Chapter 112: Spoils of War and Marriage Alliance

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Spoils of War and Marriage Alliance

Under the assault of the giant Thunder Talisman, the two Demon Cultivators’ Divine Senses were already shaken.

The residual power of the giant Thunder Talisman transformed into electric serpents that darted about in the air, throwing the battlefield into chaos.

Furthermore, the nine Bone-Stealing Needles were inherently tiny, and after being infused with Magical Power, they became almost translucent!

For a moment, the two Demon Cultivators were completely unaware of the Flying Needles’ attack. Only when the needles were within a few feet of them did they finally spot them.

They turned pale with fright, only having enough time to instantly cast a Low-Tier magical Shield to block while desperately trying to dodge.

Although the Low-Tier magical Shield couldn’t block the Flying Needles entirely, it did slow them for an instant. Using that brief opening, the two managed to dodge most of the needles, avoiding vital spots like their heads and hearts.

PFFT!

One of the Flying Needles pierced the seductive woman’s shoulder, leaving a bloody hole the thickness of a chopstick.

The ugly man on the other side fared even worse. His thigh and upper abdomen were each struck by a Flying Needle, leaving two gaping, bloody holes.

Although injured, the two Demon Cultivators couldn’t help but sigh in relief as they hurriedly recalled their defensive Dharma Artifacts to ward off the Flying Needles’ attack.

Because the Flying Needles were so small, they couldn’t actually cause much damage. The wounds looked terrifying, but as long as no vital points were hit, they were of little consequence!

But in the next moment, the ugly man’s expression froze. He felt the entire right side of his body go numb, and the flow of his Magical Power grew sluggish.

The seductive woman on the other side felt it too. A numbing sensation spread from the wound on her shoulder, gradually creeping toward her neck, arm, and chest.

She ground her teeth and glared at Li Ping in the distance. "You actually coated the Flying Needles in poison! You’re an animal!"

Li Ping couldn’t be bothered to respond, snorting coldly in his mind. ’She has the nerve to curse me for using poison when she does the same. Kick ’em while they’re down.’

Under his control, the nine Flying Needles zipped through the air, weaving an invisible net that closed in on the two Demon Cultivators. As they felt the Magical Power in their bodies grow increasingly sluggish, their expressions turned grim.

After cursing Li Ping, the seductive woman gritted her teeth and said, "Ugly, I’ll hold him off! Hurry and circulate your Magical Power to neutralize the poison! My own poison should be taking effect soon. I refuse to believe he can withstand it!"

The ugly man knew his partner had less poison in her system and could still hold on. He, on the other hand, had been struck by two Flying Needles and was on the verge of losing all mobility.

He didn’t hesitate, immediately sitting cross-legged in mid-air and circulating his Magical Power to try and purge the poison from his body.

The seductive woman let her Hairpin Spiritual Artifact fall to the ground and focused solely on defense with her other Dharma Artifact.

She was trying to hold out until Li Ping succumbed to her poison or the ugly man neutralized his.

But seeing the seductive woman desperately defending, Li Ping couldn’t help but smile.

’Against a moving target, I’m just an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator!’

’But when it comes to cracking a turtle shell... what should they call me?’

’The King of Thunder and Fire!’

With no intention of dragging things out, Li Ping pulled a thick stack of Spirit Talismans from his Storage Bag.

Five giant Thunder Talismans and five Blast Flame Talismans activated instantly—

BOOM!

Five lightning dragons and five Fire Dragons materialized from thin air, twisting around each other as they charged toward the two Demon Cultivators!

The seductive woman, who was already struggling to block the nine Life-taking Flying Needles with her defensive Dharma Artifact, was scared out of her wits at the sight.

Ten Tier Two Middle Grade spells! That was equivalent to an attack from ten Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators!

’I’m only an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and I’m injured and poisoned. How can I possibly block that?’

The answer, of course, was no.

Gritting her teeth, she abandoned her companion without hesitation, forcing her Magical Power to carry her into the distance.

"Shi Niang, you..." The ugly man, left behind to heal and purge the poison, could only look on in horror at the approaching lightning and Fire Dragons.

The next moment—

BOOM!

The thunder and fire Magic struck the ugly man before he could escape. He didn’t even have time to scream before he was blasted apart, instantly vaporized on the spot. Even his Storage Bag was destroyed, along with most of its contents, leaving only a few items scattering through the air.

The ugly man was reduced to ash!

Not rushing to collect the spoils, Li Ping turned his gaze to the fleeing seductive woman. Although she had fled early and avoided the epicenter of the Spirit Talismans’ power, the aftershock of ten Tier Two Middle Grade spells was still nothing to scoff at.

The Spirit Talisman attack had left the seductive woman with minor injuries. Compounded by the spreading poison in her system, she couldn’t build up any real Tunneling Speed.

And now, she had no time to use her Blood Banner to slowly accelerate!

Forming a Sword Technique with his hand, Li Ping sent the Purple Shadow Flying Sword and the nine Flying Needles to instantly catch up to the seductive woman, cutting off her escape.

Injured and poisoned, the power of the seductive woman’s defensive Dharma Artifact was naturally greatly diminished.

A moment later—

BANG!

The Purple Shadow Flying Sword sliced the seductive woman’s defensive Dharma Artifact in two. The artifact lost its spiritual connection and fell, and then the nine Flying Needles swarmed toward her like angry bees.

Before the seductive woman’s despairing eyes, the nine Flying Needles pierced her vital points, leaving nine more clean holes in her body and extinguishing all signs of life.

As her body fell, a Fireball flew in from the distance and incinerated her corpse.

After killing the two Demon Cultivators, Li Ping didn’t rush to collect the loot. He remained where he was and slapped his Storage Bag. Two lifelike humanoid puppets flew out and leisurely floated toward the spots where the Demon Cultivators had died to pick up the spoils.

Watching the puppets’ nimble movements, Li Ping grew thoughtful.

When he had been staying in Jixia Immortal City, he had stumbled upon a shop in the lower city that sold puppets.

He had been overjoyed at the time and tried to learn the art of puppet crafting.

After all, remotely controlling puppets in battle not only allowed one to overwhelm an enemy with numbers but also ensured one’s own safety. It was his favorite way to fight.

However, after making some inquiries, he was disappointed.

It turned out the puppets made by this shop were nothing more than toys. Aside from being able to fly like Dharma Artifacts and move like normal people, their actual combat strength was less than that of a mortal martial arts master.

They were completely useless in a battle between Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Li Ping had also inquired around Jixia Immortal City and learned that the kind of puppetry art capable of creating puppets comparable to Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation Cultivators had long been lost to the Cultivation Realm.

Even if he wanted to learn it, there was nowhere he could.

Disappointed, he could only buy ten of the toy puppets for future research.

As for now, he was remotely controlling the puppets to collect the spoils mainly because he was worried the Demon Cultivators might have left behind some strange trap before they died.

...

「Less than an hour later.」

A dark gleam of light flew away from the mountain, heading west.

Aboard the Flying Shuttle, Li Ping held a triangular Blood Banner, a look of pleasant surprise in his eyes.

The spoils from the two Demon Cultivators included a miscellaneous collection of Pills and Dharma Artifacts, as well as nearly three thousand Spirit Stones.

But besides all that, what satisfied him most was this small banner.

This small, blood-colored banner was called the Blood Banner. It was actually a Tier Two Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, and one that specialized in Flying Escape. Once activated, its Flying Escape speed was significantly faster than his Floating Shadow Shuttle.

Before, the two Demon Cultivators had relied on the Blood Banner’s extreme speed to force him into a fight.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have engaged in Magical Combat with them at all; he would have just left.

With this outcome, it was hard to say whether the Demon Cultivators had been lucky or unlucky.

Besides its astonishing Tunneling Speed, the Blood Banner could also refine various poisons within it, creating a colorless, odorless, and exotic toxin that could be silently released during battle to poison enemies.

Of course, high Tunneling Speed and the exotic poison were only part of the Blood Banner’s functions.

More of its abilities, such as controlling a blood mist for a Protective Body, binding enemies, or Concealment of one’s own tracks, were beyond Li Ping’s current Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation.

Perhaps he would have to wait until his Cultivation advanced further before he could unleash more of this Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact’s power.

’What a treasure!’ Li Ping thought, satisfied. He stored the Blood Banner in his Storage Bag, intending to keep it for himself.

Afterward, while passing through market towns along the way, he disguised himself and sold off all the spoils from the two Demon Cultivators in various places. He exchanged them for Spirit Stones and the Spirit Grass needed to refine Tier Two Pills.

Before he knew it, he was back in the Jiang Kingdom.

After more than half a year, Li Ping didn’t plan to visit Daoist Ji. He intended to just pass by from a distance to see if they were alright and then head straight back to Fenglan Immortal City.

But when he maneuvered his Floating Shadow Shuttle to a stop above the Sword Casting Manor, he found the manor to be unusually lively today.

Large, red "joy" characters were posted everywhere in the manor, and well-wishers filled more than half of the estate. From time to time, new distinguished guests would arrive at the gates.

Li Ping even spotted Daoist Ji among the guests.

’What’s going on? Who’s getting married?’ Curious, he extended his Divine Sense to listen in.

After a long moment, once he understood what was happening, a strange expression appeared on Li Ping’s face.

It turned out that today was the day of the marriage alliance between the Ji family and the Yan family.

After a period of courtship, three talented young men from the Yan family’s younger generation were to marry three of Daoist Ji’s mortal granddaughters.

Likewise, three of Daoist Ji’s mortal grandsons would marry three eligible young women from the Yan family.

Therefore, there were actually six couples getting married today.

And they came from two prominent powers: the Sword Casting Manor, a top force in the martial world of the Jiang Kingdom, and the Ji family, a Cultivation Clan.

Li Ping thought for a moment and understood Daoist Ji’s plan.

Among mortals, not even one in ten thousand possesses a Spiritual Root.

But among the descendants of Cultivators, the probability of having a Spiritual Root is greatly increased.

By marrying his mortal granddaughters, who had no Spiritual Roots, into the Yan family, Daoist Ji was actually hoping to increase the probability of Spiritual Root-bearing Cultivators being born into the Yan family’s future generations.

Generally speaking, however, women from Cultivation Clans would choose to take on a live-in son-in-law rather than marry out.

Daoist Ji’s current actions were likely a way to express gratitude for his help to the Ji family.

Of course, another reason might be to forge a closer relationship between them.

With no thought of going down for a celebratory drink, Li Ping steered his Flying Shuttle away and headed toward Fenglan Immortal City.

...

「Tens of thousands of miles away, in Jixia Immortal City.」

Xiao Yunzhi, dressed in a red robe, walked out of the inn where Li Ping had been staying, her expression wistful and lost.

"Yan Buping..." Xiao Yunzhi murmured softly from her crimson lips.

Gravely injured and unconscious, she had thought she was going to die.

But just as she despaired, a large, warm hand had pulled her out of the darkness.