Chapter 173 - 173: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, The Oriole Is
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lu Yuan looked at the bone demons surrounding him, and his expression remained largely unchanged.
These bone demons were not formidable, merely at the third or fourth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Although their numbers were astonishing, they were nothing more than ants that Lu Yuan could crush at any moment.
As for the three Huanxi Sect demonic monks who had suddenly appeared in the distance, Lu Yuan didn’t pay them much attention either.
Their strength was around the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Stage. The strongest among them was only at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Such strength posed no threat to Lu Yuan at his current level.
He had killed at least a few hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators.
Currently, only Core Formation Stage cultivators could potentially trouble Lu Yuan.
However, even among Core Formation Stage cultivators, Lu Yuan only took notice if the cultivator was close to perfection in the Core Formation Stage, like Ge Xiu.
Ordinary Core Formation Stage cultivator couldn’t pose significant threats to him.
The last Core Formation Stage cultivator who thought he could control Lu Yuan was Bi Fang, the Heavenly Devil.
But now, the grass on that guy’s grave was almost two meters high.
Nevertheless, Lu Yuan had no intention of picking a fight with these Huanxi Sect demonic monks.
In the current situation, Lu Yuan’s only targets were the Dragon Energy and the White Bone Crystal. He didn’t have any interest in the others for the time being.
But sometimes, Lu Yuan didn’t want to find trouble with others, but that didn’t mean others felt the same way.
Upon seeing Lu Yuan, the three demonic monks of the Huanxi Sect displayed proud expressions on their faces.
“Senior Brother Jue Ding, just as you predicted, once a cultivator enters this area, the surrounding bone demons are triggered and launch attacks on that cultivator.”
The demonic monk from the Huanxi Sect, who was called Jue Ding, seemed pleased with the praise from his fellow sect members.
He stroked his bald head and proudly said, “As I said, those who foolishly venture towards the center of the Forbidden Area are either extremely confident in their strength or simply reckless.”
“They fail to consider that the reason this place is called the Forbidden Area is because it cannot be compared to ordinary locations.”
“Only a steady person like me can walk out of the Forbidden Area. That fool outside may possess decent strength, but he appears to be at around the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage.”
“Such cultivation might allow him to deal with the surrounding bone demons, but ultimately, he will exhaust his energy. At that time, it will be a good opportunity for us.”
When the two demonic monks of the Huanxi Sect heard this, they chimed in agreement.
“Senior Brother Jue Ding is right. We’ve encountered such situations several times before.”
“Those fools never consider that while they are busy dealing with the bone demons, we are lurking in the shadows, observing their every move.”
“Yes, yes, thanks to Senior Brother Jue Ding, we encountered such a great opportunity as soon as we entered. We never could have imagined finding such amazing treasure, magic instruments, and magic items that we picked up for free.”
Listening to the praise from his junior brothers, Jue Ding burst into laughter.
It had been half a day since the Forbidden Area opened. During this time, they had hidden themselves here and ambushed other cultivators, successfully intercepting and killing two groups of people.
The cultivation of these two groups of people was very ordinary, and there were not many good things in their storage bags.
However, the ease with which they obtained rewards made Jue Ding and the others relish the experience.
However, Jue Ding felt they shouldn’t become overly complacent. Any cultivator who could appear alone in this place was unlikely to be an ordinary opponent.
Although Lu Yuan appeared to be at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, who knows if he was hiding his true strength?
With this thought in mind, Jue Ding prepared to observe the progress of Lu Yuan’s battle.
If Lu Yuan displayed overwhelming strength, Jue Ding might disregard it and let him enter.
After all, they wanted to be the small birds lurking behind the mantis, not becoming the mantis themselves.”
However, when Jue Ding peered out to check on Lu Yuan’s situation, he was surprised to discover that Lu Yuan had disappeared from the open space.
And at that place, a large number of bone demons seemed to have lost track of Lu Yuan in an instant, so they stood there foolishly and looked around bewildered.
Seeing this, Jue Ding immediately felt a strong sense of crisis.
What’s going on? How did the Qingyun Sect’s cultivator disappear in the blink of an eye?
“Are you looking for me?”
Just as Jue Ding was about to release his spiritual sense to search for Lu Yuan, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
Jue Ding turned his head with difficulty and discovered a figure standing behind the three of them.
This person stood on a flying sword, looking at them with a half-smile.
And this person was none other than Lu Yuan, who they had considered as their prey.
However, based on the current situation, it was really hard to determine who was the hunter and who was the prey.
Jue Ding looked at Lu Yuan hovering in the air on his sword and made a decision almost instantly.
“Attack!”
Jue Ding’s angry roar immediately snapped the other two Huanxi Sect demonic monks back to their senses.
Almost at that moment, he decided to charge forward, the other two demonic monks also rushed over.
In an instant, their bodies expanded by about a size, transforming into muscular arhats standing three to four meters tall.
This was the exclusive divine ability of the Huanxi Sect… the Blood Arhat.
The three people who had transformed into Blood Arhats displayed an astonishing power of blood qi.
They appeared no different from ordinary body cultivators.
In the blink of an eye, Jue Ding arrived in front of Lu Yuan and threw a punch at him.
However, to Jue Ding’s surprise, Lu Yuan showed no intention of evading his attack.
Boom!
With a tremendous sound, Jue Ding’s punch came to a halt three meters away from Lu Yuan.
Jue Ding looked at the green barrier in front of Lu Yuan, his expression filled with bewilderment.
Meanwhile, the other two Huanxi Sect demonic monks who were about to attack suddenly froze in mid-air, with an eerie stillness.
Just as Jue Ding was about to say something, he realized that his own body was also trapped.
He lowered his head and realized that a clump of golden Gilded Sand had wrapped around him unnoticed.
The other two Huanxi Sect demonic monks found themselves in the same situation.
Like Jue Ding, they were all ensnared by the enigmatic golden Gilded Sand.
Witnessing how effortlessly Lu Yuan had subdued them, Jue Ding was about to plead for mercy on the spot.
However, almost as soon as he spoke, the Gilded Sand wrapped around them intensified its force.
Crack!
Under the ruthless grinding of the Gilded Sand, the three Huanxi Sect demonic monks were instantaneously reduced to a blood mist.
Lu Yuan looked at the three demonic monks who had turned into a blood mist and calmly said, “I can handle things on my own. I don’t need to ask you.”
“After all, only the dead can truly be safe.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yuan immediately employed his Divine Soul Pill Refinement Technique..