Foundation Establishment Realm Expert

A battle of vastly mismatched strength ended in mere breaths. The two groups who had been fighting had long since stopped, staring at Chen Fan's distant figure. No one dared to stir up trouble.

"How terrifying a sword cultivator, with such fearsome Sword Qi. How can this man be only at Qi Refining Layer 4?" a middle-aged man holding a curved blade said in shock.

"That blue-robed man was from the other side—Qi Refining Layer 6, specializing in flying knives and Talismans. I never expected him to fall to a sword cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4," said a young woman in red robes beside him.

"So it was him ambushing us from the shadows earlier. What a relief. Without that blue-robed man's harassment, I'd like to see how these people can still fight us. Everyone... wait, hold on." The middle-aged man's face had just shown a hint of satisfaction as he prepared to charge forward, but then another figure appeared in his sight, making his expression shift.

"Does anyone here have a map of this place?" Chen Fan stepped forward with an uncanny gait, appearing before the two groups, and asked coldly.

"Brother, I have the most complete map here." The middle-aged man's heart stirred at the words. He pulled a piece of cowhide from his chest and handed it to Chen Fan.

"Father, no—that's our only map..." The red-robed woman quickly tried to stop him, but the middle-aged man cut her off.

"I have two copies on me." With that, he pulled out another piece of cowhide.

Chen Fan frowned slightly. His spiritual sense was far stronger than an ordinary person's, and he could tell that the map drawn on the second cowhide the middle-aged man took out was only half the size of the first.

"What do you need?" Chen Fan took the first cowhide map and looked at the middle-aged man. He didn't want to owe a favor or take something for nothing.

"That blue-robed man was one of theirs. They set up an ambush here to kill us and steal our treasures." The middle-aged man didn't say it directly but pointed at the group across from them.

As his words fell, the faces of those opposite darkened.

"Brother, could you lend us a hand and kill them?" the middle-aged man said with a smile.

Chen Fan tucked the cowhide map into his chest and then spoke slightly: "Fine."

Swish—!

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Fan's form blurred, turning into a ghostly, indistinct shadow that shot toward the opposite side.

"Hum!"

The red-robed woman only heard a crisp sword hum ring in her ear.

"Boy, you're asking for death." The faces of those opposite were grim. The leader, a man with a full beard, wore a cold expression.

Facing Chen Fan's lone assault, he wasn't too concerned. The blue-robed man's death, he thought, was due to his own carelessness; otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen to someone at mere Qi Refining Layer 4.

As for himself, he was at Qi Refining Seventh Layer. Facing Chen Fan, he felt little fear.

It wasn't until a slender sword light flashed out of the air like a thunderbolt that he felt every hair on his body stand on end!

He only had time to raise his broadsword in a blocking motion before his vision was filled with nothing but that sword light, like a fleeting swan, nearly consuming his entire sight!

Chen Fan's form materialized before him, his face calm.

A few breaths later, the Chen Fan in his eyes suddenly vanished, then the forest vanished too. The blue sky suddenly entered his view. The sky was beautiful! That was his last thought before losing consciousness.

"Clang!"

"Slap!"

The bearded man's broadsword was cleanly severed, and his head, after flying through the air, fell to the ground alongside the broken blade. Then his body slowly collapsed!

"Dead... dead? Big brother is dead?" The cultivators behind the bearded man stared in disbelief, some already filled with terror.

Qi Refining Seventh Layer! That was among the stronger cultivators who had come to temper themselves in Demon King Valley.

How could he fall like this?

"Who is that man?" The middle-aged man and the red-robed woman were also dumbfounded. Everyone present, without exception, turned their gazes to Chen Fan, asking themselves this question.

"Transaction complete!" Chen Fan said without looking back, walking deeper into the small forest.

The red-robed woman opened her mouth to call out to him, but the middle-aged man stopped her with a hand.

"Don't." The middle-aged man shook his head slightly and said in a low voice.

In the end, Chen Fan disappeared into the forest, and the battle at this place began anew—only now it had become a one-sided slaughter.

The middle-aged man was at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, while the highest on the opposing side was only at Qi Refining Layer 5. They had no power to resist. In an instant, they were cut down by blades, swords, and Talismans, without even a chance to flee. And all of this was their own doing—if you set an ambush in Demon King Valley, you should be prepared to be killed in return.

"Father, why didn't you let me call him? If that man were willing to come to our family as a guest Elder..." After the battle, the red-robed woman asked.

"Don't be fooled by his Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivation. If I were to face him, I'd probably die too. His sword path is too terrifying—I've never seen anything like it. And this man is proud at heart. I gave him the map, but he didn't want to owe a favor, so he helped us kill their strongman. If you had tried to recruit him just now, you might have angered him, and then we'd be the ones dead." The middle-aged man looked into the depths of the small forest and shook his head slightly.

"This man will be a rising star. Even that so-called prodigy Xiao Munan is nothing compared to him."

"Father, isn't that evaluation a bit too much?" The red-robed woman clearly disliked her father's words, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"You'll understand in time. The path of immortal cultivation is far longer than we imagine. Now, hurry up and clean up the battlefield..."

At this moment, Chen Fan was stopped under a large tree. He unfolded the cowhide map the middle-aged man had given him and slowly studied it.

He was still on the outskirts of Demon King Valley. The map marked several areas where dangerous beasts roamed, including some comparable to Qi Refining Seventh or Eighth Layer beasts—and this was just the periphery.

The map recorded little of the deeper parts of Demon King Valley. Aside from a rough outline of the terrain, everything else was blank. Even the beast activity areas weren't as detailed as the outskirts. The only thing noted was at the border between the periphery and the depths: a beast comparable to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"That fight with the blue-robed man pushed my body past a slight limit, fusing the Blazing Heaven Sword Art a few more percent into my physique. Otherwise, I couldn't have killed a Qi Refining Seventh Layer in one strike. But it's still not enough. Maybe I should start by practicing on beasts at Qi Refining Seventh Layer."

Thinking this, Chen Fan tucked the map back into his chest and began heading toward his destination. According to the map, multiple beasts comparable to Qi Refining Seventh Layer roamed there—a forbidden zone for cultivators, rarely visited unless for gathering herbs.

Along the way, Chen Fan encountered many beasts at Qi Refining Layer 4 or 5, but he chose to ignore them and pressed on. Some cultivator teams saw him traveling alone and stared in astonishment, but no one questioned him, and no one tried anything.

A Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivator—what good things could they possibly have worth making a move for?

Soon, two hours passed, the sky darkened somewhat, and Chen Fan smoothly arrived at the area marked on the map.

But what struck him as strange was that this area wasn't as sparsely populated as he'd imagined. On the contrary, several figures were moving about right now, their expressions tense, as if facing a great enemy and preparing for a major battle.

"Fellow Daoist, what are you doing here? This place isn't for you. Leave now," a young man in a Daoist robe urged with a frown upon seeing Chen Fan.

"I beg you, fellow Daoist, to tell This Humble One what is happening here."

"Today, when someone was besieging a demon beast, they blasted a mountain apart. After the rocks tumbled down, a cave appeared. Word has it there's a treasured sword inside, but the Earth Ghost Sect has already taken it and sealed off this area. We're preparing to attack now. You're only at Qi Refining Layer 4—I advise you not to come and die. Go back quickly." The Daoist-robed youth finished impatiently and turned to leave.

"A treasured sword?" Chen Fan's heart stirred. Could the sword he'd died with have fallen here?

In theory, it was highly possible. The explosion from the nuclear bomb might have carried the sword here, burying it deep in the mountain.

"But why can't I sense that sword intent at all?" Chen Fan frowned slightly.

That sword was far too important to him. Not only had it accompanied him for decades, but he had forged it himself, hammer blow by hammer blow, sparing no effort to infuse it with a part of his soul. He had even embedded a Mysterious Jade Bead left by his master into the sword's hilt, causing the sword to give birth to sword intent and gain its own spirit. In the cultivation world, such a spirit was usually called a Sword Spirit.

But the Sword Spirit of Chen Fan's sword had not been fully nurtured—only a faint trace of interaction existed—yet it was already his sole companion on his long path of cultivation.

"I need to find out." Chen Fan decided to sneak in. He wouldn't let go of anything related to that treasured sword.

After some observation, he had already mapped out the terrain and the distribution of personnel.

What was certain was that the Earth Ghost Sect had discovered not just one treasured sword in that cave, but other treasures as well. That was why they had sealed off the area. But news of the sword had leaked, drawing more cultivators here.

The Earth Ghost Sect had many people. They surrounded the cave entrance, paying no heed to the cultivators preparing to attack, as if they had a great backing.

Chen Fan slowly retreated, because he sensed a powerful and familiar aura.

Foundation Establishment Realm!

There was a Foundation Establishment Realm expert nearby, and from the expressions of the Earth Ghost Sect members, this expert was most likely inside the cave.

"This doesn't feel like an accidental discovery. It seems premeditated." Chen Fan frowned slightly, gazing at the eerie atmosphere. "It's as if a trap has been set here, waiting for someone specific to arrive."

At that moment, the group of cultivators had also gathered, ready to go.

"Everyone, these demonic cultivators of the Earth Ghost Sect seem to have some backing, but so what? We're no pushovers either. The resources of Demon King Valley belong to everyone. Why should they be allowed to seal this place off? Let this battle be our chance to slay demons and uphold the Dao!" A cultivator at Qi Refining Seventh Layer commanded, rallying the crowd.

"That's right, Brother Wang speaks sense." Someone immediately echoed.

"This battle is inevitable."

The Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator was satisfied with the crowd's response. He swept his gaze over them, then nodded and said:

"The time has come, fellow Daoists. Charge!"

With that shout, dozens of cultivators channeled their true qi, and all kinds of Talismans, blades, and swords flew toward the Earth Ghost Sect disciples.

"Hmph, daring to ruin my plans." Just as they launched their attack, a cold female voice came from the cave.

Everyone felt as if a deafening thunderclap had suddenly exploded in their ears, like a heavy hammer slamming into their chests. Many spat blood and collapsed on the spot.

"Foundation Establishment Realm!" The Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator's face turned deathly pale, and he turned to flee.

But a black shadow shot out from the cave at the same time. Everyone looked up and froze.

A wisp of black gauze wrapped around her, her graceful figure half-hidden, half-revealed...