“Buzz, buzz…”
The poisonous pill’s spirit floated and spun around Ou Yangming to show off its victory.
Ou Yangming smiled and gently brushed his hand past the centipede’s body. It drifted and moved according to his palm, where they had great chemistry as though they were one.
Big Yellow was rather envious as it watched on the side. Although it had an extraordinary relationship with Ou Yangming, it could not naturally become one with him.
As Ou Yangming flicked his finger slightly, the centipede that was transformed from the poisonous pill’s spirit landed nimbly on the unconscious middle-rank lizard.
Ou Yangming knew that in normal situations, the insect had lost its ability to resist. Nevertheless, nobody knew if these insect Spiritualists had unique skills, thus he had to be on guard.
His eyes flickered as he raised his hands and waved them. After a brief moment, the strange and mysterious power that filled the space slowly disappeared.
He then curled his lips into a mocking smile and looked coldly at Lu Zhenxie, who was somewhere in front of him.
The human Spiritualist was checking out his surroundings in fear. When he suddenly spotted the 4 spirit lizards, he was even more appalled.
All 4 of the lizards were already on the ground, and 3 of them were even ripped into 2. Even so, they still released incredibly fierce auras. As for the fully-black lizard, whose status was unknown, it was even more frightening. Despite being on the ground and had possibly suffered a grim end, it still gave off oppression that made one hard to breathe.
Ou Yangming grinned and asked, “Lu Zhenxie, were these your reliances?”
Lu Zhenxie turned to look dumbfounded. His lips trembled, and he was completely pale.
He could not believe everything that he saw, but the truth was right in front of him, hence he had to admit it.
“H-how did you do it?”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “You’re not in the place to ask that question. Now, tell me—how did you collude with them?”
“Ah, I-I didn’t collude with them!” Lu Zhenxie shuddered and shouted right away.
The young fellow smiled faintly. “I might believe you if there was only 1 lizard insect, but so many of them were serving you. What else can you say?”
Lu Zhenxie was struck dumb, and he also looked slightly absent-minded.
Indeed, he could have said that it was a fortuitous encounter if there were only 1 or 2 lizards.
There were many precedents where beasts actively attached themselves to humans due to certain wonderful encounters. At times, spirit beasts would even follow ordinary humans to repay their kindness, and such a situation not rare at all.
However, regardless of the accidental encounter, it seemed like the bunch of lizards could not have served Lu Zhenxie.
Seeing how Lu Zhenxie’s face turned green and red, Ou Yangming added slowly, “This middle-rank lizard hasn’t died—it only lost its ability to resist for now. Heh, once it awakens, I’ll hand you over to it and see what it’ll do to you.”
“No—” Lu Zhenxie screamed without any hesitation, and his voice shook.
He was the one that called the lizards here but apart from the middle-rank lizard, the rest had died ghastly deaths.
Even if Lu Zhenxie wondered with his thoughts, he knew how he would end if he was put together with the middle-rank lizard after it regains its consciousness and combat power.
It would certainly be an end that would make one shiver all over.
“Ah, Young Master Ou, ask away if you have any questions. I won’t beg you for mercy, but I hope you’ll make it fast for me.” Lu Zhenxie smiled bitterly.
Ou Yangming was moved. Lu Zhenxie deserved to die, but he was a straightforward person.
He asked in a deep voice, “Okay, let me ask you—why did the lizards work with you?”
Lu Zhenxie answered with a bitter smile, “Frankly speaking, I have no idea either.”
“Is this your answer?” Ou Yangming had a cold look on his face.
“I wasn’t lying to you; it’s the truth.” Lu Zhenxie waved his hand and explained after a pause, “I came from the Three Rings Sect, which isn’t an influential sect but is also somewhat known in this area. Several months ago, I came to know these lizards through a fellow from my sect.”
Ou Yangming vaguely noticed something, but he continued to ask calmly, “If that’s the case, instead of you, the whole Three Rings Sect is colluding with the Insects.”
Lu Zhenxie sighed and responded, “I dare not discuss the sect, but it’s true that I knew these insects through the sect.”
“Oh, did you only know them? They didn’t ask you to do anything for them?” Ou Yangming sneered.
The middle-aged man pondered for a brief moment and answered hesitantly, “These lizards only asked me to pay attention to the people here. They seem to be looking for…” He stopped all of a sudden.
Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up. He released a bit of pressure and questioned, “What were they finding for?”
His mental power was already at the standard of a middle-rank Spiritualist, whereas Lu Zhenxie was only a low-rank Spiritualist, so there was quite a huge disparity between them. Besides, the man was ill-at-ease as he had just been mystified by the environment. After being oppressed by the young fellow again, he immediately lost his ability to resist.
“It’s only a guess, so I don’t know if it’s accurate.” Lu Zhenxie forced a smile and continued, “According to my observations, they might be looking for someone from the lower realm?”
Ou Yangming’s eyelids flickered. He asked slowly, “Someone from the lower realm? Did they need to muster such a large force for that?”
After coming to the Spiritual Realm, he had some understanding of the Humans and the powerhouses from the different races here. The powerhouses here had a certain respect for people that came from the lower realm because those that could enter the Spiritual Realm from the lower realm were carefully-selected powerhouses. Whether it was their characters, natural gifts in cultivation, or potentials, they were far more potent than most powerhouses in the Spiritual Realm.
Having said that, powerhouses from the Spiritual Realm had their ego. As potential as powerhouses from the lower realm were, they would not pay too much importance to them.
Therefore, it seemed impossible for so many spirit beasts to act together for someone from the lower realm.
“Young Master Ou, it’s just my guess.” Lu Zhenxie smiled bitterly. He thought for a while and added, “Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t make a big fuss over a person from the lower realm, but what if that person has some sort of treasure? The Spiritual Realm might be mighty and has many treasures, but the lower realm will sometimes produce things that we don’t have.”
Ou Yangming nodded and thought, ‘Cultivators from the Spiritual Realm are not simple at all.
His eyes then turned cold as he uttered, “Okay, since you have nothing else to say, your time here is up.”
Lu Zhenxie quivered. He knew he was unlikely going to escape unscathed but when it was time for his death, he could not help but feel afraid.
“Young-Young Master Ou, can I exchange all of my fortunes for a chance to live?” He asked as he clung to a final hope.
Ou Yangming asked him in return, “When you brought them here to ambush me, did you think about giving me a chance?”
Lu Zhenxie turned awfully pale. Indeed, a Spiritualist that brought 4 spirit beasts to ambush and a spirit beast and a young human was definitely planning to give them a fatal blow.
Even if he begged piteously and told Ou Yangming that they did not intend to kill him, he himself would not buy it.
Subsequently, Ou Yangming slowly lifted his hand and waved at Lu Zhenxie from afar. As a result, a surging power gushed toward the man and wrapped around him.
Lu Zhenxie shrieked strangely. He could not withstand the terrifying pressure anymore, so he finally flashed and fled.
&nb
sp; Nonetheless, a yellow figure flashed and blocked his path. Big Yellow flashed its claws and teeth, then it pounced on him ruthlessly.
With that, they exchanged blows and collided intensely as they went head-to-head with each other.
One was crushing its opponent with its equipment while the other knew that this was his only chance to get away. Even if Big Yellow displayed an overpowering strength, Lu Zhenxie could not be bothered anymore.
Lu Zhenxie suffered several injuries from Big Yellow at once, and blood flew out from his body. However, he finally managed to fight his way out courageously and slipped away from the big yellow dog’s claws.
Just as he wanted to run away from the fearsome zone as soon as possible, an intense yet indescribable feeling of weakness rose from the bottom of his heart.
The Weakening Spell.
Lu Zhenxie looked like he was in despair. He finally realized that when the young fellow waved his hand earlier, he was not signaling the spirit beast to attack but was releasing a remarkable magic art.
At this point, Lu Zhenxie’s powers seemed to have been sucked out, by which it became strenuous for him to even move his limbs.
Soon enough, his chest hurt intensely as the dog’s claws penetrated his body.
Lu Zhenxie’s lips trembled a little. He collapsed to the ground powerlessly and lost all sense of life.
Big Yellow later withdrew its claws embarrassedly and glanced guiltily at Ou Yangming.
Its equipment could easily crush someone, but it still let Lu Zhenxie slip away. If it was willing to risk being injured, it would not have given the man a chance.
Ou Yangming shook his head and noted, “It was a desperate fight from him, so don’t be concerned.”
Big Yellow was relieved. It opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue while it wagged its tail at the young fellow.
Ou Yangming later turned around and looked at the middle-rank lizard. He instructed the big yellow dog after some thought, “Wake it up.”
Chapter 650 - The Twelve Walkers
A faint black gas drifted on the lizard’s body, and the centipede that stuck close to it moved its body carefully too.
Although the lizard had passed out due to poison, its unique and powerful oppression as a middle-rank spirit beast was still released from its body.
Needless to say, it could curb its aura and momentum when it was awake, but it could not care about its surroundings if it was unconscious. Ou Yangming was rather alert as it was a middle-rank spirit beast, hence he dared not relax at all.
Under the centipede’s control, the poison inside the lizard’s body slowly reduced. As a result, the lizard’s enormous body began to quiver, and it slowly opened its eyes.
The lizard was immediately greeted with a familiar human’s face. Following that, countless thoughts crossed its mind.
It roared furiously and wanted to get up, but it realized that its limbs were powerless just as it turned its body halfway. As such, its body fell hard to the ground again.
The middle-rank lizard then stuck out its long tongue and made weird and appalling sounds.
Ou Yangming sneered and said, “You can stop thinking about calling out to your partners; your 3 followers have all died.”
The lizard stopped making sounds. While lying halfway on the ground, it cast a strange yet cold look at Ou Yangming.
Any normal human would feel uneasy being stared at by such fearsome eyes, but Ou Yangming was not bothered at all. This was because he had witnessed too many similar looks throughout his short life journey.
Besides, anyone or any living being that had looked at him like that had been defeated by him.
He achieved what he did so far by rising steadily.
“Why did you go against us—lizards?” The middle-rank lizard stuck out its tongue and shouted.
Ou Yangming answered, “I wasn’t the one that wanted to go against you; you were the ones that wanted to kill me.”
The middle-rank lizard was stunned, but it was not resigned to the outcome. “Lu Zhenxie said that you were stopping him from handling affairs, and that we won’t be able to complete our mission if we don’t kill you, so we must kill you!”
“What mission?” Ou Yangming was slightly moved.
“A mission to find someone…” The lizard answered without any hesitation, “Sir Venerable One dispatched 6 small teams and about 100 members to search everywhere. Hmph, if you’re tactful, come and rely on me, or you won’t be safe if sir finds someone to blame!”
Ou Yangming smiled oddly. He already had the upper hand at the moment, where the lizard’s life or death would only be a matter of his thought, yet the fellow still spoke carelessly. If other people did not know what was going on, they might think that he was held captive by the lizard instead.
“Heh, Sir Venerable One is probably Ghost-clawed Venerable One, right?” Ou Yangming asked.
“Hey? You know sir’s name.” The middle-rank lizard shuddered with fear and was in disbelief.
The Insects had countless powerhouses, and while Ghost-clawed Venerable One was one of them, it was not their greatest powerhouse. Therefore, the middle-rank lizard was rather afraid when an insignificant human cultivator mentioned its name.
Ou Yangming kept a smile on his face and continued to ask, “Why did Ghost-clawed Venerable One order you to be stationed here? Heh, does it know that the person it’s looking for is nearby?”
The lizard fell silent for a brief moment. Its eyes flickered as though it was thinking about something.
“Looks like you’re not willing to tell me…” Ou Yangming sighed.
The middle-rank lizard stared coldly at him. Even though it was captured alive, it did not look tamed at all. The Insects’ endurance was totally different from that of the Humans, thus torturous methods that were usually used on humans would not be effective if used on insects.
Hence, since the middle-rank lizard knew it was going to die for sure, it naturally would not let Ou Yangming gain more information.
Ou Yangming sneered and suddenly stuck out his check to walk slowly toward the lizard. With every step he took, his aura somehow grew more intense. When he was almost in front of the insect, the appearance of the dragon and the phoenix even emerged in his mind.
The image was the scene of a confrontation between a real dragon and a phoenix. Ever since Ou Yangming saw it once from the little red bird’s spiritual world, he remembered it well.
Whenever Ou Yangming visualized the confrontation, he could perceive a hint of the dragon and the phoenix’s real intention and release the power.
This could be described using an idiom.
A fox exploiting a tiger’s might.
The dragon and the phoenix might be fake, but their mightiness was legitimate.
Even when the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One sensed it, it regarded Ou Yangming with different respect and no longer looked into the matter where Multi-armed King Kong acknowledged him as its master.
It was worth noting that the lizard was only a middle-rank spirit beast. The Insects were known for their concealing abilities and endurance, but they also had the worst resistance against the auras of superior beings.
“Pow…”
The middle-rank lizard fell flat on the ground. It tried its best to stick out its chest earlier as it did not want to look timid in front of a human cultivator. Despite that, after facing the aura from the appearance of the dragon and phoenix, it became paralyzed as if it was spineless.
Moreover, when Ou Yangming twitched his nose and sniffed, he picked up a stench.
‘This fella actually pissed.’
He was surprised because he did not think that the appearance of the dragon and phoenix would be so effective against an insect.
Ou Yangming instantly asked again, “Why did Ghost-clawed order you to come here!”
This time, the middle-rank lizard did not resist anymore. It answered without any delay, “Sir Venerable One said that that human will surely appear in this area
, so we slowly formed an encirclement here because we must capture him.”
“Who are you trying to capture?”
“I have no idea, but he’s a human blacksmith from the lower realm,” the middle-rank lizard responded quickly, “Sir Venerable One ordered us to watch out for anyone that behaves weirdly and report it to the Twelve Walkers so that they can judge.”
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and raised another question, “What are the Twelve Walkers?”
“The Twelve Walkers are Sir Venerable One’s bloodline inheritances, and each of them has a high-rank cultivation base.”
Ou Yangming knew Ghost-clawed Venerable One certainly had a backup plan since it set up a trap, but he did not expect it to muster 12 high-grade spirit beasts in one go.
After all, high-grade spirit beasts could not be found everywhere.
The Trading Meet on the 10,000 Beasts Ridge was of a massive scale, and it was considered a rare event for the Beasts.
Even so, there were less than 100 high-grade spirit beasts gathered in front of the giant crystal wall. It was evident that every spirit beast that could reach that level was quite remarkable. They could not compare with top-grade spirit beasts, but Ou Yangming dared not say that he could defeat one if he encountered one.
Given that Ghost-clawed Venerable One sent out 12 high-rank spirit beasts in one go, Ou Yangming figured that it had used its greatest card.
“What other powerhouses are there apart from the Twelve Walkers?” Ou Yangming asked after some thought. He tried to fish something out of the lizard while looking at it with bright eyes. “Are there top-grade spirit beasts too?”
The middle-rank lizard shook its head and replied to him, “The Twelve Walkers are Sir Venerable One’s best powerhouses. As for sir’s top-grade bloodline, it was struck by the Heavenly Thunderbolts and died when it was advancing into a Venerable One 2 decades ago.”
Ou Yangming was moved, so he asked again.
After some time, he found out about a hidden secret that he did not know before this.
There were still many high-rank spirit beasts in the Spiritual Realm, whereas the number of top-grade spirit beasts had been decreasing linearly.
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