Lu Qingshan took a new set of clothes out of his storage bag and put them on.
While changing clothes, Lu Qingshan kept a mindful eye and did not replace the outer robe he had stripped off from Song Qing.
These were the clothes Song Qing had worn today, and perhaps there would be opportunities to make use of them later in the operation.
After changing, Lu Qingshan left the cave he was in.
The Corpse Refining Cave was large; Lu Qingshan estimated that it must have originally been a natural underground cavern, which had been transformed into the current Corpse Refining Cave by the Blood Corpse Grandmaster.
The three Corpse Pools' caves were connected and located at the deepest part of the Corpse Refining Cave, so escaping from here inevitably involved confrontation with the remaining Qi Refining Cultivators.
Although confrontation was unavoidable, the methods could still be debated.
Even with his extensive experience, Lu Qingshan was currently a first level Qi Refining Sword Cultivator without any sword techniques or sword artifacts in hand.
Frankly speaking, his direct combat power was a mere 5.
If he rushed headlong without regard,
well, within a few seconds, he would likely face an attack from two cultivators. If the two cultivators were lenient, perhaps he could return to his birthplace—the Corpse Pool, to experience the sensation of soaking in hot springs again.
If those two cultivators were a bit harsher, he probably wouldn't even leave a complete corpse behind.
It looked brave, but was inadvisable, strike that option!
The world he had traversed to was indeed a gaming world, but Lu Qingshan understood that he was no longer playing a game, having lost the most important player's perk of "Infinite Resurrection." With only one life, all actions had to be as prudent as possible.
Lu Qingshan's plan was to break them one by one.
It would be best if he could first take care of the fourth level Qi Refining cultivator, plus with the 60 experience points he currently had, making a total of 100 points, he would level up first.
However, things never went as smoothly as imagined.
Lu Qingshan slowly approached the exit of the Corpse Refining Cave, careful not to make a sound.
He had just gone a short distance when a shadow appeared in front of Lu Qingshan.
Without a word, Lu Qingshan cast a Heavenly Eye Technique.
Let's see what kind of little demon you are.
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Si Xuesong (Human Race)
Occupation: Dharma Cultivation (Primary)
Cultivation Technique: [Qi Drawing Technique]Lv6 (235/600)
Rank: Qi Refining
Attribute: Strength 1, Agility 1, Mana 4, Divine Soul 1, Charm 1, Stamina 1
Health Points: 11/11
Spiritual Power Value: 70/70
Skills: Fireball Technique lv3, Fireball Technique lv1, ???, …
Talent: None
————————
Lu Qingshan's heart sank, cursing his bad luck; it was bad enough to encounter someone, but it turned out to be the second senior brother, a sixth level Qi Refiner.
Damn planners! Pah!
"Little junior brother, why are you sneaking around like a thief, what's up?" Si Xuesong asked with a puzzled face.
The illumination inside the Corpse Refining Cave depended entirely on luminous pearls embedded in the walls, which actually did not provide strong lighting. From a bit of a distance, one could only see a vague shadow.
From afar, seeing Lu Qingshan dressed in Song Qing's clothes, Si Xuesong subconsciously mistook Lu Qingshan for his own little junior brother.
Lu Qingshan slightly bowed his head to shade his face in the shadows, continuing his steps toward Si Xuesong without changing his pace.
But his left hand had already quietly reached into his chest.
There, he had all the attack talismans he had seized from Song Qing's storage bag.
"I just heard some noises from the direction of the Corpse Pool, so I went over to check," Lu Qingshan explained.
Si Xuesong frowned, feeling that something was slightly off, "Junior brother, why is your voice so deep today?"
Trusting in the Mist Formation set by the Blood Corpse Grandmaster, Si Xuesong had not considered the possibility of outsiders sneaking inside the Corpse Refining Cave.
Thus, even when he sensed something amiss, he did not become suspicious at first.
"Wait a minute, junior brother, why do I feel like you've grown taller today…"
As he spoke, Lu Qingshan had already come much closer to Si Xuesong, who was just then realizing something was truly wrong; upon closer inspection, he saw an unfamiliar face.
Si Xuesong thought to himself it was bad news.
But it was too late, as in the blink of an eye during Si Xuesong's astonishment, Lu Qingshan's left hand, filled with Spirit Talismans, flung them towards Si Xuesong!
[Fireball Talisman]*5!
[Golden Blade Talisman]*3!
[Earth Spear Talisman]*2!
This was not a time to conserve items, and Lu Qingshan, in one breath, activated all of Song Qing's stored attack talismans and hurled them at Si Xuesong.
The distance between them was incredibly close now, so much so that it was unsuitable for deploying Spirit Talismans.
Because at the distance between Lu Qingshan and Si Xuesong, even the Fireball Technique released by the Fireball Talisman could affect Lu Qingshan.
This could already be considered a case of killing a thousand enemies while self-injuring eight hundred... well, not that many, let's say five hundred.
But it was only at this distance that Si Xuesong had absolutely no chance to react with a Defensive Spell!
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
A massive booming sound erupted.
"You take 1 point of magic damage!"
"You take 1 point of magic damage!"
"You take 1 point of magic damage!"
...
Five identical messages flashed by.
Even though Lu Qingshan was merely affected by the aftermath of the Fireball Technique, plus he had a 20% magic damage reduction from being "thick-skinned," he still dropped by a full quarter of his Health Points!
Aside from facing five Fireball Techniques, Si Xuesong also had to withstand three Golden Blade Techniques and two Earth Spear Techniques.
Under such an attack, Si Xuesong, with only 11 Health Points, would have been instantly killed if he hadn't deployed a Defensive Spell.
However, Lu Qingshan's eyes narrowed, because at the moment when the magic from the activated Spirit Talismans was about to hit Si Xuesong, a golden light shield appeared around him.
Metal System Spell, Golden Light Shield!
Si Xuesong possessed an automatically triggered Defensive Artifact; this golden light shield must have been released automatically by the artifact.
Though it only lasted for an instant before dissipating under the multiple spells, the severely weakened spells that subsequently hit Si Xuesong were no longer enough to kill him.
No good, I must not let Si Xuesong regain his composure and cast a spell!
In this desperate life-or-death moment, Lu Qingshan grew exceptionally calm.
Without hesitation, Lu Qingshan charged directly at Si Xuesong.
Rampaging Bull Charge!
Si Xuesong's Strength attribute was not higher than Lu Qingshan's. With Lu Qingshan's powerful and hefty charge, Si Xuesong, just as he was gathering Spiritual Power to pinch out a Spiritual Decree to cast a spell, was abruptly interrupted.
Die!
Lu Qingshan's hands tightly locked around Si Xuesong's body while he tilted his head back, then jolted it forward, smashing viciously into Si Xuesong's head.
A wave of dizziness swept through Lu Qingshan's mind, stars flashed before his eyes, and a great pain surged from his forehead — he didn't need to look to know it was bruised badly.
However, Si Xuesong's situation wasn't any better. With the impact, his head was bloody and broken.
I don't believe you can still cast a spell with your head spinning like this!
Lu Qingshan was ruthless in his heart.
"The loud noise from activating the attack talismans just now couldn't possibly have gone unnoticed by the fourth-level Qi Refining third brother... Probably in a few seconds, he'll come to check on the situation..."
Lu Qingshan knew he didn't have much time left.
If he couldn't deal with Si Xuesong before reinforcements arrived, being 1v2 would definitely leave him without a sliver of a chance.
Thinking of this.
A sharp gleam burst from Lu Qingshan's eyes and, upon a sudden impulse, he harshly drove his knee into the space between Si Xuesong's legs.
...
It was as if he heard the sound of egg-shaped objects breaking.
Forget about a Qi Refining Cultivator, even if Si Xuesong was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he definitely couldn't withstand such a close-range hit.
Si Xuesong's expression twisted, his entire body instantly crumpled.
Strike down your enemy when he is ill.
Lu Qingshan swiftly pulled out a short blade from Song Qing's storage bag at his waist and plunged it directly into Si Xuesong's chest, piercing his heart.
Hmm—
Si Xuesong's pupils dilated sharply, his body bent like a shrimp, he struggled unwillingly for a moment, and then there was no more movement.
"Target deceased, you have killed Si Xuesong (lv6), and gained 60 experience points!"
Si Xuesong died without casting a single spell; such is the fate of a lower-grade Dharma Cultivator when entered into close combat, unless his last name is Gan.