The Battle for Immortal Qi

Watching the several people scatter in different directions, Chen Fan furrowed his brow slightly.

From their words, he had roughly guessed what was going on...

"Is this your first time challenging the Second Layer?" A voice suddenly sounded.

Chen Fan turned to find that the Yellow-Robed Woman had not left; she stood in place, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded.

"Qi Refining Layer 4. I don't know why you have so much Immortal Qi, but since you're here, take escaping seriously. Don't waste your Immortal Qi or your life." The Yellow-Robed Woman paused here, and seeing Chen Fan listening attentively, she continued:

"Do you see the Jade Token in your hand? Three thousand is the total Immortal Qi of the six of us combined. Five hundred is your own Immortal Qi. The requirement for this trial is to keep the total Immortal Qi no lower than half of its current amount within three days—that is, no lower than fifteen hundred. Otherwise, we fail the trial."

"If you die, does the Immortal Qi drain away?"

"You could say that. In one hour, six cultivators who are Two-Star Heavenly Soldiers will be teleported in. Their mission is to seize more than half of our Immortal Qi, or else they fail theirs. But since they've earned the rank of Two-Star Heavenly Soldier, their overall cultivation and strength far exceed ours. If we clash head-on with them, we'll lose even faster." Saying this, the Yellow-Robed Woman glanced at Chen Fan, as if to say, For example, you're dead weight, so we can't possibly fight their team head-on.

But Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully. The Yellow-Robed Woman thought he understood, so she continued: "In this one hour, you'd better find a hidden spot, wait patiently for three days, and try to survive..."

"So, we can also seize their Immortal Qi?" Chen Fan suddenly interrupted her, lifting his head to ask.

This question caught the Yellow-Robed Woman off guard. She didn't understand what point he was trying to make. Could a mere Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivator possibly rob a Two-Star Heavenly Soldier?

"Yes, but it's impossible. Their strength far surpasses ours." The Yellow-Robed Woman shook her head.

"Mm. Three days!" Chen Fan nodded, a glint of brightness flashing in his eyes.

Seeing his expression, the Yellow-Robed Woman's brow furrowed slightly. She thought to herself: Did this person even hear the second half of what I said? Does he really intend to set his sights on the Two-Star Heavenly Soldiers?

Forget it. I've said all I need to say. If he remains stubbornly deluded, it's none of my business!

"I need to find a hiding spot too. Farewell, Qi Refining Layer 4." The Yellow-Robed Woman shook her head, turned, and headed in another direction. She hadn't even asked Chen Fan's name, simply addressing him as Qi Refining Layer 4.

After she had gone far, Chen Fan extended his divine sense outward. Confirming it was safe, he withdrew from the Heavenly Court and informed Chen Jingjing, who was about to sleep, that he needed to go into seclusion for three days. Retrieving the inheritance from Heavy Sword Peak might have to wait.

Chen Jingjing naturally nodded in agreement, but when she learned that Chen Fan was going to challenge the Second Layer of the Heavenly Court, her mouth fell open in shock, and she was speechless...

When he returned to the Heavenly Court, nearly an hour had passed. Chen Fan slowly made his way deeper into the forest.

As he walked, he pondered. The Yellow-Robed Woman and the bald male cultivator were both at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, the strongest among the five. The other three were all at Qi Refining Layer 6.

So he guessed that the incoming Two-Star Heavenly Soldiers would likely be at Qi Refining Seventh or Eighth Layer. Qi Refining Ninth Layer was unlikely, after all, this was only the Second Layer Heavenly Court.

With his current cultivation, he could barely kill two Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivators. If a Qi Refining Eighth Layer appeared, unless he could break through here, he would have to give up.

"But breaking through isn't impossible." Chen Fan muttered to himself, then quickened his pace, heading deeper into the forest.

In this wilderness, Monster Beasts were the best resource. He had to use the remaining half hour to find and kill a Qi Refining Seventh Layer Monster Beast, extract its Demon Core, and then, while the Two-Star Heavenly Soldiers were searching, refine the Demon Core to break through his realm.

After traveling for a while, Chen Fan finally spotted a White-Haired Wolf drinking by a river.

"Qi Refining Seventh Layer!" A faint smile curled at the corner of Chen Fan's mouth. Wolves usually lived in packs. This White-Haired Wolf was likely a lone wolf, otherwise, it wouldn't have reached such a high realm.

A Qi Refining Seventh Layer lone wolf was almost on par with a wolf king.

Swoosh!

Chen Fan turned into a black shadow, charging toward the White-Haired Wolf.

Just as he started moving, a figure stood behind a large tree not far away—it was the Yellow-Robed Woman from before.

If she hadn't arrived here later than Chen Fan, she would have suspected he was following her for protection. But when she saw him suddenly move, charging forward at an unbelievable speed, her expression shifted slightly. She knew she couldn't match that speed.

"This... what is this person trying to do? With enemies closing in, he's provoking a Monster Beast? And a Qi Refining Seventh Layer lone wolf at that. He's practically courting death." Seeing Chen Fan's target was a White-Haired Lone Wolf, the Yellow-Robed Woman was greatly alarmed.

"Go!" As Chen Fan sprinted like thunder, he shot a yellow Talisman toward the White-Haired Wolf.

With a hiss, the Talisman ignited in midair, transforming into a giant net that lunged at the White-Haired Wolf.

"Awoo!" The White-Haired Lone Wolf was highly alert and had already sensed the movement. Its sharp claws swung forward instantly, turning into two streaks of cold light that slashed across the giant net, tearing it in half.

Hum!

With a soft sword hum, Chen Fan arrived, his blade filled with True Qi. The giant net was only meant to delay the White-Haired Lone Wolf.

He twisted his wrist, and the long sword suddenly traced a half-arc in the air, forming a sword qi that swept toward the White-Haired Lone Wolf.

The White-Haired Lone Wolf moved swiftly, reacting quickly. Its powerful limbs leaped, dodging to the side and evading the half-arc.

But it was no match for Chen Fan's sword speed. The moment the half-arc missed, another straight sword qi slashed over.

With a dull thud, the White-Haired Lone Wolf's flank was cut open by the sword qi, and a string of blood droplets flew out.

"Awooo!"

Seeing itself wounded by a mere minor cultivator's sword, the White-Haired Lone Wolf howled in fury. The sharp howl echoed across the area, summoning its wolf kin.

Chen Fan knew he couldn't drag this out. He channeled the Blazing Heaven Sword Qi into his blade, swinging the sword at lightning speed. The sword qi turned into streaks of light, sealing off all the White-Haired Lone Wolf's escape routes. Then, his gaze sharpened, and he delivered a final strike toward the wolf's head. This blow was decisive. With its retreat cut off, the White-Haired Lone Wolf revealed a flaw—a fleeting opportunity.

And Chen Fan seized that opening. His sword, swift as a meteor, pierced through the White-Haired Lone Wolf's body.

Plop!

The wolf's head tumbled through the air several times before falling into the river, its blood staining the once-clear water red.

Chen Fan raised his sword, flicking the blue-glowing Demon Core out from the wolf's body. With a smack, he caught it in his left palm. Then, he cast a few deliberate glances in the Yellow-Robed Woman's direction before heading off in the opposite direction.

Swish!

In the end, he stepped into the Formless Step, his figure blurring and vanishing from the Yellow-Robed Woman's sight.

"G-good... what a powerful sword cultivator." The Yellow-Robed Woman walked out from behind a large tree, her face full of shock as she murmured to herself, "Is he really at Qi Refining Layer 4?"

Swish! Swish!

Chen Fan transformed into a streak of black shadow, darting swiftly through the forest as he rushed deeper into the woods, leaving no trace behind. He needed enough time to refine this Demon Core.

Half an hour later, at the very spot where Chen Fan and his group had first entered, a flash of white light appeared, and six figures materialized.

Their eyes gleamed with cold light, and faint sneers hung at the corners of their mouths.

"It's actually the hardest mission in the Second Layer Heavenly Court—the Battle of Immortal Qi. But for us, this is a rare golden opportunity." A male cultivator looked around and laughed, his cultivation having reached Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

"Exactly right. Activating the formation simultaneously to join this kind of mission increases the chance of being assigned together, and we even get the best task for gathering Immortal Qi the fastest and in the largest amounts." A Red-robed Woman sneered coldly.

"These people can't possibly be gathered together, but to be safe, let's split into pairs. Focus on the hidden forests and caves, and hunt down our prey one by one. Hehehe!" A White-robed Scholar holding a folding fan grinned with a chilling expression. His cultivation was the highest among the six—Qi Refining Eighth Layer.

The other five were all at Qi Refining Seventh Layer and followed the White-robed Scholar's lead. Upon hearing this, they split into two teams, kicked off the ground with force, and shot off in different directions, leaving only the Red-robed Woman and the White-robed Scholar behind.

"Senior Brother Wang, which way should we go?" The Red-robed Woman looked at the White-robed Scholar, her eyes full of infatuation.

"Have you ever heard the saying—the more dangerous the place, the safer it is?" The scholar answered without directly replying, his voice deliberately loud, as if speaking for an outsider to hear.

"Hm?" The Red-robed Woman's expression shifted slightly, as if she understood something.

"The world never lacks people who think they're clever, but I like such people—they save me a lot of trouble." The White-robed Scholar said this, then snapped his fan open with a shua, waved it twice, and said in a low voice, "Come out, fellow Daoist. I can spare your life."

But only silence answered him...

The White-robed Scholar smiled faintly. "No one? Seems I was overthinking. Let's go."

With that, his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

The Red-robed Woman pursed her lips, a trace of a smile rising on her face, and followed the White-robed Scholar, disappearing as well.

A moment later, on a large tree not far away, a man let out a long sigh of relief. He was one of the bald male cultivators from earlier. The White-robed Scholar's words had scared him so much his entire back was drenched in sweat. Fortunately, he had held back and not come out.

"That was close!" The man took a deep breath, forcing a faint smile onto his face.

"Just close?" A cold, familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.