Chapter 52

(Thanks to 'Zhuo Jiu Hun' and 'Ge Ge Si Wu Xie' for their generous donations)

The heavy rain lasted for a whole day and finally stopped.

Chen Zong did not rush to leave the cave because it was night, and the night belonged to the beasts. He moved large rocks from around to pile at the cave entrance to prevent any beasts from entering during the night.

He spent the night half asleep and half awake, and everything was peaceful.

Pushing away the rocks, he stepped out of the cave. The surroundings were damp, and the rising sun cast golden light. Each leaf on every tree and each blade of grass was adorned with countless droplets, refracting the sunlight into a rainbow of colors, creating a magnificent scene.

The air was moist and fresh, and he took a deep breath, feeling invigorated.

Chen Zong chose the direction from yesterday, shouldered his bag, and continued on his journey.

In the end, he helplessly realized he was lost.

Looking around, he saw nothing but lush vegetation, making it impossible to distinguish one place from another.

"I can only rely on luck," Chen Zong thought to himself. He had to be extremely cautious, as this was the Fulong Mountain, where many beasts roamed.

As soon as this thought arose, a figure swiftly attacked from the side, drawing a sword to strike.

With a single precise strike, he killed the beast.

It was a half-meter-long mountain cat, a low-grade first-level beast.

Chen Zong did not pay attention to the mountain cat's corpse and quickly left, as the beast's blood could attract other beasts.

Time flew by, and the rising sun turned into a scorching one.

When he felt hungry and could not find suitable food, Chen Zong would take an energy pill.

The energy pills had become nothing more than a means to stave off hunger.

During this time, Chen Zong encountered three beasts, but fortunately, the strongest was only a mid-grade first-level beast, which he easily killed with a single strike.

As he walked, the sun began to set. During this time, Chen Zong saw a small, fire-red tree from a distance. The tree bore three fruits, two green and one red, with what appeared to be scales. He recognized them as the Fire Scale Fruit, a seventh-grade herb, with one nearly ripe and the other two still early.

Seventh-grade herbs were highly valuable, and Chen Zong was very tempted, but he did not dare to approach, as a fire-red beast lay beside the Fire Scale Tree. It resembled a wolf, with a fierce and brutal aura, making it extremely terrifying.

A Malicious Fire Wolf!

A high-grade second-level beast.

Encountering such a beast, Chen Zong knew he should stay as far away as possible, without any侥幸心理 (侥幸心理 means侥幸 psychology, but in this context, it means without any侥幸 thoughts or侥幸 hopes). Despite his desire to obtain the ripe Fire Scale Fruit, he carefully moved away and breathed a sigh of relief.

As the sun set and the sky grew dark, Chen Zong had to find a relatively open and safe place to spend the night.

The night was not peaceful, with the roars of various beasts echoing throughout.

Chen Zong did not dare to fall into a deep sleep, only leaning against a rock to rest as much as possible.

The night wind was cold, making Chen Zong feel uncomfortable. He had to activate the True Sword Heaven Absolute technique to circulate his qi and blood to keep warm.

However, activating the technique also consumed his qi and blood, though not as much as performing human-grade martial arts. He could not sustain it for long and had to stop periodically to allow his qi and blood to recover.

In the middle of the night, another beast approached Chen Zong, ready to ambush him.

It was an Iron-Backed Green Wolf, a common high-grade first-level beast in the Fulong Mountain.

It stealthily circled around and approached Chen Zong. When it was close enough, the Iron-Backed Green Wolf leaped like a bolt of lightning, its sharp claws aiming for Chen Zong's arms, and its mouth opened, revealing sharp fangs, ready to bite his neck.

Chen Zong's closed eyes suddenly opened, and the precious iron sword on his lap rose. He drew the sword, and the sword light in the night sky was blinding, surpassing the moon.

With one strike, he brought an astonishing sharpness, piercing the charging Iron-Backed Green Wolf through its open mouth, through its throat, and out the back of its neck.

His wrist trembled, and the long sword quivered, flinging the Iron-Backed Green Wolf dozens of meters away, where it rolled another ten meters on the ground.

"Control over strength is more refined," Chen Zong thought to himself.

However, he knew that with his current strength, killing a high-grade first-level beast like the Iron-Backed Green Wolf was not a problem, but he could not do it with a single strike. This time, luck played a part.

Perhaps his luck was good, and Chen Zong did not encounter any second-level beasts, and he spent the night without incident, continuing his journey.

The longer he stayed in the Fulong Mountain, the more his wilderness survival skills improved. If not for his low cultivation and insufficient strength, he would not want to leave so soon.

On the third day, Chen Zong saved an injured martial artist and treated his wounds.

Then, he witnessed the treachery of human nature. This person, taking advantage of Chen Zong's inattention, attempted to kill him. Fortunately, Chen Zong's senses were sharp, and he immediately reacted. The martial artist, though highly skilled, was severely injured and did not take Chen Zong seriously.

As a result, the sneak attack failed, and Chen Zong dodged, counterattacking with a sword strike.

"Stop, I am willing to give you everything," the martial artist, who was at the seventh layer of the Blood Qi realm, clutched his chest, his face pale, and said repeatedly.

"Fine," Chen Zong replied, his face stern. He had saved the man out of kindness, only to be repaid with betrayal, nearly costing him his life. He felt deeply hurt.

"I will throw it to you, and you catch it," the martial artist said, tossing the bag to Chen Zong and stepping back, as if preparing to leave.

Suddenly, the martial artist turned, feigning retreat but actually advancing, leaving a trail of shadows. He appeared on Chen Zong's left side, his short knife aiming for Chen Zong's neck.

As the knife descended, Chen Zong was not there, and the martial artist realized the danger too late.

Chen Zong used the Wind Step technique to dodge, and the precious iron sword pierced the martial artist's heart from behind, killing him with one strike.

In fact, even if the martial artist had truly given everything to Chen Zong, Chen Zong had no intention of letting him go.

The sword is a weapon of slaughter, not to be used indiscriminately, but to be used against those who deserve it.

The short knife was made of fine iron and was worth some jade coins. Chen Zong attached it to his waist. The bag contained seven third- and fourth-grade herbs, a few energy pills and beast blood pills, some dry rations, and flint.

He searched the martial artist's body and found a banknote and ten purple jade coins.

Jade coins were the currency, divided into white, red, and purple. White jade coins had the lowest value, with one red jade coin equal to ten white jade coins, and one purple jade coin equal to ten red jade coins. A banknote was worth one thousand white jade coins, so the total value was two thousand white jade coins. For Chen Zong, who had never handled much jade money, this was undoubtedly a large sum.

On the fourth day, Chen Zong was pursued by a low-grade second-level beast. He used the Wind Step technique multiple times and managed to escape by luck.

By the fifth day, Chen Zong was in a ragged state, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes, but his gaze was sharper.

"I must leave the Fulong Mountain as soon as possible; otherwise, I may not be able to hold on much longer," Chen Zong thought to himself, choosing a direction.

After five days in the mountains, he had gained some experience. He relied on his experience to make judgments, and the rest was left to luck.

He thought his luck should not be too bad.

However, Chen Zong soon realized his luck was terrible.

Run, run, run!

A life-or-death sprint!

Chen Zong was being pursued by twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves.

One-on-one, or even one-on-two or one-on-three, he had the confidence to kill the Iron-Backed Green Wolves, but one-on-twelve was no different from being a sitting duck.

The perfected Wind Step technique!

One step, two steps, three steps!

Each step covered three meters, and in three steps, he covered nine meters, continuing his mad dash.

His footsteps were as swift as rolling wheels, his figure like the wind, leaping over vegetation and rocks.

Chen Zong hoped his luck would be better, allowing him to escape the twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves, but the harsh reality showed him that relying on luck was not realistic.

Before him was a mountain wall, and to the right was another, about thirty to forty meters high, vertical, and covered in damp moss, making it difficult to climb. To the left was a cliff, about a hundred meters high, and jumping down would mean certain death.

Behind him were the twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves.

With his back against the mountain wall, Chen Zong slowly moved his feet, his eyes sharp like a sword, closely watching the Iron-Backed Green Wolves, which had stopped running and formed a fan-shaped encirclement, slowly advancing.

Beasts have a certain level of intelligence, and the Iron-Backed Green Wolves were cunning.

"Since there is no way to retreat, I will not retreat. I will fight to the death, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope," Chen Zong thought to himself, resolute and determined.

The principle of ruthlessness applies not only to enemies but also to oneself.

The twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves approached step by step, increasing the pressure on Chen Zong. He also slowly moved, adjusting his aura, not falling behind.

Under such pressure, the circulation of the True Sword Heaven Absolute technique was faster than usual.

Chen Zong's gaze swept over the twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves, and he slowly moved to the intersection of the two mountain walls, reducing the number of attacks he would face.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a depression in the left mountain wall. The depression was flat and not naturally formed, and its shape was familiar to Chen Zong, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

A sense of hope arose in his heart. While keeping an eye on the twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves, he held his sword in his right hand, ready to strike, and with his left hand, he unfastened his bag, took out the black iron piece, and, with a trial mindset, placed the irregular triangular black iron piece in the depression.

It fit!

It fit perfectly!

A wave of unexpected joy hit Chen Zong's heart, but he did not let his guard down, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

After one, two, three breaths, nothing happened.

"Is it just a coincidence?" Chen Zong thought to himself. "It seems I really have to fight to the death."

His gaze became even colder.

At that moment, the side of the mountain wall with the black iron piece embedded in it trembled slightly, and a dull, grating sound echoed. The mountain wall split inward, revealing a cave entrance about half a meter wide and two meters high.

Without hesitation, Chen Zong darted into the cave.

The twelve Iron-Backed Green Wolves ran and howled in pursuit, but the cave entrance closed again, leaving them to howl in anger, helpless.

"What is this place?" Once inside the cave, Chen Zong looked around, but it was pitch black. He quickly took out a flint, snapped it, and the flame grew, illuminating a few meters around him.

Holding his sword in one hand and the flint in the other, he remained highly alert and slowly moved forward. The walls on both sides were smooth, like the corridor of a secret chamber, with torches hanging on them. The torches contained only a little animal fat, which was typically used for lighting.

He lit the animal fat in the torches, and the flames rose, becoming bright.

As he walked, he thought, "What is this place?"

The corridor was dark, and Chen Zong could not see anything. He quickly took out a flint, snapped it, and the flame grew, illuminating a few meters around him.

Holding his sword in one hand and the flint in the other, he remained highly alert and slowly moved forward. The walls on both sides were smooth, like the corridor of a secret chamber, with torches hanging on them. The torches contained only a little animal fat, which was typically used for lighting.

He lit the animal fat in the torches, and the flames rose, becoming bright.

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