Chapter 111: The Sweet Scented Illusion and a Crushing Defeat

Deep within Blackstone Mountain, the fog grew thicker with every step.

Ling Tao and his group walked cautiously, their spiritual senses extended to the limit.

However, the surrounding environment seemed to be playing tricks on them. The strange, perfectly circular trees and the blackened tree trunks made their hearts feel heavy.

Suddenly, a faint, sweet fragrance drifted into the air.

It was a very delicate scent, like the nectar of a rare spiritual flower, carrying a strange, intoxicating power.

"Senior Brother Ling..." Chen Rui suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes, which were previously alert, gradually became slightly dazed.

"Chen Rui, what’s wrong?" Ling Tao asked, turning his head.

"Look... over there," Chen Rui muttered, pointing a trembling finger toward a patch of dense fog. "Isn’t that... a fairy?"

Gao Feng, who was walking beside him, also froze. A foolish smile appeared on his face. "Yes... a fairy. She’s calling me... she says she wants to dual cultivate with me..."

Ling Tao’s heart shook violently.

He immediately realized something was wrong. He quickly circulated his spiritual energy, but to his shock, the Qi in his meridians began to surge uncontrollably. A wave of intense, fiery heat rushed straight to his brain.

In his vision, the dense fog slowly parted, revealing a few breathtakingly beautiful women in thin, translucent silk robes. They were smiling seductively at him, their white skin gleaming under the moonlight, reaching out their delicate hands toward him.

"Senior Brother Ling~, why are you so stiff? Come here and play with us..." A charming and seductive voice echoed in his ear.

Ling Tao’s breathing became heavy. His eyes slowly turned red and his sanity was on the verge of collapsing.

’No! This is an illusion!’

Ling Tao bit the tip of his tongue hard.

A sharp pain and the taste of blood instantly flooded his mouth. The intense pain acted like a bucket of cold water, instantly clearing his mind.

He quickly reached into his pocket and crushed a Clear Heart Talisman. A cool stream of Qi washed over his brain, completely dispersing the sweet fragrance and the seductive illusions.

When he opened his eyes again, there were no beautiful women.

Instead, he saw Chen Rui and Gao Feng standing in place, drooling, their hands reaching out to hug the empty air, their faces flushed with an abnormal red while Zhao Ming and Wang Teng were unconscious.

"Idiots! Bite your tongues! It’s the Passion Sect’s Charm Illusion!" Ling Tao shouted, slapping them both hard on the face.

The two men jolted awake, looking around in confusion before realizing what had happened. Their faces turned pale with shock.

Clap

Clap

Clap

At this moment, a slow clapping sound echoed from the shadows ahead.

"Not bad, not bad. To be able to break out of my ’Intoxicating Spring Illusion’ so quickly, you must have a very strong willpower."

The fog parted completely and a sinister looking young man slowly walked out. Behind him were two female disciples dressed in revealing red robes, their eyes filled with mocking and greedy light.

"Passion Sect dogs!" Ling Tao’s face sank. He immediately drew his flying sword. "So these strange signs were all your doing. You actually dare to set up an ambush for the Cloudwater Sect’s disciples. You really have a death wish."

The sinister young man sneered, his eyes sweeping over Ling Tao and the others like a predator looking at its prey.

"Death wish? Junior Brother, your words are too heavy. We are just ’borrowing’ a little bit of your pure essence to refine our arts. Since you’ve entered our Blood Mist Formation, you might as well obediently become our nourishment."

The Blood Mist Formation was a sinister formation commonly used by evil sects. Once activated, it would fill the surrounding area with a thick mist that could gradually weaken anyone trapped inside while extracting their blood essence and spiritual energy. The stolen essence could then be gathered by the formation and used to strengthen its users or assist them in cultivating their forbidden techniques.

"Senior Brother, don’t waste time talking to them. Let’s capture them quickly. I can’t wait to taste the pure essence of the Cloudwater Sect," One of the red robed women laughed softly

"Kill them!" Ling Tao didn’t hesitate. He knew that against the Passion Sect, any delay meant death.

He circulated his spiritual energy and the flying sword in his hand emitted a sharp sword light.

"Cloudwater Sword Art! Flowing Water Pierces the Clouds!"

A streak of cold blue sword light slashed toward the sinister looking young man, carrying a freezing Qi that caused the surrounding temperature to drop sharply.

"Senior Brother Ling is actually using his ultimate move!" Chen Rui and Gao Feng, who had just recovered, also drew their weapons and prepared to assist.

However, the sinister looking young man didn’t even dodge. He just stood there, a contemptuous smile appeared on his lips.

"Junior Sister, show them our Power."

One of the red robed women giggled. She waved her hand, and a bright red silk ribbon flew out from her sleeve.

The silk ribbon expanded in mid air, instantly turning into a giant red python. It opened its bloody mouth and swallowed the blue sword light whole without any resistance.

"What?!" Ling Tao’s pupils shrank. His ultimate strike was actually broken so easily?

Before he could react, the giant red python lunged toward him.

Ling Tao quickly retreated but the python was too fast. It wrapped around his flying sword, instantly corroding the spiritual energy on the blade with its intense poison.

"Ah!" Ling Tao felt a backlash of energy and his face turned pale.

"Senior Brother!" Chen Rui and Gao Feng rushed forward to help, but the second red robed woman merely blew a kiss.

A cloud of pink mist instantly enveloped the two of them.

"Cough, cough..." The two men only inhaled a little bit of the mist before their bodies went completely limp. Their eyes rolled back and they collapsed directly onto the ground, completely losing their ability to fight.

"Chen Rui! Gao Feng!" Ling Tao shouted angrily, his eyes turning red.

"Save your energy. In our Blood Mist Formation, your spiritual energy is being constantly drained. The longer you fight, the weaker you become," the sinister looking young man said lazily.

He raised his right hand and a black flag appeared in his palm.

"Blood Refining Flag."

The Blood Refining Flag is an evil path treasure that could condense blood Qi into powerful attacks. By channeling spiritual energy into the flag, its user could manipulate and compress surrounding blood Qi or stored blood Qi, forming various offensive techniques.

The flag waved and a massive handprint made of condensed blood Qi formed in the air which slammed heavily toward Ling Tao.

He tried to dodge it but his movements had become incredibly sluggish due to the formation’s suppression.

Bang

The blood handprint hit him squarely in the chest.

"Pfft!" Ling Tao spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flew backward like a broken kite.

He crashed heavily into a large rock, his bones made cracking sound.

He struggled to stand up but his dantian was already empty and his meridians were severely damaged.

The disparity in strength was just too great. The sinister looking young man was at least at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, while he was only in the 6th stage. Coupled with the formation’s suppression, he had absolutely no chance of winning.

The sinister looking young man walked over slowly with a playful smile on his face. "Not bad. Your pure essence is very rich. If I refine you, my cultivation will definitely advance another step."

Ling Tao looked at the approaching enemy, his heart sank to the bottom.

’Yu Liang... I’m sorry, It seems I can’t complete the mission.’

Just as the sinister young man reached out to grab him, Ling Tao’s eyes suddenly flashed with a resolute light.

His left hand, hidden behind his back, had already crushed a special jade talisman.

Whoosh

A brilliant red beam of light suddenly shot up from Ling Tao’s hand, piercing through the thick fog and exploding high in the sky above Blackstone Mountain.

It was the Cloudwater Sect’s highest level emergency signal!

"You!" The sinister looking young man’s face changed slightly. He didn’t expect Ling Tao to be so decisive, actually triggering the signal right under his nose.

However, he quickly calmed down and sneered. "You think sending a signal is useful? This Blackstone Mountain is huge. By the time your people find you, you will already be a corpse. Or rather... my nourishment."

Ling Tao didn’t say anything. He just looked in the direction Yu Liang had gone, a faint trace of relief appeared in his eyes.

’Yu Liang, if you see the signal... please avenge us.’

Before he could finish his thoughts, the sinister looking young man’s palm struck his neck.

Ling Tao’s consciousness instantly fell into darkness and he completely lost his consciousness.

"Tie them all up. Take them back to the cave," the sinister looking young man ordered indifferently.

The two red robed women nodded, taking out special binding ropes to tie up Ling Tao, Chen Rui, Zhao Ming, Wang Teng and Gao Feng like pigs.

Meanwhile, miles away on the other side of the mountain.

Yu Liang, who was searching for traces, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the sky.

A brilliant red light was blooming in the distance, illuminating the dark sky of Blackstone Mountain.

Yu Liang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Emergency signal? It’s from Ling Tao’s direction."

A cold light flashed in his eyes. He didn’t hesitate at all. His body moved, turning into a streak of light as he rushed toward the source of the signal at his full speed.