Chapter 28: Fellow Cultivator, Fate Truly Binds Us

"Big brother, let's pursue that one."
A gaunt figure pointed in the direction Shen Lian had departed.
"I noticed him earlier. He's a talisman master, but I don't think he's reached the late stage of Qi Refinement yet."
Beside him, a middle-aged cultivator nodded in agreement.
Elsewhere, Yang Li, who had just emerged from the cave, slipped into the depths of the forest behind a fellow cultivator of the fire element.
...
Shen Lian hurried without pause to a valley where he had previously left behind a contingency. Tearing open an Invisibility Talisman, he concealed himself behind a massive boulder.
At the same time, he activated a Breath Concealment Talisman and a Divine Sense Talisman.
Cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refinement could send their spiritual senses just outside their bodies. The range wasn't vast, but it was best to be cautious.
The mountains here were rugged—rushing straight back to the market could be dangerous. He had to lose his pursuers first.
The two brothers chasing Shen Lian soon charged into the valley. Both were at the late stage of Qi Refinement—one at the seventh layer, the other at the eighth.
"Big brother, his aura has vanished," the middle-aged cultivator said, frowning.
"He's hiding here somewhere. Be careful, don't fall into his trap."
"Don't worry. If he dares activate a talisman, my blade will sever his skull before he can finish," the gaunt cultivator sneered, sending his spiritual sense sweeping out.
The pair moved deeper into the valley, approaching a bend.
At that moment—
A sharp whistling erupted in the air.
Both cultivators locked their spiritual senses on the source.
Their magical weapons gleamed with spiritual light.
But as those weapons swung down, bright, vibrant miasma exploded into the air.
Colorful toxic fog instantly filled the space around them.
Even as their weapons slashed through the miasma, it re-formed in the blink of an eye, shrouding them in its poisonous embrace.
A Miasma Talisman!
If there were talismans to ward off miasma, there were naturally talismans to summon it too.
As several Miasma Talismans blanketed the area, sharp sounds sliced through the air, and from the rocky walls on either side, black vines like pythons burst forth.
Top-grade Spiked Vine Talismans of the first rank.
The two cultivators tried to soar upward, but the talismans forced them back, sending them crashing to earth instead.
In their haste, they inhaled several breaths of the miasma.
This poison was far more potent than the wild miasma—thick and heady, like aged liquor, it struck them with dizzying force.
"It's a trap. This talisman master was prepared—the miasma is too strong," the gaunt cultivator groaned, suddenly dizzy, and crashed to the ground.
As he landed, the soil beneath him, which should have been firm, turned to mire and dragged him down.
He tried to circulate his spiritual energy to steady himself, but numbing spiked vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around his legs.

"Ah... my hand!"
The middle-aged cultivator dropped his magical weapon as blisters erupted on his palm—already rotting rapidly.
"There's more than just miasma in this poison," he gasped.
A self-crafted Poison Talisman—one imbued with the seven-colored Corrosive Miasma.
"Quick, get out!"
Biting his tongue to clear his head, the middle-aged cultivator tried to take flight.
Whoosh!
But just then, Shen Lian, hidden behind the boulder, suddenly appeared. His Scarlet Sun Crossbow twanged.
A Flaming Scarlet Arrow shot through the air, piercing the middle-aged cultivator's chest.
The arrow was already smeared with that seven-colored Corrosive Miasma.
There was no need to wait. The poison struck straight to the heart.
"Ah..."
"Big brother!"
Whoosh—
The gaunt cultivator howled, only to catch an arrow straight to the head.
A wretched scream, and his skull shattered.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Shen Lian did not pause. He reloaded the crossbow, sending two more arrows into the bodies of the two cultivators.
When their corpses turned black, he activated a Swift Step Talisman and darted forward.
A battered flying sword appeared in his hand.
Swish, swish, swish!
With a few strokes, he retrieved three storage pouches.
Collecting his spoils, Shen Lian turned and left.
The two corpses quickly dissolved into pools of seven-colored blood, dazzling and grotesque.
Near the valley’s entrance, in a shadowed corner, Shen Lian activated an Invisibility Talisman, a Breath Concealment Talisman, and a Divine Sense Talisman all at once, melting into the rocky terrain.

"Get out! There’s more poison in this miasma!"
"Ah... Help me... urgh..."
"Who would be so heartless as to unleash such poison here?"
"My pants are rotting... my...!"
...
The commotion in the valley drew nearby cultivators, but as soon as they entered, they ran headlong into the spreading miasma—now laced with seven-colored corrosion.
Panic erupted as everyone scattered like startled birds.
Shen Lian waited in hiding for half an hour, listening until all was quiet outside.
Only then did he activate another Swift Step Talisman and bolt from the valley.
Buzz—
A burst of crimson flame exploded around him, and his figure vanished, reappearing a hundred feet away.

It was a bit too ostentatious—flaming red and impossible to miss.
With the Swift Step Talisman and Fire Escape Technique combined, Shen Lian’s speed now rivaled that of a ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator.

In another valley a mile away, the air reeked of blood.
Yang Li stood at the mouth of the valley, while behind him, a fellow cultivator lay twitching on the ground, his entire body convulsing, eyes wide with unwillingness.
Blood gushed from a hole in his chest.
With a sharp whistle, a streak of blood-red light shot from the wound and landed on Yang Li's shoulder.
"Let's go," Yang Li said, glancing back at his fallen companion.
His ancestor's technique had truly become more refined.
In the past, it required gutting the victim—now, a tidy little hole sufficed.
Their fellow cultivators died more peacefully than before, which gave Yang Li a touch of comfort.
As for the storage pouch, he had already claimed it.
"Come, while there are still people around, let's find another prey."
At the serpent’s whisper in his ear, Yang Li hurried from the valley mouth, climbing a low hill to survey the surroundings.
He saw, in the distant forest, a burst of crimson flame scatter the lingering miasma, then a figure appear a hundred feet away.
Yang Li’s eyes lit up, and he rushed down the hill.
That escape technique—had to be the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.
This cultivator was fated to cross his path.
Elsewhere, Shen Lian was heading to his second fallback point to collect the arrays of talismans he’d prepared in advance.
Just then, he noticed a streak of light speeding straight toward him.
A quick glance, and he knew instantly: it was coming for him.
As the light drew nearer, he recognized the face.
It was Yang Li!
He’d long suspected the man was up to no good.
That seventh-layer cultivator dared to set his sights on him?
Shen Lian darted into the miasma-shrouded forest, intent on settling this fiend once and for all.
Inside, he activated two Miasma Talismans, thickening the fog until it doubled in density.
Whoosh—
The miasma was suddenly torn apart by a streak of blood-red light, which gave off a dense demonic aura and formed the illusory shape of a long, blood-colored serpent.
Shen Lian’s heart skipped a beat.
That was a ninth-layer demonic beast, with an aura even stronger than the average cultivator at that level.
Buzz—
Without bothering to trigger the talisman arrays he’d laid in advance, he hurled his Talisman Array Disk into the air, radiating colored light as dozens of talismans surged forth to meet the attack.