Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 90 The Dragon Slayer Becomes the Dragon

Faced with the three enormous rock giants, each five zhang tall and exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression, Meng Yunxiang calmly raised his hand and tossed out a clump of vines.

The vines were inconspicuous, like the withered weeds and vines that could be found anywhere in the wilderness.

Suddenly, it swelled up due to the wind, growing larger and larger!

The slender vines stretched out like pythons emerging from their caves or dragons emerging from their abysses, extending three or five zhang—even dozens of zhang long, as thick as millstones.

The rattan is iron-brown in color, and its rough surface is not like a plant, but rather like iron ore with a cold, hard, frosted feel.

Dozens of giant vines waved in the air, blocking out the sky and moving nimbly like pythons and mythical beasts.

This is a second-tier spiritual plant carefully cultivated by Meng Yunxiang: the Ever-Changing Magic Vine!

What does "ever-changing" mean?

Size and thickness can be customized to your liking, offering endless variations.

His ever-changing magic vine can be as small as an inconspicuous clump of weeds by the roadside, or as large as a hundred feet long and a foot thick, several times larger than it is now.

It can transform into a giant python made of spirit plants, or into armor woven from vines to wear for protection.

In short, it is versatile and can handle various situations.

The three giant rocks charged towards Meng Yunxiang, only to be met with the overwhelming, ever-changing magic vines, as if they had walked right into a trap.

In front of the ever-changing magic vine, the five-zhang-tall rock giant was like a toy.

The vines, like giant pythons, coiled and bound the rock giant's limbs.

Seeing that the three rock giants were all entangled in the giant vines and seemed to have lost their ability to resist.

"As expected of Manager Meng's ever-changing magic vine."

Pang Qing thought to himself.

The three rock giants he meticulously crafted were his strongest assets, and each one was extremely precious.

The material cost of a single rock giant was as high as 10,000 spirit stones. He also spent a lot of money to hire an engraver to carve patterns into it and create a puppet.

He was proficient in puppetry and had trained and cooperated with the rock giants for many years, so he could control the three rock giants as if they were his own arms.

The three rock giants also have coordinated attack tactics.

However, he met his nemesis.

Facing the ever-changing magic vine, which was even larger than the rock giant, he was at a disadvantage from the very beginning.

"Meng Yunxiang is at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, which is two whole levels higher than me."

The higher the level of a cultivator, the greater the difference in their cultivation level.

"You underestimate me so much? Heh."

Pang Qing thought to himself that although he was only at the third level of Foundation Establishment, he could still firmly occupy the top combat power among cultivators of the same level by relying on a rock giant.

The rock giant he created with a huge amount of spirit stones was not as bulky as it appeared on the surface.

"open!"

Suddenly, one of the rock giants exerted its strength and broke free of the vines that were wrapped around it with several loud bangs.

Under Pang Qing's control, the rock giant, who was already incredibly strong, gained several times more power!

The rock giant's body contained ten mid-grade spirit stones, which were now activating their energy.

The second rock giant's originally bluish-gray rock surface rapidly turned red, as if it were burning. The high temperature suppressed the wood-type vines, and the vines of the Hundred Transformations Magic Vine actually burst into flames.

The burning giant vines lost their resilience and were freed by the rock giant.

The two rock giants worked together to rescue the third rock giant.

In the distance, Zheng Pingyu saw that Pang Qing's rock giant had actually broken free from the ever-changing magic vines and couldn't help but remind him.

His voice easily traveled hundreds of feet to reach Meng Yunxiang's ears: "Manager Meng, be careful, or you'll make a mistake."

"Master, I was careless. I didn't expect his rock golems to be so capable."

Meng Yunxiang did not feel the pressure; even at the crucial moment of their battle, he still had the mind to talk to Zheng Pingyu.

Then he said loudly, "Pang Qing, your rock golem is well made. However, that's enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ever-changing magic vine in the air shone brightly, enveloped in a layer of greenish-blue light, and grew even larger, with its vines becoming longer and thicker.

The vines that had been broken by the rock giant instantly grew back, and the burning vines were extinguished.

Meng Yunxiang added more spiritual power and magic to the Hundred Transformations Magic Vine.

A mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator can easily overwhelm an early-Foundation Establishment cultivator with spiritual power; this is a cultivation gap that even ten mid-grade spirit stones inside the rock giant cannot bridge.

A giant vine wrapped around the ankle of one rock giant, and another vine wrapped around the wrist of another rock giant.

"call--!"

With Meng Yunxiang's unparalleled spiritual power, the two giant vines swung in the air like ropes binding a toy, lifting the five-zhang-tall rock giant and spinning it around.

A fierce wind howled.

The commotion was so great that many disciples from various sects on the ground could clearly hear the wind.

"boom!"

The two rock giants collided violently under the control of the ever-changing magic vine.

It must be said that the rock giant was made of extremely hard second-tier spirit stone and was further enhanced by the "solid" type of artifact pattern. The fact that it was not damaged under such an impact shows how sturdy it was.

However, under the violent tremors, the divine soul and spiritual power that Pang Qing had imbued in the rock giants collapsed, and he temporarily lost control of the two rock giants.

There was one more rock giant left. Taking advantage of the other two rock giants attracting Meng Yunxiang's attention, it gradually approached and came within about thirty or forty feet of Meng Yunxiang.

Meng Yunxiang controlled the ever-changing magic vines to firmly bind the two rock giants, without intending to destroy them completely: these were spoils of war that could be exchanged for spirit stones.

"There's one more."

He focused his attention on the last rock giant, controlling the ever-changing magic vines to wrap around it and move forward.

The rock giant ignored everything else and only wanted to get close to Meng Yunxiang.

After being entangled by the ever-changing magic vines, the rock giant suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a large number of tiny stone beads.

The stone beads were only the size of a fingernail, gleaming with an eerie, dark blue light, and hundreds or thousands of them flew toward Meng Yunxiang like a torrential rain.

Given the size of these stone beads, the ever-changing magic vines couldn't block them in time.

"A trivial skill."

Meng Yunxiang was prepared; he had been on guard ever since he witnessed the abilities of the other two rock giants.

A diamond-shaped wooden shield appeared out of thin air in front of him, completely obscuring him.

The stone beads clattered against the wooden shield, but were all bounced off; their penetrating power was simply insufficient to break through the wooden shield's defenses.

This spirit wood shield is Meng Yunxiang's defensive spiritual artifact. It can block the flying swords of a mid-Foundation Establishment sword cultivator, not to mention these small, hidden weapon-like gadgets.

"Pfft—"

Pang Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, which evaporated and dissipated in the air.

With his defeat in the battle, he was finished, completely finished; his lifelong cultivation had come to an end.

The blows he suffered, the resentment in his heart, and the side effects of overdrawing his strength by taking the elixir all combined to make him vomit a mouthful of blood, his aura weakened, as if he had aged decades in an instant.

"Sigh~~"

A thousand words turned into a helpless sigh. He raised his hand and struck his forehead, intending to destroy his consciousness and commit suicide.

"call out!"

A golden sword the size of a palm was faster than him, piercing through his dantian and sealing his meridians and acupoints.

With his dantian destroyed and his meridians sealed, he could no longer even fly, and was reduced to a mortal as he fell toward the ground.

Suddenly, the ever-changing magic vine extended a long vine and wrapped around Pang Qing.

The golden sword came from Zheng Pingyu: "Spare his life first, and find out about the He family's affairs, as well as those in the sect who colluded with him."

To recover the losses of the sect and uncover more people by following the clues, Zheng Pingyu would not let Pang Qing die so easily.

"What's wrong, Deacon Pang?"

"It seems to be a violation of the clan rules. For the owner and the two stewards to personally intervene, it must be a serious matter."

"Is this the method of Foundation Establishment cultivators? It's terrifying."

"The aftershocks of the battle shook my very soul."

"When will I be able to establish my foundation?"

'

'

Everyone on Lingzhi Peak witnessed this Foundation Establishment battle high in the sky.

Most people are just watching the show, but some people have a lot on their minds.

When Fu Shuai saw Pang Qing and Meng Yunxiang fighting, he felt extremely uneasy and anxious, as if countless ants were crawling all over him.

"Oh no, oh no! Didn't Deacon Pang say we wouldn't be discovered? What do we do now?"

"He's already been investigated, so what about me—"

Seeing Pang Qing captured alive, he became even more certain that he would be found out, and he had only one thought left: escape!

While Zheng Pingyu and the others were dealing with Pang Qing's matter and hadn't yet discovered him, they immediately fled.

As Pang Qing's right-hand man, he has done so much for Pang Qing over the years.

He estimated that if he were caught, there would be two possible outcomes.

One type is straightforward and easily eliminated.

One option is for the sect to "show mercy" by crippling his cultivation, confiscating all his spirit stones and treasures, and expelling him from the sect.

The two outcomes are similar, but the second one may be more painful.

"Calm down, calm down!"

He forced himself to calm down; now was not the time to run away.

Pang Qing has just been captured, and there may be Foundation Establishment cultivators from various sects secretly observing him. Leaving the sect now would be like walking into a trap.

He knew his chances of leaving were slim, but he had to try.

He won't give up until the very last moment.

Having finally reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, he was confident of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, so how could he be willing to die here?

It was late at night.

Lingmu Garden.

Fu Shuai changed into a night-walking robe that could conceal his presence, preparing to escape.

"There is one hour left."

Despite being a Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, he was as nervous as an ordinary person.

Under Pang Qing's command, there are a total of eight inner disciples who, like Commander Fu, manage the outer disciples, and three of them are secretly connected with him.

Fu Shuai was one of them, along with two others.

Besides the three of them, there was also a disciple like Sun Xin who was specifically responsible for logging and gathering materials in the forest area, making a total of five people.

The five of them were the ones most closely connected with Pang Qing, and they knew each other well.

When Pang Qing was arrested, it wasn't just Marshal Fu who was filled with fear and anxiety, but also the rest of them.

So the five of them hit it off and agreed on a time to escape. They would split up after leaving Spirit Plant Peak, and whoever escaped would be lucky.

When faced with a crisis, they only care about their own survival and don't care about the lives of others.

Fu Shuai wondered what he should do if he left the Qian Yuan Holy Sect alive.

Earning spirit stones has been so easy these past few years, how could he possibly work as hard as a rogue cultivator to earn spirit stones and accumulate resources?

"In order to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I used the spirit stones I earned in the past two years, as well as the spirit stones from selling Guo Chengyi's things back then, and just bought the Soul Nourishing Moonflower Herb. Now I only have three hundred spirit stones left."

Who would have thought—

For him, three hundred spirit stones was far too little.

To successfully break through from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, one needs to reach the limits of cultivation, spirit, and life force.

Cultivation level refers to the spiritual energy cultivation level of the Qi Refining stage, which is the foundation.

Divine Soul refers to the divine soul reaching the limit of Qi Refining.

Life breath, or vital energy, refers to the body's optimal condition, free from old injuries or hidden ailments, and without signs of declining blood and energy.

The "Soul-Nourishing Moonflower Herb" that Fu Shuai bought is a second-tier spiritual plant that enhances the strength of the soul. It is very precious, and he spent five thousand spirit stones to buy it.

With the income from spirit stones, he didn't hesitate to buy resources, always buying the best and never settling for less.

If he had known he was going to leave the Qian Yuan Holy Sect, he definitely wouldn't have been willing to buy such expensive resources; he would have opted for something a little less expensive.

"We can't just leave like this."

Fu Shuai thought to himself that he wanted to get some more spirit stones one last time.

Having escaped from the Qian Yuan Holy Sect, I will definitely be wanted by the sect and will have to hide my identity and cultivate in another place. Without any connections or resources, I will face great difficulties.

"Junior Brother Tan, and Junior Brother Huang—"

Fu Shuai hardened his heart and headed to Tan Linong's forest area.

"Junior Brother Tan~~"

Fu Shuai's voice rang out softly.

Tan Linong was shocked. He walked out of the wooden house and saw Fu Shuai wearing an unfamiliar robe: "Senior Brother Fu, where have you been? I've been looking for you for a long time."

"Deacon Pang has been arrested, what do we do?"

"Junior Brother Tan, don't worry. As long as I escape, whether I live or die, I will not reveal your name. The trail goes cold with me, and we can't trace it back to you."

Marshal Fu comforted him in this way.

"Senior Brother Fu, I have no way to repay your great kindness. I will always remember your kindness."

Tan Linong believed Fu Shuai's words and genuinely thought that Fu Shuai would consider his feelings.

But then Fu Shuai changed the subject: "I'll leave tonight, but without a sect, I won't have any spirit stone income, so life won't be easy."

Tan Linong had a bad feeling: "What does Senior Brother mean by this?"

"I don't mean anything by it, I just want some money to run away. Otherwise, if we can't escape and get caught, I can't guarantee I won't betray you, junior brother."

"Junior brother, you and I have worked together all these years, causing the sect to lose so many spirit stones. How will the sect deal with us?"

Tan Linong sensed the threat in his tone, and his feelings became complicated.

In the past two years, he only received a few hundred spirit stones as benefits under Commander Fu; the majority of the money was pocketed by Commander Fu and Pang Qing.

""

Is he really willing to ruin his path to immortality for a few hundred spirit stones?

He exclaimed that he regretted it.

"Senior brother, I have all these spirit stones, I'll give them all to you."

In order to improve his cultivation, Tan Linong used all his spirit stones to buy resources, and he didn't have much spirit stone savings left. He gave all of his remaining hundred or so spirit stones to Fu Shuai.

Fu Shuai weighed the spirit stone bag in his hand; it contained a little over a hundred spirit stones, not a large quantity, but fortunately, it had come easily.

"Junior brother, your path to immortality in the sect is promising. Do your best."

With that, he turned and left, looking for his next target.

Before fleeing the sect, he estimated that it wouldn't be difficult for him to "extort" a thousand spirit stones. Over the years, he had learned quite a few secrets.

Besides his three trusted subordinates, Tan Linong and Huang Shideng, he also knew about other people.

For example, some people use the sacred wood in the forest to raise sacred silkworms, just like he used to secretly raise the white jade cicada.

He turned a blind eye and did nothing.

These are all leverages he has over others, which he can use at crucial moments.

His actions mirrored those of Guo Chengyi, who had threatened him years before. In order to stay in the sect, he allowed Guo Chengyi to extort more than two thousand spirit stones, only to be emboldened by Guo's repeated threats.

A moment later, he received more than 500 spirit stones and arrived at Huang Shideng's forest area.

After understanding Marshal Fu's implication, Huang Shideng inwardly groaned.

He had followed Marshal Fu the longest, but unexpectedly, this became Marshal Fu's leverage against him.

"Senior Brother Fu, I have two hundred spirit stones here. I hope you can leave the sect smoothly and successfully establish your foundation outside."

Huang Shideng forced a smile and handed two mid-grade spirit stones to Fu Shuai.

"That's all?"

Fu Shuai weighed the two mid-grade spirit stones in his palm, not very satisfied.

"Over the years, I've valued you the most and given you the most benefits. Aren't these two mid-grade spirit stones a bit too little?"

Huang Shideng, feeling extremely distressed, took out more than a hundred ordinary spirit stones: "Senior brother, we really have none left, just a few spare spirit stones."

"Alright. You're almost at the late stage of Qi Refining. Work hard and strive to advance to the inner sect as soon as possible, so you can reach Foundation Establishment soon."

""

Commander Fu accepted the spirit stones.

"Thank you for your kind words, senior brother."

Huang Shideng knew that if he was found to be staying in the sect, at most he would be fined some spirit stones and expelled from the sect. It wouldn't be serious enough to have his cultivation abolished, let alone die.

Violating clan rules can vary in severity; he was just a low-level henchman, so the punishment wouldn't be too severe.

Staying in the sect means that at worst you'll be expelled, but you still have the possibility of not being discovered and continuing to blend in.

There's no need to flee like Fu Shuai.

Fu Shuai did not linger; he took the spirit stone and turned to leave.

As I left Huang Shideng's forest area, I looked towards Liu He's forest area next door.

"This guy—"

He didn't have any dirt on Liu He.

Originally, he intended to take Liu He as a confidant, but unfortunately Liu He was unwilling.

"Sun Xin made a foolish mistake back then, perhaps he discovered some clues. Was it because he reported Deacon Pang to higher-ups that he was investigated?"

"Let me try to trick him."

He flashed into Liu He's forest area and flew towards his wooden cabin.