Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 22

Chapter 22: What are these poor ghosts risking their lives for?

The night wind howled, carrying a palpable killing intent.

A figure dashed through the small grove, constantly glancing behind him.

“Have I lost him?”

He muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing before gritting his teeth and pushing his meager spiritual energy to its limit, continuing his frantic flight.

The Wind-Riding Technique, while enhancing his speed, didn’t bring him any coolness; instead, it fueled a burning anxiety within him.

For behind him, a cultivator clad in blue robes was rapidly pursuing, riding on a flying disc.

“Zhou San, you can’t escape!”

Zhou San ignored him, running wildly toward the Xiàoyuè Mountain Range. Once inside the Xiàoyuè Mountain Range, he could use the complex terrain to shake off Gao Ting’e.

The speed of wind-riding was far faster than a flying artifact like the lotus leaf disc. However, the spiritual energy consumption of using a spell was far greater than that of a simple transportation artifact.

Gao Ting’e’s face was grim as he followed from afar. Whenever the distance grew too great, he would inject more spiritual energy to accelerate the chase.

“Heh, instead of running to the Broken Mountain Sect headquarters, he chooses to run blindly into this wilderness. He’s truly courting death.”

With a cold laugh, Gao Ting’e held a talisman, ready to activate it at any moment. But as the surrounding scenery changed, his expression fluctuated.

“No, he wants to run into the mountains!”

The Broken Mountain Sect members were far more familiar with the nearby mountains than those who spent their days traveling along the great rivers. If he really got away into the mountains, hiding for two or three days, Gao Ting’e wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

“Fine, this Swift Movement Talisman will be wasted on you.”

Without hesitation, Gao Ting’e put away the lotus leaf disc and took out an earthy-yellow talisman, affixing it to himself. He poured in spiritual energy.

The next moment, a figure enveloped in a hazy yellow light, like an earth dragon, roared towards Zhou San, rapidly closing the distance.

Zhou San’s heart pounded in his chest, but no matter how hard he pushed his spiritual energy, he couldn’t increase the distance. Even the Wind-Riding Technique had its limits.

“Zhou San, die!”

With a shout, a flying sword shot from several hundred meters away.

*Swish!*

Zhou San stumbled but didn’t fall, instead running even more desperately. Gao Ting’e recalled his sword; it was stained with crimson blood.

“He’s quite resilient. Let’s see how many rounds he can withstand.”

Gao Ting’e continued the pursuit. The night wind on his face felt somewhat refreshing.

“Fellow Daoist, save me!”

A desperate cry echoed, piercing and shrill.

Luo Chen’s face turned ashen. He hid behind the door, his waist burdened with a stack of talismans, his hand clutching a Soul-Shattering Nail.

“Save your mother! Don’t come this way!”

His inner monologue went unheard by Zhou San, who was charging straight toward his house.

“Great River Gang business! Outsiders, scram!”

With a roar, a huge fireball suddenly ignited in the dark night sky.

Peering through the crack in the door, Luo Chen’s eyes widened.

Damn it, what are you doing?!

The fireball slammed down like a meteorite, targeting not only Zhou San but also Luo Chen’s courtyard.

*Boom!*

Gao Ting’e landed gracefully, the yellow light on him disappearing; the Swift Movement Talisman was completely spent. He gazed at the burning remains of the house, half-collapsed from the explosion. He looked at the body lying on the ground.

“Quite a good actor.”

Before he finished speaking, the corpse on the ground flipped over, and a flying sword pierced through its body, impaling it to the earth.

With a cold laugh, Gao Ting’e glanced sideways.

“Do you want to come out yourself, or do you prefer to be burned alive inside?”

The answer was another fireball.

“Petty tricks, daring to show off in front of me!”

Gao Ting’e raised his hand, a yellowish-brown protective dome enveloping him. The fireball struck it, causing a ripple in the earthen yellow aura before extinguishing. He beckoned, and the sword zipped back into his hand.

“Senior, please show mercy!”

Gao Ting’e looked at the man scrambling out of the window, shaking his head disdainfully. Just a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator.

Suddenly, he roared, “How dare you!”

Another fireball flew towards him. The fireball wasn’t what angered him; it was the fact that this lowly Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator dared to attack him after seeing him.

In a fit of rage, he was about to unleash his sword. He didn’t care about the fireball. His Earthy Yellow Barrier Array was superior in defense against most low-level spells; even a Meteor Fire Rain couldn’t penetrate it.

But the next moment, his face changed. After the fireball extinguished, a black light, like a knife cutting through tofu, shattered his Earthy Yellow Barrier and pierced directly into his chest.

*Swish!*

“Soul…”

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Under the night sky, a figure moved like a ghost, constantly forming hand seals, unleashing a barrage of fireballs. Gao Ting’e tried to use his Earthy Yellow Barrier again, but under the relentless fireballs, he could not get a moment’s respite.

“His spellcasting speed… so fast!”

This was Gao Ting’e’s last thought before he fell.

Luo Chen stood two hundred meters away, staring intently at the fallen body.

“He might be playing dead. I’ve used that tactic before, and that person used it too.”

“So, I need to test it!”

Without hesitation, Luo Chen launched another fireball.

*Bang!*

The body didn’t react; it seemed truly dead.

Luo Chen remained uncertain. From this distance, if the other person was faking, he still had a chance to escape. But wouldn’t someone faking their death be truly at the brink of death?

Luo Chen’s eyes lit up. He muttered a short incantation, his fingers moving suddenly. A green light flowed from the ground like a vine, wrapping around the cultivator’s neck.

“Twang!”

A sword’s hum rang out. Luo Chen was startled but increased the spiritual energy input. The vine tightened its grip on the neck, twisting the head twice before dissipating.

“He really was playing dead. Too bad, that trick doesn’t work on me.”

Relieved, Luo Chen approached the corpse. Looking at the twisted, grotesque neck and the corpse’s expression, Luo Chen felt surprisingly calm. There was no anger at being caught in the crossfire, no pride in slaying a powerful enemy. Sometimes, adapting to an atmosphere is easy. Luo Chen’s adaptability was always excellent.

He simply sighed, thinking the Entanglement Technique could actually kill people. He wouldn’t make fun of that certain God King anymore.

He shook his head. Well, looking at this twisted neck, the shaking movement was a bit creepy.

Luo Chen expertly began to search the body. A swallow-shaped flying sword—he’d assess its quality later. A lotus leaf disc—a low-grade flying artifact, 150 spiritual stones at the Wanbao Pavilion, half again as expensive as a normal low-grade first-rank artifact. The robes were ruined. Huh, there’s also a close-fitting inner armor. That explains why he survived my Soul-Shattering Nail and more than ten fireballs. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much destroyed too.

No spiritual stones? No cultivation techniques? No storage pouch?

Damn it, what a poor ghost!

After removing the Soul-Shattering Nail from the chest, Luo Chen grumbled as he searched the other corpse. He only got a set of flying daggers and a small pouch of spiritual stones; nothing else.

Damn, another poor ghost!

“A bunch of poor ghosts, risking their lives for what!”

With a sigh, Luo Chen looked back at his burning house, his heart sinking.

“The local gangs are just incredibly rude!”

(End of Chapter)

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