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Chapter 37: The Calamity of an Aberrant Pestilence
Chapter 37: The Calamity of an Aberrant Pestilence
Having reached maturity, there were now thirteen Spirit Firefly Grass plants. Leaving them any longer might cause them to wither and affect their quality.
Lu Chen planned to deliver these thirteen plants to the Hundred Herbs Hall and, while out, take a look at the market for suitable spirit seeds and young beasts.
"Little guy, do you want to come with me?"
Before Lu Chen could finish his sentence, he felt a slight sinking sensation on his right shoulder. Turning his head, he saw that the Cloud-stepping Lynx, with its cloud-like white paws, had quietly leaped onto his shoulder.
Its pair of emerald green eyes stared straight ahead, coldly ignoring Lu Chen as he turned to look at it.
Lu Chen focused his spiritual sense on the lynx's body and instantly understood the young beast's inner excitement.
Used to its antics, Lu Chen chuckled softly and instructed the now-normal herb puppet to take good care of the spirit fields before setting off for the market with the Cloud-stepping Lynx.
At the market, it was evident that the number of loose cultivators had increased significantly compared to previous days.
The numerous materials and spirit herbs brought back from the new secret realm had attracted many cultivators.
There were some novel items on display, and Lu Chen leisurely browsed, looking for anything that might catch his interest.
Suddenly, about thirty feet ahead, a group of gathered cultivators caught his attention.
The cultivators wore uniform robes, and Lu Chen immediately recognized them as patrol guards from Linyang City.
Several of these guards, at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, had formed a circle with a black rope. Strange talismans were pasted onto the rope, and within the enclosed space was a charred area on the ground.
Lu Chen witnessed one of the guards tossing a Dispel Evil Talisman into the circle. A pure white light flashed, instilling a sense of peace and tranquility.
As the white light appeared, the others guarded warily, their eyes fixed on the empty space. Only when the light gradually faded did they seem to relax slightly.
Intrigued, Lu Chen moved closer to the crowd and quickly learned some information.
"Those guards are quite diligent. That aberrantly transformed cultivator has been dead for a day, yet they're still standing guard to prevent any pestilence from occurring."
"They have no choice. Everyone knows how terrifying pestilences are. It's better to be safe than sorry."
"In the Northern District alone, at least ten cultivators have already perished. Either they were corrupted by the pestilence and transformed into monsters, or they were killed by the aberrant beasts."
"Have you heard the rumor going around? Apparently, the Wang family has a lot to do with the large number of pestilences appearing in the market this time."
"It's said that when they broke through the new formation and stumbled upon a den of an Aberrant-grade pestilence in the secret realm, the pestilence followed them all the way here."
"Be careful what you say. This isn't something a few loose cultivators at the lower stages of Qi Refinement should be discussing casually. We don't want to bring trouble upon ourselves."
"All we can do is try to survive this pestilence invasion."
The discussions gradually subsided, and the crowd's attention slowly shifted to other topics.
"Aberrant cultivator deaths... Invasion of an Aberrant-grade pestilence?"
Lu Chen caught onto two key phrases amidst the whispers.
"I didn't expect so much to have happened in just a few days since I last went out."
"Aberrant-grade pestilence..."
A sense of heaviness settled in his heart.
The grading system for pestilences differed from that of demonic beasts, with four grades: Aberrant, Calamitous, Disastrous, and Catastrophic.
Aberrant pestilences already possessed bizarre and unusual abilities, equivalent to Qi Refinement cultivators. Calamitous pestilences, on the other hand, had unfathomable and mysterious powers, their strength generally comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Despite having the Wang family and other clans and forces from the market standing in the way, if ordinary loose cultivators were to be affected in the slightest, it would mean their demise.
Lu Chen paid a little more attention and noticed that due to this rumor, the prices of talismans like the Dispel Evil and Warding Evil Talismans had increased significantly in the market.
As he quickened his pace, Lu Chen suddenly felt the weight of the Cloud-stepping Lynx on his shoulder increase slightly.
He turned his head and saw the lynx cub staring coldly ahead, letting out a strange low growl.
"It's even making those sounds. Has it discovered something?"
Lu Chen's steps slowed as he noticed the lynx's unusual behavior.
The lynx's posture reminded him of when it had been lurking by the Spirit Spring Pool, ambushing the Red-whiskered Carps. This stance meant the Cloud-stepping Lynx had entered an offensive state.
"That pair of heterochromatic eyes of the lynx seem to be able to see things that are normally difficult to perceive."
Lu Chen recalled the information he had obtained about the lynx when he first started raising the green-eyed Cloud-stepping Lynx.
This realization sent a shiver down his spine, and the Split-silver Blade at his waist emitted a soft buzzing sound. A second-grade Sword Qi Infinite Talisman quietly slid out of his sleeve.
"According to my normal behavior and the direction the Cloud-stepping Lynx is staring at, the anomaly is most likely in front of us."
Without changing his expression, he naturally stopped at a stall nearby and casually pointed at an item, inquiring about its price from the stall owner in a low voice.
However, his body was tensed, and his attention was focused entirely on the surrounding cultivators.
"It's too expensive; I don't want it."
Without heeding the stall owner's reply, he casually left those words and turned to go back the way he came.
Suddenly, about two or three rods ahead of him, a loose cultivator grunted, and large and small cracks instantly appeared on his face and neck. Countless red flesh buds shot out from the cracks, growing rapidly in the wind, turning into blood-red tentacles that frantically attacked the cultivators around them.
"Ah!"
One of the cultivators nearby didn't react in time, and his head was pierced by a blood-red tentacle.
The moment the flesh buds appeared, Lu Chen quickly retreated, with a Swift Talisman pasted on each of his legs. He moved like the wind, dashing backward.
The other cultivators around also unleashed their techniques; spells, magical artifacts, and talismans flew everywhere.
The blood-red tentacles grew extremely fast and showed signs of covering the surrounding area within a radius of ten to twenty rods.
Lu Chen darted out like an arrow, leaving several cultivators behind. Suddenly, a tall wall of earth appeared in front of him and the few cultivators with him, blocking their figures.
In the instant the wall of earth appeared, Lu Chen noticed a cultivator in front of him revealing a sinister smile.
"A bunch of fools, it's fine if I can't outrun the evil influence. As long as I run faster than you all, it'll be fine."
The loose cultivator who had used the Earth Wall Talisman felt proud, thinking himself extremely clever.
Lu Chen swiftly circled around the wall of earth. By the time the cultivator had delayed them for those few breaths, he had already run off quite a distance.
Lu Chen was furious that he had been used as a shield. He channeled his spiritual power, instantly unleashing the mature Golden Metal Sword Art. A golden light beam precisely struck the loose cultivator's leg, causing blood to gush out, and a huge hole appeared in his calf.
The cultivator howled in agony and couldn't help but stop due to the pain.
Lu Chen expressionlessly glided past him.
"Wasn't it a competition of who runs faster? I'll make sure you can't even run."
He glanced back and saw several blood-red tentacles, like giant pythons, attacking the cultivator lying on the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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