A "Little Surprise"

Chapter 56

After dealing with the Foundation Establishment cultivators, the remaining members of the Feng Family were merely Qi Refining cultivators, easily dealt with.

However, he had promised the Feng Family head's request.

"Among you, who is Feng Ranfei? I promised your family head to spare your life. But if you hide and don't come out, don't blame me if you get hurt by accident."

The old but vigorous voice echoed throughout the Feng Family's territory. Before long, a woman led a blindfolded little girl forward.

Li Changmeng glanced over. With his peak Foundation Establishment spiritual sense, he immediately saw that the little girl had exceptional talent, reaching the upper tier.

As for her soul talent, he couldn't determine it at a glance, but it likely wasn't bad.

No wonder they wanted to protect her. In a few decades, she could rebuild the Feng Family.

"Senior, I've already covered her eyes and ears. Please, just take her to a suitable place to live."

The woman's voice trembled, but she gently pushed Feng Ranfei forward.

"Quite clever."

Li Changmeng used his spiritual power to pull Feng Ranfei to his side, then stopped holding back. He quickly refined all the Feng Family members in the area.

Afterward, he headed to the other gathering places of the Feng Family. Because Li Changmeng acted so quickly, most of the Feng Family members were turned into cultivation resources.

"An entire family, and it only increased my cultivation by a sliver. I'm still far from Core Formation."

The bottleneck to Core Formation was more difficult to break through than Li Changmeng had imagined.

The most important aspect of Core Formation—the Dao—he had already comprehended beyond what was necessary. Yet it was still this hard.

If only he had a treasure like the Purple Sun Tree Heart.

But such treasures were mere fantasies. Ordinary people who obtained them would surely hide them away. After all, they were treasures that could create Core Formation cultivators.

Carrying Feng Ranfei in one hand, Li Changmeng descended beside a mountain stream.

Along the way, Li Changmeng casually checked her soul talent. It was also upper-tier, the same as his own.

With such talent, most demonic cultivators would be reluctant to kill her.

If nurtured properly, she could become a future Core Formation cultivator, or even a Golden Core master.

Unfortunately, she had encountered Li Changmeng.

He casually removed Feng Ranfei's blindfold and the soundproof cotton balls from her ears.

The girl, no more than ten years old, looked at Li Changmeng with an innocent and curious expression, as if wondering why she was here.

However, under the Hundred-Eyes Divine Power, she couldn't hide—

**[Feng Ranfei] [Endurance] [Deep-Seated Hatred]**

Tsk tsk, at such a young age, she already had such acting skills. Li Changmeng hadn't expected this. This was the extraordinary intelligence brought by upper-tier soul talent.

Thus, the old man clone spoke, pointing at the child clone: "He's just like you, kidnapped by me. I also have a special demonic pill that can turn people into something like demon beasts."

The child clone responded to this statement, revealing its true form and waving its tentacles toward Feng Ranfei.

"Eat it. Only then can I feel at ease."

Hearing this, Feng Ranfei's face turned pale. She stared at the black, unknown pill handed to her by the white-haired demon, hesitating.

"Hmm?"

Li Changmeng made an impatient sound.

The child clone transformed back to its original form, clutching its stomach and laughing.

Only then did Feng Ranfei realize she had been tricked. She relaxed, but soon, she understood—

It seemed the other party had no intention of letting her go.

"Ah, as expected of a prodigy worth sacrificing an entire family and an ancient treasure to protect. You realized your situation so quickly."

The old man clone let out a sinister laugh, a wisp of blood qi appearing in his hand, carrying a chilling coldness.

"You... don't kill me. You promised the family head to spare me. I can swear a heavenly oath not to harm you. I only ask that you let me go."

"I'll eat it!"

As if making a firm decision, Feng Ranfei took the unknown pill, closed her eyes, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Then, she trembled, waiting for the changes to her body, occasionally touching her face and body tentatively.

"She actually believed it."

"And in the future, if I achieve great things in cultivation, I will do my best to help you."

Feng Ranfei was truly desperate, but she had nothing to offer that could move the other party. She could only promise future favors.

"Unfortunately, I'm not interested in your 'best efforts.' Besides, I'm a demonic cultivator. Isn't it normal for me to go back on my word?"

Facing a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, Feng Ranfei had no ability to resist. In an instant, she was refined, leaving only her clothes behind.

"There are still a few Foundation Establishment forces left. I probably won't be able to deal with them tonight. The Feng Family's destruction will soon be noticed. I probably can't hide for long."

Unlike a mortal city like Linhào City, dealing with Foundation Establishment forces would inevitably create a huge commotion.

By now, the incidents in Linhào City and the Feng Family had likely been discovered.

Nearby Core Formation forces would surely take action, possibly even alarming a Golden Core force like the Feilai Sword Sect.

"Let me think... what could be more important than capturing a demonic cultivator like me? Naturally, it would be the emergence of an ancient treasure."

Li Changmeng had never considered obtaining the ancient treasure himself.

An ancient treasure of at least fifth-tier would inevitably bring disaster.

He hadn't forgotten his master's warning before leaving: do not participate in events involving the emergence of treasures.

Taking out the ancient treasure map, Li Changmeng infiltrated a mortal city and made thousands of copies.

"An ancient treasure is so tempting. Even a force like the Ten-City Alliance, with Nascent Soul cultivators, would be moved."

As long as the ancient treasure caused enough of a stir, it might buy him time to break through to Core Formation.

However, after copying the map, Li Changmeng didn't rush to spread it.

Although he had no intention of seeking the ancient treasure, he could still make some preparations at the treasure's location.

He could give the cultivators who went to compete for the treasure a little "surprise."

Another clone set out quietly, following the map's markings. After several days, it arrived at a mountain range.

"It's somewhat similar to Black Deer Mountain, but there's a fourth-tier demon beast here. I can only set up in the middle of the range, not the inner area."

Based on the map, Li Changmeng could only confirm that the ancient treasure was somewhere in this mountain range. Ancient treasures had spirits and could hide themselves if they didn't wish to emerge.

Li Changmeng had no intention of searching for it. Instead, he forged several deep caves and set up arrangements inside, placing incense idols disguised as rocks.

Li Changmeng's plan was simple: if any cultivators entered the caves searching for the ancient treasure, he would use the incense idols to cast the *Faith Mutation Spirit Technique* on them.

This way, he could create a bigger commotion. Moreover, Li Changmeng had almost never used the *Faith Mutation Spirit Technique* in public, so it wouldn't be traced back to him or the Ancient Immortal Sect.

Not only would this buy him time, but it would also allow him to test the technique a few more times. Why not?