Chapter 26

"Wh... What Senior Brother He, further in..."

A few days later, in the dense forest on the outskirts of Ancient Cang Mountain, Chen Songtai's face turned pale as he sized up the ancient trees around him, each one seeming like a beast ready to pounce.

This was not the place they had come to with Pang Wenshan and the others. They had ventured much deeper, and any random beast that appeared could take his life.

"What are you afraid of with the three of us here?"

The one speaking was a young man with a long sword on his back, one of the inner disciples of the Western Academy, named Lu Qingfeng.

These three were the ones who had led Pang Wenshan and the others into the mountains. The last person, who had a long sword at his waist, was named Yang Haoxing, also a ninth-layer genius disciple.

"Don't be afraid, we're almost there!"

He Kongming glanced at him sideways, paused, and looked into the distance.

The five of them immediately stopped, and Li Chen carefully peeked through his hair, following his gaze.

They saw a place under the trees where a cluster of boulders stood, looking strangely eerie.

"Senior Brother He, what... what is this place?"

Chen Songtai swallowed hard, fear flickering in his eyes.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't. At this spot, dig a pit one zhang wide and two zhang deep. Don't make too much noise, understood?"

He Kongming pointed to a nearby flat area, which had many broken branches and withered grass, as if it had been cleared before, but there were also many new sprouts, indicating that some time had passed.

"Yes, yes!"

Chen Songtai didn't dare to say more, and with Li Chen, they bent their necks, took off their tools, and started digging with all their might.

The mountain forest was mostly soil and rocks, and they often dug up large stones, but fortunately, both were martial artists with strong physical strength.

He Kongming and the other two began setting up hooks and hidden spikes around the area, and even hung countless powerful crossbows and arrows on the surrounding trees, clearly preparing to deal with some powerful beasts.

"This is to restore your inner breath. You two will have more work to do later!"

After digging the large pit, He Kongming and the other two exchanged a glance, took out a jade bottle from their waist pouches, and threw two pills to Chen Songtai and Li Chen.

"Thank you, Senior Brother He!"

Chen Songtai and Li Chen happily took the pills, which was a rare treat, and went to the side to swallow and meditate to recover.

He Kongming and the other two began to plant dozens of extremely sharp, blue-tipped spears at the bottom of the pit. Above, they hung a large net and covered the entrance with some dead branches and green leaves, making it look like a cluster of shrubs from a distance.

"Finally done!"

Yang Haoxing wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Is it true that Zhang Chulong has a ninety percent chance of breaking through to the True Refinement Realm?"

Lu Qingfeng's face was somewhat gloomy as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Yes, Zhang Chulong must have had some good fortune to obtain the Monkey Wine, and he even took the Poria Grass from me. Bad luck."

"Come, come, drink water. In a short while, the effects of the medicine will kick in. With the Soft Sinew Powder and Dissolving Qi Pills in their bodies, we can rest easy. Then, the three of us will have a good chance to enter the True Refinement Realm!"

He Kongming casually handed over a water bag and glanced at the two who were meditating to recover.

"Hehe! Which one should we use as the lure?"

Lu Qingfeng smiled sinisterly, his handsome face looking strangely eerie.

As they spoke, the two who were meditating suddenly swayed and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Throw this kid into the stone forest!"

He Kongming picked up Chen Songtai and placed him in the trap, covering him with some green branches.

Lu Qingfeng carried Li Chen and ran swiftly into the stone forest, but only to the edge, where he threw Li Chen in and quickly returned.

After finishing these tasks, the three looked at each other and without hesitation, hid in the forest about ten zhang away.

After a short while, a strange, sweet fragrance began to waft through the quiet, open area, making one feel drowsy.

Roar!

As the fragrance slowly spread, a fierce roar suddenly echoed from a distance, followed by a series of thuds, as if a massive creature was running towards them.

The trees in the direction of the stone forest creaked and several of them crashed down. A strong wind blew, and a large brown figure suddenly appeared, charging into the area. It was a massive iron-backed bear, about a zhang tall, with a strip of iron-gray fur on its back.

As soon as the bear appeared, it sniffed the air with its black nose, turned its head towards the unconscious Chen Songtai, and circled him a few times, seemingly sensing no danger, before pouncing.

Boom!

Just as its claws touched Chen Songtai, its massive body lost balance and crashed into the pit below.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows flew from all directions, accurately piercing the pit, and the large net above fell into it. Several suspended boulders also crashed down.

Dust and earth flew, and roars echoed.

Roar!

A piercing scream reverberated through the forest, startling countless birds and beasts, creating a chaotic scene.

"Attack!"

A loud command rang out, and three blue-clad figures suddenly leaped out, their weapons flashing as they attacked the iron-backed bear climbing out of the pit.

At this moment, the bear was covered in blood and dirt, with a sharp arrow piercing its left eye, oozing toxic blood.

Its back, forearms, and even its hindquarters were riddled with arrows and spears, a sight too gruesome to bear.

But its fierce aura remained undiminished, its single red eye filled with pain and bloodlust.

Before it could escape the pit, the three had already closed in, each using their ultimate skills, slashing and hacking at its shoulders and neck with their blades and swords.

The clashing of metal echoed in all directions, and the sharp steel blades were deflected by the bear's thick fur, sparks flying.

He Kongming and the other two, however, were not flustered, continuing to slash and hack, using their inner breath to maximize the damage.

The bear, with one paw gripping the edge of the pit and the other blocking the weapons, struggled desperately to escape, but the three were ninth-layer martial artists, and their combined strength was overwhelming, preventing it from breaking free.

After a short while, with a loud thud, the bear fell back into the pit, its massive body struggling to climb out again.

"Don't hold back, kill this beast, and we have a chance to reach the True Refinement Realm!"

He Kongming's eyes were filled with ferocity as he found an opening and suddenly thrust his blade, a gush of blood spewing as it pierced the bear's right eye.

Roar!

Blinded, the bear went berserk, its paws swinging wildly. He Kongming, unable to withdraw in time, was swept away, spitting out a stream of blood and rolling to the side, unconscious.

The bear fell back into the pit again, but Yang and Lu did not tend to He Kongming, instead focusing on hacking at the bear as it tried to climb out again.

Time passed, and after several moments, the resilient bear repeatedly climbed and fell, its neck finally cut open, and it let out a final, mournful roar before falling silent.

"Ha ha, it's dead, it's dead!"

Yang Haoxing, leaning on his long sword, knelt on the ground, panting heavily, his face filled with excitement as he turned around.

Pfft!

A cold glint flashed, and a sharp blade sliced across his neck, his head flying into the air, blood spurting several meters high. His head rolled to the ground, still showing excitement, but his eyes were now dull.

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