Chapter Forty-Five: Slaying the Foundation Establishment Cultivator

“Kill!” Zhou Qi seized a moment when no one was watching, transformed himself into the guise of a fallen outer disciple, and followed the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect forward into battle. This group of cultivators was led by an elder of the Core Formation stage, accompanied by more than a dozen Foundation Establishment disciples and over twenty Qi Refining disciples. With the aid of pills and spirit stones, the Zhengyi disciples feared neither death nor injury, and Zhou Qi, swept up by their fervor, charged ahead with all his might.

Their adversaries belonged to Luofeng Valley, a subordinate sect of the Immortal Couple Sect. The Zhengyi Sect had previously suffered a bitter defeat at their hands, and now, encountering a squad of Luofeng Valley cultivators, old enmities flared, and eyes burned with vengeance.

The opposing group, too, was led by a Core Formation cultivator. As soon as the two golden core elders crossed paths, they ascended skyward and engaged in a fierce battle above. Below, the remaining cultivators matched up—soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals—each selecting their own foe, for this was an ambush, and no elaborate formation had been prepared.

To avoid attracting the attention of the enemy's Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators, Zhou Qi concealed his true strength, displaying only the eighth layer of Qi Refining. He faced off against an opponent at the ninth layer.

That cultivator wielded a black scythe, a cruel smile twisting his lips, his gaze upon Zhou Qi as if he were already a corpse.

Zhou Qi dared not be careless. He drew his longsword cautiously, for this was a battle of life and death—a single misstep could spell doom.

“Kill!” Both shouted and rushed at each other.

Zhou Qi stepped lightly with the Five Elements Footwork, parrying the scythe with his sword. Yet his opponent grinned strangely, causing Zhou Qi to start in alarm. He quickly activated the Godly Movement Technique to dodge, and, glancing back, saw a flying dagger suspended where he had just stood.

“It seems you have some skill. But next time, you won't be so lucky.” Seeing his sneak attack fail, the enemy remained unfazed, summoning five more daggers to hover in the air. The six daggers shot toward Zhou Qi from six different angles, clearly a formidable flying dagger technique. The enemy followed closely behind, scythe whirling.

Zhou Qi secretly activated the Myriad Beast Armor, ignoring the daggers and focusing on parrying the scythe.

“Die!” The opponent watched as the daggers plunged toward Zhou Qi, awaiting the sight of six bloody holes in his body.

This cultivator was exceptionally cruel, and delighted in the despair of his victims just before death. Soon, however, he realized something was amiss—Zhou Qi remained calm, his face utterly devoid of fear.

Indeed, the six daggers were blocked by the Myriad Beast Armor. The enemy tried to retreat, but it was too late. The Immortal-Slaying Sword pierced through his defensive armor and struck his heart.

“You're not the only one who can ambush,” Zhou Qi said coldly, watching the man collapse in despair.

Zhou Qi hurried forward and stripped the enemy of his storage rings—three or four in total, evidently seized from others. There was no time to inspect their contents, for another foe launched an attack. This one had seen Zhou Qi, with only eighth-layer Qi Refining, slay a ninth-layer cultivator and approached cautiously.

He opened with a forceful blow, wielding a massive hammer. Zhou Qi used the Immortal-Slaying Sword to block the strike.

“A mid-grade spiritual weapon!” the enemy exclaimed with joy, his attacks becoming even more ferocious.

Zhou Qi employed the Five Elements Footwork to dodge repeatedly; the enemy's strength was immense, and each clash of hammer and sword sent waves of power through Zhou Qi’s arm.

With a roar, the enemy’s hammer flashed with blue light and struck the ground. Zhou Qi was secretly alarmed—his foe had unleashed his strongest attack, aiming to kill Zhou Qi in one blow. Zhou Qi soared on his sword, slashing down at the enemy’s head. The enemy raised his hammer to defend, but was sent flying backward.

A golden opportunity—before the enemy even hit the ground, Zhou Qi’s Immortal-Slaying Sword had severed his head.

After killing two enemies in quick succession, Zhou Qi had consumed a fair amount of spiritual energy wielding his mid-grade spiritual weapon. He devoured Restoration Pills to maintain his peak state.

The deaths of two peak ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators finally drew the attention of a Luofeng Valley Foundation Establishment cultivator. Having beheaded a Zhengyi Sect Foundation disciple, the enemy now charged at Zhou Qi.

Alarmed, Zhou Qi turned to flee.

“He’s only a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. You’re now at the tenth layer of Qi Refining—you can try to fight him.” The voice of Master Tianxuan echoed in Zhou Qi’s mind.

A first-layer Foundation Establishment? Worth a fight, then. Zhou Qi prepared himself carefully, circulating spiritual energy.

Seeing Zhou Qi remain instead of fleeing, the enemy laughed loudly. “Killed two Qi Refining disciples and now thinks himself invincible? Good, you have courage. I’ll send you to hell to avenge them.”

His words of vengeance were false; what he truly coveted was Zhou Qi’s mid-grade spiritual weapon. Watching Zhou Qi devour Restoration Pills in handfuls, many Foundation Establishment disciples wanted to kill him themselves, but were entangled by Zhengyi Sect cultivators. This enemy had paid a heavy price, forcibly slaying a Zhengyi Foundation disciple, just so others wouldn’t beat him to it.

“Just a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator—still an ant. Where does your confidence come from?” Since the enemy was in no hurry to strike, Zhou Qi refrained from attacking, seeking to provoke him and find an opening.

“I may be an ant, but crushing you is even easier than crushing an ant. Boy, being disrespectful to me was your greatest mistake. I’ll make sure you beg for death, unable to live or die, repenting in hell!” Compared to an ant by Zhou Qi, the enemy was enraged, his sword beneath his feet transforming into a streak of light that shot toward Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi mocked him verbally, but in his heart he dared not relax. Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed spiritual senses many times keener than Qi Refining ones, and their spiritual energy had liquefied, granting them far greater power and endurance. Prolonged sword flight was no challenge for them.

Faced with this attack, Zhou Qi dared not receive it head-on; even the Five Elements Footwork might not dodge it. He activated the Mysterious Thunder Escape, transforming into a bolt of lightning that charged at the enemy.

Using the Mysterious Thunder Escape consumed nearly a third of Zhou Qi’s spiritual energy—a Foundation Establishment technique was taxing, so the battle had to be brief.

Seeing Zhou Qi rush toward him, the enemy tried to recall his sword, but Zhou Qi’s blade was faster. The Myriad Sword Return—his Immortal-Slaying Sword became a streak of green light, piercing the enemy’s throat in the blink of an eye.

“Ah… ah…” The enemy clutched his pierced throat, disbelief in his eyes. He had only launched one attack—how had he fallen so swiftly? He groaned unwillingly and collapsed.

Zhou Qi hastily took the enemy’s storage ring and, using the Godly Movement Technique, flashed to the rear of the Zhengyi Sect disciples. Having killed the Foundation Establishment cultivator with only two moves, his spiritual energy was nearly exhausted. At this moment, even a random Qi Refining cultivator could threaten him.

“Well done, Zhao Xin!” The disciple Zhou Qi had disguised himself as was named Zhao Xin, who had long since been slain by the enemy.

The Zhengyi Sect cultivators witnessed an eighth-layer Qi Refining disciple slay a Foundation Establishment enemy and their morale soared, pressing the attack ever harder.

Zhou Qi gulped down Restoration Pills, watching the battle unfold. The Luofeng Valley forces retreated step by step. The fight between Core Formation elders in the sky was also nearing its end. Seeing their side lose ground below, the Luofeng Valley elder grew anxious—defeat was only a matter of time.