Chapter 176: Xiao Yan: I Will Change the Situation!
Clang!
A sword's light cut through the air dazzling, radiant, and beautiful.
Pfft!
A crimson mist of blood erupted behind Mo Tianxing, resembling the bright red flowers blooming on the banks of the River of Forgetfulness, as if pulled straight from the underworld.
Thud!
Mo Tianxing's legs gave out beneath him, and he slowly knelt to the ground. Blood gushed from his nose and mouth in bubbling streams.
A graceful figure holding a longsword descended lightly. Her rosy lips curled into a faint smile. Without Lu Bu's presence, defeating this four star Dou Zong would have been much more difficult.
"You… you…" Mo Tianxing's eyes widened as he struggled to speak, stubbornly refusing to let himself collapse completely.
"What's so surprising?" Lu Bu strolled over leisurely, smiling faintly as he looked down at Mo Tianxing. "You knew about her existence all along, didn't you?"
Pfft!
Mo Tianxing's body trembled violently as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes dimmed, and his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
He had indeed known about Medusa, but he had no idea she had been hiding inside Lu Bu's body all along. How could someone so large be hidden within another person?
"I'm going to help Zi Yan," Medusa said, leaving those words behind before her figure vanished.
Lu Bu chuckled. It was time for his favorite activity looting the dead. Reaching out, he slid the golden storage ring off Mo Tianxing's finger. "Ah, nature's gifts…"
Using his soul power, Lu Bu easily broke through the defenses on the ring. But as he inspected its contents, a faint look of disappointment crossed his face. Compared to Han Feng's stash, Mo Tianxing's collection was mediocre. It mainly consisted of wealth, some techniques, and various resources but none of the medicinal formulas or ingredients Lu Bu had hoped for.
"Hmm?"
Lu Bu's eyes lit up as his fingers brushed against something. With a flick of his wrist, a gray brown bamboo scroll appeared in his palm.
Unfolding it slowly, a line of blood red characters radiating a faint aura of violence appeared before him: "Heavenly Demon Puppet!"
"How… how is this here?" Lu Bu murmured in surprise. "Shouldn't this be in the hands of that old ghost, Di Mo?"
The bamboo scroll described the Heavenly Demon Puppet, an ancient technique not categorized as a Dou Technique or Dou Skill but a method for creating formidable puppets from ancient times.
Lu Bu tapped the bamboo scroll lightly against his palm. It seemed that the Heavenly Demon Puppet technique had indeed originated from this ancient battlefield and was later acquired by the Demon Flame Valley. However, compared to the Black Emperor Sect's haul, Demon Flame Valley's findings seemed pitiful.
"No matter. From now on, all of this belongs to me," Lu Bu grinned, storing both the bamboo scroll and Mo Tianxing's corpse in his ring.
With this, he had found a solution to his troublesome Pill Thunder issue. There would be no need to exhaust himself fighting the Pill Thunder head on anymore.
"Lu Bu, come over here," Medusa's enchanting voice called out. Lu Bu paused, turned his head, and saw that all the Black Emperor Sect members were already dead. Medusa had ended them all with precise strikes, leaving no survivors except for Qi Shan, the sect's chief alchemist.
"This one has some information that might interest you," Medusa said indifferently.
"Oh?" Lu Bu raised an eyebrow.
Medusa cast a glance at Qi Shan, signaling him to speak.
"Gulp… Uh, on our way here, we heard that Elder Ying Shan and Su Qian got into a fight beneath a large, withered tree," Qi Shan said nervously, swallowing hard. "We overheard that the two were fighting over a viscous green liquid… As an alchemist, I could tell it was something that could improve one's physique, but… its medicinal effects didn't seem particularly strong…"
Qi Shan finished his stammered explanation, carefully observing Lu Bu's expression.
At Qi Shan's description, Lu Bu's eyes lit up with excitement. Bodhi Transforming Body Saliva. That has to be it!
"Where is Elder Su Qian now?" Lu Bu asked coldly.
"Uh… I can tell you, but I hope you'll spare my life…" Qi Shan forced a smile, his face twitching slightly. A hint of smugness flickered in his eyes.
The reason he shared this information was, of course, to bargain for his survival. Otherwise, why would he have revealed it at all?
Lu Bu frowned, about to respond when an idea crossed his mind. With a wave of his hand, he pulled out a jade communication token and pressed it to his ear.
"Xiao Yan?" Lu Bu asked.
"I found the Bodhi Transforming Body Saliva," Xiao Yan's teasing voice echoed from the token. "But plenty of people have their eyes on it. Do you need me and my teacher to step in? Maybe for another piece of Heavenly Jade Essence Stone…"
"Where are you?" Lu Bu cut him off, ignoring the mockery. If this brat knew the true significance of the Woeful Poison Body, he wouldn't be so smug.
"Boring. Fine, here's the location," Xiao Yan muttered, disappointed at not getting a rise out of Lu Bu. He quickly relayed the information before abruptly hanging up.
Qi Shan, who had been holding out hope for his bargaining chip, froze.
He was a Dou Huang, so Lu Bu and Xiao Yan hadn't bothered hiding their conversation. Now, he knew his fate was sealed.
"Let's go," Lu Bu said with a light smile, gesturing for Medusa and Zi Yan to follow. Together, they soared toward Elder Su Qian's location.
Qi Shan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the three of them had no interest in him.
However…
Before he could stand, a figure covered in runes appeared silently behind him. Its emotionless face betrayed no intention as it raised an enormous iron fist and brought it down.
…
In a desolate valley, four groups stood locked in a tense standoff. The atmosphere was thick with hostility, each side unwilling to back down. The fight could break out at any moment.
Gong Heng, three elders from Demon Flame Valley, Elder Ying Shan, and Elder Su Qian all of them were after the Bodhi Transforming Body Saliva. However, none wanted to be the first to touch it.
"Hehe… Teacher, what do you think their faces would look like if they knew they didn't need the Bodhi Transforming Body Saliva to find the Bodhi Ancient Tree?" Xiao Yan chuckled from atop a high peak, his tone full of schadenfreude.
"Such secrets of the continent aren't something just anyone would know," Yao Lao replied faintly, though his tone also carried a hint of amusement.
As Lu Bu had pointed out before, Yao Lao was another old fox who enjoyed stirring the pot.
Xiao Yan glanced down at the four opposing groups in the valley. "If Lu Bu shows up, he'll definitely be targeted by everyone. That guy may be stingy, but he knows when to back off…"
That was why Xiao Yan remained on the sidelines. He was waiting for Lu Bu to ask for help, to offer him concessions in exchange for assistance.
"Unless he can conjure a Dou Zong level ally out of thin air, he'll have no choice but to rely on us," Yao Lao chuckled. He had already sensed the presence of the Dou Zun soul in Lu Bu's possession, but he also knew it was currently dormant, likely recovering from injuries.
Without any surprises, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao would be the key to shifting the balance of this ancient battlefield.
"Hehe, Teacher, do you think he'd give us his puppet making technique if we asked for it?" Xiao Yan grinned mischievously, clearly relishing the idea.
Swish!
A dark silhouette streaked across the horizon. Xiao Yan's expression immediately hardened.
"Teacher, he's here!"
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