unfortunately it was all too late.

The treasure vault behind them slowly closed.

Lu Qingyun's divine sense swept over Cui Jue's corpse.

"Huh?"

A tiger-shaped pendant clutched in Cui Jue's hand immediately came into view. Under the scan of his divine sense just now, the pendant did not even have any trace of its existence.

"I never imagined that Cui Jue possessed such a treasure."

After putting the pendant into his pocket, infusing it with his magic power, and playing with it for a while, Lu Qingyun finally understood why Cui Jue dared to brazenly steal from the Cui family's treasury, completely ignoring the two half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators above him.

It turns out that he had this pendant, which could shield him from the divine sense of those great cultivators, as long as he stole the treasure vault and escaped quickly enough.

Once he disappeared into the crowd, the two half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators could only beat their chests in frustration, unable to find any trace of him.

"That suits my current situation perfectly."

Lu Qingyun was satisfied.

Both of those precious medicines were sealed with restrictions. Judging by the time, those few half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators were on their way to kill him.

He had originally been considering how to escape from the Cui family more discreetly, but now, with this tiger-shaped pendant, he could hide among some of the women and children of the Cui family and avoid the sight of those half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators.

As for other mid-stage and late-stage cultivators, they are naturally not a concern at all.

However, just as Lu Qingyun was preparing to sneak away.

A voice, a mixture of surprise and delight, suddenly rang out.

"Youngster, you actually killed Cui Jue! Fine, fine, fine! Quickly put down the storage bag in your hand, and I might spare your life!"

Lu Qingyun raised an eyebrow and looked to the side.

Suddenly, a black-robed figure at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage appeared.

This person was none other than Cui Yong, who had defected from the Cui family and was supposed to be spying on Qiyang Mountain with those few half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators.

No, that's not right, it's a puppet.

Lu Qingyun's heart sank. He hadn't expected that Cui Yong was also a wicked person. He was afraid that Cui Jue didn't know that he had also become someone else's pawn.

Cui Jue thought he could steal the Cui family's treasure trove and escape, but in reality, it was all part of Cui Yong's plan.

I fear that once Cui Jue obtains the treasures in the Cui family's treasury like I have, he will be immediately attacked and killed by Cui Yong, who will steal the fruits of my hard work.

Dark, so dark!

At the foot of Qiyang Mountain.

Cui Tao's expression changed. He exchanged a glance with Cui Ze, and their expressions instantly became serious.

He naturally noticed immediately when the restrictions on the precious medicine were triggered.

He immediately gave Shen Wanzhong and Shen Wanding a cold look.

"What do you two mean by this? Didn't we already agree to use the younger generation as pawns to distribute the Cui family's resources? Why resort to such underhanded and cunning methods? Aren't you afraid we'll turn against you?"

"What do you mean by this, Fellow Daoist Cui? We two are keeping our promises. We have no idea what you are talking about."

Shen Wanzhong frowned and stopped Shen Wanding, who was about to retort with sarcasm.

"Not you?"

Cui Tao calmed down.

Then, his gaze swept over the nonchalant Cui Yong, and he immediately made a hand seal, activating the magic mirror to shine towards the Cui family's treasure vault.

However, a loud hum followed.

A crack appeared on the surface of the mirror, and the image on it immediately became blurry.

"Cui Yong, is that you?"

Cui Tao's eyes were filled with murderous intent. This magic mirror was Cui Yong's treasure. Cui Yong usually practiced puppetry and weapon crafting. He locked onto the target almost immediately after making a guess.

It must have been Cui who secretly tampered with the magic mirror to cover up his tampering with the treasure vault.

"Cui Tao, what do you mean by this? Although I have pledged allegiance to the Shen family, this treasure vault is a pre-arranged wager. How could I possibly go against the wishes of you two fellow Daoists?"

Cui Yong quickly denied it, and righteously protected Shen Wanding and Shen Wanzhong in front of him.

"The reason why the mirror's image was interrupted has nothing to do with me; it's because someone used magic, which backfired and damaged our ability to spy on us."

.

Of course, his mind was already in complete turmoil.

He had to juggle two tasks: dealing with Cui Tao, who was demanding answers, and dealing with the mysterious person who had suddenly appeared.

Originally, the plan was to have Cui Jue use that small pendant to steal all the treasures from the vault. If Cui Tao and the others saw this through the magic mirror, they could have pinned the blame on Cui Jue.

Even if Cui Tao wanted to hunt down Cui Jue, with the help of that pendant, Cui Jue could definitely disappear from Cui Tao and the others' sight.

By using the underhanded tactics he employed against Cui Jue, he could reap the benefits and secretly seize all the advantages.

Who would have thought that such a troublesome person would suddenly appear, not only killing Cui Jue but also using methods to cut off their surveillance, arousing Cui Tao's suspicion.

Cui Yong was somewhat at his wits' end.

Moreover, the situation with that puppet seems to be not so good either!

boom!

A violent sound suddenly erupted.

The faces of the several half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators froze instantly.

All they could see was a towering flame rising from the treasure vault of the Cui family in the Qiyang Mountains. Even though they were dozens of miles away, they could still see the huge hole that had been blasted into the Qiyang Mountains at a glance.

Cui Ze suddenly turned around and drew his sword, pointing it at Cui Yong.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, please hold your hand."

Shen Wanbing's eyes revealed a sense of pressure as he said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid what Cui Yong said is true. In the war between our two families, there was also an outsider, a half-step Foundation Establishment cultivator, who intervened. The theft of this treasure vault may not be related to him, or rather, it may not be solely related to him."

Cui Tao reached out and stopped Cui Ze, his eyes cold, and nodded, saying, "That's right. Causing such a big commotion has nothing to do with Cui Yong. There is indeed a third-party force involved here. I'm afraid the sudden change in the battle on the west side earlier is also related to the person behind it."

Shen Wanzhong and Shen Wanding exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming even more solemn as they recalled Shen Bucai's greedy, lustful, and cowardly nature.

Cui had unspeakable suffering in his heart, so he quickly agreed with a forced smile.

"That's right, Cui Ze, you idiot! Do you think I'm like you? Even if I were to take action, I would do it covertly. How could I be so unwise!"

"you...!"

Cui Ze glared at Cui Yong, but in the end, he did not strike with his sword again.

"We must not be suspicious at this time. The person behind the scenes is hiding his true colors and must be weak. If we continue to fight, he will really benefit from our advantage."

"That's right. In any case, let's capture that person first, and then we can discuss other things."

The several half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances and secretly communicated, quickly finalizing the arrangements before heading towards Lu Liaoyun and Cui Yong's puppet.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Cui's forehead.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart remained heavy.

But Lu Liaoyun is here.

Upon hearing that Cui was manipulating a puppet to force him to hand over the treasure, he sneered inwardly, but feigned panic aloud: "You, you're actually only at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage. If I really hand it over, will you truly spare my life?"

"You have no right to negotiate with me."

Cui Yong laughed heartily, then suddenly changed his expression and said coldly.

The restrictions on the precious medicine will surely alert Cui Tao, who will then use his magic mirror to investigate this sensitive situation. He must seize the medicine and escape as soon as possible.

"I hope you will keep your promise."

Lu Liaoyun feigned panic, pretended to think, took a few steps back, threw a storage bag at Cui Yong, and then gritted his teeth and said.

"My word is my bond."

Seeing the storage bag being thrown over, Cui Yong was overjoyed.

He could tell that Lu Liaoyun's cultivation was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and that his killing of Cui Jue was merely a lucky sneak attack. He was certain that Lu Liaoyun wouldn't dare to use any means to bring about his own demise.

However, just as the storage bag flew over...

Cui Yong suddenly felt a sense of unease.

He quickly urged the puppet to take half a step back.

boom!

A violent bang rang out, and a high-grade [Heavenly Child Talisman] suddenly exploded in front of him. The powerful explosion also severely damaged his puppet, which was made of high-grade magical materials.

Cui Yong's eyes widened in shock, never expecting Lu Liaoyun to dare to resist like this. He grabbed the storage bag again and saw that it was empty. The [Heavenly Child Talisman] that Qing had hidden was nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, the younger generation on the other side seemed to have used up all their Heavenly Talismans.

Cui Yong breathed a sigh of relief, his heart filled with murderous intent, wishing he could tear Lu Liaoyun to pieces, and looked ahead.

However, several talismans were instantly unleashed by Lu Liaoyun. A high-grade [Veil Talisman] emitted a red light and suddenly backfired, severing his magic mirror's ability to see. Another high-grade [Swiftness Talisman] was fortunately placed on his leg.

Lu Liaoyun had no intention of engaging in a standoff with him. At this moment, not only was there Cui Yong's puppet, but Cui Tao and the others who were spying outside were also a big problem.

Once Cui Tao and his group catch up with them, even if they defeat Cui Yong, this puppet, their lives in this life will likely end there.

The talisman is activated.

Lu Liaoyun fled, and then several talismans buried on the edge of Qiyang Mountain were immediately activated, followed by several explosions.

The Cui family's mountain-guarding formation and the Shen family's small Hunyuan formation were blasted open with several large holes.

The Cui clan members were taken aback at first, and then some of the shrewd Cui clan cultivators immediately fled through the several large holes.

The Shen clan's cultivators also sensed an opportunity and seized the chance to attack Qiyang Mountain.

Amidst the chaos, Lu Liaoyun remained calm, intending to use the confusion to blend in with the crowd and escape from Qiyang Mountain.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

"Well run! Well run!"

Seeing Lu Liaoyun escape, Cui Yong was both angry and delighted.

He was both furious that this person dared to use a talisman to trick him, and delighted that he had already locked onto Lu Liaoyun. He was not afraid that Lu Liaoyun would use the tiger-shaped pendant to escape. Once Lu Liaoyun escaped, Cui Tao and the others would surely lose their trail.

But he was able to take advantage of the situation and kill Lu Qingyun silently, taking back everything he had lost!