Chapter 55: Encounter on the Road

urnamed Zou let out a pained groan and woke up leisurely. Seeing the Jiang surname woman beside him with a grim expression, he immediately flew into a rage, "You wretch, what poison did you give me"A...Months later, a surge of energy coursed through Lu Xiaotian's dantian. His spirit energy surged like a spring. Lu Xiaotian beamed with delight. He hadn't expected that the adventures he'd had in the望月 Mountain Range, filled with constant peril, would allow him to cultivate at a faster pace than usual. He had even broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement, several months earlier than anticipated.

What a pleasant surprise! This mountain trip was quite fruitful. Just the various spiritual objects and artifacts piled up within the protective barrier are worth several thousand spirit stones, and I even learned several new secret arts. I estimate that other cultivators also had good gains, of course, assuming they survive this adventure over the next few months.

Lu Xia Tian frowned slightly. There were still four kinds of spirit herbs required by Qidan Palace and three kinds required by Lingxiao Palace that he hadn't collected yet. The time until the Immortal Sect began recruiting disciples was only a few days away. Continuing to stay in the mountains at this point didn't make much sense. Other cultivators probably had the same problem as him. Encountering spirit creatures in the mountains was entirely random; it was impossible for them to be exactly what he needed. He imagined that there were already many people in Wangyue City exchanging the spirit creatures they needed. If he waited any longer, he might miss out on everything.

Thinking of this, Lu Xia Tian immediately got up and hurried towards the direction of Wang Yue City. Compared to when he first entered the mountain, his use of the Wind Controlling Technique was much more proficient, and his speed had increased considerably.

Along the way, one occasionally sees returning groups of cultivators. At this time, most people are eager to return home. However, some who haven't gained much will set their sights on those returning to the city. After several months of adventure, most of the scattered cultivators returning to the city are quite wealthy.

Along the way, Lu Xia Tian encountered several similar battles, often resulting in significant casualties on both sides. After all, those who could survive the adventure for several months were not ordinary people.

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"Hmm" Lu Xiaotian bypassed some fighting squads and walked a few more miles before seeing several people surrounded by a squad. There were six or seven people on the attacking side, while only four were being besieged: Luo Yuan's siblings and Zhang Guang and Zheng Shiqi. Luo Yuan's left chest was soaked in blood, but it didn't look too serious. Just now, their situation seemed rather dire.

"What do you want Most people are starting to head back to the city. Do you want to have a bloodbath with us now" Luò Yuán said in a deep voice.

"We didn't intend this, but after months in the mountains, we haven't gained anything and have consumed a lot of spirit stones, losing quite a bit. Since you all managed to last this long, you must have had some gains. As long as you share some of them with us, we won't want to be the bad guys." The middle-aged man leading the group had a large black mole on his left cheek. He seemed to be speaking in a bargaining tone, but his meaning was crystal clear.

"How could this be right You only have a slightly larger number, and the extra few are just at the initial stage of Qi refinement. Do you really think we're afraid of you" Zheng Shiqi's face flushed with anger as he drew his weapon.

“Damn right! We've been dodging and weaving in the mountains since we arrived, barely surviving. Now these bastards try to extort us I swear on my mother! ” Zhang Guang had been a general before, so he carried some military habits with him, especially an incredibly explosive temper.

“Since that's the case, then don't blame us.” The middle-aged man with a black mole on his face changed color. They couldn't deal with powerful monsters, and now they had encountered a small team whose strength was slightly weaker than theirs. Letting them go would be truly frustrating.

“Hand over the storage bag, or you will die!” A clear voice came from afar.

Hei Mo, the middle-aged man, changed color. He had originally thought that Luoyu's team only consisted of these four people, but he didn't expect there to be one more, and his tone was so arrogant. He must have some skills. Don't look at their team of seven people, besides him as a Qi Refinement Sixth Layer, there are only two Qi Refinement Fourth Layers and five Layers. The remaining four are all at the Qi Refinement Initial stage, they are not very useful.

"Land Brother!"

"Lu Ge, you're not dead, haha, that's great!"

Luo Qing, Zhang Guang and others were all overjoyed. They didn't expect to meet such a reliable ally here. In this treacherous Moonlit Mountains range, a trustworthy teammate was more valuable than anything else. In their eyes, Lu Xia Tian was undoubtedly such a person.

“Lu brother, where did you go After we were separated, we searched for you for a while but couldn't find you. We were also afraid of encountering that group of villains again, oh no, wait a minute, how is Big-Ear Monster's black gourd in your hands” Zheng Shiqi was overjoyed at first, then his face was full of astonishment, looking incredibly incredulous.

"Hey, Brother Lu, you reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement" Luo Yuan was also taken aback. Even for an alchemist, this speed of advancement was too fast, wasn't it

“The great demon pursued me for a while, but I eventually trapped and killed him with an array formation. This gourd naturally came into my possession.” Lu Xia Tian smiled calmly.

“Lu Ge, you are really amazing. It’s all that dead bull-nosed Fan Qing’s fault. If he hadn’t run away first, with your skills, Lu Ge, our squad wouldn't have been defeated one by one.” After the shock subsided, Luo Qing said angrily.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Let's not dwell on that. Now, are you going to hand over the storage bags, or should we take them" Lu Xia Tian stepped forward a few steps and said.

"Haha, you all have your day now. I despise people like you the most – those who lack the ability to kill demon beasts and find spirit objects, instead targeting other wandering cultivators." Zhang Guang, Luo Yuan, and others held their spiritual swords, blocking the escape routes of several individuals in several directions.

“Although you are also a skilled cultivator at the middle stage of Qi refining, our team has two more people. If we were to fight, it would be a lose-lose situation. Let's just drop this matter, how about that” The black-spotted middle-aged man said with a displeased expression.

"Both sides are badly hurt, you're too self-important. Looks like you won't drink to a toast, so you'll have to drink the penalty!"

Lu Xia Tian lightly tapped the black gourd, and dozens of shadow ants poured out from its mouth. They buzzed like a small cloud, swarming towards the black-mole middle-aged man. These shadow ants were not raised with his own flesh and blood. He was unable to command them as easily as the large-eyed monster man, who could simultaneously command seven squads of organized troops. He could only barely manage six squads. However, even so, for a cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, they were extremely troublesome.

Seeing Lu Xiaotian make a move, Luo Yuan and the others acted without hesitation.

"Damn it, a worm cultivator!" The middle-aged man with a black mole paled and gritted his teeth. He stuck a talisman of earth escape on himself, burrowed underground, and reappeared dozens of meters away, just like Fan Qing, abandoning his teammates and fleeing directly.

Lu Xiaitian frowned. Their cultivation levels were similar, and his speed wasn't much faster than the other person's. Chasing after them would be troublesome, so he had no choice but to give up.

Another person also used a Zhang Tu Dun Fu to escape, but his cultivation was too low. He didn't get far before being stopped by Luoyuan.

“Stop, we surrender!” One of the early Qi Refining cultivators was almost split in half by Zhang Guang's two swords. He hurriedly threw away his spirit tool, held his hands high, and cried out with a mournful face. Losing their storage pouches and facing imminent death, several other cultivators who saw that there was no escape also made the wise choice to surrender.

“Well, you're smart enough!” Zheng Shiqi kicked over one person and snorted.

“Although I’m not very strong, I’m quite wealthy. It’s a shame he ran off. Brother Lu, you saved my life once, so you choose first.” Zhang Guang, in his usual boisterous manner, took out several storage pouches filled with spiritual objects and placed them before Lu Xiaottian.

Six storage bags, adding up to over two hundred spirit stones, contained no herbs worth looking at. Lu Xia Tian unceremoniously took his share. After dividing the spoils, several wandering cultivators fled in disarray, fearing that Lu Xia Tian and his companions might change their minds.

“Lu ge, it’s great that you’re back. I thought I wouldn’t see you again. After we got separated, our four-person team had good luck and reunited. Then we searched for you for almost half a month, but there was no news. We were worried that another squad would attack us, so our four of us changed places and moved cautiously. Fortunately, nothing major happened. But I didn’t expect to be blocked on the way back. If it weren’t for your timely appearance, Lu ge, we would have been in danger again this time.”

On the way back to Yuecheng, Zheng Shichi sighed deeply.

After meeting up with the four, Lu Xia Tian felt a little more at ease. Being alone, he couldn't handle many situations. Talking to them, he learned that after the team disbanded, everyone had been struggling, but they weren't willing to return to望月城 directly. So, they wandered east and hid west along the way, gathering some spirit objects and defeating a few demonic beasts until today when they returned to 望月城, things went wrong. However, luckily he met them, and with little effort, each person received over forty pieces of spirit stones, making it the most profitable day ever.thout giving these Nascent Soul cultivators much face."This old demon sure has a big ego." The woman who spoke first's expression darkened, highly displeased with Ban Senichi's grandiosity."If someone...