Chapter 44

(Just 13 more monthly votes to enter the top six of the monthly vote list; updating early to celebrate, thank you to all the brothers who have participated in the lottery and monthly vote activities these days—your support, I see in my eyes and remember in my heart... This is an extra update, today's accumulated monthly votes have reached 500, so there will be an additional chapter as usual! Red votes and collections are also greatly appreciated!)

Chen Xun was forced to the foot of the stockade wall, but it was not because he was inferior to these two.

The Black Mountain camp was alarmed in an instant, and in a short time, dozens of people emerged from the tents, holding bows and spears, ready to surround him.

Even if Chen Xun's cultivation were higher, he would be doomed if he were trapped in the encirclement of dozens of people, let alone the fact that in the southern gate camp of the Black Mountain tribe, there were three or four more powerful ninth-layer peak savages like Gu Hu.

After Chen Xun pretended to be weak and was forced to the stockade wall, the other savages who emerged from the tents indeed stood by, firmly believing that the two with spears would surely kill this young man who still looked immature at the foot of the Black Python stockade wall.

The others just held bows and short spears to prevent the savages on the Black Python stockade wall from approaching to rescue from the sides.

Chen Xun, with his back against the stone stockade, had the dark and fierce aura of a savage soul spread throughout his body, revealing a faintly ominous aura. With a bow in his right hand and a fist in his left, he blocked the fierce attacks like a storm, and in an instant, he had exchanged dozens of blows with the two savages.

Chen Xun finally found an opportunity, first using the iron bow to deflect one person's attack and forcing him back several meters. Then, he attacked the other person with both bow and fist, overwhelming him with a heavy combat stance, stirring up layers of air waves, and releasing boundless cold energy that cut and injured the face. The real killing move was hidden in his feet, sweeping like iron stakes, mercilessly kicking towards the person's head...

When Chen Xun retreated to the foot of the stockade wall, the dozens of onlookers were confused, but the two who approached to kill Chen Xun at the foot of the stockade wall were terrified, filled with bitterness they could not express.

When Chen Xun's right leg, like an iron stake, swept over, the impact was only fully felt by those nearby. The surging air waves and the boundless cold energy made the blood freeze!

The savage in front of him suddenly felt something was wrong:

"Bad!"

That person was also quite formidable. Facing Chen Xun's fierce kick, he almost suffocated, and his body was frozen by the cold energy. However, relying on decades of combat instinct, he barely turned his head. In the next moment, a powerful force surged into his left shoulder, like a mountain pressing down. With a "crack," his entire body lost control and flew out like a leaf.

The flesh on his left shoulder had not even spurted out when it froze into red ice chips and fell to the ground...

Chen Xun coldly snorted in his heart: Just a sixth-layer peak savage, and he still wants to compete with me?

This sudden change left everyone stunned, and Chen Xun grabbed the stone wall, swiftly climbing up the stockade wall.

The other savage, seeing his companion's left shoulder shattered by Chen Xun, was both shocked and angry. Seeing Chen Xun climb up the stone wall, he followed closely, stepping on the protruding stones of the stockade wall, leaping high, and aiming to split the boy in front of him in two with his heavy spear.

Chen Xun took out an iron arrow, placed it on the bowstring, and shot it angrily.

When Chen Xun drew the bow, the person still did not realize the danger. He felt that at such a close distance, he had enough confidence to split the boy in two before the iron arrow was shot.

However, in a flash, the person suddenly felt the terrifying aura surging from Chen Xun, a mix of ferocity and an indescribable extreme cold energy, surrounding him from all sides, making his body stiffen in mid-air for a moment.

Was this an illusion?

This was not an illusion.

In the next instant, the bowstring sounded like thunder, and the iron arrow, like a flash of light, flew off the string.

In mid-air, the person only had time to instinctively swing his spear downward to block, but the spear hit nothing, leaving him feeling an indescribable discomfort. Then he felt a chilling cold in his chest. Looking down, he saw that his iron armor had been pierced by the arrow, creating a large blood hole. Half of his body's flesh instantly turned into fine ice chips, scattering in all directions. His broken body then fell to the ground with a "thud."

The dozens of savages below the wall, unable to avoid the flying blood and flesh, were all splattered. Seeing the half-dead body on the ground, they all felt a chill and dared not advance any further.

Without feeling the terrifying aura up close, it was hard to imagine that such a seemingly ordinary arrow could have such power, so terrifying.

Chen Xun's invincible stance, shooting a sixth-layer savage with a single arrow, was deeply etched in the hearts of those below the wall.

***********************

"Xun," Zong Sang, clad in armor and holding a spear, ran up the stockade wall. Seeing Chen Xun's blood-stained face, he shouted excitedly, "It's really you, you little brat! You're still alive! Everyone thought you were dead outside!"

Chen Xun leisurely drew an iron arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bowstring, and looked at the people below the stockade wall with eyes glowing with dark light.

The people surrounding the stockade were terrified, feeling as if a prehistoric beast had licked their souls with a bloody tongue, making them feel an indescribable chill. Knowing that no one could escape the arrow at such close range, they all hurriedly retreated.

After the people surrounding the stockade retreated, Chen Xun put down his bow and saw that Zong Sang's left cheek had a piece of skin and flesh cut off, leaving a terrifying scar. Not knowing what had happened in the Black Python tribe during his absence, he asked Zong Sang:

"Uncle, why are so many people surrounding the stockade? What happened to Wusan? Where are Grandpa and Zong Ya? What about Uncle Nanlao, Zong Ling, and Nanxi?"

"Nanlao and the others are in the northern stockade, they are all fine. You should come with me to see Grandpa. He has been worrying about your safety these days. He said that if he couldn't see you before he died, he would die with regret..." Zong Sang said, grabbing Chen Xun's arm, jumping down the stockade wall, and running towards the stone hall.

Chen Xun did not expect Grandpa Zong Tu's injuries to be so severe, his chest deeply sunken, his gray face devoid of any color. His triangular old eyes, which had been unconscious for days, now showed some response, but his soul was dark and lifeless. Only when Chen Xun walked into the stone hall did his eyes flash with a hint of light.

Chen Xun reached out to stop Grandpa from speaking, took out the sleeping black leopard from his chest, and threw it on the stone hall floor. Then he took out a small bronze bottle, poured out a Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill, and fed it to Grandpa Zong Tu.

Although the Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill was a foundation-building and essence-cultivating medicinal herb for the True Yang realm, its spiritual power was no less than any second-grade treasure herb.

The spiritual pill entered Grandpa's throat, and he immediately felt the medicinal power flowing into his bones and blood, protecting his nearly extinguished vitality. Knowing that such a rare medicinal herb was hard to come by, he immediately sat cross-legged to refine the medicinal power and repair his body, which had been damaged for many days on the brink of death.

Seeing Grandpa stabilize his injuries, Chen Xun felt slightly relieved.

At this time, others also knew that Chen Xun had returned to the stockade and gradually gathered in the stone hall.

Seeing Zong Ya's left sleeve hanging empty at his waist, his left arm severed at the elbow, Chen Xun felt a great pain, angrily picked up his iron bow, smashed the stone table, and shouted, "That damn Gu Hu, I saved his son!"

"Zong Ya's injury was not caused by the Black Mountain tribe,"

Nanlao, limping, walked over and sat down, looking at Chen Xun, who had returned to the stockade after months of hard training in the Lake Marsh Plain, and said,

"Two months ago, a wolf pack attacked the stockade, causing heavy casualties. In that battle, I, Zong Sang, and Wu Gong lured the golden wolf into the stockade to kill it. We originally planned to use the golden wolf's flesh and blood for a soul sacrifice after spring, but the news leaked, and the Black Mountain tribe and the Shan Tong tribe joined forces to force us to hand over the golden wolf's corpse..."

Golden wolf?

Chen Xun secretly felt that the wolf pack the Black Python tribe encountered should be a branch of the green wolves, and the so-called "golden wolf" was probably just one of the lead wolves. If he had encountered the divine wolf on the Great Solitary Peak, the Black Python tribe might not have survived.

Chen Xun looked at the people in the stone hall, almost all of whom had terrifying scars, and some familiar faces were missing, giving him a sense of foreboding.

Even the highly protected Zong Ya had his left arm bitten off by the golden wolf in the fierce battle, showing how brutal the battle against the wolves two months ago had been.

However, the people's indifferent faces and their attitude of accepting life and death made Chen Xun feel even heavier. Perhaps this was the fate of the savages, valuing life so cheaply that they could face death without fear.

"You said you would return to the stockade after a month, why did you stay away for four or five months?"

Zong Ya, indifferent to his severed left arm, considered himself lucky compared to the tribal warriors who died under the wolves' fangs. He sat next to Chen Xun and asked,

"Everyone thought you were dead outside. Grandpa said you would surely have good fortune, maybe trapped somewhere. He even planned to have Uncle Zong Sang lead people into the wilderness to find you, but that damn Gu Hu joined forces with the Shan Tong tribe to seize the golden wolf's corpse. Damn, it's too much! Everyone said they would rather die in the stockade than hand over the golden wolf..."

Chen Xun reached out to touch Zong Ya's empty sleeve, regretting that the Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill could not regenerate severed limbs.

"It's nothing," Zong Ya said indifferently, "I just can't practice archery anymore, and using a spear is very inconvenient, but my sword skills have improved a lot in the past two months. I wonder if your cultivation has surpassed mine after months of hard training?"

"You little brat, can't you be a bit more modest? Chen Xun shot and killed the Shan Tong tribe's Shi Chuan with one arrow, can you do that?" Zong Sang patted Zong Ya's head.

"Really?" Nanlao asked excitedly. He had been on duty in the northern stockade and did not see Chen Xun's sudden entry from the southern stockade. He never imagined that Chen Xun's cultivation had advanced to the point of killing the Shan Tong tribe's Shi Chuan with one arrow after a winter's absence.

The Black Python tribe would have a strong helper, giving them more confidence to resist the Black Mountain and Shan Tong tribes, but it was hard to believe. Nanlao asked, "Even if Shi Chuan hadn't broken through to the mid-peak, he was just a hair away. Did Chen Xun really shoot and kill Shi Chuan on the stockade wall?"

"Of course not," Zong Sang rolled his eyes and said, "Gu Lei of the Black Mountain tribe died at Chen Xun's hands. Chen Xun trained hard in the Lake Marsh Plain for months, how could his cultivation not have improved?"

Chen Xun's battle with Gu Lei of the Black Mountain tribe in the forest months ago was ultimately due to Gu Lei's carelessness and underestimation, allowing Chen Xun to kill him. When he returned to the stockade, he told the visiting Su family that he had killed Gu Lei by surprise, which was not entirely wrong.

At that time, Chen Xun indeed did not have the strength to face a sixth-layer peak savage head-on.

Nanlao, of course, understood the difference between killing by surprise and shooting a sixth-layer peak savage head-on.

But looking at Chen Xun, it was hard to believe he had broken through to the sixth-layer peak and entered the seventh-layer blood-changing savage realm.

The savage soul's divine aura is extremely fierce, and training the savage soul to strengthen the body and limbs makes the blood and muscles become thick and large, eventually protruding, like a natural totem—this is a significant sign that the Black Python tribe uses to determine whether a savage has reached the sixth layer or higher.

Chen Xun, on the cliff of the Small Solitary Peak, suffered a fatal injury from the electric snake and lightning, with the flesh on his back turning to ashes. Then, his soul sea's essence spontaneously manifested as a six-armed giant demon, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth to repair his injured body, almost reshaping him. His body naturally no longer bore the marks of the savage soul's training.

After months of hard training, Chen Xun even looked more delicate and tender, making it hard for the people in the stone hall to imagine that he had the strength of an upper-layer savage.

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