Snowy Night, Frosty Peace

Amidst the falling snow, Ning Chen and the Old Eunuch stood ten paces apart, facing each other. Given the disparity in their strength, this snowy battle held little suspense.

Martial arts practitioners above the fifth rank were in a completely different league from those below it. Ning Chen found it impossible to advance his cultivation after reaching the fourth rank, as if an insurmountable chasm blocked his path.

Ning Chen drew the Ink Sword from his back, focusing all his energy. In this fight, there was only life or death, nothing else.

The Old Eunuch held no weapon. His withered hand struck out, yet it carried an irresistible force of a thousand pounds.

Bang! As palm met sword, Ning Chen staggered back repeatedly. The Ink Sword spun, embedding itself in the ground to halt his retreat. Immediately, his left hand slapped his wheelchair, and a dark, flowing shadow streaked silently across the night sky, soaring towards the Old Eunuch.

"Child's play."

The Old Eunuch snorted coldly, his palm force roaring as he casually waved away the hidden projectile.

Ning Chen's wheelchair moved again. Silver light condensed into a sword, frost shimmering and swirling into a cascade of wind and snow. Within the sword light, shadows emerged one after another.

The Old Eunuch raised his hand to block the sword, and after gripping the blade, he shifted his body to dodge the incoming projectile.

"Hmph!"

Ning Chen let out a cold cry, furiously channeling the true essence within his body. As the sword pressed down, bang! the snow around them scattered, rising a full ten feet high.

"Impudent!"

Blood flowed from the Old Eunuch's hand gripping the sword. His expression turned cold as he channeled his inner energy with his other hand, striking Ning Chen's chest with a palm.

"Ugh!"

Ning Chen coughed up a mouthful of blood. The Old Eunuch frowned, stepping back to avoid the spray.

Compared to normal people, the Old Eunuch was exceptionally clean; one could even say he had a severe case of mysophobia.

However, as the Old Eunuch retreated, Ning Chen's eyes narrowed. Seizing this brief opportunity, and disregarding his injuries, he pulled out the Woodcutter's Blade with his left hand, transforming the blade into a sword. Within an arm's reach, a supreme move was unleashed once more.

"A Feathered Swan, A Sword of Heaven and Earth!"

A sword of startling speed echoed across heaven and earth. Within arm's reach, a mere step away, even a powerhouse like the Old Eunuch couldn't evade this swift, swan-like sword. He had no choice but to release his right hand from the Ink Sword and block it in front of him.

"Impossible! How do you know Sword Enshrined's moves?"

The Old Eunuch's pupils contracted as he shouted in alarm.

Clang!

The blade pierced his arm, but it was blocked by a powerful surge of true energy, preventing it from advancing further.

"Hmph!" Having landed a blow, Ning Chen didn't care about anything else. He channeled his inner true energy again, using the Ink Sword to brace himself against the ground, and with leverage, pushed the blade another two inches deeper.

"You seek death!"

The Old Eunuch's face was grim. He no longer cared about Ning Chen's relationship with Sword Enshrined. His left palm, infused with energy, slammed fiercely towards Ning Chen's Dantian Qihai.

"Since I can't live, then let's go down together!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Ning Chen's eyes. He neither dodged nor avoided. The Ink Sword darted out, striking towards the Old Eunuch's Dantian as well.

Ning Chen's cultivation was inferior to the Old Eunuch's, his experience was inferior, and even his disabled mobility was inferior to the Old Eunuch's. But there was one thing the Old Eunuch could never catch up to.

He wasn't afraid of death, nor did he care about his cultivation!

Humanity's greatest fear was the unknown. The reason people feared death was precisely because of the unknown after death. But Ning Chen knew, because he had died once before. Therefore, compared to the vast majority of people, he wasn't afraid of death.

As for cultivation, it was even less important. You couldn't expect someone who had only cultivated for a few months and reached the Houtian Realm's fourth rank to care much about their cultivation.

"Madman!"

The Old Eunuch was furious. He couldn't be as insane as Ning Chen, so he gave way.

The hand that was striking towards Ning Chen's Dantian grabbed the Ink Sword, attempting to block this suicidal blow.

Ning Chen snorted coldly, ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. He pushed his true energy to its peak, thrusting the Ink Sword with all his might towards the Old Eunuch's Dantian.

Clang!

Blade and sword moved simultaneously. One aimed for the heart, the other for the Dantian. The Old Eunuch's hands, one blocking the blade and the other grasping the sword, bled profusely, drops continuously falling into the snow.

The soft patter of blood droplets seemed so faint in the snowy night. Ning Chen had already achieved something remarkable, wounding a sixth-rank expert to this extent with his fourth-rank disabled body, even if his own injuries were far more severe.

The blade and sword could no longer advance. The Old Eunuch's internal true energy locked them in place, halting Ning Chen's desperate efforts.

The next moment, the Old Eunuch, his face contorted in a grimace, furiously channeled his true essence, intending to completely cripple the young man before him with a single palm strike.

However, just then, the Old Eunuch stumbled, his true energy faltered, and he almost fell to the ground.

"How could this be?"

The Old Eunuch was astonished and panicked, trying to gather his true essence again, but it was too late.

"Hmph!"

Ning Chen released his grip on the sword, flipped his palm, and forcefully channeled his last bit of true energy. Then, he slapped the back of the Ink Sword. A faint sound of penetration was heard as the Ink Sword broke through the Old Eunuch's resistance, piercing into his Dantian.

"Ugh!"

A long, pained groan escaped him. The Old Eunuch's Dantian Qihai was shattered by the force of the sword, his true energy ran wild, and blood immediately spilled from his mouth.

"Damn you!"

The Old Eunuch's face showed extreme pain as he turned his hand and struck Ning Chen's chest with a palm.

Thump! Ning Chen flew backward, landing in the snow, coughing up copious amounts of blood.

"How… how could this be?"

His disbelieving gaze couldn't hide the cruel reality. The Old Eunuch stumbled backward, the Woodcutter's Blade still embedded in his left arm and the Ink Sword still in his Dantian Qihai. Blood flowed, continuously staining the ground red.

"Ugh…"

Ning Chen's chest tightened, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood, his eyes fixed on the Old Eunuch. He knew the Old Eunuch was finished.

The Ink Sword, which had pierced his dantian, was coated with poison. The Old Eunuch's Qihai was already destroyed, his true qi scattered, further accelerating the spread of the potent poison throughout his body.

However, the Old Eunuch's previous momentary pause was due to a sedative on the Woodcutter's Blade…

After retreating a dozen steps, the Old Eunuch finally collapsed into the snow with a thud, his eyes, in his final moments, filled with resentment and regret.

Ning Chen struggled to climb back into his wheelchair, then glanced at the Little White Horse not far away and croaked hoarsely, "What are you playing dead for? Get over here!"

Outside the house, the fierce battle between the two had left the surroundings in ruins. Fortunately, the heavy snow that night not only muffled the sounds of the fight but also quickly covered the blood on the ground.

The Old Eunuch's body couldn't be left there. Ning Chen summoning the Little White Horse was naturally for it to do the heavy lifting; how else could a crippled man like himself carry it away?

Though unwilling, the Little White Horse dared not resist and could only allow Ning Chen to heave the thoroughly dead Old Eunuch onto its back.

After tidying up the scene, Ning Chen and the Little White Horse left the village, one after the other. Once they felt far enough away, they found a random spot, dug a large pit, and buried the Old Eunuch.

Setting up a tombstone was out of the question. He believed the Old Eunuch surely had accomplices, just as he had previously believed that someone would definitely come after him because of that letter.

The poison on the Ink Sword and the sedative on the Woodcutter's Blade had been mostly washed away by the Old Eunuch's blood. And the supplies he had looted from the bandits were all he had. How to deal with potential future pursuits was truly a headache.

Going back was impossible. Ever since he had gotten that letter, he could only keep heading north. There was no point talking about patriotism or national righteousness; if his life was gone, everything else was meaningless.

He could only continue north until he had eliminated all those pursuing him.

His journey north wouldn't change. The only difference was that before, he had been willing and aimless; now, he was forced, with no other option.

Unfortunately, he didn't know how many accomplices the Old Eunuch had, or rather, he didn't know how many people the Old Eunuch's superior had sent to intercept that letter.

He hoped that among this group, the Old Eunuch was the strongest!

The snow grew heavier, suggesting it would continue through the night. After burying the Old Eunuch, Ning Chen returned to the village. He needed rest now, desperately.

Pushing open the door, the man and the girl were still sound asleep. Only the old woman was awake, looking at Ning Chen, she opened her mouth but said nothing.

Ning Chen gave a dry smile, greeted the old woman, then collapsed awkwardly onto the bed.

His true qi was almost completely depleted, and Ning Chen dared not sleep. He calmly guided the remaining meager true qi to heal his internal injuries. He was still alive, and that was good.

The Old Eunuch's two palm strikes had severely injured most of his internal organs. Fortunately, the Old Eunuch's attacks were affected by his injuries or the sedative, so he couldn't muster his full strength in haste. Moreover, the gap in their cultivation wasn't an absolute chasm; otherwise, it would have been the Old Eunuch burying him just now.

His injuries were severe, but he still had to travel when dawn broke.

If he stayed here, it could very likely be a disaster for the villagers. He couldn't take that risk.

The night passed quickly. At dawn, Ning Chen packed his belongings, bid farewell to the man's enthusiastic attempts to make him stay, and set off again.

On the bed he had slept on, there was a small pouch of silver. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the man to take a wife, and if they were frugal, it would be almost enough for the girl's dowry.

This was silver looted from bandits. He had picked out some small, unmarked silver fragments so as not to bring any trouble to the man's family.

The shed outside would have to be repaired by the man himself. He was in a hurry to leave and couldn't stay to help anymore.

Sometimes, Ning Chen felt quite helpless. It seemed that ever since he came into this world, he had been constantly on the run.

In the Great Xia Imperial Palace, he had to find a way to leave the palace to save his life. Now that he was out of the palace, he still had to keep running to preserve his life.

The Little White Horse still shamelessly followed behind. Ning Chen didn't bother with it. Although the horse was small, if he got hungry enough, killing it for meat was an option.

The Little White Horse, of course, didn't know what the human in front of it was thinking, otherwise, it would surely have given him a kick.

The outside world was vast and boundless. A person and a horse in the vast white snow were like two small ants; it wasn't easy to track them down.

Therefore, Ning Chen wasn't overly panicked.

In the snow, a crippled person and a snow-white horse traveled together, speaking little, as there truly wasn't much to say.

Boom!

Just then, in the northern sky, a golden light shot straight into the heavens. A sacred aura spread out, dispersing the dark clouds in the sky and also scattering the swirling snow.

This sudden celestial phenomenon shocked the entire north. Countless eyes looked towards it, filled with astonishment.

Ning Chen frowned. Could someone else have entered the Xiantian Realm? When did Xiantian experts become so worthless?

The Little White Horse was startled by the shocking sight, nearly buckling at the knees.

A moment later, Ning Chen shook his head again. It shouldn't be someone entering the Xiantian Realm; this golden light lacked a human aura; it was merely an inanimate object.

In this heavy snow and wind, in the desolate wilderness, the closest beings to the pillar of light were only Ning Chen and the Little White Horse.

The wheelchair moved, and the white horse set off, heading towards the pillar of light.

Humans are all curious, and Ning Chen was no exception.

However, Ning Chen didn't move fast, nor did the Little White Horse. Although curious, he wasn't enthusiastic.

But apart from Ning Chen, all the cultivators in the north were in a frenzy of excitement. Such a celestial phenomenon surely indicated the emergence of an extraordinary ancient relic.

A hundred years ago, when the Heavenly Tome emerged from underground, the anomaly was very similar to today's.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon at the time appeared in the west, and the Heavenly Tome ultimately fell into the hands of the Eternal Night Divine Cult, which was no surprise.

For a thousand years, even as powerful as Great Xia was, it only possessed one volume of the Heavenly Tome. This goes to show that when it comes to the ownership of ancient ruins, while strength is a factor, luck is the most crucial element.

Ning Chen seemed to possess this luck, and the ancient ruins were closest to him. However, aside from curiosity, he couldn't muster much enthusiasm.

The man and horse moved slowly through the wind and snow, but because the distance was so short, even at their slow pace, they gradually approached the site of the phenomenon caused by the emergence of the ruins…

(P.S. One chapter delivered, continuing to write.)

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