Chapter Sixty-One: The Gaunt Elder

The two illusory duplicates created by the Demon Shadow Technique could only last for a few seconds, but as soon as they dissipated, with a flash of Xiao Wenzi’s wings, two more tiny grey mosquitoes appeared within a few feet before and behind him.

As Xiao Wenzi continued to practice the Demon Shadow Technique, feeling increasingly adept, a streak of light blazed across the sky outside the mountain range. Snowflakes swirled and parted half a foot from the figure, as the flying light approached, soon revealing the person within.

He was a withered old man, with high cheekbones, a sharp chin, and a sparse goatee. His small eyes gleamed with cunning, making it clear at a glance that he was up to no good.

“Well, well... There’s no spiritual vein here, yet a cultivator has chosen this spot for seclusion and to carve out a cave dwelling. And by the looks of it, he’s right in the midst of breaking through a bottleneck. Luck truly comes unbidden—seems it’s time for me to profit handsomely once again...”

The old man’s cultivation had reached the early thirteenth level of Qi Refining. Though he was a rogue cultivator, his experience far surpassed that of most sect disciples.

As he flew past the cliffs of the valley, he easily spotted the cave below and the formation outside. Judging from the fluctuations of spiritual energy and the grade of the formation, he was confident that the cultivator inside was not stronger than himself.

In the world of cultivation, there was little talk of benevolence or morality—slaying others and seizing their treasures was the quickest path to power. Muttering excitedly to himself, the withered old man drifted down.

The north wind howled, swirling snowflakes through the air. The old man came to a halt in the valley, pointed with a finger, and his flying sword burst forth with a brilliant glow, hacking viciously at the mist ahead.

Boom!

The “Mist Veil Demon Subduing Array” that Chu Xiner had purchased sounded impressive, but in reality, it was just a low-level formation utilizing water attribute spiritual energy. Once attacked, the illusionary effect was immediately nullified.

With a thunderous roar, the mist dispersed, revealing a watery blue barrier within.

Seeing that there was no response from the cultivator inside, the old man was further convinced of his guess. Sneering coldly, he continued to drive his sword to hack at the barrier.

“Damn it, who’s attacking the cave’s defenses?”

Hearing the repeated booms outside, Xiao Wenzi glanced back at the tightly shut cultivation chamber. With his extraordinary demonic senses, he could clearly see Chu Xiner within, at a critical moment in her breakthrough, where she could not be disturbed.

Cursing inwardly, Xiao Wenzi spread his wings and flew toward the cave’s entrance.

As he neared the exit, his way was blocked by a stone door.

Fortunately, the slab Chu Xiner used for the cave’s door was not only thin, but just ordinary stone—otherwise, even she would not have been able to move it.

A few sharp sweeps of his wing blades, and a hole just large enough for him to slip through was carved in the stone.

Chu Xiner was now at the final stage of breaking through her bottleneck. She too felt the upheaval outside, her lashes trembling as she was about to open her beautiful eyes. The spiritual energy swirling around her began to waver, a sign of imminent failure.

Just then, a familiar voice sounded in her ear: “Xiner, focus on your cultivation. Don’t worry, I’ll hold him off until you succeed.”

Hearing Xiao Wen’s transmission, Chu Xiner was deeply moved. Not wanting her efforts to go to waste, she steadied her mind and continued to channel her energy against the bottleneck.

After reassuring the girl, Xiao Wenzi flew without hesitation toward the cave entrance.

It wasn’t out of bravado—if Chu Xiner failed in her breakthrough, she might suffer backlash. And he still needed her help in the future to capture cultivators for him to feed on. Naturally, Xiao Wenzi wanted her to grow stronger.

Besides, he now had enough system coins to exchange for dozens of attack talismans. As long as the intruder wasn’t a Foundation Establishment cultivator or higher, he should be able to stall for a good while.

“So it’s this old wretch. He’s detestable, but not weak—and that flying sword of his seems to be a mid-grade magical artifact, not easy to handle...”

A low-level defensive formation couldn’t attack enemies on its own, but didn’t prevent those within from using spells or extending their senses. Even before emerging, Xiao Wenzi could see through the barrier and clearly make out the withered old man wielding his flying sword. His heart sank.

The old man’s spiritual pressure was much greater than Chu Xiner’s. Each sword strike twisted and warped the blue barrier—at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the defense was breached.

Fortunately, though formidable, the old man was not at the Foundation Establishment stage, or Xiao Wenzi would have no hope of victory.

It was not strange that Xiao Wenzi could judge the old man’s approximate cultivation without using spiritual vision—he could simply sense that the man’s aura was no stronger than Huang Yipeng’s, confirming he wasn’t at the Foundation Establishment level.

In a flash of thought, Xiao Wenzi quickly exchanged for an invisibility talisman and activated it, then darted toward the edge of the barrier.

The withered old man was focused on attacking the Mist Veil Demon Subduing Array. This formation, possessing only illusion and defense, posed no threat to him. Once it fell, the cultivator inside—unable to be disturbed at this crucial breakthrough—would be at his mercy. Flushed with triumph, the old man never noticed the nearly invisible, bean-sized mosquito, now transparent with the invisibility talisman, drawing near.

“Die, old wretch.”

Reaching the closest edge of the barrier, Xiao Wenzi unhesitatingly exchanged for a Demonfire Talisman. The fiery red talisman appeared, and he instantly infused it with demonic spiritual power to activate it.

At that moment, under the old man’s relentless assault, the Mist Veil Demon Subduing Array’s barrier finally shattered.

Seeing the formation break, the old man’s lips curled with a triumphant sneer. But just as the barrier dissipated, a fist-sized fireball shot out, hurtling straight at him.

The fireball exuded formidable spiritual pressure and an unearthly aura. At such close range, it posed a real threat.

Realizing his protective aura might not withstand the blast, the old man dared not be careless. He activated his shield, retreated quickly, and summoned his flying sword to intercept the attack.

Boom!

The fireball collided with the flying sword, scattering sword-light and flames. Yet the Demonfire Talisman’s fireball wasn’t a solid artifact—sword-light only dispersed part of its power.

The fire split, and two smaller fireballs, still half the size of a fist, continued their charge toward the old man.

But this wasn’t what made him turn pale—for another torrent of unearthly fire was already on its way.

“Damn it! That little thing—how can it have so many talismans without any storage device?”

This time, the old man saw clearly that the attacker was nothing but a mosquito slightly larger than a soybean, nearly transparent and exuding no obvious aura—in truth, a demon mosquito.

After all, how could an ordinary mosquito wield such powerful talismans? It was surely a demon pet raised by the cave’s master.

But what was truly baffling was how it had acquired so many demonic talismans. The fiery red talismans were as large as an adult’s palm, many times the size of the little demon mosquito.