The Heaven and Earth Ring's first battle
Huan'er tugged at his sleeve, reluctant to part.
"Young master, why don't you take me with you? At least... at least I can drive for you."
Shen Jingchuan raised his hand and gently flicked her forehead:
"Forget it. We're bound to have to fight this time. If it really comes to blows, I'll have to keep an eye on you, which will only cause more trouble. Don't worry, your young master will be fine."
Seeing that he looked calm and composed, neither afraid nor hiding anything, the two nodded and saw him out.
Shen Jingchuan drove the modified carriage all the way to the market checkpoint, without saying goodbye to Steward Wang and the others, and went straight out of the market.
He is currently only at the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, and cannot travel long distances by sword directly back to Yuxi Prefecture, which is why he chose a carriage;
More importantly, he had specially modified the carriage, leaving a gun mount on the roof. In critical moments, he could mount the 23mm aircraft cannon, adding another layer of safety.
After passing the checkpoint, there is a long mountain path, with deep forests on both sides and quiet surroundings.
Shen Jingchuan's nerves tightened immediately, and he became secretly on guard. He knew that the Movement Method at the Qi Refining Great Perfection was too fast, and if he waited until they met face to face before making a move, he probably wouldn't be able to react in time.
He simply leaped onto the roof of the vehicle, retrieved the 23mm cannon, secured it to the gun mount, and inspected it before jumping back to the driver's seat and slowly driving the vehicle forward.
The carriage rumbled forward, gradually emerging from the narrowest part of the mountain path, where the terrain ahead began to open up.
The carriage emerged from layers of mist, and beyond lay a valley.
Shen Jingchuan recognized this place. Those robbers had attacked him here last time. He smiled inwardly, thinking, "Could it be such a coincidence that these three are also planning to make their move here?"
But when he left the valley, everything was quiet and peaceful, and nothing happened.
Had the other party given up? Or had Steward Wang already dealt with these people for him?
He was filled with unease, but dared not relax his vigilance for a moment. He was especially careful in situations like this, and continued walking cautiously. As noon approached, the road ahead gradually became bumpy, and a mountain ridge blocked the way.
Shen Jingchuan's intuition tightened slightly, his gaze fixed on the mountain ridge—he had a feeling something was about to happen, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Just then, a noise came from behind.
The person who came up wasn't in front; they caught up from behind.
Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat. Seeing that they were about to cross the mountain ridge, he immediately reined in the carriage and quickly pulled out two thick steel rods from the carriage, plunging them hard into the ground to firmly fix the carriage to the ground. When the aircraft cannon fired, the recoil was astonishing. If the carriage wasn't nailed down, it would be moved with a single shot.
Once the vehicle was secured, he leaped onto its roof. The cannon was already mounted on its carriage, and he swiftly grabbed a shell, wedged it into the compartment, and then turned the cannon around to aim behind him.
Looking back, sure enough, three figures were flying swiftly on their swords, rapidly approaching him.
The distance between them closed rapidly, and the three men stopped a dozen meters away from him, suspended in mid-air.
Shen Jingchuan finally saw the newcomers clearly—the leader was a middle-aged man with a deep aura, who was actually at the Qi Refining Great Perfection; the two on the left and right were also cultivators at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
The three men's gazes first fell on him, then on the dark, oddly shaped aircraft cannon in his hand, and their brows furrowed involuntarily.
The thing didn't look like Law Artifact or Law Treasure, but for some reason, with that dark, gaping opening pointing at them, all three of them felt a strange sense of danger.
The middle-aged man stared at the aircraft cannon for a moment, then spoke in a deep voice:
"Hey kid, what's that thing you're holding?"
"What I take is none of your business," Shen Jingchuan said firmly, not giving an inch. "I advise you to stay away. If you're just passing by, walk around me, or else—you'll see."
Upon hearing this, the three of them were taken aback at first, then they all laughed.
"Go around you?"
The three were indeed cautious. The leader, a cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, first released his Divine Sense and carefully scanned the surrounding mountains and forests. He did not detect any ambush and only then did he feel relieved.
He glanced at Shen Jingchuan on the roof of the car, his tone full of disdain:
"This is just a weakling; I don't need to lift a finger. I'll stay here and keep watch for any unforeseen circumstances. You two go and take him down. Remember—keep him alive, whatever you do, don't kill him. Attack together, but don't let your guard down."
The two nodded in unison, and with a flash of sword light beneath their feet, they pounced on Shen Jingchuan from the left and right.
Shen Jingchuan had long since kept the jade pendant given to him by True Person Moxuan close to his body, and had even upgraded it in his Heaven and Earth Ring, so that he could withstand attacks from the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
He was actually confident; he wasn't afraid of these three, and he wasn't necessarily outmatched. His only fear was that they might suddenly launch a deadly attack, so fast that he wouldn't even have time to dodge, and then he would be truly finished. Now, with this jade pendant as a backup, he had no more worries.
Seeing the two men rushing towards him, he didn't waste any words. They were fast, but he was even faster, and he pulled the trigger of the aircraft cannon.
"Knock knock--"
The cannon fire suddenly exploded, echoing throughout the entire valley.
These two men, intending to capture the prisoner alive, hadn't brought any offensive magical Law Artifact; they had come empty-handed. The one on the left had just formed a hand Method Formula, preparing to use an Entanglement Technique to tie the person up; the one on the right, hands behind his back, was watching but hadn't made a move yet.
Before the Method Formula for the Entanglement Technique could even be cast, the cannon fired.
Both of them were startled at the same time, and without thinking, they instinctively activated their protective Gang Qi.
The two sides were only a dozen meters apart, which was no different from point-blank bombardment. The 23mm cannon was firing at a very rapid rate. The barrage of bullets came crashing down on them. The protective Gang Qi was shaken violently and flickered as soon as it came into contact with the aura. It was about to be shattered and could not be defended at all.
"What the hell is that?!"
The cultivator on the left's expression changed drastically. He pulled a small shield from his Storage Bag and held it up in front of him, channeling his Spiritual Power into it. A layer of eerie light rose from the shield's surface; it was a mid-grade Law Artifact shield.
Seeing that he couldn't withstand the Gang Qi, the one on the right crushed a Golden Armor Talisman without saying a word. A golden light enveloped his body, and a layer of close-fitting light armor appeared out of thin air.
Shen Jingchuan immediately understood that they absolutely could not give them a chance to regain their footing and launch a counterattack. They had to adopt an offensive strategy as their defense.
With a thought, his natal magic Law Treasure, the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring, appeared, its five rings floating in front of him, spinning rapidly.
The two cultivators were startled again. What was this thing? It was colorful and quite beautiful, but for some reason, looking at the rotating halo, the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end—an indescribable sense of danger crept into their hearts.
Shen Jingchuan had practiced the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring countless times in the past few days, and now he could activate it without any rustiness.
With a Divine Sense, he caused the five rings to interlock and rotate in the order of the five elements: metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, and earth generates metal. The five-colored light layered upon each other, growing brighter and brighter with each rotation. With a sharp sound of tearing through the air, the rings spun and swooped towards the two of them.