Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 208 - 146: Black Snake Scholar

An evil cultivator at the second layer of Qi cultivation against a group of True Qi Realm fighters is a one-sided massacre—especially when these True Qi Realm fighters are caught off-guard and unprepared.

Moreover, Zhao Xing wasn’t the only one to arrive; outside, another evil cultivator was stationed as backup.

Hearing that the noise inside had died down, that evil cultivator leaped onto the wall of the Alchemy Institute, glanced over the mess on the ground, then looked at Zhao Xing.

"Lu Chang’sheng isn’t here?"

Zhao Xing nodded.

"That guy’s sharp as hell. His sense of danger is uncanny." Zhao Xing’s face turned grim, remembering how, back when he’d interacted with Lu Chang’sheng, the latter had picked up on oddities in the cultivation methods time and again.

In his experience, there were very few people with that kind of intuition.

"Looks like this guy probably hasn’t cultivated the Elemental Break Technique!"

"You blew it."

The evil cultivator standing on the courtyard wall couldn’t help but sneer.

Thankfully, he realized how crucial this moment was, so he quickly reined himself in.

The fact that these evil cultivators could work together at all meant there was some level of trust—especially in situations like this.

If they couldn’t kill Zhu Er, none of them were getting out alive.

"Let’s go help them out."

The two evil cultivators didn’t dare stop for long. Seeing that Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t here, they immediately headed toward the other battlefield.

Their guess was that Lu Chang’sheng and some of the other alchemists were hiding. But as soon as they reached the main courtyard, their expressions changed.

On the scene, several people dressed in alchemist robes were mingling at the rear of the Black Mountain Army, firing volley after volley with their crossbows.

The True Qi Realm fighters may be weak facing Qi cultivators, but when it came to using crossbows, they were far quicker and more versatile than the ordinary Black Mountain soldiers.

Accordingly, they posed a greater threat to the evil cultivators.

For a crossbow to threaten an evil cultivator, it must weigh several hundred pounds. A seasoned Black Mountain soldier skilled in Pile Skill would need multiple people to carry it together.

But for a True Qi Realm fighter, one person was more than enough.

On the battlefield, you’d often see someone at True Qi Realm lugging a massive crossbow to a safe position, then taking shots at the four evil cultivators.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Huge crossbow bolts frequently tore through the air, setting off violent explosions.

This time, the evil cultivators were clearly more cautious; rather than get tangled up with the Black Mountain Army, they leveraged their overwhelming power to make hit-and-run attacks—so most of those crossbow bolts missed and ended up hitting the dense ranks of the Black Mountain Army instead.

There was no avoiding it; if they worried too much about hurting their own side, the crossbows would lose much of their effectiveness.

Meanwhile, Zhu Er was locked in constant magical combat with the evil cultivators.

But most of it was close-quarters fighting.

Only occasionally would he muster up a magic attack.

With two men missing, all four evil cultivators were on the back foot, barely holding out with the magical artifacts on their bodies.

In just a few minutes, one nearly got caught in the Black Mountain Army’s net trap.

Learning from past failures, the nets used here had been thickened several times over to ensnare Innate Martial Artists, making them many times stronger than before.

Add any more and the nets would be too heavy to use—more trouble than they’re worth.

So if these evil cultivators at the early Qi cultivation stage got trapped in one, there’d be no way they were getting out in a hurry.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing and the evil cultivator beside him couldn’t sit still any longer.

"A place this mundane actually has some of the Spirit Realm’s immortal-slaying methods!"

The two were floored, then dove straight into the fight, quickly using their skill and experience to slash through the Black Mountain Army’s formation.

"No wonder he’s a famous general of Great Yuan."

In the crowd, Lu Chang’sheng took in the seemingly chaotic, actually rock-solid formation, and realized a bit more about Zhou Dingyuan’s skills.

This time, the army was led by none other than Zhou Dingyuan himself.

The famed general from Great Yuan had aged greatly in the decades since their last meeting, but when Lu Chang’sheng saw him again, he could still see that steely resolve in his eyes.

Since Lu Chang’sheng first destroyed the evil cultivators’ ambush, Zhou Dingyuan had refined the design even more—so the army’s formation could hold fast, never breaking. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"That Zhou Dingyuan is a real talent. Maybe I should bring him to the Spirit Realm."

Zhu Er kept an eye on every shift in the battle. Seeing these supposedly insignificant mortals stand their ground amazed him; his curiosity about Zhou Dingyuan grew.

For him, Zhou Dingyuan was far more valuable than Zhu Qing’s usual Innates—he could help the Zhu Family train a whole new tier of combat cultivators.

But with Zhao Xing and another evil cultivator returning and joining the fray, the army’s formation, once solid as stone, suddenly took a tremendous hit.

Soon enough, the formation buckled and broke. The Black Mountain soldiers, once swept up by the formation, now seemed lost—unsure what to do.

A top-tier military formation leaves no room for escape; you can only press forward with the tide.

Advance, fight, or get trampled by those behind you.

But now, that feeling vanished in a flash. As fear took hold, the ranks unraveled with ease.

After all, cultivators are just a different breed; once they realize what’s going on and have enough power to respond, such formations quickly fall apart.

With the formation broken, the besieged evil cultivators suddenly felt their bodies lighten, soaring up to strike directly at the Black Mountain Army’s top officers.

In an instant, more than a dozen people fell—several of them True Qi Realm fighters.

"Watch out for the Black Mountain Army—Scholar Lu might be among them!"

Suddenly, a shout rang out.

The more Zhao Xing thought about it, the more something felt off.

He’d seen Yan Yun in the ranks of the Black Mountain Army but, curiously, hadn’t spotted the one man he truly feared: Lu Chang’sheng. Suddenly, a flash of insight hit him—the Black Mountain soldier before him seemed to morph into Lu Chang’sheng’s face.