Regret

The old man, now without arms and legs, lay in a pool of blood, trembling all over. He looked up at Shen Jingchuan, who was approaching step by step, with the same look he had of a vengeful ghost.

He was filled with deep regret.

Someone who dared to go head-to-head with the Tian Household at the auction and bid on a Spirit Vein without batting an eye—could he be an ordinary person? How could he have been so bewitched as to dare to try and abduct such a formidable figure?

Shen Jingchuan's mind raced as he pondered how to deal with the old man.

Just then, the wind suddenly picked up in mid-air.

An old man arrived on a sword, followed by two others. The three stopped their swords and landed a short distance in front of him.

Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat, and he subtly scanned the area with his Heavenly Eye Peering into Truth Instruction.

The old man at the head of the group was clearly at the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer, and his aura was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

Holy crap, there's such a master! Shen Changfeng already knew who it was; it must be the Tian family member from Qi State who had bid against him for the spiritual vein at the auction.

Even if he, Little Black, and Treading Snow were tied together, they probably wouldn't be enough to defeat them.

Big Black, Little Black, Treading Snow also sensed the oppressive spiritual pressure that made it hard to breathe, and they stopped talking and stood ready.

Shen Jingchuan made a quick decision and sent his Divine Sense over.

"Go back to your space and stay there."

He pretended to pat the Spirit Beast Pouch, and the three horses disappeared instantly, all of them retracting into his Heaven and Earth Ring.

He was suddenly the only one left in the arena.

He had a plan in mind, two options. His mind raced, deciding whether to immediately travel back to the modern world, or hide inside the Ring first.

He planned to test it first. If the other party could detect him once he entered the Ring, he could still travel back in time; he would avoid using his time-traveling ability if possible.

However, he was only at the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer. Shen Jingchuan did not believe that someone with such cultivation could have the means to harm the Heaven and Earth Ring.

Having made up his mind, he didn't say another word, soared into the air on his sword, and turned to leave.

Upon seeing this, the old man threw his head back and laughed loudly. With a flash of sword light, he gave chase, his voice carried far away on the wind.

"Run? At your speed, do you think you can escape? Come down here obediently. You only have yourself to blame for your bad luck. You dare to mess with the Tian Household. You're asking for death."

Shen Jingchuan ignored him, took out two Divine Movement Talisman and slapped them on his legs.

He had already used the light sphere to ascend the talisman, and with a surge of Spiritual Power, the sword light suddenly accelerated, shooting out like an arrow released from a bow.

The old man was indeed left behind for a while.

But when he looked back, his heart sank again—he had distanced himself, but he couldn't shake off the other person; the other person was trailing behind, neither too close nor too far.

He had initially intended to simply walk away, but his Qi Ingestion resurfaced, and he wanted to try again.

In a flash, he remembered Little Black's speed and immediately made contact with him using his Divine Sense.

"Little Black, come out!"

He patted the Spirit Beast Pouch, and Little Black flapped its wings and flew out. Shen Jingchuan sheathed his sword, leaped onto Little Black's back, and crouched down.

"Speed up, shake him off!"

Little Black let out a screech, flapped its wings violently, and increased its speed again, indeed much faster than when it flew on its own sword.

Shen Jingchuan pulled out a Divine Movement Talisman and slapped it onto the horse's back.

A flash of spiritual light appeared on Little Black's body, and its momentum accelerated, transforming into a streak of black light that shot through the air.

At this moment, the two Qi Refining Great Perfection of Qi Refining completely disappeared, and even the old man was pulled away.

The old man let out a soft exclamation, also affixing Divine Movement Talisman to himself and urging his sword light to give chase.

No matter how hard he tried, the man and the horse kept getting further and further away, the gap widening little by little— Little Black was incredibly fast.

Shen Jingchuan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. He lay on the horse's back, his thoughts reaching out to the other side, both surprised and amazed.

"Little Black, how can you fly so fast? I didn't see you doing this yesterday."

Little Black was extremely proud, flapping its wings even faster, its voice filled with arrogance.

"Master, I have awakened two Divine Ability: lightning and speed. No ordinary bird or flying Demon Beast in this world can match my speed. Master Xian'er also taught me a method for circulating Demon Power, which saves me a lot of effort."

After flying for a while, her voice lowered.

"However, Master, my Demon Power is still weak. Flying like this consumes too much energy. I can only last another half an hour at most before I can't go on."

Shen Jingchuan asked again.

"And what about Treading Snow? How does her speed compare to yours?"

Little Black scoffed, his face full of disdain.

"She's much slower than me, not even half as fast."

Shen Jingchuan glanced back again; the old man had been left far enough away that he was now just a Little Black.

He made up his mind not to run away.

"Little Black, I understand. You go back to your space first, I'll handle the rest myself."

Shen Jingchuan then put her back into his Heaven and Earth Ring, stepped on his flying sword, and plunged headfirst into the ground.

Below was a vast, dense forest, with ancient trees reaching for the sky and their branches and leaves providing ample shade.

He released his Divine Sense and carefully searched the surroundings. The forest was quiet, devoid of birds and beasts, and there wasn't even the scent of a single Demon Beast.

When Shen Jingchuan was still more than two meters above the ground, he vanished into thin air with a thought and hid in his Heaven and Earth Ring. The Heaven and Earth Ring shrank to the size of a speck of dust and slowly fell into the leaves and weeds.

Closely following behind was Tian Chengye of the Tian family, who initially showed no sign of urgency.

In his eyes, Shen Jingchuan was nothing more than a minor cultivator at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, while he, a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, could easily take action against him.

Therefore, he neither planned to surround the area nor set up an ambush, and he did not want to take action too close to the market, lest too many people find out.

Besides, he had already been keeping an eye on the person.

Back in the market, Tian Zheng and Tian Ming took advantage of Shen Jingchuan's momentary lapse in attention and secretly placed a mark on him.

This mark is undetectable by ordinary means and will not dissipate within a month.

Therefore, upon learning that Shen Jingchuan had left the market, Tian Chengye remained calm and even deliberately lingered for an hour.

Following too closely would alert True Person Moxuan, so there was no need. After waiting a while, he leisurely led his two disciples out of the market.

After chasing for a while, they could see from afar that a fight had already broken out ahead.

Tian Chengye grinned, not surprised at all—he knew that others would be eyeing this lucrative opportunity.

This was exactly what he wanted.

If someone else had killed Shen Jingchuan first, and then he had taken action to abduct that group and reclaim the Spirit Vein, it would have been perfectly plausible no matter where you looked.

If the other party fails, he can still strike; he'll just kill them all.

So he didn't rush forward, but instead led Tian Zheng and Tian Ming to stay far behind and watch coldly.

He waited until Shen Jingchuan's battle was over before he waved his hand and summoned two of his disciples to fly over.

Unexpectedly, the young man took the three horses, turned around and ran away without saying a word.

Tian Chengye stroked his beard, remaining calm.

He was happy to be further away from the market, and seeing that Shen Jingchuan was fleeing towards the Qi Kingdom, he was even less anxious. It would be better if he got to the Qi Kingdom, as that would be his Tian Household's territory.

But as he continued the chase, his eyebrows gradually rose.

This kid actually has some skills.

At this moment, Shen Jingchuan released the winged Pegasus again, and its speed was outrageous.