I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

"go!"

The ice blast shot out, precisely drilling into the hole and penetrating deep into the ground!

Before the muffled thud of the ice spikes hitting the ground had faded, Chen Qing felt the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble slightly.

"roar----!"

A deep, angry roar came from underground, followed by a terrifying aura comparable to the tenth level of Qi Refining, as if a sleeping giant beast had been awakened.

Without saying a word, Chen Qing transformed the Azure Wind Boat into a streak of azure light and sped off eastward without looking back.

Behind them, seven streaks of blood-red light had already caught up to the sky above the open space.

The burly cultivator at the head of the group saw Chen Qing shoot several ice spikes into the ground and heard a roar coming from underground. He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but seeing that Chen Qing had already run far away, he didn't care about anything else.

"Never mind what that kid's up to, chase him!"

Seven people whizzed past over the open space.

However, just as the last Blood Spirit Abyss cultivator flew over the open space, a pale white bone claw emerged from the ground, its five fingers spread wide, and accurately grabbed the flying artifact of one of the Qi Refining Level 7 cultivators!

"What—"

The cultivator only had time to glance down before his face turned deathly pale.

The bone claw suddenly gripped, and the flying artifact beneath his feet snapped in two with a "crack." The cultivator lost his balance and plummeted straight down. He quickly used a lightness spell to regain his footing, but the bone claw had already seized his ankle, and an irresistible force dragged him towards the ground!

"Boss! Help me—!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the night sky.

The five Blood Spirit Abyss cultivators stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Qi Refining...ten levels?"

The burly cultivator at the head of the group had a livid face. He glanced at his companion, who was being rubbed to the ground by the skeleton, and then at the blue flying boat that had already disappeared into a mere speck of light. He gritted his teeth.

"Chase him! Ignore him!"

Five streaks of blood-red light bypassed the skeleton and continued to chase after Chen Qing.

Behind him, the abandoned Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator watched helplessly as his companions disappeared into the distance, letting out a desperate roar: "Zhao Tu! Chen Yuan! You bastards! I'll haunt you even as a ghost—!"

Before he could finish speaking, the skeleton slapped him down, and the world became quiet.

Chen Qing glanced back and saw that only five streaks of blood light were chasing after him, which calmed him down a bit.

"Two are missing, that's good."

But before Chen Qing could even enjoy his joy, he saw that the Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator, whose speed was comparable to his, had somehow circled around to the flank and was rapidly approaching!

"That skeleton only took down one? It's all show and no substance, and this guy really is persistent."

Chen Qing's gaze turned cold. Since he couldn't shake them off, he would take care of the fastest one first!

On the Azure Wind Boat, the female cultivator also stood up, a short sword gleaming coldly in her hand, her clear, cold gaze fixed on the approaching streak of blood.

"Fellow Daoist, it's time to make a move."

No sooner had Chen Qing finished speaking than the female cultivator made her move.

The short sword gleaming coldly flew from her hand, transforming into a silver streak that shot straight toward the approaching beam of blood.

At the same time, she took out a silver-white talisman from her storage bag with her other hand. The patterns on it were so intricate that they were dazzling. Although the spiritual light was restrained, it exuded a chilling aura.

Chen Qing glanced at the talisman out of the corner of his eye and was startled.

He had never seen this kind of talisman before, but the spiritual pressure it faintly emitted was even stronger than his first-grade Golden Sword Talisman!

"A second-tier talisman? No, it should be the most powerful first-tier talisman!"

Chen Qing became secretly wary, slightly shifting the Azure Wind Boat to one side to create some distance between himself and the female cultivator. The female cultivator seemed to sense Chen Qing's wariness but said nothing. She simply aimed the talisman in her hand at the blood-red light, and spiritual power surged into it frantically.

The talisman instantly shone brightly, its dazzling silver light illuminating an area of ​​dozens of feet in the distance as if it were daytime, forcing even Chen Qing to squint.

"What is that?!"

The cultivator in the blood-red light only had time to let out a scream before being swallowed by the silver light.

The silver light came quickly and went quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the light dissipated, and the blood-red light vanished without a trace. In its place, a headless corpse fell from mid-air, while the silver-white short sword flew back from mid-air, its blade spotless and still gleaming with a cold light.

One strike, deadly and clean!

Chen Qing's pupils contracted slightly as his gaze fell on the female cultivator.

Her face was pale, her forehead was covered in fine sweat, and her breathing was much weaker than before. Clearly, the attack just now had consumed a great deal of energy, almost draining most of her magical power.

Chen Qing grew more wary, but remained outwardly calm, steer the Azure Wind Boat eastward at breakneck speed, and without turning back, loudly proclaimed to those behind, "If you pursue us any further, you will suffer the same fate as this man!"

Behind them, the five streaks of blood-red light stopped simultaneously.

The headless corpse fell right between them, crashing to the ground with a "thud," kicking up a cloud of dust and blood.

The five men's faces turned extremely ugly.

The burly cultivator at the head hovered in mid-air, his face ashen as he looked down at the headless corpse.

"Chen Yuan...is he dead?"

"Just...just one encounter?"

The other four didn't look much better; some looked terrified, while others had shifty eyes, clearly already having second thoughts.

The round-faced cultivator swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly: "Boss, that female cultivator used this move to kill the fourth and fifth brothers before, and now she's killed Chen Yuan... and Liu Sanshui is also dead at the hands of that skeleton. Should we... still pursue them?"

"Yeah, boss," another tall, thin cultivator chimed in. "If we keep chasing them, we'll probably die. The commotion is too great, and if it attracts other cultivators, we'll be in trouble. Besides, going further east is into the inner perimeter of the secret realm. What if we run into those Spirit Suppressing Envoys from the Lingyun Sect..."

"Shut up!"

The burly cultivator at the head of the group let out a low shout, his eyes filled with savagery, but deep within them lay a barely perceptible hesitation.

Zhao Tu had been in the Blood Spirit Abyss for over a decade, relying solely on his ruthlessness.

He may be ruthless, but he's not stupid.

He had witnessed the female cultivator's methods twice, and both times she killed him with a single blow, clean and efficient. Moreover, the boy who controlled the flying boat had not made a move yet, so who knew what trump card he was hiding?

Zhao Tu gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the receding blue light in the distance.

Those are three Ice Heart Lotus plants!

Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects are priceless and unavailable!

Once he gets his hands on it, his Foundation Establishment level will be more than 30% higher than it is now, if not guaranteed. Then he won't need to hang around in a hellish place like Blood Spirit Abyss.

"At this point, what's with the talk of backing down? That's utterly stupid!"

Zhao Tu glared fiercely at the two men, his eyes flashing with bloodlust. "That's a Foundation Establishment level spiritual treasure! How many times have you seen one in your lives? If you miss this opportunity, who knows when you'll get another!"

His gaze swept over his two brothers, then looked at the other two cultivators he had called for help, and he secretly made a plan in his mind.

The two guys who were summoned, one at the eighth level of Qi Refining and the other at the seventh level, were perfect for leading the charge.

Let them charge ahead and wear down those two's abilities. Once they're almost done, I'll make my move. Then all three Ice Heart Lotuses will be mine.

As for his two brothers...

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhao Tu's eyes.

The path of cultivation is one of climbing over the corpses of others. What does it matter if they are brothers? Before the Foundation Establishment stage, everything else is meaningless.

What's more, these two aren't even related!

"Chase!"

Zhao Tu let out a low shout and transformed into a streak of blood-red light, chasing after them. At the same time, he shouted, "That female cultivator has probably exhausted all her tricks! Those Qi Refining Level 6 guys are only fast because of their flying boat. After chasing them all night, their magic power must be almost depleted. We'll definitely catch up! Once we catch them, I'll make them wish they were dead!"

The remaining four looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted their teeth and followed. After all, their leader, Zhao Tu, had already charged forward; if they didn't follow, they wouldn't be able to survive in the Blood Spirit Abyss.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Five streaks of blood-red light traced five dark red paths across the night sky, relentlessly pursuing the Azure Wind Boat.

[Good news! It's been recommended three times, but it won't be available for purchase until the week after next. I was originally planning a big update on Monday, but alas~]