Before long, the short-sleeved youth arrived above the valley. Suddenly, his speed slowed down, and he headed directly towards the valley, right towards his location.
It was not surprising that this person, with a cultivation base in the late stage of Foundation Establishment and a spiritual sense spanning three to four miles, could discover him.
At the same time, he heard the youth's shouts.
"Fellow Daoist(道友: fellow Taoist), can you lend a hand? I will definitely repay you handsomely," the man's voice was intermittent, indicating he was seriously injured.
Zhang Ling maintained his hidden cultivation state, appearing to outsiders as merely a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. Naturally, he ignored the youth outside and remained calmly seated on the ground, constantly watching the lightning on the Yang Lei Wood(阳雷木: Yang Lightning Wood).
"Fellow Daoist, I am a disciple of the Green Lightning Sect. If you help me, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
The short-sleeved youth coughed lightly, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, looking severely injured as he pleaded with Zhang Ling to save him.
"Fellow Daoist, I won't let you suffer. There are one hundred thousand spiritual stones in this storage bag. As long as you save me, all of these things are yours immediately." Seeing that Zhang Ling was unmoved, the short-sleeved youth took out a storage bag from his chest.
One hundred thousand spiritual stones might have tempted Zhang Ling if he were an ordinary cultivator, but now they held no attraction for him. He remained unmoved, staring intently at the Yang Lei Wood(阳雷木: Yang Lightning Wood), watching the lightning gathering on it.
Seeing that he was still sitting motionless in the formation, the short-sleeved youth's expression turned ugly. Just as he was about to promise a great reward, his face turned red, and he coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The youth quickly took out a white jade bottle, poured out two pills, and swallowed them, which improved his complexion considerably.
Then, he glanced at Zhang Ling, gritted his teeth, and a black spiritual talisman appeared in his hand. With a flash of light, he activated the talisman and slapped it on his body. Instantly, his figure became faint, turning into a phantom and disappearing.
Zhang Ling ignored this person, but he naturally saw the youth's actions clearly.
The short-sleeved youth did not disappear but remained in place. This person no longer tried to escape or find a hiding place but instead sat directly on the ground to recuperate.
That black spiritual talisman was a third-order Hidden Spirit Talisman, capable of concealing aura and form. Although it could not deceive the spiritual sense of a Golden Core cultivator, it was difficult for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators to see through.
This person has some courage.
However, Zhang Ling narrowed his eyes, thinking of another reason. The fact that this person did not leave but used a spiritual talisman to hide himself suggests that he is either very confident in the talisman's effect.
Or he knows that his injuries are too severe and that it would be difficult to escape directly. If the enemy sees through his actions, they might use this to force him to take action, avoiding the intention of shifting the blame.
A cold light flashed in Zhang Ling's eyes, and he stopped paying attention to this person.
At this time, only one inch of the Yang Lei Wood(阳雷木: Yang Lightning Wood) in the formation remained solid. The entire section above it was filled with Heavenly Lightning. In a little while, it would be completely filled with Heavenly Lightning.
Thus, for a time, the valley finally remained calm, with only the occasional flashes of lightning in the Yin-Yang Lightning Light Formation and the occasional rumbling from the dark clouds above.
After half a cup of tea's time, two peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, a man and a woman, who were chasing this person, also arrived above the valley.
Their speed was also very fast. As they were about to fly out of the valley's range, they suddenly seemed to notice something and dropped down, flying towards Zhang Ling's location.
The two of them looked to be in their thirties or forties. The man was wearing a blue robe, and the woman was wearing a black dress with some gold and silver jewelry, looking very luxurious.
They landed not far from the formation that Zhang Ling had set up and released their spiritual sense to scan the vicinity.
Then, their expressions sank. Their spiritual sense was not weak, and they immediately discovered the residual spiritual power fluctuations in the air. The youth had obviously been here. But at the moment, they did not find any trace of that person.
The black-clothed woman asked with a gloomy face, "Senior Brother Xue, that kid hasn't left, has he?"
"Hmph, he can't escape. Let me ask this person first."
The middle-aged man in the blue robe was quite calm, observing the surroundings while glancing at Zhang Ling's location.
Zhang Ling was collecting Heavenly Lightning. Although it was nearing completion and the commotion was already small, the middle-aged man and woman knew at a glance that he was collecting Heavenly Lightning.
Although Heavenly Lightning is quite overbearing, the Lightning Spiritual Power contained within is very pure and is the easiest to obtain Lightning attribute spiritual object, with many uses. There are many cultivators who come to the Wind and Lightning Mountains to collect Heavenly Lightning every day, so there is nothing unusual.
The middle-aged man and woman exchanged glances and transmitted their thoughts to each other. They approached Zhang Ling a little closer, and when they reached about twenty feet outside the formation, they stopped, unable to hide their surprise.
Observing from close range, the two of them naturally saw the formation that Zhang Ling had set up, as well as the spiritual wood in the formation. The speed of collecting Heavenly Lightning was several times faster than that of other cultivators.
However, the middle-aged man remained calm and composed himself, cupping his hands towards Zhang Ling and asking.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist(道友: fellow Taoist). We are inner disciples of the Green Lightning Sect, and we are chasing a traitor. I wonder if you have seen a young cultivator."
The middle-aged man's question was neither humble nor arrogant. He waited for a few breaths, but Zhang Ling naturally did not react at all. This made his expression turn gloomy. However, he still calmed his anger and asked again.
"If Fellow Daoist(道友: fellow Taoist) knows the traitor's whereabouts, we will definitely reward you handsomely."
"That's not right, Senior Brother. The Thunder Pearl is reacting. That kid is here." Suddenly, the black-dressed woman next to him shouted, and a token in her hand flashed with a green light.
It was a brass token inlaid with a thumb-sized jewel.
The woman quickly cast a spell on it, and the jewel on the token shone brightly, emitting a ray of lightning that struck towards the youth's location.
Seeing this, the short-sleeved youth's expression sank. He couldn't bother to hide his figure any longer, and a flash of green light on his body dodged the attack. As soon as he moved and used his mana, the talisman's effect immediately disappeared. At the same time, he sighed inwardly at his carelessness.
The token in the woman's hand was a sect token, which could sense the aura of nearby fellow disciples when activated with secret techniques.
He was also a disciple of the Green Lightning Sect and carried a sect token with him. His falling out with these two was only two hours ago. He didn't expect to expose his whereabouts due to carelessness.
As soon as the youth exposed his whereabouts, he immediately shouted. He threw out two black round beads from his hand.
With two crisp cracking sounds, the round beads burst open in the air. With a flash of lightning, the two black round beads turned into two thick cyan lightning bolts and attacked the two of them.
Lightning attribute attacks are inherently fast, and they arrived in an instant.
The blue-robed man's expression sank, and spiritual light immediately burst out from his body. With a wave of his hand, a white and bright lightning arc also shot out.
The white lightning looked small, but it instantly turned into a light curtain, blocking the two of them. The two cyan lightning bolts struck it, sending out bursts of crackling sounds. With a loud bang, it exploded directly in place, without harming the two of them.
