Chapter 60: Spoils of War
Wang Hong took out a second-tier Arrow Rain Talisman, infused it with Spiritual Energy, only to find that his Spiritual Energy dissipated like mud in the ocean.
The consumption of Spiritual Energy by the Talisman was, relatively speaking, small, but a second-tier Talisman was a realm higher than Wang Hong.
For a Foundation Building cultivator, their internal energy was like magical power, much more refined than Spiritual Energy.
It wasn't until Wang Hong had depleted nearly a quarter of his Spiritual Energy that he finally activated the Talisman.
The Talisman transformed into numerous golden arrows, striking the protective barrier.
At this moment, Lin An, tormented by the Spirit Bees, once again activated a second-tier Talisman on himself.
Under the clash of internal and external forces, the defense barrier finally couldn't bear the strain, bursting with a sound, dispersing into twinkling lights in the air.
The wooden plaque, about a foot in size, was now covered in cracks and fell to the ground.
Simultaneously, He Yuan, who was manipulating the formation, spurted out blood and fainted.
Without the suppression of the formation, Lin An, despite being heavily injured, slowly climbed up from the ground, blood oozing from several wounds.
Even though he was swollen from the bee venom, resembling a large fleshy ball with a face like a pig's head, and had suffered two explosions that left him charred, his Foundation Building pressure still lingered, causing everyone to unconsciously take a step back.
Lin An stood still, spinning like a top. The Spirit Bees that had covered his body were thrown off in all directions.
After getting rid of the Spirit Bees and pausing, he didn't immediately attack. In a calm tone, he spoke, "Young friend! How about making a deal with me?"
"How do we trade?" Wang Hong asked cautiously.
"I offer the heads of those on my list and items in my Storage Bag in exchange for a promise from you," Lin An said calmly, as if he were discussing someone else's matters.
Wang Hong and his group were surprised, wondering what promise Lin An wanted. Or perhaps he was just trying to buy time to recover his strength.
"I am severely injured. If I were to attack now, I could at least kill twenty or thirty of you. I only want one promise in returnto leave a way out for the Lin Family."
Considering Lin An's words, now that the Large Formation had been broken and Lin An, though injured, was still alive, he wasn't easy to deal with.
If Wang Hong attacked recklessly, there would undoubtedly be significant casualties. He didn't want widespread harm to his subordinates, especially since the remaining cultivators of the Lin Family were not a significant threat.
With Lin Family's vitality severely damaged and no more Foundation Building cultivators left, their decline was inevitable. It would be challenging for them to establish a foothold, and they probably wouldn't have the energy to seek revenge.
Even if they sought revenge, Wang Hong had no fear of same-tier cultivators.
"Alright! I agree. If members of the Lin Family don't actively trouble me, I won't retaliate against the Lin Family. We'll consider this matter settled. How about that?" Wang Hong proposed.
Upon hearing this, Lin An took out a blank Jade Scroll from his Storage Bag and entered information into it.
Unsure if Wang Hong would keep his promise, Lin An knew this battle had become a dead end for him. He hoped to kill a few more people and leave a glimmer of hope for his family.
Without his protection, the decline of the Lin Family was inevitable. He hoped that among the younger generation, talented individuals would emerge to lead the family out of its predicament.
Lin An took off his Storage Bag from his waist and tossed it in front of Wang Hong.
"I hope Fellow Daoist will keep his promise. Here's a letter; please deliver it to the Lin Family. From now on, the Lin Family won't trouble Fellow Daoist."
Lin An tossed the Jade Scroll, containing the recorded information, to Wang Hong, then sat cross-legged on the ground. Soon, he breathed his last.
Witnessing this, Wang Hong felt conflicted. His feud with the Lin Family began when Lin Junjie attempted to rob him and was killed in self-defense.
Later, Lin Yun sought revenge for the family's honor, and a few people were killed by Wang Hong on the Life and Death Platform.
Finally, Lin An, driven by revenge and the family's prestige, had to kill him.
Wang Hong gathered Lin An's belongings, feeling uneasy. He used a Fireball Technique to burn Lin An's body to ashes.
Immortal cultivators had too many means. If there were any fake deaths or if there was an enemy among Foundation Building cultivators secretly, the thought was horrifying.
Killing and completely destroying the corpse is the best, leaving no chance for the opponent to turn the tables.
For example, the Ma brothers are a good example. Their feigned death technique could deceive dozens of people present.
As Wang Hong's group emerged from the cave in an orderly fashion, the observing cultivators stationed outside revealed expressions of disbelief.
Since Wang Hong and his group emerged from the cave so calmly, it was evident they were the victors, the winning side.
Not a single person among the forty-plus was missing; instead, they had gained one more person than when they entered.
Regardless of the means they used, it was an indisputable fact that they, a lower tier, had defeated a Foundation Building cultivator.
Others could only see the results but were unaware of the efforts they had put in.
In this battle, Wang Hong had spent countless thoughts, planning and arranging for months, and expended a large number of Spirit Stones.
Soldiers underwent daily training to achieve the current level of seamless cooperation.
The final result was satisfactory, everything went according to Wang Hong's plan, without any unexpected incidents. 𝓯𝑟𝓮ℯ𝘸ℯ𝘣𝑛ℴ𝘷ℯ𝓵.𝘤𝑜𝑚
He Yuan, Skinny Monkey, and a dozen soldiers suffered injuries of varying degrees.
He Yuan mainly had excessive mental energy consumption, requiring several months of rest for recovery. The Spiritual Medicine for restoring mental energy was extremely rare, and Wang Hong didn't have any on hand.
As for Skinny Monkey, his cultivation realm dropped by two levels, and he could only start the cultivation process anew.
Given his originally poor aptitude, returning to the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation would be a lengthy process.
Other soldiers had minor flesh wounds, healed with the help of healing Elixirs, making the expensive armor worthwhile.
Wang Hong sat in a quiet room, taking out over fifty Storage Bags and inspecting them one by one.
Now, the rewards for the soldiers were all converted into contribution points, eliminating the need to distribute the spoils to them.
Contribution points could be exchanged for various items Wang Hong needed, which he found more satisfying than directly allocating the loot.
Picking up one Storage Bag and emptying its contents on the ground, he found only a Low-Quality Magical Weapon, over thirty Spirit Stones, five Condensing Qi Pills, and a Qi Cultivation stage cultivation technique.
"So poor?"
Wang Hong, somewhat unbelieving, shook the Storage Bag downwards, confirming that it was indeed empty.
He grabbed another Storage Bag and poured it out, but to his disappointment, it was even poorer than the previous one.
It contained just over twenty Spirit Stones, a Low-Quality Magical Weapon, a Talisman, and not a single Elixir.
Wang Hong went through all the Storage Bags except for Lin An's, and most cultivators seemed to be poor as church mice. The few who were relatively wealthy had a few thousand Spirit Stones at most.
Lin Yun's Storage Bag held just over eight thousand Spirit Stones, several Magical Weapons, and a few Jade Scrolls, all containing Qi Cultivation stage cultivation techniques, of no use to Wang Hong.
Then there was another Storage Bag that belonged to the unlucky Poisonwood Daoist Master, who almost caused Wang Hong to die from poisoning.
This Storage Bag contained items contaminated with severe poison. Wang Hong's finger barely touched them, and the poison quickly spread up his arm.
Fortunately, Wang Hong carried an antidote Elixir, which alleviated the poison's spread. He then found the antidote within this Storage Bag.
Carefully inspecting this Storage Bag, Wang Hong found over ten thousand Spirit Stones inside. Poisonwood was probably not a benevolent character, and who knew how many cultivators he had harmed.
There were also more than ten bottles of Elixir, including Condensing Qi Pills, various poisonous pills, and detoxifying Elixirs.
In it, he found a Jade Scroll containing information on a thousand types of highly poisonous Spiritual Medicines and their antidotes. Many were unfamiliar to Wang Hong, rare and unknown Spiritual Objects.
There were also instructions on manufacturing various poisonous pills, the principles of poison, and methods of detoxification. It even detailed strange and varied methods of poisoning, leaving Wang Hong amazed at the countless invisible ways to kill.
Fortunately, this time they stumbled upon and killed Poisonwood Daoist Master first; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
In Poisonwood Daoist Master's Storage Bag were two Spiritual Medicines: one jet black, known as Black Grass, usually found in areas with a concentration of venomous snakes. Ironically, Black Grass was not only non-toxic but also a detoxifying herb.
The other was emerald green, with an exceptionally beautiful flower called Red Beauty. It was highly poisonous. Often, the most beautiful things concealed deadly dangers.
Wang Hong took out Lin An's Storage Bag and emptied its contents onto the ground.
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