Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 1405: Chapter 749: Trapped

Li Yuanba took a battle mission and left Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion on the fifteenth day after leaving his retreat.

It’s not that he didn’t want to leave earlier, but it was almost time for him to take on alchemy commissions, and those seeking him were either old friends or new acquaintances from the past decade.

His alchemy skills were no secret within Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion.

He even suspected whether other forces knew as well; anyway, external sect cultivators couldn’t find him. He had long declared he would not accept alchemy commissions outside Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion.

If he genuinely accepted external sect alchemy commissions, he feared he wouldn’t even have time for cultivation.

He bade farewell to his master, Jian Wuwei, and left Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion after Jian Wuwei repeatedly urged him to act cautiously.

Jian Wuwei, with his status, naturally knew a lot of information, including intelligence about Li Yuanba showing many forces seeking him for various reasons.

Among these were many with malicious intentions, such as the rumor that Li Yuanba had acquired the secret to ascension in Langcai Great Power’s grotto heaven, as well as a large amount of Great Cultivator resources.

Just these rumors alone were enough to drive any cultivator mad.

But Jian Wuwei couldn’t prevent Li Yuanba from going out on missions; for a Sword Cultivator to advance in cultivation, besides hard practice, battle was most important.

If he deprived Li Yuanba of battle opportunities, it wouldn’t be beneficial for Li Yuanba.

Li Yuanba performed ‘A Step to Eternity’ on the sea surface, his figure flickering above the waters.

Although he intended to fight, he didn’t want other cultivators to easily hinder him.

At the very least, he wanted to complete Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion’s mission before considering luring enemies.

The mountain gate of Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion was not far from the coast; with consecutive ‘A Step to Eternity,’ he soon saw the shore.

He didn’t ascend from this shore, choosing another direction, as this coast was commonly traveled by Sword Cultivators from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion.

Upon reaching land, he took out his Identity Jade Disc and checked the mission description.

The task was simple: kill a mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator from a major sect. This cultivator had seriously injured an early-stage Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion in a transaction.

In typical conflicts, Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion doesn’t assist, as it’s not conducive to Sword Cultivators’ growth.

However, this behavior of bullying the weak, and leaving no survivors, Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion absolutely cannot tolerate.

The reason for intolerance is because in the Cultivation World, higher-level bullying of lower-level cultivators frequently occurs, often with lower-level cultivators being killed to eliminate any evidence after the fact.

If that early-stage Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator had perished on the spot, this enmity would have remained unknown.

Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion uses thunderous methods to tell other cultivators not to attack lower-level Sword Cultivators, warning that any attack would bring fierce retaliation from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion.

This time, it was fortunate the early-stage Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator returned with both body and Nascent Soul; if only the Nascent Soul returned, the mission target wouldn’t just be the mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator but also their backing major sect.

At least, they’d have to ensure the major sect pays a heavy price, making all forces aware of Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion’s determination against enemies.

According to intelligence collected by Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion Intelligence Department, the mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator wasn’t hiding within his sect but instead in a remote uninhabited area.

The Intelligence Department provided a general range, but no precise location.

The mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator avoided hiding in the sect to prevent Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion from bringing hatred to the sect.

When assaulting the early-stage Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator, he didn’t know the opponent was from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion. Only after severely injuring them and they used Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion’s signature Sword Escape, did he realize he had stirred trouble.

Most cultivators understood Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion’s methods; he knew their pursuit would soon follow, so he sought a place he considered safe to hide.

Li Yuanba stood in the air, looking down upon the area, a mountain forest, with five peaks arranged according to the Five Elements.

He frowned slightly; was this a coincidence or intentional arrangement?

He released his senses, feeling no anomaly in the Spiritual Energy here.

He activated ‘Divine Eye,’ yet still found nothing special.

“Could it be I’m overthinking?” he murmured to himself.

One couldn’t blame him for being cautious; he had encountered numerous traps, the most dangerous nearly leading to his capture. If not for his true body’s rescue, he may have already perished.

He flew above the five peaks, observing below as he did.

When passing over the third peak, a wisp of aura caught his attention.

The target mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator’s aura accompanied the mission, preventing mistaken identity.

Comparing the aura, he confirmed it belonged to his mission target.

No longer hesitating, he flashed, activating ‘A Step to Eternity,’ his silhouette appearing at the aura’s location below.

Standing where the aura was, Li Yuanba spread his Divine Sense, gently triggering several Formation nodes, revealing a grotto entrance before him.

Inside the grotto, the mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator sensed the terrifying Sword Cultivator aura and couldn’t help but tremble.

One could not blame this mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator for such fear; Sword Cultivators were notably powerful among practitioners, far stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same level.