Chapter 256: Capturing
Chapter 256: Capturing
Just as Zhao Jiudou was beginning to have second thoughts and preparing to retreat, the Deep EarthSpirit General had already taken action. Utilizing marvelous earth escape techniques, the Deep EarthSpirit General stealthily moved through the ground, avoiding the sand monsters' attention, and arrived beneath the enormous cocoon.
At this moment, not only did Zhao Jiudou have several new wounds on his body, but he also felt his true qi greatly depleted, leaving him exhausted and weak all over. He knew that if he didn't leave now, he wouldn't have another chance. Gathering his remaining courage, Zhao Jiudou repelled the sand monsters that were entangling him and rushed towards the exit of the hall.
The group of sand monsters was not willing to let him go easily and immediately chased after him relentlessly.
Seemingly sensing the Deep EarthSpirit General's approach, the enormous cocoon began to tremble violently. The numerous sand monsters pursuing Zhao Jiudou also shuddered and then abandoned the chase. As if they had gone mad, they desperately rushed toward the massive pupa.
As Zhao Jiudou was retreating, relieved from the pressure due to the sand monsters' departure, he suddenly paused, realizing that someone else was invading the giant cocoon.
Upon this realization, Zhao Jiudou felt anger rising within him. It turned out to be a case of a mantis stalking the cicada while unaware of the oriole behind. He had put in so much effort, risking his life, only to serve as a pawn for someone else, unknowingly benefiting some unknown party.
Just as Zhao Jiudou was contemplating what to do, a silent attack descended from behind. Meng Zhang unleashed the venomous teeth of his flying sword and employed the Lifeless Killing Sword technique to launch a surprise attack.
After the intense battle, Zhao Jiudou was already in a precarious state. Caught off guard by the ambush of the deadly Lifeless Killing Sword, he was undoubtedly hit.
With Zhao Jiudou weakened from the blow, Meng Zhang immediately followed up with lethal moves, relentlessly targeting vital points. In a moment, Zhao Jiudou succumbed, carrying a deep sense of resentment in his heart.
While Meng Zhang might be capable of defeating Zhao Jiudou in a direct confrontation, it would not have been so easy to kill him.
After taking down Zhao Jiudou, Meng Zhang didn't bother to touch any of his belongings; instead, he released the Solar True Flame, burning the corpse and all the items on it to ashes, completely erasing any traces.
Disciples at the Foundation Building stage, like Zhao Jiudou, were not considered insignificant figures in sects with Gold Core cultivators like the Flying Swan Sect.
Meng Zhang knew that some Gold Core Daoist Masters possessed secret techniques to trace their disciples and even their belongings through the residual aura left behind. However, he was not currently strong enough to crack such techniques.
To be safe, caution was paramount. Flying Swan Sect, as a powerful entity, was not one that Taiyi Sect or Meng Zhang could dare provoke openly.
If Meng Zhang were to greedily take Zhao Jiudou's personal items, he might end up attracting the attention of a Gold Core Daoist Master.
As for why Meng Zhang didn't hesitate to kill disciples from the Yellow Lotus Sect and seize their spoils, that was because Flying Swan Sect and Yellow Lotus Sect held deep-seated grudges against each other in the Endless Sea of Sand.
Flying Swan Sect absolutely would not tolerate Yellow Lotus Sect's wanton behavior in the region.
Upon the exposure of Meng Zhang killing Yellow Lotus Sect disciples, he would only receive praise and support from Flying Swan Sect.
If Yellow Lotus Sect wanted to take revenge on Meng Zhang, they would have to get through the Flying Swan Sect first.
While Meng Zhang ambushed and killed Zhao Jiudou, the Deep EarthSpirit General had already taken the Spirit Source Pearl and started to flee for its life.
The time was too tight, and Deep EarthSpirit General had only one chance to reap the benefits. There was no time to carefully examine the gains, and he had no choice but to escape immediately.
Even as Deep EarthSpirit General faced the siege of so many sand monsters, his only fate was to flee in desperation. Some sand monsters chased after him relentlessly, while more of them stayed by the side of a huge cocoon, guarding it tightly.
After defeating Zhao Jiudou thoroughly, Meng Zhang still had some concerns. Deliberately attracting a group of sand monsters, he stirred up chaos around Zhao Jiudou's burial place.
With the intense aura of the sand monsters concealing the area, any traces that should have been here probably disappeared without a trace.
When Deep EarthSpirit General invaded the enormous cocoon, Lin Bailin was also at a critical moment. After using up all the thunder talismans in his hand, he managed to kill a large number of sand monsters, including a Second Rank sand monster. However, immediately after, even more sand monsters surged towards him.
Lin Bailin exhausted all his tricks but couldn't escape the encirclement of the sand monsters. His true qi was depleting rapidly, and his wounds were increasing. It seemed he couldn't hold on much longer and was hanging on the edge of life and death.
Suddenly, all the sand monsters paused for a moment, then crazily retreated and rushed back to the depths of their nest at the fastest speed. This was the time when Deep EarthSpirit General was invading the enormous cocoon. All the sand monsters outside sensed that the core of their nest was being invaded, so they desperately rushed back to defend it.
Deep EarthSpirit General's unintentional action inadvertently saved Lin Bailin's life. Despite his weakened state, Lin Bailin managed to struggle back to the surface.
Seeing that reinforcements hadn't arrived yet, he knew that the communication talismans he sent out were probably intercepted.
He sent out multiple communication talismans again, roughly explaining what had happened here and informed the people in Forest Spring Watch.
After dealing with Zhao Jiudou's remains, Meng Zhang left the sand monster's nest and returned to the surface. He emerged quite a distance away from where he had entered the underground.
After a while, Deep EarthSpirit General also shook off the sand monsters that were tracking him and hurried to join Meng Zhang.
Deep EarthSpirit General's luck was neither good nor bad; he managed to snatch two spiritual source pearls.
Not long after Meng Zhang and Deep EarthSpirit General reunited, they received a communication talisman from Forest Spring Watch, ordering them to gather there.
They hurried over and found the others at the place they had entered the sand monster's nest.
Forest Spring Watch's Guang HuiDaoist, upon receiving Lin Bailin's communication talisman, hurriedly led his people to this location. At the same time, he ordered several other cultivators to rush here as soon as possible.
When everyone had arrived, Guang HuiDaoist solemnly recounted Zhao Jiudou's actions.
Upon hearing the story, everyone was filled with righteous indignation and condemned Zhao Jiudou one after another.
Meng Zhang also joined in, cursing Zhao Jiudou with the others. To betray one's comrades for the sake of personal gain when facing the common enemy of humanity, the sand monsters, was a heinous crime.
However, despite their anger, it wasn't practical to take any direct action against Zhao Jiudou. After all, he was a disciple of Flying Swan Sect, and even the affiliated sects like Taiyi Sect and Forest Spring Watch's Sect Master Guang HuiDaoist couldn't simply dispose of him.
Zhao Jiudou had not come to join the others, and his whereabouts were unknown. Most likely, he had fled early, afraid of his plot against Lin Bailin being exposed.
Although Guang HuiDaoist couldn't order a pursuit of Zhao Jiudou, he wasn't about to let the matter go easily. He decided that after this battle, he would communicate with Flying Swan Sect and explain the whole situation, demanding an explanation from them.
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