Though somewhat unwilling, Zhao Yuebai and the others still followed Li Junxian and Zheng Wanrong.
They would continue heading southeast, arriving at a deserted village where the able-bodied men rescued from the rebel army a few days prior were housed. There were about two hundred of them, and Li Junxian and the others would take along anyone willing to leave.
Ji Yuan's current task was to lure the surrounding rebel forces away, creating an opportunity for them to depart in a more secure environment. This was not a difficult task.
He soon found a rebel unit and, without a word, attacked with full force. His natal flying sword was unleashed with thunderous might, killing the cultivators accompanying the troops. The nine individuals, all at the early to mid-stage of the second realm, had no power to resist before him, being instantly slain by the sword light. As for the ordinary rebel soldiers, Ji Yuan paid them little mind, focusing only on eliminating their commanders. In less than thirty breaths, dozens of soldiers fled in disarray, some not even seeing the attacker. Soon, the place was littered with corpses.
Ji Yuan casually used his spiritual energy to loot the belongings of the cultivators, then couldn't help but sigh. These rebels had attacked cities, captured territories, and even annihilated numerous sects and factions, plundering countless riches. Among only nine cultivators at the early to mid-stage of the second realm, five possessed mountain and river pouches! From his perspective, most of these were rogue cultivators, with only two or three having previously belonged to some sect. With such backgrounds and cultivation realms, each of them held a magical artifact, and more than half possessed even more precious storage bags. One could imagine how many forces these people had plundered, like locusts passing through.
He sighed, then did not linger. He deliberately left some traces, and then departed in the opposite direction.
Along the way, Ji Yuan struck again and again, attacking three more rebel units. One of these units even had a cultivator at the peak of the second realm. Fortunately, although the latter was from a sect, it was merely a minor one. Despite their higher realm, their cultivation methods and mystical arts were not particularly strong. After a few probing exchanges, Ji Yuan found a weakness and finally killed them beneath the edge of his natal flying sword.
Such frequent attacks, coupled with his rather brazen actions, quickly drew the attention of a large number of rebel forces, who began to converge towards his location. Even two cultivators of the third realm had begun searching the surroundings, their divine senses meticulously probing the forest. Upon sensing this, Ji Yuan decisively ceased his actions, found a hidden cave, set up several high-grade formations, and then concealed himself.
During this time, he took a few pills to restore his depleted spiritual energy and heal the minor injuries sustained from his previous night's skirmish with a third-realm cultivator.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. Ji Yuan in the cave abruptly opened his eyes, a startling light flashing within them. He dispelled the formations he had previously set up and reappeared in the forest, beginning to search for his next target. The reason he stayed behind, besides luring away the rebels, was another purpose in his heart: to use this opportunity, under immense pressure, to seek a breakthrough in his own cultivation.
Currently, in terms of his immortal path, Ji Yuan's realm was no less than that of an ordinary third-realm cultivator, and his cultivation had reached the late stage of the second realm, just one step away from the peak. His comprehension of the Profound Heaven Dao Scripture and the Profound Heaven Sword Art had also reached the perfect level corresponding to his current realm. If he were to cultivate diligently, perhaps in another year or two, he could successfully reach the peak of the second realm, and after three to five years of seclusion, he might ascend to the third realm. This speed was already considered extremely fast. From the time he began cultivating at thirteen or fourteen years old until now, it had been no more than five to six years. From the first realm to the late second realm had taken only a few years, and by ascending to the third realm, it might have taken less than ten years in total. Such cultivation speed, even in a prosperous sect with over a thousand years of history, would be considered that of an absolute genius. In fact, after benefiting from the Creation Spirit Spring, Ji Yuan's aptitude had indeed improved to that of a genius.
However, he still felt that the time required for a breakthrough was too long. He wished to break through his current realm at a faster pace, ascending to the third realm earlier. The pressure of life and death was undoubtedly the quickest method!
With a flicker in his eyes, Ji Yuan had made up his mind. As soon as he sensed rebels in the forest, he concealed his figure and quietly approached. He suppressed all his aura and silently moved closer to the nearby rebel troops. His divine sense, enhanced by the Mystical Art of Soul Refining, swept over them, and he quickly assessed the situation of the unit.
There were fifty rebel soldiers, each well-equipped, with the weakest being at the mid-stage of the Flesh and Bone Realm. They could form powerful battle formations at any time, capable of suppressing ordinary cultivators at the early to mid-stage of the second realm. Accompanying them were twelve cultivators of considerable strength: eight at the early second realm, three at the mid-second realm, and one at the late second realm. Such a force was sufficient to suppress a small, ordinary sect, or even to breach their mountain gates.
Ji Yuan did not presume upon his cultivation realm to harbor any carelessness or underestimation. He cautiously concealed his aura, hiding in the canopy of a large tree. Only when this rebel unit slowly advanced, and the dozen or so cultivators came within a few feet of him, did he suddenly erupt, displaying his thunderous methods.
*Clang!!!*
As a sword cry reverberated, the tree canopy where he was hidden instantly exploded, and a beam of sword light shot out several dozen feet in an instant! In the midst of the unprepared cultivators, the sword light that had already reached them suddenly shattered, then transformed into over a dozen smaller beams of sword light.
"Ah!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Damn it!"
Cultivator after cultivator, some screaming, others roaring, desperately tried to resist the crisscrossing sword light. However, the sword light was too sharp, and the sword intent contained within it was immensely powerful. In a moment, five or six people were pierced through their bodies, falling into a pool of blood, devoid of all life.
"You... seek death!"
Seeing his fellow disciples falling one after another, the cultivator at the late stage of the second realm let out an enraged roar. Without a second thought, he struck forward with a palm. As spiritual energy surged forth, several hair-thin silver needles shot out from his sleeve. Under the cover of his spiritual energy, even cultivators of the same realm would find it difficult to detect them. If one were careless, these needle-like magical artifacts could easily pierce into the body.
However, Ji Yuan cultivated the Myriad Source Manifestation Divine Art and had refined a Primordial Spirit Bead, thus possessing divine sense, a characteristic of third-realm cultivators, a full major realm in advance. Under the shroud of his divine sense, this minor trick could not escape his perception. His gaze sharpened, and he flicked his fingers repeatedly. Streams of tiny sword qi shot out, precisely striking the silver needles and immediately knocking them aside.
At the same time, he raised his sword and slashed forward. Brilliant sword light emerged from the sword's edge and instantly cleaved through the air, cutting forward. The palm strike, containing most of the power of a cultivator at the late stage of the second realm, was effortlessly sliced open by the sword light and then directly struck the opponent!