Boom! After the explosion, Yu Chen's body shot backward. A faint golden glow surfaced over his skin, blocking all the rushing currents of air.
Cough, cough! Once he had steadied himself and dispersed the golden light, Yu Chen let out a soft cough. He immediately realized that the dust around him was not merely pulverized earth and wood, but was mixed with something else.
That was why he had begun coughing after inadvertently breathing in just a little. With a sweep of his sleeve, a fierce gust blew away the surrounding dust. Looking at the wreckage before him, he frowned.
Someone? As Yu Chen pondered why he had failed, he sensed a faint ripple. He immediately concealed his aura. Magical instruments flew one after another from his sleeve, hiding themselves in their designated positions. His footwork shifted, and rune seeds sank into the ground, transforming into seal-script characters. They gave off light and formed a thin layer of clear radiance over the earth. While suppressing the fluctuations caused by his failed attempt to refine a storage pouch, they also formed a temporary ritual ground.
"Hm?" A surprised voice rang out. Then a somewhat plump man descended from the sky. He wore a blue-green robe, a Nine-Cloud Crown upon his head, and a large crimson gourd slung behind his back.
After landing, he looked at Yu Chen with great curiosity and asked strangely, "Were you the one refining a magical treasure here?"
Yu Chen nodded, though he remained wary. This man's cultivation was slightly weaker than that of Fire Child, whom he had encountered earlier, but without the resentful aura of a slaughter totem on him, Yu Chen was even less confident of defeating him than he had been against Fire Child.
The man also saw Yu Chen's tension and smiled.