Chapter 226: True Tiger Luring Tactic

Chapter 226: True Tiger Luring Tactic

“Heh, interesting… Did she notice my gaze?” Monk Huikong murmured to himself as he controlled the demonic remains to follow the girl who had split off from the main group.

"As expected of someone blessed with great fortune! But this works just as well—it saves me the trouble of creating more diversions."

Sword Pavilion disciples were all highly talented.

His initial plan had been to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

But now, he had changed his mind.

The value of this single female cultivator alone was equivalent to the entire Sword Pavilion combined—including the three personal disciples and Yue Qianchi.

A supreme-grade dantian… utterly unheard of.

Not for thousands of years had such an extraordinary talent appeared.

Whether as raw material or a vessel, she was the perfect choice!

Song Chiyue had already claimed the three personal disciples for herself. Then, she wanted to take Yue Qianchi and Yun Suxin back to Jade Pool as well, leaving his sect with mere scraps?

Unacceptable!

So he wasn’t going to tell Song Chiyue.

This girl—he would take her for himself.

"Hey, isn’t that Li Qingran?"

On a mountain peak, a group of senior disciples from Chixiao Peak was busy breaking through a restriction. Inside was likely an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling, and they had already looted several similar sites with great success.

It was precisely why they hadn’t responded to Song Chiyue’s summons.

"Looks like it," Yun Zimo followed Zhang Hanxiao’s pointing finger.

In the distance, Li Qingran was dashing through the mountain terrain, frequently glancing over her shoulder with a tense expression—as if she were being pursued.

"Senior Brother, didn’t you say Li Qingran was thrown into some remote corner of Sword Pavilion?"

Xiao Yifeng glanced at Lu Changtian beside him.

Then, he froze.

Lu Changtian’s eyes were bloodshot, fists clenched tightly, his body trembling slightly as he stared at Li Qingran with undisguised killing intent.

"S-Senior Brother?!"

"What?" Lu Changtian withdrew his gaze, and the murderous aura instantly disappeared.

Xiao Yifeng blinked in confusion. Had he imagined that just now?

"I said that’s Li Qingran. It looks like something is chasing her."

"Oh." Lu Changtian nodded, then spoke with forced calm, "I see her. Li Qingran may no longer be part of Chixiao Peak, but she was once our junior sister. Are we just going to stand by and watch her struggle? Come, let’s go help her!"

"Uh?" Xiao Yifeng was dumbfounded. "Senior Brother, you… you’re acting weird. Didn’t you always find Li Qingran disgusting? You already have Junior Sister Mu Baishuang, don’t tell me you still—"

"What nonsense are you spouting? That was just angry talk." Lu Changtian rolled his eyes, sheathed his sword, and walked down the mountain without looking back.

"Do you take me for such a petty person? Aren’t you even curious to see how our former junior sister has fared in Sword Pavilion? Come, let’s go."

The remaining three exchanged glances.

It seemed… reasonable enough?

So they followed him down the mountain.

"You’ve been following me for quite a while. Don’t you think it’s time to show yourself?"

Li Qingran came to a stop in an open area. The usual gentleness on her face had vanished, replaced by cold indifference and killing intent.

"Hehehe… As expected of someone with a supreme-grade dantian—so sharp!"

A figure cloaked in dense demonic energy stepped out from the shadows of a rock.

Wherever it passed, the plants withered, the insects fell silent, and a powerful late-stage Golden Core pressure filled the air.

"A demonic remain?" Li Qingran frowned. "No… Demonic remains are the soulless corpses of fallen cultivators, controlled by lingering grudges in the secret realm.

"They have no thoughts, no consciousness, only the instinct to kill.

"But you… can speak?"

The creature before her was unmistakably a demonic remain—its body skeletal and dry, eerie blue flames burning within its hollow eyes.

So why could it talk?

Could someone actually control demonic remains?

Could this be connected to the disaster at the formation?

"Impressive knowledge, girl. But it’s a pity… Today, I shall leave you buried within this secret realm!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Huikong made his move.

The demonic remain lunged, extending ghostly claws that sealed off all escape routes.

Late-stage Golden Core versus peak Foundation Establishment—there was no way she could win!

The girl stood frozen, seemingly paralyzed by fear.

No doubt she had sensed the overwhelming gap in strength and fallen into despair.

Golden Core stage cultivators were powerful.

Li Qingran calmly watched the approaching demonic remain and reached into her storage pouch.

She grabbed a large handful of talismans.

These were all low-grade Thunderfire Talismans, the kind her master casually handed to her in bulk.

Over the years, despite occasionally using them during missions outside the sect, she had accumulated around four or five hundred.

Her master seemed to enjoy crafting talismans, and these were just worthless scraps to him.

So pulling out a handful now didn’t feel like a waste at all.

Demonic beings feared lightning—she would weaken it first!

With clear-headed precision, Li Qingran flung the Thunderfire Talismans.

A direct fight was impossible, so she had to suppress the enemy first.

Huikong, watching through the demonic remain’s eyes, saw the girl’s hands move slightly—

Then, suddenly, the sky was filled with flying talismans.

He swore on his life—he had never seen so many talismans at once.

And they were real!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder rained down from above.

Normally, scattered talismans would strike at random, but the demonic remain’s thick demonic energy acted as a beacon, ensuring every lightning bolt hit its target.

Hundreds of bolts struck at once, charring the demonic remain and electrocuting Huikong through their connection.

Back at the sect ruins, a disciple pointed at Huikong, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, and gasped.

"Look! Monk Huikong’s head is smoking!"

"Not surprising. He’s so powerful, even his healing process makes noise!"

A single low-grade Thunderfire Talisman wouldn’t harm a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

But hundreds of them?

That was a different story.

Moreover, the demonic remain wasn’t truly at late Golden Core strength. As its demonic energy was depleted, its power continued to decline.

Just as expected, its attack was interrupted, and its cultivation plummeted to mid-Golden Core.

The demonic remain spat out a mouthful of black smoke, staring at Li Qingran in disbelief.

"Y-You… How do you have so many Thunderfire Talismans? Are you a talisman master?!"

"I have more." Li Qingran pulled out another handful and casually tossed them.

This time, they were mid-grade Thunderfire Talismans—seventy in total.

Another barrage of lightning rained down.

The demonic remain staggered back, its aura further weakened—now barely above early Golden Core.

"D*mn it! If this continues, I’ll lose!"

Huikong’s expression darkened.

There was no magic formation here to replenish the demonic remain’s energy.

If he didn’t come up with a solution fast, it would be ground to death.

"What if I infused it with my own power?"

Huikong glanced at his hands, still glowing with sacred Buddhist energy.

If he channeled his Buddhist energy into the demonic remain, it could gain resistance to lightning while stabilizing its cultivation.

But the moment he did that, it would leave a mark—exposing his involvement!

Across from him, Li Qingran reached into her pouch once more.

Huikong’s eyes twitched as she pulled out yet another handful of talismans.

This time, there were fewer…

But the righteous aura radiating from them was even stronger.

They were all high-grade Thunderfire Talismans.

Huikong’s face twitched violently.

Was this girl playing or not?!

Forget it—he had had enough!

He pulled out the soul pearl controlling the demonic remain and pressed his radiant palms against it.

"I have to end this quickly!"