Patches of soft, white clouds drifted across the sky above the prefectural city, carried by the plum blossom-scented wind.
A paper kite drifted on the wind, slowly gliding across the horizon and gradually approaching the bustling residential district in the southern part of the city.
On an open-air platform of a theater below, Chu G released the kite string slowly. The pigeon eye paper-cut pasted between his eyebrows glowed with a burning, reddish light, and the pigeon blood and strange energy within it were being consumed and burned.
At this moment, through the connection between the pigeon eye and the kite, the expansive scenery within a radius of nearly two miles unfolded before his eyes.
Qi pillars formed by the qi auras of various living beings were rising.
Among them, many were thin and short red lines, while a few were long and thick qi pillars.
Although they were few in number, this quantity was still quite considerable, far surpassing Linyuan City.
With just a preliminary glance, Chu G saw quite a few qi pillars that should belong to bone-forging martial artists.
There were even some thick and long ones that were entirely on par with his own, likely belonging to blood-changing martial artists.
Still, within a two-mile radius, there are actually two blood-changing martial artists. As expected of the prefectural city.
Chu G sighed and complained inwardly.
Before crossing over, when he used to read web novels, he often saw powerhouses of a certain realm who were extremely rare in the early stages suddenly appearing everywhere upon arriving at a new, large place, and he had spat upon this trope quite a bit.
Yet now, having actually crossed over and experienced it firsthand, he felt it had a distinct flavor of its own.
He did not find it absurd, only feeling that it was entirely normal.
It was like moving from a small village to a metropolis; the wealthiest person who was once second to none in the village would be dime-a-dozen in the metropolis, which was actually the same logic.
A large place possessed abundant resources and numerous people, so naturally it would give birth to powerhouses more easily than a small place, and it was also prone to attracting powerhouses to gather.
Chu G slowly let out the kite string, and the Thousand Mile Kite quickly approached the airspace above the Lin lineage.
Far away across the distance, he had already overlooked the scene of the manor within the Lin lineage.
Pavilions and terraces, ponds and lakes, everything was present.
Many very thick and long qi pillars were distributed within the expansive residential area of the Lin lineage.
Chu G's expression changed slightly at the sight.
The influence of this Lin lineage was extremely strong, with actually eight or nine blood-changing realm martial artists having defected to them, and quite a few among them were likely members of their own clan.
Yet a brief thought made it seem normal again; after all, a blood-changing realm martial artist was merely a martial artist of the mortal realm, and some might not necessarily possess spiritual aptitude, so seeking refuge with the Lin lineage for the sake of its resources and martial arts was also natural.
This might not even be the full strength of the Lin lineage, since after all, not all manpower would stay within the estate. Counting them all, exceeding twenty is entirely possible.
Chu G pondered inwardly, observing the two qi pillars rolling like wolf smoke in the deepest part of the Lin lineage's estate.
The thickness and length of these two qi pillars even surpassed the large flying head zombie controlled by Xiao Qian in the past. Like rainbows of blood and qi, they were likely the legendary condensed force realm powerhouses who had surpassed the mortal realm.
It is rumored that the Yun lineage has two condensed force... and this Lin lineage also has two condensed force. It seems the five great lineages are all about the same; perhaps some are weaker, but they should still have one condensed force powerhouse.
Chu G's expression grew somewhat solemn.
Anyone targeted by such a force possessing two condensed force realm powerhouses would feel pressure, let alone the fact that he had not yet broken through to condensed force.
How could a family like this have set their sights on me? Only Eldest Sister's side can offer an explanation. It seems I must investigate the Lin lineage's background first.
Chu G pondered, looked at the setting sun on the horizon that was about to set completely, and quickly began to reel in the kite string.
He was also uncertain what methods a condensed force realm powerhouse possessed, having never dealt with such a powerhouse before.
He had only heard that this type of powerhouse could guide the strange energy of heaven and earth, and perhaps they might perceive the strange energy within his Thousand Mile Kite, so he still needed to be cautious and careful, and not get too close.
After reeling the kite string back to a certain degree, Chu G leaped down from the theater's high platform and hurried back, pulling the kite along narrow, uncrowded paths.
Along the way, the lamps within the city gradually began to be lit.
Not far away in the river, painted pleasure boats sailed past, and snatches of wind and string music along with singing drifted leisurely over.
Through the Thousand Mile Kite, Chu G observed more intertwined qi pillars in the twilight.
The courtesan putting on a forced smile on the stage, the down-and-out, slovenly beggar by the street, the shrewd and calculating peddler in the market, the clamoring and cursing scoundrels at the alley entrance, the rangers drifting with the crowd amidst the tide of people.
The myriad phases of human life, the rolling world of mortals, and their auras mingled together.
Every wisp of aura seemed merely different in strength, but in truth, subtle differences also existed within the auras.
Just like women from the Jiangnan water towns in his past life compared to women from the northeastern snow country—both were women, yet their temperaments varied.
A flash of insight arose from the depths of Chu G's heart.
He only felt that his understanding of the essence, qi, and spirit of various figures had become more thorough, and he could already attempt to draw more shadow puppet face patterns, no longer limited solely to the porter.
At that moment, he suddenly detected several distinct black-lined qi pillars from the numerous red-line-like auras all around.
These few black-lined qi pillars were like crocodiles stirring up a peaceful river, causing the surrounding red lines to instinctively give way one after another, appearing quite conspicuous.
Hmm? This aura... It's very familiar!
Chu G's expression changed slightly as he perceived that these qi pillars were clearly very similar in aura to the flying head zombie that had appeared in Linyuan City earlier, differing from normal red qi pillars.
Could someone from the Corpse Herding Sect have come to the prefectural city as well?
Chu G was startled, a gut feeling telling him that something was amiss.
The Corpse Herding Sect had always kept a low profile and acted bizarrely, preferring to dwell deep in places with extremely heavy yin energy and sparse human habitation, and rarely visited densely populated areas.
For them to appear so abruptly...
Thinking of Xiao Qian, he hurried back at once.
Simultaneously, he also discovered that these four black qi pillars were actually maintaining the same direction as him, and their speed was even faster, clearly indicating a definite target.
There is something fishy about this!
Chu G immediately bounded forward, executing his movement technique to rush toward the direction of the four black qi pillars.
As he sprinted and galloped at full speed, the kite's field of vision quickly approached as well, and several burly figures immediately appeared in his sight.
These few people also possessed extremely fast movement techniques, threading through streets and alleys, vaulting over houses, avoiding the bustling crowded streets, and heading straight for the west of the city.
Chu G closed in rapidly, tailing them for a while.
Seeing that the front was gradually growing close to the Moon Xi Inn, his gaze turned cold, and he understood there was no mistake.
These four people were all heading for Xiao Qian.
Moreover, they likely possessed some kind of tracking method.
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, ultimately settling on just one as he slowly put on the porter face pattern.
Little Sprite Qian's various abilities were of great use to him, especially her soul-nourishing ability that aided his cultivation, which could protect his meridians and acupoints and boost his cultivation speed by over thirty percent.
Over the course of months and years, even if he were not a top-tier genius, he would still possess the cultivation speed of a top-tier genius.
The auras of these four people from the Corpse Herding Sect were all very strong.
Yet if he unleashed all his methods, attacking when they were unprepared, he still held a tremendous certainty of wiping them out.
Even if danger arose, he could still slip away within this prefectural city.
As for how to clean up the aftermath afterward, he had already thought of several stable countermeasures within this brief interval.
Kill!—
Chu G's figure moved, like a fierce tiger charging into the mountain forests once more. Concealing his aura, his figure vanished into the twilight, rapidly darting into an uninhabited alley.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Within the alley where the light was growing increasingly dim, two figures flashed past one after the other, both with cold and wooden countenances, resembling not vibrant living humans, but rather two killing machines.
Swish—
The very instant the two figures crossed a puddle of water together, the dead-silent, icy gaze of the burly man at the rear suddenly stirred.
Almost simultaneously, with a booming explosion, the alley wall burst open to reveal a gap, and numerous flying gravel and dust scattered in all directions from the immense impact.
A ferocious and thick claw covered in faint red scales abruptly assaulted the burly man's head.
The burly man let out a low roar, fierce light flashing in his eyes as he rapidly raised his hands to intercept.
Yet swift though his reaction was, it remained hasty and powerless.
With a bursting crash of "bang-crack,"
the burly man's intercepting palm was instantly pierced through by the claw, and before the splashing bizarre cyan blood could scatter, a terrifying shrill whistle of air propagated outward.
The claw formed an iron fist the size of a sand-pot, wrapped in thick, viscous qi, and slammed fiercely into the burly man's face.
Bang!!
The surging and fierce fist qi burst open.
Bone shards splashing into the air were ground into powder by the qi before they could even scatter.
Ah—
The burly man who had escaped disaster ahead let out an angry roar, charging fiercely instead of fleeing.
Boom—!
The alley wall was shattered as if violently struck by a rampaging carriage.
Amidst countless fracturing, exploding stones and dust, a tall and robust figure rushed out, exuding a fierce and terrifying aura akin to a demon.
His eyes burned fiercely, and the instant his thick arms—covered in pale red scales—clenched into fists, a qi explosion thundered, compressed and blasted within his palms. Descending like a fierce tiger down the mountain, he charged toward the newcomer and abruptly threw a punch!
Roar!!
The fist wind was like a tiger's roar!
In an instant, it collided head-on with the opponent's furiously roared fist strike.
The two streams of qi pushed together, bursting violently into a white wave that spread in all directions and kicked up a sheet of dust.
Bang-crack!!
A teeth-grating explosion burst forth, accompanied by the sound of shattering bones.
The burly man let out a miserable groan. Unshaken in spirit by the Crouching Tiger Fist intent, he was nevertheless heavily injured by Chu G's terrifying strength.
His thick arm felt as though it had been struck by a massive stone roller, the elbow bone directly piercing out through the arm and shattering inch by inch.
His body staggered back with a thud-thud, spraying blood.
The second!
Chu G's blood and qi surged; he had already executed the Tiger Crouching Technique to the limit. As his muscles, body, and bones undulated, they erupted with astonishing strength. Like a fierce tiger descending the mountain with eyes red from slaughter, he sought a swift victory.
(There will be an extra chapter today, three chapters to keep up with the serialization! Two more chapters during the day, make sure to come read every day!)
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