A battle between vastly unequal sides ended in just a few breaths. The combatants on both sides had already stopped fighting, and as they gazed at Chen Fan's distant figure, not one of them dared approach and cause trouble.
"That sword cultivator is terrifying. His Sword Qi is unbelievably powerful. How could he possibly be only at Qi Refining Layer 4?" said a middle-aged man holding a curved saber, his voice full of shock.
"The blue-robed man was one of their people. He was at Qi Refining Layer 6 and specialized in throwing knives and Talismans. I can't believe he fell to a sword cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4," said a young Red-robed Woman beside him.
"So that was the one who was secretly trying to kill us just now. This is so satisfying! Now that the blue-robed man is gone, let's see how those people can fight us. Come on—wait, don't move yet." A trace of satisfaction appeared on the middle-aged man's face. He shouted and was about to charge at the group ahead when another figure appeared in his field of vision, making his expression change.
"Does anyone have a map of this place?" Chen Fan appeared before the two groups with his strange, peculiar steps and asked coldly.
"Brother, I have the most complete map available." The middle-aged man's heart stirred at his words. He pulled a piece of cowhide from his clothes and held it out to Chen Fan.
"Father, you can't. This is our only map..." The Red-robed Woman hurriedly tried to stop him, but the middle-aged man cut her off.
"I have two copies." With that, he took out another piece of cowhide.
Chen Fan frowned slightly. His Divine Sense was much stronger than an ordinary person's, and he could tell that the map on the second piece of cowhide was only half as complete as the first.
"What do you want?" Chen Fan accepted the first cowhide map and looked at the middle-aged man. He did not want to owe anyone a favor, much less take something from them for free.
"That blue-robed man was one of their people. They were lying in wait here to ambush us and kill us for our treasures." The middle-aged man did not say outright what he wanted, but pointed at the group across from them.
As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the people opposite them darkened.
"Brother, would you help us by killing them?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
Chen Fan tucked the cowhide map into his clothes, then parted his lips slightly. "Sure."
Whoosh—!
As soon as he spoke, Chen Fan's figure blurred, becoming a ghostlike shadow as he darted toward the group opposite them.
"Hum!"
The Red-robed Woman heard a clear sword ring beside her ear.
"Kid, you're asking for death." The man at the head of the group opposite them had a face full of beard and a chilling expression.
Faced with Chen Fan's lone attack, he did not take him too seriously. He thought the blue-robed man had died because his own people had been careless; otherwise, he would never have fallen to someone at Qi Refining Layer 4.
As for the bearded man himself, he had reached Qi Refining Seventh Layer. He had little to fear from Chen Fan.
Only when a slender sword ray suddenly flashed through the air like a bolt of thunder did the hair all over his body stand on end!
He barely had time to raise his long saber to block before all he could see was that sword ray, brilliant as a startled swan in flight, filling almost his entire field of vision!
Chen Fan's figure appeared before him, his expression calm.
A few breaths later, Chen Fan suddenly vanished from his sight. Then the woods disappeared too, and the blue sky appeared before him. The sky was beautiful! That was his final thought before losing consciousness.
"Clang!"
"Thud! Thud!"
The bearded man's long saber had been cleanly cut in two. His head flew through the air and dropped to the ground alongside the severed blade. Only then did his body slowly topple over!
"Dead... Big Brother's dead?" The cultivators behind the bearded man stared in disbelief. Some were already overcome with fear.
Qi Refining Seventh Layer! Among the cultivators who came to the Demon King Valley to train, that put him near the top in terms of strength.
How could he have died so easily?
"Who is that man?" The middle-aged man and the Red-robed Woman were both dumbstruck. Everyone present looked at Chen Fan in unison, asking the same question in their hearts.
"Our deal is done!" Chen Fan said, then walked toward the depths of the woods without looking back.
Seeing this, the Red-robed Woman opened her mouth to call after him, but the middle-aged man stopped her with one hand.
"Don't," the middle-aged man said quietly, shaking his head slightly.
In the end, Chen Fan disappeared into the woods, and the battle at the scene began again, only now it had turned into a one-sided slaughter.
The middle-aged man was at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, while the strongest cultivator on the other side was only at Qi Refining Layer 5. They had no power to fight back. In an instant, they were cut down by blades, swords, and Talismans, without even a chance to escape. They had brought it upon themselves. If you lay an ambush in the Demon King Valley, you should be prepared to be killed in turn.
"Father, why wouldn't you let me stop him? If he were willing to join our Lineage as a guest Elder..." the Red-robed Woman asked after the battle ended.
"Don't be fooled by the fact that he's only at Qi Refining Layer 4. If I fought him, I'd probably die. His swordsmanship is terrifying. I've never seen anything like it. And he's proud and aloof. I gave him the map, but he didn't want to owe me anything, so he helped us kill their strongest man. If you'd asked him to join our ranks just now, you might have angered him. Then we'd be the ones to die." The middle-aged man gazed into the depths of the woods and shook his head slightly.
"That man will become a rising star. Even a young genius like Xiao Munan is nothing in comparison."
"Father, isn't that praise a little over the top?" The Red-robed Woman clearly disliked the middle-aged man's words. She wrinkled her delicate nose slightly.
"You'll understand in time. The path of cultivation is far longer than we can imagine. All right, hurry up and clean up the battlefield..."
Chen Fan was now standing beneath a large tree. He unfolded the map the middle-aged man had given him and studied it slowly.
He was still in the outer reaches of the Demon King Valley. The map marked several areas where dangerous Monster Beasts roamed, including some whose strength rivaled that of cultivators at Qi Refining Layer 7 or 8. And this was only the outer region.
The map contained little information about the depths of the Demon King Valley. Aside from a rough outline of the terrain and routes, the rest was blank. Even its record of the areas where Monster Beasts roamed was far less detailed than the outer region's. The only thing it noted was a Monster Beast at the border between the outer region and the depths, one whose strength rivaled that of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"My fight with the blue-robed man just now pushed my body past one of its limits. I fused the Blazing Heaven Sword Art with my body a little further. Otherwise, I couldn't have killed someone at Qi Refining Seventh Layer in one strike. But it still isn't enough. Maybe I can practice on some Monster Beasts at Qi Refining Seventh Layer first."
With that thought, Chen Fan put the map back into his clothes and headed for his destination. According to the map, several Monster Beasts at Qi Refining Seventh Layer roamed there. It was a forbidden zone for cultivators; few people went there unless they were gathering medicinal herbs.
Along the way, Chen Fan came across plenty of Monster Beasts at Qi Refining Layer 4 or 5, but he ignored them and kept going. Some cultivator groups were astonished to see him venturing through the area alone, but no one questioned him, and no one tried to rob him.
What could a cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4 possibly have that was worth their trouble?
Soon, two hours passed, and the sky began to darken. Chen Fan arrived at the area marked on the map without a hitch.
What puzzled him was that the area was not as deserted as he had expected. On the contrary, several figures were moving about. They looked tense, as if a formidable enemy were upon them, and seemed to be preparing for a great battle.
"Fellow Daoist, what are you doing here? This isn't a place you can come. You should leave immediately," a young man in a Taoist robe advised when he saw Chen Fan, frowning.
"Could you tell me what's going on here, Fellow Daoist?"
"Earlier today, someone blew up a mountain while fighting a Monster Beast. After the rocks came tumbling down, a cave appeared. They say there's a precious sword inside, but the Earth Ghost Sect has already taken it and sealed off the area. We're getting ready to break in. You're only at Qi Refining Layer 4. I'd advise you not to come here to die. Hurry back." The young man in the Taoist robe spoke impatiently, then turned and left.
"A precious sword?" Chen Fan's heart stirred. Could the sword he had lost when he died have fallen here?
In theory, it was entirely possible. The explosion from the nuclear bomb might have carried the sword here, burying it deep in the mountain.
"But why can't I feel even a trace of its Sword Intent?" Chen Fan frowned slightly.
That sword meant far too much to him. It had been his companion for decades, and he had forged it himself, hammer blow by hammer blow. He had even infused it with a part of his Divine Soul, and embedded the Mysterious Jade Bead left behind by his master in its hilt. That had awakened the sword's Sword Intent and given it a soul of its own. In the Cultivation World, such a soul was usually known as a Sword Spirit.
But the Sword Spirit of Chen Fan's sword had not been fully nurtured. It had only shown the faintest hint of interaction, yet it had been his sole companion on his long path of cultivation.
"I need to investigate." Chen Fan decided to sneak in. He would not let anything connected to that sword slip past him.
After some observation, he had already gotten a clear picture of the terrain and the distribution of people in the area.
It was clear that the Earth Ghost Sect had discovered more than just a precious sword in the cave. There must have been other treasures as well, which was why they had sealed off the area. But word of the sword had spread, attracting even more cultivators.
There were many people from the Earth Ghost Sect. They had gathered around the cave and paid no heed to the cultivators preparing to attack them, as if they had something to rely on.
Chen Fan slowly backed away, having sensed a powerful, familiar aura.
Foundation Establishment Realm!
A Foundation Establishment Realm expert was nearby. Judging by the expressions of the Earth Ghost Sect members, this expert was most likely inside the cave.
"This doesn't look like a chance discovery. They came prepared, didn't they?" Chen Fan frowned slightly as he looked at the strange atmosphere. "It seems they set this up specifically, waiting for someone to show up."
By this time, the group of cultivators had gathered together and made their preparations.
"Everyone, the demonic cultivators of the Earth Ghost Sect seem to have something to rely on, but so what? We're no soft touches either. The resources in the Demon King Valley belong to everyone. Why should they be allowed to seal off this place? Let's drive out the demons in this battle!" A cultivator at Qi Refining Seventh Layer rallied the crowd.
"Exactly. Brother Wang is right," someone immediately agreed.
"This battle is unavoidable."
The cultivator at Qi Refining Seventh Layer was pleased with everyone's response. He looked over the crowd, then nodded.
"The time has come. Fellow Daoists, attack!"
At his command, dozens of cultivators channeled their True Qi, and all manner of Talismans and blades flew toward the Earth Ghost Sect disciples.
"Hmph, you dare ruin my plans?" Just as they launched their attack, a cold female voice rang out from the cave.
Everyone felt a deafening clap of thunder explode beside their ears, like a heavy hammer slamming into their chests. Quite a few people fell to the ground, spitting blood.
"Foundation Establishment Realm!" The cultivator at Qi Refining Seventh Layer went deathly pale and turned to flee.
But at the same time, a black shadow shot out of the cave. Everyone looked up, stunned.
A wisp of black gauze wrapped around her, her graceful figure appearing and disappearing beneath it...
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