He began to attain enlightenment from the Demonic Sect.

Chapter 15 Ink Bamboo Forest

The sky was getting dark.

When Zhu Huai came out of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, his steps were much more cheerful.

He originally just wanted to find a job with higher pay, but unexpectedly, a good thing happened to him.

"When luck really strikes, there's no stopping it..."

His face was beaming with a smile, his right hand tightly gripping the jade pendant for warding off evil spirits on his chest, his eyes filled with beautiful hopes for the future.

With this, I can save up enough spirit stones this year to buy the "Burning Heart of Fiery Demonic Flame Technique"!

"By then, I too can become a talisman master like Brother Yuan and live in that cave surrounded by spiritual energy!"

Scattered snowflakes fell on his face, but Zhu Huai felt no cold at all. His mind was filled with the thought of quickly collecting the seventy bamboo stalks so that he could put the two spirit stones and the amulet into his pocket.

He became more and more excited as he thought about it, and rushed towards the bamboo forest without stopping, hoping to find his two coworkers as soon as possible so that they could look after each other in the forest.

Du Jianyuan followed far behind him, at a moderate pace, always keeping a safe distance.

As you walk, keep a discreet eye on your surroundings, watching out for any suspicious people following you.

Although he had already figured out that Huang Quan was planning to harm him, the other party was ultimately just a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator with limited abilities.

If you want to succeed, cooperating with others is the safest approach.

Moreover, over the past ten years, Huang Quan has accumulated a considerable network of connections in the talisman shop, and he should not be underestimated.

"Huang Quan is also cautious by nature, but this time, for some reason, he acted somewhat hastily, which aroused my suspicion..."

Du Jianyuan dared not be careless in the slightest, and even less dared to underestimate this old handyman who had been working in the talisman room for more than ten years.

"Fortunately, I have the soft armor that Brother Falcon gave me, which can conceal my presence to the extreme, making it difficult for others to detect me..."

Without this mid-grade inner armor and his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation, he really wouldn't dare to easily step into the Ink Bamboo Forest.

Along the way, no suspicious persons were found.

As darkness fell completely, Du Jianyuan walked through the relatively clear bamboo grove on the outskirts, still maintaining a certain distance from Zhu Huai.

After walking for a while, we entered the gloomy and dark bamboo forest through another entrance.

A chilling mist swept over us, carrying a stench of decay.

Du Jianyuan had already left a magical mark on that amulet, so even though the forest was filled with dense evil mist, he could still sense Zhu Huai's exact location.

……

More than half an hour later.

Zhu Huai searched around the bamboo forest and finally spotted the two familiar figures in the distance. He ran up to them with a grin and greeted them.

"Little Zhu?"

"What are you doing here?"

Both of them were at the second level of Qi Refining. When they saw Zhu Huai, who was at the first level of Qi Refining, suddenly appear here, they both showed surprise on their faces.

"I was fortunate enough to receive the help of an elder brother who entrusted me with the task of collecting ink bamboo, allowing me to collect the remaining seventy bamboos for him."

Zhu Huai laughed heartily, revealing the jade pendant for warding off evil spirits hanging on his chest, and then patted the bamboo-picking token at his waist.

"You kid... your luck is always so good!"

One of them couldn't help but sigh.

The other person laughed and said:

"In that case, you can come with us to pick bamboo, and we can look out for each other."

"Okay! Thanks, Brother Sun and Brother Qian!"

Zhu Huai was overjoyed and immediately stepped forward to respectfully inquire about the intricacies of harvesting black bamboo.

Perhaps because their boss was easygoing, the two of them weren't too calculating and generously shared their tips with him.

……

Du Jianyuan noticed that Zhu Huai had been listening in one direction for a long time, so he immediately turned around and crawled into a clump of low bamboo, crouched down, and silently scanned his surroundings.

The area is slightly raised, offering a wide field of vision, making it easy to hide and difficult to be noticed.

He waited patiently, without haste or impatience, the soft armor inside subtly keeping the chilling aura at bay.

Moreover, once the "Heart-Burning Fire Technique" is cultivated to a minor level, the magical power within the body circulates continuously, which can gradually dissolve these evil energies.

"Someone actually came."

Before long, Du Jianyuan's gaze immediately locked onto two figures, and he discovered that they were sneaking towards Zhu Huai.

Only at this moment did he fully realize that the "Ink Bamboo Forest" game was set up for him.

Their purpose was simple: they just wanted his storage bag.

The forest was shrouded in thick, malevolent mist, making it difficult to see faces clearly from a distance, and even the cultivation levels of others could not be truly sensed.

However, Du Jianyuan could still tell from the outline of their figures that the thin Huang Quan was not among the two.

After all, one of the two was tall and the other had a limp.

"It seems Huang Quan still has a plan..."

Du Jianyuan sneered inwardly, immediately understanding what Huang Quan was up to.

It's nothing more than the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Seeing that they were already crouching behind Zhu Huai and the other two, ready to launch an attack at any moment, Du Jianyuan couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had always been cautious and suspicious, and that he was now more wary of the Demonic Sect environment.

Even those who once called you brother can still plot against you and turn their backs on you for a little benefit.

In just a short while, they had already started fighting.

Although Zhu Huai and the other two were engrossed in their work, they remained vigilant in the gloomy and dark bamboo forest.

As the two auras rapidly approached, the two Qi Refining Level 2 cultivators beside Zhu Huai reacted immediately, grabbing the ink bamboo beside them and stabbing it backward without hesitation.

"Click!"

The black bamboo is tough and far superior to ordinary bamboo and wood, and it firmly held the large knife that was about to be cleaved down.

However, the person wielding the knife had already reached the third level of Qi Refining. With a slight circulation of the evil fire within his body, the crimson-black flames quickly climbed up his arms and gathered in his palms.

With a twist, the bamboo split in two.

He looked up at Zhu Huai, who was retreating in panic, and was about to swing his sword to strike, but his eyes suddenly froze, and he burst into a curse:

"Damn it, it's you?!"

Zhu Huai also saw the attacker's face clearly and was horrified.

"Brother Zhao... Brother Zhao?!"

He recognized the visitor; it was Zhao Tietou from the old workshop, and the other man's workstation was right next to his!

Upon seeing the bamboo-gathering token at Zhu Huai's waist, Zhao Tietou immediately understood the whole story, but he couldn't care less about anything else and said menacingly:

"You bastard, what's the point of being almost as tall as Du Jianyuan? You'll still die!"

Before the words were even finished, the greatsword, wreathed in billowing demonic flames, slashed down once more.

At the critical moment, a surge of magical power struck directly, deflecting the blade slightly. It grazed Zhu Huai's shoulder blade, tearing his clothes and flesh apart, and blood instantly stained half of his arm.

After saving Zhu Huai's life, Brother Sun hurriedly roared:

"Zhu Huai! Stop standing there! If we don't fight to the death, none of us will survive!"

Having said that, he pulled out a talisman with his backhand and slammed it out.

The runes were activated by magic and instantly transformed into a fierce flame that raged away, but only burned a few charred wounds on Zhao Tietou's body, failing to kill him.

Zhu Huai clutched his bloodied shoulder, his heart filled with terror.

He couldn't understand how the usually honest and kind Zhao Tietou could show such terrifying murderous intent towards him, and he was terrified.

Seeing the four of them entangled together, Zhu Huai immediately came to his senses, his face turned pale, and he scrambled to the other side, completely disregarding the lives of his two good brothers.

"I... I'm only at the first level of Qi Refining, with no fighting power whatsoever, I can't help them at all... I'd better run for my life."

Zhu Huai ran forward desperately, his mind racing with thoughts, constantly trying to justify himself.

"You bastard!"

Seeing Zhu Huai run away without looking back, Brother Sun was so angry that he cursed loudly. He could only grit his teeth and take out the last few talismans to fight back desperately.

"We'd rather die than let them get away with this!"

Brother Qian was equally bloodthirsty, locked in a fierce battle with the cripple at the second level of Qi Refining, each move a desperate struggle.

After a long while, the bamboo forest returned to its deathly silence.

Brother Sun and Brother Qian lay dead in the snow, their eyes wide open, their bodies severed from their heads.

Zhao Tietou and his fellow villager Wei the Cripple didn't get much of a benefit either. Their faces were covered in blood, their bodies were covered in wounds, and their magical power had been completely exhausted. They were slumped on the ground, panting heavily.

"That kid ran away... Du Jianyuan will definitely find out about this later, what should we do?"

Wei the Cripple trembled as he took out the medicine powder, pressed it against the bloody wound on his waist, his face deathly pale, and asked through gritted teeth.

Zhao Tietou's face was gloomy. After a long while, he managed to suppress the murderous intent in his heart and said in a hoarse voice:

"We can't worry about that now. Huang Quan is on his way from the talisman room. If we can't kill that kid... we'll offer these two storage bags to the head constable. Maybe we can save our lives!"