Chapter 172: Pondering the Way of Lying Low
Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Pondering the Way of Lying Low
Yan Liming had lived for over four hundred years.
To have reached the Core Formation Stage as a Demon Cultivator, his experience in Magical Combat was naturally immense.
The moment Li Ping approached, he cast Magic to cover himself in a Shield of Magical Power.
With the protection of a Magical Power Shield, methods like poisoning or sneak attacks were mostly ineffective.
But to his surprise, Li Ping had actually mixed poison into the Blood Sea Domain he had released.
And after poisoning it, Li Ping had even summoned a Desolate Fire Sparrow to spew high-temperature Flame, looking as if he was determined to burn Yan Liming’s Blood Sea Domain to ashes.
This couldn’t help but make Yan Liming extremely nervous.
Worried, he didn’t have time to inspect it carefully and retracted all of his meticulously refined Magical Power back into his body.
As a result, he fell into the trap.
...
After Li Ping’s mocking words fell, Yan Liming hurriedly tried to mobilize the Magical Power within his body.
But in that instant, he found that his Magical Power, normally as easy to control as his own limbs, was now as heavy as a mountain, refusing to obey his commands.
Moreover, wherever the Magical Power flowed, his body gradually grew numb.
"You despicable, shameless bastard! To think you’d use poison!" Yan Liming cursed.
As he cursed, he slapped the Storage Bag at his waist, and a black bead appeared in his hand.
Seeing this, Li Ping’s figure retreated rapidly. At the same time, he controlled the Purple Shadow Sword, transforming it into a streak of purple light that shot toward Yan Liming, clearly intending to kill him on the spot.
Of course, for Yan Hengchuan to cultivate the Dao Foundation stealing technique, he had to capture his opponent alive.
His current actions seemed like an attempt to kill Yan Liming, but in reality, it was just a feint to force him to play his trump card.
He hadn’t forgotten how he’d killed that Demon Cultivator who had disguised himself as Master Hu.
As a Core Formation Master rebuilding his cultivation through Possession, Yan Liming had suddenly pulled out a black bead. How could Li Ping dare to be careless?
He was even prepared for the loss of the Purple Shadow Sword.
Seeing the Purple Shadow Sword shooting toward him while the scarred Demon Cultivator was actually retreating, Yan Liming no longer hesitated and threw the black bead.
Meanwhile, he took out several Pills and swallowed them all, regardless of whether they would be useful or not.
After doing all this, his figure retreated rapidly.
The next moment—
The black bead and the Purple Shadow Sword collided.
BOOM!
An earth-shattering explosion rang out.
A black flame, about ten feet wide, erupted and swallowed the Purple Shadow Sword whole.
"Heh heh... With your Dharma Artifact destroyed and the Divine Sense attached to it blasted into nothingness, you can’t be feeling too good either!" Yan Liming forcefully suppressed the poison in his body, trying to leave the battlefield first.
But just then, he saw a faint, almost invisible blood-red line darting through the void. It had already bypassed the explosion and appeared before him.
Before he could react further, he felt his waist lighten. In that brief moment, the other party had already taken his Storage Bag.
"The clan’s Blood Wing Escape Skill! Dammit!" Yan Liming cried out in alarm.
The next moment, a large hand like an iron pincer clamped around his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter until he lost consciousness and passed out.
...
「Half a day later, in a desolate Cyan Stone Mountain range.」
A black Flying Ship came to a stop. A Purple Gold Fork flew out and instantly carved a small cave dwelling into the mountainside.
Li Ping then turned to the person behind him and instructed, "Hengchuan, the Dao Foundation stealing technique is a wicked art. It is not suitable to be performed in the territory of the Righteous Dao. This Grassland is deserted. You can perform the technique here."
"Yes, Martial Grandfather!" Yan Hengchuan glanced at the figure lying motionless on the Flying Ship, bound by numerous Restrictions, and responded excitedly.
Putting away the Flying Ship, Li Ping grabbed Yan Liming, and the two of them flew down into the simple cave dwelling below.
Li Ping nodded slightly.
The Dao Foundation stealing method was different from orthodox Foundation Establishment; it did not require an environment with Spiritual Qi. It could be performed even in a wild and remote Land Without Spirit like this.
Putting Yan Liming down, Li Ping first set up an Array he had purchased around the cave dwelling before returning inside.
He smiled and instructed, "Hengchuan, you can perform the Dao Foundation stealing technique now."
As he spoke, he shook a small, blood-colored banner. An invisible wave swept over Yan Liming’s body, retracting all of the ’Blood-Corroding Poison’ that had been released.
With Li Ping’s permission, Yan Hengchuan hurried forward and used his Magical Power to position Yan Liming’s body upright.
This action finally woke Yan Liming. He looked at the person before him in disbelief. "It’s you! That brat with the surname Yan! You’re still alive!"
Yan Hengchuan looked up at him, his eyes filled with the savage delight of getting his revenge. "That’s right, it’s me. Not only am I alive, but I’m living well, and I’ll be living even better from now on!"
"But I clearly refined you into a Blood Puppet... No, that’s not right! Your aura!" Yan Liming sensed that the Magical Power aura emanating from Yan Hengchuan was identical to his own and looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Yan Hengchuan laughed loudly. "Speaking of which, I have to thank you for injecting me with that Blood Puppet seed. Otherwise, how could I have used it to cultivate the Dao Foundation stealing method? Today is the day you will use your own Dao Foundation to bring about my success! Hahaha..."
"Impossible... Impossible! How could you have obtained the *Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture*?" Yan Liming’s face was ashen. He simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He knew very well that if it weren’t for the sensory connection from the Dao Foundation stealing method, how could the other party have so easily tracked his movements in a place as vast as the Western Wilderness?
In other words, the consequences he faced today were entirely his own karmic retribution.
If he had just killed that Yan brat with a single palm strike back then, none of this would have happened.
Yan Liming couldn’t understand.
’I just wanted to casually refine a Blood Puppet. How did I end up capsizing in a ditch because of it?’
’Where did he get the *Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture*?’
Seeing Yan Liming’s devastated expression, a look of glee appeared in Yan Hengchuan’s eyes. He smiled and said, "The *Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture* was from Martial Grandfather—"
"Alright, that’s enough." Li Ping cut him off directly. "Stop wasting time. Hurry up and use the Secret Technique to seize his Dao Foundation."
’This kid. Doesn’t he know that villains die from monologuing?’
’Still having a Q&A session with Yan Liming here. Doesn’t he see the situation? Does he think this is some kind of heart-to-heart interview?’
’A fiend like Yan Liming should be left to die in confusion. What’s the point of explaining anything to him?’
Hearing Li Ping’s rebuke, Yan Hengchuan shrank back and quickly said, "Yes, Martial Grandfather. I understand."
"Martial Grandfather?" Yan Liming gave a shrill, despairing laugh. "It seems my Storage Bag has fallen into your hands. The Cultivation Technique that brat Yan is using must have come from my Storage Bag."
Yan Hengchuan wanted to speak again, but the thought of his Martial Grandfather’s earlier scolding made him shut his mouth. He simply began to silently perform the Dao Foundation stealing Secret Technique.
As he performed the Secret Technique, he felt a faint thrill of excitement.
Once he successfully seized Yan Liming’s Dao Foundation, he too could become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, just like his Martial Grandfather.
...
Watching Yan Hengchuan perform the Dao Foundation stealing method, Li Ping placed a few more Restrictions on Yan Liming and struck him on the head with a burst of Magical Power, knocking him unconscious again.
As an old fiend who was a Core Formation Master rebuilding his cultivation, Yan Liming’s array of methods and trump cards far surpassed that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
A short while ago, he seemed to have captured him with ease.
In reality, it was because he had the advantage of knowing his opponent’s methods in advance.
For example, if someone unfamiliar with the *Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture* that Yan Liming cultivated were to face him, they would surely suffer a great loss from its various Skills and Divine Abilities.
However, Li Ping had read this Top-tier Technique in advance, and he also had Yan Hengchuan, who cultivated the same technique, by his side.
Therefore, not only did he easily counter the other’s Skills and Divine Abilities, but he also took the opportunity to set a trap.
If he hadn’t used this advantage to poison Yan Liming and severely weaken him, he might have been able to kill him, but capturing him alive would have been far from certain.
That black bead Yan Liming had casually thrown out had blasted his Purple Shadow Sword, a Tier Two Upper Grade Flying Sword, into smithereens.
If Li Ping’s Divine Sense hadn’t been so powerful, he would have suffered a splitting headache and been seriously injured when the Purple Shadow Sword was destroyed and the Divine Sense attached to it was scattered. Yan Liming might have even escaped.
’Who’s to say he only has one item like that?’
So, in the instant Yan Liming breathed a sigh of relief after the Purple Shadow Sword was destroyed, Li Ping unhesitatingly used the Blood Wing Escape Skill, first snatching Yan Liming’s Storage Bag, then capturing him alive.
Of course, the most important reason Yan Liming faced this calamity was that Yan Hengchuan, having cultivated the Dao Foundation stealing method, could sense his exact location at all times.
He was out in the open, while Li Ping was in the shadows.
They had tailed him in secret, waited for the opportune moment, and taken him down in one fell swoop.
This made Li Ping sigh with emotion. ’What goes around, comes around. Karmic retribution is inevitable.’
Yan Liming used the ’Blood Puppet Technique’ to try and refine Yan Hengchuan into a Blood Puppet.
After Yan Hengchuan escaped, he relied on the Blood Puppet seed left inside him by Yan Liming to successfully cultivate the Dao Foundation stealing method.
In the end, not only did Yan Liming fail to get a Blood Puppet, but he himself was captured alive and was about to have his own hard-earned cultivation used to help Yan Hengchuan achieve Foundation Establishment.
If he hadn’t been so arrogant and just slapped Yan Hengchuan to death, none of this would have happened.
This also served as a silent warning to Li Ping: ’I must guard my own blood, hair, and other personal effects with my life. I can’t let them fall into anyone’s hands.’
’The Cultivation Realm is filled with countless strange and powerful individuals.’
’Every day, every moment, innumerable malicious Secret Techniques are being developed.’
’If you want to live a long life in the Cultivation Realm and achieve immortality...’
’...being powerful is one thing, but being cautious is also essential.’
...
While Li Ping was lost in thought, Yan Hengchuan had already positioned Yan Liming’s body and begun performing the Dao Foundation stealing Secret Technique.
Following his movements, the smell of blood began to fill the cave dwelling.
As he performed the technique, a ferocious Blood Shadow flew out from his body and plunged directly into Yan Liming.
The expression on Yan Liming’s face instantly twisted in agony, as if he were enduring the cruelest torture in the world.
Li Ping watched everything unfold with rapt attention.
If any accidents were to happen, he could intervene directly.
At the same time, after Yan Hengchuan finished the Dao Foundation stealing Secret Technique, he also needed to extract Yan Liming’s Life Soul to interrogate him about his purpose for coming to the Grassland.
Moreover, Yan Liming’s Life Soul was Tier Three.
He could use it as nourishment to inherit the Tier Three Puppet technique.