Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 335 - 207: Intimidation_2

"Kill him!"

The cultivators who practiced Puppetry Technique were a serious headache on a crowded battlefield—the old cultivator in front roared in anger.

Immediately, two cultivators leapt out, charging straight at Lu Chang’sheng.

The Qi Cultivation mid-stage wasn’t as deep in Magical Power as late-stage, so unless absolutely necessary, people wouldn’t use Sword Control in the thick of battle.

After all, flying on your sword drains Magical Power constantly, and if you’re not careful, the enemy snaps up the opportunity.

Both of the Zhu Clan members were Qi Cultivation mid-stage. They shared a glance—a tacit understanding sparked instantly--one would block Li Nangua, the other would focus on suppressing Lu Chang’sheng.

Once the old cultivator dealt with the rampaging puppet beast, he could come over and finish off Lu Chang’sheng.

"Everyone else is tied up—we need to end this fast."

"Got it!"

Clearly, these two had braved danger side-by-side for years; tacit coordination burned between them. Decision made, they shot out like rolling thunder.

Only, before they could pull off their plan, there was a startled cry, followed by the old cultivator yelling. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Fall back! Fall back! She’s a Qi Cultivation late-stage!"

Li Nangua had already seen right through the old cultivator’s scheme. Figured they’d targeted Lu Chang’sheng. Her pretty face turned icy cold.

There are plenty of Qi Cultivation mid-stage cultivators here, some even stronger than Chang’sheng—why are they going after my Chang’sheng?

Kill them!

She kept Lu Chang’sheng’s warning in mind, holding back her late-stage cultivation to avoid exposing herself. But these weren’t clueless Loose Cultivators—their sharp eyes caught her slip, and they retreated at once.

Li Nangua slashed down with her saber.

The cultivator—caught off guard—flared with Spiritual Light, then a crisp crack sounded; his defensive Magical Artifact broke down in an instant.

The saber slash swept across him, splitting his body in two.

Lu Chang’sheng sighed inwardly—he hadn’t wanted Nangua to reveal her true cultivation, for fear it’d lure over the enemy’s late-stage cultivators.

But clearly, that was wishful thinking. In a real fight, who could really keep their aura in check?

Sure enough, Nangua’s action drew some attention.

As the group pushed steadily through Zhu Clan territory, a silhouette suddenly burst out of a building, charging straight at Li Nangua.

"The Zhu Family has another late-stage cultivator!"

Up in the sky, Fang Yuan wrestled with Zhu Ren. The sudden emergence of another late-stage cultivator made his heart sink.

Judging by his senses, the newcomer was no lightweight—definitely leagues ahead of those like Fang Shan who’d just stepped into the seventh Qi Cultivation layer.

Evident: another seasoned Qi Cultivation late-stage cultivator.

All told, counting Zhu Ren and the rest, the Zhu Family had four late-stage cultivators, enough to crack their blockade.

If that was just a headache, Zhu Ren’s next words made Fang Yuan’s scalp tingle.

"Fellow Daoist Beiming, are you not going to act yet?"

There’s another late-stage cultivator involved!

Fang Yuan instantly thought of one person: the owner of Little Cold Valley, Beiming. He was pretty well-known among Loose Cultivators, capable of running Little Cold Valley’s market—most late-stage cultivators wouldn’t dare try it.

"How did Fellow Daoist Beiming end up colluding with you all?" Fang Yuan’s face darkened. Beiming might not be quite his equal, but he was still a skilled late-stage cultivator.

If he joined the fight, they’d drag the lopsided battle back to an almost even footing.

"Beiming?"

Lu Chang’sheng’s heart sank, too.

He’d met Beiming, Little Cold Valley’s master, once before—knew the guy wasn’t to be trifled with. He’d never imagined Beiming would side with the Zhu Family.

"Now things are getting complicated."

A veteran late-stage cultivator could easily handle two fresh seventh-layer fighters, maybe even come out on top—three-on-one was needed to hold one down.

In short, Beiming just messed up all their plans.

But a moment later, Lu Chang’sheng had a thought. He quickly formed a mudra and a faint mist quietly rose in one of the houses.

In another courtyard, Beiming stood by his training room, looking up at the sky battle.

Hearing Zhu Ren call, Beiming started to step out. Suddenly, he stopped, glancing in another direction—a strange glow in his eyes.

"Beiming of Little Cold Valley? You really want to muddy the waters here too?" The low voice spread out, and cultivators for miles around stiffened in shock.

Whoever dared call Beiming by name wasn’t some ordinary person.

At least a late-stage Qi Cultivator.

Or someone seeking death.

Fang Yuan and the others were secretly delighted.

But Zhu Ren and the Zhu Family members’ faces fell.

Evidently, this mystery man was trying to stop Beiming from interfering. If Beiming acted, this person might just jump in as well.

Why would he think that? Because till now, the guy hadn’t made a move—he only spoke up when Beiming was about to.

"Who are you, hiding your face like a coward?"

Zhu Zhen shouted angrily.

He knew Beiming’s temperament—cautious and guarded. A mysterious, unknown expert showing up here would probably throw Beiming into doubt.

Chances were high Beiming would just wash his hands of it.

And that would leave the Zhu Family utterly doomed.

"Hmph. My name’s none of your concern, old man."

That cool voice rang out again.

This time, with a faint arrogant edge.

Inside the training room, Beiming’s eyes flashed—he looked over to a building over a thousand meters to the left.

"If he won’t even share his name, he’s probably not that impressive,"

he thought to himself. But, cautious to the core, Beiming didn’t jump in, nor did he respond to Zhu Family’s invitation.

Instead, he formed a mudra. A gray shadow shot into the ground beneath his feet.

"Sssst!"

Inside a house, a four-to-five-zhang-long puppet beast coiled. Suddenly there was a flash of gray light and a spirit beast—like a giant mole—burst out, suspended in midair, with flecks of silver shining in the gray shadow.

But in the next moment, the Black Water Profound Snake snapped its massive tail, smashing the gray shadow to the floor. The mole-like beast shrieked and immediately burrowed underground.

Meanwhile, a kilometer away, Beiming instantly realized the Black Water Profound Snake’s power, his face paled—he dashed straight out of the courtyard.

With his veteran late-stage cultivation, he quickly found a chance to flee once no one of equal rank was watching.

Naturally, Lu Chang’sheng had purpose in letting him go. When he summoned the Black Water Profound Snake with his puppetry, he’d tipped off his own side to let any powerful ones escape if they tried.

Thanks to that, Beiming escaped without incident.

More than ten minutes passed—Beiming never reappeared. Both sides understood what it meant. The Zhu Family’s faces grew dark as midnight.

Fang Yuan and the others, though disturbed, knew it wasn’t the moment to dwell. At once, they threw into the fight, clashing with the Zhu Family’s higher-ups.

"This struggle won’t be hidden from the other factions much longer—we have to finish it fast."

With Beiming gone, Lu Chang’sheng could finally breathe easy. To him, Beiming was a huge wildcard, so he’d gambled on scaring him off.

"Beiming really is cautious—he’s earned that reputation among Loose Cultivators."

Lu Chang’sheng knew Beiming pretty well. When they’d settled down in Little Cold Valley, he’d made sure to figure out Beiming’s personality in advance—no sense straying into a trap later.

The small markets here... Half the time, "market" really meant money-grabbing schemes by cultivators. You had to keep your guard up.

Who’d think all that prep would come in handy today?

Of course, sheer caution alone couldn’t make Beiming run—the real reason was uncertainty. Joining the Zhu Family was enough to even out the fight, but the advantage still lay with Lu Chang’sheng’s side.

That’s exactly why Beiming didn’t step in for the Zhu Family.

If even joining them meant disadvantage, and Lu Chang’sheng’s people weren’t bent on slaughtering everyone, Beiming was sure as hell not risking himself. "Better those guys die than me"—that’s how most Loose Cultivators think.

Lu Chang’sheng knew this intimately—he set the Black Water Profound Snake as his anchor to see how Beiming would respond.

Otherwise, with just his own fifth-layer cultivation, he’d really be on shaky ground against Beiming.

When it came to his own life, Lu Chang’sheng was twelve times more careful than anyone else.

Soon, a colossal puppet beast—the Black Water Profound Snake—appeared in the fray.

As soon as it entered, it trapped the Zhu Family’s late-stage cultivator suppressing Li Nangua, shoving him onto the edge of disaster.

After half an hour his Magical Power was all but drained, and the Black Water Profound Snake smashed him square in the chest.

The sound of bones splintering echoed; the Zhu Family’s late-stage cultivator screamed and was hurled aside.

The next instant, a barrage of techniques buried him.

That was the true start of the Zhu Family higher-ups’ annihilation.