"There shouldn't be such a dense concentration of Yin Sha Qi here. It seems there really might be a Blood Demon Flower, just as you said."
Liu Wumei looked around as she spoke.
A smile appeared on her face, too. They had come all this way; they couldn't leave empty-handed.
"The Yin Sha Qi is strongest over there. Let's go take a look."
Liu Wumei pointed ahead.
Her senses are so sharp. Is Liu Wumei at least at the Spirit Refining Realm?
Su Chen thought to himself.
What did it mean to refine the spirit? It meant cultivating spiritual sense. Spiritual sense increased a martial artist's keen powers of observation and ability to sense the flow of energy around them.
Liu Wumei could clearly sense where the Yin Sha Qi was coming from.
She had undoubtedly reached the Spirit Refining Realm.
Although Spirit Refining Realm experts were like single strokes of Bai Tianyu's blade, to Su Chen, they were still formidable.
Liu Wumei didn't notice Su Chen's change in expression. Concealing her presence, she headed toward the source of the Yin Sha Qi.
"The Blood Cloud Yin Sha Banner!"
Liu Wumei abruptly stopped and looked into the distance.
Su Chen looked in the same direction.
Nine banners had been planted in different positions. The Yin Sha Qi converged toward the center, while some of it seeped outward.
"The Blood Demon Flower is inside."
At that moment, Liu Wumei was certain Su Chen had been right.
"Shouldn't we take a look?"
Su Chen wanted to see what the Blood Demon Flower looked like and how close it was to maturing.
"Someone's coming!"
Liu Wumei grabbed Su Chen and pulled him behind a nearby boulder.
Two figures entered from outside.
One was Lei Yao of Lei Hall. The other wore a black bamboo hat, its brim concealing his face.
"Envoy, if there's enough Kongming Ore, the precious medicine inside should mature within two days."
Lei Yao bowed as he spoke.
"You've done well. I'll go see what it is. If it really is a precious medicine, I'll recommend you to join the Order."
The black-robed man spoke.
His voice was low, making it impossible to tell his age.
"Thank you, Envoy!"
Lei Yao accompanied the envoy into the Blood Cloud Yin Sha Banner.
"Looks like Qin Hao is doing all the work, only to hand the spoils to someone else."
Su Chen watched the scene and spoke.
The newly appeared black-clad man had piqued his interest.
Little Qingcheng City was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Quite a few people were lurking in the shadows.
"That man's no simple opponent. We need to be careful."
Liu Wumei lowered her voice.
"Should we still go in and take a look?"
Su Chen asked.
"Whether or not it's a Blood Demon Flower, whatever's inside must be extraordinary. It'll mature in two days, so we can just come back then."
Liu Wumei said.
"Let's go!"
Liu Wumei said, then led Su Chen back the way they had come.
But as she guided Su Chen back, a figure suddenly emerged from within the Blood Cloud Banner.
"You came here, and now you think you can just leave? Do you really think you'll get away? When I first went inside, I caught a whiff of a strange fragrance. I didn't expect anyone to actually be hiding nearby."
The speaker was the man in a bamboo hat, just like Su Chen.
As he had stepped into the Yin Sha Banner, a breeze had stirred through the valley, bringing with it a faint, delicate fragrance.
Liu Wumei had spent years at Yuchun Courtyard. Its fragrance had clung to her, more or less.
Perhaps living in comfort for so long had made her lose the vigilance she once had.
Lei Yao appeared behind the man, his eyes fixed on Su Chen and Liu Wumei.
"I'll handle the black-robed man. You deal with Lei Mu. We'll fight our way out?"
Liu Wumei sent him a voice transmission.
"Deal with them? Why bother? Run!"
At that very moment, Su Chen turned and bolted toward the valley entrance.
"What?"
Su Chen's move left Liu Wumei, the black-robed man, and the others momentarily stunned.
Liu Wumei turned and immediately followed.
"Run? You think you can get away?"
The black-robed man said coldly.
In an instant, he shot forward at an incomparable speed, hot on their heels like a hunter pursuing its prey.
Lei Mu quickly followed, letting out a low growl as he moved to intercept them.
Meanwhile,
Su Chen raced ahead. Several guards armed with sabers spotted him and immediately slashed at him, but Su Chen raised a hand, twisted his wrist, and seized one attacker's arm.
Crack! He crushed the man's wrist and snatched the saber swinging toward him.
Then he swept the blade around. A thin cut opened across the neck of the Lei Hall guard who had charged at him.
Thud!
The guard's body crumpled to the ground.
They were Lei Hall's elite, but they hadn't reached the Innate Realm.
They were no match for Su Chen.
Liu Wumei, following behind Su Chen, saw how he killed. A glint flashed in her beautiful eyes.
She twisted at the waist, and a flexible sword flashed into her hand. She shot forward, her blade splitting into dozens of sword shadows that pierced the hearts of the guards blocking their way.
Hiss, hiss!
The men in their path toppled to the ground.
She raised a hand, about to call out to Su Chen, but he had already left the valley.
He hadn't even looked her way.
Seeing this, she hurried after him.
Still, the guards had managed to hold Su Chen and Liu Wumei up for a little while.
After they left the valley,
the black-robed man caught up with them.
"You saw what you shouldn't have. You can only die!"
The next moment, the black-robed man struck at Liu Wumei with his palm.
Liu Wumei saw him coming and channeled her internal energy into her sword. The blade flashed out, Sword Qi sweeping in every direction.
The man's palm turned black as energy churned around it.
He met Liu Wumei's Sword Qi head-on.
Their collision sent a burst of powerful energy erupting from the point of impact, creating a wave of air.
Neither said much. They simply unleashed their attacks.
In an instant, the battle reached a fever pitch.
Su Chen watched from the sidelines, his brows knitting slightly. The black-robed man's attacks were fierce and ruthless, and he didn't fear Liu Wumei's Sword Qi.
What was more, his movements were extremely strange.
If things continued like this, Liu Wumei would likely be suppressed.
"Let's see what you can do."
Just as Su Chen was thinking this, Lei Yao, who had come with the black-clad man, pushed off the ground and shot forward. His hand curled into a claw as he lunged at Su Chen.
This matter couldn't be allowed to get out.
He had brought the black-clad man to the valley to inspect the precious medicine behind Lei Hall's back.
If the secret got out, Lei Mu would definitely kill him.
Even if Lei Mu spared him, Qin Hao certainly wouldn't.
So he had to take care of the person in front of him.
From what he'd seen, this man should be at the Innate Realm. He could handle him.
So he struck first.
He was going to take Su Chen down.
As Lei Yao charged at him with a punch, a cold glint flashed in Su Chen's eyes.
He swung the saber he had taken earlier, bringing it down in a single stroke.
A blade-glint appeared—not sharp and fierce, but as fine and gentle as drizzle.
Since he was fighting, Su Chen naturally intended to show what he could do.
Not to the others, but to Liu Wumei, so she would know at least part of his strength.
He had already comprehended the Dusk Fine Rain Saber Technique when he strengthened the Fine Rain Blade.
Now that he was using it, the Dusk Fine Rain Saber Technique came to him as naturally as reaching out his hand.
The blade fell, trailing a soft, ceaseless drizzle.
Lei Yao, rushing to attack Su Chen, froze in confusion.
He had just started to say something, perhaps to call out the name of the technique.
But the gentle drizzle of the saber technique suddenly turned violent, the blade-light cascading like a waterfall as it collided with the energy around his palm.
It gave Lei Yao no chance to speak.
Clang!
The blow sent Lei Yao staggering backward.
His expression darkened. A surge of blue energy burst from his palm.
He tried to attack again.
But Su Chen gave him no chance.
He was already right in front of Lei Yao, his saber striking out again. In that instant, Lei Yao heard the sound of fine rain and saw a sunset glow appear before his eyes.
Lei Yao's face changed dramatically. A deathly terror rose in his heart.
Energy coursed through his body as he raised his hand to punch.
But a flash of dusk blinded him in an instant.
Hiss!
When the light passed, a bloody line appeared across his throat.
"Who are you? How could you...?"
Lei Yao clutched his throat and looked at Su Chen, trying to speak.
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