Chapter 97

Deep into the Tushan Mountains, nearly a thousand li, the number of fierce birds and beasts gradually increased. Streams rushed, the wind howled through the forest, and the distant sounds of birds and beasts could be heard. The vines and grass looked particularly eerie, concealing dangers.

Even those who had just advanced to the Rebirth Realm rarely ventured alone into the deep mountains a thousand li away from Canglan City.

Chen Xun noticed that the Meng brothers and others had stopped chasing him and halted on a stone cliff. They must have realized that he was deliberately luring them deeper into Tushan.

The stone cliff stood alone in a deep valley. Under the moonlight, it was a barren expanse of rocks with no dense forest to provide cover. Chen Xun could not get close to the stone cliff and felt that the Meng brothers and others were truly accustomed to robbing and plundering, leaving no trace of weakness in the wild.

Chen Xun guessed that among the Meng brothers and others, there must be someone extremely skilled in tracking and tracing, otherwise, Tie Xinmei would not have been followed for so long without realizing it.

Thinking of this, Chen Xun did not stop but continued to run forward, circling around several peaks, and then sneaked back from the west, climbing a peak to monitor the movements of the Meng brothers and others from a distance.

***

"Did he just leave like that?" Meng Chong asked Chen Chuan, who was sitting cross-legged.

A square green jade seal floated in front of Chen Chuan's chest, emitting a greenish glow that blended with the moonlight.

The green jade seal was covered with intricate patterns, but upon closer inspection, these patterns were actually the terrain around the stone cliff.

"My powers are limited. I can only observe the surroundings within ten li using the Soul Chasing Seal. Once he leaves this range, I can no longer detect him!" Chen Chuan said, about to put away the green jade seal.

"No," Meng Chong stopped him from putting away the Soul Chasing Seal and said, "That kid is deliberately luring us. If we stop, he will surely return to check on our movements..."

Chen Chuan understood Meng Chong's meaning. As long as that kid turned back, they could set a trap and capture him.

However, the Soul Chasing Seal, although top-tier among talisman artifacts, was not yet a rank-advancing magical artifact. To continuously use the Soul Chasing Seal to search for the enemy, they needed to continuously inject True Yang Mystic Qi and use their spiritual senses...

However, if they could successfully capture and kill the kid when he approached, the gains from this trip would be substantial.

Chen Chuan took two True Yang Essence Cultivation Pills from his pocket and put them in his mouth, then continued to activate the Soul Chasing Seal, infusing it with his spiritual senses to investigate every blade of grass and tree within twenty li. However, he did not know that Chen Xun was right at the edge of the range the Soul Chasing Seal could search, hiding in a cliff cave, watching their every move.

Although he could only see a few black shadows, it was enough for Chen Xun. As long as the Meng brothers and others did not split up, he had no chance to act. As long as he could monitor their movements, there was no need to take the risk of getting closer.

Chen Xun, who could sit in the study for nine months to refine the Void Essence Pearl, had a patience that the Meng Chong and Chen Chuan could not imagine.

They spent the whole night like this. Meng Chong, Chen Chuan, and the others did not see the black-faced kid sneak back and truly believed he had gone far away.

Deep in Tushan, there might be powerful wild beasts, so Meng Chong and the others could not stay for long. They tidied up and set off on their return journey.

Along the way, they encountered several groups of wandering cultivators traveling together. Without absolute confidence, Meng Chong and the others would not risk their lives in a fight.

When they were about to reach the outpost set up by the Left Cavalry Guard at the pass, the Meng brothers and Chen Chuan parted ways.

Chen Xun thought the Meng brothers might recognize him, so he left the five people of the Meng brothers and instead followed the other three from a distance.

After passing the pass, this area was within the jurisdiction of Canglan City. The Left Cavalry Guard monitored the southern part of the city, and wandering cultivators rarely caused trouble here.

Chen Chuan had a pleasure den in the southern part of the city. After a hard trip, he had not robbed anything, and if he did not find a chance to relax, he would not have another opportunity for two or three months.

After retrieving his mount from the outpost, Chen Chuan parted ways with the other two and galloped southeast.

The scale horses used by Ge Yi and others were mainly for battle, to take advantage of the scale horses' momentum to form a powerful assault. In terms of speed, a peak Ninth Rank Savage Warrior running at full speed was not necessarily slower than a scale horse, as strength had its limits.

The white camel horse Chen Chuan rode was even inferior to a scale horse. Chen Xun used the Wind Control Technique, hiding on the other side of the mountain, and it was not difficult to follow. After a while, he caught up to Chen Chuan.

Thousands of white-tailed cattle were scattered on the grassy slope, providing excellent cover for Chen Xun to approach Chen Chuan.

Chen Xun let the timid Aqing escape to the mountains first, not expecting the one-year-old to be of any help. He hid in the white-tailed cattle herd, quietly walked to the bottom of the slope, and led a white-tailed cow, pretending to be a herdsman, slowly walking towards Chen Chuan on horseback.

Seeing the herdsman leading a white-tailed cow and not giving way to him, Chen Chuan formed a hand seal, and a giant palm shadow appeared in the air, striking the herdsman.

Chen Chuan just wanted to teach the herdsman a lesson and find amusement in seeing him and the white-tailed cow knocked down.

However, Chen Xun revealed his presence, dodged the giant palm shadow, and suddenly slashed out a fierce blade light towards Chen Chuan.

The Mystic Cold Blade Light extended over ten feet, extremely fierce, tearing the air with a "sizzling" sound, and in the next moment, it reached Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan was shocked. He never expected the black-faced kid to have such patience, following them for a whole day and night, and then attacking when he was off guard.

Chen Chuan could not avoid it in time. In an instant, he only managed to activate his Mystic Armor, feeling a powerful force hit him from the side.

The Mystic Armor burst with a golden light, blocking the blade light, but Chen Chuan was thrown several meters away.

Although he was not seriously injured, his internal organs were displaced, almost making him spit blood, and his internal qi and blood were in chaos. He was shocked and his face showed fear: the kid had held back yesterday!

Even with the Mystic Armor, he was still thrown several meters by the residual force. Even a Ninth Rank True Yang Realm disciple of the Hostile Martial Academy would not have been much stronger.

Looking at the white camel horse under him, it was split in half by the residual force of the blade light, collapsing without even a neigh, blood gushing like a fountain.

Chen Chuan knew the Mystic Armor could not withstand another attack and frantically channeled his qi and blood into it.

However, Chen Xun was faster, stepping forward like a shadow, and another fierce blade light slashed towards him.

Chen Chuan had never seen a True Yang Realm martial cultivator with such strength that just running could push the air. He was shocked: did the black-faced kid not need time to channel his qi and blood?

However, he could not avoid it and was hit by the blade light again. The Mystic Armor burst with a weak golden light, and his magical robe was shredded into countless pieces by the residual force of the blade light.

Chen Chuan, with Eighth Rank True Yang Realm cultivation, had a body tempered to the point of iron-hard bones and stone-hard muscles, and could withstand the residual force of the blade light. However, the boundless Mystic Cold Qi in the residual force penetrated his body, instantly freezing his qi and blood.

After several turns of his Mystic Art, Chen Chuan managed to expel the Mystic Cold Qi from his body. Chen Xun's next fierce blade light came, and in despair, Chen Chuan gathered all his Mystic Qi to attack the blade light head-on.

A thunderous explosion followed, and Chen Chuan felt a force of ten thousand pounds hit him, throwing him several meters away. He spat blood and his internal organs were shattered.

Chen Chuan crashed to the ground and, using the last bit of qi and blood, ran away...

Chen Xun wanted to kill him to silence him, but several riders were already shouting from a distance.

Chen Xun did not expect the Left Cavalry Guard to act so quickly. He knew that the three strikes he had just made were in the blink of an eye, and this guy was just unlucky, encountering a Left Cavalry Guard patrol.

Chen Xun saw a small seal and a leather bag on the ground, picked them up, and fled into the mountains.

Chen Chuan, seeing the Left Cavalry Guard warriors, shouted for help: "Disciple of the Hostile Martial Academy, Chen Chuan, encountered a major bandit attack, please send reinforcements..."

Chen Xun heard Chen Chuan shouting from a distance and was secretly troubled: he thought the Meng brothers and others would not dare to publicize the robbery of wandering cultivators, but it was unfortunate that the Left Cavalry Guard was patrolling nearby.

However, he could not do much and dove into the forest.

***

The three riders from the Left Cavalry Guard glanced at the naked Chen Chuan. Although they had seen Chen Xun fleeing into the forest, he ran too fast and disappeared into the forest in an instant. From such a distance, their spiritual senses could not lock onto any trace, and they could not pursue him...

Chen Chuan ran back to the site of the battle. On the ground, besides the two halves of the white camel horse's bloody corpse and countless fragments of armor, the Soul Chasing Seal and the waist bag were gone. He was so angry and anxious that he almost fainted.

The fact that a disciple of the Hostile Martial Academy was robbed in their jurisdiction made the Left Cavalry Guard frown. They asked Chen Chuan, "Did you see the face of the robber clearly..."

Chen Chuan, filled with hatred, said, "I would recognize that kid even if he were burned to ashes!"

"Alright, follow us back to the city. As long as you can identify the person, draw a picture, and the Law Enforcement Bureau will issue a wanted notice! Even if he escapes to the ends of the earth, we will capture him!" said the Left Cavalry Guard.

Chen Chuan's heart turned black with anxiety, thinking that the kid had stolen his Soul Chasing Seal and would not immediately flee far. If they did not pursue him now, how could they catch him after half a day?

Even if they found out who did it later, what could they do? They could not expose the secret of robbing wandering cultivators.

He was only a Green Robe Disciple of the Hostile Martial Academy and did not have the authority to order the Left Cavalry Guard to serve him. Whatever grievances he had could only be addressed through the Hostile Martial Academy. Knowing that recovering the Soul Chasing Seal was hopeless, he could only follow the Left Cavalry Guard back to the city.

After being detained by the Law Enforcement Bureau for half a day, Chen Chuan finally returned to the disciples' courtyard, but the news of his being robbed on the way had already spread.

There were those who sympathized, those who watched coldly, and of course, those who gloated.

Although talisman artifacts were not high-ranking, a Qingyang Realm cultivator having one was a rare treasure. Chen Chuan's Soul Chasing Seal was even more mysterious, almost reaching the level of a rank-advancing magical artifact, which even a Rebirth Realm expert might not have.

Chen Chuan had used it to bully others in the disciples' courtyard and form alliances with the Meng brothers, even looking down on the Black Robe Disciples. Now that he had suffered such a setback, many disciples gloated.

Chen Chuan's face was ashen, like he had lost a family member. He walked into the courtyard, slapped two maids who displeased him, and sent them away. In the quiet room, he felt like crying in despair.

"Chen Chuan," the Meng brothers rushed in and grabbed the desperate Chen Chuan, saying, "I know who that black-faced kid is!"

"Who is it?" Chen Chuan, like a drowning man grabbing a straw, grabbed the Meng brothers' hands and asked.

"The guy has a significant background, but we can find Fourth Master to help you!" the Meng brothers said.

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