Wind and Thunder Steps

The roar of the waterfall was deafening, and within the misty cave, Lu Chen sat cross-legged.

In front of him lay spirit stones and pills plundered from the Luo Family's treasury.

The pale white spirit stones emitted a faint glow, and the stoppers of dozens of medicine bottles were slightly ajar, their medicinal fragrance mingling with the damp, humid air of the cave.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, and the phantom image of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace appeared in his palm. The furnace mouth spun, and hundreds of spirit stones were drawn by an invisible force, falling into the furnace one after another.

"Refine!" Lu Chen grunted, and the furnace body trembled. The spirit stones instantly turned to dust, and a torrent of spiritual energy condensed into a silver stream, flowing into his dantian along his meridians.

The Qi and Blood Furnace hummed and spun, its mouth spewing forth a mixture of blood qi and spiritual energy that intertwined into a vortex, stirring up colossal waves in his sea of qi.

The sea of qi and dantian once again showed a vortex of blood qi, and it was expanding step by step, becoming more and more magnificent.

Lu Chen closed his eyes and concentrated, following the mental cultivation method of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace Art. The Qi and Blood Furnace exerted immense pressure, compressing the blood qi within it again and again.

Then, boundless blood qi surged in again, only to be compressed once more, time and time again.

Continuously.

With each compression, he exerted his full strength.

Gradually, the dense gaseous blood qi in the Qi and Blood Furnace began to transform into a liquid state.

With each transformation, large amounts of blood qi outside the furnace disappeared.

Thirty times, fifty times, a hundred times...

He cultivated like this for nearly half a month.

"The 108th time... success!" As he grunted, his sea of qi rumbled, and the vortex suddenly contracted and vanished. A tiny ball of blood qi, the size of a green bean, condensed within the Qi and Blood Furnace.

Nine purple patterns appeared on the surface of the small ball, and a tremendous power erupted from within, surging through his meridians and washing over his entire body.

Lu Chen's eyes snapped open, and he punched the cave wall—

BOOM!

The stone wall cracked in response, spiderweb-like fissures spreading for ten feet, and debris rained down.

"Qi Surge Realm, second level, achieved!"

He opened his palm, feeling the surging power within him, his face filled with excitement.

"My strength has increased by 144 bulls!"

"Combined with the strength from tempering my physical body, I now possess 992 bulls of strength with a single punch... It's a shame all the spirit stones are gone."

Glancing at the empty ground, he sighed softly.

The light outside the cave was dimming. Lu Chen stood up and stretched his limbs, then took out a roll of beast hide from his embrace.

The words "Wind and Thunder Steps" were inscribed on the scroll in a powerful script, a spirit-grade movement technique he had obtained from the Luo Family's treasury.

"Wind is formless, thunder is traceless, steps tread the nine heavens, the body is like a startled swan..."

He recited the incantation, and blood qi surged beneath his feet. His movements shifted from gliding like a gentle breeze to flashing like lightning, leaving trails of afterimages in the narrow cave.

At first, it was very jerky, and he encountered danger repeatedly while practicing in the cave.

He either hit the cave walls or fell into the water pools; controlling the force was extremely difficult.

But after ten days, his footwork had gradually become more fluid.

"Let's try it at full power!" His mind stirred, and he leaped out of the cave.

His toes lightly tapped the water pool beneath the waterfall, and before ripples could form, he had already shot towards the ancient tree on the opposite bank like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The tree trunk snapped with a "crack," yet his afterimage still lingered in mid-air as his true form retreated to the blue stone by the pool.

"My speed is more than three times faster than before. Combined with my 900 bulls of strength, I can even dare to fight a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment head-on."

Lu Chen estimated to himself. Just as he was about to continue his practice, he heard the faint sound of dry branches breaking.

Five Luo Family guards pushed aside the bushes. The scarred man leading them held a compass, its needle trembling and pointing unceasingly towards the waterfall.

"Boss, that kid is really hiding here!"

A scrawny guard shivered, "I heard he cleared out our family's treasury a few days ago. I'm afraid we guys..."

"Shut up!" The scarred man glared at him. "No matter how strong he is, he's just in the Qi Surge Realm. We have the 'Spirit Locking Crossbow'; as long as we catch his tracks, one shot can cripple him!"

Saying this, he raised his hand and pointed at the waterfall, "Spread out and search!"

Before the men could approach the water pool, a black shadow suddenly flashed out from behind the waterfall.

Lu Chen, treading the Wind and Thunder Steps, swept past the group like a phantom, landing at the rear of the formation.

"He's here!" Before the scrawny guard's cry of alarm could fade, his throat was gripped by a vice-like hand.

Lu Chen swung his arm, lifting the man and smashing him into the companion on his left.

CRASH!

The two men's heads collided, and they immediately fell unconscious.

The remaining three recoiled in horror. The scarred man raised his hand and fired a crossbow.

The crossbow bolt, carrying a black glow, tore through the air, but was repelled by a crimson protective aura the moment it touched Lu Chen's chest.

"Qi Surge Realm second level?! How is that possible!" The scarred man's face turned ashen. He turned to flee, but Lu Chen caught up in a single step.

"Since you're here, don't even think about leaving."

With a cold laugh, Lu Chen's fists hammered down on the opponent's back.

Nine hundred Bull Strength erupted. The scarred man's spine snapped, and he flew into the pond like a sack of rags.

The remaining person was so terrified he collapsed, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Spare, spare my life! I'll give you information on the Luo Family's kill order!"

Lu Chen paused. "Speak."

"The Luo Family has joined forces with King Yanbei and dispatched three Golden Core experts. They're going to search the mountain tonight! They brought a 'Trace Seeking Crane.' If you don't leave..."

Crack!

Before he could finish, Lu Chen snapped his neck.

The Myriad Manifestations Furnace's phantom image swept over, turning the five corpses to ash.

Moments later, Lu Chen stood with his hands behind his back at the top of the waterfall.

The mountain wind whipped his robes. He gazed towards Cangwu City, a chilling glint in his eyes.

"Still haven't given up, good... Let's see who the real prey is."

His words vanished into the roaring water, and his figure disappeared like smoke into the depths of the dense forest.

The moonlight was cold and bleak. Within the Ghost Cry Forest on the northern outskirts of Cangwu City, Lu Chen leaned against a thousand-year-old banyan tree, his fingertips caressing the hilt of his bone blade.

This bone blade had integrated refined bone marrow, its quality transformed. This was the second great function of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace he had discovered.

Certain divine weapons and fragments of essence from corpses could be refined and integrated into weapons to enhance their quality.

In other words, the Myriad Manifestations Furnace could not only provide him with cultivation but also be used to strengthen divine weapons and sharp blades.

The hardness of this bone blade rivaled peak mortal-grade divine weapons. Coupled with the enhancement of his Qi and Blood Gang Qi, its power was no less than that of a spirit artifact. It was absolutely formidable.

The forest was filled with a murky air mixed with the scent of decaying leaves and blood. In the distance, the sound of fabric tearing through the air could be faintly heard.

Three teams of black-clothed cultivators approached in a fan formation. The three leading them wore black robes embroidered with gold, the very Foundation Establishment experts dispatched by the Luo Family.

"The Trace Seeking Crane is indeed troublesome..." Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, looking towards the sky.

A bronze crane, no bigger than his palm, hovered among the treetops. Its eyes glowed with a cold, eerie green light, illuminating his hiding spot and leaving him nowhere to hide.

This spirit artifact was specifically designed for tracking. Even if he had traveled dozens of miles using the Wind and Thunder Steps, he was still being relentlessly pursued.

"Surround that tree!" a sharp shout rang out. Over twenty cultivators simultaneously unleashed talismans, and fireballs and ice cones rained down on the ancient banyan.

Lu Chen's toes touched the tree trunk, and he flipped into the air like a kite. His bone blade swept out, a bloody blade energy shattering the torrent of spells. Its momentum unbroken, it slashed directly towards the crowd!

Puff puff puff--

Three cultivators were cut in half at the waist. Amidst the spray of blood mist, Lu Chen was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

Blade light, carrying the force of wind and thunder, left severed limbs flying and screams erupting wherever it passed.

A Foundation Establishment third-level cultivator swung his sword to block, but was struck by nine hundred Bull Strength, his tiger's mouth splitting. His long sword flew from his grasp, and the next moment, his head was sent flying high into the air.

"Form a formation! Wear him down!" the Luo Family expert roared. The remaining cultivators quickly gathered, forming a triangular battle formation.