Chapter 115: 夺得

Li Tongya waited for a while on the lake, watching a streak of white light emerge from its center, carried by the wind from north to south. Skillfully, he took a spirit cloth from his storage pouch, wrapped it around his face, and, holding his sword with his left hand, ascended to meet it.

"Friend!"

The person, carried by the wind, approached Li Tongya. Without a word, they instinctively gained altitude and changed direction, attempting to bypass Li Tongya.

The Moon-Lack Sword Arc in Li Tongya's hand was already prepared. Seeing this, he drew his sword and unleashed a streak of white sword light, chopping straight ahead to block the person in front of him.

"How dare you!" the cultivator exclaimed softly, forced to an abrupt halt. She drew her sword to parry. Her voice was melodious and pleasant, revealing her to be a female cultivator.

The female cultivator rapidly activated her spiritual energy, colliding directly with the Moon-Lack Sword Arc. Her longsword nearly flew from her grasp. The clash of the two forces caused a tremor throughout her internal organs. Her face alternated between green and red, and she almost lost her grip on her Qi manipulation spell, lowering her head to stare at Li Tongya with resentment.

Li Tongya, however, was focused on the aquamarine longsword in the female cultivator's hand. Its intricate patterns clearly indicated it was a high-quality magical sword. Seeing the female cultivator's displeased expression, his heart stirred. He said in a hoarse voice, "Miss, you cannot defeat me. Leave your storage pouch and magical artifact, and I will spare your life."

The female cultivator sneered. Her longsword suddenly flared with a white sword aura. She backhanded a slash towards Li Tongya, exclaiming, "Dream on!"

Li Tongya calmly raised his sword to parry. In two moves, he parried her sword, calculating the time it would take to subdue her.

"This female cultivator is only at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. Although her cultivation technique and true essence are impressive, subduing her in a normal fight would take between 120 and 140 moves. However, people frequently pass by this lake, and attracting attention would cause more trouble. It's better to end this quickly."

Although Li Tongya was only at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, his combat power, boosted by the Heavy Sea Long Whale Scripture and his sword cultivation, far surpassed others. Not to mention cultivators at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, even orthodox cultivators at the seventh or eighth levels would not be his match. If it were some haphazard cultivator who had rushed their Qi refinement, even a peak Qi Condensation cultivator would not be his opponent. The sword qi in his hand grew increasingly potent, forcing the female cultivator to sweat profusely and retreat repeatedly.

"This person is definitely not ordinary! Forget about rogue cultivators; even the few great families can't cultivate disciples like this. He must be from one of the Three Sects or Seven Gates!"

The female cultivator, facing Li Tongya's full power, only managed to parry for a few dozen moves. She felt the sword aura on her longsword was about to dissipate. Each streak of sword qi was heavy and powerful, and her true essence was nearing exhaustion.

"His true essence seems profound and clear, without any sharp or aggressive edge, neither hot nor cold... Is he from the Azure Pond Sect? Or the Longxiao Gate?"

Seeing that she was about to be defeated, the female cultivator bit her lip. Unwilling to part with the items in her storage pouch, she called out, "I am from the Wu family of Junnan. If fellow Daoist grants my Wu family face today, I will remember this kindness..."

Li Tongya shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Am I supposed to come to your Wu family in Junnan to claim benefits later? Fellow Daoist, don't try to fob me off with such useless words. I repeat myself: lay down your storage pouch and magical artifact, and I will spare your life."

Li Tongya had encountered the Wu family of Junnan before; he had met members of the Wu family during his first visit to Guanyun Peak. They had no prior relationship, and he hadn't expected to face them now.

"Fellow Daoist is going too far!" the female cultivator gritted her teeth, feigning strength while inwardly fearful. "My Wu family is also a prominent clan with a Foundation Establishment ancestor. I am his fifth-generation granddaughter. Harming me would mean incurring the enmity of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Fellow Daoist, you should think carefully!" Li Tongya struck, shattering the sword aura on her longsword, and said coldly, "Forget about Foundation Establishment cultivators; if I kill you here in the wilderness, even a Violet Palace cultivator wouldn't be able to find you. What does a fifth-generation granddaughter matter? Even if you were his direct daughter, it would be useless!"

He stopped speaking, his sword strikes forcing the female cultivator surnamed Wu to retreat repeatedly. Li Tongya flicked his sword, and the aquamarine longsword in the female cultivator's hand rang out with a crisp "ding" as it fell to the side.

Just as Li Tongya's longsword was about to thrust, a pale yellow talisman suddenly flew out from the female cultivator's hand. He raised an eyebrow and instinctively pulled back, retracting his sword to gather strength.

The talisman glowed red, erupting into five bird-like fire spells, all rushing towards Li Tongya.

The Moon-Lack Sword Arc surged forth, barely shattering two of the fire lights and scattering them into red sparks. The other three fire spells were already upon him. Li Tongya had no choice but to hold his sword horizontally to block, channeling his true essence into the sword, which immediately shone brightly.

The three fire spells followed one after another, forcing Li Tongya back three steps. His grayish-white longsword glowed red and sizzled with sparks. He quickly sheathed his sword, but the female cultivator had already picked up her sword and was flying east, carried by the wind.

Li Tongya also ascended with the wind. He activated his true essence without regard for depletion. In a dozen breaths, he caught up to the female cultivator. The sword qi from his longsword shot out, causing tingling sensations in her back.

"How can he be so fast! This isn't the speed of a fifth-level Qi Condensation cultivator." The female cultivator was so startled that her legs trembled, and her delicate hand reached for the storage pouch at her waist again. Li Tongya's longsword was still hot to the touch, and he wouldn't dare allow her to resist further. He lunged forward and slashed at the hand that was reaching for her storage pouch.

Small, pale white shields appeared around the female cultivator's neck and over her heart. She hadn't expected Li Tongya to be so decisive, and her defensive plan failed. Her left arm fell away with a cry of pain. Sweat immediately beaded on her forehead, and she shakily tried to cast a Qi control spell. Li Tongya, however, gave her no chance. He unleashed another sword strike, almost cleaving her in half. Only then did the female cultivator cry out in pain and plummet towards the ground.

The Wu family of Junnan truly was a great family; this female cultivator was exceptionally well-trained. Her spiritual arts completely scattered, she was about to fall flat, yet she managed to shakily halt her descent. Li Tongya caught up and decapitated her with a single sword strike, finally ending her life.

Li Tongya frowned slightly, looking at the bloodstains on the ground. He shook the fresh blood off his sword and let out a soft sigh. He then retrieved the storage pouch from her waist.

"Fellow Daoist, you could have chosen to live, or chosen a swift and dignified death. Yet, you chose such an unsightly way to die."

Using a spell to part the earth, Li Tongya buried her body and the bloodstains together. He then swiftly ascended into the air with the wind.

Lightning was already raging over the distant island in the center of the lake. Li Tongya faintly heard a loud laugh. A voice angrily shouted, "There's still a formation below this?! How cunning!"

"I have accumulated strength on Moon-Gazing Lake for two hundred years; I have some foundation. All three of you shall taste my forbidden spell!" The old voice was slightly hoarse, imbued with a hint of ruthlessness. Thunder and fiery rain suddenly descended. For a time, the formation, thunder, and fiery rain illuminated the small island in the lake, affecting who knew how many minor Qi Condensation cultivators who had come to steal.

Feeling secretly alarmed, he watched the fiery clouds in the sky slowly fade. The brilliance of the thunder and the formation gradually disappeared, leaving the small island in the lake scorched. Li Tongya felt uneasy. He turned and flew over the lake for a while until he found a small island. Using a water-repelling spell, he submerged himself and landed on the riverbed, his figure disappearing from sight.

The Li family had sent many people to investigate and organize the Snake Demon Cave a year before last. Hundreds of mortals and three cultivators at the Spirit Embryo stage lived within the entire cave. The skeletons had been cleaned up, and a dozen courtyards were built at the entrance. The pale blue crystals on the cave ceiling provided illumination, creating a unique ambiance.

Li Tongya waved away the few Spirit Embryo cultivators who approached. He found a room and was about to meditate when he realized his true essence was almost fully restored.

"The Heavy Sea Long Whale... truly miraculous!"

Picking up the female cultivator's storage pouch, Li Tongya poured out a pile of shimmering spiritual items. He conjured a fire spell, incinerating the female cultivator's clothes and miscellaneous items. Li Tongya then examined his spoils:

"Twenty to thirty Spirit Embryo talismans, fifteen spirit stones, three Qi Condensation level talismans, three Spirit Embryo magical artifacts, and over a dozen bottles of Spirit Embryo elixirs."

Pushing this pile of miscellaneous items aside, Li Tongya took out a man-high, blood-stained alchemy cauldron from the storage pouch. His eyes immediately lit up, and he exclaimed in surprise, "It's an alchemy cauldron! No wonder this female cultivator was so reluctant to part with it. Alchemy cauldrons always cost far more than ordinary magical artifacts. Moreover, this cauldron is in good condition; it's probably worth several hundred spirit stones!"

Looking at the bloodstains on the cauldron, this female cultivator must have been quite capable. He wondered how many people she had killed to obtain it. Li Tongya cast a cleansing spell to wash away the bloodstains from the cauldron, then happily put it away and examined the three talismans.

"One is the astonishing Fire Sparrow Art. If caught off guard, even a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator would suffer a great loss. The other two are much more common: a magical shield and a magical needle rain, probably only effective at the early Qi Condensation stage."

After putting away these talismans, Li Tongya picked up a token made of dark green and black material, with the character "Wu" carved on it. It appeared to be an identity token.

He casually put it away and began to cultivate in the lotus position.

(End of this chapter)