Chapter 286: Leaving no Danger Behind
“I remember that there was once a person in the Dongming Province who defeated many of the geniuses there. He even spent a large sum of money to challenge several of the large noble clans. He has such a bold spirit, he is probably an outstanding genius as well.”
“That’s right, the noble clans have raised the bounty of this person again. The total reward now is ten thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stone. However, this person seems to have vanished completely, he has not appeared again.”
After the people on the deck saw Xiao Chen defeat Yue Mingshan to the point that he was so easily frightened, they all sighed. This fight was filled with twist and turns, it was extremely dangerous and very satisfying to watch.
Xiao Chen was always able to exceed everybody’s expectations. Just when everybody thought he was done for, he managed to turn things around and successfully defeat his opponent.
Above the water, up in the sky, the dark clouds scattered and sunlight shone down once again. Xiao Chen stood on the surface of the water and he fired out his Spiritual Sense like a sharp arrow, piercing through the water to search for Yue Mingshan.
Given Yue Mingshan’s situation, he was not going to be able to fend off the strange aquatic life. Xiao Chen did not wish for him to die yet.
This was why Xiao Chen did not nock an arrow earlier. He was afraid that he would kill Yue Mingshan and be unable to question him.
In the depth of the river, Yue Mingshan dragged his injured body and moved quickly in the water. There was an odd water current around him, deflecting all the strange aquatic life that attempted to attack him.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and said, “I almost forgot, this person is a water-attributed cultivator. His survival ability in the water is better than a regular cultivator.”
Given Yue Mingshan’s strong desire to live, Xiao Chen was not surprised. This person thought over everything he did. To put it in a nicely, he was cautious. In another way, he was timid and afraid of death, there was a lack of brilliance.
It felt like he scarcely realized that cultivation was a fight with the heavens. It was filled with danger and was obtained by risking one’s life. Without great courage and an undying spirit, how could one overcome challenge after challenge?
If one kept thinking about how to use tricks to clear these challenges and lost their spirit, they would not be able to go far on the road of cultivation.
“Come out for me!”
Xiao Chen collected his thoughts and leaped up from the water. Then, he appeared above Yue Mingshan’s location and heavily punched the water.
“Bang!”
A huge water pillar appeared on the Black Dragon River. At the top of the water pillar was Yue Mingshan. He was blasted into the air and was moving his body in a flurry.
Xiao Chen leaped into the air and caught him by the collar before landing firmly.
Yue Mingshan revealed a horrified expression on his pale face. He said, “Don’t kill me. I have fifty thousand Inferior Grade Spirit Stones and a thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stones. They are all yours if you let me go.”
Xiao Chen could not be bothered with him. He simply said in a cold voice, “Speak! Who sent you to kill me?”
Yue Mingshan shook his head initially. However, when he felt Xiao Chen’s killing intent, he immediately said, “I’ll speak! I’ll speak. It’s Song Que, Biyun Peak’s Song Que. He promised me two thousand Medial Grade Spirit Stones if I kill you.”
It’s Song Que? A killing intent flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes, this was not outside the scope of his expectations. He keeps bringing endless trouble to me! I can’t let my guard down at any time.
Unfortunately, Xiao Chen had no way to do anything to Song Que. Aside from not being his match, there were no opportunities either. When Xiao Chen’s strength increased in the future, the first thing he would do was get rid of Song Que.
“Boom!”
Xiao Chen removed Yue Mingshan’s Spatial Ring and smashed his chest with a palm. His heart vessels were ruptured and he bled out of his five apertures. He said in a dissatisfied tone, “Weren’t you going to spare me?”
[TL: Five apertures: Refers to the five holes on the head, 1 mouth, 2 nose, and 2 ears.]
Xiao Chen was expressionless as he said sullenly, “My apologies but I never said that. I will never leave a potential issue alive, that is just asking for trouble.”
Then, he watched as Yue Mingshan’s corpse slowly sank into the water. Xiao Chen took a glance at the merchant ship not far away. After thinking for a while, he made up his mind. He would traverse the Black Dragon River on his own.
He would not ride on that merchant ship. The main reason was he was afraid of dealing with the social niceties and wasting time. His figure flashed in the air. He executed the Gravity Spell and flew up.
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Three day days later, in the evening, Xiao Chen sat beside a bonfire on the Devil Savanna. He was eating some cooked Lightning Ox meat.
The meat of Spirit Beasts was much more delectable than the meat found on Earth. There was no need for additional seasonings as it was already splendid and would leave a rich aftertaste.
Furthermore, the Spirit Beast’s meat contained some natural Spiritual Energy. Eating it for a long time could strengthen the body, replenish Qi, and raise the spirit.
If one was eating the meat of a high ranked Spirit Beast, like a Rank 8 or Rank 9 Spirit Beast, simply eating it could raise the cultivation realm of a person.
A heavy fragrance lingered on the Devil Savanna. It attracted a large number of Spirit Beasts. However, when they saw Xiao Chen, they did not dare to make a move. They simply took a glance from afar and left.
Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense had been expanded out and he saw all of this. He revealed a faint smile on his face.
Two days ago, he used the Gravity Spell and flew directly to the Devil Savanna. After that, he had been using the bandits and Spirit Beasts he ran into to practice his saber. As a result of the unending combat experience, he was getting more familiar with the first six moves of the Wukui Saber Technique.
Furthermore, he was also getting better at using the newly created Rushing Thunder Third Chain Chop. He already had a good grasp on the stage of storing power and he could make use of it freely.
The longer he took to gather momentum, the more mighty it would be. If the time taken was short, it would be weaker. He needed to be flexible when using it.
The might of the Rushing Thunder Roars was greater than Xiao Chen had anticipated. He had once stored power for an entire minute and he was able to decimate a large group of bandits.
The thing he needed to do now was to do his best to gather as much momentum as he could within a short period of time. Once he accomplished that, this move could become one of Xiao Chen’s new killing moves, becoming an important trump card.
“Hu chi!”
Late in the night, a snow-white figure appeared in Xiao Chen’s vision. When he looked carefully, it was Xiao Bai, who carried some Spirit Herbs in its paws as it ran over.
Like before, when Xiao Chen and Xiao Bai were alone, Xiao Bai would help him find precious Spirit Herbs. Xiao Chen would refine most of these into higher ranked Blood Replenishing Pills and Qi Returning Pills.
This meant that Xiao Chen did not have to buy herbs but would still have Medicinal Pills to use. This helped him significantly.
Xiao Bai presented the Spirit Herbs to Xiao Chen as though it was offering a tribute. Xiao Chen smiled slightly and carefully counted them, “Rank 4 Blood Sun Flower, Rank 5 Hundred Jade Spirit, Rank 4 Noble Wind, oh, this looked like the Tendon Refining Flower.”
Xiao Chen’s gaze was attracted to a white flower. The flower looked very ordinary, it did not have any bright colors, or a fragrant smell. It was extremely simple.
Xiao Chen picked it up and examined it carefully. He was finally sure that this was the Tendon Refining Flower. It was able to improve the toughness of a cultivator’s meridians. It could also repair damaged meridian and was incredibly precious.
There were many Spirit Herbs that could repair the meridians but they were not as good as the Tendon Refining Flower. The Tendon Refining Flower could even fix a snapped meridian completely.
Essence has to travel through the meridians. If the meridians were injured, the Essence cannot be moved. If that happened, the cultivator was as good as crippled.
If one could increase the toughness of their meridians to a certain extent, they would not need to worry too much about forcibly using too much Essence and causing an injury to their meridians when one cultivated or fought.
Although Xiao Bai did not know about the importance of the Tendon Refining Flower, it revealed a joyful expression when it saw that Xiao Chen was happy.
Xiao Chen carefully put away the Tendon Refining Flower and a doubt suddenly appeared in his head. A precious herb like the Tendon Refining Flower would definitely have a strong Spirit Beast standing guard beside it.
Although Xiao Bai was strong and incredibly fast, it should not be able to obtain this Tendon Refining Flower easily.
Could there be something I am not aware of? Xiao Chen knelt down and asked, “Xiao Bai, tell me the truth. How did you get this?”
Xiao Bai’s jubilant face immediately sank when he heard Xiao Chen’s question. It was like a small child that had done something wrong and did not dare to meet Xiao Chen’s gaze.
Could Xiao Bai have snatched it from someone else? Xiao Chen felt somewhat ashamed in his heart. If Xiao Bai had snatched it from another Spirit Beast, it would not lower its head like that. I wonder who it snatched this from?
“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
Just as Xiao Chen was thinking about whether he should return this Tendon Refining Flower, he heard the urgent galloping of horses. Given the mild tremble on the ground, there should be a significant number of people.
A group of more than two hundred bandits appeared before Xiao Chen. One of them pointed at Xiao Bai and said excitedly, “First Leader, I did not lie to you, right? I did not take the Tendon Refining Flower for myself. It was stolen by a little fox. See, I was not wrong, there is a little fox here.”
“Pa!”
Their First Leader wore snow-white combat robes. It was very eye catching in the night. He slapped the person who was speaking and shouted angrily, “You fool! Why are you still so excited after a Spirit Beast snatched something?”
The other bandits all started laughing. Indeed, they were the rulers of the Devil Savanna, bandits who incited fear at the mention of their name. They robbed other people and killed Spirit Beasts. Since when did they have something stolen by a Spirit Beast? This was very embarrassing for a bandit.
The bandit on the ground felt a burning pain on his cheeks. When he heard everyone laughing, he blushed even deeper. He really wanted to find a hole and hide in it.
Suddenly, he glanced at Xiao Bai and a fierce look appeared in his eyes. Then he pounced over and cursed, “I don’t believe that I can’t deal with you. Watch me teach you a lesson.”
Xiao Chen did not make a move. Xiao Bai turned around and swung its paw, sending a strong berserk wind at the bandit pouncing over. The bandit was immediately blown back.
As an Inferior Grade Martial Saint, Liu Suifeng had been easily toyed with by Xiao Bai. How could a Martial Grand Master bandit be a match for Xiao Bai?
The bandit rolled over on the ground several times before he got up. He was completely disoriented when he did so.
He walked over to the bandit leader in confusion and cursed out, “You beast! Don’t think I won’t recognize you when you are riding a horse.”
After he said that, he launched himself over. The First Leader was extremely furious and he sent out a palm wind, smashing this person away. The leader had a sullen expression as he said, “Piece of trash, we are better off without him!”
When Xiao Bai felt the killing intent from the First Leader, it sensed some danger. It immediately jumped onto Xiao Chen’s shoulder and it felt much safer. Then, it made a face at the bandits.
“Damn it! Now, even foxes know how to make a face.” When the crowd saw Xiao Bai making a face at this time, they were astonished.
Since this is something belonging to the bandits and it has been snatched away already, then so be it, Xiao Chen thought to himself.
Xiao Chen swept his gaze across the group of bandits. Of the two hundred of them, the weakest was a Medial Grade Martial Grand Master. The core group was twenty Martial Saints.
The white-clothed First Leader had the strongest cultivation, he was a Superior Grade Martial Saint. His combat prowess should be slightly weaker than Xiao Chen’s when he first left the sect.
However, Xiao Chen was now on a completely different level.