Chapter 138

Chapter 138: Battling the Demonic Cultivator (3)

Hearing Yun Xi’s words, a young cultivator stepped forward and said, “Fellow Daoists, let’s leave Rosy Cloud Valley immediately and spread word about the trap of acquiring third-rank Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly eggs. We must prevent more cultivators from falling victim.”

The others nodded their agreement.

Yun Xi planned to stay until she had utterly worn down the Golden Core demonic cultivator. She said, “Take the four demonic cultivators’ corpses with you as proof. According to my guess, the cultivators in the small town outside the valley offering high rewards for butterfly eggs must be involved with these demonic cultivators. If you can capture them before they notice anything amiss, perhaps you’ll uncover more details about their schemes.”

Then Yun Xi revealed another clue: within the town, Qi Refining cultivators had been selling jade slips marked by demonic cultivators.

When Xia You heard this, her eyes widened in shock. Clearly, she was one of those who’d bought the distribution maps for the back valley. Her situation was even more tragic—she hadn’t been directly captured by demonic cultivators, but betrayed by her own companions.

“Which one of you is Xia You?” Yun Xi asked aloud.

A female cultivator in blue robes subconsciously stepped forward. “I am.”

Yun Xi glanced at Xia You and immediately understood why she’d been betrayed. Not only was Xia You very beautiful, but her cultivation had also reached mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Moreover, her bone age was not even thirty, marking her as a promising talent.

Wanting to confirm the information she’d received from Pan Yuan, Yun Xi asked, “Is Pan Yuan your friend?”

At the mention of this name, Xia You’s expression instantly darkened. Clenching her teeth, she replied, “She doesn’t deserve to be called my friend. Once we escape, I’ll settle this debt myself.”

“They betrayed you?” Yun Xi asked.

“Yes,” Xia You said bitterly. “They traded me to the demonic cultivators in exchange for their own lives.”

She didn’t need to explain further—everyone already understood.

“The three of them tricked me into joining their team,” Yun Xi said. “But because they had prior dealings with demonic cultivators, my spirit pet sensed something wrong. They even tried to use a spirit-sealing pill to control me. I’ve already dealt with them.”

Hearing this, Xia You felt as if it was the best news she’d heard all day. She cupped her fists respectfully and said, “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist, for avenging me. It’s inconvenient now, but after we leave this place, I will surely repay your kindness.”

Yun Xi didn’t mind much about gratitude or repayment. She simply wanted to make some new friends, so she smiled and replied, “There’s no need. It’s enough to confirm I didn’t kill the wrong people.”

While talking with the others, Yun Xi had recovered most of her spiritual energy. Not wasting more time, she gripped the Life-Ending Staff and flashed into the formation, leaving Dian Dian outside to keep watch.

The young cultivators watched Yun Xi rush into the formation to confront the late-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator, eager to help but lacking any decent weapons.

Finally, everyone decided to act according to the plan they’d discussed—making sure the news about demonic cultivators in Rosy Cloud Valley spread far and wide.

Three cultivators at late-stage Foundation Establishment quickly came up with a simple plan, each leading a group. First, they reclaimed their stolen storage bags and weapons, then divided the demonic cultivators’ treasures. Storing the bodies of the demonic cultivators in their bags, they quickly split into three teams and left the hideout.

The first group, carrying the corpses, headed straight to the town without delay. They intended to alert the Golden Core cultivators stationed there. Those from sects contacted their sects, clan members informed their families, and rogue cultivators sent word directly to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, determined to make sure everyone knew about the crisis.

The second team, consisting of cultivators at mid-stage Foundation Establishment and above, went to suppress those cultivators with ill intentions still lingering in the valley, ensuring that news of the demonic cultivators’ defeat wouldn’t leak prematurely.

Yu Qing Cheng, Liu Hao Tian, and Xia You stayed outside the formation, ready to assist Yun Xi if needed. Yu Qing Cheng and Liu Hao Tian had used Hundred Flowers Pavilion’s secret techniques and were still weakened, so they stayed behind to recover quickly. Xia You, purely wanting to thank Yun Xi, decided to remain as well, as she had regained her confidence after retrieving her storage bag.

Inside the formation, Yun Xi saw the late-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator frantically evading purple lightning strikes. Each lightning strike weakened the demonic cultivator’s aura slightly. Yun Xi stayed hidden within the formation, observing carefully.

She soon discovered lightning techniques greatly restrained demonic cultivators. Even though he was at late-stage Golden Core, the demonic cultivator could barely dodge the lightning strikes effectively. Each hit diminished his sinister gray aura, momentarily slowing his movements.

Yun Xi suspected the demonic cultivator’s cultivation wasn’t achieved through his own efforts but rather through dual cultivation—stealing power from others. Previously, she’d sensed this issue when she’d killed Xue Ao. These demonic cultivators’ power was unstable; against righteous or demon cultivators at the same level, they’d inevitably lose.

After a quarter of an hour, Yun Xi swiftly dashed into the storm of lightning, her Seven Star Fatal Staff lunging straight at the demonic cultivator’s back.

The Golden Core demonic cultivator sensed danger and narrowly avoided the strike, but his evasive maneuver exposed him to three simultaneous lightning bolts.

“Ah! I’ll kill you!” the demonic cultivator roared, now truly enraged. He threw out his curved blade, his evil aura surging dramatically.

Yun Xi realized he’d been pretending weakness earlier, trying to find an opportunity to break the formation. Now that she’d shown herself as the formation’s master, the demonic cultivator intended to capture her to escape.

“Hmph! I want you dead even more!” Yun Xi retorted, swinging her Life-Ending Staff fearlessly as she charged forward.

Now fighting within the lightning formation, Yun Xi had the advantage of a lightning spiritual root, the agility of Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind, and control over the formation itself, which directed lightning bolts to avoid her entirely.

Using these three advantages, Yun Xi battled fiercely, not disadvantaged despite the difference in cultivation levels. Instead, the demonic cultivator found his movements restricted and his attacks awkward.

Enjoying the rare opportunity to fight without holding back, Yun Xi brandished her staff with unstoppable might, wielding it with sword techniques as she matched evenly with the demonic cultivator.

From initial contempt to growing frustration, the demonic cultivator’s attacks grew more brutal. Even after taking hits from lightning, he finally managed to cut Yun Xi’s arm with his blade.

Yun Xi felt sinister energy invade her meridians, and swiftly directed her divine consciousness to mobilize lightning spiritual power to eradicate it.

Seeing that he’d succeeded, the Golden Core demonic cultivator grinned wickedly and launched another deadly slash at Yun Xi’s throat.

Frowning, Yun Xi evaded the fatal attack using Swift Wind Step, then swiftly summoned her Cold Frost Mystic Ice Needles, manifesting over a thousand in an instant. With a wave of her hand and the oppressive force of her Nascent Soul-level divine consciousness suppressing him, she sent a storm of ice needles piercing through his body.

“This can’t…be…”

As the needles pierced him, the demonic cultivator froze completely. The lightning formation’s next strike shattered his body into countless icy fragments.

Yun Xi barely caught her breath before Dian Dian’s anxious voice echoed urgently in her consciousness:

“Master, leave now! The entire cave is about to collapse!”