The middle-aged elder of the Gusu clan, who was at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, was a sword cultivator who had perfected his blade techniques to an extraordinary level.
The moment he made his move, his lifebound blade unleashed a massive sword aura infused with the essence of his blade intent, slashing toward Qi Ping with unstoppable force.
Seeing this swordsmanship, Qi Ping’s eyes narrowed. This Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Gusu clan was indeed no pushover.
An ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator probably wouldn’t last more than a few moves against him.
The elderly Gusu Foundation Establishment cultivator, brimming with confidence, continued his assault, swinging his blade at Qi Ping, his eyes radiating absolute certainty.
After all, he had defeated countless mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators—how could he possibly fear some kid at the early stage?
The only thing that puzzled him was where the Bee Cultivator found his confidence. After witnessing his blade intent, there wasn’t a trace of panic in his eyes.
But soon enough, he got his answer.
Under Qi Ping’s control, the chaotic swarm of bees instantly coalesced into a massive formation.
The previously scattered momentum instantly solidified into a single, unified force!
The powerful aura immediately made the space around them feel heavy and oppressive!
Then, over a thousand explosive earth spikes, each radiating an impressive aura, merged into an unstoppable force and shot toward the elder all at once! A sudden sense of danger surged in his heart!
“If this is all you’ve got, it won’t save you!” The Gusu elder’s eyes turned fierce. He conjured a protective shield while pouring an endless stream of spiritual energy into the spirit blade in his hand.
He was certain: if he could kill the Bee Cultivator with a single slash, the bees, now without their master’s control, wouldn’t pose much of a threat anymore.
But that plan of his was doomed to fail. In an instant, Qi Ping’s body became covered in a layer of tree-like skin, a sturdy golden spiritual energy shield materialized in front of him, and a net of explosive fireballs came roaring down toward the elder!
Qi Ping’s powerful soul strength and mastery over spellcasting were on full display!
The next moment, the terrifying attacks collided in an instant!
Deafening explosions roared through the air! The shockwaves from the battle shattered countless buildings into rubble!
But when the first wave of attacks subsided, Qi Ping was still standing in midair, completely unharmed!
With the swarm of Earth Armor Bees weakening the enemy’s attacks, and with multiple spells and his [Farming Domain] blocking the rest, he had managed to perfectly deflect the elder’s assault.
On the other side, the elder, having focused too much on his attack, had underestimated the bee swarm, now empowered by the Zhou Tian Earth Armor Formation. His spiritual shield was blasted apart by the relentless barrage.
Although he wasn’t injured, he looked pretty disheveled.
“What?!” The Gusu elder couldn’t believe the situation unfolding before him.
He hadn’t just failed to kill the Bee Cultivator in one strike—he’d actually come out on the losing end of the exchange!
Even the other Gusu cultivators were stunned, as were the rogue cultivators who had been drawn by the commotion.
Where did this early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator come from, and why was he so ferocious?
“Dammit! I won’t give you another chance!”
Seeing things take a bad turn, the Gusu elder instantly exploded with all his blood and vital energy. He poured a reckless, desperate amount of spiritual energy into his lifebound blade, and his powerful blade intent shot straight into the heavens!
This opponent was tougher than expected, and he could no longer afford to worry about the toll on his body.
“Hahaha! Die!” The thrill of fighting at his peak, something he hadn’t felt in a long time, reignited his excitement.
He was confident this strike would finish off the Bee Cultivator! Behind him, his fellow Gusu clansmen watched with bated breath, their eyes shining with admiration for their soon-to-be-unleashed ancestor.
The enemy was done for!
But to their confusion, Qi Ping’s face remained expressionless. He simply uttered four cold words:
“Time to end this.”
Xuan Gold Killing Formation!
As Qi Ping manipulated the setup, the Xuan Gold Killing Formation, which he had been preparing for a long time, was finally complete!
The moment this formation—a second-stage, mid-tier formation brimming with endless killing intent—took shape, the Gusu elder felt his hair stand on end!
Now he was stuck. He couldn’t unleash his full-powered slash, but he couldn’t hold back either.
But Qi Ping wasn’t about to give him a moment to breathe. Seven razor-sharp sword energies, each at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment level, shot toward the elder from every angle!
This temporary formation, relying on pre-set formation anchors in Qi Ping’s territory, could only unleash such overwhelming power for a short time. Its power would drop sharply afterward. But for Qi Ping, that was more than enough.
And at that very moment, the entire swarm of bees launched their attack simultaneously.
After that, there was no suspense. With a series of earth-shattering explosions and one agonized scream, a shattered corpse plummeted from the sky.
When the lifeless body of the Gusu elder hit the ground, and the blood-red figure of the Bee Cultivator stood undamaged in midair, the entire area fell into stunned silence!
Only Qi Ping remained unaffected, once again calmly uttering four words:
“Leave no one alive.”
The swarm received its command, and a bloody massacre began instantly.
It didn’t last long. Qi Ping left soon after, leaving behind a scene of rivers of blood and a group of rogue cultivators still in shock and disbelief.
Only a few rogue cultivator parents, who had suspected their children had been taken by the Gusu clan, had looks of vengeful satisfaction and deep gratitude for Qi Ping in their eyes.
After Qi Ping left, the envoy of the mysterious organization quickly received the news.
In fact, the moment Qi Ping appeared, people both inside and outside Gusu territory had started spreading messages.
Unfortunately, they had no other allies nearby. This location was far beyond their expectations, so far that even Golden Core cultivators couldn’t make it in time. They could only wait anxiously for news.
The envoy waited restlessly on his luxurious throne, hoping that the Gusu elder, who had grasped blade intent, would successfully kill the Bee Cultivator—or, better yet, capture his soul.
But the news that arrived was that the Gusu clan had been annihilated in an instant.
“Dammit! DAMN IT ALL!”
The envoy smashed the delicate glass cup containing red liquid in a fit of rage, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Send more people to the Qingtian Domain!”
“Tell those few from Qingyuan Sect to figure something out!”
“I want this man dead!”
“Whoever kills the Bee Cultivator will be rewarded with three immortal herbs! Whoever captures his soul will receive ten immortal herbs!”
As soon as the reward of immortal herbs was announced, the entire organization went wild.
Even among those hiding within the Qingyuan Sect, many eyes burned with uncontrollable desire.
With the promise of immortal herbs, the winds of the entire Qingtian Domain began to stir violently.
Qi Ping had no idea how much impact his actions were having on the Qingtian Domain or how many greedy eyes he had attracted.
He simply sorted through the loot, submitted his mission, let the swarm handle transportation, and quickly headed to his next destination.
Truth be told, even if he knew, he wouldn’t care. No matter how much effort they put in, all they’d get in the end was the self-destruction of his tree-man clone.
Right now, all he had to do was complete a wave of black market missions as fast as possible, earn enough black market points, and put on a convincing act of despair, unwillingness, and anger before his final explosion.
After that, his real body could lie low and focus on improving himself. He especially wanted to test the skill [Curse Immunity] to see if it could protect him against divination and fate-based techniques.
His first forced self-destruction probably wouldn’t raise too many suspicions. But the second or third time? That might be a different story.
That’s why, when it came to his seventh animal companion, Qi Ping was willing to pay a heavy price to form a contract with one that specialized in divination and fate calculation.
So he had to make the most of this wave and earn enough black market points.
