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Several individuals entered the magic circle, and Liu Canghai hurriedly circled around, hoping to gain some advantage. Moments later, he approached Xunuo with a gloomy expression. The items that fell within the magic circle could not escape the control of Xunuo, the master of the formation. As for the storage bags, Xunuo dared not monopolize them or even open them alone; naturally, he collected all the magical tools left behind by the fallen Cultivators.
Xunuo ignored Liu Canghai's mournful face and first opened all the storage bags belonging to the Cultivators, dumping their contents onto the ground to form five piles. Thunderstorm, seeing this, also emptied his own storage bag onto the ground. They then sorted through the bottles and jars containing elixirs, while Xunuo casually stored the remaining items back into his own bag, attaching it to his waist without hesitation.
As they piled all the elixirs on the ground, their expressions inevitably darkened. Among these elixirs were quite a few commonly used by Foundation Stage Cultivators, but there was not a single Foundation Pill in sight. This meant that no Foundation Pill was in possession of this group of Cultivators. Seeing the absence of Foundation Pills, Xunuo couldn't be bothered to look again; no matter how precious these elixirs were, they were worth less than a single Foundation Pill to him. Thunderstorm flipped through everything again and, finding no Foundation Pill, couldn't help but stomp his foot and curse loudly. Liu Canghai had worked hard for a long time without gaining any benefits; disregarding others' gazes, he gathered up a small pile of elixirs, finally managing to bring something back.
In fact, the value of these elixirs far surpassed that of everything in Thunderstorm's storage bag combined. However, since these benefits could not be immediately realized, they were less appealing than Thunderstorm's acquisition of the Yellow Silk Umbrella artifact, which could be refined right away for immediate benefits in their upcoming battle.
Xunuo grabbed seven or eight magical tools, all top-tier among low-level artifacts. After briefly assessing them, he tossed a Copper Hammer Artifact to Liu Canghai. This Water Attribute artifact perfectly matched Liu Canghai's Spiritual Root attribute and was far superior to his Flying Sword Artifact; it would allow him to exert greater power in the forthcoming battle. Liu Canghai and Thunderstorm eagerly began refining their newly acquired powerful artifacts while Xunuo focused on activating the magic circle instead of refining artifacts himself. He stored away the artifacts and held onto spirit stones tightly to restore his mana as quickly as possible. Zhao Yihe had also recovered somewhat but was still severely drained of mana and was working hard to replenish it like Xunuo.
The four took positions at each corner while simultaneously observing the surroundings of the magic circle. Unclaimed artifacts could be refined quickly with Divine Sense; soon enough, Liu Canghai successfully refined the Copper Hammer Artifact first. Excitedly activating it, he performed several stabbing motions before satisfiedly putting it away. His eyes darted over to Zhao Yihe as he said, "Friend Zhao’s transformation into a beast is truly unparalleled; it must have some heritage behind it."
Upon hearing this, Xunuo felt a stir in his heart; the value of this spell surpassed that of all his gathered storage bags combined. If he could extract even a bit from it, it would be second only to obtaining a Foundation Pill. After Liu Canghai asked this question, only the sound of howling wind filled the wilderness; Thunderstorm perked up his ears, hoping to glean something quietly, but Zhao Yihe offered no response.
After what felt like an eternity—long enough for tea to brew—when everyone thought there would be no answer forthcoming, Zhao Yihe sighed lightly and said, "What I have is not a spell."
Upon hearing this, all three turned green with envy. Transformations were not rare spells; however, transformations that significantly enhanced one’s combat power were exceedingly rare. Zhao Yihe’s transformation allowed him to surpass his original strength by several times—a phenomenon unheard of—which was why they coveted it so much. If this transformation wasn’t a spell, then there was only one possibility: his current state was what resulted from a spell transformation.
With this thought emerging in their minds, Xunuo felt an urge to flee immediately. Soon enough, their three green faces huddled together and whispered among themselves, convinced that Zhao Yihe could not possibly be a beast. While it was said that beasts could take on forms at certain levels, those kinds of beasts could easily dominate entire regions; why would they risk their lives here for a Foundation Pill? There was also no evidence suggesting that Foundation Pills aided beasts in advancing their ranks. Thus, after analyzing everything thoroughly, they concluded that Zhao Yihe should not be a beast at all. However, Zhao Yihe was serious and would never joke about such matters; during their anxious wait afterward, they felt as if thorns were digging into their backs.
Meanwhile, Tuba Five and his companions had tied themselves up for a moment before noticing that two out of four Foundation Stage Cultivators surrounding them had split off. Judging by their direction, it seemed they were heading to support two other Merchant Alliance Delegations. Tuba Five understood that their audacity in ambushing the Merchant Alliance Delegation relied heavily on surprise and tactics to hinder their enemies. If they confronted them head-on instead of sneaking around, even a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator could sweep through their entire team without breaking a sweat. In Tuba Five’s view, this plan had already lost hope for success; now they needed to consider how to escape instead. With only two Cultivators surrounding them now, if they split up and fled separately, there might still be a chance for survival.
Tuba Five shared his thoughts, and after a moment of silence, the others agreed with him. They then discussed a plan to break through, each grabbing a handful of Talismans. At Tuba Five's command, hundreds of Talismans flew out of the formation. Suddenly, the area outside the formation burst into a dazzling display like fireworks, with dozens of figures scattering from the spectacle and vanishing into the sky. Two Foundation Stage Cultivators had anticipated that these individuals would flee, yet they were still momentarily dazzled by the illusion before them. The Divine Sense of the Foundation Stage Cultivators could discern the true nature of the avatar talismans in a short time, but soon after, they shouted angrily and split up to pursue.
Tuba Five possessed the strongest magical power, and his Flying Artifact was also the fastest, making him the first to break through the formation and escape the enemy's attack range. However, he was not the safest; it was precisely his overwhelming magical fluctuations that allowed a peak Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator to lock onto him first, chasing him with a flying sword.
The pursuit speed of a Flying Artifact could rival most Attacking Artifacts, but only a Flying Sword Artifact could surpass it. Moreover, this particular Flying Sword was an exceptional piece among low-grade artifacts, closing the distance between them in just half a moment. At this distance, Tuba Five's Divine Sense could not detect his pursuer, while the peak Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator could see him clearly. Tuba Five was merely relying on instinct to flee desperately; whether he could escape this calamity depended entirely on luck.
The peak Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator took out a slender Silver Needle from his storage bag and silently launched it at Tuba Five after glancing at him coldly. With a soft "huh," the Silver Needle vanished. Tuba Five died without ever realizing his opponent had caught up to him; his sudden death spared him from prolonged suffering. The peak Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator quickly retrieved the Silver Needle and changed direction to pursue another Cultivator.
In less than a meal's time, the two Foundation Stage Cultivators met up. "Two," "three," they counted, realizing that one had managed to escape.
Reluctantly, they unleashed their Divine Senses in search but found nothing. After exchanging a few words, they divided their areas and decided to search separately, determined to eliminate this Evil Cultivator.
The one who escaped from the Foundation Stage Cultivators' Divine Sense was Ku Zulan. By chance, he had obtained two Random Teleportation Talismans; previously in Three Star Underground City, he had used one successfully without misdirection. This time, facing life or death, Ku Zulan did not hesitate and activated a Random Teleportation Talisman as Zhu Xiu fled.
This time, however, his luck was abysmal. As Ku Zulan emerged from the disorientation of teleportation, he barely had time to orient himself before spotting several High-Level Practitioners—among them was a Cultivator dressed in Merchant Alliance attire.
Ku Zulan's face turned ashen; he forgot to disguise himself and turned to run. The Merchant Alliance Cultivator had been commissioned by Insect Path to lead Insect Manipulation Cultivators in search of wanted criminals. On his way, he received a Sound Transmission Talisman from Merchant Alliance headquarters informing him that there had been an attack on a Merchant Alliance Delegation nearby and instructing him to provide support. He immediately relayed this information to several Insect Path Cultivators and emphasized that the Evil Cultivator they were pursuing might have resumed his old ways of robbery.
The Insect Path Cultivators knew it was unlikely but felt awkward admitting that their wanted target was an Alchemist skilled in formations and wealthier than them; thus they reluctantly followed along—only to unexpectedly encounter Ku Zulan. His flight immediately revealed his guilty conscience; one accompanying Cultivator reached out with one hand and pulled Ku Zulan back toward him.
This Cultivator said nothing but seized Ku Zulan by the skull, pinning him in place while his Divine Sense surged into Ku Zulan's Sea of Consciousness. In an instant, this Cultivator's face lit up as he pointed in a direction. "Over there! That little thief is right there." He then crushed Ku Zulan's skull and took off on his Flying Sword. The others followed silently behind him.
The Merchant Alliance Cultivator felt quite resentful; although he had borrowed their help, there was no need for them to assist with Soul Searching—especially since Soul Searching yielded no verbal results. However, he dared not voice his complaints because this was a Rotating Illumination Period Practitioner.
The headquarters of Merchant Alliance was guarded by such practitioners who were revered in large cultivation cities like Cloud City. The fact that Insect Path had dispatched someone to capture an Evil Cultivator at the Foundation Stage shocked this Merchant Alliance Cultivator and piqued his interest in this Evil Cultivator named Xunuo who had robbed Insect Path of something significant. Yet he dared not show any desire for it; he even tried to suppress such thoughts since his own Merchant Alliance was powerful enough not necessarily to come forward for him.
The organizational structure and cohesion of the Merchant Alliance differ significantly from that of the Cultivation Sect. Within the Merchant Alliance, all activities are based on profit; every individual's contribution can be quantified in terms of benefits. Those who prove to be useless to the Merchant Alliance will be unhesitatingly expelled. If one were to offend the Insect Path due to coveting its items, the likelihood of being kicked out of the Merchant Alliance would far outweigh any chances of receiving protection from it.
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