Chapter 198 – Explosive Chili Pepper
"Alright!"
Luo Bijun nodded and swiftly retreated from the battlefield, racing toward the Great Yan Sword Sect. Seeing this, Xuan Tianhen tried to intercept her, but was immediately entangled by Demon Lord Chaiyang.
Although Chaiyang wasn't as powerful as Xuan Tianhen, a Nascent Soul sword cultivator, his methods were bizarre and unpredictable. It wasn't hard for him to stall Xuan Tianhen for a while.
Luo Bijun broke away from the battle and arrived at the gates of the Great Yan Sword Sect. However, the sect's grand protective formation was already fully activated—she couldn't get in at all.
After all, the Great Yan Sword Sect was still a Nascent Soul-level sect. At the very least, its protective formation had to be able to block a Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of being called a guardian formation.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Luo Bijun snorted coldly. Her specialty was soul attacks, and the protective formation wasn't particularly effective against such assaults. Previously, Xuan Tianhen's eldest disciple had been severely wounded by her spiritual attack, ultimately failing his breakthrough attempt.
Now, she only needed to repeat the process.
"Hmm?"
In the sect's central spiritual land, Gu Mo, who was in the middle of his breakthrough, suddenly felt a whisper in his ears. Along with that whisper came a surge of violent emotion rising within his heart.
"They're here."
Feeling the rising agitation within him, Gu Mo knew an enemy had launched an attack. But such an attack was useless against him. This was only his incarnation. The attack would be transmitted through the incarnation to his true body, but by then its power would already be greatly reduced.
So aside from a mild surge of restlessness, Gu Mo was unaffected.
"What's going on?"
Seeing that the swirling vortex of spiritual energy in the sky remained undisturbed, Luo Bijun frowned. Her soul attack had failed?
"Luo Bijun, are you done yet?"
Just as she was filled with uncertainty, Chaiyang's voice rang out. "We're running out of time."
"Almost!"
Luo Bijun replied, then pulled out a 4th-tier Formation-Breaking Talisman. But a single such talisman wasn't enough to destroy a sect's grand formation. Every sect's protective array was designed with countermeasures against such items.
Unless a large number of talismans were used for a brute-force assault, one or two alone couldn't possibly bring the formation down.
But Luo Bijun's goal wasn't to destroy the entire formation—she just needed to tear open a small gap. And for that, she had plenty of ways to finish off Xuan Tianhen's little disciple.
"Go!"
She activated the talisman and hurled it at the formation's light curtain. Instantly, the barrier rippled violently, and a visible crack began to form.
"It worked!"
Delighted, Luo Bijun hadn't expected the talisman to work so well. This wasn't just a small gap—this fissure was wide enough for her to charge right in.
Without hesitation, Luo Bijun slipped through the opening and stormed into the sect, heading straight for the central spiritual land.
By now, she had changed her mind—rather than kill Xuan Tianhen's disciple outright, why not capture him and corrupt him into a demonic cultivator? Then she could return to destroy the sect later. That would be far more amusing. The very thought made her flush with manic excitement.
But she didn't notice the sect master's token that had just appeared in Gu Mo's hand, nor did she see the calm expression he wore even as a Nascent Soul demon approached.
That calmness came from confidence—Gu Mo had prepared a surprise.
Crack!
Just as Luo Bijun entered the central spiritual land and was about to strike, she felt something beneath her foot. Looking down, she saw a potato buried in the ground. Though it looked a little odd, it was unmistakably a potato.
Yet in that instant, Luo Bijun's spiritual sense exploded with warnings.
Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt back, but just then, formation light screens dropped around her, locking her movements. While the restraint only lasted for a moment, in a situation like this, it could be fatal.
BOOM!
A terrifying burst of annihilation energy erupted, swallowing Luo Bijun whole. The blast radius was small, but the destructive force was immense.
After all, this was a 4th-tier Potato Mine. With a direct hit, taking out a Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator wasn't impossible. Though Potato Mines had many limitations, when used cleverly, they were still highly effective.
Just like this time—capitalizing on Luo Bijun's carelessness and the assistance of the formation, the Potato Mine had struck true.
In most situations, a high-level cultivator could easily avoid such traps, since their danger sense was keen. The mine's small explosion range made it easy to dodge once sensed.
But Luo Bijun had relaxed, assuming the Great Yan Sword Sect posed no threat with Xuan Tianhen held back.
Her thinking wasn't wrong—the sect's reserves had long been depleted. Besides its guardian formation and Xuan Tianhen himself, it had little that could threaten a Nascent Soul opponent.
But while the sect had nothing, Gu Mo did.
The Potato Mine was just one of his preparations. And sure enough, as the blast dissipated, a hideous ghostly figure emerged—Luo Bijun's Ghost Infant.
As a demon of the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss, Luo Bijun cultivated one of its core arts: the Nine Nether Spirit-Refining Method.
This technique allowed her to condense a Ghost Infant. Normal Nascent Soul cultivators had fragile nascent souls, but demons from the Abyss had weaker bodies—their true strength lay in their Ghost Infants.
"You destroyed my body—die!"
The Ghost Infant shrieked with fury. Though it relied on the ghostly soul, the physical body was still crucial for nurturing it. Losing the body was a massive setback, even if she could eventually possess another.
"Nascent Soul demons really are tough to kill."
Sensing the overwhelming aura of the Ghost Infant, Gu Mo exhaled deeply. Thankfully, he had more than one trick prepared. With a flick of his hand, a fiery red chili pepper appeared.
This was the real ace up his sleeve: Explosive Chili Pepper, a new plant he had drawn from the vending machine blind box.
Name: Explosive Chili Pepper
Grade: 4th-tier, Low-grade
Effect: Transforms into a Fire Dragon to attack enemies.
Planting Requirement: None
Like the Potato Mine and Cherry Bomb before it, this was a disposable, non-plantable combat plant. Unsurprisingly, neither the Potato Mine nor the Chili Pepper had gained sentience like Sunflowers or Torch Stumps.
And that was a good thing.
Unlike the other two, the Chili Pepper's power was fire-based—not just any fire, but Solar True Fire, infused with the sun's essence. Its destructive power was tremendous, living up to the tradition of one-use plants being disproportionately powerful.
Moreover, the Fire Dragon it summoned didn't disappear after one attack—it remained until its energy ran out, and Gu Mo could even control it directly.
This gave Gu Mo, still at the Core Formation stage, access to a powerful 4th-tier offensive technique—a key reason he remained calm when facing a Nascent Soul demon.
Snap!
With a thought, Gu Mo crushed the chili pepper. A brilliant flame burst forth, and a Fire Dragon wreathed in Solar True Fire appeared, guarding Gu Mo's side.
"What?!"
Seeing the Fire Dragon, Luo Bijun was struck by pure terror. The scorching Solar True Fire was a natural nemesis of her Ghost Infant—she didn't even dare get close.
Without hesitation, she turned to flee, having sensed the unmistakable threat of death. If caught, she would be burned to ash.
"Xiao Lin, Xiao Mo asked me to give you—"
Just as she tried to retreat, a delicate voice called out, and a palm-sized Xiaohua appeared.
"Ah! It's a bad guy!"
Upon seeing Luo Bijun's Ghost Infant, the flower on Xiaohua's head bloomed, unleashing a terrifying psychic storm. Her tiny body clearly wasn't built for physical combat.
"Not good!"
While Ghost Infants were immune to physical attacks, spiritual assaults were another matter. And though Xiaohua had only just advanced to 4th-tier and wasn't as strong as Luo Bijun, the Fire Dragon and Gu Mo's incarnation were both present.
At the very moment Luo Bijun was struck by the psychic storm, Gu Mo ordered the Fire Dragon to attack. He sighed inwardly—he had told Xiaohua to wait a little longer before showing up. His plan was to make it seem like Xiaohua had defeated the demon, not him.
But Xiaohua had rushed in early, eager to earn her reward.
Luckily, she didn't seem as weak as he feared. Her psychic storm instantly immobilized the Ghost Infant.
The rest was simple.
The Fire Dragon swooped in and swallowed the Ghost Infant whole. As it came into contact with the Solar True Fire, the infant screamed in agony before being incinerated on the spot.
Outside the Great Yan Sword Sect.
The battle between Xuan Tianhen and Demon Lord Chaiyang had grown more intense. Xuan Tianhen's attacks were desperate and wild, driven by the fear of what Luo Bijun might do after entering the sect.
A Nascent Soul demon rampaging inside the sect—he couldn't imagine the consequences. But with the formation running at full capacity, and no sect master token in hand, Xuan Tianhen couldn't sense what was happening inside.
"Xuan Tianhen, you've killed two of our Nascent Soul cultivators! Today, we'll wipe your sect from existence!"
Chaiyang laughed wildly. Although covered in sword wounds, he was still tough and could endure.
But the sect disciples wouldn't last.
Still… why was Luo Bijun taking so long? He could already sense Nascent Soul cultivators from righteous sects drawing near. Time to retreat.
"Huh?!"
Just then, both Xuan Tianhen and Chaiyang felt a terrifying surge of spiritual energy erupt from the sect's central spiritual land.
They were stunned. That wasn't Luo Bijun's technique… and it definitely wasn't from the Great Yan Sword Sect either.
Then a shriek echoed through the sky.
Chaiyang's face turned pale. Without the slightest hesitation, he used a blood escape technique and vanished into the distance.
That scream told him all he needed to know—Luo Bijun was dead. If he didn't run, he'd be next.
But he still couldn't understand—what had happened inside the sect? Luo Bijun was no pushover; she shouldn't have fallen so easily.
Back in the sect, Xuan Tianhen didn't pursue, but rushed back immediately.
There, he saw Gu Mo unharmed, and beside him, the tiny Xiaohua he'd met before. Realizing the earlier spiritual storm came from her, he understood what had happened.
So it was Elder Xiaohua who had appeared just in time to save his disciple.
He couldn't help but be amazed. Just after advancing to 4th-tier, Xiaohua was already capable of slaying a Nascent Soul demon? Unbelievable.
"Many thanks, Elder Xiaohua!"
Xuan Tianhen gave her a deep bow. If not for her, he dared not imagine the consequences.
"Hmm?"
Xiaohua looked at him blankly. She didn't really understand, but Xiao Mo had told her not to speak—and there'd be double the reward if she kept quiet.
So, she turned away, showing him the back of her head, then vanished with Wood Escape. Xuan Tianhen was left dumbfounded—but this was a favor the sect would never forget.
"Disciple, what exactly happened just now?"
With Xiaohua gone, Xuan Tianhen turned to Gu Mo for answers.
"Master, I'm still in the middle of breaking through."
Gu Mo pointed to the sky. The Potato Mine had been buried beforehand, and the Fire Chili was controlled remotely through his true body's divine sense—so the incarnation's breakthrough hadn't been interrupted.
"Ah! Then focus on your breakthrough!" Xuan Tianhen snapped to his senses and quickly stepped back.
"Looks like we'll have some peace for a while now," Gu Mo murmured.
Thanks to the grand formation, he had concealed the existence of the Potato Mine and Explosive Chili Pepper. The psychic storm Xiaohua released was intentionally leaked through the formation—just as planned.
After all, having an incarnation use his true body's plant powers risked exposing his identity, so it was best to avoid that unless absolutely necessary.
In the future, Gu Mo intended to make his incarnation rely solely on swordsmanship. That was its role.
This time had been an exception—too dangerous to hold back.
And now, with the only witness—Luo Bijun—dead, there was no need to worry about word spreading. As for Xiaohua, he could pacify her with a little Sun Essence.
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