Cultivation starts from devouring the Dao fruits

Spirit Wood Grand Formation glowed brightly throughout Mount Wolf Ridge, as thick vines burst forth from the ground like venomous pythons, lunging at the invading cultivators.

"A mere Spirit Wood Grand Formation, watch as I break you!"

The Taoist sneered coldly and brought out a crimson Treasure Cauldron. The lid of the cauldron flew off, and a crimson flame erupted, sweeping toward the vines.

The crimson flames landed on the vines, igniting them instantly and burning them to ashes.

Countless flashes of Spiritual Light sparkled across Mount Wolf Ridge, as more vines shot toward the Taoist, only to be reduced to cinders by the flames.

A copper corpse leaped into the midst of the Qi-Refining Bandit Cultivators, smashing the skull of a late-stage cultivator with one punch, then withstood the spell attacks of seven bandits and continued to burst the heart of another bandit next to it.

"A copper corpse? Is this the means of Mount Wolf Ridge's master? Let big sister take care of you~!"

Li Sanniang's beautiful eyes flashed as she smiled charmingly and brought out a white fishing net.

The white net swelled with the wind and expanded several feet in size, pouncing on the copper corpse and ensnaring it completely.

Within the net were numerous hooks, which pricked into the corpse, emitting piercing noises but only leaving behind white marks on its body.

The copper corpse struggled fiercely in the net, but it was wrapped tightly and unable to move.

The ugly old man harrumphed and urged on a pitch-black staff. The staff's Spiritual Light flashed, and a wind blade sliced a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator in half on Mount Wolf Ridge.

"There are three Foundation Establishment Cultivators!!"

"Not good!! The enemy is too strong!"

".….."

Seeing this, the morale of Mount Wolf Ridge's Qi Refinement cultivators collapsed, and more than a dozen cultivators turned and fled.

Most of the cultivators who sought refuge in Mount Wolf Ridge did so just to find a protector for a peaceful cultivation, naturally unwilling to fight to the death for Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu glanced at the scattering cultivators and shook his head slightly, "Cultivators not raised by one's own hand really can't be relied upon!! White Ghost Emperor, go and slaughter them all!"

The White Ghost Emperor, standing by Zhao Yu's side, cracked a sinister smile, his pupils contorting to reveal mysterious Curse Seals.

All of a sudden, dense fog rose swiftly, almost completely shrouding the battlefield.

"What is this?"

Li Sanniang's brow furrowed slightly, a bad premonition welling up in her heart. Suddenly, her heart palpitated as she sensed danger approaching from behind with her Divine Sense.

Just as Li Sanniang was about to summon her defenses, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and saw a claw penetrating her torso, clutching a beating heart.

"That's my heart!!"

A wave of fear and despair surged through Li Sanniang's mind before she lost consciousness.

"Dense fog? Does the Spirit Wood Grand Formation have such a variation? Then break for me!"

The Taoist's brow creased slightly as he brought out a Second-Order Ban-Breaking Talisman and cast it into the thick fog.

Boom!!

Accompanied by a terrifying boom, the dense fog shrouding the area instantly dissipated, revealing the Taoist seeing the bronze corpse clutching Li Sanniang's body and wrenching her head off.

"Sanniang! You beast, die!!"

The Taoist had secretly admired Li Sanniang, and upon witnessing this scene, his rage burst forth, and he roared furiously. He frantically channeled his mana, his magic artifact, the Treasure Cauldron, flared with flames which split into two streams—one set ablaze the creeping vines while the other surged towards the bronze corpse.

The Foundation Establishment Taoist had killed countless cultivators, but even then, the sight of his beloved perishing drove him to the brink of madness.

At that moment, a chilling coldness surged up behind the Taoist. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as a claw pierced through his heart.

"Sann...niang!"

The Taoist coughed out a mouthful of blood, his vision blurring as he fell to the ground and became a corpse.

"The fog! It's an Illusion Technique! The master of Wolf Ridge truly holds Ghost Control Technique as his trump card! He must possess a powerful Second-Order Evil Ghost!"

The ugly elder had his spirit jade emitting a dazzling spirituality that startled him as the dense fog rose, prompting him to immediately summon a Second-Order Spirit Eye Talisman.

With a flash from the Spirit Eye Talisman, the ugly elder's pupils shone with a faint spiritual light that pierced through the illusion of the dense fog.

A sense of retreat welled up in the ugly elder's heart, "Sanniang and Shitou are dead! That evil ghost's power far surpasses our estimates; it must possess at least a mid Second-Order cultivation level and is skilled in Illusion Technique!"

Such evil ghosts, born from various strange illusions, are terrifying. If they are cultivated by a Ghost Path sect like the Yin Ghost Sect, they can gain unthinkable powers.

At this moment, countless vines, like venomous serpents, lunged directly at the ugly elder.

The ugly elder activated his pitch-black wood staff, with a faint spiritual light, and a great wind snake constructed from air materialized, pouncing at the vines.

The countless vines were immediately shredded into pieces by the great wind snake, scattering in all directions.

More vines regenerated swiftly under the power of the Spirit Wood Grand Formation, once again attacking the ugly elder.

The ugly elder's figure flickered, abandoning his subordinates and fleeing towards the outskirts of Wolf Ridge.

The White Ghost Emperor smirked hideously, appearing like a ghost in front of the ugly elder, blocking his path and clawing at him.

The ugly elder's face changed slightly as he channeled mana through his pitch-black wood staff, creating blades of wind that slashed at the White Ghost Emperor, only to pass right through him.

"Illusion Technique!"

A chill surged through the ugly elder's heart, and with a thought, he summoned a white Spiritual Shield to block behind him.

Clang!

The White Ghost Emperor strangely appeared behind the ugly elder, clawing at the white Spiritual Shield. The shield's spirituality quickly diminished as it was contaminated by the ghostly black aura, and was then swatted away. Seizing the moment, the White Ghost Emperor's claw pierced directly into the ugly elder's chest and gouged out his heart.

"I don't... want... to die!!!!"

A glint of despair flashed through the eyes of the ugly elder as he screamed in agony, losing his breath, turning into a corpse.

With the curse seal appearing in the pupils of the White Ghost Emperor, he looked down at the Qi-Refining Bandit Cultivators below as thick fog rose, enveloping them.

The Qi-Refining Bandits, confused, began to attack each other with their magic artifacts. Soon enough, all the bandits lay in pools of blood, corpses strewn about, no survivors remained.

After that battle, Zhao Yu directly killed the three cultivators who tried to flee first and drove out more than a dozen others who had escaped during the fight from Wolf Ridge. He also promoted a few brave fighters among the cultivators. After a slight disturbance, Wolf Ridge's cohesion had ironically increased by a measure.