Killing Golden Core Cultivators

Chapter 58 Slaughtering Golden Core Cultivators (6,000 words)

The Ullambana Festival discussion is still ongoing. Since everyone here is a cultivator, it's nothing for them to be discussing the Dao for two days straight.

Two days can be said to pass in the blink of an eye for cultivators. In the end, no one could defy fate, and Zhang Yanqiu won the championship without any suspense.

Yu Zhao had expected to witness a spectacular battle of magic, but no one could withstand even a single move from Zhang Yanqiu.

This immediately made her question the validity of the teachings presented at the Ghost Festival.

It's even possible that the debate at Famen Temple was held to give the Bodhi seeds to Zhang Yanqiu.

I made dumplings just for a bit of vinegar.

After the discussion concluded, Yu Zhao and her group left Famen Temple and headed towards the city. On the way, Zhang Yanqiu noticed Yu Zhao looking thoughtful with her head down and asked curiously, "What are you thinking about, Junior Sister Yu?"

"I think this debate wasn't as exciting as I'd imagined."

Yu Zhao spoke her mind directly, and Zhang Yanqiu immediately understood her implication. He smiled and said, "Junior Sister, you suspect that this debate was held specifically for me, right?"

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Yu Zhao didn't feel embarrassed at all when her thoughts were exposed. It wasn't her who said it; it was Zhang Yanqiu who said it, and it had nothing to do with her.

Seeing the girl's "I don't know what you're talking about" look, Zhang Yanqiu found this junior uncle even more interesting. However, for the sake of his reputation, he still explained: "The reason why this Dao discussion was held in this way is because a relic has appeared. For those geniuses, the relic is obviously more attractive."

Otherwise, even if I could win first place, it would still take some effort.

These words sounded pretentious to Yu Zhao and the others. So you think you're definitely the number one person of the younger generation?

However, when Shen Yunshu and the young monk Kongxiang thought about Zhang Yanqiu's strength, they suddenly realized that his arrogance was justified.

That strength is truly beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator should possess.

The young monk Kongxiang acknowledged Zhang Yanqiu's abilities, but Shen Yunshu still felt that her senior sister was the strongest among the younger generation.

Senior Sister is undoubtedly the number one person below the Golden Core stage. If she were to use all her skills, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she is the number one person below the Nascent Soul stage.

It's a pity my senior sister is too low-key, otherwise she would be the one who is famous today.

Shen Yunshu couldn't help but feel a little resentful, especially after seeing Zhang Yanqiu put on such a show.

You just wait, once I reach Foundation Establishment, I'll beat you so badly you won't know where you're going.

Shen Yunshu secretly made up her mind that once she reached the Foundation Establishment stage, she would find Zhang Yanqiu and fight him to show him that there are always people more powerful than her!

She can't stand people who are so pretentious.

Yu Zhao was completely unaware that her junior sister was about to cause trouble again. After hearing Zhang Yanqiu's explanation, she felt that what he said made sense.

The appearance of the ruins did indeed attract many people away. It's a pity that without the ruins, she would have been able to truly witness just how powerful the prodigies of the various sects or aristocratic families really are.

However, Yu Zhao quickly put aside this regret. She would see it eventually, and besides, she was going to the ruins anyway, where she might be able to see it.

After entering the city, the young monk Kongxiang and Mufeng left first, clearly intending to find someone to team up with to explore the ruins.

The two of them are so close now that it's as if they could become sworn brothers.

After they left, Zhang Yanqiu told Yu Zhao that she would come to pick her up tomorrow so she and Shen Yunshu could set off together, and then she also left.

Once only Yu Zhao and the other woman were left, they returned to the inn where they had stayed earlier. After entering the room, Shen Yunshu sat directly on the bed and began to meditate and breathe in spiritual energy.

Yu Zhao was quite surprised to see that the girl was so well-behaved and hardworking today. She guessed that the girl must have been stimulated today.

This girl has always been arrogant, though she has never shown it, Yu Zhao can tell.

Perhaps in this girl's eyes, all the talented people in the world are just chickens and dogs. Maybe Zhang Yanqiu's strength has stimulated this little green tea.

Yu Zhao thought this was a good thing. Shen Yunshu was the only teammate she recognized. Knowing that she would work hard would make her stronger and stronger, so that she wouldn't fall far behind her.

Seeing Shen Yunshu's hard work, Yu Zhao felt very gratified, and a motherly smile appeared on her face.

It's not easy, but the kid has finally stopped giving up.

After a moment of reflection, Yu Zhao began to attend to her own affairs. She took out several items from her storage bag: a bone, a red stone, and a bamboo-like object, except that the bamboo-like object was strangely black.

It's the kind of black that displays iridescent colors in sunlight.

These three items were all from her stockpile, each one more bizarre than the last.

For example, this bone is the bone of an animal that is extremely poisonous. It was given to her by a junior brother who was obsessed with making poisons when she was at Qingfeng Temple.

However, the other party did not send her this with good intentions; they intended to poison her, but unfortunately, they failed.

As for the stones and the strangely colored bamboo, they were even more significant.

The stone is called a "煞石" (Sha Shi), and like a "灵石" (Ling Shi), it is something naturally formed by heaven and earth.

The difference is that spirit stones contain spiritual energy that cultivators can absorb, but evil stones are different. Evil stones contain evil energy, and apart from demonic cultivators who like them, other cultivators would avoid them like the plague, let alone touch them.

Yu Zhao didn't know the name of the bamboo; she only knew that it could cause hallucinations.

Yu Zhao planned to use these three items to study the Three Talents Ascension Array that he had previously obtained.

The normal effect of the Three Talents Ascension Array is healing. She had already made the array flags for the normal Ascension Array. This time, Yu Zhao planned to study whether she could make an abnormal Ascension Array using these strange objects as array flags.

To explore a ruin that even a Golden Core cultivator could enter, she naturally needed to prepare more trump cards.

Making the battle flags was not difficult, and Yu Zhao had made them once before. Practice makes perfect, and in less than half an hour, Yu Zhao had made three battle flags.

Looking at the array flags of blue, red, and black floating in the air, Yu Zhao carefully sensed them and realized that it had actually succeeded.

I just don't know what abilities it will have.

She was thinking of trying to find someone to talk to, and Zi Guang subconsciously glanced at Shen Yunshu, who was sitting on the bed meditating and breathing, but she quickly put the idea aside.

The little green tea girl won't do; she's too weak. It wouldn't be good if she got played to death.

It seems the only option is to contact Zhang Yanqiu.

At this moment, Shen Yunshu, who was meditating and breathing, and Zhang Yanqiu, who had already met with their martial uncle, both felt a chill run down their spines.

Just as Yu Zhao was about to send a message to Zhang Yanqiu, she suddenly sensed someone approaching. She couldn't help but grin and mutter to herself, "It's like someone brings you a pillow when you're sleepy. It seems my luck is pretty good."

Without hesitation, she threw the battle flags into three corners of the room, where they disappeared on the ground as they fell.

Having done all this, Yu Zhao sat down at the tea table and patiently waited for the guests to arrive.

Soon, she sensed a scorching aura approaching. Shen Yunshu was also awakened by this aura, and she immediately remembered who possessed this aura.

It must be that Crimson Flame Master. He probably really did borrow some magical artifact from Famen Temple to investigate what happened that day.

Although she didn't kill this woman's grandson, there was no guarantee that the other party wouldn't take their anger out on her. Thinking of this, Shen Yunshu looked at Yu Zhao and called out apologetically, "Senior Sister~"

She caused trouble for her senior sister, sob sob sob.

"Just focus on your training, it's a minor issue."

Yu Zhao spoke calmly, saying that although it would be troublesome if a Golden Core cultivator made a move, it was not to the point of being unsolvable.

She had previously avoided conflict simply to avoid trouble, but if the other party continued to act unreasonably and press her relentlessly, then she shouldn't blame her for taking drastic measures.

Seeing her senior sister as steady as Mount Tai, Shen Yunshu felt a little more at ease. However, at this moment, she had no mood for cultivation. She got off the bed and stood behind Yu Zhao.

They planned to face it together with their senior sister. If the other party really wanted to take their anger out on them, then the sisters would kill a Golden Core cultivator today!

Just as Shen Yunshu stood behind Yu Zhao, the door was pushed open, and the Crimson Flame Master walked in, exuding a chilling murderous aura and with an icy expression.

He entered the room, waved his hand to set up an isolation array, and then looked coldly at the two women, "My two young friends, you have deceived me!"

"Senior, please forgive me, this matter has nothing to do with my junior sister. By then, your beloved grandson will have already been killed. We lied to you back then only because we didn't want to get involved in this turmoil."

"If they dared to kill the beloved grandson of a Golden Core cultivator like yourself, how could we, mere cultivators, dare to get involved?"

Yu Zhao was extremely polite. Others might not believe it, but she genuinely disliked fighting and killing. She also felt sorry for the other party who had lost his grandson, so she was willing to offer an explanation.

I am also willing to give the other party a chance.

Upon hearing this, Crimson Flame Venerable sneered: "Ha! How could I not know that it wasn't you who did it? If it weren't for that, I would have killed you all right now."

"Then why have you come looking for us, senior?"

"I need to search your souls. I need to know how much you two actually know about this matter."

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"No room for negotiation?" Upon hearing the words "soul search," Yu Zhao's eyes instantly turned cold.

"Two ants dare to bargain with me?"

As he spoke, Crimson Flame Venerable actually reached out his hand towards Yu Zhao and the other woman, and the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator pressed down on the two women.

In the eyes of the Crimson Flame Master, they were nothing but ants, unable to move under his oppressive aura, and would inevitably have no choice but to obediently allow him to search their souls.

But what happened next stunned Master Chiyan. When his hand fell, the two women's bodies turned to ashes.

This made Master Chiyan feel like he had seen a ghost. He looked at his hand in confusion. He hadn't used any force, so how could he have killed the person so easily?

Then something even more terrifying happened: he saw his hand disappear little by little, starting from his fingertips and then his entire right hand vanished.

As expected of a Golden Core cultivator, Crimson Flame Venerable quickly realized that he had fallen under an illusion.

He quickly calmed his mind, his body wreathed in flames, intending to use his cultivation to forcefully break the illusion. In his opinion, what kind of power could an illusion spell of a Foundation Establishment cultivator have?

But as it turned out, he overestimated himself. The more he tried to boost his cultivation, the more frustrated he became, and many voices appeared in his ears.

There were his relatives, enemies who died at his hands, and innocent passersby who were caught in the crossfire when he was fighting with others.

These people were all talking at once, demanding his life.

"Illusions, all illusions! How could I be seduced by illusions? Break free!"

He frantically activated his cultivation, and flames shot into the sky, annihilating everything around him. But the sounds lingered like maggots clinging to bones, and he even saw human figures.

What Crimson Flame Master didn't notice was that his body was now a strange green, and his face was covered with green lines, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

Outside the formation, Yu Zhao was leisurely sipping tea. Behind her, Shen Yunshu watched the crazed state of the Crimson Flame Immortal within the formation and felt a chill run down her spine. "Senior Sister, your formation is terrifying. It can actually trigger his inner demons."

Yu Zhao hadn't actually expected this; the formation was surprisingly effective. "Perhaps it's because his Dao heart was flawed to begin with."

She replied casually, then put down her teacup and stood up, "Let's go, let's go collect his body."

As he spoke, Yu Zhao deactivated the formation and retrieved the array flags.

The formation dissipated, revealing the corpse of the Crimson Flame Master lying on the ground, his chest pierced by his own hand, his eyes wide open in death.

He truly deserves to die with his eyes wide open in disgrace. He was tricked to death by a Foundation Establishment cultivator's formation. If this were to spread, Crimson Flame Venerable would become a disgrace to the Golden Core realm.

Even Yu Zhao herself didn't expect it to be so easy; the other party was too arrogant and didn't take her seriously at all.

"Junior sister, you see? You must be more careful in the future. I can kill a Golden Core cultivator, so it's hard to guarantee that others can't. No enemy should be underestimated."

Even if the other party's cultivation level is far lower than yours.

Yu Zhao took the opportunity of Chi Yan Shangren's death to teach his junior sister a lesson.

Shen Yunshu:

Who could be as monstrous and treacherous as you?

Although she was inwardly complaining, Shen Yunshu still maintained a humble and receptive demeanor on the surface, saying, "I will remember your teachings, Senior Sister."

"

"This child is teachable."

Yu Zhao nodded in satisfaction, then took out a paper figure from her sleeve and slapped it onto the body of the Crimson Flame Venerable. After that, she made a hand seal, and the body of the Crimson Flame Venerable actually stood up again.

He moved his body like a puppet, pulling his hand out of his chest, where blood was still dripping from the large hole.

"Hand over your storage treasure, then envelop yourself in fire and leave."

As Yu Zhao gave the order, the corpse of the Crimson Flame Master obeyed. Yu Zhao used a minor paper doll manipulation technique, which was not considered a demonic technique, so the light screen plugin did not include it in its purification.

That saved some trouble.

This kind of minor magic isn't very useful, but if used properly, it can have miraculous effects.

For example, it can control a corpse to do some simple things, or it can exchange its own body with the paper figure within a certain distance.

Back in the ruins of Zhenbei City, Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu were trapped by the demonic cultivator's formation, and they used this kind of minor spell to escape.

Seeing her senior sister use this technique to control the corpse of the Crimson Flame Venerable and leave, Shen Yunshu knew what her senior sister was thinking. Her senior sister did not want to be too conspicuous, so the Crimson Flame Venerable could not die here.

Once the paper doll manipulation technique has carried his corpse far away, it will be none of their business where he died.

However, Shen Yunshu felt this was unnecessary. Seeing her senior sister wiping the bloodstains on the ground, she asked the question that had been bothering her: "Senior sister, this probably can't be hidden from the powerful figures in the city. When Master Chiyan died, the isolation array he set up dissipated, and some powerful figure must have discovered that he was killed by us."

Furthermore, when his body was taken away by the paper figure, the powerful beings would have already realized it was a corpse. I don't understand what you're trying to achieve by doing this.

"I never intended to hide it from anyone."

Yu Zhao replied casually while continuing to wipe the bloodstains on the ground.

This made Shen Yunshu even more confused. "If you weren't planning to hide it from anyone, why did you do this, Senior Sister? Doesn't this expose another one of our trump cards?"

"Junior sister, you and I aren't that important."

"what?"

"What I mean is that the powerful figures in the city wouldn't be idle enough to investigate you and me. In their eyes, this is just a Golden Core cultivator asking two ants about something."

They wouldn't be idle enough to constantly scout this area. As for discovering that what ran out was a corpse, they would only assume that we probably have protectors behind us.

In their eyes, the fact that this guardian sent the body out was just a demonstration, not an attempt to cover something up.

Of course, these aren't the main reasons I did this. My main reason is simply that I can't allow any evidence of us committing the murder to remain. As long as the body isn't found here, no one can claim that we were the killer.

"Huh? Isn't this just deceiving yourself?" Shen Yunshu sometimes really couldn't understand what her senior sister was thinking. "She's already killed someone, why is she afraid of being discovered?"

"Hey! What kind of talk is that?!"

Yu Zhao immediately became anxious, threw down the rag in her hand, put her hands on her hips and looked angrily at Shen Yunshu, "Your senior sister is a righteous cultivator, what righteous cultivator would kill people casually?"

If people find out, what will become of my reputation?

"Your senior sister is destined to become the Venerable Yu, the Savior from Suffering and Calamity; how can I leave a stain on my reputation?"

Hearing Yu Zhao's righteous words, Shen Yunshu was speechless. She realized that her senior sister's mind had gone mad again.

"If Master Chiyan heard what you said, he'd probably be so angry he'd come back to life," Shen Yunshu retorted.

"Who is Master Chiyan? I don't know him."

"Hey, Senior Sister, you can fool others, but don't fool yourself."

"Nonsense! I, Yu Zhao, have lived an upright life and never lied. If you continue to slander me, even if you are my junior sister, I will never forgive you."

Shen Yunshu: Sichuan (°°) Three is over, my senior sister has really gone crazy, I'm scared!

Shen Yunshu didn't want to continue the conversation. She felt that her senior sister's current state was a bit scary, so she silently picked up a rag and began to clean up the bloodstains and internal organ fragments with Yu Zhao.

Soon, the room was cleaned up, and Yu Zhao even had time to change his clothes. He was dressed in a spotless blue robe, looking like a graceful immortal.

After the two women finished their work, the room was broken into again, this time by Zhang Yanqiu.

After entering the house, he looked around and was relieved to see that the two women were alright.

"I sensed the presence of the Crimson Flame Venerable here. Are you alright?"

"You're late," Shen Yunshu said coldly. She felt that Zhang Yanqiu was dishonest; he must have noticed that the Crimson Flame Venerable had arrived long ago.

Why did it take you so long to come? What are you thinking?

Want to see if they can handle Master Chiyan on their own?

It was indeed Shen Yunshu who misunderstood Zhang Yanqiu. Zhang Yanqiu was not in the city before. After parting ways with them, he went out of the city to welcome his uncle, whom he had invited to escort them on their exploration of the ruins.

After meeting with his martial uncle and explaining the situation, his martial uncle left first for the location of the ruins, while he himself returned to the city.

He sensed the presence of the Crimson Flame Master on the way, but he didn't pay any attention to it. It wasn't until he entered the city that he discovered the Crimson Flame Master was going to find Yu Zhao.

That's why he rushed over.

He sensed the displeasure in Shen Yunshu's tone, but Zhang Yanqiu didn't offer any explanation. Instead, he bowed and apologized to Yu Zhao, "Junior Uncle, please forgive me for being late. Fortunately, you are alright. Don't worry, Junior Uncle, that Crimson Flame Venerable will definitely give you an explanation for this matter!"

"No need. He was just desperate after losing his grandson and grasping at straws. He didn't do anything to us. Let's just drop the matter."

Of course we have to give up; the person is dead, who are we supposed to explain this to?

Shen Yunshu silently complained.

"That won't do. Anyone who dares to be disrespectful to the people of my Dragon Tiger Holy Land will definitely pay the price. Junior Uncle, you don't need to worry about this."

"

Zhang Yanqiu was furious. Does the death of his grandson give him the right to be disrespectful to the people of the Dragon Tiger Holy Land? Even if his grandson's death had nothing to do with his junior uncle, so what?

Junior Martial Aunt is kind-hearted and would never kill someone casually. If she was forced to kill, it must be the other party's fault.

As he spoke, Zhang Yanqiu left, following the aura of the Crimson Flame Master, intending to confront him.

I have to avenge my junior uncle.

When Zhang Yanqiu finally found the Crimson Flame Master, he discovered that the man was already dead, and his body was found in the mountains outside the city.

They died a terrible death.

"Huh? Who killed him? Could it be that Junior Uncle actually has a protector?"

The more Zhang Yanqiu thought about it, the more likely it seemed. How could the daughter of the dignified Lingxiao Celestial Master not have any protectors?

But that doesn't make sense. Why would the Grandmaster allow Junior Aunt to wander outside? And why didn't he tell her her true identity? Could there be some secret behind this?

The thought of this possibility sent a chill down Zhang Yanqiu's spine, and he felt he could not pursue the matter any further.

My grandmaster has disappeared, his daughter is stranded, and I think about how my junior uncle has protectors outside the Dragon Tiger Holy Land, and why I came to the Western Regions.

Zhang Yanqiu immediately sensed that there might be a powerful figure inside playing a chess game.

The reason he came to the Western Regions was because his master said that there was an opportunity for him here. Zhang Yanqiu originally thought that this opportunity referred to the Bodhi seeds of Famen Temple, but later he thought it referred to the relics that appeared in the Western Regions.

Thinking about it more carefully now, this opportunity probably refers to Junior Uncle Yu Zhao.

More specifically, it should be her grandmaster.

As long as he follows Junior Uncle, he's bound to get some kind of opportunity; he must have become a piece in Grandmaster's chess game.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yanqiu felt not anger, but rather ecstatic. That was the Celestial Master Lingxiao, the number one genius of the Dragon Tiger Holy Land in five thousand years. To become his pawn was an unparalleled honor.

Others might not know, but as a disciple of the Dragon Tiger Holy Land, he was well aware that his Grandmaster Lingxiao's true strength lay not in his magical combat skills, but in his divination and fortune-telling techniques.

She possesses extraordinary abilities to calculate everything in the universe, so there must be a reason behind her plan.

That is why no one in the Dragon Tiger Holy Land thought that Ancestor Lingxiao had fallen. How could such a powerful being who could calculate the secrets of heaven have fallen?