Outside the entrance to the Dragon Locking Secret Realm, the oppressive atmosphere that had been created by Zhao Feng's killing of the young sect leader of the Purple Lightning Sect was once again stirred up by a powerful aura.
Then, an even larger flying boat appeared on the horizon, its dragon patterns even more pronounced, and its aura several times stronger than the previous one—the Xuan Tian Sect had sent another elder at the late Nascent Soul stage, followed by dozens of disciples with refined auras, clearly to bolster their forces.
"It's Elder Wang from the Xuantian Sect!" A cultivator from the Southern Region recognized the leading elder and exclaimed in a low voice, "I heard he's Zhao Feng's master, and his 'Black Wind Demon Art' has reached an unparalleled level!"
As soon as the flying boat landed and Elder Wang appeared, many people from the Southern Region forces stepped forward to curry favor with him:
"Elder Wang, it is an honor to have you here. We are so sorry for not welcoming you properly!" A clan leader from a mid-level power said with a smile, handing over a storage ring. "It's just a small gift, nothing more."
"The Xuantian Sect is powerful. With the opening of this secret realm, we hope Elder Wang will take good care of our small forces." The manager of another force also stepped forward, adopting an extremely humble posture.
These forces are mostly second- or third-rate in the Southern Region. They are usually suppressed by the top forces. Seeing the power of the Xuantian Sect, they want to take the opportunity to curry favor and seek protection.
However, many other forces remained indifferent. The elders of the Purple Lightning Sect clenched their fists, their eyes icy—they had just lost their young sect leader, so naturally they wouldn't be friendly towards the Profound Heaven Sect. The top sects of the Southern Region, such as the Azure Water Pavilion and the Blazing Fire Valley, stood still, neither trying to curry favor nor taking the initiative to provoke, clearly maintaining a neutral stance and observing the situation.
"A bunch of clowns." The Great Elder of Blazing Fire Valley sneered and said to his disciples, "No matter how arrogant the Xuan Tian Sect is, they should not forget that this is the Southern Region."
Elder Wang merely nodded indifferently to the forces that were trying to curry favor with him. His gaze swept across the entire scene, finally settling on the Purple Lightning Sect members. A faint hint of mockery appeared on his lips, but he didn't say much. He was mainly here for Zhao Feng and Su Wanqing in the secret realm, and to see if he could gain any benefits. There was no need to cause trouble at the entrance.
Outside the secret realm, undercurrents were surging, but Xiao Chen, inside the secret realm, was completely unaware of them.
After leaving the valley, he strolled along a stream, his eyes occasionally scanning the surrounding vegetation and rocks—Lin Zhou had instructed him to pick up a pretty stone, so he had to keep an eye out.
"Xiao Chen! You really were here!"
A furious shout suddenly came from ahead, and five figures darted out of the forest, blocking Xiao Chen's path.
The leader was a young man in brocade robes, whose face bore a resemblance to Li Hao's. His eyes were filled with resentment and venom; he was Li Chen, the only surviving son of the Li family. Behind him followed four cultivators dressed in Xuan Tian Sect robes, each exuding a cold aura and their eyes filled with intense killing intent. They were clearly ruthless characters who had spent years teetering on the edge of life and death.
"Li Chen?" Xiao Chen recognized the person and his eyes turned cold. "You've come too."
"Of course I'm here!" Li Chen gripped his longsword tightly, his spiritual energy surging around him, revealing his cultivation level as a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. "My brother died at your hands, and I will avenge that today!"
The Xuan Tian Sect cultivator behind him spoke coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth: "Xiao Chen, surrender and we might even leave you with a whole corpse."
"Surrender?" Xiao Chen laughed, gripping his rusty iron spear tightly. "With just you guys?"
Li Chen laughed in fury: "Still being stubborn even when death is imminent! I am now at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, while you have only just broken through to the early stage. Today is your death day!" He looked at the Xuan Tian Sect cultivators around him, "Senior brothers, leave this piece of trash to me. I want to kill him with my own hands and avenge my brother!"
The four members of the Xuantian Sect exchanged glances, had no objections, and moved slightly to surround Xiao Chen in a four-corner formation. Their orders were to "deal with" Xiao Chen, but they also wanted to see first how much strength this person who could make Senior Brother Zhao Feng so wary really had. It would be good to let Li Chen test the waters first.
"Prepare to die!" Li Chen roared, his longsword carrying a sharp wind as it slashed straight at Xiao Chen's face. The spiritual energy on the blade was condensed, several times stronger than Li Hao's back then, clearly indicating that he was using his full strength.
Xiao Chen's eyes were calm. He gently turned the rusty iron spear in his palm, and the spear tip was angled upwards. This was the "heavy" technique that he had learned from the senior withered bones.
"clang!"
As the gun and sword clashed, Li Chen felt an unexpectedly immense force, which nearly caused him to drop his long sword and his arm to go numb—how could Xiao Chen's strength be so much greater than the intelligence reports suggested?
"Impossible!" Li Chen was both shocked and furious. He wielded his longsword even faster, creating a barrage of blade shadows that rained down on Xiao Chen like a storm, each move potentially fatal.
Xiao Chen remained calm and composed. His rusty iron spear was sometimes as steady as a rock, directly parrying sword attacks; at other times, it was as agile as a serpent, dodging sharpness. Occasionally, the spear tip would counterattack, always forcing Li Chen to dodge in a sorry state. After absorbing the legacy of the withered bones, his spear skills were no longer what they used to be. His early Nascent Soul cultivation actually suppressed Li Chen, who was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
"Is that all you've got?" Xiao Chen sneered, his spear thrusts suddenly accelerating. "Wildfire Spear Scripture—Break!"
The rusty iron spear transformed into a streak of black lightning, piercing through the defenses of the sword shadows. The spear tip, carrying a sharp spear intent, aimed straight at Li Chen's heart!
Li Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and he hurriedly parried with his sword, but the spear intent contained in the spear tip caused his blood and qi to surge, creating an opening in his defense.
"Pfft!"
The spear tip pierced Li Chen's abdomen, drawing out a trail of blood.
"Ah—!" Li Chen let out a shrill scream, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Xiao Chen twisted his wrist, causing the spear tip to stir and completely destroy his dantian.
“You…” Li Chen pointed at Xiao Chen, but before he could finish speaking, his head lolled to the side and he lost all breath. His body slumped down.
In just five or six rounds, Li Chen, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, was killed by Xiao Chen with a single spear thrust.
The four members of the Xuan Tian Sect who were surrounding him changed their expressions slightly, and a trace of solemnity flashed in their eyes—Xiao Chen's strength far exceeded their expectations, especially his spear intent, which made them feel a sense of unease.
"Interesting." The leading Xuantian Sect cultivator licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with even more killing intent. "It seems we'll have to take action ourselves."
Xiao Chen gripped his rusty iron spear tightly, his spear intent sharp, and his gaze swept over the four men without the slightest fear.
One comes, one is cut down.
Come in a group, kill them all.
His gun never leaves an enemy unscathed.
The four Xuan Tian Sect disciples did not attack first, intending to overwhelm Xiao Chen with their combined aura, forcing him to reveal an opening so they could then gang up on him or defeat him.
If Xiao Chen were to slacken his efforts in the slightest, the combined aura of the four would overwhelm him, disrupting his spiritual energy. If that were to happen, and the opponents seized the opportunity to attack together, Xiao Chen would either die or be crippled.
Therefore, Xiao Chen dared not slack off in the slightest. He gripped the gun tightly in his hand and communicated with it, making the four people mistakenly believe that it was his own aura that was emanating from the gun, thus creating an opposition between them.
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