The One Watching in Secret

"That was more like it." Xiao Peng satisfactorily stored the essence in the Jade Bottle.

Just as he was about to stand, a muffled roar suddenly came from deep within the valley, followed by the earth trembling.

A Rock Armored Rhinoceros the size of a truck crashed through a boulder. Its scarlet eyes fixed firmly on Xiao Peng, and two streams of white vapor burst from its nostrils. It had clearly been enraged by the commotion earlier.

"A fifth-tier Magical Beast? This could be troublesome. I wonder if I can beat it."

Xiao Peng looked at the Rock Armored Rhinoceros before him, eager to give it a try.

This was the perfect chance to see just how strong he was when fighting at full strength.

The Rock Armored Rhinoceros suddenly scraped its hooves, gouging several deep marks into the hard rocky ground. The half-meter horn atop its head gleamed coldly, clearly its sharpest weapon.

It lowered its body and let out a threatening growl. Then, kicking off with all four hooves, it charged at him with overwhelming force.

Xiao Peng's gaze sharpened. The Qingping Sword spun a flourish in his hand as he advanced instead of retreating.

He did not choose to take the rhinoceros's charge head-on. Instead, his footwork shifted as he nimbly evaded the frontal assault like willow fluff in the wind.

At the same time, he flicked his wrist, and the longsword pierced toward the rhinoceros's flank with a piercing whistle.

The rock armor there was relatively thin, and faint folds in its skin could be seen beneath it.

"Rip—"

The Qingping Sword sliced through the air and precisely stabbed into the fold on the rhinoceros's flank.

Though it did not reach the bone, it still cut a wound half a foot long. Red blood immediately gushed out.

Xiao Peng easily avoided the blood and looked at the Rock Armored Rhinoceros's wound.

This was not due to Xiao Peng's own strength, but because of the Qingping Sword. The Qingping Sword in his hand was an imitation of Sect Leader Tongtian's Qingping Sword, and was at least an immortal-grade artifact.

Although the Qingping Sword in his hand had been restricted by Sect Leader Tongtian, its power would increase in dangerous situations.

If Soul Emperor appeared before him, the Qingping Sword might directly slay Soul Emperor.

However, Xiao Peng had not expected this Rock Armored Rhinoceros to pose some threat to him.

The Rock Armored Rhinoceros howled in pain, its enormous body abruptly halting as the fury in its scarlet eyes deepened.

It had clearly not expected this seemingly slender longsword to breach its defenses. Enraged, it swung its tail, sweeping it across with a shrieking gale and sending broken stones flying everywhere.

Xiao Peng tapped the ground with his toe and drifted backward several yards like a paper kite, narrowly evading the powerful tail strike.

After dodging the attack, Xiao Peng flew into the air and looked down at the Rock Armored Rhinoceros below.

This Rock Armored Rhinoceros could not fly, so he shamelessly attacked it from the air.

While Xiao Peng fought the Rock Armored Rhinoceros, someone in the distance watched everything unfold.

The voyeur was a woman in a simple dress that wrapped around her voluptuous figure. Her dark hair was arranged into a noble Phoenix Hairpin, while her beautiful and moving face remained calm and serene.

"Such a young Dou Ling... what a monster." The mysterious woman muttered to herself.

Xiao Peng hovered in midair, green light flowing around the Qingping Sword in his hand as his gaze locked onto the Rock Armored Rhinoceros pacing restlessly below.

The Giant Beast was clearly helpless against its enemy in the air. It could only keep scraping its hooves and roaring furiously, yet it could not even touch the hem of his clothes.

Sensing danger, the Rock Armored Rhinoceros abruptly lowered its head, attempting to block with its hard skull.

But Xiao Peng had already anticipated this. With a thought, the Qingping Sword traced a strange arc through the air, circling around the rhinoceros's head before stabbing once more toward the unhealed wound on its flank.

"Pfft!"

The longsword sank deeper into its flesh. The Rock Armored Rhinoceros reared up in agony, its huge body briefly suspended in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, making the earth tremble.

At this moment, the Rock Armored Rhinoceros was incomparably aggrieved. It wanted to trample Xiao Peng into a pulp, but unfortunately, there was nothing it could do.

"Have a taste of my divine ability."

Xiao Peng looked at the Rock Armored Rhinoceros on the ground, preparing to use the Purple Heaven Evil Slaying Sword divine ability.

Now that he had a chance to use it, he naturally had to try it.

A sharp light burst from Xiao Peng's eyes. The Mana within him resonated with the Qingping Sword as he softly chanted, "Purple lightning rises from Qingping, brilliant radiance shatters the darkness!"

Before his words had faded, the sky suddenly darkened. Purple-gold lightning flickered amid the roiling clouds.

The Qingping Sword hummed as it shot into the sky. In an instant, its blade was enveloped in dazzling purple lightning, writhing like dragons and serpents as crackling explosions rang out.

Majestic heavenly might spread from the sword. Even the air seemed to be ionized, carrying a scorching aura.

Though the Rock Armored Rhinoceros below lacked intelligence, it instinctively sensed a deadly threat. It frantically scraped at the ground, trying to retreat.

Its massive body actually trembled slightly, and a fearful whimper came from its throat. This was fear of the supremely yang and unyielding power, rooted deep within its soul.

"One sword to slay the demonic miasma!" Xiao Peng pointed two fingers at the rhinoceros.

Wrapped in countless bolts of purple lightning, the Qingping Sword transformed into a thunderous sword aura that stretched across the sky. It tore through the air amid deafening thunder and stabbed straight toward the Rock Armored Rhinoceros's head.

The sword aura was so dazzling that it seemed to turn the entire valley as bright as day.

The mysterious woman narrowed her eyes in the distant forest, staring at that purple lightning streak with utter shock. Was this truly power a Dou Ling should possess? It was terrifying...

At the instant the thunderous sword aura descended, the Rock Armored Rhinoceros instinctively raised its head and charged upward, attempting to block it with its hardest skull.

But the Purple Heaven Evil Slaying Sword specifically restrained evil beings. Though the rhinoceros was not truly evil, the violent aura lurking within it happened to become the purple lightning's target.

"Boom—!!"

When the sword aura collided with its skull, there was no earth-shattering explosion, only the sizzling sound of purple lightning flooding madly into it.

The Rock Armored Rhinoceros's proud stone armor melted like ice and snow beneath the purple lightning, rapidly blackening and cracking apart.

It let out a brief mournful cry. Its enormous body swayed before crashing to the ground. Its skull had been pierced by purple lightning, and even the violent aura within its soul had been cleansed away, leaving it completely lifeless.

The purple lightning gradually faded, and the Qingping Sword returned to Xiao Peng's hand, faint electric light still lingering on its blade.

Xiao Peng took a breath and looked at the rhinoceros's corpse on the ground. Feeling the slight emptiness of his Mana, a smile nevertheless rose on his lips.

The Purple Heaven Evil Slaying Sword was even more powerful than he had expected.

As the mysterious woman looked at Xiao Peng, a few thoughts arose in her heart.

She wanted to invite Xiao Peng to join the Misty Cloud Sect. Though the chances were slim, she wanted to try.

Even if Xiao Peng did not join the Misty Cloud Sect, she still had to befriend him.

If her student, Nalan Yanran, ended up with him, the Misty Cloud Sect might perhaps reach unprecedented heights.

The mysterious woman was none other than Yun Yun, the Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect. In order to help her disciple Nalan Yanran secure victory in the Three Year Agreement, she had personally gone to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

She had come to visit the ruler of the eastern mountains, the sixth-tier Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, to obtain Purple Spirit Crystal so that Pill King Gu He could refine pills and improve Nalan Yanran's cultivation progress.

She had not expected to pass by this place and witness Xiao Peng's terrifying strength.