You Cultivate, I Farm

Chapter 223: Hate Me, Loathe Me!

The stone mountain lay in eerie silence.

Beneath an ordinary spirit wood, a faint purple glow revealed a corner of a mineral when observed closely.

Three individuals concealed themselves in various ways, awaiting the moment when the double-headed armadillos inside the stone mountain would fall into the trap set for them.

Lu Xuan hid in the thick foliage, using the early-learned breath-holding technique to conceal his aura due to the presence of Qian Dinghong and the others, refraining from using the more effective third-grade Concealing Spirit Robe.

A rustling sound echoed as a peculiar beast with two heads emerged from the vicinity of the minerals, its gray-white eyes scanning the surroundings.

The beast's body was gray-black, slender, covered in dark scales that extended from its neck to its tail.

Lu Xuan and his companions patiently waited.

Slowly, three more double-headed armadillos emerged from different locations. Two faced left and right as lookouts, while one stayed in place. The first one to surface confirmed its safety, occasionally appearing and disappearing in the soil, slowly approaching the location of the spiritual minerals.

Suddenly, a pair of slender claws emerged from the soil, grabbing the faint purple mineral.

"Attack!" Lu Xuan heard a voice transmission from Deng Yi. The Purple Thunder Sword was unsheathed instantly, causing the scabbard to tremble continuously.

At the location of the spiritual minerals, runic symbols on the ground flickered, and rapidly, a vine cage grew, restraining the double-headed armadillo within. Countless thorns grew on the dark-green vines, deeply piercing its body.

Lu Xuan and Deng Yi targeted one double-headed armadillo each, while the one providing backup from a distance had a gray-yellow spiritual light flashing over its body. Just as it was about to burrow into the soil, a gray light hit it, immobilizing its body until it fell to the ground, taking several breaths to recover.

In Qian Dinghong's hands, he held a hazy gray stone mirror from which the gray light emitted.

With one double-headed armadillo confined in the cage, Lu Xuan and Deng Yi each killed one, while Qian Dinghong controlled the remaining one. If there were signs of it trying to escape, he would use the stone mirror artifact to restrain it immediately.

Due to concerns about the double-headed armadillo escaping, Lu Xuan's flying sword attacked continuously like a persistent drizzle, the offensive unceasing.

Unable to break free from Lu Xuan's sword intent, the double-headed armadillo roared lowly. Hundreds of stone spikes emerged from the ground, rushing towards Lu Xuan.

Sensing the change, Lu Xuan's spiritual awareness adjusted, and the sword intent changed accordingly, becoming violently aggressive. Sword energy crisscrossed, severing all the stone spikes.

The Purple Thunder Sword flashed with a purple light, and a lightning bolt shot out like a venomous snake, landing on the double-headed armadillo's scales, sizzling and emitting a burnt smell.

In this manner, Lu Xuan relied solely on the unique characteristics of the Purple Thunder Sword, combined with the layers of changes from the "Four Seasons Sword Art," to control the double-headed armadillo firmly while continuously inflicting various injuries, without using any other means.

The entire process was effortless, with everything under control.

Seeing the other double-headed armadillo, entangled by Deng Yi, on the verge of death, Lu Xuan's thoughts moved. Spiritual power surged into the Purple Thunder Sword, and the sword intent turned fiercely manic. Sword energy swept across, striking the two slender heads of the beast. The inherently violent nature of the Summer Sword Technique, coupled with the innate thunder power of the flying sword, turned the heads into black ash.

He joined Deng Yi, and together, they attacked the double-headed armadillo that Qian Dinghong had been controlling.

Inside the cage, the bound double-headed armadillo, feeling the dire situation, emanated a strong gray-yellow light. Its entire body expanded several times, not caring about the thorns deeply piercing its abdomen, heads, and scales. It broke free from the vine cage.

Before it could get far, a gray light shot from a distance. A black spear-shaped artifact descended from the sky, pinning it firmly in place.

"Brothers, can we spare the life of this double-headed armadillo? I want to capture one alive. After returning to the sect, I plan to keep it on the mountain peak."

As the other double-headed armadillo was about to meet its demise, Lu Xuan suddenly spoke.

"Brother Lu's enthusiasm for spirit beasts far exceeds my imagination. But since Brother Lu has requested, we naturally have to comply."

Qian Dinghong laughed heartily. Usually, encountering demonic beasts in secret realms or mysterious places, cultivators seldom thought of capturing and keeping them. However, Lu Xuan's request was not unreasonable, so they readily agreed.

Three double-headed armadillos were neatly arranged on the ground. The one that Lu Xuan had slightly healed was bound with a rope artifact and placed in front of the three deceased companions.

Deng Yi and Qian Dinghong began processing the materials from the demonic beasts.

The most valuable part of the double-headed armadillo was naturally its scales, which could be used to forge high-grade defensive artifacts. Next were the claws, fangs, and other materials.

Lu Xuan, having obtained a half-dead double-headed armadillo, naturally received fewer materials.

He mainly took some demonic beast meat and a small portion of double-headed armadillo scales.

"Do you two have enough scales for forging artifacts? If not, you can take what I have."

Lu Xuan smiled.

"How could we accept..." Qian Dinghong and Deng Yi felt a bit embarrassed. More scales were naturally better, but taking what Lu Xuan had felt a bit awkward.

"It's okay; I never intended to use them for forging artifacts anyway. However, I'll take the bones of these three double-headed armadillos."

Lu Xuan said. Compared to the meager amount of armadillo scales, both the bones and eyes were more valuable to him.

Bones could be used to cultivate Thorny Bones, while eyes could serve as nourishment for the Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood, both being third-grade materials with noticeable effects.

"Well, Brother Lu, these are all yours then."

Both Qian Dinghong and Deng Yi readily agreed, considering the scarcity of the bones and eyes on the double-headed armadillos.

After dividing the spoils, Lu Xuan bid farewell to the two. Although Qian Dinghong and Deng Yi tried to keep him for a few more words, seeing Lu Xuan's insistence, they didn't force it and each went their own way.

Half an hour later, Lu Xuan's figure reappeared in front of the stone mountain, sweeping his spiritual awareness around.

With a single wave of his hand, the injured double-headed armadillo appeared on the ground, firmly bound by a rope artifact, its eyes looking at Lu Xuan with a mixture of fear and resentment.

"How does it feel to witness three companions being dismembered right before your eyes?"

"Going out together to search for treasures, but ending up with three companions killed, scales plucked one by one, flesh cut

into pieces, blood scattered everywhere. Meanwhile, you could only watch helplessly from the side."

Lu Xuan's tone was full of mockery.

The double-headed armadillo, with a high level of intelligence, grew increasingly resentful as it heard Lu Xuan's words.

Seeing this, Lu Xuan's palm displayed six bloody eyeballs, each filled with pain and unwillingness, rolling slowly between his palms.

As the companion's corpse was insulted, a strong gray-yellow light emerged from the double-headed armadillo's body.

"If you want to kill me, hate me, loathe me!"

"Then continue living in your ugly state, escape, escape with your hatred, and let it destroy me!"

Lu Xuan burst into hearty laughter.