Moonlight pierced through the forest leaves, casting mottled shadows over Chen Fan's bloodstained clothes. He had just pulled Lin Xiaohu into a bamboo grove when his steps suddenly halted—the True Energy in his dantian had grown sluggish, and the blade wound on his chest throbbed with piercing pain under the evening breeze. The strength that had surged forth during his breakthrough into the Grandmaster Realm had yet to fully settle, crashing through his meridians like wild horses.
"Brother Fan, you look awful." Lin Xiaohu supported his arm, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield's wreckage. "Why don't we find a cave and treat your wounds first?"
Chen Fan was about to respond when he suddenly caught a trace of bitter medicinal fragrance. It differed from ordinary herbs, carrying a faint spiritual aura that soothed some of the restless True Energy within him as it entered his nose. He abruptly looked up and saw a figure in plain white sitting cross-legged on a bluestone platform deep within the bamboo grove. A three-legged bronze furnace stood before her, its curling green smoke the source of that medicinal scent.
She was a woman of around twenty, with a jade hairpin carved with herbal patterns tucked into her coiffure. Holding a silver medicine spoon between her fingers, she stirred the medicinal liquid in the furnace with focused attention. Hearing their footsteps, she turned to look at them. Her features were elegant as cold plum blossoms beneath the moon, though her eyes held a trace of wariness. "Who are you? Why have you trespassed upon my pill-refining grounds?"
"This junior is Chen Fan. My younger brother and I fled here, with no intention of disturbing you, Miss. It is only..." The motion of cupping his hands tugged at Chen Fan's wound, and he could not help letting out a muffled groan.
The woman's gaze fell upon his blood-seeping lapels and Zhou Hei Hu's corpse. Her brows drew together slightly, then she took a porcelain bottle from her medicine basket and tossed it over. "These are Blood Coagulating Pills. They can be applied externally or taken internally. From the look of you, did you just fight people from Black Wind Stronghold?"
"Miss, you know Black Wind Stronghold?" Chen Fan's heart stirred. He poured out a pill and applied it to his wound. The cool medicinal power instantly seeped into his skin, and the pain indeed eased considerably.
"My name is Ji Rushuang. I am a pill master of the Seven Stars Sect." The woman withdrew her gaze and continued stirring the medicine furnace, her tone carrying a measure of heaviness. "Among the supplies Black Wind Stronghold has been plundering are many spirit herbs that should have been delivered to the Seven Stars Sect. The Sect Master has investigated for half a year without finding any leads." Her fingers paused, and the medicine spoon scraped lightly against the furnace wall. "By killing Zhou Hei Hu, you have done me a great favor."
Lin Xiaohu suddenly pointed at Zhou Hei Hu's corpse and cried out, "Brother Fan, there's something shiny at his waist!"
Chen Fan bent down and removed the black storage ring. After he injected a thread of True Energy into it, a faint glow lit up on its surface. With a thought, several items appeared upon the bluestone platform. Aside from over a hundred low-grade spirit stones and several bottles of pills, there was also a wooden box engraved with the mark of "Seven Stars." Ji Rushuang's expression changed dramatically when she saw the mark, and she hurriedly opened the box—inside was a ledger, every page filled with densely packed numbers. At the end, the signature read clearly: "Ninth Elder Zhou Daoyuan."
"So it really was him." Ji Rushuang's fingertips trembled slightly. "The monthly stipend the sect gives its inner sect elders is only a hundred spirit stones, yet the stolen goods recorded in this ledger amount to over two thousand spirit stones. Many spirit herbs were also funneled to Black Wind Stronghold." She looked up at Chen Fan, her eyes turning earnest. "Brother Chen, this ledger is of utmost importance to the Seven Stars Sect. Could you lend it to me to bring back to the sect? I can exchange high-grade healing medicine and cultivation techniques for it."
Before Chen Fan could speak, the sound of something cutting through the air suddenly came from beyond the bamboo grove. Three black figures descended from the sky. The leader was a white-haired old man, and the token at his waist bore the same Seven Stars mark. Yet his eyes were sinister as a serpent's. "Niece Ji, colluding with outsiders without permission and even trying to take an elder's belongings—you have quite the nerve."
Ji Rushuang's face turned deathly pale. "Ninth Elder? Why are you here?"
"I came tracking Zhou Hei Hu's spirit herbs. I did not expect to stumble upon such a splendid scene." Zhou Daoyuan sneered, his gaze falling upon Chen Fan as killing intent bared its fangs. "A martial artist without a spiritual root dares covet the belongings of cultivators? And this ledger..." He raised a hand, sending a stream of black qi clawing toward the wooden box. "Since you have seen it, then all of you can die!"
Chen Fan abruptly shielded Ji Rushuang and Lin Xiaohu behind him, unleashing all the True Energy in his body. The aura of the Grandmaster Realm surged like an invisible tidal wave, forcing the black qi to halt for an instant. He clenched both fists as the diagram for the second move of the Sky Shattering Fist surfaced in his mind—after breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm, the once-blurry second layer of moves on the stone wall had become clear.
"Sky Shattering Fist! Shatter the Mountain!"
Chen Fan kicked off the ground, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its bow. His fists bore the might to crumble mountains and split rocks as they crashed head-on into Zhou Daoyuan's black qi. Astonishment flashed through the old man's eyes. "A Xiantian Stage martial artist actually broke through to the Grandmaster Realm? You would make quite a fine vessel for possession!" With a flick of his sleeve, several poison needles wrapped in spiritual qi shot forth. "Unfortunately, before the Nascent Soul Realm, no matter how strong martial arts may be, they are still ants!"
Ji Rushuang suddenly shoved the bronze furnace forward, splashing boiling medicinal liquid toward the poison needles. At the same time, she threw out three crimson pills. "These are Explosive Flame Pills. They can trap him temporarily! Brother Chen, he cultivates an evil art, so his physical defenses are weak!"
The pills exploded amid the poison needles, crimson flames forming a ring-shaped barrier that enveloped Zhou Daoyuan. Seizing the chance, Chen Fan stepped onto the bluestone platform and used the recoil to leap above the old man's head, gathering tenfold True Energy in his fists as he smashed down. Zhou Daoyuan hurriedly summoned spiritual qi to protect himself, but he had not expected this punch to carry such tyrannical force that it tore through spiritual qi. Cracks instantly spread across his shield.
"Pfft!" The old man was knocked several steps back, black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were full of disbelief. "How can your fists break my spiritual qi shield?"
"Because martial arts were never something evil cultivators like you could understand." Before Chen Fan's words had faded, he suddenly sensed a gust of force behind him—the other two black figures had circled behind Lin Xiaohu, their daggers stabbing straight at him.
"Watch out!" Ji Rushuang flung out her jade hairpin. It transformed into a streak of white light and knocked away the daggers, but the old man took the opportunity to strike her shoulder with a palm. She spat out a mouthful of blood.
Chen Fan roared in fury and turned, pouncing upon the black figures like a leopard. His fists hammered out in alternation. Amid screams, the two Foundation Establishment Realm attendants were instantly beaten into grave injuries. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Zhou Daoyuan turned to flee, only to be struck in the back by the pill furnace Ji Rushuang hurled at him. His storage pouch fell to the ground.
"Trying to run?" Chen Fan stamped the ground, chasing behind the old man. The second move of the Sky Shattering Fist erupted at full force, his fist smashing into Zhou Daoyuan's back like a meteorite.
With a crack, the sound of breaking bones rang through the bamboo grove. The old man staggered and fell face-first to the ground, the spiritual qi within him thrown into chaos like scattered sand. Ji Rushuang stepped forward and pressed down on his meridians, saying coldly, "Ninth Elder, the evidence of your embezzlement of sect property and collusion with Black Wind Stronghold can now be made public."
Zhou Daoyuan lay prone on the ground, madness flashing through his eyes. "Do not celebrate too soon! Xianyun Sect has had its eye on this boy for a long time. Once their Nascent Soul Elder arrives, not one of you will survive!"
Chen Fan's heart tightened. Xianyun Sect's pursuit truly would not end here. Yet Ji Rushuang took out a communication jade talisman from the storage pouch. "I have already informed the Sect Master. An elder will arrive to provide support within half an hour. Brother Chen, you saved me and obtained the evidence. The Seven Stars Sect owes you a favor." She handed him a jade bottle. "Inside are Spirit Calming Pills. They can help stabilize your Grandmaster Realm cultivation. And this half-volume of the Martial Path Elixir Scripture may help resolve the conflict between your True Energy and spiritual qi."
Chen Fan accepted the jade bottle. The instant his fingertips touched the scripture, he suddenly recalled his master's final words before death: "The martial path does not stand alone. Only by tempering the body with pills and supporting one's arts with spiritual qi can one achieve the Martial Immortal." He raised his head to look at Ji Rushuang, determination flashing in his eyes. "Miss Ji, if the Seven Stars Sect does not find me wanting, this junior is willing to reside temporarily in your honored sect, healing my wounds while helping investigate Black Wind Stronghold's remaining forces."
A smile appeared in Ji Rushuang's eyes. Moonlight fell upon her plain clothes stained with medicinal residue, lending them an unexpected warmth. "Nothing could be better. Once we return to the sect, I will take you to see the Sect Master. Perhaps he can help you find a way to resist Xianyun Sect."
Lin Xiaohu clapped excitedly. "Wonderful, Brother Fan! We finally won't have to keep hiding every day!"
Chen Fan gazed at the brightening sky beyond the bamboo grove and tightened his grip on the Martial Path Elixir Scripture. Zhou Daoyuan's wails, Ji Rushuang's medicinal fragrance, and the power of the Grandmaster Realm intertwined within him. He vaguely sensed that this flight was no longer a personal struggle—Xianyun Sect's pursuit, the Seven Stars Sect's internal troubles, and Black Wind Stronghold's secrets were like an invisible net, drawing him into an even greater vortex. And this Seven Stars Sect might well be the new beginning from which he would shatter the destiny of spiritual roots.
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