Qi Refining Layer 4, Is Nothing Special!

"Creak!"

As Chen Fan pushed open the door, the old, worn wooden planks let out a groan.

"Who comes here, and for what matter?"

Almost at the same time, an aged voice tinged with authority came from within. The room's windows were shut tight, the light dim, making it impossible to see the speaker's face.

"I've come to collect the Heavenly Court Token." Chen Fan said flatly.

"Oh? Disciples of this peak should have already received their tokens long ago. Only one token per person." The old voice replied.

"My original token was lost. I need a new one to participate in the Heavenly Court evaluation." Chen Fan stated calmly.

"Hmph, Qi Refining Layer 2? Participate in the Heavenly Court evaluation? Nonsense. Withdraw, and come back when you're at Qi Refining Layer 4!" The old voice sneered.

Chen Fan frowned slightly, paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Sorry for the trouble!"

With that, he backed out of the room and closed the wooden door again.

He then slowly walked downstairs, found a secluded spot, and pulled a bronze token from his sleeve—the very one he had just taken from the room.

The person inside had a fairly high spiritual sense, nearly equivalent to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

But in his past life, Chen Fan had already been a powerhouse at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Though he hadn't fully recovered his peak strength, using a few illusion-based spiritual sense techniques made it easy to steal the Heavenly Court Token.

Meanwhile, in the small room, an old man sat in a rocking chair. His murky eyes suddenly narrowed as he stared at the pile of tokens on the table, clearly one short.

"Interesting. I underestimated him. To think he could steal a token right under my nose! When did the sect produce such an amusing little fellow?"

By the time Chen Fan was ready to head down the mountain, the night had turned pitch black.

He left alone, without waiting for Chen Jingjing, planning to check out the nearby market after descending.

Since his rebirth, he hadn't yet taken a personal look at this world.

The market was as lively as he remembered, crowded with people, resembling an ancient bustling street.

But the goods on display were elixirs, talismans, and weapons.

After a quick stroll, Chen Fan noticed many rare spiritual herbs that would have cost a fortune in his past life. Here, they were treated like roadside junk, casually tossed onto stalls for sale.

This delighted Chen Fan. If he could buy some spiritual herbs and brew them into a medicinal bath, he could not only temper his body but also boost his cultivation.

"Move aside! Everyone move aside!"

Suddenly, shouts rang out from the street.

Chen Fan turned to see a group of cultivators pushing pedestrians aside, clearing a path.

A man in blue brocade walked out slowly. Beside him was a similarly well-dressed youth with a face somewhat resembling his own, speaking to him.

Chen Fan recognized the youth's familiar face and frowned. This was Yang Mo, the one whose hand he had broken a few days ago.

Yang Mo was talking with his elder brother Yang Ning when he suddenly spotted Chen Fan in white walking past. He shouted, "Chen Fan, stop! Hah, I've been looking for you everywhere. Good thing you've finally delivered yourself to me!"

"What is it?" Chen Fan stopped, expressionless.

Yang Mo grew even more irritated. What he hated most was Chen Fan's deadpan face. He turned to Yang Ning and said, "Brother, it's this trash. He ambushed me and broke my hand!"

Yang Ning glanced at Chen Fan and said mockingly, "So you're Chen Fan? I heard you're still chasing after our Senior Sister Nalan. Quite confident, aren't you?"

"Rumors." Chen Fan shook his head calmly.

"Heh, rumors? Whatever, I don't care about your petty affairs. But you broke my brother's hand. The medical bills alone cost us several thousand taels, and he's still not healed. You'll have to settle this debt before you leave!" Yang Ning sneered.

"Enough talk. If you want to fight, follow me." Chen Fan shook his head, said lightly, and walked toward the market's exit.

Yang Ning and Yang Mo were stunned.

What was this?

Was he actually challenging them?

And he was heading out of the city?

"Haha, this guy must have been scared witless in the Demon King Valley. He actually dares to leave the city! If he dies outside, no one can pin it on us. We'll just say a demon beast got him!" Yang Mo exclaimed in delight.

Yang Ning narrowed his eyes. Though surprised by Chen Fan's attitude, he could clearly see that Chen Fan was only at Qi Refining Layer 2—nothing but an ant.

"Let's go, follow him! And send someone to make sure this doesn't get out." Yang Ning smiled, ordered his attendant, and followed with Yang Mo.

Soon, under cover of night, Chen Fan slipped out of the city through a secluded corner, avoiding the patrols.

The Yang brothers followed closely. To avoid drawing the guards' attention, they didn't even bring their attendants.

The three stood outside the city, six eyes locked in silence.

Finally, Yang Mo spoke with a cold laugh, "Chen Fan, since you're asking for death, don't blame us!"

"Come at me together. I have things to do." Chen Fan replied calmly, his face still utterly composed.

This infuriated Yang Ning and Yang Mo.

Yang Ning in particular never imagined that an outer disciple at the second layer of Qi Refining would dare act so arrogantly before him, a fourth-layer cultivator.

"You're asking for death!" Yang Ning immediately barked.

Following that, he formed hand seals, and a wave of hot air suddenly radiated from his surroundings.

Then, with a flip of his hand, he pulled three yellow talisman papers from his bosom!

With a flick of his wrist, the talismans instantly hovered in midair, the surrounding air abruptly growing scorching hot!

Boom!

In an instant, three fist-sized white fireballs materialized out of thin air!

"Chen Fan, dying under my Sky Fire Talisman is your honor!" Yang Ning sneered coldly, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

The next moment, he condensed two fingers and pointed them at Chen Fan!

"Go!"

With a light shout, the three white fireballs shot swiftly toward Chen Fan.

Chen Fan smiled coldly, standing still without moving a muscle.

Inside him, the Blazing Heaven Sword Qi in his dantian was already churning wildly, manifesting as a faint golden light that wrapped around his body!

"Haha, this kid's scared stiff—he can't even dodge anymore!"

Seeing Chen Fan rooted to the spot, Yang Mo thought he was paralyzed with fear and laughed mockingly. His gaze toward him carried a hint of pity.

"Heh, even if he wanted to dodge, he couldn't! My Sky Fire Talisman—even a cultivator of the same rank wouldn't dare underestimate it!" Yang Ning sneered disdainfully, looking at Chen Fan as if he were already dead.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

Finally, all three white fireballs slammed solidly into Chen Fan's body, exploding with a bang and rising as wisps of green smoke.

"Heh, second-layer Qi Refining—nothing special!" Yang Ning chuckled dismissively, clasping his hands behind his back, about to turn away.

But the next moment, the smile on his face froze.

"H-How... how is that possible?"

Yang Mo was also shaken, his voice trembling as his pupils shrank sharply!

As the smoke from the fireballs dissipated, they saw Chen Fan's figure still perfectly intact, not even a scratch on his clothes. The faint golden light radiating from him had actually grown even more dazzling!

"Impossible! A mere second-layer Qi Refining—how could he withstand my Sky Fire Talisman!" Yang Ning cried out in disbelief.

Then, he reached into his bosom and pulled out three more Sky Fire Talismans, ready to try again.

"You don't even know how to use talismans—what a waste!" Chen Fan suddenly snorted coldly.

With a "whoosh," his figure flickered from its spot, leaving several afterimages as he instantly appeared before Yang Ning, snatching the three talismans from his hand!

Following that, Chen Fan wiped his two fingers across the talismans, stacked them together, and pressed his fingers directly into the center of the stack!

"Merge!"

The vermilion runes on the three talismans instantly blazed bright!

Then, the surrounding air twisted slightly, as if shrouded in searing heat!

Boom!

The next moment, the talismans burst open, transforming into a massive white fireball like a golden sun, radiating dazzling, brilliant light!

"Go!"

Chen Fan pointed with two fingers and shouted in a low voice.

The white fireball shot forward like lightning, hurtling straight at the Yang brothers!

"Impossible! How can the Sky Fire Talisman have such power?" Yang Ning screamed in shock.

But as his words fell, the massive fireball was already upon them!

With a muffled "boom," the terrifying wave of flames engulfed both their bodies!

"No!"

"Ahhhh!"

They let out hoarse, agonized screams, utterly piercing, and in an instant turned to ash.

"Fourth-layer Qi Refining? Nothing special!"

Looking at the two piles of bone ash on the ground, Chen Fan shook his head and turned to leave.

By the time he returned home, the night had grown deep.

Chen Fan went straight back to his own room, unconcerned by what had just happened.

Countless people had died by his sword in his past life; he was long accustomed to this kind of killing.

What occupied his mind now was the desire to see what the Heavenly Court actually looked like.

After a moment, he sat down on the bed, crossed his legs, and pulled out the cyan Heavenly Court Token.

Gazing at the ancient token in his hand, Chen Fan extended his divine sense and poured it into the token.

Whoosh!

The next instant, his soul was drawn out of his body, and his consciousness appeared in a strange world.

He felt a gentle breeze brush past him, and an immense surge of spiritual energy instantly enveloped his entire being.

"Boom..."

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and the dense spiritual energy around him kept rushing toward him. Chen Fan realized that his consciousness was slowly condensing into a form, manifesting as a physical body.

"This doesn't seem like spiritual energy—it's denser than spiritual energy." After a brief pause, Chen Fan immediately understood. "It's Pseudo Immortal Qi."

After a few moments, a body identical to the one he had in the cultivation world took shape, and Chen Fan landed on the ground.

Looking at the unfamiliar and magnificent surroundings, he couldn't help but freeze.

"Is this... the Heavenly Court?"