Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

The giant serpent roared and lunged fiercely at the pillar of crimson light. Its speed was astonishing; the flapping of its fleshy wings created a gust of wind that scattered rocks and broken bamboo from the mountaintop.

Senior Brother Chen from Tianque Fort was not to be outdone.

He took out a golden talisman from his storage bag and floated it in front of him.

The talisman was shaped like a small golden sword, its blade engraved with lightning patterns, shimmering with spiritual light, and faintly emitting the sound of thunder.

Senior Brother Chen held his hands in a cupped gesture, slowly channeling spiritual energy into the talisman. The patterns on the golden sword began to glow, and the lightning patterns on the sword body lit up one by one, making crackling sounds.

Han Tianya also took out a small knife talisman.

It was a cyan curved blade, with wind patterns engraved on its surface, its spiritual light restrained. Han Tianya held the talisman in his palm, channeling spiritual power into it like threads. The wind patterns on the blade began to swirl, radiating a sharp aura.

Nie Ying also took out a talisman. It was an ice-blue talisman, shaped like a thin needle, which she held in her hand. As she slowly poured spiritual energy into it, the runes on the ice needle began to light up, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

Lin Feng did not take out the talisman, but instead took out the array flag and array plate from his storage bag.

The Inverted Five Elements Formation.

Lin Feng took a deep breath and began to arrange the array according to the method of the Inverted Five Elements Array, operating the array plate and array flags to set up the array.

"Fellow senior brothers and sisters, I have a formation that can trap Liu Qinglan." Lin Feng's voice clearly reached everyone's ears through telepathy. "It can be used for both offense and defense. Please buy me a little time."

Nie Ying's eyes lit up, and she replied telepathically, "Junior brother, quickly set up the formation, we'll hold him off."

At this moment, Liu Qinglan, inside the crimson pillar of light, watched as numerous talismans prepared to be unleashed, while the two late-stage Foundation Establishment serpents pounced upon the crimson pillar of light.

They opened their gaping maws, their fangs gleaming with a ghostly blue venomous light, and bit down fiercely at the crimson pillar of light.

The crimson beam of light trembled violently.

A violent force surged from the pillar of light, like an invisible giant hand, violently flinging the two giant snakes away. The snakes somersaulted several times in the air before crashing to the ground, snapping dozens of bamboo stalks and carving two deep furrows in the earth.

This force also momentarily interrupted Nie Ying and the others from activating the talisman.

Within the crimson pillar of light, Liu Qinglan's figure finally emerged.

The blood-red light receded like a tide, contracting upwards from the base of the pillar of light before finally disappearing entirely into Liu Qinglan's body.

The beam of light disappeared, and the sky above Lingcui Mountain returned to its hazy grayness, but the stench of blood in the air was even stronger than before.

Liu Qinglan's appearance has changed.

The thin, hunched, white-haired old man was gone.

Standing in mid-air was a middle-aged man with a robust build and a dignified face.

His skin was no longer dry, but full of elasticity and luster; his hair had become as black as ink, fluttering in the wind; his eyes were no longer cloudy gray-brown, but had turned blood red, like two burning embers.

His aura has already surpassed the peak of Foundation Establishment, but he is still a step away from Core Formation.

That line seemed so close, yet so far, that it seemed forever uncrossable.

Liu Qinglan looked down at his hands, clenched his fists, and felt the surging power within him. A slight smile of satisfaction appeared on his lips.

"So this is what power feels like."

His voice was no longer hoarse, but deep and resonant, with a metallic quality.

Then he moved.

His speed was so fast that it was almost impossible for the naked eye to catch it. His figure disappeared from the spot, and the next moment, he was already standing next to Senior Brother Chen.

A blood-red longsword materialized in his hand, blood flowing along its blade, exuding only a pure, chilling killing intent.

Senior Brother Chen's reaction was remarkably quick.

The moment Liu Qinglan disappeared, he realized danger was approaching. Golden light erupted from his body, layer upon layer, like a golden lotus in full bloom.

"Nine Lotus Golden Flower Cover".

This top-tier defensive magic artifact is made of nine golden lotus petals stacked one on top of another, each capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It took Senior Brother Chen thirty years to complete the forging of this magical artifact, and no one has ever broken it.

The bloody blade fell.

There was no sound, no sparks, no flashes of inspiration.

The blood-red blade sliced ​​through layers of golden lotus petals, as if cutting through thin sheets of paper.

Senior Brother Chen's eyes widened suddenly.

"How is that possible—my 'Nine Lotus Golden Flower Cover' is top-tier—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

The blood-stained blade sliced ​​into his left shoulder and out through his right rib, cutting his body diagonally in two.

The moment the blood blade sliced ​​through his body, it drained all of Chen's blood. His withered body fell from the sky and crashed to the ground with two dull thuds.

A faint red glow appeared on the blood-red blade, making it more solid and sharper.

Liu Qinglan stood where Senior Brother Chen had just been, his blood-red blade held horizontally beside him, his chest rising and falling slightly, a hint of fatigue flashing in his blood-red eyes. The instantaneous kill just now seemed to have been quite an achievement for him as well.

"Senior Brother Chen"

Nie Ying's voice trembled slightly.

A cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage died before he could even last one exchange.

Senior Brother Xiao's face also turned pale. His two large snakes had already been seriously injured when Liu Qinglan blasted them away. Now, seeing the power of Liu Qinglan's single strike that killed Senior Brother Chen, a chill ran down his spine.

"Junior Brother Lin, are you done yet?" Senior Brother Xiao's voice carried a hint of anxiety, and even a trace of fear.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lin Feng's forehead.

"Almost there." Lin Feng gritted his teeth, frantically pouring his spiritual energy into the array plate and array flags, urging the array to complete faster. "Please, senior brothers and sisters, hold on for a few more breaths."

Liu Qinglan's gaze swept over the people present, finally landing on Lin Feng.

He frowned slightly when he saw the array plate in Lin Feng's hand.

Then he moved.

It charged directly at Lin Feng. The blood-red blade trailed a crimson path in its hand, tearing through the air with a sharp, explosive sound.

"Stop him!"

Nie Ying shouted, and her pure white sword transformed into a streak of white light, slashing towards Liu Qinglan's side. The sword light was sharp, and the sword's momentum was unstoppable, without any reservation.

Senior Brother Xiao gritted his teeth, formed hand seals, and the two giant snakes pounced again. They flanked Liu Qinglan from both sides, their gaping maws aimed at her left and right wings.

Han Tianya continued to urge the small dagger talisman in his hand, attempting to kill Liu Qinglan with a single blow.

Three attacks came simultaneously from three directions.

Liu Qinglan had no choice but to stop.

No matter how fast he moved, he couldn't ignore the full-force attack equivalent to three Foundation Establishment cultivators. The blood blade drew an arc in the air, first slashing at the two giant snakes.

With a single slash, the snake on the left was struck at its vital spot. Its scales shattered, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and it let out a mournful hiss. Its body was cut in two, fell from the sky, twitched a few times on the ground, and then lay still.

The second strike landed on the head of the large snake on the right. The blood-red blade cleaved the snake's head in two from the center. The snake's body writhed in the air, but its head was shattered, and it fell limply to the ground.