"I have it!"
Facing the blockade of four late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, Qi Ping quickly devised a plan. Normally, under the combined assault of four such experts, he wouldn't have the strength to fight back. However, because they wanted to capture him alive, they were playing it safe, slowly wearing him down. They even intentionally left openings to prevent him from killing himself in a fit of despair.
Furthermore, the "Bee Daoist" had built quite a reputation. He had killed a saber-intent expert without injury, trapped a late-stage expert with arrays to escape, and killed two mid-stage experts in a single battle using formations. No one knew if he had one final trump card. Having reached the late-stage of Foundation Establishment, none of these men were willing to risk their lives unnecessarily; after all, the reward would be shared.
They were also afraid of gathering too closely, lest they be trapped by a sudden array, allowing him to escape. Thus, they formed a four-way encirclement, taking turns to attack and exhaust him. If one was trapped, the other three could immediately give chase.
This setup gave Qi Ping the opportunity he needed to take one down with him.
As he consumed spiritual liquid to sustain himself, he used the scattered spiritual energy from the battle to begin laying down array seals. While these were weaker than pre-made bases, as second-grade trapping seals, they only needed to hold a late-stage expert for a few breaths.
He didn't know if they noticed his actions, or if they simply didn't care. Regardless, once they were within range, it wouldn't matter.
"Bee Daoist, surrender!"
"Come with us quietly. You are a talent; if you can atone for your crimes and turn over a new leaf, you might even live!"
"If you continue like this, we will be forced to kill you!"
The roars of the battle continued, and the terrifying shockwaves had already reduced the once-prosperous buildings to rubble. Qi Ping was surrounded by the bees in their Universal Earth-Armor Array, but his injuries were growing increasingly severe.
In the distance, rogue cultivators watched in awe. Today's events were legendary! An early-stage cultivator had killed two mid-stage experts and was now holding out against four late-stage giants. This defied everything they knew about cultivation. They rarely saw a Foundation Establishment expert, let alone a grand battle like this.
Qi Ping seemed deaf to everything. He ignored his worsening wounds, silently focusing on an array designed to trap a late-stage expert and amplify the force of his self-detonation. Since the Treant Clone was meant to be burned away, his injuries were irrelevant.
Soon, a sense of satisfaction rose in his heart. The array was set.
"The time has come!"
When a middle-aged, fire-attribute late-stage expert entered the range of his array, Qi Ping activated it without hesitation. During the battle of attrition, this man had shown the most unstable foundation among the four; his attacks were powerful, but his defense was lacking.
Profound Gold Trapping Array, activate!
Heart of the Wild! After years, Qi Ping unleashed this buffing skill to briefly surge the strength of his companions!
Truth-Seeking Self-Detonation!
Everything changed in a single heartbeat, without warning.
The middle-aged expert, who had just moved closer to Qi Ping, suddenly felt a powerful array snap into existence. A crushing force of suppression slammed into him. Immediately following this, the bees surrounding Qi Ping went into a frenzy, ignoring their own lives to swarm around him.
Empowered by the Heart of the Wild and the Universal Earth-Armor Array, they unleashed a thousand explosive earth spikes. The overwhelming impact and explosions hammered at his spiritual shield, causing it to flicker and crack.
But that was only a nuisance. The real source of terror was Qi Ping himself, whose aura was exploding at an impossible speed. In a single breath, a lethal, suffocating sense of danger rose in the expert's heart.
He wanted to retreat, but pinned down by the array and the swarm, he couldn't break free in time.
"What are you doing?" he roared in terror.
"You forced me to this! Hahahaha!" Qi Ping laughed like a madman.
Relying on the violent, burning power surging within him, he let his emotions run wild. Clad in blood-red robes with a crazed expression, he pushed the scene to its absolute peak.
What was the Bee Daoist doing? The question echoed in everyone's mind.
The next second, an oppressive power erupted from Qi Ping.
Detonation! He was going to self-detonate!
Madman! A total madman!
Sensing the horrifying power, the other three late-stage experts instantly retreated, terrified of being caught in the blast.
Consuming spiritual liquid and burning his potential just to increase the power of his self-detonation? Setting up a trapping array and using his bees to ensure his target couldn't escape? They had considered that he might kill himself, but not that he would be this insane—calculated and desperate just to take one of them to the grave.
Moreover, the power he was manifesting was absurd. This wasn't the strength of a normal early-stage cultivator. They didn't know that Qi Ping possessed the Beastmaster's Flame, the Yang-Fire Body, the Golden Stone Physique, and other special powers. When ignited by his custom Truth-Seeking Self-Detonation, the result was far beyond a standard explosion.
A normal self-detonation was terrifying; this was something else entirely.
"Don't come any closer!"
The trapped expert's face was pale with terror. He struggled frantically, yet he couldn't escape the array or the swarm.
Qi Ping wouldn't let him. As he closed the distance, an earth-shattering explosion erupted!
The blast swept across the land. Everyone present felt their bodies tremble, cold sweat drenching their backs.
"Is it over?"
As the sound faded, some bees on the periphery continued to attack blindly, ensuring nothing inside could survive. Only when a mangled corpse fell from the sky did everyone shudder uncontrollably.
A late-stage Foundation Establishment expert had fallen!
The world fell into a deathly silence, save for the remaining bees that scattered in every direction to escape.
At the exact moment the Treant Clone detonated, Qi Ping's main body back in the territory opened its eyes...