Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

Wang Meng also turned sideways and drew his bow, the iron arrow and the Gengjin Sword Technique meeting his figure at the same time.

Upon seeing the two attacks, Sun Shaoan formed hand seals, creating a curtain of water that covered his entire body.

Mid-grade spell: Water Curtain Technique!

He did not choose to take the attack head-on. He first used the skillful force of the water curtain to deflect the iron arrow, and then met the Gengjin Sword Technique. The color of the water curtain dimmed slightly.

The two attacks did not cause much of a hindrance.

Sun Shaoan breathed a sigh of relief.

Just now, Qu Ye and the other person were using magical artifacts, so their cultivation levels were naturally exposed. They were only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, one level lower than me.

In addition, he observed that both of their magical artifacts were only of low quality, and one of them was even slightly damaged, clearly indicating that they were two poor, independent cultivators.

He alone is enough to hold off these rogue cultivators!

On the other hand, Qu Ye...

Finding that the attack was ineffective and the distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, he did not panic, as he had expected it.

This person is faster than both himself and Uncle Wang, and his cultivation level cannot be detected by his divine sense, so he must be more than just the fourth level of Qi Refining.

That place seems quite important, and this person wants a quick victory; this is probably the fastest speed they can go right now.

Based on this deduction, the opponent is most likely at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and less likely at the sixth level.

There's still a fight to be had!

As Qu Ye wielded the White Light Sword, he looked around and discovered a dense forest about three miles to his left.

The forest is dense with shrubs, which restricts the movement of cultivators once they enter, allowing the bee swarm to unleash its full combat power.

But before that, we need to get Wang Meng out of the way.

He turned his head and quickly said to Wang Meng, who was following closely behind him:

"Uncle Wang, if this continues, we'll be caught up sooner or later. The other side might have accomplices on their way."

"How about we split into two groups now? I'll lure that cultivator away, and you can retreat first."

Wang Meng fired another arrow behind him, then shook his head: "No, how can I leave you alone..."

Qu Ye interrupted Wang Meng, "Uncle Wang, don't worry about me. I still have a speed talisman. Even if I can't win, I can still escape."

"If this continues, and that person catches up, it will be difficult for you to escape!"

After Qu Ye finished speaking, without waiting for Wang Meng to refuse, he increased the amount of magic power he inputted, and the white light of the sword became even stronger, flying towards the woods on the left.

"Little Qu..."

Wang Meng glanced at Qu Ye, then thought of his wife and daughters at home. He gritted his teeth, and his long sword magic weapon separated him from Qu Ye, heading to the right.

"Hmm? Are we splitting up to escape?"

When Sun Shaoan discovered that the two had separated, how could he not be aware of the other's plan?

If it had been another disciple chasing them, they might have succeeded.

Unfortunately, they ran into themselves.

Sun Shaoan patted his waist, and a bag completely different from his storage bag appeared; it was also a spirit beast bag.

Suddenly, a ferocious beast two meters tall appeared, its breath carrying a strong, fishy stench.

Mid-grade Tier 1, Crimson-tailed Scorpion!

However, this beast's aura was unstable, suggesting that it had only recently broken through to the next level.

"Hold that middle-aged cultivator back down, and I'll help you after I've dealt with him."

As soon as Sun Shaoan gave the order, the Crimson-Tailed Scorpion roared and chased after Wang Meng.

He continued to wield his feather fan, pursuing Qu Ye, who was significantly faster.

Qu Ye turned his head slightly and saw the Crimson-tailed Scorpion; his expression hardened.

The cultivator opposite us has many tricks up his sleeve and should not be underestimated. We must use our full strength to finish this quickly.

He turned his head and continued flying.

Wang Meng is at least a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator with rich experience in hunting demons, so he shouldn't be at a disadvantage against the Crimson-tailed Scorpion.

Soon, Qu Ye arrived in the woods, pretending to be exhausted, and slipped inside.

At the same time, he extended his divine sense to detect the rapidly approaching aura behind him.

Sun Shaoan hesitated for a moment, but still rode his feather fan and rushed into the forest.

Qu Ye sensed the distance between them closing and silently calculated in his mind.

As he ran, he quietly released worker bees from his spirit beast pouch.

Worker bees are not advanced spirit insects and have almost no spiritual energy fluctuations, making them difficult to detect in pitch-black environments.

Dozens of worker bees silently dispersed in the night, perched on tree branches and bushes, their wings folded, motionless, like withered leaves.

Ahead was a low-lying area with dense bushes. Qu Ye stopped there and quietly hid all the remaining worker bees.

He then turned around, gripped the white-light sword tightly, and used the Golden Qi Technique to cover his body with a layer of golden light.

Sun Shaoan caught up with them as expected.

He leaped down from the feather fan, put the magical artifact into his hand, and stared intently at Qu Ye.

After a brief standoff, Sun Shaoan made the first move, waving his feather fan and unleashing three whistling wind blades that slashed towards Qu Ye.

Qu Ye swayed, using his lightness technique to dodge the wind blades, and unleashed a sword light.

Sun Shaoan neither dodged nor evaded, and once again used the Water Curtain Technique to block the sword light while his feather fan flew towards Qu Ye.

Qu Ye raised his sword and pointed it at the same spot. The white sword and the feather fan became entangled and inseparable.

At this moment, Qu Ye issued a warning through his mind, tilted his head to the left, and a water arrow slid past his ear.

"So vigilant? Or do you have some secret technique?"

Sun Shaoan frowned, stopped making hand seals with his left hand, and focused on controlling the feather fan to avoid wasting his magic power.

The two weapons clashed back and forth, but the White Light Sword was, after all, only a low-grade magic weapon, and its spiritual light quickly dimmed, putting it at a disadvantage.

"That's about it."

A glint flashed in Qu Ye's eyes. He sheathed his white sword and prepared to flee to the side.

"Still trying to run?"

Sun Shaoan noticed Qu Ye's movements and couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

He stopped trying to delay, patted his storage bag, took out an Entangling Talisman and a Water Explosion Talisman, and infused them with his magic power.

As the two talismans turned to ashes, several vines suddenly appeared on the ground and tightly wrapped around Qu Ye's feet.

Qu Ye quickly cut the vines, but paused, wasting a little time.

On the other side, a water sphere the size of a human head condensed and slammed towards Qu Ye, who was frozen in place.

After using the talisman, Sun Shaoan, holding a feather fan, quickly approached Qu Ye and began to prepare a wind blade.

"Now let's see how you escape!"

He could almost see Qu Ye's head separated from his body.

Unexpectedly, Qu Ye, who should have been flustered at this moment, suddenly raised his head, took out a talisman, and golden light reappeared around him. Instead of retreating, he advanced.

At the same time, they communicated with the hidden worker bees through their divine senses and surrounded Sun Shaoan.

Something's not right!

Sun Shaoan's expression changed, but at this moment he had no time to stop his move and could only do his best to unleash his protective spiritual light.

As the water sphere touched the golden light and exploded, a light blue barrier appeared in the blink of an eye, blocking the remaining shockwaves of the water sphere and the three wind blades.

The barrier shattered, and Qu Ye, wielding the White Light Sword, channeled his magic power into the sword and the Swiftness Talisman, crashing head-on into Sun Shaoan at an extremely fast speed.

The narrow road meets the brave to win!

The white sword flashed with spiritual light, shattering Sun Shaoan's protective aura. Its momentum undiminished, it pierced into his abdomen.

Sun Shaoan felt a sudden discomfort in his abdomen. Before the excruciating pain could strike, his divine sense alerted him to a dense swarm of Jade Spirit Bees approaching.

"You...you're a bug cultivator?"

He spoke for the first time during the battle, his tone tinged with disbelief.

Because most spirit insects are brutal and bloodthirsty, insect cultivators are usually associated with evil cultivators and are extremely rare in the cultivation world.

Sun Shaoan never imagined that a seemingly ordinary-looking mid-stage rogue cultivator with only low-grade magical artifacts would actually be the legendary insect cultivator.

But a strong will to survive compelled him to overcome his shock, grit his teeth, and retreat.

At the same time, he manipulated his feather fan, his fingers forming a hand seal, preparing to unleash a defensive spell.

How could Qu Ye let him have his way?

He remained silent, keeping pace with Sun Shaoan, and used his Golden Qi Technique to block the feather fan's attack.

He kept stirring the white sword, causing the blade to continuously damage Sun Shaoan's internal organs.

The swarm of bees continued to bite Sun Shaoan's exposed skin, such as his fingers and neck, causing it to bleed profusely.

There was even a "veteran" who had participated in the battle of the scholars, who viciously stabbed Sun Shaoan's eyeball with his mouthparts.

The excruciating pain made it impossible for Sun Shaoan to concentrate on casting spells, and Qu Ye kept pestering him, filling his heart with despair and regret.

We shouldn't have pursued it so deeply, nor should we have underestimated our opponent.

Just as he was about to beg for mercy, Qu Ye used his elbow to press down on the hilt of the White Light Sword. With a push and a thrust, the tip of the sword pierced through Sun Shaoan's internal organs and emerged from his throat.

Then Qu Ye swayed and stood at a distance, coldly staring at Sun Shaoan, in case the other party had any intention of taking them down with him before he died.

"Whoa..."

Sun Shaoan stretched out his hand, his vocal cords tearing as he made a hissing sound, his eyes wide with anger.

But soon, he knelt down, his eyes losing their luster.

……

at the same time.

On another battlefield several miles away from Qu and Sun, Wang Meng was walking alongside the Crimson-Tailed Scorpion, constantly shooting out iron arrows.

Suddenly, the Red-tailed Scorpion froze, let out a miserable howl, and its life force diminished by more than half.

Wang Meng was taken aback.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he seized the opportunity and quickly wielded his long sword to strike.