Big Forehead Freak snorted angrily. "What's this? Out of Diamond Talismans? That Earthen Spirit Shield won't last much longer either. Prepare to die!"

  Despite his words, Big Forehead Freak was secretly furious. This damned alchemist had prepared so many escape and defensive talismans, plus a large supply of spirit stones to replenish his spiritual power. He had already killed nearly thirty of his Shadow Ants. Looking at the scattered corpses on the ground, Big Forehead Freak's heart twitched. It would take a long time to breed back the numbers he'd lost.

  Several of his head ants were also injured to varying degrees. Restoring their combat effectiveness quickly would require a significant amount of his own essence blood. In all his previous kills, he had never faced such difficulty.

  His spirit insects, raised with his very blood, had suffered such heavy losses. Naturally, he harbored a deep, murderous hatred for Leo, the cause of it all.

  "At least this brat is running low on talismans, otherwise he wouldn't resort to that inferior Earthen Spirit Shield! Let's see how he dies." Big Forehead Freak thought viciously.

  Inside the Fortifying Element Array, Zoth, having failed repeatedly to break through, was dazed and ringing from the shock of the barrier's counter-force. His giant ape, also in pain, sat beside him, rubbing its sore head.

  "Well done, Big Forehead! Kill that despicable bastard!" Fortunately, the array only trapped; it had no offensive power. Through the barrier, Zoth saw Leo clearly on the losing end, completely surrounded by the ant swarm. His heart leaped. Once Leo died, he should be free soon enough.

  At the same time, Zoth was secretly shocked by Leo's ferocity. Not only had he trapped him, but he'd held off Big Forehead for so long. This was not the skill of an ordinary cultivator.

  Thank goodness Kai had fled quickly. If they had all stayed together, with him trapped and Big Forehead tangled up with Leo, their squad would have been the one wiped out. The thought sent a chill down Zoth's spine. And that kid—he'd hidden his true capabilities so deeply. Even Kai, a teammate, didn't know his real strength. In the end, their scheming had backfired, leading them into a death trap!

  Though the array's barrier blocks sound, it didn't block his view.

  After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Leo's talismans were finally exhausted. The remaining head ants and Shadow Ants quickly tore the Earthen Spirit Shield to pieces. During this time, Leo had tried desperately to reach Big Forehead Freak, but the ants constantly hindered him, and Big Forehead easily dodged.

  Seeing no hope of victory, Leo, his face panicked, turned and fled, casting spells frantically to disperse the attacking ants.

  "Too late to run now!" Big Forehead Freak shrieked, his face savage. He sprinted after him. The Shadow Ants clung to Leo like maggots to bone, never letting up. After killing so many of his precious insects, how could Big Forehead Freak let him go?

  "Ahh!" Leo cried out in terror as his last shield collapsed. Dozens of Shadow Ants surged through the broken barrier, swarming and biting him relentlessly. Leo slashed desperately with his short sword, killing over a dozen, but there were too many. He couldn't drive them all off.

  After being bitten, Leo's movements suddenly slowed. His face was filled with panic and despair.

  After a long moment, Leo spoke, his voice cold. "I fell into your hands. I have nothing to say. Kill me if you want."

  "You killed so many of my spirit insects! I'll make you wish for death, but you won't get it! I'll torment you until you beg for it, then I'll slice you into a thousand pieces!"

  Seeing Leo bitten by over a dozen Shadow Ants, Big Forehead Freak relaxed. To him, a cultivator whose spiritual energy couldn't circulate was no different from an ordinary mortal—completely harmless.

  Leo simply closed his eyes and said nothing more.

  Inside the Fortifying Element Array, Zoth shouted at Big Forehead Freak, but of course, he couldn't be heard. Zoth scratched his head and beard in frustration. If Big Forehead Freak took Leo's storage pouch alone, there'd be nothing left for him—maybe some scraps, worthless items.

  Big Forehead Freak glanced at Zoth, still trapped, and chuckled to himself. Zoth was confined. He had paid a heavy price to take down Leo. Naturally, he had the right to pick through the spoils first.

  Who knew how long this strange array would hold Zoth? Seeing Leo resigned to death, Big Forehead Freak didn't want to delay and risk complications. He swaggered toward Leo, reaching for the spirit sword in Leo's hand and the pouch at his waist.

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  But at that moment, Leo's eyes snapped open, blazing with a terrifying light. His spirit sword, lightning fast, stabbed toward Big Forehead Freak's chest.

  Big Forehead Freak's soul nearly fled his body in terror. In desperate haste, he muttered an incantation.

  The spirit sword pierced his chest—but Leo frowned. It felt as though he had struck wood. How was that possible?

  Before Leo could wonder further, a dark figure stumbled backward in pain. Leo focused—impaled by his sword was not Big Forehead Freak, but a humanoid object that seemed neither metal nor wood.

  They stared at each other, both stunned. Big Forehead Freak couldn't understand it. His Shadow Ants had bitten Leo at least a dozen times—proven, reliable bites. Even a late-stage or Great Perfection Qi Refining cultivator would find their spiritual energy unable to circulate, powerless.

  Yet Leo was completely unaffected. He had only lured him close for a sudden killing strike. And yet, Leo's reaction to the bites seemed utterly genuine. He had raised Shadow Ants for years. He knew exactly how a victim behaved when bitten. Even faking it couldn't fool his eyes.

  What Big Forehead Freak didn't know was that Leo had been bitten by Shadow Ants before. That was how he could mimic the symptoms so convincingly.

  What shocked Leo was that his sword had been about to pierce the man's body when Big Forehead Freak used some kind of substitute to escape with his life. Whatever treasure that was, it was certainly no ordinary item.

  Inside the Fortifying Element Array, Zoth's fear was no less than theirs. Big Forehead Freak possessed such a life-saving ability, and he had known nothing about it. Neither of these two was easy to deal with. Now that he knew Big Forehead Freak's secret, Zoth felt a deep wariness. Once he got out of this array, would they be friends or foes? He'd have to be more vigilant in the future, or he might be killed without even knowing how.

  Big Forehead Freak clutched his bleeding chest. The wooden puppet hadn't completely absorbed the damage; the spirit sword had still pierced nearly an inch into his flesh. Any deeper, and it might have wounded his organs.

  "Your trick failed. Let's see what else you've got!" It seemed a real fight was unavoidable. Big Forehead Freak produced his meteor hammer, his face dark and grim as he advanced to meet Leo's charge.

  "No tricks needed. I can still kill you!"

  Leo sneered. As soon as Big Forehead Freak had recoiled, he had dropped the puppet and charged. Sword in his right hand, his left hand already held a stack of low-grade talismans. To lure his enemy in, he had used up almost all his defensive talismans. But his offensive talismans remained untouched.

  Everything happened in a flash. Seize the moment while he's wounded—finish him or severely injure him. Give him no chance to recover!

  Big Forehead Freak swung his meteor hammer, parrying Leo's spirit sword. His cultivation was higher, after all. Though wounded, it wasn't fatal. He could still deal with this infuriatingly tenacious enemy.

  Now! A sly smile curled Leo's lips. He unleashed his talismans.

  Fireball Talismans, Golden Spear Talismans, Ice Arrow Talismans, Earthen Spike Talismans, Wind Blade Talismans, Entangling Talismans, Fire Arrow Talismans...

  Dozens of low-grade spells erupted, a torrent of magical fury engulfing Big Forehead Freak.

  A series of explosions. Amidst bursting flames and shattering ice, Big Forehead Freak's face appeared—incredulous, enraged, terrified. The hastily formed Earthen Spirit Shield didn't last an instant before being shredded by the barrage of assaults.

  With no time for further countermeasures, Big Forehead Freak roared and swung his meteor hammer, desperately trying to deflect ice arrows, fire arrows, golden spears. His face, already somewhat dark, flushed red from the strain of channeling his spiritual power. The meteor hammer spun in a blur, creating a dozen phantom images, valiantly blocking the attacks. But one golden spear and one earthen spike pierced his left arm and lower abdomen. A fireball exploded, charring his clothes black, scorching most of his hair and beard. Big Forehead Freak shrieked in pain, blood gushing from his wounds.

  Urk... A figure flickered past him. Big Forehead Freak felt a chill at his throat. His movements ceased.

  As Leo withdrew his sword, blood spurted from Big Forehead Freak's throat like a fountain. He collapsed to the ground, face full of disbelief.

  To have survived dozens of low-grade spells at such close range, suffering only those wounds, was quite an accomplishment. The fatal blow was Leo's final sword strike, delivered when Big Forehead Freak had exhausted his strength blocking the spells and hadn't yet recovered.

  In terms of pure cultivation, Leo knew he couldn't have won. He had taken an antidote beforehand. Big Forehead Freak's trump card—his Shadow Ants—was useless. Wounded, and ambushed at close range by dozens of talismans... Leo thought Big Forehead Freak had died somewhat unfairly.

  Nevertheless, he was dead. Leo breathed a sigh of relief. He took the gourd containing the Shadow Ants and the storage pouch from Big Forehead Freak's waist. He didn't inspect them. His attention shifted to Zoth, still trapped by the array.

  Leo's expression flickered. Killing Big Forehead Freak had cost him almost all his trump cards. The burly man was no weakling—his cultivation was similar to Leo's, and he had a black ape equivalent to a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator. A fight wasn't a sure win. Moreover, over half of the hour was already up. Zoth would soon be free. If he fled now, Zoth, thinking he was exhausted, would only pursue more fiercely. And after that vicious fight, his own energy was depleted. Leaving the grove might invite more trouble.

  More importantly, he had only managed to turn the tables because of the Fortifying Element Array.

  The Moonwatch Mountain Range was fraught with danger. He could encounter other cultivator squads at any moment. Alone now, if spotted, lower-level cultivators couldn't catch him, but stronger ones wouldn't pass up an isolated prey. He might face similar pursuits again.

  If he left the mountains and returned to Moonwatch Immortal City, he couldn't quickly find another reliable squad to join. That meant giving up on joining a sect this year. His aptitude was mediocre. Every year wasted reduced his chances of successfully forming a Foundation. He would not give up easily. Therefore, he couldn't abandon this array.

  "I can't give up!" A slight smile played on Leo's lips. He took two low-grade spirit stones from the boundary space, one in each hand, and sat cross-legged to meditate.

  Sure enough, Leo's confident demeanor sent a chill down Zoth's spine within the array.

  After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Leo's depleted energy was mostly restored. By then, the Fortifying Element Array's spiritual power was also exhausted, its barrier gradually thinning.

  Zoth, overjoyed, smashed the fragile barrier with his spiked club, leaped out with his black ape, and fled without looking back.

  "Well, that saved me a fight."

  Leo breathed another sigh of relief. Avoiding unnecessary trouble was always good. He meditated a while longer until his energy was fully restored, then stood and retrieved the formation flags. But at that moment, a chill ran down his spine. He looked up. The burly man, who had just fled, had returned. So that retreat was just a test.

  Zoth studied Leo darkly. Leo had cut off Zen's arm, poisoned him. And now Big Forehead Freak was dead by his hand. But aside from that array and a few more talismans, this young opponent had no particularly fearsome techniques. He was just quite cunning.

  Normally, Zoth would never willingly engage in a life-or-death struggle with such an enemy. But Leo was an alchemist, likely wealthy. And the spiritual items in Big Forehead Freak's storage pouch alone made him drool.

  Big Forehead Freak had already collected several demon cores and spirit herbs needed to join the Supreme Clarity Sect. Combined with his own collection, he might be close to meeting the sect's requirements. That was enough to risk a desperate fight. His retreat had been a test. Leo hadn't pursued, which meant Leo didn't want to fight either. His talismans were probably nearly spent. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let him go so easily.

  Having reasoned this out, Zoth mustered his courage and circled back, facing Leo with a deep laugh. "Truth be told, I don't want to fight you either. Our strength is about equal. A vicious fight would only cripple us both. But Big Forehead has a few things I want. If you're willing to share some with me, we can go our separate ways peacefully."

  "What's mine stays mine. There's no sharing." Leo sneered. Did this man take him for a fool? He didn't want to fight the burly man, but with similar cultivation and having already killed Big Forehead Freak, one more enemy didn't matter.