Unfortunately, the ambusher had underestimated Lin Chen's strength. Lin Chen activated his Blood Qi True Flame and blocked every hidden weapon that came flying at him.
"What's this..."
Looking at the hidden weapons on the ground, Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, his expression darkening. "Shuriken!"
There were many kinds of hidden weapons in Great Xia's cultivation world, but shuriken were rarely seen. Cultivators from only one place used them: Fusang!
"Life's been too easy for you, huh? You dare come to Great Xia and run wild?" Killing intent surged in Lin Chen's eyes. Whether in his previous life or this one, he had never had the slightest liking for that country.
Unfortunately, the figure lurking in the shadows had hidden too well. With the fog all around, Lin Chen couldn't find his opponent, so he could only continue deeper into it.
After walking for a while, he heard the sound of an intense fight in the distance. Lin Chen's expression shifted, and he was about to hurry over when several sharp whistles cut through the air.
"Trying that trick again?"
A look of disdain crossed Lin Chen's face. He swung his fist and knocked away the incoming hidden weapons. But just then, a figure darted toward him, slashing a blade at his head.
"Looking to die!"
Rather than retreating from the attack, Lin Chen charged forward and punched the figure.
Slain Second-order Ghost. Origin +1,000.
A ghost?
Lin Chen froze. At the same time, the ground suddenly exploded, and a sharp blade shot toward his waist, as if trying to cut him in half.
"Just a rat that knows how to skulk in the shadows!"
Lin Chen let out a cold laugh. His Blood Qi True Flame instantly enveloped his body, and the moment the incoming blade touched it, it melted into molten iron.
Seeing this, the attacker immediately abandoned his weapon and tried to flee. But the moment he moved, a hand clamped around his throat.
"What's your purpose?" Lin Chen asked, looking at the man in grayish-white robes he had caught.
"Great Xia man, you'll never get a single scrap of information out of me!" The man sneered.
"Your wish is my command!"
Lin Chen swung his fists and broke the man's limbs, then activated his Blood Qi True Flame and swallowed him in its flames.
"Ahh~"
The man screamed miserably in the flames. Lin Chen controlled the power of the Blood Qi True Flame, making sure he would burn for a while before turning to ash. Burning him to ash immediately would have been far too kind.
"Kill me! Kill me!"
Ignoring the wails in the flames, Lin Chen darted off toward the fighting.
A moment later, Lin Chen reached the battlefield. Two men were being surrounded by two grayish-white figures. The men were clearly at a disadvantage, with several dark-red wounds on their bodies.
Seeing this, Lin Chen activated his Blood Qi True Flame and joined the fight. The two grayish-white figures were defeated in an instant. Just like before, two balls of fire appeared on the ground, screaming.
The two men swallowed as they looked at the fireballs on the ground. Once they got a good look at Lin Chen, their expressions changed. "It's you!"
"You know me?" Lin Chen asked, looking at the two men.
Lin Chen didn't know many cultivators, and these two certainly weren't among them. Yet they clearly recognized him, which made him curious.
"We saw you outside the fog earlier," the man in a short shirt hurriedly explained.
"So you're not with the Demon Suppression Division?" Lin Chen frowned.
"No. We also came to help after receiving a temporary recruitment mission." The man in the short shirt paused, then continued, "We didn't expect Fusang Cultivators to show up here, let alone Shikigami. They're no match for us in a head-on fight, but their sneak attacks caught us off guard."
Shikigami?
Lin Chen understood at once. The ghosts he had slain earlier weren't wandering spirits; they were Shikigami belonging to Fusang Cultivators, much like the ghosts of Great Xia's Ghost Raising Lineage.
"Your injuries are serious. Stay here and wait for reinforcements. I'll go help the Demon Suppression Division." Lin Chen looked at the two battered men.
The two nodded. Their injuries were severe, and some of their wounds were even poisoned. Their strength had already been greatly diminished.
After parting ways with them, Lin Chen quickly went deeper into the fog. A moment later, he arrived before a dark-gray barrier. Standing in front of it was a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes.
Looking at the barrier nearby, Lin Chen's expression grew serious. "A barrier!"
"You made it all the way here. You're quite strong. I acknowledge you!" The middle-aged man looked at Lin Chen.
Lin Chen glanced at the middle-aged man nearby and couldn't help laughing. "You know what happened to the last guy who acted so smug in front of me?"
Hm?
The middle-aged man froze. Before he could say anything, Lin Chen was already right in front of him. "He dropped his head and went straight to sleep. Never got to act smug again!"
As Lin Chen finished speaking, his fist, wrapped in Blood Qi True Flame, slammed toward the middle-aged man's head.
Just then, a black dog sprang out from the middle-aged man and lunged at Lin Chen's fist. Unfortunately, it had overestimated its strength. Lin Chen's fist punched straight through it and struck the middle-aged man's head.
Bang!
The middle-aged man's body flew backward and crashed into the barrier behind him.
"He's not dead?" A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Chen's face. Even an ordinary Third Order Cultivator couldn't have taken that punch.
Crack—
Just then, a cracking sound came from the man's face. A layer of transparent ice shattered apart; at some point, a sheet of ice had formed over his face.
"You killed my black dog! I'll make you pay with your life!" The middle-aged man stared at the black dog as it turned to ash, enraged beyond belief. "Snow Woman, kill him!"
As soon as the middle-aged man spoke, the fog around him gathered and instantly transformed into a white figure, radiating a powerful chill.
"I see!"
At the sight of this, Lin Chen understood why his punch hadn't killed the man. Not only had the black dog protected its master, but the Snow Woman had protected him too. With both defenses in place, he had survived the attack.
Whoosh—
The white figure raised an arm. The fog around Lin Chen gathered and instantly froze, encasing him in ice and turning him into a statue.
"To force me to summon the Snow Woman, you're certainly worthy of—"
The middle-aged man let out a cold laugh. But before he could finish, the ice around Lin Chen vaporized and vanished. Lin Chen appeared right in front of the Snow Woman.
"Blood Qi True Flame, full power!"
Lin Chen unleashed his Blood Qi True Flame at full strength and landed a punch on the Snow Woman. Her figure quickly melted away and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Slain Third-order Ghost. Origin +2,000.
"Snow Woman!"
The middle-aged man looked terrified. In this fog, the Snow Woman's strength rivaled that of a peak Third Order—yet Lin Chen had killed her in a single move?
"Now it's your turn!"
At the same time, that familiar voice rang in the middle-aged man's ear. Seeing the fist coming at him, he cried out in terror, "No!"
Bang!
Lin Chen's fist came down, and the middle-aged man's head turned to ash. His headless body slowly toppled over.
"Another guy who dropped his head and went straight to sleep!" Lin Chen sighed.
Before you continue