"Come out. I know that my words can go through you, but once you realize that there is no one hiding, you will definitely come out and settle everything in one instant."
As Hao Yu predicted, once the Dark Cultivator avoided Yi Huan's attack, he waved both hands while spinning his body. A gale of blood-red spiritual qi began to form and expand.
Sensing the danger posed by this energy, Yi Huan and Zhou Cheng leaped back while raising their weapons, anticipating that the Dark Cultivator would use this opportunity to go after them.
The Dark Cultivator's target was Zhou Cheng. He leaped at Zhou Cheng, forcing the latter to thrust his spear. However, the Dark Cultivator skillfully grabbed the handle of the spear and pulled himself up, standing atop the spear's handle.
'What a light step,' Zhou Cheng thought in amazement. He quickly waved his spear in an attempt to shake the Dark Cultivator off.
The Dark Cultivator jumped into the air while swinging his extended nails. Zhou Cheng bit his lips and raised his spear. A clicking sound echoed as the nails from the right hand were blocked by the spear's handle, but his left hand looped around the spear.
"Not good!" Zhou Cheng panicked and tried to throw his body away. Fortunately, before it was too late, Yi Huan arrived and struck the nails with her sword.
Observing that it took both of them just to stop the Dark Cultivator, Zhou Cheng and Yi Huan suspected that the enemy had broken through to the 10-Star Qi Gathering Stage. If that were the case, they were in dire straits.
"You're quite a beauty. Do you know that the blood of a young maiden is sweeter?" The Dark Cultivator grinned vulgarly before shouting, "I'm going to suck you dry after I kill this guy."
"If you can, that is..." A deep, calm voice interrupted as a shadow appeared right above Zhou Cheng.
"!!!" The Dark Cultivator widened his eyes in shock. Because he had been engaged with Zhou Cheng and Yi Huan, he was not in a position to block the sudden attack.
He pushed against their weapons, using them to propel himself into the air. However, the attacker swung his blade, cutting the Dark Cultivator.
"Senior Brother!" Yi Huan and Zhou Cheng's eyes lit up, thinking that this was their chance. Now that their senior brother had intervened, the Dark Cultivator shouldn't be a problem.
Surprisingly, though, the Dark Cultivator managed to survive the attack. He landed on the ground while clutching his right shoulder. He had sacrificed his right hand to prevent the previous attack from being lethal.
From his expression, it didn't appear that he had expected another opponent.
Their senior brother only said, "I'm glad that you two are alright. I've confirmed that there is no one hiding nearby, so let's defeat this guy together."
"Yes, Senior Brother!" There was a trace of admiration in Yi Huan and Zhou Cheng's eyes. Their senior brother was cool and strong.
Meanwhile, Hao Yu made a wry but annoyed smile. He remarked, "What a sly cultivator. He has been hiding all along and only made his move when there was a chance. No, should I say that he was using them as bait to launch that sneak attack?"
Yi Huan and Zhou Cheng failed to grasp the cunning strategy employed by their senior brother.
Hao Yu's observation was correct. Their senior brother had indeed been using them as bait.
By appearing just when they were in trouble, he would appear as the hero, but they failed to realize that he could only do so because they had almost been harmed.
Their senior brother had earlier promised to intervene when they were in dire straits, creating an image of a dependable senior brother in their minds.
"I suppose cultivators aren't all brutes who rely solely on their strength. They are quite rare," Hao Yu fell silent for a moment and examined their group. "The cunning senior brother, the bloodthirsty youngest sister, the foolish but quite rational spear user, and the beautiful older sister. It's a quite unique group, but…"
Hao Yu wondered what kind of reason that their senior brother would turn them into bait. There should be a benefit in doing that.
"Well, I'm not sure about it, but he should have a hidden intention." Hao Yu noticed that this senior brother was glancing at Yi Huan from time to time.
However, Hao Yu had learned from his teacher that it was quite normal for a cultivator to admire a beauty. But that was only limited to cultivators of the same level.
And with the admiration in Yi Huan's eyes, it didn't seem that he was interested in her. She should be close to the person this senior brother wanted and planned to use that admiration to smooth things up.
Hao Yu continued observing their behavior. Now that the Dark Cultivator only had one arm remaining, he couldn't even block Zhou Cheng and Yi Huan simultaneously, even with his speed.
Consequently, both of them managed to land several attacks on him. Their senior brother seized another opportunity to strike before finally defeating the Dark Cultivator.
The battle had been brief but illuminating. Hao Yu had gained insights into the strength of a 10-Star Qi Gathering Stage cultivator.
"I see. A 9-Star cultivator can destroy a wall but not an entire house. A 10-Star might still struggle to demolish a house completely, but the damage is significantly greater," Hao Yu noted with a serious expression. "It appears that a 1-Star Qi Gathering Stage cultivator is akin to a formidable warrior. Until around the 5-Star level, they are weaker than a military general without any cultivation. Beyond that point, cultivators enhance both their physical prowess and spiritual qi."
Hao Yu jotted down his hypothesis.
After defeating the Dark Cultivator, they didn't immediately kill him. Instead, they dragged him to the ground, with Zhou Cheng holding his spear at the Dark Cultivator's throat.
He demanded, "What are you doing here?"
The Dark Cultivator didn't seem to fear death. Instead, he spat blood in Zhou Cheng's direction.
"You!" Zhou Cheng landed a punch on the Dark Cultivator's face. "If you don't want to die, you better tell us why you're here."
The Dark Cultivator responded, "You won't get anything from me. If you want to kill me, then do it. There's no need to waste anyone's time."
"You..." Zhou Cheng wanted to press his spear further, ready to stab the Dark Cultivator's throat. But he glanced at his senior brother first.
The senior brother's face remained emotionless, as if he considered the Dark Cultivator already dead.
"There's no need to wait. From the looks of it, the Blood Madness Cult is planning something. We can't determine their exact intentions, but it's clear that it's nothing pleasant."
"But should we hand him over to the authorities? We could tell them to interrogate him and await the results. At the very least, they know the art of torture," Yi Huan suggested.
The senior brother shook his head. "I'd rather kill this person than rely on those incompetent fools."
The group fell silent.
Their senior brother had revealed a bit of his true nature as a cultivator. In front of Hao Yu and others, he had appeared polite, though a bit aloof. But now that there were no other witnesses, he didn't bother to hide that side of himself.
In the distance, Hao Yu furrowed his eyebrows. He had learned much from his teacher, including how to read lips from a distance to gather information.
"Did he just call them 'monkeys' or something?" Hao Yu clenched his fists, feeling irritated. However, he quickly buried his anger, realizing it wouldn't solve anything. This was another reason why he didn't hold a favorable opinion of all cultivators.
Having completed the minimum necessary, Zhou Cheng pierced the Dark Cultivator's throat, ending his life.
With their task seemingly fulfilled, they decided to scatter around the area to search for any other traces the Dark Cultivator might have left behind.
Meanwhile, Hao Yu climbed down and stated, "Now that the mission is complete, I can report this matter to Gao Ke."