But the mercenaries were different!
Xiao Yi Xian had an excellent reputation in Qingshan Town. She was gentle and kind, skilled in medicine, and charged very little. She had treated countless wounded mercenaries and was the untouchable moonlight in the hearts of many hardened men who lived by the sword.
Some of them had less than honorable intentions and had long coveted this delicate flower. But because of her standing in town and the protection of Wanyao Pavilion, they hadn't dared force themselves on her.
Now they saw this strange young man frighten Xiao Yi Xian with just a few words, leaving her pale and seemingly forced to submit.
Seeing her pale, helpless appearance, the thought of playing the hero and rescuing the beauty instantly overwhelmed their reason!
"Stop!"
A burly mercenary with a scar on his face strode forward and blocked the doorway.
"Kid, what the hell did you say to Xiao Yi Xian to scare her like that? If you know what's good for you, get lost! Otherwise, I'll chop you up and feed you to the wolves!"
"Exactly! Xiao Yi Xian belongs to Qingshan Town. You can't just take her away!"
Another tall, thin mercenary drew the short blade at his waist, his eyes hostile.
"Let Xiao Yi Xian go! Or we'll carry you out of here!"
In the blink of an eye, five or six mercenaries surrounded them in a semicircle. Every one of them looked fierce, their Dou Qi surging. Most were Dou Zhe, while the scar-faced leader was even a one-star Dou Shi.
In Qingshan Town, they already counted as a formidable force.
They figured that with so many of them, dealing with a pretty-boy who looked soft and pampered would be a piece of cake.
The atmosphere in the shop turned tense in an instant. Some customers sensed trouble and quietly slipped away.
Mr. Yao opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing. He just silently took another step back.
Ning Chen looked at the "hot-blooded" mercenaries before him. Far from getting angry, he found them amusing.
The crooked smile on his face grew even brighter, edged with exaggerated mockery.
"Oh? Gentlemen... you're planning to stand up for this young lady?"
Ning Chen tilted his head, his tone flippant.
"Too bad. I'm in a good mood today, and I feel like taking her with me. Can you really stop me?"
"You're asking for it!"
The scar-faced mercenary flew into a rage. His earth-yellow Dou Qi, the power of a one-star Dou Shi, erupted as he launched a punch at Ning Chen's chest, carrying a gust of force with it! The other mercenaries shouted and charged in with their weapons!
Faced with this chaotic barrage of attacks, Ning Chen didn't even bother to raise an eyelid.
He simply took one step forward.
BOOM—!!!
It was like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting, or a furious deep-sea tide sweeping ashore!
A vast, abyssal pressure, blazing like the sun, burst forth without restraint, centered on Ning Chen!
Scarlet Fire Attribute Dou Qi surged like a tangible, raging tide!
"AAAAAH—!"
The scar-faced mercenary charged at the front. Before his fist could even touch Ning Chen's clothes, it was as if an invisible giant hammer had struck him head-on. With a scream, he flew backward even faster than he'd come.
The other charging mercenaries were like leaves caught in a gale. The terrifying pressure of Ning Chen's Dou Qi and the wave of scorching air sent them tumbling head over heels across the floor.
Mr. Yao was already deathly pale. He clutched the edge of the counter, his legs trembling. He was incredibly glad he'd made the right choice earlier.
Xiao Yi Xian was also so startled by the sudden, terrifying aura that she covered her mouth. Her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
Ning Chen brushed off some imaginary dust.
He turned to Xiao Yi Xian, who was frozen in shock, and flashed her another "evil" smile.
"See? The trouble's taken care of. Let's go?"
With that, he ignored the groaning mercenaries on the floor and the terrified people in the shop, and walked straight out the door.
Xiao Yi Xian glanced at the mercenaries groaning in pain. A trace of sympathy flashed in her eyes, but in the end, she didn't dare disobey. She lowered her head and hurried after him in small steps.
They left Wanyao Pavilion and stepped out into the street. Quite a few people had gathered at a distance to watch and whisper, but no one dared approach.
Ning Chen stopped and looked back at Xiao Yi Xian, who was pale and uneasy. He chuckled.
"Hold on tight."
Before his voice had even faded, the air behind him twisted, growing scorching hot!
WHOOSH—!
A pair of magnificent wings, formed entirely from scarlet Dou Qi refined to its utmost limit, unfurled behind him!
Their span was nearly two zhang. Flames rippled across them, and the scorching air sent the onlookers stumbling back with cries of alarm.
Dou Qi Wings! A Dou Wang expert!
Everyone who saw this was utterly stunned.
In a place like Qingshan Town, a Dou Shi was already a master, and a Da Dou Shi could dominate an entire area. Who had ever seen a Dou Wang, capable of forming Dou Qi Wings and soaring through the sky?!
Xiao Yi Xian was stunned, too. She gazed up at the flaming wings that seemed to set the sky ablaze, her little mouth hanging open.
Ning Chen reached out and wrapped an arm around Xiao Yi Xian's slender waist. Amid her instinctive, faint gasp, he beat his wings!
BOOM!
A gale rose, and a streak of fiery light shot into the sky!
Under countless shocked, fearful, and reverent gazes, Ning Chen held Xiao Yi Xian close and became a brilliant scarlet streak of light. In an instant, he soared high into the sky and vanished among the clouds beyond Qingshan Town.
Silence fell over the street for a moment.
Then a mercenary sprawled on the ground let out a helpless, tearful wail.
"A D-Dou Wang... He's actually a Dou Wang expert!"
"Xiao Yi Xian... she's been taken away!!!"
"Yameiluo! Yameiluo! This isn't funny! You bastard!"
Another mercenary pounded the ground, his face full of regret and despair.
High above, the wind rushed past their ears.
Xiao Yi Xian squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the hand around her waist. Her heart was cold and bewildered.
What... is this man going to do to me?
But contrary to Xiao Yi Xian's expectations, Ning Chen did nothing to her. He merely lowered their altitude and flew straight toward the depths of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
This did not put Xiao Yi Xian at ease. If anything, she grew more worried.
After all, in a situation like this, no one would imagine that this "evil" Dou Wang expert had any good intentions.
Found it!
High in the sky, Ning Chen abruptly stopped after searching the Magic Beast Mountain Range for half a day. His eyes lit up as he fixed them on a cliff.
Halfway up, partly concealed by dense vines and jutting rocks, was the faint outline of a pitch-black cave entrance. It would have been extremely difficult to spot without a careful search.
This was the mysterious cave he'd come for—the one that held the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame Fragment Map in the original story!
He hadn't asked Xiao Yi Xian because Ning Chen knew he'd arrived more than a year ahead of the original timeline.
Xiao Yi Xian might not have discovered this cave yet. Asking her could only complicate things, so he'd decided to find it himself.
Without further hesitation, Ning Chen held Xiao Yi Xian close and turned into a streak of light, diving straight toward the cave halfway up the cliff.
"That's..."
The oncoming wind made Xiao Yi Xian struggle to keep her eyes open.
But when the outline of the cave came into view—a familiar sight she'd secretly marked, though she hadn't yet dared explore it—her heart was thrown into turmoil!
How did he know about this cave?!
She had only stumbled upon it recently and was planning to explore it once she was properly prepared!
This mysterious and powerful man had the same destination?
Who was he? Had he been watching her in secret all along?
One question after another nearly left Xiao Yi Xian breathless.
Ning Chen was completely unaware—or perhaps he simply didn't care.
He landed precisely on a protruding rocky ledge outside the cave and released Xiao Yi Xian.
Xiao Yi Xian's legs went weak. She managed to steady herself, then immediately backed away half a step, warily clutching the hem of her clothes. Her beautiful eyes stayed fixed on Ning Chen's back, her heart pounding like a drum.
Ning Chen didn't even look at her, as if she didn't exist.
His gaze swept over the thick, withered vines hanging across the cave entrance and the deep darkness behind them.
Whoosh!
The instant his gaze passed over the entrance, a gray-brown shape shot from a crevice in the cliff, as fast as lightning and trailing a stench. It lunged straight for Ning Chen's face!
It was a first-tier magical beast covered in rock-like scales—a Rock Snake!
It was superbly camouflaged, and its sudden attack would have caught most Da Dou Shi off guard.
Ning Chen merely raised a hand at his leisure. A wisp of Dou Qi, refined to its utmost limit, flashed at his fingertip.
Pfft!
With a faint sound, the ferocious Rock Snake was still in midair when its head separated from its body. The cut was smooth as a mirror. Its corpse dropped helplessly over the cliff, without even a drop of blood splashing onto Ning Chen.
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