Chapter 330: The Advantage is Mine
Chapter 330: The Advantage is Mine
Outside the Mystical Palace.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator hurriedly flew over from the distance and landed outside the palace entrance.
Having been entangled with the Ice Illusion Toad beasts in the deep dark waters and delayed among the strange stone formations, he was keenly aware that he had fallen far behind. His heart raced as he sought to enter the palace as quickly as possible.
The passage was filled with traces of spell imprints and restrictive auras, likely left by the first cultivators who had attempted to break through the restrictions.
The cultivator swept the passage with his spiritual sense and, detecting nothing amiss, sped towards the palace's interior.
Suddenly, a cold sword light slashed towards him, carving a deep fissure in his defensive artifact. Two Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators appeared out of thin air, attacking from the front and back.
Outnumbered and ambushed, the cultivator attempting to enter the palace was easily dealt with in a few exchanges.
"That's the second one."
One of the assailants was a middle-aged man in gray robes with an ordinary appearance, and the other was a one-eyed cultivator. The blind eye was covered with a black cloth, from which a faint black aura seeped.
"Brother Li's strategy truly admires me!" the one-eyed cultivator exclaimed as he ransacked the fallen cultivator's possessions.
"We had no choice," the gray-robed man said. "There are too many powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators who entered this palace. With our strength, we would only end up as cannon fodder. It's better to find alternative methods to seize opportunities and treasure."
The middle-aged man in gray weighed the storage bag in his hand and took out a large stack of talismans and pills.
"Hehe, you're right," the one-eyed cultivator said. "Those who enter this secret realm are eager to get inside the palace as quickly as possible. They never expected someone to resist the temptation of the opportunity and lie in wait to ambush them at the entrance."
"While they seek opportunities, they become our opportunity instead," the one-eyed cultivator added with a cold laugh, the black aura leaking from beneath the black cloth intensifying.
"It's fortunate that you have that artifact to conceal our presence, Brother. We can take them by surprise and easily eliminate those who enter the palace," he continued.
The two exchanged praises.
"We must still be cautious," the gray-robed man said as he divided the spoils, talismans, and pills equally. "My concealment artifact is useful, but it may not work against Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivators or disciples from major sects."
"Of course," the one-eyed cultivator agreed. "Even if we succeed in ambushing them, it would be difficult to kill a Foundation Establishment Mid or Late Stage cultivator."
"As for disciples from major sects, they possess all sorts of strange secret techniques and treasures. It would be challenging to launch a surprise attack against them. So, we can only target those from minor families or unaffiliated cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage," he added.
"We can't linger here for too long. Let's take down one more fat sheep before the cultivators inside the palace start coming out, and then we'll leave this secret realm," the gray-robed man suggested.
"Agreed," the one-eyed cultivator replied.
A layer of silver-white gauze appeared on the two cultivators, and spiritual power surged, enveloping their figures before they disappeared from sight.
Unbeknownst to them, a crack appeared in the void above their heads, and a gray-white eye protruded, observing their every move.
"I didn't expect to find such a trap at the entrance of the Mystical Palace," Lu Chen said, his expression cold. The eye in his palm reflected the scene witnessed by the Void Nightmare Eye.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators who had hidden at the channel entrance and ambushed others were indeed clever. They had given up on the enormous opportunity right before their eyes and instead seized the opportunity to exploit the psychology of their fellow cultivators, launching successful ambushes.
"Should I go through that passage?" Lu Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"The entire palace is filled with restrictions. The restrictions in that passage were probably broken by the cultivators who entered first."
"With their combined strength, they should be able to handle it with ease."
With that thought, Lu Chen made his decision and prepared to force his way through the passage.
If the two had any sense, he would pretend not to have noticed them. But if they sought their own demise and launched a sneak attack, he would effortlessly deal with them.
Outside the passage.
Lu Chen rode a sword light, coming to a bumpy stop at the entrance.
A layer of spiritual light veiled his eyes, and under the False Illusion Art, the two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators hiding within the silver-white gauze had nowhere to hide. Vague silhouettes could be faintly discerned.
Lu Chen's acting was impeccable. He first scanned the surroundings of the passage entrance, ensuring there were no other ambushes, before cautiously stepping into the passage.
As he drew closer to the Mystical Palace, the cautious look on his face swiftly vanished, replaced by a relaxed and joyful expression.
Under the silver-white gauze, the middle-aged man in gray and the one-eyed cultivator exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.
They were quite familiar with Lu Chen, aware that he was an inner sect disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect stationed on this desolate island.
So, when they first saw Lu Chen, their initial instinct was to let him pass.
But then they recalled the other Foundation Establishment cultivators' assessment of Lu Chen: he spent all his time with spiritual herbs, neglecting his cultivation and lacking ambition.
With that in mind, their scheming minds became active.
Being from a major sect meant he would likely possess numerous valuable items.
His identity as a spiritual herbologist suggested he was unskilled in combat and lacked experience in life-or-death battles, so he would likely panic if suddenly attacked.
Coupled with the fact that he was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment…
The advantage is mine! It's a sure thing!
The two exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with the same thought.
Spiritual power surged within them, and the one-eyed cultivator abruptly removed the cover of the silver-white gauze, revealing Lu Chen's back clearly before them.
Flying swords and talismans rushed towards their intended target—the proverbial "fat sheep."
But the moment they revealed themselves, a sharp sword cry rang in their ears.
Countless deep black sword intents surged towards them like a terrifying tsunami!
The assault was overwhelming, akin to heavenly might, leaving no chance to escape or defend!
"Spare us, Fellow Dao—"
Before they could finish their plea for mercy, the endless sword intents buried them, silencing their voices.
As the sword energy dissipated, the passage was left spotless, except for the occasional fleck of dark red flesh and shattered artifact debris, which could easily be missed if one didn't look closely.
"Hmm, this is a good opportunity to use that fourth-grade Howling Ocean Sword Talisman."
In Lu Chen's hand, a talisman that was neither metal nor stone, shaped like a sword tip, silently crumbled into nothingness and fell to the ground.
This fourth-grade Howling Ocean Sword Talisman was one of the earliest rewards he had obtained from the Sword-Rearing Gourd. During his time in the Luan Moon Blessed Land, he had used up most of its sword energy in the fight for the Phoenix Wood.
Now, to end the battle quickly without wasting time on these two ambushing cultivators, Lu Chen casually activated the talisman, which still had a small amount of sword energy remaining.
This left him with four fourth-grade sword talismans.
"What a waste of the talismans and artifacts they had on them."
Although it was unlikely that they possessed any rare treasures, Lu Chen still regretted the loss of potential gains. He glanced wistfully at the spot where the two cultivators had been obliterated beyond recognition, and then his figure transformed into a floating light, speeding towards the palace's interior.
(End of Chapter)
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