The Battle

"Nascent Soul Realm? Ancient Method!"

After sobering up and hearing Wang Qi explain, the young girl's face changed drastically: "To think we've run into remnants of the Ancient Method!"

Since the generation of the Lord of Yuanli, the current cultivation system and immortal path framework were fully established, and current method cultivators began to suppress Ancient Method cultivators. Afterward, the immortal path gradually eradicated the Ancient Method cultivators who stole from heaven and earth to nourish themselves. By the era of Taiyi Tianzun and Unforgiving Taoist, the Ancient Method was almost extinct on the Divine Continent.

Of course, "almost" meant there were still a few.

The remaining Ancient Method cultivators were either old monsters who had already reached the Nascent Soul Realm before the current method flourished and couldn't change, or they had poor comprehension, unable to grasp the current method but happened to have the right aptitude for the Ancient Method. Unlike current method cultivators who relied little on external resources, Ancient Method cultivators had extremely high demands for spiritual energy and resources. To achieve immortality, Ancient Method cultivators always plundered heaven and earth without regard for consequences. This behavior was naturally detested by current method cultivators who cultivated by borrowing from heaven and earth, thus Ancient Method cultivators were like rats in the street today.

Conversely, Ancient Method cultivators also harbored intense hatred for current method cultivators.

"Damn it..." Xiang Qi bit her lower lip, extremely anxious: "There's no time..."

"What-- Ahhhhh!"

Several orange streams of light attacked from afar. Although Wang Qi didn't know what these spells were, he clearly sensed the chilling killing intent emanating from them!

--Those guys... are trying to kill...

The terrifying pressure from the spells made it almost impossible for Wang Qi to think. Xiang Qi let out a clear cry, spreading her hands and drawing an arc across the Divine Continent. Several silver sword discs flew out like butterflies, circling in mid-air.

Burning Gold Valley's true disciple sword technique--Heavenly Order Sword Discs!

Xiang Qi's sword aura encircled Wang Qi, shielding him from the enemy's oppressive aura. Then, over ten sword discs danced wildly, transforming into several white arcs. The moment the sword light intersected with the spells, Xiang Qi's body swayed, and then the sword discs arrayed themselves to deflect this wave of attacks!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the blink of an eye, several fires erupted in Dabai Village! The spells deflected by Xiang Qi swept through the entire village.

How could the spells of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator be easily dealt with? This single wave of assault leveled more than half the houses in Dabai Village, and the wind was filled with the wails of survivors.

Wang Qi stared blankly at the sea of fire around him.

The first hometown he had accepted after his transmigration was gone just like that?

"What the hell is this..."

"This is reality!" Zhen Chanzi's calm voice interrupted Wang Qi's exclamation: "This is the cruelest side of the path of cultivation."

Xiang Qi stared at the approaching enemies in the distance and said through gritted teeth: "I'm sorry."

"Damn it..." Wang Qi's anger surged: "Weren't you fine yesterday when you came to capture Old Man Hai! Why is this happening!"

Xiang Qi's hand seals changed continuously as she controlled the sword discs: "Ancient Method cultivators never care about anything outside themselves--except resources."

"This..."

"If I had known earlier, perhaps I could have taken you to escape. I was careless. I didn't expect there to be Ancient Method cultivators in this place."

Zhen Chanzi retorted: "This old man is now just a remnant soul, my spiritual sense coverage isn't as vast as before."

Wang Qi anxiously asked: "Then what do we do now?"

Xiang Qi bit her lip: "Nascent Soul Realm... My escape techniques are mediocre, I'm very likely to be unable to escape. Counterattacking might offer a sliver of hope."

Wang Qi panicked: "Sister, don't say foolish things! Even though the current method is superior to the Ancient Method, you, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, can at best fight a Golden Core stage cultivator! The gap between Nascent Soul Realm and Foundation Establishment is too monstrous!"

Xiang Qi took out a handful of talismans and stuffed them into Wang Qi's hand: "Red for explosion, silver for protection, green for healing, orange for stimulating potential. Take care of yourself later--I won't be able to look after you in this battle."

With that, Xiang Qi turned into a stream of light and shot into the sky: "Who dares to cause trouble here?"

Just then, another streak of light flew over and hovered not far away. A sinister voice shrieked: "Immortal Alliance Peace Envoy, huh, what a big mouth!"

The newly arrived Ancient Method cultivator amplified his voice with magical power, making Wang Qi's ears ring and his vision blur. Zhen Chanzi shouted: "Quickly infuse magical power into the silver talisman the girl gave you!" Wang Qi quickly did as Zhen Chanzi said, activating a silver talisman. The talisman exploded into a cloud of silver mist in his hand, protecting his body.

Talismans are artifacts where magical power is sealed into paper, and spells are activated by the magical inscriptions on the paper. Since magical power is pre-sealed, only a small amount of magical power is needed to activate a powerful spell.

"Nascent Soul Realm cultivators are truly terrifying..." Wang Qi gritted his teeth: "Old man, now... how is the situation? Does that woman have a chance of winning?"

Zhen Chanzi sighed: "That wave of sound just now could probably kill all the mortals here. That Nascent Soul Realm cultivator is only newly entered into the Nascent Soul Realm, his aura is mixed and impure, he's just a shoddy product. The current method's magical power recovery and total magical power are higher than the Ancient Method of the same level. That girl has an extraordinary foundation and excellent swordsmanship, she should be able to hold on for a while. However, you should worry about yourself first!"

"What do we do now?"

"Escape! Don't worry about anything else! That guy brought three Foundation Establishment Realm subordinates. That girl can at most hold off the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator himself. Hurry and escape!"

While Zhen Chanzi was telling Wang Qi about the enemy's numbers, things in the sky were also not idle. A crimson escape light enveloped the approaching person, preventing Xiang Qi from seeing their face clearly. But the pressure from the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator told her this would be a tough fight!

Xiang Qi showed no trace of the anxiety she had when handing out the talismans. Instead, with a mocking smile, she said: "Are there still Ancient Method cultivators who dare to show their faces nowadays? Are they crazy?"

"Heh heh, little girl, you have a big mouth. I've already investigated. There are only two cultivators here now! I'm here to kill you, Xiang Qi, the true disciple of Burning Gold Valley!"

Seeing that the opponent had revealed her identity, Xiang Qi was slightly surprised: "How did you know?"

"Someone else will deal with that Myriad Dharma Sect true disciple. Ha, and there's a Qi Refining stage cultivator there. Heh heh, since you cultivate their demonic arts, you must die too! A Da! A Er! A San! Kill him!"

"Yes!"

Three figures separated from the escape light and descended to the ground, revealing themselves to be three Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators. Xiang Qi shouted: "You wish!" With a pull of her sword technique, she sent out two sword discs to attack the three. The current method was much stronger than the Ancient Method, and Xiang Qi was an outstanding cultivator among the current method practitioners. Under normal circumstances, she could easily kill Ancient Method cultivators of this caliber in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

However, now she had a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator eyeing her covetously!

The Nascent Soul Realm cultivator let out a monstrous roar, and several crimson lights struck. Xiang Qi, with no other choice, withdrew her sword discs and formed the "Heavenly Order Sword Array" to block the opponent's attack.

"Using Foundation Establishment Realm to block Nascent Soul Realm..." Zhen Chanzi watched the battle in mid-air and exclaimed: "The current laws are truly miraculous."

Wang Qi activated an orange talisman and accelerated his escape: "Let's discuss it after we escape this calamity, old man!"

"There's a small ravine behind the village, the terrain is complex, go there," Zhen Chanzi advised Wang Qi with his rich combat experience.

Wang Qi was, after all, a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage, and had undergone body refinement using the Ancient Method's spiritual body technique. His physical condition far surpassed that of ordinary people. Empowered by the Talisman, he bolted towards the village entrance like a startled rabbit, his speed no less than a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator on a magical artifact!

"Jump!"

Zhen Chanzi suddenly roared, and Wang Qi immediately leaped forward. Then, he felt a heavy blow like being struck by a blunt object on his back. The mist around him vibrated violently, and the scenery before his eyes rapidly receded.

He had been attacked!

Wang Qi reacted swiftly, adjusting his posture mid-air. He used the impact to propel himself forward, simultaneously drawing out another silver Talisman.

"This talisman can withstand two more hits, don't waste it! That girl only gave you three in total. One for healing, three for explosions, and one to stimulate potential—jump!"

Wang Qi once again used the impact from his back to charge forward a considerable distance, just barely reaching the village entrance. At that moment, a furious roar came from behind him: "Where do you think you're going!" A small hammer, wreathed in blue light, circled around in front of him and struck him head-on!

"Oh my god!" Wang Qi hastily stopped, using his momentum to dive to the ground. The small hammer narrowly missed his scalp, simultaneously dispelling the residual mist around him. Wang Qi didn't hesitate, rolling to the side of the road. A sword energy grazed his arm, piercing the soil. After evading the fatal blow, Wang Qi didn't stop, continuing to roll towards the roadside. By the village entrance, the roadside was a steep slope leading down to a forest. Only by escaping into the forest could he have a sliver of hope!

Finally, Wang Qi felt the ground beneath him disappear, and he began to fall!

"Old man! Help me activate the ring's concealment!"

Wang Qi roared in his mind.

Zhen Chanzi was quite satisfied with this decision. If Wang Qi had used the silver, visibly fluctuating Magical Power Talisman after entering the forest, then escaping this far would have been pointless.

Although this kid's actions are a bit strange, he's definitely not stupid!

Even though the foliage slowed his descent, Wang Qi's vision went black the moment he landed, and he nearly vomited blood! He didn't dare to catch his breath, tore off his white outer robe, and threw it away fiercely, while he himself fled in another direction.

A few breaths later, several sword lights shattered Wang Qi's discarded outer robe.

At this moment, Wang Qi, clad in a coarse linen shirt, was hiding in a thicket, fully circulating the Concealing Breath Technique taught by Zhen Chanzi.

Three Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, not knowing what they had shattered, landed their artifacts to investigate.

One Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator yelled in frustration: "Damn it, this kid is cunning!"

"Second brother, calm down, don't be impatient!" another cultivator said. "Something's wrong! My spiritual sense can't detect that kid!"

"It must be the Concealing Breath Technique," the last one added.

This Concealing Breath Technique, which completely isolates oneself from heaven and earth, could not fool any modern cultivator who had integrated with the world, but it was precisely the nemesis of those who cultivated the Ancient Method.

The three searched the vicinity, but Wang Qi was hidden extremely well, and they were unfamiliar with the terrain. They found no clues. The second brother, in a fit of rage, flew into the air to search. The eldest and third brothers, fearing Wang Qi would escape, didn't linger.

Wang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and asked mentally, "What now?"

"Before the Golden Core stage, the spiritual energy a cultivator can gather is limited. Without special spells or artifacts, it's impossible to destroy the forest on a large scale to force you out. Don't make any rash moves. Wait for that Li fellow to return, or for that Xiang girl and that Nascent Soul Realm cultivator to finish their fight."

Wang Qi gritted his teeth. "We just have to wait?"

Zhen Chanzi scoffed. "What else? Your Magical Power might surpass a late-stage Ancient Method Qi Refining cultivator now, but without spells or artifacts to back you up, you can't defeat anyone! Kid, seeking freedom is all well and good, but without the power to protect yourself, that freedom won't last long. This is the way of the world!"