Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Real Battle

In the pavilion down the mountain, Zhou Luo once again appeared before that wooden door.

He walked in quite naturally and found himself in a long hallway.

According to his earlier chat with Lin Shi, the kitchen lay on the other side. To reach it, he’d have to cross through the main hall.

The hall itself wasn’t the problem; what made Zhou Luo wary was that middle-aged man he’d spotted by the counter yesterday.

Even then, he’d sensed an intense pressure radiating from the man.

He couldn’t be sure of the man’s identity, nor whether he could see through Zhou Luo’s disguise.

So instead of heading straight into the hall, Zhou Luo slowed his pace and tried to check if the man was still around.

Fortunately, it was likely lunchtime, and the man hadn’t appeared in the room behind the shelves.

Only then did Zhou Luo feel at ease and stride toward the hall.

Inside weren’t many people, some resting while others chatted leisurely.

His entrance didn’t draw much attention.

Just like that, he made it smoothly to the other end of the hall.

His eyes scanned that end and landed on a relatively larger room—likely the kitchen Lin Shi had mentioned.

After confirming no one suspected him, Zhou Luo walked over with steady steps.

By the kitchen’s entrance stood four guards. Others went in and out, probably delivering spirit food elsewhere.

The guards saw Zhou Luo holding a lunchbox and didn’t stop him.

Reasonably enough, he entered the kitchen.

Inside, flames danced in the stove hearth. The bright orange glow flickered like sprites, now licking at large cast-iron pots before shooting upward, making the hooks and tools on the wall shimmer.

The two chefs wore coarse cloth clothes, faces slightly red from the heat and brows beading with fine beads of sweat.

In the massive pot, boiling broth bubbled, wafting mouthwatering aromas. Chunks of stewed meat floated beneath the mix of fresh vegetables, giving them appetizing colors.

The kitchen brimmed with varied scents: pungent of ginger and garlic, sweet of jujubes and goji berries, and the thick, savory smell of cooked meat.

The moment Zhou Luo stepped inside, his stomach roused again at this perfume despite having eaten already.

No wonder Lin Shi had called it a feast today.

Beside the head chefs, others bustled around assisting.

After a quick glance around, Zhou Luo headed to a pile of lunchboxes. Retrieving his bowl and chopsticks, he placed them on a table—seemingly casual, all while watching the man washing dishes nearby.

“What’s for dinner tonight?”

The man caught sight of Zhou Luo and snickered: “Kid, don’t tell me you’re still dreaming about dinner being a feast.”

“Isn’t it?” Zhou Luo fired back.

“Who told you that? Look over there—all the dinner stuffs are tossed in that corner,” the man retorted, pointing without a thought to the pile of ingredients stacked nearby.

Zhou Luo’s eyes darkened instantly.

No need to waste time searching anywhere else… What he sought lay just like that, easy to find.

Finding his target, Zhou Luo feigned shaking his head and said, "Looks like I can’t have a big feast today."

As he spoke, he approached the pile of ingredients.

This pile of ingredients belonged to the attic.

Apart from that, the ingredients on the first and second floors were also separated.

The division standard was quite straightforward.

As the guard force for the spiritual mine, the ingredients in the attic were mostly spiritual food aimed at replenishing Qi and blood and strengthening the body.

Whereas the ingredients on the first and second floors leaned more toward spiritual food that invigorated the spirit.

Simultaneously, since the second floor also housed the Lin Family’s supervising children and important figures, the ingredients were somewhat richer.

That was good; it allowed him to focus on the poisoning.

Zhou Luo sauntered over to the second-floor ingredients area, squatted down, and picked through them. "Seems theirs is better than ours."

"Can we compare with them?" The man washing dishes rolled his eyes.

Zhou Luo shrugged his shoulders and took the opportunity to sprinkle the pre-prepared medicinal powder onto them.

This powder was specially concocted by him; once it landed on the food, it dissolved directly, and outsiders couldn’t detect the slightest abnormality.

After finishing this, Zhou Luo stood up and left.

Before leaving, to cover his tracks, he chatted with that man for a while and confirmed it was indeed the spiritual food to be eaten that night. Only then did he depart at ease.

Stepping out of the kitchen, Zhou Luo intended to head back.

Boom—

Right then, an explosive sound suddenly rang out, deafening and ear-splitting.

The next second, urgent footsteps echoed all around.

"Those bastards from the Lu Family are back again!" someone shouted.

Zhou Luo’s heart skipped a beat.

It seemed the Lu Family had come to wreak havoc.

He didn’t linger and hurriedly walked toward another area.

In the hall, one cultivator after another could be seen dashing out of the attic swiftly, wearing angry expressions.

During this, someone pressed Zhou Luo to go out and confront the enemies, but he deflected it by claiming he had more critical matters to handle.

After leaving the attic, Zhou Luo dared not delay at all. He sped up and strode toward the mountain peak.

After all, the Lu Family’s invasion would alarm the family’s strong cultivators. If his disguise was discovered then, it could be disastrous.

Bang bang bang—

When Zhou Luo reached the halfway point of the mountain, continuous explosions erupted behind him.

He couldn’t help but glance back. He saw flying boats materializing in the sky, figures leaping out and clashing fiercely. Dazzling and resplendent spiritual lights burst forth, triggering violent tremors.

"Is this how battles go in the cultivation world?"

Zhou Luo watched the various offensive capabilities manifesting overhead. Almost reflexively, he swallowed hard, his face paling slightly.

This was his first time witnessing a real battle.

In his sight, a cultivator was pierced through by countless ice spikes, a cultivator was strangled by hard vines, a cultivator was beheaded with a single slash…

All kinds of bloody scenes unfolded before him, causing his mind to tremble with shock, and he did not snap out of it for a long time.

This was the real cultivation world.

Full of killing, bloodshed, and cruelty.

"Lin Tianfang, are you still going to hide like a coward?"

From a flying boat in the sky, a middle-aged man in luxurious robes shouted fiercely, his voice like thunder, deafeningly loud.

The next moment, a figure burst from the pavilion; it was the spiritual mine manager, Elder Si, Lin Tianfang.

Clad in a robe, Lin Tianfang was engulfed in dazzling spiritual light. He lifted his right hand, and a blue long sword whooshed out, carrying a sharp momentum, generating a sonic boom, piercing the air, and heading straight for the opponent’s chest.

"Hmph."

The opponent sneered coldly, waved his right hand, and several spiritual symbols emerged, suddenly erupting with radiant light.

The moment those talismans were activated, they turned into fireballs and shot out violently.

The scorching heat was even felt by Zhou Luo halfway up the mountain.

With a serious expression, he could clearly sense that those spiritual symbols were all top-grade first-tier talismans.

To his surprise, the opponent was actually a top-tier first-rank spiritual symbol master.

Countless fireballs crashed down fiercely, unleashing a terrifying force.

Yet Lin Tianfang’s blue long sword remained completely unaffected. It pierced through the fireballs like the sharpest blade in the world, effortlessly dismantling the opponent’s attack.

Sensing the immense spiritual energy around Lin Tianfang, the man paled with shock: "You’ve actually reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement?"

He frantically retreated and hurled several spiritual symbols in succession for defense.

Bang bang bang—

The sword’s edge swept through, the spiritual symbols shattered, and the just-formed spiritual shield instantly dissolved into countless light spots.

With a hardened expression, the opponent suddenly drew a golden-glowing object from his chest and flung it out forcefully.

Originally only palm-sized, the object suddenly enlarged as it was thrown and in an instant stood before him like a small golden mountain.

The golden mountain pulsed with spiritual energy while golden rays shot out in all directions, emitting a fearsome pressure.

Bang—

The blue long sword slammed heavily into the golden mountain. Its previously keen and boundless edge quickly weakened, struggling to advance further as the blade cracked densely all over.

"You dare, Lu Haotian, even bringing out a treasure," Lin Tianfang said with a serious expression, hastily recalling the blue long sword.