"Blood Demon Self-Destruction Great Method!"
Seeing his retreat blocked, a flash of desperate madness crossed the Ghost Masked Man's eyes.
He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto the long blade in his hand.
Buzzz—!
The long blade let out a shrill wail, and blood-red light surged across its surface!
A violent, evil aura erupted from his body. In that instant, his cultivation was forcibly raised by a whole notch, faintly touching the threshold of the Third Level of Qi Condensation!
This was clearly an unorthodox secret method that overdraws one's life potential to forcibly increase strength.
"You little beast, you forced my hand!"
"Today, even if I die, I'll drag you down to the grave with me!"
The Ghost Masked Man let out a beast-like roar. His entire body seemed to merge with the long blade in his hand, transforming into a burning streak of bloody light that cleaved down toward Chen Chen's head!
This strike gathered all his essence, qi, and spirit, along with his determination to perish together!
Before the blade even arrived, its sharp gust had already plowed a deep trench into the ground!
Faced with this heaven-destroying, earth-shattering blow, Chen Chen showed not the slightest trace of fear.
Blood-red light and ghostly radiance intertwined in his eyes, while his mind remained calm to the extreme.
Eye of Asura, activate!
The instant the divine ability activated, the incoming bloody blade light was instantly broken down in his eyes.
Countless paths of energy circulation, along with... several nearly imperceptible weak points in the energy flow caused by forcibly activating the secret method, appeared clearly in his mind!
There!
The Ink Shadow Sword in Chen Chen's hand did not clash head-on with the opponent.
His body tilted slightly at an inconceivable angle.
The Ink Shadow Sword in his hand moved like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace to follow. Along an incomparably tricky trajectory, it stabbed toward the lower side of that violent blade light!
That was precisely the most fatal weakness perceived by the Eye of Asura!
"Clang!"
A crisp clash of metal rang out.
Chen Chen's sword tip struck that energy node with absolute precision.
Like the first domino tile being pushed over.
The originally violent, unstoppable bloody blade light abruptly stalled the instant its node was struck!
Then, like a punctured balloon, it began to collapse from within with a resounding crash!
Countless streams of chaotic true qi crazily recoiled in all directions!
"Pfft—!"
The Ghost Masked Man seemed to have been struck by lightning. His secret method was forcibly broken, and the violent energy backlashed into him. He spat out a huge mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, then flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily into the distant ruins.
The madness and savagery in his eyes were instantly replaced by endless shock and disbelief.
"No... impossible..."
"How could you possibly... see through my 'Blood Demon Slash'..."
He struggled to raise his head and looked at the figure slowly walking toward him like a demon god, a hoarse rasp escaping his throat.
He could not understand it.
Blood Demon Slash was his trump card for preserving his life. Once unleashed, its power was boundless, and among those of the same rank, none could withstand it.
Even cultivators at the Third Level of Qi Condensation would not dare to casually meet its edge head-on.
Yet this brat before him had broken it with a single sword strike, as easily as brushing away dust!
This was no longer a matter of combat technique.
This was simply... a miracle!
"There's nothing impossible about it."
Chen Chen walked up to him and looked down from above, his voice icy.
"In my eyes, you... are full of flaws."
With that, the Ink Shadow Sword in his hand swung lightly without the slightest hesitation.
"Splurt!"
A head wearing an evil ghost mask rolled to the ground.
[ Ding! Killed a Second Level of Qi Condensation martial artist. Cultivation Points +130! ]
The cold system prompt sounded in Chen Chen's mind.
[ Name: Chen Chen ] [ Realm: Qi Condensation First Stage ] [ Cultivation Methods: Asura God Transformation Art (Second Layer), Nine Nether Soul Refining Art (Minor Success) ] [ Martial Skills: Seven Shadows Step (Complete Mastery) ] [ Divine Abilities: Eye of Asura, Asura Battle Body (Initial Stage) ] [ Cultivation Points: 1870 ]
Looking at his rapidly increased Cultivation Points once more, Chen Chen did not feel much excitement.
Battles in the Qi Condensation Realm were far more dangerous than he had imagined.
If not for the Eye of Asura allowing him to see weaknesses, the outcome of that battle just now would still have been uncertain.
"My strength... is still not enough."
He muttered to himself, the thirst for power in his eyes growing even hotter.
He walked over to the three corpses and began searching them with practiced ease.
These Ghost Shadow Three Fiends had spent years committing murder and robbery. Their wealth should be considerable.
Sure enough, he found three Storage Bags on their bodies.
When his Spiritual Sense entered them, Chen Chen's eyes lit up slightly.
The three Storage Bags together contained nearly a thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones!
There were also quite a few medicinal pills for healing wounds and detoxifying poisons.
Aside from that, there were several cultivation manuals and martial skill books.
However, most were Yellow-rank and steeped in evil aura. They were clearly unorthodox cultivation methods and were of no use to Chen Chen.
The only thing that interested him was a manual named Breath Concealment Art.
It was a method for restraining one's aura and disguising one's cultivation. Though its rank was not high, it was extremely practical.
"Good stuff."
Chen Chen unceremoniously put it away.
After finishing everything, he set the three corpses and the entire stretch of ruins ablaze, burning them clean.
Destroy the corpses and erase the traces, leaving no future trouble behind.
He turned and left the area thick with the scent of blood.
He did not return to the inn from before.
He had killed people. Though he had handled the aftermath cleanly, there was no guarantee it would not draw trouble.
He could no longer remain in Luoyun Town.
He arrived at the city gate and, without the slightest pause, left the city directly.
His next target was clear.
Azure Cloud Sect!
Wang Teng!
However, before heading to Azure Cloud Sect, he still needed to make some preparations.
"System, learn Breath Concealment Art."
[ Learning the Yellow-rank middle-grade martial skill Breath Concealment Art requires 10 Cultivation Points. Confirm? ]
"Confirm."
[ 10 Cultivation Points consumed. Breath Concealment Art successfully mastered. ]
A method for controlling the circulation of his qi, blood, and true qi to conceal his aura flooded into Chen Chen's mind.
With a thought, the true qi within his body began circulating along a peculiar path.
The aura of his peak Qi Condensation First Layer began to slowly fall at a visible pace.
In the end, it settled at the level of the Eighth Level of Body Tempering.
"Not bad."
Chen Chen nodded in satisfaction.
This way, so long as he did not encounter an expert whose cultivation far exceeded his own, few would be able to see through his true realm.
It would save him a great deal of unnecessary trouble.
After checking his direction, he sped toward Azure Cloud Sect.
He did not choose to fly on his sword.
Flying on a sword in the wilderness was too conspicuous and would easily make him someone else's target.
Right now, he only wanted to keep a low profile.
However, what he did not know was this.
Not long after he left Luoyun Town.
A group of guards dressed in uniform black outfits, with City Lord's Mansion tokens hanging at their waists, sealed off the ruins where he had fought earlier.
Leading them was a Black Armored Commander with a steady aura and cultivation at the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer.
He looked at the ruins burned into scorched earth, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Such powerful residual energy... a great battle between Qi Condensation Realm cultivators just took place here."
A guard stepped forward, holding three shattered soul plaques in his hands, and respectfully said, "Commander, the soul plaques of the Ghost Shadow Three Fiends have all shattered."
"The Ghost Shadow Three Fiends?" A trace of surprise flashed through the Black Armored Commander's eyes. "Those three desperadoes might have a notorious reputation, but their strength was not weak. Their leader was even at the peak of the Second Level of Qi Condensation. With the three joining forces, even cultivators at the Third Level of Qi Condensation would have to give them a wide berth. Who could kill all of them in a single exchange?"
"No useful clues were left at the scene. The other party handled things very cleanly," another guard reported.
The Black Armored Commander fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Anyone capable of doing this is at least an expert at the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer or above. And he kills decisively, with a heart as ruthless as iron."
"Pass down my order. Seal off the entire city and thoroughly investigate all experts above the Qi Condensation Realm who entered the city recently!"
"Yes!"
A manhunt for Chen Chen quietly began in Luoyun Town.
Unfortunately, Chen Chen was already hundreds of li away by then.
He had no idea that the three nuisances he had casually dealt with had caused such a huge uproar in Luoyun Town.
At this moment, he stood before a massive city called Tianfeng City, cold light flickering in his eyes.
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