Although the cultivation base didn't represent the combat prowess of an individual, it gave a pretty good measurement.
The different cultivation levels gave new abilities to cultivators. The qualitative difference between them wasn't something that easy to breach.
Moreover, those with a higher cultivation base had cultivated for a longer period. In general, they had more combat experience and techniques.
However, if the person had a high cultivation level but was still young, then it could only mean two things – either his cultivation level was built on top of resources with no foundation or the person was a monstrous talent…
"Maybe it's because I started my cultivation by absorbing the aura force of my father that I didn't feel as much constricted by a Yin Yang Cleanser's aura. If not for the innate advantage I have over demons, I wouldn't have bothered to take such risks."
He rubbed his interspatial ring lightly and took a small black crystal which gave of an eerie black glow. Contained within it was sword energy that could heavily injure even a peak Jade core cultivator!
While others might feel chill running through their spine while encountering it, he would only feel the warmth of his family.
This was his trump card and the reason why he dared to all sorts of crazy things here!
After all, the country of Brightmoon was just a rank 3 country which meant that no cultivator in this country had managed to reach the Nascent Soul stage. At best, they were at the false soul realm…
For reaching the status of a rank 4 country, they would need to produce a Nascent Soul cultivator of their own or call a guest. However, if the person left the country, it would again fall back to rank 3.
Although he wasn't sure what was the exact level of his parents, he had a vague feeling that both of them were beyond the Jade core realm. However, none of them had any interest in staying in this place.
"Maybe the country of Brightmoon holds interest for them but for me, it's still filled with cultivators whom I can't compare with. If Hei Diao wasn't a demon but a human, my battle certainly wouldn't have been so easy…"
A sharp glint passed through his eyes while looking at the dark corridor. Soon a grey mist came out of his body and he vanished.
The entirety of the mountain was composed of a variety of granite. While trying to find the source of Luminescence spring, many different places were excavated.
As such, the establishments inside the mountain crevice were filled with empty stone caves. Tianlong selected one of the many stone caves and laid out a simple formation to isolate himself.
It was in a remote corner of the Qin Mountain Bandit's quarters and rarely anyone came here. With his newly acquired concealment ability, he could easily keep watch on them while also maintaining his cultivation.
The changes surrounding his body were drastic and he needed to get used to them.
His time was spent on getting used to his new physique and the sea of consciousness.
The lotus bud was no longer absorbing his vitality but acting like a part of his body. It was like an involuntary muscle which he couldn't control willingly.
Although his lightning sense was powerful and directly invade other's consciousness, it consumed a lot of his mental strength. After all, the lightning that he produced had a tint of extreme Yang.
Unless he was in the later stages of Yin Yang cleansing, he wouldn't be able to turn the spiritual lightning into corporeal lightning.
Even so, his physique and newly formed sea of consciousness gave him an innate affinity towards lightning. It enabled him to better communicate with the Thunder spirit blade which consumed a lot of his energy before.
His days were once again filled with silent meditation, studying the blade and training himself.
The only disturbance he faced were the occasional rumbling and roars that shook the entire place.
The anger of Qin Houzi had reached an extreme.
Someone had dared to kill old Zhan and Han Mu while also taking Hei Diao hostage right under his nose.
Moreover, the demands for releasing Hei Diao were completely unreasonable!
Whether the other party knew it or not, but giving out so many spirit stones would cripple his faction. It was an extremely vicious move!
However, Qin Houzi would be considered a fool if he acted according to how the slip asked him to. For all he knew, this might be a ploy of Lu Yan and the Alliance Sect to kill him.
However, it didn't mean that he wouldn't try to save his long-time friend. As cultivators, the relationships between people were solely based on benefits; friends were really rare. As such, friendship was even more sacred and cherished among them.
After a week of casting a strange art, he was able to trace the qi of Hei Diao. It was in the northern part of the mountain range where the rank 2 vicious beasts dwelled, the very same place Tianlong had gone to train his killing intent…
A cruel and bloodthirsty expression shone on his face and he released a piercing howl.
Being infused with spiritual energy, it was carefully controlled and didn't exceed the bounds of their base. It caused all bandits to stop what they were doing and become silent.
"Hei Diao has been taken hostage and being tortured!"
"The assailant is asking me to hand over our spirit stones in exchange for his life!"
"If it was someone powerful, they wouldn't need to do employ such lowly tactics but directly seized it from us!"
There was a momentary silence among them before a ruthless look appeared on all of their faces.
"Lan Ming! Xuan Yi! Gu Ting!" As he spoke a few more names, incredibly powerful auras erupted from inside. They were the most powerful bandits after Qin Houzi.
"Whether Hei Diao is living or dying, I have no idea. However, no matter what, we'll take revenge for him!"
"Any man who dares to go against us will die!"
"Tear his flesh, drink his blood and hang his skull in front of our gate. It'll be a warning for all those who dare plot against us!"
A roar came out of the chamber and as he left the place with 30 something people.
Most of them radiated an aura of late stages of the Qi condensation realm while a few individuals gave off an aura in the middle stages of Yin Yang cleansing.
Unlike the commoners, this sudden commotion didn't go unnoticed by the members of the two other groups.
In the inner chambers of the Alliance sect, ten powerful cultivators were surrounded by thousands of spirit stones.
Among them, an old man who had the tattoo of a sun on his head suddenly frowned. His powerful spirit sense rolled out and swept through the crowd. Yet the moment he noticed the presence of Qin Houzi among them, he immediately retrieved it.
"elder Li, what happened?" the voice of a woman sounded beside him.
"Someone has drawn old demon Qin's wrath." He stated calmly while closing his eyes again in meditation.
"Should we…"
"As long as it doesn't involve us, there's no need."
As another two voices echoed, the place once more fell into silence.
A similar situation played out in the Great serpent sect.
It had as much of a bad reputation as Qin Mountain bandits.
In their deepest chambers, an extremely alluring body was being roughly pounded by three men as if trying to rip her apart. They didn't seem to be enjoying the act as their eyes were bloodshot and a pained expression passed through their face from time to time.
Instead of helplessness and fear, the female's eyes were drowned in lust. When she noticed what was happening outside, her eyes widened with surprise.
Opening her mouth, she released a green smoke that entered the nostrils, mouth and ears of the three men. All of them gave a shrill cry before their bodies exploded leaving behind the smoke which had turned red by now. Once she inhaled the smoke, she felt her cultivation rising by a small bit…
Dressing in a blue gown, she licked her lips. If anyone saw her expression, they would be taken aback, not because of the alluringness, but because her tongue was exceedingly long and two forked. Moreover, she only had two canines and no other teeth in her mouth.
As she walked out of the room, six scantily dressed females greeted her in unison.
"Greetings mistress!"
"Rise!"
The previous expression on her face was gone and was instead replaced by an authoritative look.
"I want to know everything that happened among those bandits in the past week."
The women silently nodded and didn't ask any questions.
Even though the relationship between Lu Yan and Qin Houzi was strained, it didn't stop the bandits from coming here and enjoy their services. Although the bandits who came here might not know much, they should have a general idea.