Chapter 66: The Mantis Behind

The Little Paper Man carried the spirit seeds, ritual implements, demonic beast materials, and other items Ma Mingyuan had sent over. Familiar with the route, it drifted into the core region of the cave abode at extreme speed.

At this moment, all the cultivators were blocked by the white mist and were slowly exploring around the outer perimeter.

With so many reserve materials entering the cave abode, Lu Yuan first went to feed the Blood-Devouring Vine and the Ghost-Faced Spider, so they could maintain their sense of hunger.

While his divine sense roamed in every direction, he used the Illusory Yin Eye’s avatars to monitor the movements in every corner of the cave abode.

Because the mist was too dense, not many spiritual herbs could be seen within their field of vision. On top of that, they were worried something unexpected might suddenly appear from within the mist.

The gathered cultivators did not barge in and recklessly pluck spiritual herbs the way they had before. Instead, they were careful and cautious, constantly paying attention to their surroundings.

Occasionally, when two teams of cultivators ran into each other, they would first size each other up, checking the other side’s numbers and cultivation. If their numbers and cultivation were not too far apart, each side would go their own way, separating after the briefest contact.

But if one side felt they could harvest spiritual herbs while also making an unexpected windfall, the stronger party would launch a thunderous assault. Lu Yuan would then gather his divine sense over there and quietly watch.

When they fought, the various cultivators brought out ritual implements one after another, and their spells shifted through countless variations. Lu Yuan, watching from the side, was greatly entertained.

In his previous life, he had never watched a movie with special effects this good. Now, he could watch it in immersive 3D.

Lu Yuan was completely satisfied.

“Hm? What’s going on with these two?”

While switching screens, Lu Yuan suddenly noticed that two cultivators seemed off.

They had clearly discovered a spiritual herb field, and it was even Snow Condensing Fruit, which was relatively rare in the outer perimeter, yet neither of them showed any intention of picking it.

After circling the Snow Condensing Fruit spiritual field once, they chose a position that was easy to attack from, easy to defend, and convenient for retreat. They activated a thin gauze ritual implement, and their figures vanished.

“A transparent secret realm?”

Seeing the familiar invisibility effect, Lu Yuan’s face in the void filled with confusion.

“They’re probably planning to ambush the cultivators who come to pick the Snow Condensing Fruit?”

After casting aside that first absurd thought, Lu Yuan made a guess in his heart.

The two high-level Qi Refining cultivators who had entered an invisible state also confirmed his guess. The spiritual herbs were right in front of them, yet the two of them remained motionless for a long time.

Murder and arson brought a golden belt. Ambushing one or two cultivators would indeed yield far more than picking spiritual herbs.

The location these two had chosen was also quite good. When cultivators came over, the first thing they would see was the first-rank spiritual herb Snow Condensing Fruit.

After keeping their guard up for so long, then suddenly seeing so many spiritual herbs, they would relax at least somewhat in that instant. That would give the two ambushing cultivators beside them an opportunity to strike.

On top of that, behind the two of them was a peach grove. If the ambush failed, they could quickly hide in the forest.

Lu Yuan felt an inexplicable dislike in his heart. With these two acting like this, it was very likely that the ambushed cultivators would be killed before they even entered the core region of the cave abode, and his rewards would disappear along with them.

Besides, the cultivators who died from the ambush would ultimately leave Lu Yuan to take the blame. The outside world would only spread rumors about how dangerous this secret realm was, and how high its mortality rate had become.

Thinking of this, his heart stirred. His divine sense controlled the white mist within the Mist-Concealing Confusion Array, silently changing the array’s form.

…

“Do you feel like this mist array is getting easier?”

A small group of three slowly moved through the mist.

“I do get that feeling. It seems much simpler to move through the mist now. It’s just a little winding.”

“Little Junior Brother is becoming more and more proficient in the path of arrays. Such a large mist array has been cracked by him so easily. A future array master is right before our eyes.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

The Little Junior Brother they were talking about held a formation plate in his hand and let out two dry laughs. He was honestly too embarrassed to say that he himself did not know what was going on with this array either.

Suddenly, a slip of paper drifted down from the top of a tree. The cultivator at the very front casually caught it, focused his eyes on it, and his expression changed slightly. His speed slowed by a few degrees.

Five large words were written on the paper.

Be careful. There’s an ambush!

The handwriting was messy. It was easy to tell how hurried and anxious the owner of the handwriting had been while writing it.

The expression of the cultivator at the very front returned to calm. He did not speak. Spiritual sense continuously passed between the three of them.

When Lu Yuan saw the three being so cautious, he was satisfied.

“You waited so long and still couldn’t get any fish to bite.

“This cave abode can’t bear to watch anymore. Out of great kindness, I’ll lure three cultivators over for you. Two high-level Qi Refining cultivators, and a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator added as a bonus.”

Lu Yuan had found this small group of three nearby and secretly changed the shape of the mist. Under his deliberate guidance, the three gradually approached the two ambushing Qi Refining cultivators.

The three walked out from a shrubbery. At first glance, they saw Snow Condensing Fruit spread all over the ground.

“Senior Brother, look! So many first-rank spiritual herbs! We’re going to be rich!” At the front, a young cultivator shouted excitedly.

The other two were also full of joy, and they impatiently walked toward the spiritual field.

The two cultivators hiding in the shadows looked at each other. Beneath the thin gauze ritual implement, spiritual power quietly surged, and the talismans in their hands were ready to be unleashed.

At that very moment!

When the three bent down to pick the Snow Condensing Fruit at the very edge, a fiery-red flood dragon and countless sharp earth spikes attacked the two high-level Qi Refining cultivators with the highest cultivation.

But the two of them had been prepared for this long ago. A black umbrella ritual implement and a bronze shield flew out together, blocking every attack in full.

At the side, the formation plate in the hands of the young mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator shone brightly and merged into the ground. A simple Bewildering Tracks Array formed just like that.

“Oh no, we’re the ones who’ve been ambushed!”

The instant the defensive ritual implements appeared, the two cultivators knew this ambush had failed completely. Greatly alarmed, they did not hesitate at all and fled toward the forest behind them at top speed.

Yet under the interference of the Bewildering Tracks Array, they spent several breaths circling in place.

The other two cultivators had already rushed over. Flying swords and talismans bombarded the pair.

The struggle came quickly and ended quickly as well.

The three-person team had caught the two of them off guard. Not only had their ambush failed, they had instead fallen into an array trap. On top of that, the three-person team was stronger than them in both numbers and cultivation. The result was self-evident.

At the cost of one person suffering light injuries, the two ambushing cultivators were miserably killed.

“I wonder which senior secretly warned us. Otherwise, with those two deliberately plotting against the unaware, we would probably have suffered heavy losses.”

The leading cultivator adjusted his breathing, his expression guarded as he observed the surroundings.

“Indeed. With that earlier warning, we were able to counter-kill those two so smoothly. They failed to steal the chicken and lost the rice instead. Everything on them belongs to us now.

“And there’s all this Snow Condensing Fruit on the ground. This trip wasn’t wasted.” The other lightly injured high-level Qi Refining cultivator swallowed a healing pill while looking fervently at the storage bags hanging at the waists of the dead cultivators.

Just as he was about to go take them, a white-jade mantis suddenly attacked like lightning and blocked the way in front of the two dead cultivators. A strange demonic beast, huge in size and resembling both a fish and a bird, slowly crawled out of the forest.

Within the range of their spiritual sense, thick vines appeared and vanished faintly in the mist.

The three had exhausted too much spiritual energy in the struggle just now. On top of that, one high-level Qi Refining cultivator was injured. They quickly made their judgment. Ignoring the storage bags and the Snow Condensing Fruit, they fled at top speed.

“What do you call a real ambush?”

Lu Yuan laughed soundlessly.

“No, wait. How can matters inside my own cave abode be called an ambush?”

“This is just cleaning up the aftermath.”

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