Chapter 17 Attack Wave_1

"Did they really follow me?! Are these two guys keeping an eye on me all day long?"

Xu Mu was truly at a loss for words.

Of course, it's possible that they had followed him before. He just didn't know because he didn't have fire perception back then.

And before, he had only gone to the marketplace. So if they followed him there it wouldn't do them any good.

Even if they were daring, they wouldn't dare make a move in the marketplace.

This time, as he headed towards Baihe Forest, the two of them probably saw an opportunity and followed him.

"Since they've followed me! Why not resolve them once and for all!"

Xu Mu had the intention to deal with the two of them. So he deliberately slowed down his pace, allowing the two of them to catch up easily.

Passing through one dirty and messy street after another, the buildings on both sides became fewer and increasingly dilapidated, until he reached the abandoned house he had previously used for hiding. After that, they would have exited the shanty town.

There were people on the road from time to time, rushing past him. They were all low-level cultivators going to Baihe Forest for hunting or gathering.

Xu Mu stepped out of the shantytown, standing at the border, looking towards the jungle in the distance.

The once verdant forest had now turned completely yellow, stretching from a short distance all the way to the horizon.

Under the sunlight, a broad, white river flowed from the city, cutting through the vast forest, meandering around, and then returning towards the direction of White Stone City, flowing towards the end of the sky.

In the crystal-clear sky, cultivators piloted flying artifacts from time to time, creating long trails of flames as they flew towards the deep forest. Most of them were cultivators at the late stage of Qi cultivation.

"I wonder when I'll be able to use a flying artifact?"

With his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi cultivation, he could technically pilot a magic artifact for low-altitude flight.

But as always—

He was broke!

Shaking off these stray thoughts, Xu Mu began walking towards the forest.

Boom boom!

Just then, a gigantic shadow in the sky enveloped him.

Xu Mu instinctively looked up and saw a ship 200 meters long and 50 meters wide flying overhead, heading in the southwest direction.

"Isn't the southwest Clear River Sword Sect's territory? Could they be headed for another sect? That's rather unusual!"

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but Xu Mu soon disregarded them.

Such things were beyond his reach, thinking about them was futile.

The closer he got to the forest, the more Xu Mu was reminded of his early years after crossing over. He had once had the heart to venture into the forest, hoping for a chance to strike it rich and reach the pinnacle of life.

But in the end—

"I almost lost my life!"

Xu Mu laughed bitterly to himself.

It was those near-death experiences that caused him to calm down and study alchemy, and even contemplate settling down with a wife and kids.

Of course, as long as one didn't cross the White Sand River and venture deep into the forest, the danger wasn't that great.

Like Jia An and his wife, who were only at the initial stage of Qi cultivation, they could make a living in Baihe Forest for this very reason.

Since winter was fast approaching, many cultivators were using their skills to cut down trees for firewood on the outskirts of the forest, making the scene quite lively.

Wind Blade Skill was the most commonly used.

If Xu Mu had not had alchemy to support him, he might be one of them.

It was then that he suddenly realized, despite the significant drop in temperature recently, he hadn't felt much cold.

All he had on was a layer of underwear and a large, worn-out Taoist robe.

Looking at the cultivators cutting down trees, most of them were wearing an extra layer of cotton-padded clothes.

"I wonder if it's due to my breakthrough in cultivation, or the fact that my Fire-controlling Skill has reached the transcendent level!"

Xu Mu speculated that the latter was more likely the case.

He had never heard of a cultivator in the middle stage of Qi cultivation being immune to heat and cold. Even those at the late stage of Qi cultivation couldn't achieve this. They could only tolerate the cold a little better than those at the middle stage.

"This is an unexpected surprise! Still, for the sake of Ying Ying and Ling'er, I should take the opportunity to store some firewood for the winter!"

If it ended up being unavailable for purchase when needed, it would be quite embarrassing.

Just in case, he should prepare a bit.

Without lingering at the entrance, Xu Mu walked along a small path treaded by others, moved into the forest, his figure quickly disappearing amongst the yellow fallen leaves.

The figures of Li Wen and Li Wu closely followed him.

Some cultivators noticed, but no one intervened.

Those cultivators who knew Li Wen and Li Wu showed a hint of pity. They sighed at how unlucky Xu Mu was to have caught the attention of these two.

...

Just after entering, Xu Mu ran into numerous cultivators collecting resources.

Pine cones, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, various wild products - to survive the long winter, the low-level cultivators were gathering any useful resources as much as possible.

Faced with Xu Mu who was by himself, everyone was very careful. As soon as Xu Mu got slightly closer, they would be on guard.

These resource-gathering cultivators were all acting in groups, with larger teams consisting of twenty to thirty people, and smaller ones made up of five or six people. They cooperated with each other, some kept watch while others gathered.

"This is the life of an average loose cultivator, huh!"

Xu Mu sighed.

There were almost no people like him who entered the forest alone.

Xu Mu did not greet these people. He just smiled politely, walked around them, and continued deeper into the forest.

The deeper he went, the fewer resource-gathering cultivators he encountered. At the same time, their levels of cultivation became progressively higher, and they appeared to have more experience.

Whenever he encountered these groups, Xu Mu would steer clear of them from a distance.

Who knew what ill intentions these people might harbor?

In this lawless forest, anyone could transform from a harmless sheep into a ferocious wolf in an instant.

As Xu Mu walked, he looked around for the monster beasts he had imagined. But as expected—

He didn't find a single one.

"I guess I oversimplified things!"

Xu Mu sneered at himself.

The outskirts of Baihe Forest have long been trodden flat by cultivators. The chance of encountering monster beasts was already slim. Now that winter has set in, most monster beasts have probably entered hibernation, making them even scarcer.

To find a monster beast, he would probably have to cross the White Sand River and venture deep into the forest.

"Forget it!"

He was just trying to test his strength, not to seek death!

If he came across a high-tier monster beast, that would be disastrous.

It's often rumored in the marketplace that a certain cultivator in the late-stage of Qi cultivation has fallen deep in the forest.

And those cultivators usually moved in groups, unlike him, who was all alone.

With a flick of his hand, he shot out a fireball, making a banging sound, killing a brown bird perched on a branch and storing it in his storage bag.

Since he had come out, he could not return empty-handed.

As he was about to turn around, suddenly, he sensed two auras rapidly approaching him from behind.

"They're really courting death!"

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Xu Mu's mouth. He cast an Invisibility Technique on himself and vanished into the dense forest.

Whiz! Whiz!

Without even a few breaths' time, the shadowy figures of Li Wen and Li Wu shot out from the forest, landing exactly where Xu Mu had vanished.

"What happened? He was clearly here just now!"

Li Wu's voice contained a hint of hoarseness as his eerie pupils scanned their surroundings left and right.

"Could this guy have an Invisibility Talisman? He must be really loaded!"

Li Wen squatted down, frowning as he examined the footprints left by Xu Mu.

"Big brother, why don't we use a Soul-searching Talisman? We can't let this opportunity slip away after all this waiting!" said Li Wu.

They had been monitoring for several months, and this was the first chance they got.

The reason for tailing Xu Mu incessantly was his wealth.

In their previous pursuits, they had seen Xu Mu entering the Song Family Pharmacy. When he came out, he was spending money lavishly, and they immediately realized that Xu Mu's Alchemy Skill must have been extraordinary. They had found a fat sheep.

Those in the slums are all low-level cultivators. If they sold everything about them by weight, they wouldn't even make a few Lower-grade Spirit Stones. Coming upon a cash cow like Xu Mu, there was no way they were going to let go of the chance.

Although they thought it strange that Xu Mu suddenly entered the Baihe Forest, they couldn't resist the lure of wealth and decided to follow him anyway.

They followed him for a long time, daring not to strike just yet.

Firstly, there were too many people on the periphery, and secondly, they weren't confident enough!

Li Wen looked around again and, failing to find Xu Mu's trace with the naked eye, reluctantly nodded.

A Soul-searching Talisman was not cheap. If Xu Mu couldn't be captured, they would suffer a big loss.

Seeing Li Wen had agreed, Li Wu took out a talisman made from animal skin, licked his pale lips in anticipation, and half squatted. He placed the talisman onto Xu Mu's footprint, chanting incantations under his breath.

The talisman ignited itself, enveloping a strand of green energy.

"Watch out!"

Just then, Li Wen suddenly felt his hair stand on end and bellowed out.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

Dozens of dark red flying knives suddenly materialized, slicing through the air as they shot towards both of them.

The two had ample combat experience. They instinctively activated their protective amulets and defensive magic artifacts, forming two layers of protective light around them before quickly retreating backwards.

However, the flying knives had appeared too suddenly, and there were too many. Dodge, they did not.

At the moment they released their protective amulets and magic artifacts, the flying knives had already arrived in front of them and harshly slammed into the wall of protecting light.

"This person, capable of simultaneously controlling dozens of magic artifacts, has exceptional strength. After we fend off the first wave of attack, we should immediately use our Flying Artifact to flee!"

Both had the same thought.

The Flying Artifact was a tier three talisman that both of them had spent heavily on for the sake of preserving their life.

They deeply understood one thing: when they are unaware of the opponent's strength, life preservation is paramount.

It was precisely because they understood this that they've been able to rob for years without getting injured.

But this time, they were doomed to be unable to evade disaster.

The instant the flying knives hit, they did not break through the protective light. But before the two brothers could even celebrate, the knives suddenly exploded with a rumble, unleashing a horrific heat and blast force.

The protective light held up for only a half-breath; the defensive magic artifact lasted less than a single breath before they were torn apart by the overwhelming blast force.

"These are Talisman Swords!"

"Is that even necessary!!!"

Their last thoughts were shock and disbelief.

Was it necessary to unleash so many precious Talisman Swords to deal with the two of them, who were only at the mid-stage of Qi cultivation?

In their cognition, only specially-made Talisman Swords could explode.

When the continuous explosions subsided, their bodies were already severely mutilated.

"Seriously? They were this weak!"

Xu Mu appeared from the air, looking at the two who were as dead as they could be. He felt somewhat dejected.

He thought he was going to have a big fight, his palms had even started to sweat from anticipation.

He was even prepared to run at any moment!

But as it turned out, the two men couldn't even withstand the first wave of attack.

"For such weak abilities, are you two out here trying to put on a comedy show?"

Xu Mu was greatly disappointed!

He was being watched by the two men all day and night, causing the hair on his back to stand up, only to face such weak abilities in the end.

The much more powerful flying swords and the greatsword, he didn't even have time to unleash them!

"Was it me who was too strong or you two who were too weak?"

PS: I'm updating 7000 words during the free period. I am quite the talent, please show some support!