A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

"Because you're fatter than the one that ran away!"

Staring at the top-tier silver sword that had fallen to the ground after losing its magical power supply, and Wang Li, who remained nestled in the bushes six or seven zhang away, answered in his heart.

Just then, the older Taoist priest shouted again:

"How long are you going to hide? Do you really need the Lin brothers to drag you out?"

Chapter 29 The Move and the Bait

The Taoist priest's words had a double meaning.

If there were still lurking people, after being yelled at like that, they would either retreat in fear or make a reckless move and expose their true colors.

Clearly, with the golden mace talisman as a deterrent and numerous defensive measures on display, it is a perfect combination of offense and defense! How could an ordinary cultivator dare to take the Taoist's words as mere bluster?

What if, just in case?

They dare not gamble, nor can they afford to gamble.

And so, without a sound, another person retreated.

After a dozen or so breaths.

"It seems that you are determined to be an enemy of the Lin family."

The elderly Taoist priest, who had been rapidly absorbing spirit stones and pills to restore his magical power with his head bowed, gritted his teeth in hatred after retrieving his golden mace talisman, his eyes flashing with cold light.

Anyone with eyes can see that he is waiting for his magic power to recover so that he can settle everything.

Whether he actually discovered anything or not is not important. What he needs is time to recover his magical power. While his third brother's three layers of Vajra Talismans are still effective, he should recover as much as he can. With each bit he recovers, his confidence will increase.

Otherwise, having treasures but no magical power to use them, and being forced to passively await the pity of others, is the most painful thing.

"Whoosh..."

From a pile of stones to the side, a green ball of light with a tail shot straight towards the three-layered Vajra Shield.

"There really were thieves!"

The younger Taoist priest frowned and immediately used his magic weapon to meet the attack; the older Taoist priest on the other side also opened his somewhat surprised and uncertain eyes, and deftly activated the Earth Prison Talisman with his left hand, and the four layers of defense were formed again.

Just then, a surge of magical energy erupted from the bushes where Wang Li was hiding, startling the two Lin family Taoists dozens of feet away. They instinctively added two more layers to their defensive light barrier, preparing for battle.

But a few breaths later, when they saw that what was being hurled at them was a huge, gleaming golden brick, a surge of blood welled up in their throats.

Finished!

They didn't regret not activating more defensive talismans, but rather regretting releasing too many at once! This made it impossible for them to stop in time, and consequently, to dodge.

There is no doubt that the power of the Golden Brick Talisman surpasses that of ordinary talismans.

However, as a blunt weapon, it has a drawback: its attack speed is not fast, and cultivators who can move quickly can effectively evade it.

Normally, the two Taoist priests from Qingxu Sect could easily have jumped over them. The problem was that the two brothers used too many defensive talismans at once, creating too many layers of energy shields.

Removing these covers would take a breath or two, which was not too long, but enough time for the golden bricks to flatten them two or three times.

That's right, Wang Li learned it on the spot and used the same techniques the two brothers used to deal with the two from Huadaowu on these two.

"Bang... Crack crack crack..."

"No!"

The shields formed by mere beginner, intermediate, and advanced talismans are as fragile as layers of window paper in front of a powerful talisman.

At least several cards are not enough to stop the powerful brick-shaped attack from the talisman treasure.

Wang Li estimated that without stacking a dozen or twenty mid-level Vajra Talismans, one wouldn't be able to withstand even a single attack; for high-level defensive talismans, at least seven or eight would be needed. But clearly, the two brothers from the modestly wealthy family weren't as rich as one might imagine.

After all, a single Vajra Talisman is worth eight or nine spirit stones, while a basic or high-grade talisman is worth at least twenty or thirty low-grade spirit stones. Wouldn't it be better to use the money to buy a top-tier magic weapon instead of ten or twenty Vajra Talismans?

So, the two large bricks that were hit by the parabola were smashed into a pool of bloody mud with a heavy blow.

Next, everything on his body, including his storage bag, talismans, magical artifacts and pills, and even his previous spoils of war, was taken away by a first-level, low-ranking puppet.

Activating a talisman is a lengthy and noisy process. How did Wang Li manage to avoid it?

Also, what about the attack on the large brick that came from another direction?

In fact, the reason is very simple.

Firstly, the different ways in which Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages utilize talismans lead to different activation times.

The purpose of activating talismanic treasures during the Foundation Establishment stage is to unleash their full power in order to defeat the enemy.

Due to limitations in cultivation level and mana quality, cultivators in the Qi Refining stage can often only unleash about one-tenth of the power of a talisman, resulting in a relatively short time for the talisman to take shape and reach saturation. Even so, while the time it takes for a Qi Refining cultivator to activate a talisman is not one-tenth of that required by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it is still only one-third or even one-quarter.

In other words, if it takes a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator one minute to activate a talisman, a Qi Refining stage cultivator can often activate it in just twenty or even fifteen seconds. Furthermore, the resulting noise and disturbance will be correspondingly reduced.

This is probably the greatest care one can give to someone in the Qi Refining stage.

In the original storyline, when Han Laomo confronted Duobao Nu of the Yanyue Sect, and Duobao Nu was controlled for a few breaths, Feng Yue, the madman of Tianque Fortress, was able to quickly activate the talisman dagger and stab Duobao Nu in the back. The reason for this was that.

However, if the power unleashed by those Foundation Establishment stage cultivators after full activation can reach one hundred, the limit for Qi Refining stage cultivators is at most ten, and most likely they won't even reach ten.

The second reason is the fragment of the "Juanpa" magic weapon.

If a silk handkerchief the size of a washbasin can conceal the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then can it also conceal fluctuations in magical power?

The answer is: yes!

It can not only conceal spiritual power and magic, but also the fragrance of spiritual herbs!

This was a sudden inspiration that Wang Li had while training the three youngsters, and it was confirmed after several experiments.

As long as it's not an explosive energy burst, it can be concealed.

After realizing that the two brothers from Qingxu Sect were bluffing, Wang Li didn't hesitate at all. He had the low-level demonic beast, the Chameleon Lizard, which had sneaked into the pile of rocks during the previous battle, spit out a mouthful of Lao Tan, thus alerting the enemy! At the same time, he began to rapidly inject his own magic power into the Golden Light Brick Talisman!

Stirring up the enemy in the grass can attract some of their attention, make them subconsciously think that there are still enemies around, and prevent them from making any rash moves, thus indirectly strengthening their defenses.

Before the golden light brick erupted, the fragments of the handkerchief provided cover, delaying the appearance of the strange phenomenon and the spread of magical energy for several breaths. As the golden light brick approached its eruption, the fragments could no longer conceal the magical energy fluctuations, and the two members of the Qingxu Sect would subconsciously assume that more than one person was lurking nearby, thus habitually thickening their protective shells.

A few breaths later, the power of the talisman was fully activated, and when the large brick came crashing down on the two of them, the outcome was already decided.

After the battle, the battlefield definitely needs to be cleaned up.

However, Wang Li did not reveal his thoughts.

Putting aside the possibility of being targeted by others in the shadows if he exposes himself, the mere fact that his identity is revealed could lead to someone with ulterior motives telling the families and sects behind the two Qingxu brothers about his killing of them.

At that time, Wang Li will be in some trouble.

The fact that these two possessed talismanic treasures alone indicates they are from powerful families, undoubtedly descendants of cultivators. If Wang Li were to be unlucky enough to be implicated by some Core Formation cultivator, he would have nowhere to turn for help.

Therefore, we should remain cautious and maintain stability.

Therefore, using a common, or even mass-produced, level-one, low-level puppet to collect the spoils is a safer approach. It can prevent attacks from behind, ward off the possibility of the two dead men, act as bait, and reduce the risk of revealing one's identity. A small move, yet it achieves four goals at once; there's no reason for Wang Li to be so stubborn.

"It seems that the Golden Light Brick Talisman can no longer be used openly from now on!"

It's such a pity.

Once he had his spoils, he even packed up and took the two fire dragon grass plants with him: this place was no place to stay for long, so he made a quick getaway.

The place quickly returned to calm.

A quarter of an hour, half an hour, two hours passed...

During this time, Wang Li, who had spent several dozen breaths circling around most of the area before returning to lie in wait, was just reaching the limit of his patience when a very inconspicuous patch of grass began to bulge upwards. In the blink of an eye, an elderly man in a blue robe, holding a cane and with a seemingly kind and benevolent expression, slowly crawled out from it!

"Young people these days, they all play such tricks, how are we old folks supposed to survive?"

As the old man spoke, his gaze was already fixed on the carcass of the three-eyed fire wolf, his face filled with greed:

"Tsk tsk tsk, what high standards! He must be a scion of some great cultivation family, to look down on even a high-level demon beast that's full of treasures. Brilliant, brilliant! Consider this compensation for the suffering I endured while squatting here for so long."

Anyone who has squatted knows how uncomfortable your legs are after squatting for a long time; the feeling can be so intense that you can't stand up straight.

Moreover, this squatting position lasted for more than two hours (over four hours)!

Seeing this from the shadows, Wang Li smiled with satisfaction:

"An elite Qi Refining level 12 cultivator who's just one step away from the 13th level, not bad at all!"

It was worth it for him to come back specifically to meditate and restore his magical power, and incidentally wait for the rabbit to come to him.

The golden bricks caused quite a bit of consumption, draining nearly one-fifth of his magical power!

If he continues to venture into the central area in this state, facing opponents at the eleventh or twelfth level of Qi Refining won't be a problem, since not everyone can transform into Old Demon Han. However, he'll suffer some losses against those thirteenth-level minor experts who are largely unscathed and possess numerous treasures.

Moreover, given that he was in this place, the cowardly little mouse was still trembling and sticking out his rear end, it was clear that there were still people lurking within a range of twenty or thirty feet in the bushes where he had previously hidden.

Wang Li had no idea that the other party was hiding just seventeen or eighteen feet directly in front of him at that moment!

It's hard to say whether to say the other party was lucky, since they managed to evade his first round of screening, or unlucky, as they couldn't escape the timid mouse's perception.

Well, it's all good now. Once we get rid of this guy, all the hidden dangers on him will be eliminated.

Because of this old guy, I finally got to see his big brick.

"Hehehe, the Three-Eyed Fire Wolf is quite a formidable creature among the top-tier level one demonic beasts. Its fangs and claws are excellent materials for crafting top-tier magic weapons, and its spine can be used to forge a top-tier bone whip. The third special fire eye between its eyebrows, due to its innate magical ability, can also be crafted into a decent magic weapon. All in all, it should sell for at least a hundred spirit stones."

One hundred spirit stones is definitely a considerable fortune for a Qi Refining stage cultivator at the twelfth level of a basic cultivation technique.

"It's no wonder that Li abandoned his family and career to pursue the path of immortality; the saying that he achieved great things late in life certainly has some truth to it."

Wang Li, who was secretly watching, was also happy for him.

It's so good to die content.

In other words, the corpse of the three-eyed fire wolf was actually left behind by Wang Li as bait.

The wolf corpse was originally intended for other cultivators passing by. If they wanted to get rich, they would not be able to ignore this valuable wolf corpse as long as they passed by.

Regardless of whether the hidden figures are envious or exposed, they indirectly convey to this guy the information that there are no other people hiding around.

In this way, once the person who passed by and picked up the wolf carcass has gone far away, the hidden person will surely relax and reveal themselves!

Wang Li will be able to eliminate future troubles.

In exchange for a wolf carcass worth a hundred spirit stones, ensuring his own safety from future troubles, this person didn't feel he had lost out in this deal.

Of course, if the hidden individuals can't resist revealing themselves early (to loot the corpses), or ambushing and killing those who happen to be looting, it won't have much impact on Wang Li's side. It's just an extra source of income.

one stone two bird.