The middle-aged man was, after all, a cultivator in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. Seeing his son entangled, he was about to rush to his aid, raising his tiger-head nine-ring broadsword.
A cloud of venomous demonic energy suddenly erupted from the mutated strange fish's mouth, spraying onto him.
Bang!
His protective spiritual energy twisted violently. The middle-aged man spat out a mouthful of blood, his body sent flying backward.
Without the middle-aged man's obstruction, the two guards whose chests had been pierced, along with the young man, were swept up and fell towards the mutated strange fish's gaping maw.
...
The middle-aged man lay on the ground, watching this scene with wide eyes, and roared, "No!"
Just then, Wu Tao, who had been observing from the shadows, seized the opportunity. He brandished his tattered ancient sword, its light flashing, and sword Qi surged.
Ching!
The next second, the mutated strange fish's tongue was severed by the sword Qi from the middle.
The young man, having narrowly escaped death, quickly retreated.
As for the two Qi Refining stage guards whose chests had been pierced, their hearts had long stopped beating; they were as dead as could be.
"My son, are you alright!"
Not far away, the middle-aged man, who had managed to suppress the spreading poison within his body with spiritual energy, quickly ran towards his son.
Facing the middle-aged man's anxious inquiry, the young man shook his head. He then looked towards the left and explained, "Father, he saved me."
The young lady, who had been well protected all along, had a look of wonder flash in her eyes, her gaze fixed on the man who had suddenly appeared.
This man appeared to be only in his twenties or thirties, but the power of that sword was truly terrifying, easily severing the mutated strange fish's tongue.
He gave the impression of peerless combat strength, a peerless prodigy.
...
"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving my son's life." The middle-aged man was also astonished by Wu Tao's strength, his realm actually surpassing his own.
To possess such a cultivation base in the late Foundation Establishment realm at such a young age,
However, the middle-aged man remained calm.
Having lived for over fifty years, he understood just how vast the Nine Provinces' immortal cultivation world was.
Prodigies within some large sects often possessed profound cultivation at a young age; this was not something to be surprised by.
...
His body transforming into afterimages, Wu Tao appeared before everyone in a flash, speaking indifferently, "It was just a small favor, not worth mentioning."
The young lady, who had been standing in the back, for reasons unknown, strode forward and initiated a conversation with Wu Tao.
The young lady said softly, her voice full of gratitude, "That cannot be said. If not for you, we would all have died here!"
"Be careful..."
Before she could finish speaking, the young lady's expression suddenly changed. In her sight, the mutated strange fish's eyes turned blood-red, launching a surprise attack!
The mutated strange fish sprayed a cloud of five-colored poisonous gas towards Wu Tao.
The poisonous gas raged and swept through. Wherever it passed, vegetation withered instantly. The potency of the poison was evident.
On the other side, Wu Tao had long been wary of this mutated strange fish; every movement it made was within his grasp.
His tattered ancient sword struck first, unleashing a faint golden sword Qi.
Zheng!
Golden sword light instantly enveloped the surroundings.
The indestructible sword Qi sliced through the spreading five-colored poisonous gas and struck the mutated strange fish's head.
Ahhh!
The mutated strange fish let out a pained cry from its mouth. Its massive body, under the recoil force, flipped backward, smashing into the rocky cliff of a nearby small mountain, creating several large cracks.
Rocks tumbled, and the earth shook.
"Stormy Barrage... Thousand Frosty Rays!"
This mutated strange fish was much weaker than the giant blood-sucking bat from before, but its defense was formidable. An ordinary sword strike could not kill it.
Wu Tao did not want to waste time and unleashed his ultimate move.
Chiiii!
With a diagonal slash of the sword and a twist of his wrist, Wu Tao's entire body became a blur of motion. His sword tip thrust forward, and in an instant, like a storm crushing flowers, thousands of silver lights shot out.
Sword light intertwined, shifting east and west, gathering and scattering, appearing and disappearing. In a single moment, Wu Tao unleashed hundreds of sword strikes.
Sword light flashed, casting silver radiance across the sky. Ten thousand stars, a thousand silver ribbons, a deadly aura permeated the air, immensely terrifying.
The dense, continuous torrent of sword Qi easily cut through the mutated strange fish's ugly, thick skin.
Suffering these successive heavy blows, the mutated strange fish's body convulsed violently.
Then, its entire body went limp, blood pooling on the ground. In a short while, it ceased to breathe.
Clang!
Sheathing his sword, Wu Tao looked back at the people behind him.
"So powerful. The mutated strange fish died so easily."
"The mutated strange fish possesses the bloodline of the ancient beast Ying Ge. Even late Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same level would retreat three steps and dare not get close."
"This person looks younger than my nephew, yet he was able to kill this mutated strange fish alone with his sword."
The guards who had come to hunt the mutated strange fish were all at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, or above the tenth level. They possessed some knowledge.
They had always heard about how powerful some geniuses in major sects were but had never witnessed it. Today, seeing it, they were all dumbfounded.
The leader, a middle-aged man named Zheng Shuidong, recovered and, pulling his nephew Zheng Wuqi, whose eyes held both admiration and a hint of jealousy, clasped his hands and said, "I am Zheng Shuidong, and this is my son Zheng Wuqi. Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving us. May I know your name, and how we may repay you in the future?"
Wu Tao heard this and shook his head, "I am about to leave. Please disregard my name and any need for repayment."
The reason he saved them was purely a small favor that did not take much of his time. Since he could save them with a simple gesture, why not?
Wu Tao turned around and said to them, "Everyone, please be careful. I will not disturb you further."
With that, he was about to leave.
...
Cough, cough, cough!
Abruptly, Zheng Shuidong spat out a mouthful of black blood with an unpleasant odor, his face turning slightly ashen.
Wu Tao frowned at this and asked, "You've been poisoned."
Zheng Shuidong circulated his spiritual energy, struggling to suppress the toxins spreading within his body, and said with a wry smile, "The mutated strange fish has the bloodline of the ancient beast Ying Ge. Its highly venomous demonic energy is too potent; it even poisoned me through my protective spiritual energy."
"Don't move, I'll try to help you expel the poison."
His body flashed, and Wu Tao appeared behind Zheng Shuidong. He placed his hands on him, and pure, vast spiritual energy flowed through his arm meridians into the other's body.
A moment passed.
Wu Tao withdrew his hands, slowly finished his technique, and said indifferently, "The mutated strange fish's toxins are too potent. Expelling them with spiritual energy is useless; it can only suppress them. You must concoct a detoxification pill. Fortunately, the poison is not severe, so there's no immediate danger to his life."
The young lady, who had come closer, thought of something and said, "Generally, when poisoned by potent demonic beasts, the materials for refining detoxification pills must include the corresponding demonic beast. This mutated strange fish..."
The young lady looked towards Wu Tao. Since Wu Tao had killed the mutated strange fish, the right to its materials belonged to him, and she hesitated to act on her own.
"Do as you please!" Wu Tao had no intention of keeping the materials from the mutated strange fish.
His storage bag lacked sufficient space, so he couldn't even carry them if he took them.
After dissecting the mutated strange fish, the group prepared to return.
...
Wu Tao happened to be looking for a place to rest and recover from the internal injuries he had sustained recently, so he changed his mind, "If there's nothing else, let's travel together. We can look out for each other!"
Along the way, Wu Tao learned the names of the group and some basic information about them. The young lady was named Liu Zhi'ai, the daughter of the patriarch of the Liu family in the nearby Lin City.
Zheng Shuidong was an elder of the Liu family. This time, they had entered the dangerous wilderness to collect a rare and precious spiritual herb, the "Myriad Medicine Replenishing God Grass."
However, the Myriad Medicine Replenishing God Grass was guarded by a mutated strange fish, and they had almost been wiped out.
...
After traveling eastward for over a hundred miles, a city built of stone loomed in Wu Tao's sight.
"This Lin City is not large; there probably aren't any powerful major sects."
"General sects have their own territories and wield great power, while prominent families reside in more prosperous and vast cities."
Cities of this size were typically guarded by cultivators at the Core Formation stage.
As the group entered the city, Wu Tao noticed the guards at the city gate looking strange and became more attentive.
The Liu family was located in the northern district of Lin City. Judging by its size and layout, it could barely be considered a moderately prominent family, with a vast disparity from truly powerful immortal cultivation families.
...
"Young lady, you've returned!"
"The patriarch instructed us to see him immediately upon your return. Huh? Elder Zheng is poisoned?"
The butler standing at the entrance of the Liu mansion's manor brightened upon seeing the group and hurried forward. However, upon seeing Zheng Shuidong's ashen face leading them, he couldn't help but exclaim.
Liu Zhi'ai gave a wry smile, glanced around, and sighed, saying, "It's a long story. I'll be there shortly."
...
In a room within a separate courtyard of the Liu family.
Wu Tao sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed in cultivation.
Wu Tao's cultivation had already reached the late Foundation Establishment realm. Further advancement would be extremely difficult.
Before reaching the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment realm, he had to give his all to quickly ascend to higher levels.
To lay a solid foundation for breaking through to the Core Formation stage in the future.
After an unknown period.
Wu Tao opened his eyes.
"Difficult, difficult, difficult!"
"Haste makes waste. Never mind, I'll go out and relax!" He exhaled a stream of spiritual energy and got off the bed.
...
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