Su Shi'er's hair stood on end as he instinctively activated the blood light shield.

Immediately, a blood-red barrier enveloped him entirely.

"Bang, bang..."

Ice spikes rained down, cracking the shield, but it held firm.

Using the momentum, Su Shi'er soared higher and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Watching his retreating figure, she bit her lip in frustration, her eyes wide with anger.

"That brat actually learned Meng Tianyi's blood light shield?!"

"Seeing how cautious he is, I bet Meng Tianyi didn't just run away but was killed by him."

"But that damned brat, not only did he leave, he even took my four Soul-Breaking Nails. How infuriating! If I ever see him again, I'll tear him to pieces."

As she muttered angrily, a glowing star trail floated through the air.

"Hmm? A tracking spell? Someone else is coming!"

The Chu-named female cultivator gasped softly, held her breath, and chanted a silent incantation, disappearing from sight.

Half a cup of tea later, two figures, one fat and one thin, appeared on the hillside. They were two disciples from Heavenly Splendor Peak, tracking Su Shi'er.

Seeing the two corpses on the ground, they tensed up and immediately went on guard.

"Hmm? Judging by their appearance, it seems they perished together," the short, fat disciple quickly assessed after scanning the area.

The tall, thin disciple's face lit up, "Isn't that perfect? We can pick up the spoils! That brat must have seen this treasure and left it behind, probably because he noticed us!"

"Hmm... Quickly grab these things, and let's continue the chase! Losing lives is one thing, but losing materials is a big deal," the short, fat disciple nodded, stepping forward to grab the Glazed Gold from the strong man's hand.

Beside him, the tall, thin disciple wasted no time, swiftly collecting the storage bags from the two and the ritual sword from the old man's hand.

Just as they reached the bodies, a thick, inky mist suddenly erupted from the corpses.

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The mist spread rapidly, engulfing the two disciples in an instant.

"Not good! It's a trap!"

"Damn, it's poison!"

Seeing the sudden turn of events, both disciples turned pale and tried to flee.

But as they took their first step, their bodies convulsed, and they collapsed, eyes rolling back, blood foaming from their mouths as they died.

"The venom of the Five Poison Spirit Snake is truly extraordinary, but it's a pity there's only a little. If I had more, I'd be rich!"

The Chu-named female cultivator appeared, smiling as she swiftly collected the items from the old and strong bodies.

Then, her gaze fell on the fat and thin duo.

"Good thing that brat ran off earlier, or I wouldn't have been able to poison these two unlucky fools."

"Heavenly Splendor Peak is much stronger than Luofu Peak! These two weren't weak; they must have found a few materials over the past few days!"

Grinning, the Chu-named female cultivator's eyes narrowed to slits.

Rubbing her hands together, she quickly pocketed the two storage bags.

Infusing True Essence into them, she checked their contents, her delicate brows furrowing in disappointment.

"Seriously? Just a few broken talismans and a couple of low-grade ritual artifacts? Nothing else?"

"And these are Heavenly Splendor Peak disciples? Two days and they didn't find a single material? Useless!"

She bit her lip in frustration, unaware that the fat and thin duo, along with the one killed by Su Shi'er, were in cahoots.

And the materials they gathered over the past few days were all in the storage bag Su Shi'er took.

With a pout, she tossed a few fireballs, incinerating the bodies on the ground.

"Those two used a tracking spell just now, clearly after that brat. Could it be... he took their stuff?"

"Hmph, whether he did or not, I need to get my Soul-Breaking Nails back."

With a quick glance in the direction Su Shi'er had gone, she grabbed the star trail in the air, activated an escape talisman, and pursued him.

...

Su Shi'er didn't dare fly for too long; it consumed too much True Essence and was too conspicuous.

Once he was safe, he landed and continued his cautious exploration.

Seeing the four iron nails in the storage bag, he was in high spirits.

"Who would've thought these four Soul-Breaking Nails are High Grade Ritual Artifacts? With that green glow, they must be heavily poisoned. That woman is truly as venomous as a scorpion."

"But judging by how anxious she was, these nails must be quite valuable! Definitely worth more than a Top Grade Level One defensive talisman."

The more Su Shi'er thought about it, the happier he became, feeling a sense of vindication.

Three days later, after visiting several places with little success, he used the Heavenly Eye technique to follow traces of earth spiritual energy to a vast stone forest filled with towering boulders.

"Judging by the spiritual energy distribution here, there should be something good beneath these boulders. At the very least... a Level Two earth attribute Spirit Material."

"Wait... this place seems to match the stone forest marked on the Spirit Plant Garden map!"

Realizing this, he quickly pulled out the palm-sized map to confirm.

"A stone forest stretching for dozens of miles, this must be it."

"So, the Spirit Plant Garden should be a hundred miles east of here. Whether it is or not, I'll check it out after collecting the materials here!"

With his mind made up, Su Shi'er followed the flow of spiritual energy into the stone forest.

Soon, he found himself deep within the forest.

At that moment, he caught sight of a figure from the corner of his eye, and his expression turned serious.

"Brat, I never thought I'd run into you so soon! Today, I can finally settle the score from four years ago!" A fat disciple with a fierce face approached him, grinning maliciously.

This disciple wasn't highly cultivated, only at the third level of the Qi Refining stage. But he was a familiar face, the servant disciple who had deliberately made things difficult for everyone when Su Shi'er first received his pill medicine, Huang Fatty.

"Settle the score?"

Seeing the provocative look on the other's face, Su Shi'er stood his ground, unfazed. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, assessing the environment.

"You're cautious, but today you won't escape!"

Another voice sounded, and two more figures emerged from the boulders on either side of him.

One was the sword-carrying youth from four years ago, Zhao Yu.

The other was burly, with a leopard-like face and fierce eyes, exuding a menacing aura.

"Qi Refining stage five? Qi Refining stage six?!" Su Shi'er glanced around, his pupils contracting as his expression turned grim.

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