The Appearance

Far beyond the forest, the White-robed Scholar's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open, a cold glint flashing in them.

He grabbed the Jade Token beside him and stared at it. His expression immediately darkened.

"Something's happened," the White-robed Scholar said abruptly, murderous intent barely concealed in his eyes.

At his side, the Red-robed Woman whipped her head around at his words. When she saw the Jade Token in his hand, she took out her own to check—and nearly screamed.

"How is this possible?" she cried. The red number, which had shown 4,000 Immortal Qi, had not increased; instead, it had dropped back to 3,000. In other words, two people on their side had died.

Her cry caught the attention of the three people nearby, drawing puzzled looks from them.

The White-robed Scholar carefully studied their expressions. His brows creased slightly as he rose from the ground and strode toward the Yellow-Robed Woman.

He bent down, bringing his face close to hers. The Yellow-Robed Woman was clearly displeased by his behavior, and her expression turned slightly cold.

The White-robed Scholar stared at her for several seconds before narrowing his eyes and asking, "Is one of the six of you at Qi Refining Layer 4?"

"Yes. If you want to kill us, then do it. Stop wasting time here," the Yellow-Robed Woman said coldly.

"Of course we'd like to finish this quickly. But you're the ones playing tricks..." The White-robed Scholar's smile vanished. His tone shifted as he coldly fixed his gaze on the three of them. "Qi Refining Layer 4? Hmph. Take a look at your Jade Tokens. Could someone at Qi Refining Layer 4 really do this? I hope you'll come clean. Otherwise, you'll suffer for nothing."

He regarded the three of them calmly, as if he were merely curious about the truth and their abilities were nowhere near enough to stir any other emotions in him.

"What do you mean?" The Yellow-Robed Woman and the male cultivator both froze at his words, then looked down at the Jade Tokens at their waists. Their faces filled with disbelief.

"How... how is this possible?" the male cultivator cried. The red number on their tokens, which had shown 2,000 Immortal Qi, now read 3,000.

"Do you really think a cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4 could kill two cultivators at Qi Refining Seventh Layer at the same time?" The White-robed Scholar let out a cold laugh, as if even he found the idea ridiculous.

The Green-robed Woman also stirred at his words. Her blank expression softened slightly. A kid at Qi Refining Layer 4 had killed two powerhouses at Qi Refining Seventh Layer?

She looked up at her Jade Token, her lips parting in astonishment. It was impossible...

"We have no reason to lie to you. Apart from the cultivators at Qi Refining Seventh Layer and Qi Refining Layer 6 whom you killed, only that kid at Qi Refining Layer 4 remains. We came in before him, and his appearance shocked us too. Otherwise, we wouldn't have immediately decided to split up and flee," the male cultivator said calmly, though a faint glimmer of hope began to kindle in his heart. There was still one day left. As long as that kid wasn't caught, they were sure to win.

But was that even possible? What could have happened for a mere cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4 to do this?

He was full of questions, burning with anxiety.

"Looks like you don't know what I'm capable of. Hong Yu, bring me the Soul-Devouring Pill," the White-robed Scholar said coldly, a glint of icy light flashing in his eyes.

At his words, Hong Yu immediately pulled a medicine bottle from her robes and handed it to him.

The Yellow-Robed Woman, the male cultivator, and the third person all changed expressions. The Soul-Devouring Pill was a vicious poison. Anyone who took it would have their Divine Soul slowly eaten away, as though millions of ants were biting into it. The agony was even more terrifying than physical pain.

"Everything we said is true. We're not lying. The kid who's left really is at Qi Refining Layer 4," the male cultivator said anxiously, his voice trembling. He wasn't afraid of dying, but he was terrified of being tortured by this pill before he did.

The Yellow-Robed Woman's eyes flickered as she spoke. "Aren't you all fellow disciples? You could have one of you leave the Heavenly Court and ask the two who died what happened."

"We're disciples of the same sect in the Heavenly Court, but in the Cultivation World we're tens of thousands of miles apart. How are we supposed to ask them? I advise you to tell us the truth. I'm sure you've heard of the agony caused by the Soul-Devouring Pill." Hong Yu stared coldly at the Yellow-Robed Woman. She couldn't stand her. Why could another woman possess such peerless beauty and such a graceful figure?

Feeling the hostility in Hong Yu's eyes, the Yellow-Robed Woman slowly shook her head. She had seen that jealous, hostile look countless times before. But now, the scene of her encounter with Chen Fan yesterday flashed through her mind: his uncanny movement technique, his terrifying Sword Art, and his cultivation at Qi Refining Layer 4—yet he had killed the White-Haired Lone Wolf despite the difference in levels!

The chill of that sword flashed through the Yellow-Robed Woman's mind.

"Senior Brother, could they have encountered a powerful Monster Beast and been killed by it?" Hong Yu leaned close to the White-robed Scholar and whispered. "Then that kid at Qi Refining Layer 4 just happened to pass by and took their Jade Tokens."

The White-robed Scholar had been studying the others' expressions and eyes. They didn't seem to be lying, and Hong Yu's suggestion struck him as plausible. The wilderness was no stranger to high-level Monster Beasts, and this theory was certainly more convincing than the claim that someone at Qi Refining Layer 4 had killed two people at Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

"Still, this makes things much easier. We can kill you first, then catch that kid. That'll bring us to the full 3,000 points of Immortal Qi." The White-robed Scholar turned slightly, a chilling smile on his face as he looked at the three of them.

His words instantly extinguished the faint hope that had just ignited in the male cultivator. If they died, then even if Chen Fan succeeded on his own, they wouldn't be carried along with him. They couldn't muddy the waters and slip through.

"No, don't kill me! Let me see that kid die right in front of me. He's far too arrogant. I want to see him hacked to pieces!" the male cultivator cried urgently. Even if he was going to die, he wanted to see that kid at Qi Refining Layer 4 die first. Otherwise, they would have died more miserably than dogs, defeated by someone at Qi Refining Layer 4.

"Oh? I like your attitude." The White-robed Scholar smiled faintly, studying him with interest. "As a reward, I'll let you kill him with your own hands later. Then I'll finish you off. How does that sound?"

"Good! Good! Thank you! Thank you, Senior!" The male cultivator struggled to hide his delight as he thanked the White-robed Scholar again and again.

"Hahaha... Senior, is it? I like that title." Laughing, the White-robed Scholar walked beneath a large tree and slowly sat down.

"Now, we just wait for that kid to be brought back." Seated beneath the tree, he smiled as he looked at the three of them, as if they were beasts he had raised himself.

The Yellow-Robed Woman and the other two felt humiliated, but there was nothing they could do. Their lives were in someone else's hands, and they could do nothing but endure it.

Just then, everyone's Jade Tokens flashed again. The White-robed Scholar raised an eyebrow, wondering if that kid had been killed.

He picked up his Jade Token. His eyes suddenly widened, and he sprang to his feet beneath the tree.

The Yellow-Robed Woman and the other two saw the change on their Jade Tokens too. They stared, their hearts pounding wildly. What had happened? Had they seen it wrong, or were they dreaming?

The red number on their tokens had shown 3,000 Immortal Qi, but now it had become 4,000. That meant two more of their six opponents had died. Including the two from before, four had now fallen. Only the White-robed Scholar and the Red-robed Woman remained.

Could that kid at Qi Refining Layer 4 have been hiding his cultivation? The three of them wondered the same thing.

"Are you looking for death?" Hong Yu's face filled with anger. She thought they had all been tricked and made fools of. She took out several Talismans and was about to strike the three of them with them, but the White-robed Scholar raised a hand to stop her.

"Senior Brother?" Hong Yu looked at the White-robed Scholar in confusion.

"Now this is getting interesting." The White-robed Scholar gave a cold laugh, a frenzied gleam blazing in his eyes. He stared into the forest and sneered. "Kill them, then follow me into the forest and find that little beast."

"Vrrng!"

A sharp sword cry suddenly rang out from within the forest, carrying a chill and a killing intent that washed over everyone.

The Yellow-Robed Woman's expression changed. She knew that sword cry all too well...

Everyone turned to stare at the forest, their expressions all different. The White-robed Scholar gave a cold smile. "He came right to us."

Hong Yu held a yellow Talisman in her fingers and stared coldly at the forest.

The male cultivator and the Green-robed Woman stared in shock. As the sword cry drew nearer, a figure gradually appeared in their eyes. He held a long sword and used an uncanny movement technique as he hurried over from deep within the forest.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the figure passed each tree, its leaves shuddered violently. Along with the monotonous, icy sword cry, another sound emerged—one that made their hearts tremble.

Who was this person, to have killed four powerful cultivators at Qi Refining Seventh Layer? Hong Yu watched the approaching figure, her hand gripping the Talisman trembling slightly.

"Vrrng!"

Amid the piercing sword cry, the figure finally burst out of the forest, swordlight blazing like crimson fire as it pointed straight at the White-robed Scholar.

At last, everyone saw what he looked like!

"It really is him!" The Yellow-Robed Woman's heart jolted. She stared at Chen Fan's cold expression, utterly dumbfounded.

The male cultivator and the Green-robed Woman stared with wide eyes, their pupils contracting sharply as they murmured, "How is this possible?"

Whoosh!

The White-robed Scholar swept his right hand, opening the folding fan. A mass of ghostly blue flames poured out and rushed toward Chen Fan. In midair, the flames coalesced into a skeleton clutching a bone blade, its body wrapped in blue fire. It let out a mournful shriek from its throat as it flew at Chen Fan.

"Is that... the Underworld Bone Fan?" Only then did the Yellow-Robed Woman recognize the fan. The Underworld Bone Fan was a Spirit Tool whose ribs were forged from cultivators' bones and whose surface was made from human skin. It was a Spirit Tool of utmost yin and cold, with extraordinary power.

Chen Fan's gaze sharpened. He held his sword before him, lightly touching the mud with his toes as he brought the blade down toward the blue-flamed skeleton. A dense surge of Blazing Heaven Sword Qi rode the slash.

"Puff!"

The blue skeleton burst apart in an instant, turning back into a mass of ghostly blue flames that rushed at Chen Fan.

"Blazing Heaven Sword Qi!" True Qi surged in Chen Fan's dantian and gathered along his blade. He swept it in an arc, blocking all the ghostly blue flames.

With a hiss, the ghostly blue flames met the Blazing Heaven Sword Qi like a trickle of water against a raging fire. Most of them evaporated!

"Qi Refining Layer 6?" the White-robed Scholar muttered, standing where he was with his brows furrowed.