The cultivator from the Purple Gold Sect, who left behind the cave dwelling, was merely at the Foundation Building stage. Relying solely on his own power, he couldn't construct the cave dwelling too deep into the underground.
With Meng Zhang's current proficiency in the Earth Escape Spell, he could easily penetrate a hundred or two hundred zhang into the ground. (Note: One zhang is approximately 3.3 meters.)
Meng Zhang continued his descent into the underground. Initially, the first 20-30 zhang was relatively soft sandy soil, not suitable for constructing a cave dwelling. After reaching a depth of over thirty zhang, he encountered more solid layers of earth and stone.
Meng Zhang focused on searching the area below thirty zhang but above a hundred zhang in depth.
Subsequently, Meng Zhang became extremely busy. Whenever he felt that his true qi was overly depleted during the search, he returned to the surface, meditated to recover, and then continued to employ the Earth Escape Spell to dive underground.
After a lot of hard work underground, both Meng Zhang and Jue Ying, eventually, it was Meng Zhang who first discovered a clue. During one descent into the underground, he sensed a much denser spiritual energy than elsewhere, indicating the presence of a spirit vein nearby. When cultivators construct their cave dwellings, they usually try to build them above spirit veins.
Following the changes in the spiritual energy, Meng Zhang quickly determined the direction of the spirit vein. He followed it and soon found the hidden cultivator's cave dwelling.
Once Meng Zhang found the cultivator's cave dwelling, he didn't rush in alone. Instead, he planned to return to the surface to inform Jue Ying of their discovery.
Excited about their fruitful findings after so much hard work, Meng Zhang hurriedly called for Jue Ying, not paying too much attention to the situation on the surface. However, as he emerged from the ground, he was stunned to find more than a dozen cultivators preparing to disperse in all directions.
While Meng Zhang was taken aback, one of the cultivators on the other side, who was the first to notice Meng Zhang, was equally surprised. He couldn't understand why someone suddenly appeared from underground. Was this person lying in ambush?
After a momentary pause, the cultivator reacted instinctively. He shouted loudly and swung his whip-like magic tool fiercely towards Meng Zhang.
Meng Zhang's response was equally swift. While the man attacked, Meng Zhang's flying sword, "Soft Around The Finger," flew up like a stream of light and slashed the whip in half with a single strike.
With barely a sound, the sharp flying sword cut through the whip effortlessly. Continuing its momentum, it then aimed at the cultivator who wielded the whip.
The cultivator activated his defensive magic tool immediately, creating a transparent shield around him. When the flying sword struck, it only paused momentarily before piercing through the shield and continuing towards the cultivator.
At this point, the rest of the cultivators also reacted and began launching attacks on Meng Zhang without the need for commands, moving spontaneously.
Meng Zhang wielded his "Startling Soul Bell" in his left hand and the "Fire Seal" in his right hand, unleashing a full-powered assault into the crowd.
The cultivator who attacked first received support from his companions, but he couldn't evade the pursuit of the flying sword "Soft Around The Finger." A flash of blood later, and that cultivator lost his head.
Meng Zhang showed no mercy in his actions, not just because the enemy attacked first but because he recognized the leader among the opposing cultivators – Li Nu.
"Meng Zhang, why are you here?" A shocked voice rang out.
It turned out to be Li Nu, the former lackey of the Li family who later allied with the Zhao Family after the Li family was annihilated by sand monsters.
Meng Zhang knew a thing or two about Li Nu's background, given the latter's betrayal of the Li family in the past. He knew that Li Nu was not a benevolent person.
Not daring to be careless, Meng Zhang seized the opportunity and attacked with all his might, leaving Li Nu and his group no chance to catch their breath.
Despite the seemingly unfavorable odds, Meng Zhang showed no fear or intention to retreat. The "Startling Soul Bell" occasionally rang, causing several cultivators to freeze in their movements.
The flames emitted from the "Fire Seal" transformed into snakes of fire, rushing to engulf the enemies.
The flying sword, "Soft Around The Finger," was a terrifying weapon, and with Meng Zhang's mastery of the "Dancing Willow Sword Technique," he consecutively injured two more enemies.
Li Nu, with a ferocious expression, felt aggrieved at being suppressed by so many people despite their numerical advantage. The cunning Li Nu couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.
Li Nu's flying sword actively entangled Meng Zhang's "Soft Around The Finger." Though he had obviously not cultivated a decent sword technique, his abundant combat experience and cunning swordsmanship caused Meng Zhang significant trouble.
The most lethal flying sword, "Soft Around The Finger," was entangled, and multiple cultivators suddenly overwhelmed Meng Zhang.
However, even when facing a disadvantage, Meng Zhang's expression remained unchanged as he continued to attack.
Amidst the chaotic crowd, no one noticed that shadows under their feet were moving rapidly.
A cultivator took out several talismans, preparing to use them against Meng Zhang. Suddenly, a shadow shot out from his own shadow, and the next moment, he was drenched in blood.
The shadowy figure swiftly disappeared, blending back into the shadows.
Then, in the shadow of another person, the figure appeared again.
In a short span of time, taking advantage of the concealment of the shadows, this figure moved among the cultivators, swiftly killing four of them.
Remaining cultivators finally reacted and panicked, desperately dodging.
As they moved, their shadows moved with them.
The figure appeared and disappeared like a ghost, claiming the lives of the cultivators each time it appeared. Killing and vanishing in the shadows, leaving the enemies no time to react.
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