Lu Xuan had already harvested thirteen Spirit Firefly Grass plants. If he picked any more, the vitality might diminish and affect the quality. He planned to take these thirteen plants to Hundred Herbs Hall and then check the market for suitable spirit seeds or young beasts.
"Hey little buddy, do you want to come with me?"
Before Lu Xuan could finish speaking, he felt a slight weight on his right shoulder. Turning his head, he saw the Cloud Stepping Leopard, with its four fluffy white paws gently resting on his shoulder. Its bright green eyes were fixed ahead, seemingly ignoring Lu Xuan’s gaze.
Lu Xuan focused his mind on the leopard and instantly sensed its excitement. He chuckled lightly and reminded the Straw Puppet, which had returned to normal, to keep an eye on the Spiritual Field before heading to the market with the Cloud Stepping Leopard.
At the market, there were noticeably more wandering cultivators than usual. Many materials and spiritual medicines brought back from the new secret realms attracted a lot of cultivators to the market.
Lu Xuan strolled around, looking for anything that caught his interest. Suddenly, he noticed a group of cultivators gathered about ten yards away. They were wearing standard robes, and Lu Xuan recognized them as the patrolling guards from Linyang Market Town.
Several mid-level Qi Refining guards had formed a circle with a black rope covered in strange talismans. Inside the circle, there was a scorched patch of ground. Lu Xuan watched as one guard tossed a Evil Dispelling Talisman into the circle, and a pure white light flashed, bringing a sense of peace.
As the white light appeared, the other guards became tense, staring intently at the ground. Once the light faded, they relaxed a little.
Curious, Lu Xuan moved closer to the crowd and quickly picked up some information.
"These guards are quite responsible. That mutated cultivator has been dead for a day, and they’re still here to prevent any evil spirits from appearing."
"What can we do? Everyone knows how terrifying evil spirits can be. Better safe than sorry."
"At least ten cultivators in the northern district have died recently. Either they were attacked and corrupted by evil spirits or killed by mutated monsters."
"Have you heard the rumor? It’s said that the recent surge of evil spirits is closely related to the Wang family."
"They say they broke a new formation and disturbed a nest of strange-level evil spirits in the secret realm, and now those spirits have followed them back."
"Be careful with your words. This isn’t something we low-level wandering cultivators should casually discuss, or we might invite trouble."
"All we can do is figure out how to survive this invasion of evil spirits."
The chatter gradually quieted down and shifted to other topics.
"Mutated cultivators dying, strange-level evil spirits attacking?"
Lu Xuan caught two key phrases.
"I can’t believe so much has happened in just a few days since I last went out."
"Strange-level evil spirits..."
He felt a weight in his heart. The classification of evil spirits is different from that of monsters. They are divided into four levels: abnormal, strange, calamity, and disaster. Abnormal evil spirits have strange abilities, equivalent to Qi Refining cultivators, while strange-level evil spirits possess unpredictable powers, generally comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Even though the Wang family and other forces in the market were there to protect them, any ordinary wandering cultivator caught in the crossfire would likely meet a grim fate.
Noticing the impact of the rumors, Lu Xuan saw the prices of talismans like the Evil Dispelling Talisman and Protection Talisman rising significantly in the market.
"I need to quickly check the market. If I can’t find anything, I’ll head to Hundred Herbs Hall to deal with these Spirit Firefly Grass plants and then get back home."
Lu Xuan decided to stay in his courtyard with his spiritual plants and pets as the market was becoming increasingly unsafe.
As he quickened his pace, he suddenly felt the Cloud Stepping Leopard on his shoulder become heavier. Turning his head, he saw the leopard staring coldly ahead, letting out a strange low growl.
"Did it sense something?"
Noticing the leopard’s unusual behavior, Lu Xuan slowed down. The leopard’s stance reminded him of when it lay in wait by the Spiritual Spring Pool, preparing to ambush a Red Whiskered Carp. This posture meant the Cloud Stepping Leopard was ready to attack.
"It seems the leopard’s unusual eyes can see things that are hard to notice."
Lu Xuan recalled the information he had received when he first started raising the Cloud Stepping Leopard.
Suddenly, he felt a chill. The Silver Splitting Blade at his waist emitted a faint buzzing sound, and a second-tier Sword Qi Talisman quietly slipped from his sleeve.
"Based on my usual behavior and the direction the leopard is looking, the most likely anomaly is ahead."
He maintained a calm expression and casually stopped at the nearest stall, pretending to examine an item while keeping an eye on the surrounding cultivators.
"Too expensive, I don’t want it."
Ignoring the stall owner’s words, he casually said this and turned to leave.
Suddenly, a few yards ahead, a wandering cultivator let out a muffled groan, and cracks appeared on their face and neck. Countless red flesh buds shot out from the cracks, quickly growing into blood-red tentacles that lunged at the surrounding cultivators.
"Ah!"
A nearby cultivator didn’t react in time and was pierced through the head by a blood-red tentacle.
As soon as the flesh buds appeared, Lu Xuan quickly retreated, sticking a Swift Talisman on each leg, moving as fast as the wind.
Other cultivators around him unleashed their techniques, and for a moment, spells, artifacts, and talismans flew everywhere.
The blood-red tentacles grew rapidly, threatening to cover an area of twenty yards.
Lu Xuan shot out like an arrow, leaving several cultivators behind. Suddenly, a tall earthen wall appeared in front of him and the other cultivators, blocking their path.
The moment the wall appeared, Lu Xuan noticed a guard in front of him wearing a sinister grin.
"A bunch of fools! I don’t need to outrun the evil spirit, I just need to be faster than you."
The wandering cultivator who used the Earth Wall Talisman felt proud, thinking he was clever.
Lu Xuan quickly maneuvered around the wall. That wandering cultivator had already gained a significant lead in just a few breaths.
Feeling furious at being used as a shield, Lu Xuan channeled his spiritual energy, and the Gengjin Sword Art instantly activated. A golden streak of light shot through the chaos, accurately hitting the wandering cultivator’s leg, causing blood to gush out and a large hole to appear in his calf.
The wandering cultivator cried out in pain, unable to help but stop.
Lu Xuan passed by him expressionlessly.
"Didn’t you want to see who could run faster? I won’t let you run at all."
Looking back, he saw several blood-red tentacles, like giant snakes, lunging toward the fallen wandering cultivator.
(End of Chapter)