Spiritual Energy Cocoon

"Nalan Tian..." Chen Jingjing gritted her teeth.

"Nalan Tian, two years and you're still the same scum." Zhang Rumeng put an arm around Chen Jingjing's shoulders and glared coldly at Nalan Tian.

Nalan Tian didn't care in the slightest. He grinned. "I thought a prey that was too easy to catch would be boring, but now I see you've got some fire in you. Zhang Rumeng, are you so eager to step in because you want to share a husband with Qingqing? I certainly wouldn't mind."

Standing before the formation, Nalan Tian laughed with his mouth wide open, not caring at all what the disciples behind him thought of him.

"Shameless scum!" Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng were so furious their faces turned ashen, yet there was nothing they could do to him. Their curses only made Nalan Tian laugh even more arrogantly.

"Nalan Tian's older brother is the Vice Peak Master of Heavy Sword Peak now. For you two to serve him together would be a great honor. Don't be so ungrateful," Nalan Yun said. Dressed in a yellow robe, she folded her arms and looked down her nose at them, a sneer on her face. Her manner was utterly at odds with her lovely appearance.

"Hmph, Nalan Yun, don't push it," Chen Jingjing said coldly.

Nalan Yun shook her head with a laugh. "This is pushing it? When your brother risked his life to go to Demon King Valley over one idle remark of mine, wasn't I even worse?"

It was an unmistakable taunt, laced with mockery and a hint of gloating, as if she were telling Chen Jingjing: So what if your brother is so impressive? Didn't he once risk his life for me?

"You..." Chen Jingjing realized she couldn't outargue this woman.

"Nalan Yun, you said it yourself—that was back then. Have you forgotten how Chen Fan ignored you completely after he returned? Do you know what you are to him now? A clown, desperately trying to get his attention while he won't even look your way." Zhang Rumeng smiled deliberately as she spoke.

"I'm a clown? I'm trying to get his attention? Ha! Zhang Rumeng, do you really think he's worthy of it?" Nalan Yun snapped, furious. Zhang Rumeng had struck a nerve.

Nalan Tian remained unhurried. He patted Nalan Yun and chuckled. "Yun'er, you're right. What right does a mere Qi Refining Realm brat have to talk? Once this formation is broken, these two friends from the Immortal Sect will make him disappear from this world for good."

The two sword cultivators from the Immortal Sect had been impassive throughout. They paid no attention to the argument and simply stood before the formation, studying it. But Nalan Tian was right about one thing: once the formation broke, they would kill Chen Fan and erase him from the world.

"Qingqing, let's go. Don't waste your time on these worthless scum." Zhang Rumeng tugged at Chen Jingjing's sleeve and started toward Chen Fan.

Chen Jingjing took two steps, then suddenly stopped. Her small hand clenched into a fist as she spun around, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. She looked at Nalan Tian and Nalan Yun and spoke word by word. "My brother really was reckless in the past, but you have no right to gossip about him. Who do you think you are? So what if you've reached Foundation Establishment?"

She practically shouted those last two questions. Chen Jingjing had returned to her old self; she had never been one to back down.

Inside the cocoon, Chen Fan kept his eyes shut, but the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile. The Spiritual Energy Cocoon around him spun faster and faster.

Zhang Rumeng's mouth fell slightly open. She hadn't expected Chen Jingjing to react like that.

Nalan Yun was also taken aback for a moment, then shook her head and laughed disdainfully.

"Chen Jingjing, have you become just like your brother, all big talk? Foundation Establishment? I'll tell you what that means. It's a realm everyone here can only look up to."

At her words, many disciples frowned in displeasure. They had all trained in the Inner Court for a long time, while Nalan Yun had only just reached Qi Refining Layer 4. Even if her older brother had reached Foundation Establishment, what gave her the right to run her mouth like this?

Even the two sword cultivators from the Immortal Sect frowned slightly, but they remained silent, staring coldly at the cocoon inside the formation.

"Whether it's big talk or not, you'll find out when my brother comes out," Chen Jingjing said coldly.

"Chen Jingjing, you haven't changed at all. I like women with a bit of bite. Maybe Foundation Establishment can't do anything to you, but it means I can do whatever I want with you. The Sword Formation is about to break, and neither you nor her will escape my grasp." Nalan Tian sneered, pointing at Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng, unable to hide the greed in his eyes.

Crack!

A sound came from the five enormous swords. Several cracks appeared on their blades. Chen Fan's cultivation was insufficient, and he couldn't create Sword Talismans that would last any longer.

Everyone turned their attention to the swords. The Sword Formation was about to shatter. They all knew this was a pointless fight. They didn't care about Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng; their only target was the person inside the cocoon.

"Haha, the Sword Formation is about to break. Let's see what you can say then!" Nalan Yun grinned at Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng.

Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng went pale. They weren't afraid of these people, but Chen Fan was still cultivating. If he were interrupted, the consequences would be unimaginable. And the two sword cultivators from the Immortal Sect gave off a faintly dangerous aura. They were both at Foundation Establishment Early Stage, yet even stronger than Nalan Tian.

Crack!

Several more sharp cracks rang out. The fractures across the giant swords multiplied.

The smiles on Nalan Tian and Nalan Yun's faces widened, while Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng grew more and more grim.

BOOM!

A moment later, a tremendous blast rang out. The five giant swords burst apart, their fragments scattering and vanishing in the wind.

"Kill!" the two sword cultivators from the Immortal Sect barked. They raised their swords and charged at the cocoon around Chen Fan.

Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng's expressions changed. They hurried to stop them, but Nalan Tian moved too. Several water orbs crashed down in front of the two women, forcing them to stop.

"How about you stay right where you are?" A wicked glint flashed in Nalan Tian's eyes as he slammed his True Essence Power into the ground.

Earth Sinking Technique!

The ground beneath Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng suddenly turned soft as a mire. Countless muddy hands reached up from the earth and clamped tightly around their feet.

Unlike Lin Shang, Nalan Tian had already mastered the Earth Sinking Technique to some degree. He no longer needed to keep pouring True Essence Power into it to maintain the spell.

Only after Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng were trapped did he approach them with a smile.

Thud!

A muffled impact rang out. Nalan Tian and the others turned to look. The two sword cultivators' strikes had landed on the cocoon, but the rapidly flowing spiritual energy knocked their swords aside.

"What familiar spiritual energy," one of the sword cultivators said with a frown.

"He's about to die, and he's still putting on a show. We have other matters to attend to; we need to kill him quickly," the other said, his eyes turning cold.

Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng, on the other hand, relaxed a little at the sight. The Spiritual Energy Cocoon could actually protect Chen Fan.

"You two should worry about yourselves first. Chen Fan is as good as dead today." Seeing Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng let out a breath, Nalan Tian couldn't help sneering.

"What are you trying to do? Heavy Sword Peak has its own rules. You have no right to use force against us." As Nalan Tian drew closer, Zhang Rumeng anxiously glanced at the many disciples behind him and shouted, "Fellow disciples of Heavy Sword Peak, are you really going to stand by and watch? Can't you see what this lecher is after?"

At Zhang Rumeng's words, the disciples began to stir. Nalan Tian was the Vice Peak Master now, but they still didn't respect him. His reputation had never been particularly good.

"Peak Master Yang only told us to capture them. He didn't say we could humiliate them like this," one disciple murmured.

"Exactly. Qingqing and Rumeng are both unmarried women. Chen Fan is the one in league with the Demon Sect; they have nothing to do with it. If they're humiliated like this today, their innocence will be ruined," another disciple agreed.

"Why don't we go get Senior Brother?" someone suggested.

But before anyone could agree, a sharp rebuke rang out.

"Impudent! How dare you disrespect Peak Master Nalan? And now you want to leave without permission? Are you trying to betray the sect?" The voice belonged to Nalan Yun. She was little more than a pretty face at Qi Refining Layer 4, but Nalan Tian's strength gave her the confidence to let her vicious nature run wild.

"Nalan Yun, what gives you the right to speak to your senior brothers and sisters like that?" A female disciple had long been fed up with her and snapped back.

"You..." Nalan Yun's face darkened. Just as she was about to say something, Nalan Tian spoke.

"Anyone who leaves without permission will be killed on the spot." Nalan Tian's voice boomed like thunder, striking the disciples in their chests. A cold glint in his eyes pinned them like a sword at their throats, leaving them too afraid to speak up. This was the might of a Foundation Establishment expert—enough to make it hard to breathe!

Nalan Yun swaggered along in his shadow, smiling as she shot the female disciple a taunting look.

"Since Peak Master Nalan is the Vice Peak Master of Heavy Sword Peak, his word carries the same weight as Peak Master Yang's. We have to obey him," one of the fence-sitting disciples immediately chimed in.

"Exactly. Peak Master Nalan has his own way of doing things. We only need to follow orders," some disciples said, nodding repeatedly.

"Anyone who leaves without permission disrespects Peak Master Nalan and betrays Heavy Sword Peak."

Nalan Tian watched the crowd. Only when the disciples who had wanted to leave slowly lowered their heads did he smile with satisfaction.

Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng were disappointed. They hadn't expected Heavy Sword Peak to have so many lowlifes. If they had stood together and stopped Nalan Tian from running amok, then even as Vice Peak Master, he wouldn't have dared slaughter so many disciples. But there were too many fair-weather friends, and even the disciples who couldn't stand what was happening were helpless.

With lewdness in his eyes, Nalan Tian turned and slowly walked up to Chen Jingjing. He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair atop her head, then murmured:

"Of course I won't use force. I'm only going to restrain you so you can't escape."

"Nalan Tian..." Chen Jingjing's face turned ashen with rage, and her lips trembled. She gripped a Talisman in her hand, sending True Qi surging into it, then slapped it toward Nalan Tian with a sharp hiss.

But Nalan Tian conjured a curtain of water out of thin air, blocking Chen Jingjing's attack.

"Shameless!" Zhang Rumeng's sharp sword stabbed toward him. But with her feet trapped by the Earth Sinking Technique, her thrust posed no threat to Nalan Tian and was blocked by the curtain of water around him.

"Two years apart, and you've both reached Qi Refining Seventh Layer. Faster than I expected. But what can you possibly do against someone at Foundation Establishment?" Nalan Tian's eyes gleamed with delight. He threw Chen Jingjing's earlier words back at her.

Hiss!

Just then, something changed around Chen Fan. The spiritual energy on the cocoon began to dissipate, and its rotation slowed sharply. The two sword cultivators frowned. True Essence Power suddenly surged across their swords as they slashed at the weakened cocoon.

But inside the cocoon, a mighty force flowed like water, as if it were about to burst out.

Clang!

The two sharp swords, wreathed in enormous sword beams, struck the cocoon at the same time. A crisp impact rang out, and the cocoon split open, its surface covered in countless tiny cracks.

Yet the two sword cultivators' expressions suddenly changed. Together, they shouted, "Retreat!"