Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

Upon seeing the other party's methods, Zhou Ren subconsciously had this thought, but quickly dismissed it.

This doesn't make any sense.

If he were a member of the Blood Soul Sect, Leng She would have stopped him long ago during the pursuit.

However, these Soul Slaves and Black Banners are clearly demonic techniques, and among the demonic sects within the Duan Kingdom, only the Blood Soul Sect possesses such methods.

Wait, could it be...?

Zhou Ren's thoughts raced, and he suddenly remembered an old story about a family investigation that had gone unresolved.

The treasures left behind by the ancient cultivators of the Yin Soul Sect have been stolen.

"So it was you!"

After figuring it out, Zhou Ren glared angrily and gritted his teeth, saying:

"We initially thought it was one of the other three families in the market who did it, but we couldn't find out who did it. It seems we were on the wrong track from the start. We never expected it to be stolen by a rat."

Upon hearing this, Li Shen was shocked and immediately understood the identity of this Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Cloud Crane Sect.

"A member of the Zhou family? What a coincidence! Could you be Zhou Ren?"

Li Shen narrowed his eyes slightly and, combining the information from the previous intelligence, tentatively asked a question.

The seven soul slaves continued to attack the golden light shield surrounding Zhou Ren, but they could only create ripples and could not break it.

With a flash of inspiration, Li Shen prepared to take the Soul-Devouring Ants out of his storage bag and break the annoying shield.

However, before that, we need to probe the other party's methods. The flying spirit-devouring ants have finally reached a certain scale, and we cannot afford to lose them carelessly.

Zhou Ren was visibly startled when he heard the other party give his name, but he did not intend to ask any further questions.

Because he was a disciple of the chief elder of the Spirit Beast Peak in the Yunhe Sect, he had a certain degree of fame.

More than that, he was concerned about whether the rat had other tricks up its sleeve.

After a moment's thought, he said with a contemptuous tone:

"Since you know it's me, how about I give you a chance?"

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Li Shen let out a soft "hmm," seemingly intrigued, but in reality, he had already secretly placed a first-tier high-level talisman between his fingers—a superior-grade flying needle talisman.

Hearing the other party's inexplicably arrogant attitude, Zhou Ren was furious and his killing intent intensified.

But after glancing at the seven soul slaves outside the protective barrier, he calmed down and said in an unchanged tone:

"To tell you the truth, the other two sects of Yunhe Mountain are no match for the invasion of the demonic path."

Zhou Ren spoke in a chilling tone, observing the changes in Li Shen's expression:

"Whether it's the Cloud Crane Mountain Range or the Prison Mountain, they're bound to change hands sooner or later. As a rogue cultivator, you'd better be pragmatic in the face of such a trend. With your Qi Refining stage cultivation, controlling seven second-tier soul slaves at the same time must consume a lot of spiritual energy."

Upon hearing this, Li Shen's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he did not respond.

Zhou Ren's words were not without merit.

However, Li Shen was not the Qi Refining stage cultivator he thought he was. His Qi Sea, tempered by the Condensing Yuan Technique and the Cleansing Meridian Fruit, was strong enough to support him in commanding these seven soul slaves to deal with this Foundation Establishment expert.

Seeing the hesitation on his face, which seemed to indicate he had taken the words to heart, Zhou Ren continued:

"It is fate that we met here. Why not submit to me and let today's matter be over? When you reach the Foundation Establishment stage in the future, I may be able to lend you a hand."

After he finished speaking, he deliberately softened his tone, and his eyes even carried a hint of sincerity.

A perfectly round pill had appeared in his hand.

It is the Foundation Establishment Pill!

Seeing this, Li Shen's face showed clear interest, and he spoke:

"Fellow Daoist Zhou's offer is indeed tempting, but I am a carefree person and have no intention of being subordinate to anyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shen's gaze suddenly turned fierce, and he unhesitatingly summoned the flying needle talisman in his hand.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of flying ants swarmed out of their nest and flew toward Zhou Ren in a massive swarm.

"You won't accept a toast offered politely!"

Zhou Ren's heart tightened. As he retreated, he retrieved the Foundation Establishment Pill and gripped his longsword, preparing to deal with the released swarm of spirit insects as the opportunity arose.

Two sword energies were unleashed, but Li Shen used his two turtle-crocodile soul slaves to block them, without harming the Soul-Devouring Ant swarm in the slightest.

Under the full protection of the seven soul slaves, the Soul-Devouring Ants landed safely above the shield that had been hit by the flying needles.

The rapid and intense rustling and gnawing sounds reached Zhou Ren's ears, making his head throb.

But when he unleashed his sword energy to wipe out the swarm of insects, the ants clinging to the shield scattered decisively. Some crawled away, while others flew away, allowing the soul slave to block the sword energy.

With Li Shen's skillful command and coordination, Zhou Ren was unable to find a solution for the time being.

Before long, the shield began to shimmer with golden light, and numerous fine cracks appeared, which spread rapidly.

Zhou Ren's expression changed drastically, but not out of fear; rather, it was one of joy.

Unexpectedly, the spirit insects released by this rogue cultivator were able to break through the defense of the low-grade golden armor talisman!

What a treasure! With this insect, who among the inner disciples of the Cloud Crane Sect could rival me?!

The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhou Ren completely abandoned his plan to recruit them. He suddenly patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and two streams of light shot out.

"Aww!"

A wolf howl suddenly rose, and a gray-white, early-stage Tier 2 Ironback Wolf landed in front of Zhou Ren.

A pair of dark red beast eyes stared coldly at the soul slave in front of him, and when he grinned, he revealed two sharp teeth.

Another streak of light landed on the other side of Zhou Ren.

Its aura was slightly weaker than that of the Ironback Wolf, only at the late stage of the first tier.

But it was a toad with grotesque bumps on its body. It croaked twice, and a long tongue shot out like a bullet from its flat, long mouth. In just a moment, it swallowed two spirit-devouring ants.

Upon seeing this, Li Shen quickly summoned back the spirit-devouring ants, as the toad was the natural nemesis of spirit insects.

If the losses are not recovered in time, the damage will likely be even greater.

Zhou Ren swallowed a Qi-restoring pill, his pale face regaining some color, and he sneered:

"These two spirit beasts took me countless spiritual resources to raise to this day. It's an honor for you, a mere rat, to die at their hands today."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed.

The Ironback Wolf roared and pounced, its sharp claws striking down. A turtle-crocodile soul slave was unable to dodge in time and was sent flying by its palm.

Although the turtle-crocodile soul slave did not have any obvious injuries, it rolled over and its limbs thrashed about, making it look rather comical.

Then the toad spewed out a cloud of green poisonous mist. Although it had no effect on the soul slave itself, the mist was very strange. It could not only interfere with Li Shen's consciousness, but also weaken the connection between him and the soul slave.

Li Shen's face darkened. Although it was a tricky situation, it wasn't without a solution.

This is a good opportunity for him to test the strength of the Seven-Colored Python that has just digested the blood and energy of the Xuan Turtle Crocodile and the Pupil Serpent and given birth to a second orange-patterned python!

As soon as Xiao Qi, whose body had grown even longer, emerged, it condensed a blazing fireball in its throat and decisively hurled it at the Ironback Wolf.

Immediately afterwards, it slammed its tail hard against the ground, and the rubble on the ground floated into the air, then pointed its tail forward.

The pebbles rained down on Zhou Ren and the two spirit beasts beside him.

"Spirit insects, soul slaves, spirit beasts—your methods as a rogue cultivator are truly remarkable. But don't underestimate the difference between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining!"

Zhou Ren spoke in a condescending tone. He looked at Li Shen's endless tricks and felt increasingly troubled, but he had no intention of giving up. He became even more determined to kill and steal the treasure.

His aura surged, and the pressure of the peak early Foundation Establishment stage poured out without reservation.

Qi Refining cultivators have limited spiritual power, while Foundation Establishment cultivators have a spiritual power capacity that is several times greater than that of Qi Refining cultivators.

He refused to believe that he couldn't exhaust the spiritual power of this ant!

The moment his spiritual power is exhausted will be his death.

At that time, all these spirit insects, soul slaves, and spirit beasts will be his!

Zhou Ren was confidently thinking this when, in the next instant, he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a nail flying rapidly toward him out of the corner of his eye...