Chapter 60

"Die!" Lou Shiyi thought that this boy was probably the one Lou Li had asked Lou Qiao to pass a message about. Seeing him so easily block Meng Chong's Flame Fire Arrow, he thought that his strength was indeed above average. He immediately drew his long sword, the Mysterious Yin Energy circulating in his body, transforming into boundless sword light, determined to take advantage of the boy's moment of breathlessness and chop him into mincemeat.

The sword shadows spread out, exuding boundless coldness. The sword qi crisscrossed, stirring up waves of air like raging tides. Lou Shiyi's figure, behind the vast sword shadows, turned into a fleeting shadow, his steps so bizarre that it was hard to predict where his final killing blow would land.

Chen Xun's spiritual awareness was extraordinary. Lou Shiyi's intricate and obscure killing intent was as clear as a reflection in a mirror, captured by his spiritual awareness. He stepped back, always avoiding the most lethal sword light, standing outside the air waves generated by the sword light, and laughed, "Since Brother Lou has no intention of cooperating, how about the two of you and I team up to kill this Lou? The three trial iron plates on his body, you take two, and I'll take one."

Lou Shiyi was so angry that his nose almost exploded. He truly didn't expect this black python youth, surrounded by him and the Meng brothers, to still try to sow discord. He immediately recited a spell, and the millions of sword shadows suddenly merged into a huge sword rainbow, slashing straight at Chen Xun.

The qi currents drew together, leaving no room for evasion.

Chen Xun's spiritual awareness locked onto the sword light. He drew his bow, the string moving like thunder, and the arrow shot out like a fleeting light, colliding head-on with the sword rainbow.

After a thunderous explosion, the iron arrow, made of fine steel, shattered into powder, and the sword light was also dispersed, the countless sword qi and evil energy oscillating, breaking the trees on either side and sending withered branches and leaves soaring into the sky.

Chen Xun's arms and face were cut by several sword qi, but it was not serious. He used the momentum to retreat a hundred meters, always staying outside the three people's encirclement, calmly drawing another arrow, placing it on the bowstring, and pointing it at Lou Shiyi.

"This guy is really interesting!" Meng Chong, who had reserved strength when he shot the Flame Fire Arrow, was secretly surprised to see this black python youth actually able to block Lou Shiyi's sword. However, his face showed no worry. He condensed two Flame Fire Arrows in his hands, leaped onto a branch behind Lou Shiyi, and laughed, "Brother Lou, you go and kill this boy, and we'll cover for you!"

Lou Shiyi saw the Meng brothers flanking him like shadows and became wary.

Lou Li had said he needed to find an opportunity to eliminate this black python youth to avoid future danger to the Gui Xi tribe. However, if he and the black python youth fought to the point of mutual destruction, the Meng brothers would reap the benefits. Lou Shiyi was not willing to suffer such a loss. He immediately stopped, stepped to the side, and said, "Brother Meng, if you want to take this boy's trial iron plate, I won't obstruct you, but please leave him a breath of life so I can stab him to death with one sword!"

Chen Xun saw that the light on the armor of the three people was faintly visible, knowing that they were all on guard, and their mystic armor was not something ordinary weapons could penetrate.

If he stayed to fight them, he would almost certainly die. Seizing the moment when the three were suspicious of each other, he turned and fled west.

Chen Xun had been hunting and gathering herbs in the mountains for years. In the dense forest, he moved as freely as a fish in water.

He visualized his barbarian soul, and the divine light of the barbarian soul infused his feet, revealing a faint cold light. Each step he took exerted a force of several thousand pounds.

The forest floor, soft from centuries of decaying leaves, but when he stepped on the roots of giant trees, his body shot forward like a cannonball, covering twenty meters, not much slower than the wild scale horses that roamed the mountains.

Lou Shiyi and the Meng brothers, using wind control techniques, moved swiftly on the branches, closely pursuing Chen Xun, refusing to let go.

All of them had trial iron plates, and their spiritual awareness was like a bright candle in the night, making it impossible to hide in the complex terrain of the dense forest.

This race would come down to who had the most stamina.

The trial was limited to a specific area, and although Chen Xun didn't know where the hidden strongmen of the Guard Captain's Office were monitoring, he didn't dare easily challenge the rules set by the Su family. After running for a while, he fled north toward Python Tooth Ridge.

The four of them, one fleeing and three pursuing, ran for several hundred miles in half a day.

Chen Xun had six Nine Yuan Nourishing Apertures Pills and three bottles of Essence Gathering Ointment, which could support him running for three to five days without stopping.

However, the three pursuers, from the Gui Xi and other major tribes, would not lack spiritual medicines to replenish their qi and blood.

This trial was not just about obtaining trial iron plates.

The emergence of such a formidable young strongman from the Northern Mountains had sparked a competitive spirit in Lou Shiyi and Meng Chong, who were determined to kill this youth in the wilderness.

Chen Xun ran for several hundred miles and saw a towering peak ahead, its top unseen.

He knew he couldn't defeat Lou Shiyi and the others alone, and this mountain, being so high, must be home to many fierce birds and beasts. He thought that if he could lure these fierce creatures into the chaos, he might have a chance to win.

With this in mind, Chen Xun did not hesitate and immediately climbed the mountain, stepping on rocks and scrambling up the cliffs.

"Damn!" Meng Chong and the others pursued for a while, and when they looked up, they saw several scale vultures circling and screeching in the clouds, warning them of their unwelcome presence. They deeply felt the tenacity of the Northern Mountains youth.

Although they were confident they could kill the boy with Lou Shiyi's help, if they accidentally entered a fierce beast's lair, the boy would be dead, and they would likely be dragged into the fight, making it difficult to escape unscathed.

"Chase him. Whether we get the trial iron plate or not, it's fine. Even if he is forced into a fierce beast's lair, it's better!" Lou Shiyi, seeing the Meng brothers' hesitation, gritted his teeth and said, "Do you want others to know that the three of us can't deal with a Northern Mountains youth? Do we still have the face to stay in the Canglan Academy?"

Meng Chong thought Lou Shiyi was right. They were several miles away from the youth, and if they let the distance increase, they would have enough time to turn and run if the youth entered a fierce beast's lair...

Several fierce birds were already circling overhead, seemingly wary of these unwelcome guests. Lou Shiyi and the others were still in hot pursuit, and Chen Xun felt a headache.

Stopping, Chen Xun sensed that the three behind him had also stopped. He was secretly angry, knowing they were trying to force him into a fierce beast's lair to die, saving themselves the trouble.

However, with the three still in pursuit, he couldn't stop fleeing. He swallowed the remaining Essence Gathering Ointment from the bronze bottle.

Just as Chen Xun was about to hide the empty bronze bottle in his chest, a thought flashed in his mind: The bronze bottle could seal the spiritual essence of the medicine, could it also hide the aura of the trial iron plate?

Chen Xun took out the trial iron plate and found that although it was small, it was slightly larger than the mouth of the bronze bottle.

Chen Xun hesitated for a moment, not caring about the rarity of the bronze bottle, and tried to flatten the mouth of the bottle.

Chen Xun had always been careful not to damage the bronze bottle, and he had never tried to flatten it. This time, despite his efforts, the bronze bottle remained undamaged, not flattening at all.

Damn!

The black python had once dominated the Canglan region for a thousand years, battling the Su family for a hundred years before finally declining. Their lineage was long and profound.

These few bronze bottles, along with the bronze medicine furnace wrapped in animal skin in Chen Xun's possession, were part of a set. Chen Xun had never realized that this set of medicine-making tools was so extraordinary, having only used it to make Essence Gathering Ointment and Black Python Pills, without realizing its true potential.

Since the trial iron plate couldn't fit into the bronze bottle, Chen Xun immediately opened the animal skin bag, placed the trial iron plate into the bronze medicine furnace, and closed the lid.

Sure enough, the aura of the trial iron plate, which revealed the remnant soul of a fierce beast, disappeared the moment the bronze lid was closed, like a candle being blown out.

Without hesitation, Chen Xun turned and jumped down a cliff, grabbing a withered vine and sliding down a thousand meters, then entering a dense forest on the north slope and traveling several miles before stopping.

Chen Xun could sense that Lou Shiyi and the others quickly reached the spot where he had been, but they were stuck there, unable to move, likely puzzled by the sudden disappearance of the trial iron plate's aura.

Chen Xun didn't have time to ponder why the bronze medicine furnace and the four bronze bottles could hide the remnant soul's aura. Since he could now hide, he wasn't afraid of Lou Shiyi and the others pursuing him relentlessly.

Lou Shiyi and the Meng brothers searched the mountain for a long time but found no trace of Chen Xun. They finally gave up and descended the mountain.

Chen Xun, on the other hand, followed Lou Shiyi and the others, but before he could find an opportunity, two scale horses blocked his path at the mountain exit.

"Where is the trial iron plate on your body?" Ge Yi, holding his saber in front of him, had suddenly lost the ability to sense the trial iron plate and had to appear to ask what had happened.

Chen Xun opened the animal skin bag, showed the trial iron plate in the bronze medicine furnace to Ge Yi, and asked, "Is this considered breaking the rules?"

"This indeed does not break the rules," Ge Yi's withered, tree-bark-like face showed a hint of surprise, and he said, "I didn't expect the children of the participating tribes to have a mystic symbol medicine furnace. Hide the medicine furnace well, and don't let others know before entering Canglan—once you join the Canglan Academy, having a few high-quality mystic symbol tools will protect you from others' covetous eyes."

The inscriptions on the bronze medicine furnace, though simple, were more ancient than the mystic symbols on the Heavenly Gang coins and the trial iron plates. It was likely not just a mystic symbol medicine furnace.

Chen Xun, of course, wouldn't foolishly reveal this to Ge Yi and the others.

Seeing that Ge Yi and the others had no further questions after inspecting the trial iron plate, Chen Xun sealed the trial iron plate back into the bronze