Chapter 115: Total Annihilation
Under the protection of the Nut Formation, which was as steady as Mount Tai, Gu Mo scanned the area near the Yuluo Fruit Tree. At this moment, there were no survivors left in that area; everyone had been killed by the Peashooters, including the skinny Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If there had been only five second-tier Peashooters, the skinny Foundation Establishment cultivator might have been able to hold on for a while. However, as the Qi Condensation Great Perfection cultivators fell, the 30 first-tier premium Peashooters, having lost their targets, redirected their attacks towards the skinny Foundation Establishment cultivator.
An attack from Qi Condensation Great Perfection cultivators wasn't much to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but when the number was multiplied by 30, even the Foundation Establishment cultivator would have to be cautious.
Moreover, the skinny cultivator had already been struggling to fend off the attacks from the five second-tier Peashooters. The 30 first-tier premium Peashooters were the final straw that broke him.
With the enemies around the Yuluo Fruit Tree dealt with, Gu Mo could now take the combat power of the five second-tier Peashooters and combine them with the original ten, creating a total of fifteen second-tier Peashooters. All of them unleashed their attacks on the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Ten second-tier Peashooters already required the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to go all out. Now, with an additional five, the combined might of fifteen energy Peas sent the cultivator's expression into a drastic change.
Without hesitation, the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator took out a talisman. It was a defensive talisman he had purchased for a hefty price, capable of blocking one attack in a critical moment.
However, taking out the talisman also meant that the cultivator had given up on this mission. From here on, he would attempt to flee. No matter what the situation was, even if victory was within reach, he would leave without hesitation.
After all, he had seen too many situations where enemies took advantage of carelessness and staged a deadly counterattack. It was because of his caution that he had managed to survive up until now.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The energy Peas fired by the Peashooters slammed into the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's defensive shield, shaking it violently. Yet, the shield managed to hold up.
"Whoo~~"
Seeing this, the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he cursed his employer for not fully disclosing the information. Had he known that such a deadly weapon existed at the resource point, he would have never taken this mission.
He still had no idea where the energy attacks were coming from, but one thing was certain—these weren't from Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"I'm out of here!"
After the round of attacks from the Peashooters ended, the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator prepared to retreat. At this moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of a bright red hue.
It was a luscious cherry.
"Boom!"
Before the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could process who threw the cherry, a terrifying explosion suddenly consumed him. Without the life-saving talisman, the cultivator was overwhelmed by the explosion, his face filled with despair.
The sudden violent blast caused the three other Foundation Establishment assassins, who were fighting in the distance, to look over. After all, whether the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could block the annoying energy attacks was the key to completing their mission.
But when they looked over, all they saw was the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator being engulfed by the explosion.
"Run!"
Upon seeing this, the three Foundation Establishment assassins were struck with panic. If the mid-stage cultivator had died, staying would only mean certain death.
Previously, they might have had a chance to escape with the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator attracting the fire, but now, with the mid-stage cultivator dead, there was no longer any hope of running.
The first to flee was the one who had been tangled up with Wei Yuancai, as he was the only one to have the upper hand in the battle. Therefore, escaping was relatively easier for him.
However, as soon as the assassin pulled away from Wei Yuancai, ten second-tier energy Peas flew towards him. With the death of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Gu Mo could now send all twenty second-tier Peashooters to target the three early-stage Foundation Establishment assassins.
"No!"
Feeling the ten attacks, which were all equivalent to a full-power strike from an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, the assassin let out a desperate scream. It was like facing the full power of ten cultivators of the same rank.
Facing ten opponents, even a genius wouldn't be able to block the attacks, let alone a rogue cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Ten second-tier energy Peas—three broke through his defenses, three destroyed his body, and the remaining four hit empty air.
In other words, it only took six energy Peas to kill the Foundation Establishment assassin, with the ten being an overkill.
The same situation unfolded for the other Foundation Establishment assassin, who had been struggling to withstand the attacks from five second-tier Peashooters. With the addition of five more, the assassin, who was already on the verge of collapse, was instantly obliterated.
At this point, only the assassin who had been fighting Gu Mo was still alive. But even he had already lost most of his will to fight.
He looked around, remembering how there had been a large group of people when he arrived. Now, he was the only one left. And it seemed like his survival wouldn't last much longer either.
"If you want me dead, then let's die together!"
In a fit of desperation, the Foundation Establishment assassin let out a low growl and lunged at Gu Mo.
Faced with a desperate strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Gu Mo called back his flying sword and unleashed a small Sword Qi, attaching it to the sword before swinging it with all his might.
"Small Earth Dragon Technique!"
While slashing out with the flying sword, Gu Mo raised his hand and summoned an earth dragon to entangle the Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although the earth dragon was quickly shattered by the opponent, the brief moment of delay was enough.
With a sharp flash of sword light, the Foundation Establishment assassin's head was severed. When a Foundation Establishment cultivator loses their head, it is certain they are dead beyond saving.
At this point, all the cultivators who had come to the resource point were annihilated.
"Deacon Wei, the aftermath is up to you," Gu Mo said to the still-stunned Wei Yuancai. At this moment, the resource point was littered with corpses and items.
For those cultivators who didn't have storage bags, the items they carried would explode out upon their deaths, as if they had dropped loot after being slain.
However, none of these items were particularly valuable. Gu Mo couldn't be bothered to collect the scraps himself and left the task to Wei Yuancai.
"Ah, yes, yes!" Wei Yuancai hurriedly bowed and replied. If before, Wei Yuancai's respect for Gu Mo was due to his status as a true disciple, now, it was entirely because of Gu Mo's strength.
Slaying Foundation Establishment cultivators with the peak of Qi Refining stage, crossing such a large gap in cultivation to defeat enemies—what kind of talent was that?
Looking back, the sect must have stationed this true disciple at the resource point for a real purpose, not just to temper his heart. If anyone was truly being tempered, it should be Wei Yuancai himself.
Gu Mo's avatar returned to the spiritual field array. His true form looked at the avatar coming toward him and nodded with satisfaction. This battle with a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator had made Gu Mo realize that the combat strength of this avatar was on par with that of a real Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Of course, this applied only to ordinary rogue cultivators in Foundation Establishment. If it were a cultivator from one of the great sects, the avatar might still fall short.
This shortcoming wasn't about the avatar's foundation but about the lack of magical artifacts, offensive techniques, and battle experience. Right now, Gu Mo's best asset was a simple, low-grade magical artifact flying sword. It was much stronger than the ragged items used by rogue cultivators, but it would be far inferior to the exquisite magical items used by elite disciples from large sects.
True elite disciples of large sects wield high-quality magical artifacts, and if Gu Mo entered Foundation Establishment, as a true disciple, he could probably receive corresponding resources from the sect.
The sect's benefits were not provided all at once. Instead, they were distributed in stages according to the disciple's cultivation level—Qi Refining cultivators would receive Qi Refining-level resources, Foundation Establishment cultivators would receive Foundation Establishment-level resources, and if one reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, they would be eligible for the most important reward: the core resources for Nascent Soul, reserved for true disciples.
As for offensive techniques, this involved the cultivation path. Gu Mo's cultivation technique, the Qingmu Sutra, was of a high rank but not particularly suited for combat. Aside from that, the only spells Gu Mo knew were a few Spirit Farmer techniques. Although the Sword Qi among them had decent lethality, it wasn't truly an offensive technique in the traditional sense.
"I should find some time to learn a few strong offensive techniques," Gu Mo thought to himself.
For other cultivators, once they chose a cultivation path, they would devote all their efforts to it and had no time to dabble in other things.
But Gu Mo was different. His cultivation only required refining the essence of the sun, which didn't take much time. Therefore, he had plenty of time to study other techniques.
With the avatar, Gu Mo planned to send it on journeys far and wide, so it was essential to enhance its combat abilities.
At the same time, Gu Mo also planned to use the avatar to gain more combat experience.
Gu Mo was strong, but most of his strength came from plants. His own actual combat experience was minimal.
This also meant that even though his foundation and equipment were superior to those of rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators, he hadn't been able to defeat them swiftly—this was a lack of battle experience.
Gu Mo reflected on his shortcomings as he processed this battle.
Meanwhile, several dozen miles away, the Li surname Foundation Establishment cultivator, who had left earlier, stared in horror at the suddenly silent resource point.
After hearing about the attempt on the Qinglu Sect's key members at the resource point, he felt something was amiss and decided to leave. But soon, he felt a bit regretful and secretly returned to observe, hoping to find a chance to pick up the leftovers.
What he saw next was that the one mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, four early Foundation Establishment cultivators, and dozens of Qi Refining cultivators—all had disappeared without a trace.
In an instant, a strong sense of having narrowly escaped death surged through him. If his greed had been a little stronger and he had entered with the others, he might have ended up a corpse as well.
Without hesitation, the Li surname Foundation Establishment cultivator quickly retreated. He would never come to this resource point again.
A few hours later, Wei Yuancai respectfully arrived at the spiritual field array. Beside him were many resources, all left behind by the cultivators who had attacked the resource point.
Gu Mo's avatar appeared, casting a quick glance at the resources. He took the spirit stones and a few Qi Refining techniques and secret arts.
These techniques and secret arts likely came from the elite disciples of large sects. These people had concealed their identities to seize the Jade Dew Fruit and were killed. Their sects could only endure it.
"Eh? What's this..."
Gu Mo casually flipped through one of the secret arts in his hand. Secret arts, especially high-level ones, were quite valuable, and this one was a disguise technique, which was very useful to Gu Mo.
Qi Refining cultivators had no divine sense, so their techniques and secret arts were recorded on paper. Paper was not good for anti-theft measures, and even if Qi Refining techniques and secret arts were stolen, the loss wasn't significant.
Only Foundation Establishment-level techniques and secret arts had special restrictions in jade slips to prevent others from spying on their contents.
But even this beginner-level disguise technique was already incredibly useful to Gu Mo. It was many times stronger than the first-tier illusion spell he currently knew. Paired with his perfected Concealment Technique, it was a perfect combination.
With this, his avatar could travel without fear of being discovered.
"You all can take these and divide them," Gu Mo said, pointing at the first-tier pills, talismans, and magical items. These items were no longer of any use to Gu Mo.
As for the second-tier items, the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator who was killed by the Cherry Bomb had his spoils destroyed by the obliterating power, and the remaining four Foundation Establishment assassins only had a few valuable items, bringing Gu Mo around a hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
On the other hand, the Qi Refining cultivators had contributed over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones—honestly, those Qi Refining cultivators had more wealth than the four Foundation Establishment cultivators combined.
But thinking about how some of them were elite disciples of large sects, it seemed quite normal.
"Thank you
The first-tier resources didn't matter much to Wei Yuancai, who was a Foundation Establishment cultivator from a major sect. Though his potential had run out, he still had considerable wealth accumulated over the years.
On the other hand, the Qi Refining disciples were thrilled. These resources were an enormous fortune for them. With these, they might be able to advance their cultivation further.
Meanwhile, a hundred miles away, a fleeing light was rapidly approaching the resource point. Within it was a pale-faced, middle-aged cultivator in the blue robe of the Qinglu Sect. His robe was covered in blood—he was the deacon sent to collect the Jade Dew Fruit. However, he had been ambushed on his way.
But thanks to his deep cultivation, he managed to fight his way out of the encirclement, though at a great cost.
After breaking free, Shi Tianlu didn't return to the sect but hurried toward the resource point, knowing something must have happened there. Otherwise, these people wouldn't have interfered with his mission.
But the resource point's most valuable asset was the three Jade Dew Fruits. Was it worth causing such a commotion over these three fruits?
Unless…
"Could the enemy's target be that true disciple?"
Suddenly, Shi Tianlu thought of Gu Mo, the true disciple sent to guard the resource point. Besides collecting the Jade Dew Fruits, his mission was also to protect Gu Mo.
The sect had received information that someone had placed a bounty on Gu Mo's assassination.
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