Chapter 1044: Chapter 1044: Ambush on All Sides (Part 2)

"To be honest, it was quite troublesome to lead you here. Do you remember the cup of tea you drank at my elder brother’s house? I added something to it. When you left my brother’s house, I consumed two top-grade talismans to set up a ghost wall, combined with the Charm Technique to lure you here. Originally, I planned to lead you further in, but a Golden Core master is indeed different; you noticed it so quickly."

Xu Dongxu said coldly, "I didn’t have extra time to arrange a setup here, just casually set up a Five Elements and Eight Trigrams puzzle. I thought you would easily break it, but it turns out I worried too much."

"Hmph, so what if this old man can’t get out? You’ve exhausted your means, and with such a big gap in cultivation level, you’re like an ant in my eyes and yet dare to show yourself—how bold!"

Xu Dongxu snorted disdainfully, "Is that so? You can’t even find me; what can you do to me? While I can’t deal with you now, give me time, and I’ll set another deadlock. By then, neither of you will get out!"

The current Senior Elder is like a headless fly, wandering around but unable to leave this circle, truly toyed with by Xu Dongxu.

"Hmph, the younger generation these days is confident from who knows where. It’s just a broken Array, and they brag like it’s something huge." The Senior Elder let go of Xiang Ming’s hand and whispered, "Wait for me here; I’ll be back soon."

"Okay, okay..." Xiang Ming replied, his voice trembling.

"What, scared?"

"You, you’re talking nonsense! I’m not scared at all!" Xiang Ming said loudly, puffing his chest in a way to embolden himself.

The Senior Elder gently patted Xiang Ming’s shoulder, "Good job. If I haven’t returned by dawn, you head out. If it’s not yet dawn, stay here. Got it?"

Xiang Ming’s youthful face suddenly became resolute, nodding, "I got it!"

"That’s the spirit."

The old elder pinched Xiang Ming’s cheek again before turning around, heading in the direction of Xu Dongxu’s voice.

"Ha, the dog has jumped over the wall? At such an old age, still so impulsive."

Xu Dongxu sneered, but the Senior Elder acted as if he hadn’t heard, leaping into the air over the bamboo forest, where the poisonous bees, since the Queen Bee is dead, had already scattered.

Standing high above the bamboo, the Senior Elder’s eyes shone brightly. With Mao Lulu’s light, he could see a figure in white on a hill ahead.

The Senior Elder didn’t rush forward, but paused.

Every aspect of this person seemed suspicious, and now, exposing himself so openly, perhaps there’s a trap waiting ahead.

Of course, it might also be a bluff, like an empty city strategy.

"Senior Elder, do you feel like the temperature around you has dropped?" Xu Dongxu asked with a grin.

No need for Xu Dongxu to say, he had already sensed it. Now, without a shirt, he was acutely sensitive to changes in the surrounding temperature.

The temperature wasn’t just dropping; there was even a slight stinging sensation.

The Senior Elder spread his Inner Strength throughout his body, resisting the strange cold. At the same time, he picked a few bamboo leaves, flipped his wrist, and threw them.

Shoo~

Under the gray sky, several green glows flickered briefly.

Even separated by a hundred meters, these bamboo leaves were enough to seal all of Xu Dongxu’s escape routes! This was the confidence of a Golden Core master in his own skills.

Unfortunately, those bamboo leaves vanished like rain into a big river in the blink of an eye, and Xu Dongxu remained standing on the hill.

"Senior Elder, do you believe in ghosts in this world?" Xu Dongxu asked.

"I don’t."

"Haha, many don’t believe, but unfortunately, they indeed exist." Xu Dongxu smiled and asked, "Do you believe I can summon spirits into my body?"

"I don’t." The Senior Elder responded instantly, without even thinking.

"No, you already believe. The human heart is a strange thing, isn’t it?" Xu Dongxu asked, smiling.

Indeed, the Senior Elder said he didn’t believe it, but he was already adjusting his aura to the best state, Inner Strength surging through his body, ready to strike at any moment.

"The location where you are now, I have already set up a Spirit Summoning Array. I used twelve pieces of ghost willow wood. The biting cold you feel isn’t because of a drop in temperature, but because eight vengeful souls surround you. In life, they were all in misery, their deaths were hardly peaceful, and their animosity is heavy. Be careful now."

Upon hearing this, the Senior Elder hummed heavily. But ghosts, these kinds of things were neither visible nor tangible. He hadn’t learned Taoist arts and didn’t know how to deal with them.

Suddenly, the Senior Elder sensed something peculiar behind him, as if a malicious eye was staring at his soul, making him shiver internally.

Turning around, he saw a brilliantly colored venomous snake hanging on a bamboo branch, its long, flat head with bared fangs.

Swoosh~

The Senior Elder hurried forward in a leap, tossing out a bamboo leaf and cutting the snake at its crucial spot.

Slither, slither, slither...

The rustling sounds filled the Senior Elder’s ears from all sides. The next moment, he saw the place was teeming with those colorful snakes, flicking their tongues, staring intently at him.

"Whew~"

Xu Dongxu blew a sharp, high-pitched whistle.

Those colorful snakes, upon hearing the whistle, suddenly became excited and lunged at the Senior Elder.

"Damn it, whose side are you on, the Xu Family or the Tang Family? Why have you brought so many venomous creatures?" The Senior Elder cursed softly, his palms like large fans. One palm down, and those snakes fell to the ground.

The Senior Elder dared not explode their bodies; if their blood splattered on him, it would be troublesome.

"Excessive!"

The Senior Elder suddenly accelerated, ignoring whatever oddity might be ahead, dashing directly at Xu Dongxu.

"Capture the ringleader first!"

The colorful snakes flicked their tongues, watching the Senior Elder leave, not daring to pursue.

"Haha, Senior Elder, you’re just as hot-tempered as the rumors outside, aren’t you afraid of provoking your Heart Demon?" Xu Dongxu boldly said.

"Hmph, didn’t expect you, a junior, to know so much. If my Heart Demon were to flare up, you’d be the first to die!"

Xu Dongxu, hands behind his back, gazed at the darkening sky, softly commenting, "It’s going to rain."

The Senior Elder’s eyes were as cold as an ice cellar, his steps quick and thunderous; he could catch up in an instant at this hundred-meter distance!

Suddenly, in front of the Senior Elder, a green vine waved upward, its slender tendril striking with a loud ’crack’ in the air! Stimulating the spirit.

"Soul-binding ghost vine!"

The Senior Elder’s pupils contracted suddenly, wanting to retreat. Yet, turning his head, six Soul-binding ghost vines had already emerged above the bamboo sea!