The nightlife in the Dark edge mountains was never peaceful.
Nocturnal beasts, bandits and devil cultivators run rampant under the shroud of darkness. It was a perfect place and time for killing.
Like many other places, a scene of slaughter was happening in the northern part of the mountains. However, it wasn't two groups of cultivators going against each other but a single lone cultivator killing the group of Qin Mountain Bandits.
What gave them the most headache was that the person could conceal his presence and even evade the locking of spirit sense; it was as if he could vanish in thin air!
That person was naturally Tianlong.
The blue colour of his dragon scales was covered by the scarlet of blood. Bits of flesh covered his arms, some of it was his own but most of it was from his enemies.
Fighting more than 20 cultivators at the late to peak stage of Qi condensation wasn't easy for him. All of them possessed unique divine abilities and fighting methods, many of which he had never read or heard of before.
However, participating in this bloody hunt had given him ample battle experience while also solidifying his newly increased cultivation base.
The murderous aura he had condensed using calligraphy was also getting more and more refined. It caused his expression to turn cold and aloof. He was inheriting more and more of his mother's personality.
Kacha!
A sharp sound echoed out as he broke the neck of another bandit. Before the body could hit the ground, Tianlong flung it upwards and blocked the arrow coming for him. There was no way he would miss the arrow's trajectory from the disturbance in wind.
His azure blue eyes penetrated the layer of vegetation and saw three archers on top of a tree. Using the corpse as a shield, he dashed towards them.
The archers noticed his gaze but didn't stop firing the arrows. Instead, their eyes shone with a light of madness. The three of them chanted an incantation that caused their bodies to rapidly wither.
However, the arrows they shot each contained the full-powered strike of a cultivator at the great circle of Qi Condensation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The arrows carried so much might, that they created small explosions when they were released. When the arrows were just a few metres away from him, he released the corpse and turned into a gust of wind.
That single dash allowed him to be close enough to use his lightning sense.
In the next moment, thundering rumbles echoed in their sea of consciousness as their skulls exploded along with the corpse which had connected with the arrow.
As the headless corpses fell from the trees, Tianlong could feel the existence of another person a man's voice echoed.
"For whom do you work for?"
Although it wasn't loud, there was a certain quality in it that drew other's attention to it.
Turning around, Tianlong saw a monkey-faced man sitting on top of a tree.
He had witnessed how Tianlong had killed most of his men but chose to do nothing. The bandits were his slaves, nothing more.
If he lacked people, he could always others and maintain his working force.
Hence, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice them to gain an understanding of his enemy.
Due to the mixing up of his Body refinement and Qi refining, his aura was extremely muddled which made it difficult to discern his actual cultivation realm. However, it was evident that he wasn't in the Yin Yang Cleansing realm.
Moreover, his divine ability that caused other's skulls to explode and the ability to turn into a gust of wind made Qin Houzi feel a strong sense of unease. However, it was just that – unease, he absolutely didn't believe that Tianlong could kill him.
Tianlong didn't respond immediately but calmly stared at Qin Houzi. Compared to the memories he obtained by soul searching others, he had to admit that the real bandit leader looked much more intimidating.
The two continued to stare at each other in silence. A silent pressure-filled the area that would suffocate most people.
When it looked like the two of them had turned into statues, Qin Houzi's eyelids suddenly twitched which caused Tianlong to immediately turn into a gust of wind and shift from the place.
In the next moment, the place he was standing split apart and the head of a huge python came out from it. Looking towards Tianlong's vanishing figure, it hissed.
"You cannot escape!"
Qin Houzi let out a sneer and jumped on top of another tree. As a demonic ape, the forest was his home ground. Once he catches Tianlong, he would enslave the latter and get all of his answers.
If possible, he would try to learn the concealment arts of Tianlong and also turn him into a slave.
As the monkey and the snake chased him, Tianlong took out a bottle of spirit refreshment pill and consumed it. Due to using his lightning sense in excessive, his sea of consciousness was slightly muddled; it was extremely dangerous to face someone in such conditions.
Moreover, he could feel three other powerful sealing fluctuations in the area. With his spirit sense, he could sense that three cultivators had cast a net-like formation in this area to seal him off.
With a cold harrumph, his body turned into a gust of wind which caused all the spirit sense lock on his body to vanish.
"This again!" Qin Houzi's face darkened.
"Never mind, the area is sealed. He's just a mouse trapped in a cage."
As he ran after Tianlong, he felt that it has been a long time since he chased after anyone. After he established his prestige as a bandit, others chose to join him and willingly take his slave seal. In the face of benefits and a stable supply of resources, they chose to swallow their pride.
"Oh well, it's good that he killed all of them. With the resources I acquired from that cave, I can support much more Yin Yang cleansers. Hm, this kid is also not bad, if he isn't involved in the killing of Hei Diao, I can enslave him and take him under my wing, but if he is involved…"
"Argh!"
The shrill scream of a man broke his chain of thoughts and he rushed forward in a hurry.
The voice was of one of his commanders. Qi condensation cultivators were disposable, but he couldn't let any Yin Yang Cleansers die.
"Lan Ming!"
Once he reached the location, he saw Tianlong punching the face of Lan Ming with such a force that it broke the latter's jaws. There was a purple barrier a few steps away from him.
Just when he had finished forming the barrier, Tianlong had sneak attacked him and caught him off guard.
Slashing his palm, he let out a palm strike that was covered in blood. Unfortunately. Being caught unprepared, his attack wasn't locked on to Tianlong and was thus easily evaded.
In the next moment, the Thunder spirit blade in Tianlong's hand created a violet arc and sent a sword slash at Lan Ming.
Seeing that one of his commanders was in a life-threatening situation, Qin Houzi couldn't stay put. Fists shining with golden light, he released a punched in the direction of Tianlong.
Yet just as his physical power was about to erupt in the form of a massive fist image, Tianlong's eyes turned silver. A loud rumbling went inside everyone's sea of consciousness that dazed them for an instant.
The long violet arc crushed the defensive barrier of Lan Ming. At that very next instant, Tianlong turned his hands into claws and crushed the throat of Lan Ming.
"Stop!" Qin Houzi's voice came a second too late as the man was already dead beyond doubt. Moreover, pausing his attack at the last instant had caused his essence to rebound.
Spitting a mouthful of blood, he staggered back a few steps. By the time, he stabilised himself, Tianlong had already vanished.
"Damn it! Do you only know how to run?!"
Eyes burning with anger, Qin Houzi stomped his feet on the ground which caused a mini earthquake in the area.
"Once I capture you, I'll break your bones and drink half your blood. If you aren't involved in the killing of Hei Diao, I'll just break your spirit and enslave you, but if you are involved…"
He didn't give chase but rather went towards the corpse of Lan Ming and inspected it. He couldn't locate him with his spirit sense and Tianlong's speed was far superior to his.
"Those scales in his hands, I don't recognise which serpent they belong to. Hmm, maybe he is a mix-breed or someone with an inferior bloodline. I wonder if I can use my innate blood to suppress him…"
Just as he was thinking about all this, the python reached the location. Its speed inferior to both Tianlong and Qin Houzi but its sense of smell was superior. If not for the inferior cultivation base, it would've reached this place even sooner.
Jumping on its head, Qin Houzi channelled his essence Qi into the serpent which then sped off towards where Tianlong had run off to.