As Long Xuan stepped onto the gravel path, the Eye of Heavenly secret swiftly scanned the ground and detected several Gu insects resembling pebbles lying in wait.
Upon magnification through the Eye of Heavenly secret, progress indicators appeared above these Gu insects' heads. Long Xuan confirmed that these were not ordinary pebbles but stone-like Gu insects. His heart sank as he realized the situation was dire.
He was basically the only Gu cultivator heading to Great Stone Village. He had no illusions that these were set up for someone else; he knew he was likely being targeted.
He cursed inwardly, wondering how he could be ambushed when he had never made enemies. Could it be that he had sold too many items?
However, the things he sold were all within a controllable range. High-grade spirit insects were merely materials that could be exchanged for with spirit stones and were not difficult to collect. After all, who didn't have a few high-grade spirit insects?
Why didn't anyone go after Di Xin, whose items were far more expensive than his?
Long Xuan sighed inwardly. To collect resources, he had to sell resources; otherwise, how could he expect others to give him resources for free? It was impossible to keep wealth completely hidden. Even if he only bought and never sold, spending too many spirit stones could still make him a target.
He knew he could not stop trading resources with others in the future. If he did, the self-created Gu formulas will become increasingly expensive to produce, and he wouldn't be able to gather the necessary resources. If he resorted to robbery, what would be the difference from his current situation?
Since there was no solution, he could only adopt a defensive approach, ready to counter whatever came his way.
Long Xuan took a deep breath, cursing Li Laodao for causing harm with his items. Those harmful things had now been used against him.
Despite his unsettled mind, his face showed no sign of change. He continued to hum a tune, appearing in good spirits.
He pretended to inadvertently deviate from his path, narrowly avoiding the ambush set by the stone Gu insects.
Once he had taken a detour, he rushed towards Great Stone Village at the fastest possible speed, where Elder Long resided, ensuring his safety.
However, his actions did not fool the ambushers. A female rogue cultivator shouted, "Not good! We've been discovered!"
Three people immediately jumped out from the bushes, blocking Long Xuan's path.
Seeing the familiar face of the female rogue cultivator, Long Xuan exclaimed, "So it's you!"
His face alternated between green and white. He had pondered for a long time at the treasure exchange about who the unlucky person targeted by her might be. Never did he imagine that the unlucky person would be himself. The soundproof formation disk she bought was prepared for him, a twist of fate indeed.
Long Xuan cursed inwardly, realizing that Di Xin also had a hand in this. The soundproof formation disk she traded away was now being used against him. This was troublesome; with the soundproof formation, he couldn't expect help from the market guards and had to rely on himself.
"It's me! Since you know we have a soundproof formation disk, hand over all your valuables and all the Gu insects under your blood contract, and we promise to only rob you, not kill you."
The bald man couldn't believe that their first robbery, after careful selection, targeted what seemed the weakest but turned out to be a strongest opponent. This person, disguised as weak, had managed to cultivate External Clones at such a low level, and not just one, but five. Even Gu Kings didn't have this many clones.
They had kicked an iron plate this time. External Clones could attack, and they couldn't ignore them. Without at least six people to handle them, they stood no chance.
"What? External Clones?" The female rogue cultivator's face changed dramatically. Just as she was about to examine them closely, the five External Clones attacked.
"Flame Jade!"
The flame clone's right hand conjured a red energy ball from flame power, striking towards the female rogue cultivator.
"Thunder Palm!"
The bald man reacted first, rushing to shield the female rogue cultivator, his right hand generating a spherical thunderbolt to counter the flame jade.
"Boom!"
The collision of their palms resulted in a deafening explosion.
The bald man felt an overwhelming force from his palm, pushing him back ten steps, his face turning pale. He couldn't help but spit blood, staggering.
"How is this possible?"
The bald man was shocked.
He was in the late-stage Spirit Gathering stage, while the External Clone was mid-stage. In a direct clash, he should have had the advantage, but he was overpowered, leaving him bewildered.
He didn't know that Long Xuan possessed the Ten Absolute Bodies, known for being invincible at the same level. With wide meridians, his attack power far exceeded that of the same level.
Facing super geniuses, he could still be invincible at the same level. Against rogue cultivators with poor combat skills, he could even fight above his level and win.
Without the ability to fight above his level, how could he claim the title of the world's most extraordinary body? Long Xuan realized he had underestimated the combat power of the Ten Absolute Bodies.
His External Clone had only one attribute. Even a single flame jade could make the bald man spit blood. Then, wouldn't the five elements jade cast by his original body kill him in one move?
The female rogue cultivator's cautious approach was correct, To be on the safe side, she even brought two people to fight three against one. But she still wasn't cautious enough.