Immortal Script

Chen Luo did not believe the old fellow's lies. He flipped over, casually grabbed a handful of dirt and ash mixed with stone projectiles from the ground, and flung it behind him.

"Childish tricks."

Old Daoist Lichen paused slightly. Only after the dust had settled did he lift his foot again and give chase.

He was brimming with confidence, utterly unafraid that Chen Luo, this little bug already in his grasp, could stir up any tricks. With absolute strength, no schemes and tricks could affect the final outcome. If Chen Luo had been a Grandmaster, he might have taken him somewhat seriously. But a nobody at the early Bone Forging Realm was not worth guarding against at all.

Chen Luo's face was pale. He had considered encountering a Grandmaster; he had even made plans for confronting the Blade-Wielding Strongman head-on. But he had never imagined that the Great Change would come so swiftly.

It did not give him even a moment to react.

An enemy on Old Daoist Lichen's level had suddenly appeared. He was completely outside the plan; even General Fan's Brain was stunned. Weren't Prince Ning's people supposed to need more time before they arrived?

Unfortunately, no one explained it to him.

Those dead Jianghu Wanderers had once held similar doubts as well.

Why had they died?

Why had Jianghu experts happened to run into them?

Clutching the back of his hand, Chen Luo's mind raced. At the same time, more than a hundred brains lurking within his body all offered their suggestions.

'A dead end.'

'Kneel and beg for mercy.'

'Call him Grandpa.'

One brain after another sent back its advice, but nearly all of it was despairing. Even the thought of kneeling and calling him Grandpa had surfaced. When Chen Luo saw that feedback, veins bulged on his forehead in anger. He had already decided that if he survived this ordeal, he would throw away this "brain" afterward.

"Is there no way?"

Chen Luo focused his attention on the Imperial Clan and General Fan's Brain. These two were the most weighty "brains" in his possession at present. Unfortunately, even the Royal Family Brain and General Fan's Brain had no solution. The gap in strength was too vast. Forget fighting him—if they faced him head-on, he would probably be finished in a single move.

'Place yourself in a dead end and then live again. The time is almost here; infiltrate the mine tunnel! If you truly can't hold on, perish together with him. What I can't obtain, no one else should even dream of obtaining! Even in death, drag someone down to cushion the fall.' A jianghu wanderer brain that Chen Luo had never paid attention to gave a different suggestion.

This fellow was a ruthless man among ruthless men.

The instant he saw that message, Chen Luo decisively activated that brain.

In an instant, he felt his thoughts become incomparably calm.

It was as if all emotion had been cast aside. Fear and helplessness vanished completely, leaving behind only one thought: infiltrate the mine tunnel.

With the help of this jianghu wanderer External Brain, Chen Luo moved like the wind. He successfully dodged several attacks from behind, then after several leaps, jumped to the entrance of the mine tunnel. At that moment, Old Daoist Lichen, who had been close behind him, also caught up. The icy killing intent had already pricked against his skin.

"The time has come."

Chen Luo glanced sideways at the distant horizon, at the moment when the sun set and the moon rose.

At the edge of the sky.

Yin and yang were divided; sun and moon turned in cycle.

"Activate!"

Chen Luo stood at the entrance. A familiar sensation of stripping instantly flowed through his entire body. The energy accumulated over the past several days suddenly came alive, becoming the key to activation. Then his figure swayed, and as though he had melted, he passed through the stone and fell down.

"Hm?"

This scene made Old Daoist Lichen, who had been closely pursuing him, pause in surprise. But then wild delight appeared on his face.

"So it was here. It was meant for this Daoist to gain this opportunity for nothing."

Without another word, he too stepped onto the stone.

Chen Luo opened his eyes and found his surroundings exceptionally bright. That mysterious and unfathomable power was even more active. He had previously used the Jade Slip to absorb several traces of aura at sunrise and moonset, so he was now able to see them.

They had just helped him open the entrance to the mine tunnel.

'Walk quickly.'

A warning thought came over, and Chen Luo instantly snapped awake. He circulated his Internal Qi and fled swiftly forward.

Waves of disturbance came from the entrance behind him again. Old Daoist Lichen's figure barged in right after him, and once he saw clearly the situation inside the cave, he could not help bursting into laughter.

"Good, good, good! Truly, after wearing out iron shoes in a fruitless search, it came without effort."

After looking around, Old Daoist Lichen turned his gaze ahead and discovered that Chen Luo had run until only his back remained. He immediately raised his hand and slashed a stream of qi force toward him.

"As a reward for leading the way, this Daoist will give you a quick death."

He turned his hand into a blade and cleaved down vertically.

Grandmaster qi force immediately took tangible form, condensing into a sharp blade radiance that slashed toward Chen Luo ahead.

'To the left, roll!'

The consciousness of the calm jianghu wanderer appeared in his mind at once.

Without hesitation, Chen Luo rolled to the left. By the narrowest margin, he dodged the qi force, while his momentum remained undiminished as he charged deeper inside.

"Hm? Your luck is rather good."

Old Daoist Lichen frowned, treating Chen Luo's evasion of his attack as mere luck. A mere ant separated from him by several realms could not possibly have evaded based on his own strength, could he?

After evading that attack, Chen Luo completely escaped Old Daoist Lichen's field of vision.

Seeing this, Old Daoist Lichen could only employ his movement technique and chase after him.

One pursued while the other fled, and they soon entered the depths of the mine tunnel.

Before long, they reached the bottom of the mine tunnel. Once there, both their attention was instantly drawn to a gem at the very end. The gem was entirely deep blue, and its surface emitted a gentle glow. Like a charged gemstone, it radiated a captivating luster.

"A Spirit Mine!"

Old Daoist Lichen behind him became utterly excited. But Chen Luo was faster than him, reaching out first to grab that Blue Gem.

"Stop!!"

The enraged Old Daoist Lichen could no longer restrain himself. He kicked the stone wall beside him, sending a great amount of shattered rock shooting out like hidden weapons, sweeping toward Chen Luo ahead. Such a dense assault left no room to dodge.

This Time, Old Daoist Lichen had made up his mind. He attacked with his full strength, intending to kill with a single blow.

Feeling the killing intent at his back draw nearer and nearer, Chen Luo hardened his heart. He simply ignored everything and grabbed the Blue Gem.

"I absolutely cannot let this old thief reap the benefit!"

A strange scene occurred. Chen Luo's all-out grab did not destroy the gem. Instead, it seemed to trigger some mechanism. The instant his palm touched the Blue Gem, blue light blazed forth, and a layer of mysterious energy spread out. The entire cave seemed to come alive.

A bamboo slip flew out from Chen Luo's chest of its own accord, condensing a pale blue Protective Shield around him.

Thud, thud, thud.

A series of low Muffled Sounds rang out. Old Daoist Lichen's sure-kill strike was easily blocked by the blue Protective Shield.

"Immortal Script?!"

Old Daoist Lichen's expression underwent a Great Change at the sight. As though he had recalled something terrifying, he actually turned around in midair and ran back the way he had come without looking back.

But no matter how fast he was, how could he be faster than light?

Bzz!!

The blue Light Barrier swept forward like a tide, instantly Enveloping Old Daoist Lichen within it.

Everything inside the cavern was covered by this bizarre energy. The mine tunnel, which had originally contained nothing, now seemed to become a vast ocean in the deep sea, as endless water pressure came crashing down.

Old Daoist Lichen, who was fleeing, only had time to let out a muffled groan before his entire body was crushed apart by the immense pressure like an insect.

A large area of the rib bones in his chest shattered, bursting out with crackling sounds.

A large amount of blood sprayed from his mouth, and then he fell silent.