Fierce Battle

In the eyes of mortals, cultivators were immensely powerful, capable of moving mountains, filling seas, and soaring into the azure heavens.

But true cultivators could be just as fragile.

Especially Mortal Transformation and Qi Condensation cultivators, who made up over ninety percent of the Cultivation World's population.

Without mastery of special techniques or powerful defensive Magic Tools, they could still be easily killed if caught by surprise in battle.

That young Night Watchman was precisely such a case.

He had not the slightest guard against the approaching danger.

So when the spell-Empowered crossbow bolt struck him, he had no time to react at all.

Nor did he have a Magic Tool to protect him.

The tragedy was inevitable.

Pshk!

One arrow sealed his throat, and blood burst forth!

The young cultivator's eyes bulged as his throat gurgled. He toppled headlong to the ground.

Several drops of blood spraying from his vital wound even flew onto Wang Chen, who stood several paces away!

Yet before the crossbow bolt arrived, Wang Chen had already felt an intense sense of danger.

Without hesitation, he slapped his waist.

A Storage Bag and a talisman pouch hung from the right side of Wang Chen's waist.

As its name suggested, a talisman pouch was used to hold Talismans, allowing cultivators to activate them at the fastest possible speed.

The first Talisman Wang Chen activated was a Protection Talisman!

Though his Divine Soul perception was frantically sounding the alarm, his heart was calmer than he could have imagined.

He even felt a sense of relief: What was bound to come had finally come!

When Wang Chen's palm struck the talisman pouch, pure Mana instantly passed through the thin fabric and flowed into the Protection Talisman.

A limpid glow suddenly burst forth, enveloping his entire body.

At the same time, Wang Chen's raised left palm struck another talisman pouch hanging from the left side of his waist.

This pouch contained Jia Ma Talismans!

Another burst of spiritual light bloomed, merging into his body in the blink of an eye.

By the time Wang Chen had activated the two Talismans in swift succession, the blood sprayed by the cultivator ahead of him had only just reached him—then was repelled by his Protection spiritual light.

Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!

At that moment, even more crossbow bolts shot from the darkness toward the Night Patrol Team.

Every arrow was deadly!

Guo Ping, standing ahead and to Wang Chen's right, suddenly flashed behind a young cultivator.

He cleverly evaded the two crossbow bolts aimed at him.

Psh! Psh! Psh!

The young cultivator in front, used as a human shield, was struck by three crossbow bolts almost simultaneously.

One each in the face, chest, and lower abdomen—all of them pierced straight through his body!

The Cloud Light Robe issued by the guard station had not provided the slightest bit of defense.

This scene fell right into Wang Chen's eyes.

"Shield!"

His heart remained utterly still as he raised his right palm before him.

With a low shout, a dazzling Mana shield abruptly materialized.

It blocked an arrow shot at him.

As a middle Qi Condensation stage protective spell, Spirit Light Shield Armor could freely shift between "shield" and "armor."

Of the two, its "shield" form possessed the strongest defense.

Spirit Light Shield Armor · Experience +1

Spirit Light Shield Armor (Proficient): 0/200

Wang Chen ignored the message that appeared in his vision and suddenly flew backward.

If he remained with the team, he could easily become the target of concentrated fire.

Guo Ping might even use him as a human shield.

As the saying went, you could know a person's face but not their heart.

This Team Deputy usually seemed warm and attentive, as though he cared deeply for the team members.

At the critical moment, he made a decisive choice that benefited himself most.

He used one of his teammates to buy himself time to react.

Wang Chen was very glad he had been walking at the very back of the group. Otherwise, he might have shared that teammate's fate!

"Wind, come!"

No sooner had Wang Chen opened up some distance than a thunderous roar came from the front of the group.

Yao Mingjie, standing at the very front, had his hair and beard bristling. His eyes were wide, his face flushed crimson, and his gaze brimmed with furious savagery.

The captain spread his arms, and fierce gales abruptly howled into being on either side of him.

They blew away every incoming crossbow bolt.

It had also been Yao Mingjie who had made a move in time just now, blocking many of the first wave of crossbow bolts.

Protecting several teammates behind him.

Above his head, clumps of dark clouds gathered and churned at an astonishing speed, sweeping toward the front!

"Thunder, come!"

The next instant, thick bolts of lightning, each as thick as an arm, crashed down from the sky. Their blazing radiance lit up a vast stretch of the area.

The ambushers were immediately exposed.

"Ah!"

Piercing screams rang out at once.

At least three ambushers were struck by the falling lightning, turning to charcoal on the spot.

The might of high-level Qi Condensation was displayed to the fullest in this strike!

"The mark's tough—take him together!"

The ambushers were exceedingly fierce. Several shadows immediately lunged at Yao Mingjie at once.

Snow-bright blades slashed through the darkness.

At the same time, a long fiery whip tore through the air, lashing viciously toward the Night Watchmen behind Yao Mingjie.

The enemy's formation actually aimed to wipe out the Fourth Night Patrol Team in one stroke!

Having fallen completely on the defensive from the very beginning, the Night Patrol Team was already in utter chaos.

Several rookie Night Watchmen scattered in terror. Some even wailed and screamed as they ran.

Several shadows chased after them, hacking them down one by one with their blades.

Like slicing melons and chopping vegetables!

Yao Mingjie was so furious he nearly spat blood.

The enemy had clearly been lying in ambush here all along. When they suddenly struck, he had a body full of powerful spells but did not dare unleash them freely, lest he accidentally injure the Night Watchmen behind him.

Yet the teammates he had done his utmost to protect performed so miserably!

Left with no choice, Yao Mingjie could only focus all his strength on breaking out.

He truly could not carry these rookies anymore!

Meanwhile, Wang Chen, who had already retreated to the rear, encountered a new crisis.

A black figure raced after him at high speed.

The blade it brandished flashed with chilling light, faintly illuminating a harsh, rigid face.

And a body clad in black.

The opponent's movement technique was astonishingly fast. Even with the Jia Ma Talisman empowering him, Wang Chen was caught in the blink of an eye.

Sensing trouble, he immediately halted.

He gathered all his mana into the Sword Finger of his right hand and thrust it at the attacker!

Seeing Wang Chen's stance, a trace of mockery flashed through the black-robed cultivator's eyes.

A mere rookie at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation actually dared to imitate a mantis trying to stop a carriage?

He raised the saber in his hand and slashed lightning-fast toward Wang Chen's neck.

The black-robed cultivator was utterly confident that one stroke would cleave through this minor Qi Condensation cultivator's protection spiritual light and sever his head.

As for Wang Chen's counterattack, the black-robed cultivator did not take it seriously at all.

Sixth layer of Qi Condensation against fourth layer of Qi Condensation, a seasoned bandit against a rookie novice—if he so much as injured a single hair, he would count it as his loss!

Yet just as his blade strike began, an incomparably sharp streak of golden energy suddenly filled his vision.

A stabbing pain pierced his brow, and his consciousness instantly plunged into boundless darkness!

How could this be?

The black-robed cultivator's final thought had not even fully formed before it was extinguished!

Bang!

A cloud of dust suddenly exploded, spreading in all directions in an instant.

It completely obscured the view.

Having just activated the Dust Smoke Talisman, Wang Chen bent down and snatched the Storage Bag from the black-clad cultivator's waist.

Then he turned and ran!