Dongli Qing's hand was still on the stone wall as his body rounded the corner, and a large net came flying towards his head.
The net was just an ordinary rope net, posing no threat to him.
Seeing something approach, he still instinctively raised a hand to block it. The instant his hand touched the rope net, the entire net suddenly burst into flames.
Sparks immediately peppered Dongli Qing's body. In a fit of anger, he unleashed his vital energy, blasting the fiery net into a sky full of embers.
The moment his external energy expanded, Dongli Qing heard a "kaka" sound from above his head, and then he smelled the pungent odor of fire oil.
In an instant, the scattered sparks flared brightly, turning a section of the cave into a sea of fire.
By the time Dongli Qing shot out of the fiery inferno, another three breaths had passed. Within those three breaths, various traps in the sea of fire—spike boards, flying arrows, iron clamps, battering rams, and so on—were activated one by one.
If it were a mortal, they would have died countless times over by now.
Although these traps couldn't inflict the slightest harm on Dongli Qing, they had completely interfered with his advance.
He possessed heaven-defying magic, but he still had to face and resolve all of this. Unless he leveled the entire mountain, allowing him to fly over this stretch of road, it was unavoidable.
But doing so would create far too much of a commotion. This place was only a little over six thousand li from Sacred Demon City, which was not considered far for a cultivator.
It would inevitably attract the attention of countless people. If someone discovered a Nascent Soul cultivator had appeared here, even a fool would know something was amiss.
Sacred Demon City not only had many Nascent Soul cultivators but also several Spirit Transformation experts. All this meant Dongli Qing absolutely could not use his divine abilities to destroy the mountain.
'How can this person be so cunning? Could he have been a hunter before he started cultivating?'
Dongli Qing thought furiously. The traps set by his opponent were interlinked, one after another, the methods seasoned and varied, vexing him to no end.
Sometimes he clearly knew that something posed no threat to him, but his reaction was faster than his consciousness, and he would unconsciously act to block or destroy it.
Just like that, these small traps slightly hindered Dongli Qing's advance, but his speed didn't decrease by much. He could sense the stooped, gray-robed old man's aura getting clearer and closer.
His opponent was also constantly fleeing deeper into the mountain, but his speed was far inferior.
As for how long this cave was, Dongli Qing's Divine Sense reported back that it was about forty li long. Even though both were running and flying, in just about fifteen breaths, they had already covered nearly thirty li inside the cave.
Their figures were like a gentle breeze blowing through the cave, as fast as ghosts. At this time, the distance between them was only about one li.
But just then, an abnormality appeared in Dongli Qing's body.
Although Dongli Qing's speed was still astonishing as he sped along, he slowly discovered that the Spirit Power in his body had become sluggish, and its circulation was no longer smooth.
Furthermore, a feeling of dizziness appeared in his head, and soon, even a slight stinging sensation was transmitted.
At first, he thought the cave was too deep and filled with a rotten, damp smell, and that he had inhaled some miasma.
So, he immediately held his breath and relied solely on his own Spirit Qi circulation. But even so, the symptoms not only did not lessen but became more and more obvious.
'This is a sign of poisoning!'
Dongli Qing immediately realized that he must have been poisoned.
'To be able to poison a Nascent Soul cultivator, and without any warning, what exactly is this place?'
Dongli Qing's heart went cold. A small, exquisite blue jade bottle had already appeared in his hand. He immediately poured out an ice-crystal-like pill and held it in his mouth.
The ice-crystal pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, and a wave of coolness instantly spread throughout his body, clearing his head considerably.
The reason he was so alarmed was that at his level of cultivation, although he wasn't immune to all poisons, ordinary poisonous gases and miasmas could no longer affect them.
Especially since he was also a powerful Body Cultivator, the essence blood in his physical body could melt many poison pills and venoms without any problem.
But he had only been here for a dozen or so breaths and had inexplicably shown signs of poisoning. How could he not be shocked?
But his feet still did not stop. He rushed towards the aura he had sensed. Even if he was poisoned, as long as he caught up with the other party, he could capture him in a single exchange.
Then he would properly detoxify himself. It was even possible that the other party had laid this poison.
Dongli Qing had also fought with the Black Demon Clan on the border for many years and was extremely experienced in combat. He knew that at this time, it was even more important to catch the other party.
Li Yan was also sensing the other party's aura. Seeing that more than thirty li had passed and he was about to rush out of this cave, but the other party was still full of vigor, Li Yan was also extremely anxious.
'I have already advanced to the Golden Core, and the same toxins are five to seven times more potent than before. Based on past experience, the toxicity of the Fragmented Poison Body is now so strong that a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator cannot face it at all. It should at least have some effect on a Nascent Soul cultivator, yet Dongli Qing's aura still hasn't weakened...'
Li Yan knew that if he couldn't make the other party's poison flare up here, then he could only flee as far as he could, or hide in the "Earthen Patch" to temporarily avoid disaster.
But in that case, if he wanted to deal with Dongli Qing again in the future, there would be no such opportunity, unless he one day advanced to the Nascent Soul stage and could make a move again.
Li Yan was no ordinary cultivator; he had seen many Nascent Souls. Relying on his past experience, he had estimated his chances of success against the other party to be thirty to forty percent.
Such a probability was enough for Li Yan to take the gamble.
But now, the aura emanating from Dongli Qing made the suspicious Li Yan doubt his previous judgment.
This was also due to the pressure Dongli Qing brought him. In the past, when facing a Nascent Soul cultivator, his first thought was to flee, to flee as far as he could, to flee for his life.
Now, facing one for real, he found that his previous reliance on the "True Scripture of Gui Water," which far surpassed his peers in combat power, and the ever-successful "Fragmented Poison Body" seemed to have been a misjudgment.
Just as Li Yan was in a state of shock and uncertainty, he had already run forward for about four more li. Suddenly, in his Divine Sense, he found Dongli Qing taking out a medicinal pill to swallow, and his expression was no longer as radiant as before.
'The poison is flaring up!'
Li Yan's spirits were instantly lifted.
At this time, Dongli Qing, who was behind him, after flying for another distance, the clarity in his mind disappeared again, and his whole body began to feel unwell.
In addition to the sluggishness of his Spirit Power, a severe burning pain appeared in his internal organs, and at this time, his body surface began to ulcerate.
Dongli Qing abruptly stopped, enduring the severe pain, and looked at his arm in disbelief as pustules rapidly swelled up. With a light "pop," they burst and a thick, foul-smelling white fluid flowed out.
He suddenly felt something flowing down his forehead. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he immediately let out an angry roar.
His handsome, unparalleled face was also ulcerating, and a foul-smelling white fluid was also flowing down.
What shocked and angered him even more was that he suddenly found his roar was no longer as bright as before, but extremely hoarse.
With a flick of his robe sleeve, eight or nine jade bottles appeared in front of Dongli Qing.
These jade bottles opened in an instant. Some of the pills inside were sucked into his mouth like a long whale sucking in water, while others poured out a heart-refreshing liquid that sprinkled all over his body.
The medicinal pills taken out by a Nascent Soul cultivator, regardless of their grade, were of extremely good efficacy.
For a time, Dongli Qing felt the severe pain lessen considerably, and the pustules on his body surface also greatly reduced.
But this situation only lasted for a few breaths before the burning sensation in his body returned.
At this moment, it seemed as if it wanted to burn everything of his. Dongli Qing only felt the world spin. An unbearable pain from the depths of his Divine Soul was constantly amplifying.
Even with his incomparably tough will, his whole body trembled in pain, like shivering in a high fever.
What terrified Dongli Qing even more was that his Nascent Soul actually showed signs of melting.
The greatest reliance of a Nascent Soul cultivator was the Nascent Soul cultivated in their body. As long as the Nascent Soul escaped from the body, unless it was a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator who could possibly restrain his Nascent Soul, it was extremely difficult for a cultivator of the same rank to kill him.
The most powerful divine ability of a Nascent Soul was instantaneous movement, which could cover a thousand li in an instant. The Nascent Soul was the essence of a cultivator's lifelong cultivation...
Now that Dongli Qing found his Nascent Soul showing signs of melting, how could he not be terrified?
He could even give up his physical body. He had never performed body seizure before and still had one chance. But if his Nascent Soul was destroyed, he would truly be stepping into death.
Dongli Qing had never dreamed that just by following Zhao Min once today, he would fall into a life-and-death crisis.
'This is a trap by the Black Demon Clan! Zhao Min is also from the Black Demon Clan! That person is her contact, a member of the Flood Dragon race who was bought by the Black Demon Clan!'
In an instant, he seemed to have figured out many things. Although he also had enemies outside, comparatively speaking, he had killed more Black Demon Clan cultivators on the border.
The Black Demon Clan had plotted this for a long time to get revenge on him.
The reason that made him most sure of his judgment was that Zhao Min and the stooped, gray-robed old man were both at the Golden Core stage. With their abilities, how could they possibly have a poison that could kill a Nascent Soul cultivator?
Of course, it was still possible for Zhao Min to obtain such a poison, but why would the two Supreme Elders of the White Demon Clan use such a method to kill him?
If they wanted him dead, they could just find a reason and execute him. And they could definitely do it without anyone knowing.
Apart from some large sects, the Black Demon Clan had many poison pills that could kill Nascent Soul cultivators. And only the Black Demon Clan hated him so much. Dongli Qing instantly identified the mastermind.
'They know I want to get close to Zhao Min, so they used her to lure me into a trap. No, I must report this to the clan immediately!'
At this time, he still had the possibility of forcefully escaping with his Nascent Soul. But just as he thought of this, Dongli Qing suddenly forgot what he was going to do.
He just stood there in a daze, his whole body stinking. His mind suddenly became trance-like, and for a moment, he didn't know what he was going to do.
His eyes slowly turned into a terrifying pure white.
An uncontrollable killing intent had already filled Dongli Qing's entire consciousness. He had forgotten everything he had just thought of, and even the safest method of escaping with his Nascent Soul.
He only had one thought in his mind: kill, kill, kill!! Kill all living creatures in sight. His killing intent was awe-inspiring!
The next moment, he began to search for all living auras around him, all living creatures, even an ant, a spider.
And at this time, Li Yan had already seen the situation on Dongli Qing's side in his Divine Sense. He quickly took out an inanimate object from his storage pouch, threw it on the ground, and then immediately used the Earth Evasion Art.
Three breaths later, he had already burrowed a thousand zhang underground. Then, after turning in a direction, he once again burrowed deeper into the ground. After going deeper for a certain distance, Li Yan turned again...
To this, the already witless Dongli Qing did not give chase at all. His target was a trembling spider on the cave wall.
Less than five breaths after Li Yan had escaped, a rumbling explosion came from within the cave. Then there was a world-shaking loud noise. Large sections of the mountain range began to cave in, as if the sky had burst and the earth had cracked.
Such a large commotion quickly attracted the attention of nearby cultivators.
But under such a formation, those low-cultivation cultivators had already fled far away in fright, not wanting to know what had happened here at all.