A Sword Breaks It

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"Getting five hundred Immortal Qi points at Qi Refining Layer 4 means he has some skill." The White-robed Scholar's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued, "But at mere Qi Refining Layer 4, rushing to break through the second floor so impatiently—he's probably just some brash young whelp. Maybe he really did end up as monster bait like you said. Li Tang, take your three men and search again. If he's alive, bring him back; if dead, bring the Jade Token."

After speaking, the White-robed Scholar glanced at Li Tang and his three companions, his eyelids half-lowered as he muttered lazily to himself, "Thought I might run into a clever prey. Pity—if he's only Qi Refining Layer 4, it's just dull."

With that, he walked over to the base of a large tree, sat down on the ground without a care for his pristine white robes, and began cultivating with his eyes closed.

The Red-robed Woman sat down beside him, several Talismans pinched between her fingers, her eyes fixed coldly on the Yellow-Robed Woman and her two companions. If they made any suspicious moves, her Talismans would fly out in an instant.

But with the White-robed Scholar standing guard, she was confident these people wouldn't dare try anything.

Li Tang and his three men exchanged glances, then split into two teams as previously arranged and headed deeper into the forest.

Back on the ground, the male cultivator beside the Yellow-Robed Woman studied the White-robed Scholar for a long moment before finally speaking in a low voice, "This man is young, yet his cultivation has already reached Qi Refining Eighth Layer."

He showed no fear of his impending death—clearly a seasoned loser who had failed the trials many times and no longer dreaded the Heavenly Court's punishment of death.

"Not only that. The folding fan in his hand is likely a Spirit Tool. I was defeated by him in just four moves with that fan." The Yellow-Robed Woman shook her head slightly, recalling her battle with the White-robed Scholar, her eyes still filled with wariness.

Whether in the cultivation world or the Heavenly Court, the strongest asset for Dao cultivators, aside from spells learned after Foundation Establishment, was relying on powerful Dharma Treasures. But Dharma Treasures weren't something ordinary minor cultivators could use. Ranked by material, crafting difficulty, and power, from weakest to strongest, they were: Spirit Tools, Magic Tools, Spirit Treasures, and Dharma Treasures.

Spirit Tools were mostly held by a very few Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. Even if a Qi Refining cultivator had the incredible fortune to obtain a Spirit Tool, they rarely used it, as such tools consumed too much True Qi.

Yet the White-robed Scholar, at Qi Refining Eighth Layer, could repeatedly unleash a Spirit Tool without his expression changing—a testament to how vast his True Qi reserves were.

At that moment, Chen Fan, seated cross-legged behind the waterfall, suddenly opened his eyes. A surge of energy burst from him, rippling outward in all directions, stirring up dust from the ground.

The Demon Core in his hand had already turned to ash. This body, never tempered by a Marrow Cleansing Pill, was weaker at refining Demon Cores than his physical body back on Earth. But after just one short night, he had fully absorbed the massive energy from the Demon Core, pushing his cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining Layer 5, with a faint trend toward breaking through to Layer 6.

Fortunately, the Immortal Qi density in the Heavenly Court was extraordinary. After glancing at the Immortal Qi number on his Jade Token, he closed his eyes again and entered a state of cultivation...

Meanwhile, Li Tang and Liu San had teamed up again, following the river upstream. The direction they were heading led straight to the waterfall where Chen Fan was.

With both of them at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, travel was no issue. Moments later, they stood before the magnificent waterfall, dumbfounded.

"This is too bizarre. We've searched all the way here and can't find that kid. He couldn't be hiding in this waterfall, could he?" Liu San said with a grin, the last part clearly a joke.

"Go ahead and try hiding in there. I bet your hand would be shredded to bloody pulp the moment you reached in." Li Tang shook his head.

"In a torrent like this, you think you'd even get bloody pulp? Count yourself lucky if any bones are left." Liu San shuddered and turned to leave.

"Wait, what's that sound?" Li Tang frowned, a look of suspicion crossing his face as he held out a hand to stop Liu San.

"What's wrong?" Liu San tensed up at Li Tang's serious expression.

"I think I heard a faint sword hum..." Li Tang said. Liu San pricked up his ears to listen, but all he heard was the deafening roar of the waterfall—not a trace of any sword sound.

After a moment, Liu San gave Li Tang a helpless look and shook his head. "You're hearing things. Let's go. Search somewhere else. We need to finish him off before dark."

Li Tang listened carefully for a while longer but still didn't catch that sword hum. Figuring he must have misheard, he turned to leave with Liu San.

"Boom!"

Just as they took a few steps, a thunderous crash came from behind them. Both spun around, retreating in an instant!

But what met their eyes left them stunned.

The massive waterfall had been torn open, and a small figure shot out from within, flying across the water's surface with speed so fast it was like walking on flat ground.

Splash!!!

As the figure departed, the water above the gap in the waterfall crashed down with a roar, snapping Li Tang and Liu San back to reality. Chen Fan strode across the water, his sword blade vibrating rapidly in his hand, his expression icy cold, radiating boundless killing intent as he charged toward them.

"Qi Refining Layer 6?" Liu San stared at Chen Fan advancing with his sword, surprised.

"We were tricked. There never was any Qi Refining Layer 4." Li Tang's face darkened as he spoke in a low voice.

But neither of them retreated. Ridiculous—two Qi Refining Seventh Layer experts running from a Qi Refining Layer 6 would be a joke.

Still, their expressions were complicated. The man had just shattered such a colossal waterfall, and now, facing two Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivators, he didn't flee but instead charged at them with his sword. They had never encountered anything like this.

"Careful. If he can break through a waterfall like that, he must have some tricks." Liu San reacted first, quickly warning.

Li Tang narrowed his eyes and nodded.

With a clang, Liu San drew his sword, holding it before him as he stared coldly at the figure on the river.

Li Tang produced several Talismans in his hand, all of them extraordinary treasure talismans.

Thump!

Chen Fan's toes struck the water hard, his entire body shooting toward the two cultivators on the bank like a meteor.

In a flash of lightning, a hiss sounded as several Talismans ignited, transforming into massive swirling vortices. The mournful wails of vengeful spirits suddenly rose, blocking Chen Fan's path.

"Soul Hooking Talismans?" Chen Fan's gaze sharpened. Instead of dodging, he channeled the Blazing Heaven Sword Qi into his longsword. The blade, glowing with a yellow sword light, rapidly struck the centers of the massive vortices.

"Ah..."

The vortices let out hair-raising screams as black mist roiled and churned. These yin creatures were completely suppressed by the yang-infused Blazing Heaven Sword Qi.

"Pfft!" Chen Fan swept his sword horizontally, carrying a profound intent as he slashed through the clusters of black mist. In an instant, the mist dissipated before him.

In a single breath, he had broken several Soul Hooking Talismans, sending shock through Li Tang and Liu San. Liu San raised his sword to meet Chen Fan. Clang! The two blades clashed, but Liu San was knocked back five steps.

"Li Tang, set up the Three Talents Formation Talisman!" Liu San roared, then swung his sword again at Chen Fan.

Li Tang frowned upon hearing this—this was his most precious treasure talisman, and he had never expected to use it here.

When he saw Liu San once again swept back by Chen Fan's sword, Li Tang hesitated no longer. He drew three yellow talismans from his bosom, ignited them with True Qi, and flung them toward three directions around Chen Fan.

"Go!" Li Tang barked. The three talismans transformed into golden light circles, linking together into a triangular shape that descended upon Chen Fan, showing signs of suppressing him.

Liu San gritted his teeth and charged at Chen Fan again. He knew the flaw of the Three Talents Formation Talisman—its speed was too slow. He had to hold Chen Fan back and prevent him from escaping. Yet Chen Fan stood calmly in place, intoned "Blazing Heaven," then focused his gaze and swung his sword at Liu San.

Clang!

A thunderous clash of metal rang out. The longsword in Liu San's hand snapped in two, and his entire body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into a tree trunk as blood trickled from his mouth.

"Liu San!" Li Tang's expression shifted. He used True Qi to accelerate the condensation of the Three Talents Formation Talisman.

"No matter how exquisite your formation, I will break it with a single sword stroke." Chen Fan held one hand behind his back, the other gripping his longsword as he pointed it at Li Tang, his voice cold.

"The formation is complete! Let's see how you break it now." Li Tang's True Qi was heavily depleted, and blood seeped from his lips, but he was not seriously injured. A chill flashed in his eyes as he stared coldly at Chen Fan.

The Three Talents Formation was a formation named after the "three talents" of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Each corner of the triangle would erupt with astonishing power. Now that the formation had taken shape, it pressed down upon Chen Fan with a sky-piercing momentum.

Humm

A sharp sword hum rang from the blade. Chen Fan lightly kicked off the sandy ground, his figure shooting forward. The longsword aimed straight at the Earth Talent Position of the Three Talents Formation. Blazing Heaven Sword Qi surged, as if carrying the primordial chaotic killing intent, and struck the Earth Talent Position with savage force.

Crack

One of the golden light circles in the Three Talents Formation instantly became riddled with cracks, then burst apart violently, exploding into countless golden fragments that dissipated in the air.

The Three Talents Formation—broken!

"How is that possible?" Li Tang's face twisted in shock, his pupils contracting sharply as he stared dumbfounded at Chen Fan breaking out of the formation.

The next moment, Chen Fan's figure blurred, turning into a black shadow that streaked past his eyes with a blinding white flash. The sword blade swept several droplets of blood from his neck.

Li Tang fell to the ground, dead. The gash on his throat split open fully, blood soaking the soil. Chen Fan gripped his longsword and walked step by step toward Liu San.

"You..." Liu San's eyes could not hide his terror. Leaning against the tree trunk, he stared at Chen Fan but could not utter another word.

Shlick—a sword light sliced across his throat. Liu San was released...

Chen Fan's expression was cold. He glanced at the jade token in his hand—the red number 2000 had now reverted to 3000, while the green number below was now 1500. That meant, as long as he did not die, this trial would be a success.

But would Chen Fan be content to stop at 1500 points of Immortal Qi?

He flicked the blood droplets off his sword blade, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and continued walking deeper into the forest...