"""
The black smoke emitted from the long banner in the old Taoist's hand was like a long snake, moving extremely fast. In almost the blink of an eye, it had entangled the soldiers around Chen Hu and penetrated their bodies.
They were merely common Acquired Martial Artists, not possessing innate strength, and naturally, they couldn't resist the spells of a cultivator.
Moreover, this old Taoist was a high-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, his techniques were powerful, far beyond the resistance of mere mortal martial artists. So, almost as soon as the black smoke touched them, Chen Hu and his men fell to the ground.
Only the black smoke pouncing towards Qin Feng and the other was struck down by Qin Yang using a spell.
Qin Yang also had the cultivation level of the late stage of the Qi Refinement Realm. The technique he practiced was a family inheritance called the Fierce Sun Burning Sky Technique, a pure Fire Element Technique, one of the few techniques in the family that could be cultivated to the Golden Core Realm.
Of course, in the past thousand years, many descendants of the Qin Family had cultivated this technique, but none had ever become a Golden Core Sage.
Seeing the black smoke attacking from behind, Qin Yang held onto Qin Feng with one hand, his Divine Movement Technique performed to the extreme with his feet. Another hand pinched a spell, flicking two flames which collided with the two masses of black smoke with a bang.
Instantly, from the point of collision came a few eerie ghostly wails—it turned out to be two Yin Souls.
However, these two Yin Souls were evidently not strong enough, so they were quickly burned to nothingness by the flames Qin Yang emitted.
"Hehe, you two juniors, indeed you have some skill."
Behind them, the old Taoist in a black robe let out a few cold, eerie laughs, "Since you destroyed my two Yin Souls, you can pay with your own souls. The souls of cultivators are much purer and stronger than those of common ghost items."
As he spoke, his body drew increasingly closer, seeming about to catch up with the two of them.
Although Qin Yang was exerting his full effort with the Divine Movement Technique, his body moving like the wind, swiftly escaping, how could his running speed compare with that of the flying old Taoist? Besides, he was carrying the burden of Qin Feng.
So, in merely a few breaths, the old Taoist caught up, gently landing on the ground, blocking their way.
Qin Yang sighed lightly, lamenting that small cultivators at the Qi Refinement Realm could not fly yet. If there weren't the hindrances of the ground's grass and trees, their escape speed would definitely be faster. They might even stand a chance of reaching Li Tianchou earlier.
The old Taoist gave a few cold laughs from his mouth, stepping forward with pride to approach them.
Just as he stepped forward, he felt a sharp pain in his buttocks.
Feeling the painful area, the old Taoist immediately felt a surge of shame and anger, "You juniors, how dare you sneak attack your Taoist master! I'll take your lives!"
Although the sharp arrow Chen Hu had shot earlier was just a common iron wolf-toothed arrow, not a talisman arrow meant to deal with cultivators, the old Taoist had been close to capturing the young members of the Zhao Family and was in a moment of triumph. He hadn't expected an attack from behind, and thus, got shot in the buttocks by Chen Hu's arrow.
If not for the special material of his magic robe, which blocked most of the arrow's power, it might have pierced through and caused serious harm.
The problem was that the arrow bore no mana, so his magic robe didn't activate any defensive spells. It was just its material that stopped the arrow from penetrating deeply, but the pain was still severe.
More than that, it was the humiliation from the bottom of his heart, almost driving him mad.
He had cultivated for nearly two hundred years—when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
Earlier, because Zhao Jinglei possessed a few exceptionally strong protective treasures, he hadn't been able to subdue them early, having to rely on pre-set arrays to slowly deplete their treasures.
In the midst of focusing on dealing with those young members of the Zhao Family, he hadn't been vigilant and got dangerously close to being severely injured by an arrow in the behind. If word got out, his reputation would be ruined.
Feeling the intense pain between his legs, the old Taoist didn't dare to move recklessly anymore. He quickly circulated the True Yuan within to alleviate the pain, yelling angrily, "I'll extract your souls and torment you day and night!"
With that, he waved the long banner in his hand, several strands of black smoke pounced towards Qin Feng and the other.
This time, the black smoke was far more formidable. Before reaching them, piercing shrills were already making their ears ache.
Qin Feng dared not let the black smoke hit him. He quickly channeled the thin Spiritual Power within his Dantian into the Vajra Protection Talisman in his hand. Instantly, a dazzling golden light enveloped him entirely.
In a flash, Qin Feng felt as if he was covered in an indestructible Vajra defense, giving him an immense sense of security.
With boosted confidence, Qin Feng stepped forward to shield Qin Yang.
Since there was no way to escape, the only option was to buy some time, awaiting Li Tianchou's arrival. Qin Feng's current defense was stronger than Qin Yang's, so he naturally had to help this cousin to avoid Qin Yang being killed by this Evil Cultivator before Li Tianchou arrived.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
A few soft collisions, the strands of black smoke hit Qin Feng.
The golden light outside Qin Feng's body instantly shone brightly, the dense golden light burning the black smoke. When the black smoke was a few feet away from leaving Qin Feng's body, it revealed its form as a few ghost items.
However, their ghost bodies appeared faint, evidently burned by the golden light from Qin Feng.
Although the Vajra Protection Talisman was merely a protective spell and didn't counterattack proactively, it would trigger the golden light to gather and counterattack passively when these sinister things attacked. Hence, the Yin Souls were injured.
"Vajra Protection Talisman?"
The old Taoist looked surprised, then showed joy, "Haha, using such a precious spirit talisman, it seems you're from a wealthy background. Once I capture you, all your valuable items shall be mine."
Qin Feng smiled bitterly at the Taoist's words. This old Taoist was indeed merciless and greedy, wanting to kill him and take his belongings just because he utilized a spirit talisman. Little did the Taoist know, except for the talisman given by Li Tianchou, Qin Feng had nothing of worth, not even a single spirit stone.
"Senior, it's a misunderstanding. I come from a small family, I have nothing of value. I advise you not to target me, else you might regret it."
As he spoke, he took out another Cold Ice Sword Talisman.
This was a spirit talisman personally crafted by Li Tianchou.
Li Tianchou, a nine-layer Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator, his sword qi spirit talismans were not to be taken lightly. Otherwise, he wouldn't boast about handling common Foundation Establishment cultivators.
However, the aura exuded by this black-robed old Taoist was obviously far above a common Foundation Establishment cultivator.
After all, Qin Feng's family had several Foundation Establishment cultivators. Whether it was his father, the Clan Leader Qin Guanbao, or the third great uncle from the Scripture Pavilion, their collective auras weren't as strong as this Evil Cultivator's aura.
Qin Feng estimated, this black-robed old Taoist had at least the later stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, otherwise, his aura wouldn't overshadow that of the sixth-level Foundation Establishment Old Family Master, Qin Guanbao.
Moreover, the most troublesome aspect of these Evil Cultivators was not their cultivation realm per se, but their bizarre and sinister cultivation techniques.
Without exception, Evil Cultivators were unpredictable, possessing numerous vexing spells and many life-saving techniques. Even if a cultivator could defeat them, it would be quite challenging to keep them from fleeing.
Of course, it was a different story for disciples from prominent sects. Ordinary cultivators and true disciples from eminent sects were worlds apart, even in the same realm. Their combat power differed immensely.
Fearless Heavenly Cultivators, only disciples from major sects could effortlessly slay these Evil Cultivators.
As thoughts of his father's teachings raced through his mind, Qin Feng cautiously placed the Cold Ice Sword Talisman before him, intently watching the black-robed old Taoist.
He had only this one attacking spirit talisman. Once used, he would have no other attacking means left.
Seeing this, the old Taoist's eyes lit up, "Indeed, another spirit talisman. You, junior, are really full of surprises, aren't you?"
Nonetheless, though greed glimmered in his eyes, his figure flickered, avoiding facing Qin Feng head-on.
He sensed the talisman's formidable power and knew it was no easy one to fend off. Even with his cultivation, a slight misstep could result in injury.
Especially now, already hurt, caution was paramount.
"""