Underestimated

"Hiss!"

Chen Xuan swung the hairpin in his right hand, drawing a smooth red arc in the air. It burned metal and corroded iron, swiftly slicing across the neck of an Ascetic Monk directly in front of him. A head flew into the air.

This person's killing intent was very strong; he couldn't hold back!

"Seeking death!"

"Still daring to do evil!"

Two bright, gleaming fists, like iron hammers, whistled in from the side. Chen Xuan raised his left arm to block. Both of these individuals were powerhouses of the Second Ascension. Their combined strike caused Chen Xuan to grunt, and the bones in his forearm nearly cracked.

"Hiss!"

Chen Xuan's expression was solemn. He gripped the fire hairpin tightly in his right hand and swiftly slashed towards the other side. The Red Qi fire arc brought forth a flash of blood, and three severed arms flew up. The cuts were charred black, and the blood that just surged out was completely evaporated by the residual Fire Virtue Red Qi.

"Ahhh!"

Screams erupted as the three Ascetic Monks cried out in pain and retreated backward. "He cultivates Red Qi, everyone fall back!"

Chen Xuan immediately followed, the fire hairpin raining down like a storm. Two of them were struck, their bodies, hard as gold and iron, immediately melted into several bloody holes, suffering heavy injuries.

The third person had clear killing intent in his eyes and was directly sliced open across the chest by Chen Xuan. His internal organs were charred black, and it was clear he wouldn't survive.

"Clang clang!"

Almost simultaneously, several golden-white fists, like crashing thunder, struck Chen Xuan from behind, sending him flying. Half of his shoulder collapsed, and he spat out a large mouthful of flame-like fresh blood in mid-air.

"His body is actually so tough, its resilience is no less than ours!"

Several Ascetic Monks clutched their fists, burned by the intense flames, and shouted in shock.

According to common sense, White Qi cultivators have the strongest physiques, while Red Qi cultivators have extremely poor physiques. After being struck by several close-range punches from them, half of the opponent's body should have been blown apart.

But at this moment, Chen Xuan's shoulder had only collapsed and his bones had cracked; he had not suffered a fatal injury. This left them extremely bewildered, even suspecting that what the other party cultivated was not Red Qi, but Metal Virtue White Qi, the same as theirs.

"Bang!"

Chen Xuan landed on the ground, rolled over, and stood up steadily. His eyes were sharp as he glanced at his shoulder, where bone spurs were clearly visible.

"Hoo!"

With a single breath, the Red Qi throughout his body surged. In an instant, a vibrant, emerald green light emerged, and a vast life force permeated the air. Flesh buds wriggled on his shoulder, the broken bones automatically returned to their positions and connected, healing rapidly.

Green Qi!

A faint sound like the call of a deer seemed to emanate from within Chen Xuan's body, clear and resonant.

"Wood attribute Green Qi, he's a dual-Qi cultivator!"

An Ascetic Monk's face was filled with horror. Fire and wood are incompatible. Cultivating one Qi requires several times the effort for the other, resulting in half the results for twice the effort.

"This person is so young, he must have started cultivating these tricks from a young age. Could he be from the Qi Refining family in Red Crow City?" Someone's face showed surprise and doubt.

"Fellow Daoist, there must be a misunderstanding here, please stop. Our Hanging Temple speaks reason, we speak reason!"

A tall Ascetic Monk quickly shouted loudly. Although he had also participated in the fight just now, his intention was to restrain Chen Xuan and prevent him from doing evil. Later, when he discovered that some of his fellow disciples seemed to have used ruthless methods, he voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield and even ordered a group of Ascetic Monks who had just returned from outside the camp not to interfere.

Most of the Ascetic Monks of the Hanging Temple who truly adhered to the precepts had entered the Southern Wilderness. Those who remained outside either had flaws in their character or were responsible for holding down a certain area.

"Oh, reason?"

Chen Xuan twisted his neck and looked down at the tall Ascetic Monk, asking, "Will you kill him for me?"

The tall Ascetic Monk replied with an ugly expression, "If Senior Brother Kong Xuan truly has committed a crime, our Hanging Temple will deal with him according to the temple rules. Please, Fellow Daoist, do not create any more killing karma. Your killing intent is too heavy."

Kong Xuan was the Dharma name of the old monk who brewed the treasure tea medicine soup.

"So, he won't die?"

Chen Xuan swung his arm, which had already recovered nearly half of its injuries, and sneered, "Heh, if he won't die, what reason are you talking about with me here! Those who harmed me are allowed to roam free, so why did I go through all the trouble to cultivate Qi!"

If he were only at the First Ascension, he might assess the situation at this moment, explain himself to others, talk about reason, or even turn around and flee directly, leaving this Hanging Temple camp with many powerhouses.

But Chen Xuan had already reached the Second Ascension. If he still had to be so cautious, wouldn't that be cultivating for nothing!

The Ascetic Monk's face darkened, and he said coldly, "You have continuously killed and injured several people and still refuse to stop. Fellow Daoist, do you truly want to become a mortal enemy of the Hanging Temple!"

The Hanging Temple was a hidden, massive force. If they weren't in a foreign land, why would they be so humble? The other party was being unreasonable and actually treating them like soft persimmons, which was truly too much.

In fact, with Chen Xuan's ruthless actions, no matter what the reason, the two sides had already formed an indissoluble knot.

The old monk who brewed the tea had now fled behind many of his disciples, poking out his aged head and shouting:

"He has a Qi Refining True Scripture, who can resist the greed in their hearts? You know about this, can you resist it! A True Scripture, that's a True Scripture left behind by ancient immortals and sages!"

True Scripture!

Immediately, the entire camp fell silent, terrifyingly quiet. Not only did the Ascetic Monks present hold their breath, but even the Qi Refiners watching the excitement in the distance widened their eyes in shock.

The old monk was shouting, seemingly wishing everyone could hear this news.

"Is that true, did you see it with your own eyes!" Someone immediately demanded.

"The ancient seal characters he asked me about, many are about the human meridians and the essentials of Immortal Qi. Besides coming from an ancient True Scripture, where else could they come from!"

The old monk spoke with certainty, trying to incite others and stir up trouble.

This was just a guess, and its credibility was clearly not high.

Only by cultivating the True Scripture of the Arrayed Immortals can one break through the Ascension level and enter a higher realm.

How could a mere rogue cultivator at the Ascension realm possibly possess the True Scripture of the Arrayed Immortals? It's simply a fantasy!

In the entire Red Crow City territory, only Green Deer Mountain and a few Qi Refining families in Red Crow City possess such a precious treasure. Furthermore, the True Scriptures of the Arrayed Immortals held by these forces are all incomplete, not the full versions at all.

But what if?

Instantly, everyone present had strange looks in their eyes. Some stared fixedly at Chen Xuan, their breathing quickening.

So that's where the problem lay!

Chen Xuan's face darkened. He immediately reflected on his mistake, realizing he had been too careless, just like Wang Chan, underestimating the people of the world!

Fortunately, the old monk was only guessing and hadn't truly discovered the Yellow Millet True Scripture in his mind.

However, the fact that the other party became suspicious just because he asked about a few ancient seal characters and then took the risk that very night was also quite unexpected.

The vicious accidents on this path of Qi Refining, the unpredictability of human hearts, it's simply impossible to guard against!

"Heh, truly, the will of heaven has been difficult to question since ancient times!"

Chen Xuan sneered. His shoulder injury was mostly healed. He once again summoned the Fire Virtue Red Qi, soaring up and crashing into the Ascetic Monks with a momentum that seemed to pierce the heavens.

He wouldn't waste his breath explaining to the others present.

Those with clear minds wouldn't believe such baseless claims. As for those who were willing to believe, even if you explained ten thousand reasons, they would still stubbornly hold to their own opinions!

"He wants to kill us to silence us! Save me!"

The old monk who had been boiling medicine turned pale with fright and fled in a panic.

But his fellow monks around him were deep in thought about this shocking secret. Their minds were in chaos for a moment, and they hadn't expected Chen Xuan to attack without warning. Their reaction was half a beat too slow.

"Ha! I am going to kill you to silence you!"

Chen Xuan charged into the formation like a fierce tiger. A fiery arc of Red Qi slashed across the old monk's back. The old monk immediately staggered back with a wail, was grabbed by the head by Chen Xuan and pulled back. The fiery hairpin repeatedly and fiercely stabbed his neck several times, melting out several thumb-thick, front-to-back blood holes.

He quickly reached into the old monk's embrace and pulled out a golden tea cake of Buddha-Heart Tea Tree wrapped in oil paper.

"Put it down! How dare you!"

The Ascetic Monks instantly had their eyes split with rage, their eyes bloodshot and red. With roars like apes and elephants, over twenty figures converged on Chen Xuan to kill him.

Land Treasure Medicine was priceless and concerned the survival of this camp. If Chen Xuan took it, the consequences would be no small matter!

"What do I not dare!"

Chen Xuan laughed loudly, punching out a fiery Red Flame bird that sent a Second Ascension Ascetic Monk flying. Turning around, he violently threw the old monk's corpse out. Some monks scrambled to dodge. Chen Xuan actively pursued, sweeping through the most densely populated part of the formation like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves... He had already sensed that some of these Ascetic Monks had an inexplicable, strangely immense killing intent towards him. These people had to be dealt with... Moreover, these people, like the old monk, had also looked earlier, and Chen Xuan had seen them!

In the distance, the Qi Refiners of Red Crow City were all terrified, looking at Chen Xuan, who was completely undisguised, his violence and arrogance almost soaring to the sky. Everyone's hearts trembled, and their legs shook.

The evil thoughts that had arisen in some people's hearts instantly vanished.

Even if Chen Xuan truly possessed the True Scripture, how could they possibly covet and lay claim to it!

"Clang!"

Chen Xuan's attacks were wide and powerful. He grabbed the arm of a murderous Second Ascension Ascetic Monk and delivered three rapid and forceful heavy punches, sending him flying into the air. Blood mist sprayed from his back.

Someone attacked from the side. Chen Xuan didn't dodge, trading injury for life, and repeatedly stabbed the fiery hairpin towards the person's heart...

Qi Refining techniques were also killing techniques, and this was what Chen Xuan was best at!

"No more fighting, no more fighting!"

The remaining monks were finally scared witless by the killing. They scattered in all directions, retreating and daring not to fight again.

The opponent was extremely skilled in combat. Fire Virtue Red Qi inherently countered Metal Virtue White Qi, and relying on Wood Virtue Green Qi to heal his injuries, Chen Xuan directly adopted a reckless fighting style. Who would dare to fight him head-on? Chen Xuan was getting injured, but they were losing their lives!

In just this short time, no fewer than three Ascetic Monks had died at his hands, and the injured were too many to count on one hand.

Even if they went all out to keep Chen Xuan, they would lose at least half of their people.

Moreover, they might not even be able to keep him!

Chen Xuan was covered in blood, his gaze sweeping around. The Ascetic Monks who had shown killing intent towards him had all been dealt with. He then turned around, waved at the stunned Qi Refiners of Red Crow City in the distance, and laughed as he left:

"No good temples, no good monasteries. Everyone, I'll take my leave first. We'll meet again!"

Some of the Ascetic Monks in this Hanging Temple were strange, not just the three old monks. His intuition told him he couldn't stay here any longer!