Longevity: My Cheat Unlocked in My Old Age

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Slaying Hua Hong

The poison sac of a Tier Three poison flood dragon.

This was the payment Li Ping had demanded for performing Alchemy for Huang Yan.

His original plan was to refine the poison sac into his Blood Banner to enhance its blood-corroding poison.

However, when he tried to do so, he was shocked to find that after immersing his nine Bone Needle Spiritual Artifacts in the poison sac, they completely melted away.

Because of this, Li Ping didn’t dare try to refine the poison sac with his Blood Banner again, lest he destroy the precious Tier Two Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

And so, the poison sac had remained with him ever since.

...

WHOOSH!

Li Ping tossed out the poison sac. A black figure shot past and caught it, then flew directly above the Golden Light Shield that Hua Hong had raised and dropped the sac.

As it was thrown, the puppet muttered an incantation, causing the poison sac to explode the instant it neared the Golden Light Shield.

In an instant, it was like a goddess scattering blossoms.

A large mass of black, toxic liquid transformed into countless fine droplets that rained down upon the Golden Light Shield.

The Golden Light Shield immediately flared with brilliant light!

Hua Hong had naturally noticed the puppet’s actions, but he merely glanced up for a moment before looking away, unconcerned. He focused his full attention on activating the Talisman Treasure in his hand.

In his view, the Tier Three Vajra Talisman represented the might of the Core Formation Stage—a power completely different from that of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Even a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have to attack it continuously for over an hour to break through.

Was his opponent so desperate he was trying anything, thinking he could break it just by throwing some random object down?

’He’s dreaming!’

’Once I activate this Talisman Treasure, it’ll be his doom!’

Although using a Tier Three Spirit Talisman and the Talisman Treasure bestowed by his ancestor one after another made Hua Hong reluctant, killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of significant background would be more than enough to compensate for his losses!

But the next moment—

Hua Hong heard a faint sizzle, like tiny explosions. He looked up in surprise to see the black liquid that had landed on the Golden Light Shield was corroding it like a plague clinging to bone.

To Hua Hong’s horror, the Golden Light Shield was showing faint signs of failing under the black liquid’s corrosion.

"How is this possible? What is this stuff?" Hua Hong was caught in a dilemma. He hadn’t finished activating the Talisman Treasure, but the shield from his Tier Three Vajra Talisman couldn’t withstand the black liquid’s corrosion.

As he hesitated, the golden light on the shield’s surface flickered.

Seeing this, Hua Hong’s heart tightened. He knew he had to make a decision.

His choice was to decisively put away the Talisman Treasure and quickly escape from a spot the poison had not yet corroded, before the Golden Light Shield’s power was completely depleted.

But this played right into Li Ping’s hands.

Li Ping instantly activated several Spirit Talismans in his hand. Huge bolts of lightning materialized out of thin air, forming into ferocious Thunder Flood Dragons with sharp horns, which shrieked as they lunged at Hua Hong.

The terrifying power made Hua Hong’s heart pound. "Tier Two Upper Grade Thunder Talismans!"

With no time to Spirit Bind his Dharma Artifacts to block, he hastily tore two Spirit Talismans, forming a cyan light shield several feet from his body.

Tier Three Spirit Talismans were incredibly precious. Even as a descendant of a Late-stage Core Formation Cultivator, Hua Hong only had one. So, the ones he was using now were all Tier Two Spirit Talismans.

Two mere layers of Tier Two Magic shields were naturally not enough to block the power of the Furious Thunder Talismans, but they bought Hua Hong a moment to react.

He hastily slapped his Storage Bag, and a palm-sized black shield flew out. It instantly expanded to several dozen feet in height and width, blocking his path.

BOOM!

A series of roars followed as the Thunder Flood Dragons crashed against the shield and dissipated. The residual lightning spread out over a radius of hundreds of feet.

Seeing the Thunder Talisman’s attack blocked, Hua Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But when he looked into the distance, he was horrified to find that the puppet had already drawn its bow again, aiming at him with a blank expression.

SWISH!

The puppet released the string, and the arrow instantly became a streak of black light shooting toward Hua Hong.

"Damn it! Where did this Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator come from? How is he so troublesome!" Hua Hong cursed in his heart, but his hands didn’t slow in the slightest as he hurriedly maneuvered the shield to block the arrow.

BANG!

The arrow and shield collided.

This shield had already been damaged when Hua Hong used it to block the Thunder Talisman’s attack. Now, under the puppet’s heaven-shattering strike, it didn’t even pause for an instant before exploding into pieces!

Seeing this, Hua Hong’s expression turned ugly. He had used almost every trick up his sleeve in this battle, yet he had been suppressed at every turn. Even his two Tier Two Upper Grade shield Dharma Artifacts had been destroyed.

Fortunately, after firing two arrows, the Spirit Stones inside the puppet were insufficient to support another attack. Li Ping needed to replace them, so he didn’t launch another strike immediately, finally giving Hua Hong a moment to breathe.

Having witnessed the terrifying power of the puppet’s attacks, how could Hua Hong dare to let Li Ping replace its Spirit Stones?

"Hmph!"

He unhesitatingly directed his small hammer Dharma Artifact to attack Li Ping, preventing him from getting close to the puppet. ree

Li Ping also controlled his flying fork to intercept the small hammer. However, with his Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Magical Power, blocking Hua Hong’s attack was quite strenuous. Distracted by this, he really had no opportunity to replace the puppet’s Spirit Stones.

’This is perfect!’ Hua Hong rejoiced. ’Without using my Talisman Treasure, and with Li Ping’s puppet out of power, I still have the upper hand! I can suppress him with my superior Magical Power!’

"Haha..."

At this thought, Hua Hong felt invigorated, already seeing Li Ping as prey in his grasp.

WHOOSH!

He tossed out another Dharma Artifact, this one a pagoda about an inch tall. After being thrown, it grew with the wind, transforming into a structure dozens of feet high in the blink of an eye and descending directly toward the center of the battle.

Hua Hong formed a hand seal. Instantly, a dark opening split open at the bottom of the pagoda-shaped Dharma Artifact. An astonishing suction force emanated from it, acting directly on the Purple Gold Fork.

The Purple Gold Fork was pulled askew, its speed dropping drastically. It was uncontrollably drawn toward the base of the pagoda, no longer able to block the small hammer Dharma Artifact.

The small hammer became a streak of light and smashed viciously toward Li Ping. Unflustered, Li Ping formed a hand seal, and the Blood Transformation Shield appeared above his head, blocking the attack.

However, Hua Hong was a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator; both his Divine Sense and Magical Power were far more profound than Li Ping’s.

Therefore, despite blocking the attack, the Blood Transformation Shield trembled violently, as if it were about to give way.

"A good chance!" Hua Hong’s eyes lit up, and he was about to press his advantage with a fierce assault!

But just as he was mobilizing the Magical Power in his body, he suddenly felt a sense of sluggishness in its flow.

"What’s going on?" Before Hua Hong could react, he felt the sluggishness begin to spread. In the blink of an eye, more than half of his body had gone numb without him realizing it.

He staggered, his eyes filled with disbelief. "I’ve been poisoned? When did this happen?"

His first thought was that the black liquid that had rained down on the Vajra Talisman’s shield was poisonous, and that he had inadvertently inhaled some while escaping.

Hua Hong looked down and saw that the spot where he had used the Vajra Talisman had now been corroded into a bottomless pit hundreds of feet across. This further confirmed his suspicions. "Damn it! Fortunately, this is just residual poison without a source. As long as I suppress it, I can slowly neutralize it."

Thinking this, he hastily took out various Antitoxic Pills from his Storage Bag and consumed them, attempting to slow the poison’s spread.

But to his bewilderment, his actions were completely useless. On the contrary, the numbness spreading through his body grew more intense, and the roiling Magical Power within him gradually fell silent.

"It’s not getting better, it’s getting worse! Why is this happening?" Hua Hong’s gaze shifted to Li Ping, finally landing on the small, blood-colored banner in his hand. Then, it dawned on him.

He hadn’t been poisoned by the black liquid from before. It was because Li Ping was poisoning him now!

His whole body was numb, his Magical Power sluggish.

Understanding dawned, and Hua Hong tried to ride his Escape Light to flee. But the moment he turned, a streak of purple-gold light shot through his chest, taking all his life with it.

Hua Hong was dead!

The instant he died, a wisp of blood-red light shot out from his body and rushed toward Li Ping, burrowing into his body and disappearing before he could react.

"This blood light again!"

Hu Feng, Liu Wusheng, Yan Liming, and now this man. Li Ping recalled this was the fourth time it had happened.

He shook his head and gestured, controlling the puppet to retrieve Hua Hong’s Storage Bag. Then, a Fireball landed on Hua Hong’s body, instantly incinerating it.

"Whew! Finally got him." Only after the body was burned to ash did Li Ping finally let out a breath of relief.

The Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator he killed today was truly the most troublesome opponent he had ever faced in his life.

Not only did he have numerous Dharma Artifacts, but he was also extremely decisive, using his trump cards without hesitation the moment things looked bad.

If Hua Hong had actually managed to activate that blood-colored small sword Talisman Treasure, Li Ping would have had no choice but to use the Blood Wing Escape Skill to flee for his life.

Fortunately, Li Ping happened to have the poison sac of a Tier Three poison flood dragon, which interrupted his process of activating the Talisman Treasure.

"Who exactly was this person? Was he from the Blood Shadow Sect, like Yan Liming and Liu Wusheng? Or does this wisp of blood light burst out from all Demon Cultivators when they die?" Li Ping held the Storage Bag, a pensive look on his face.

The Tier Three Spirit Talisman and the Talisman Treasure both proved that his background was extraordinary.

’The urgent task now is to figure out his identity. If his death brings some old Core Formation monster looking for revenge...’ Li Ping worried secretly.

If he really was targeted by an old Core Formation monster, his only option would be to run.

"Right, the Female Cultivator he was chasing seems to still be alive." At this thought, after cleaning up all traces of the Magical Combat, Li Ping flew rapidly toward the place where Wei Yiling had fallen.

...

「In the Qi Kingdom, at the main encampment of the four Demon Dao sects.」

A square-faced, large-eared old man was sitting cross-legged, circulating his energy and regulating his breath, when suddenly—

His eyes snapped open. With a flip of his hand, a blood-red Jade Token appeared in his palm. A crack had already appeared on the token, and before the square-faced old man could react further...

With a CRACK, the blood-red Jade Token shattered completely.

"Hong’er is dead!" A sharp glint flashed in the square-faced old man’s eyes. "I gave him a Tier Three Vajra Talisman and a Talisman Treasure. Who could have killed him?"

"Could it be that Hong’er got into a conflict with that disciple of mine? No, that’s not right... With Hong’er’s personality, he would never provoke a Core Formation Cultivator!"

The square-faced old man stood up. His lips moved slightly, and he summoned a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, ordering him to return to the sect’s main gate and check if Wei Yiling’s life tablet was still intact.

He had sent Hua Hong and Wei Yiling to Fenglan Immortal City together to investigate Yan Liming’s leak. The two of them should have been operating as a team.

If Wei Yiling wasn’t dead, she would naturally return to report.

If she was dead... the square-faced old man would personally make a trip to Fenglan Immortal City.