Apprehension

Rumble!!!

A violent aura surged and swept forth as the burly, scarred man unleashed his full power, charging forward like a wild beast.

Wherever he passed, trees and boulders were shattered in his wake.

The very ground trembled at this moment!

Facing the man's charge head-on, Shen Changchuan felt a sensation akin to suffocation!

Peak sixth level of Qi Refining!

A full two realms higher than his own!

The disparity in their mana cultivation and the crushing pressure brought by that gap in realms made Shen Changchuan feel, for a fleeting moment, as if his hands and feet were paralyzed!

Fortunately, however, Shen Changchuan managed to shake off this feeling quickly.

Ever since he had swallowed and refined the Green Origin Water Grass, his divine sense had improved significantly, to the point where he had even unlocked the ability of internal vision, something usually reserved for cultivators in the late stages of Qi Refining.

With a robust soul, He naturally possessed a higher resistance to the pressure exerted by cultivators of a higher realm.

However, This did not mean

That Shen Changchuan could breathe easy.

On the contrary, At this very moment, It could be said that this was the most dangerous battle of his life!

Zhao Hangao was severely wounded, and the enemies lying in ambush on both sides had all been slain by his hand.

In the process, Shen Changchuan's successive bursts of power had left him in the awkward position of having exhausted his old strength before his new strength could arise!

And yet, The scarred man's heavy, momentum-laden charge, like a runaway train, had arrived!

In this moment of crisis, Shen Changchuan forcibly squeezed out the last sliver of mana within his body and instantly executed the Light Body Technique. His figure shifted like a ghost, narrowly avoiding the burly, scarred man's terrifying impact by a hair's breadth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Unable to brake in time, the burly, scarred man

Smashed directly into the area behind where Shen Changchuan had been standing.

Trees exploded one after another, With stone fragments and wood chips scattering everywhere!

The ferocious impact landed on nothing but empty air.

But at this moment, There was no joy on Shen Changchuan's face at having successfully toyed with his opponent; instead, he was deathly pale.

His body staggered, and he nearly collapsed to one knee!

He had suffered a backlash!

Consuming a massive amount of mana in a short time, And then forcibly squeezing out the remaining power in his body to execute a technique, The damage to his dantian and meridians was simply too great!

It is fortunate that the Green Origin Water Grass widened and strengthened my meridians; otherwise, such a forced extraction would have surely twisted and ruptured them!

Feeling the intense pain radiating from his dantian and meridians, this thought could not help but flash through Shen Changchuan's mind.

Had his meridians not become tougher after being tempered, He would have been in serious trouble this time!

However, even as the thought flickered, Shen Changchuan did not remain frozen in place.

He gripped a spirit stone in his hand, And began to absorb the spiritual energy within it through violent means, refining it into his own mana.

At the same time, With a few leaps, his figure retreated, widening the distance between them.

At the same time, the Elephant Mountain Qi-Gathering Art within his body surged, refining the absorbed spiritual energy while he quickly regulated his breath to restore his mana circulation.

"Damn brat!"

Within a few breaths, the burly, scarred man returned, his face as black as coal.

He was covered in dust, wood shavings, and fallen leaves, looking rather disheveled.

Yet, even so, the man still exerted an immense pressure upon Shen Changchuan.

After all, he was a peak sixth-level Qi Refinement cultivator; Shen Changchuan had to be cautious.

Fortunately, after these few breaths of respite, Shen Changchuan had managed to catch his breath.

With about seventy percent of his mana remaining, things were not yet dire.

"Wind Blade Technique at perfection, Light Body Technique at perfection, Gold Thorn Technique at perfection, and even a scouting ocular art at perfection. I can only say, as expected of someone born to a prestigious family!"

"No wonder you had the guts to travel alone without a guardian!"

The burly, scarred man stared coldly at Shen Changchuan, his expression incredibly grim.

He was certainly not one of those rustic spiritual farmers who had never seen the world.

In a sense, having traveled far and wide, his experience far surpassed that of many cultivators at his level.

To have survived until now, he naturally possessed a keen eye.

From their brief exchange earlier, he had already seen through Shen Changchuan's methods.

Because of this, he couldn't help but gasp inwardly, his gaze toward Shen Changchuan filled with wariness.

Perfected spells—it was rare enough for an ordinary person to master even one.

Among dozens of cultivators, there might not even be one who had mastered a single spell to the level of perfection!

Yet this brat, only fifteen or sixteen years old, had actually mastered four at this age?!!

Since when did perfected spells become as common as dirt?!

How was this even possible?!

"Mere trifles, not worth mentioning. My Shen family is a prominent house; it is only natural that we possess some secret transmissions."

"I am curious, however, as to who you are? Why set an ambush here and make things difficult for me?"

Shen Changchuan's eyes flickered as he spoke.

He took the opportunity to raise the banner of the Shen family, hoping to extract some information from the man.

To be honest, he was still completely bewildered by this ambush.

Why had Zhao Hangao betrayed him?

Which faction did these people belong to?

Was it someone from the Shen Family Estate fighting for power who sent them to kill him, or were these people simply rogue cultivators looking to make a quick profit?

Who exactly was targeting him?

Shen Changchuan was completely in the dark regarding these many doubts.

"Hmph! A dead man has no need to know so much!"

The burly, scar-faced man gave a cold, mocking smile, his gaze fixed on Shen Changchuan as if looking at a dead man.

He had no intention of wasting any more breath on Shen Changchuan.

He reached into his storage pouch and withdrew a long sword, its blade radiating a bone-chilling cold and flickering with a sinister, icy light.

Gripping the sword, he aimed it directly at Shen Changchuan.

"Die for me!"

With a thunderous roar, the scar-faced man leaped into the air, transforming into a gray blur as he lunged toward Shen Changchuan!

The strike was swift and vicious, fast as lightning.

The mana shimmering along the edge of the blade only added to its terrifying power!

Had this strike landed, there would be no doubt that Shen Changchuan would have been cleaved in two.

Fortunately, after catching his breath, the mana within Shen Changchuan's body had stabilized.

His perfected Light Body Technique activated in an instant.

Shen Changchuan's figure became incredibly agile.

With a single step, his form shifted like a ghost, sliding several yards to the side and narrowly dodging the scar-faced man's thunderous strike!

However, this time, the scar-faced man did not overextend as he had before; he maintained perfect control over the power in his grip.

As the sword missed its mark, he shifted his momentum mid-air, reversing the blade and continuing his assault on Shen Changchuan!

The transition of power felt effortless, as if he were lifting a heavy weight as though it were light.

Facing the shimmering, mana-infused edge of the sword, Shen Changchuan dared not meet it head-on and retreated once more.

The scar-faced man pressed his advantage, following closely!

For a time, the forest was filled with flickering sword shadows, swift as lightning, while the potent Sword Qi guided by the blade swept through the air, causing surrounding trees and boulders to be sliced apart and collapse!

Yet, even as the interwoven sword light formed an impenetrable net within the woods, it failed to touch a single hair on Shen Changchuan's head!

Instead of looking angry or frustrated, a glimmer of triumph flashed across the scar-faced man's face.

He knew very well that when facing a cultivator who had mastered a perfected-level spell, attempting to compete with them using spells of one's own was nothing short of suicide!

Only by relying on a higher cultivation realm and raw strength to close the distance and force a melee could he leverage his greatest advantage!

That was exactly what the scar-faced man was doing.

And the results were just as he had anticipated!

Shen Changchuan was forced into a continuous retreat, his attempts to cast spells interrupted before they could even begin!

He could only dodge and weave under the barrage of Sword Qi, utterly unable to mount a counterattack.

After dozens of exchanges, the prolonged evasion caused Shen Changchuan's footsteps to falter.

The brat could no longer maintain his energy and sharpness amidst such high-intensity dodging!

"Opportunity!"

The scar-faced man's eyes lit up.

At that very moment, Another flash of lightning-fast sword light lunged forward, the Sword Qi sweeping out like a venomous dragon and cleaving through a vast expanse of trees.

Shen Changchuan's figure was forced back once again!

"It's over!"

The half-faced man flipped his palm and produced a bell the size of a fist.

The bell was pitch-black, resembling a temple's great bell shrunk down a hundredfold.

Yet, faint black mist seemed to rise from its surface, radiating an aura of pure evil.

"What is that?!"

Shen Changchuan's nerves tightened instantly.

However, Clang!

Almost at the same time, The scarred man poured his mana into the bell and struck it violently!

In an instant, A sharp, booming resonance swept in all directions at an ear-piercingly high frequency, instantly expanding to shroud the area for dozens of yards around!

Facing the direct impact of the bell's toll, Shen Changchuan felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy club, his ears ringing with a deafening hum!

His body seemed to lose all control at that moment, frozen in place.

"Heh, this Soul-Absorbing Bell of mine is a rare treasure indeed."

"Unless one's divine sense is as powerful as an Qi-Refining late-stage cultivator who has unlocked inner vision, anyone with strength inferior to mine will be paralyzed for a good while!"

"Be a good boy and die!"

The outcome was decided!

The scarred man stowed the Soul-Absorbing Bell away, Sneering as he gripped his longsword, He walked toward Shen Changchuan, who remained frozen in place under the bell's control.

However, Just as he reached a distance of a few yards from Shen Changchuan, Suddenly, Rustle, rustle.

Vines sprouted from the flat ground, springing up like long snakes; in the span of a breath, they coiled tightly around the scarred, burly man's feet.

Several other vines extended from behind, curling up to bind his hands and arms as well!

"What?!"

The scarred man sensed that something was wrong, But before he could think further, Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Five crimson fireballs radiating intense heat smashed directly toward his head!

"Oh no!"

In the nick of time, the scarred man raised a Golden Bell Technique for defense.

However, compared to the Golden Bell Technique of that previous Qi-Refining fourth-layer fellow, Both its thickness and the brilliance of its golden light far surpassed the latter!

But it was of little use.

Clang, clang, clang!!!

When the fireballs slammed into the scarred man, they detonated on impact.

The scorching firestorm swept through, And the powerful energy shattered the Golden Bell Technique on his body layer by layer!

By the time the final two fireballs exploded directly against him, the erupting flames swallowed him whole!

In that moment, the scarred man looked almost like a piece of charred coal!

A fifth-layer perfected Fireball Technique, Had severely wounded him in an instant!

The scarred man was left completely stunned by this sudden, rapid-fire burst from Shen Changchuan, his mind momentarily thrown into chaos by the explosions.

In that very instant, The final golden needle in Shen Changchuan's palm shot out like lightning, Instantly piercing through his head!