Chapter 61

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Chen Xun soon knew that Lou Shiyi had parted ways with the two Meng clan youths.

He had been fleeing all the way, and the actual combat with Lou Shiyi and the three others was limited.

From his perception, Lou Shiyi and the Meng clan brothers had similar strength, but when Lou Shiyi teamed up with the Meng clan brothers to snatch the trial iron plates from other clans' disciples in the wilderness, they could obtain one more plate than the Meng clan brothers alone, indicating that Lou Shiyi might be concealing his true strength, which Chen Xun couldn't see through at the moment.

This was not surprising. The resources available for the descendants of great clans like Gui Xi far exceeded those of the Black Python. Even the details of the armor and clothing worn by Lou Shiyi and the others were beyond Chen Xun's comprehension.

Chen Xun carefully considered that, whether facing Lou Shiyi directly or encountering the Meng clan brothers, his chances of winning were actually very limited.

He could easily escape mainly because Lou Shiyi and the Meng clan brothers did not trust each other. When pursuing him, they both reserved their strength and were wary of each other, not wanting to fight to the death and give the other side an advantage.

Chen Xun was not one to linger. After thinking it through, he didn't care whether Lou Shiyi and the Meng clan brothers parting ways was a trap to lure him in. He immediately chose another path to find Gu Jianfeng, Zong Ya, and the others.

When he left the eastern valley of Python Tooth Ridge, Chen Xun had planned to split up with Gu Jianfeng and Zong Ya, each carrying a trial iron plate. They had agreed that if they encountered insurmountable dangers along the way, they would hide in several designated places to facilitate mutual rescue.

This separation was forced. Chen Xun thought that if Gu Jianfeng, Zong Ya, and the others encountered insurmountable dangers, they would most likely hide in these agreed-upon locations and wait for him to come to their rescue.

Chen Xun searched the wilderness for two days, checking several agreed-upon locations, but found no trace of Gu Jianfeng and Zong Ya. He then decided to head directly to Canglan City...

The closer he got to Canglan City, the more densely packed the participating clan disciples he encountered along the way became.

By this time, clan disciples from almost every direction had gathered near Canglan City, including young strongmen like Lou Shiyi.

The competition for the trial iron plates had reached its final, intense phase, and the killings among clan disciples were even more dangerous and cruel.

Many had become bloodthirsty, not just for the trial iron plates, but also for the divine weapons, mystic armors, and treasures hidden on others' bodies.

In the swamps, dense forests, desolate mountains, and wild hills, the bodies of clan disciples could be seen everywhere, with countless wild beasts and birds vying to feast on them.

Seeing these scenes, Chen Xun became worried about the safety of Zong Ya and the others. He knew they would find it extremely difficult to pass through these areas safely, so he turned back to search again.

Half a day later, Chen Xun reached the banks of the Qingzhi River. Unexpectedly, he didn't find Gu Jianfeng and Zong Ya, but saw Lou Shiyi chasing a slender youth.

Lou Shiyi had previously had three trial iron plates, but Chen Xun could no longer sense them. He didn't know if Lou Shiyi had found a similar artifact to the bronze medicine furnace to conceal the aura of the trial iron plates or if he had handed the plates to his clan members to hide and hunt other clan disciples in secret.

Lou Shiyi was extremely difficult to deal with. When he and the Meng clan brothers pursued Chen Xun, he was definitely concealing his strength. Now, hiding in the dense forest, Chen Xun saw that Lou Shiyi's sword light was like a rainbow, with each strike creating deep gashes in the hard stone slope, and the sword energy shattered and scattered rocks.

The slender youth seemed to be far weaker than Lou Shiyi, with no means of retaliation. He was fleeing for his life, but his footwork was incredibly mysterious.

Each time Lou Shiyi's sword light seemed about to strike the youth's vulnerable body, the youth would evade the fatal blow in an incredibly strange way.

But even so, the youth was at the end of his strength, his face pale, his eyes panicked and disordered, his vital energy nearly depleted. Each time he used his mysterious footwork to evade a fatal strike, his complexion would become even more ghastly.

Chen Xun sensed that if this pursuit continued for a moment longer, the youth would die from exhaustion even before Lou Shiyi struck.

Although Chen Xun had a grudge against Lou Shiyi, his main goal was to find Gu Jianfeng and Zong Ya, and he didn't want to cause trouble.

Moreover, even if he faced Lou Shiyi, his chances of winning were very limited.

Having seen too much death along the way, Chen Xun's heart had hardened. Watching the slender youth about to die under Lou Shiyi's sword, he felt no pity.

Chen Xun was about to turn and quietly leave when the youth, perhaps realizing there was no hope of escape, was forced to a cliff's edge with no way to retreat. He could only turn to face Lou Shiyi, who was pursuing him.

Lou Shiyi's face was full of excitement. Though he was only fourteen or fifteen, his eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty fervor.

The youth's face was ghastly pale, his chest heaving with heavy breaths, his arms outstretched as if making a final, desperate struggle...

Chen Xun's heart was shaken. The youth's posture was all too familiar to him.

It was the first move of the Great Peng Secret Fist, the Soaring Strike!

The slender youth looked familiar; he must be a descendant of the Beishan clan that Chen Xun had seen in Tianma Lake City.

The Great Peng Secret Fist was common in Yunzhou, but it was a secret and profound technique that was not openly taught among the Beishan clans in Python Tooth Ridge.

Chen Xun didn't know if the slender youth had any connection to Qingmu Daoist. If he did, and Chen Xun didn't save him now, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Although Chen Xun had never met Qingmu Daoist, he had started his cultivation journey thanks to the "Residual Interpretation of Dao" written by Qingmu Daoist.

Although Qingmu Daoist never broke through the nine levels of the Witch Barbarian realm to reach the Celestial Barbarian realm, his insights into the cultivation of barbarian martial arts were far superior to others, with a broad and profound perspective. Even Su Tang believed that Qingmu Daoist's analysis of the foundation stage of True Yang cultivation was clear and thorough.

Thanks to the "Residual Interpretation of Dao," Chen Xun's path to cultivation was much luckier than that of other scattered cultivators. He had always hoped to have the opportunity to seek guidance from Qingmu Daoist.

With this thought, Chen Xun drew an iron arrow from his quiver and nocked it on the bow, pointing it at the fiercely attacking Lou Shiyi.

Lou Shiyi, generating sword light with his mystic Yin energy, was about to kill the youth when he suddenly felt a chill. Looking up, he saw Chen Xun standing on a stone bridge, an iron arrow gleaming with a cold light aimed at him.

Even before the bowstring moved or the arrow was released, a fierce killing intent had already reached him.

Lou Shiyi, not daring to be overconfident, immediately swung his sword to block the overwhelming killing intent.

The next moment, the bowstring sounded like thunder, and the iron arrow transformed into a streak of light, colliding with the sword light. The impact created a dazzling light, and the shockwave shattered the air, sending rocks and trees flying...

Although Lou Shiyi easily deflected the arrow, Chen Xun was not discouraged. With each step, he fired an arrow, preventing Lou Shiyi from having a free hand to kill the youth.

Thirty steps, thirty arrows.

When the quiver was empty, Chen Xun was in front of Lou Shiyi. He had a Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill in his mouth, discarded the bow, and drew the black-sheathed long knife from his waist. Leaping from a large rock, he transformed into a fierce, icy blade of light, chopping down at Lou Shiyi with a cold aura that made the surrounding air condense into frost.

"Again, it's you, this reckless little brat, coming to die!" Lou Shiyi sneered, standing with his eyes wide open, his mystic Yin energy infusing his sword as he swung it upward to meet Chen Xun's blade.

The two, one with a knife and one with a sword, their weapons entangled, their auras and killing intent spreading, fought like dragons in a fierce battle, causing the sky to darken and the earth to shake.

As the fight continued, Lou Shiyi became increasingly alarmed:

He held the Frost Sword, a mystic symbol sword. After blood sacrifice, he only needed to infuse a bit of spiritual awareness to draw mystic cold energy from the surroundings, allowing him to continuously generate mystic Yin sword light without expending too much vital energy.

The youth in front of him, however, held only an ordinary black-sheathed knife, yet his endurance far exceeded Lou Shiyi's expectations. After such a long battle, there was no sign of his vital energy depleting. Lou Shiyi wondered what kind of pure and potent pill the youth had taken to sustain such a prolonged fight.

If Lou Shiyi knew that Chen Xun had swallowed a Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill, which was as valuable as a mystic artifact, he would not have been so surprised.

Before parting ways, Su Tang had helped Chen Xun refine so many Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pills, allowing Chen Xun to use such high-level spiritual pills so lavishly.

As the battle dragged on, Lou Shiyi began to feel the strain...

Chen Xun's relentless attacks left no room for Lou Shiyi to reach for a pill. The black-sheathed knife, like a shadow, enveloped Lou Shiyi in a mist of light, the sound of clashing blades and swords like fireworks.

The slender youth, though unable to join the fight, did not flee. Instead, he stood to the side, watching Lou Shiyi with a keen eye.

Though the youth was weak, his spiritual awareness was remarkable. Lou Shiyi felt uneasy under his gaze, fearing that the youth might have a hidden killing move, waiting for a moment of weakness to pounce like a venomous snake.

Unable to hold on much longer, Lou Shiyi reached into his robe, pulled out a jade bottle, and took a pill.

Chen Xun saw his opportunity and sent two blade lights like rainbows, aiming to strike Lou Shiyi's head. Just as they were about to hit, two golden lights flashed from Lou Shiyi's body, neutralizing the blade lights.

Chen Xun knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was not discouraged.

True Yang cultivators could wield mystic artifacts and treasures, but their power was limited. Even the most powerful mystic artifacts could only exert limited effects in the hands of a True Yang cultivator.

In the later stages of True Yang, one could begin to cultivate spiritual awareness, but its strength was limited.

Su Tang had said that Chen Xun's spiritual awareness was exceptionally strong, but even he would collapse if he tried to engrave the mystic symbols on the trial iron plate in his soul sea. Chen Xun didn't believe that Lou Shiyi could rely on his mystic armor to remain invincible forever.

Lou Shiyi inwardly cursed. Others who had seen the power of his Vajra Mystic Armor might have been intimidated, but this youth grew stronger with each fight, his mystic cold blade light becoming more fierce, like the sun blazing down, showing no sign of retreat.

The Vajra Mystic Armor, though wondrous, had its limits.

If the sudden, powerful strike exceeded the armor's limit, it would shatter.

Moreover, the Vajra Mystic Armor and the mystic symbol sword he held could only draw a limited amount of spiritual energy from the surroundings. Once the energy was depleted and could not be replenished in time, the armor would be no different from ordinary armor and could be damaged.

Seeing this youth's relentless attacks, Lou Shiyi suspected he knew the weakness of the Vajra Mystic Armor, which made him even more frustrated.

With this thought, Lou Shiyi lost the will to fight. Taking a heavy blow to the Vajra Mystic Armor, he turned and jumped off the cliff, fleeing into the distance.

Determined to escape, Chen Xun found it difficult to pursue. Sheathing his knife, he turned to the youth and asked, "Which clan are you from?"

"My name is Zuo Qianlan, from the Zuo Ji clan..." the slender youth replied in a soft voice.

Hearing the youth's gentle voice, Chen Xun was surprised to find it was a girl. Her skin was a bit dark, but her eyes were incredibly clear and bright, like stars in the night sky.

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