Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 340 - 182: Spirit Lake Wanderer · Huidong Commerce Association · Spirit-Locking Smoke

"Crap, it’s an ambush!"

The moment she saw the Sword Light, the eldest sister immediately pulled back. But she was a step too slow and was instantly trapped by the Small Three Talents Sword Formation.

If no one came to her aid, she was as good as dead.

"That’s the Immortal Binding Rope! Are you from the White Bone Sect?"

Meanwhile, a frantic Spirit Lake Wanderer pulled a small ball from her robes, smashed it on the ground, and unleashed a large cloud of white smoke.

Concealed by the smoke, she managed to temporarily evade the Immortal Binding Rope.

The third sister, however, wasn’t so lucky.

A flash of golden light appeared before her eyes, and a hammer the size of a pumpkin came smashing down on her.

In her haste, she only had time to raise her sword to parry.

BAM!

There was a dull thud, and the immense force that followed drove the upper half of her body straight into the ground.

PFFT! GAH!

The third sister coughed up a huge mouthful of fresh blood. Before she could even catch her breath, her stomach churned violently, and she couldn’t stop herself from vomiting another spray of gore.

For a Magic Cultivator to take a Body Cultivator’s surprise attack head-on and not die instantly was a testament to the solid foundation she had built during her training.

Under normal circumstances, cultivators would probe one another at the start of a fight, precisely to prevent this kind of unexpected outcome.

However, Xiao Chen had been too fast, leaving no time to react, which was why his first strike landed so successfully.

CRUNCH!

Seizing the opening while her aura was in disarray and she was unable to block, Xiao Chen brought the hammer down again with a backhand swing. It was like cracking open a watermelon; red juices splattered everywhere.

"Third Sister!"

Only then did Spirit Lake Wanderer’s cry of alarm ring out.

Accompanying her cry were five Flying Sabers, each shimmering with a differently colored Spiritual Light.

They didn’t fly straight at him, but spun in constant circles, faintly forming an offensive pattern.

The greatest advantage of these five Flying Sabers was their ability to borrow power from each other through an Array.

If an opponent used a Magic Shield to block, the first saber would knock it aside, creating an opening for the blades that followed.

In the next instant, however, four Top Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifacts materialized in succession before Xiao Chen.

Although the first four Flying Sabers used their momentum to skillfully knock one Defensive Spiritual Artifact aside, another one would immediately appear to fill the gap.

When the final Flying Saber painstakingly made its way to him, it was met by the Snakebone Spear.

SNAP.

The Bone Spear transformed into a Spiritual Snake and bit down hard on the Flying Saber.

Only then did Xiao Chen see clearly that the five Flying Sabers were, to his surprise, also Top Grade Magical Artifacts.

And a complete set, by the looks of it.

Normally, even a Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment would have been killed on the spot by such a surprise attack.

’Even I would have had to rely on the Blade of Night to escape with my life if I’d encountered this set of Flying Sabers back when I first arrived in Hezhou.’

’This Spirit Lake Wanderer is actually that powerful?’

’It makes no sense. I’ve never heard of anyone this formidable in Hezhou.’

’Her alias, Fairy Yurong, isn’t the least bit famous, either.’

"AAAAH!"

A pained scream echoed from within the Small Three Talents Sword Formation.

But at this point, no one was paying attention to that.

Xiao Chen’s gaze fell upon the white smoke ahead. Above the smoke, the Immortal Binding Rope circled back and forth.

’It was one thing for Spirit Lake Wanderer to recognize the Immortal Binding Rope, but to be able to immediately produce a countermeasure... that was a bit much.’

’He had no idea what that white smoke was made of.’

’Neither his Divine Sense nor his Eye of Truth could penetrate it to see what was happening inside.’

"Xiao, why don’t you retract the Immortal Binding Rope? We can have a nice chat."

Spirit Lake Wanderer suddenly spoke.

As Xiao Chen activated his Golden Light Pearl and Jade Ruyi, he asked, "Oh? What do you want to talk about?"

’We’re in the middle of a fight. I just killed two of her foster daughters right in front of her.’

’What could they possibly have to talk about?’

But Spirit Lake Wanderer said, "My smoke is the Spirit-Locking Smoke from the Cloud Pool Secret Realm in the Eastern Domain. As long as I have it, you can’t harm me."

"And I’ll be frank. Since you were able to withstand my Five Elements Reversal Saber, then I can’t do anything to you for the time being, either."

"Neither of us can defeat the other. That being the case, why not declare a truce?"

Xiao Chen shook his head. "Oh? Is the Spirit-Locking Smoke really that impressive? I don’t believe it."

With a single thought, two enormous hammer phantoms materialized behind him and smashed down violently.

DONG!

Unexpectedly, when the enormous hammer phantoms smashed down, it was as if they had struck a solid block of steel, even letting out a loud, metallic clang.

"Go!"

Xiao Chen took out the golden bamboo branch hairpin and let out a sharp cry.

The golden hairpin immediately transformed into a speck of golden light that shot forward, instantly piercing into the Spirit-Locking Smoke. However, it was like a needle sinking into a wad of cotton.

Not only did it fail to produce any results, but he quickly lost his connection to it, trapped within the smoke.

"Burn!"

Xiao Chen pointed a finger. The Fire-Storage Treasure Gourd immediately grew larger, spun once in the air, and spewed out a massive quantity of Profound Fire.

However, upon meeting the Spirit-Locking Smoke, the Profound Fire was once again like a wave crashing against a wall—it couldn’t burn through at all.

"Xiao, I told you. You can’t do a thing to my Spirit-Locking Smoke."

Spirit Lake Wanderer’s voice seemed to hold a hint of a smile. "Perhaps you’ve never heard of the Cloud Pool Secret Realm. It’s a Secret Realm that only Golden Core True Men are able to enter."

"And this Spirit-Locking Smoke is a unique resource found only within the Cloud Pool Secret Realm."

"A Defensive Spiritual Artifact refined from this smoke is a life-saving trump card that, even in the Eastern Domain, only a few major cultivator clans can prepare for the heirs of their Direct Lineage."

"No Foundation Establishment Cultivator has ever breached the Spirit-Locking Smoke. I’d advise you to stop wasting your energy."

Xiao Chen searched his memory, but none of the books he had read, such as Journey to the East, had ever mentioned such an item.