Chapter 71 - 69: Appearing

As the sound of the Bell rang,

everyone’s minds descended into Chaos.

Their bodies froze in place as if turned to stone.

At the same time,

Golden Needle Technique—Seventh Layer!

Shen Changchuan formed a Technique with his hands,

and in the span of a single breath,

he unleashed the Perfection Level Golden Needle Technique seven times.

Streaks of golden light, like tiny bolts of lightning, tore through the air and shot out in all directions!

Although he was without the aid of a Golden Needle,

the power of the Golden Needle Technique was a notch weaker now,

but it was still terrifyingly potent!

The heads of the enemies who had been charging in, now frozen in place by the Soul-Attracting Bell, exploded one after another.

In just a few breaths,

the one-eyed bald man’s subordinates were completely wiped out!

But it wasn’t over yet.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

Three crimson Fireballs shot from Shen Changchuan’s hand, hurtling straight for the one-eyed bald man!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Amidst a series of explosions, a dazzling blaze erupted. Searing heat swept out in all directions, engulfing the one-eyed bald man in an instant!

With a mere flick of his wrist,

all the attackers had been utterly defeated!

From start to finish,

it had been completely effortless.

He hadn’t even broken a single drop of sweat.

Witnessing this scene,

Guo Cheng and the others behind him, who had been sent flying back and were heavily injured, couldn’t help but gasp in shock!

Although they had seen something similar during the last ambush by the men in black,

the last time hadn’t been nearly as impactful as this,

nor had it been so utterly effortless!

The last time, when facing the men in black,

it felt like he still had to tense his Heart Spirit and go all out, taking advantage of the momentary stun when his enemies were caught off guard to attack and finish them.

Even after killing all the enemies, he had expended most of his own energy.

But this time,

even though they were only at the Qi Introduction Third and Fourth Layer,

they could clearly sense Shen Changchuan’s complete ease—as if he was using only thirty to fifty percent of his full strength!

The enemies were of similar strength,

yet one time he had to go all out, and the next, it was a walk in the park.

Without a doubt,

during this period,

this Young Master Shen’s power had increased again!

And not just by a small amount,

but by a huge margin!

This filled everyone with a sense of disbelief!

’How much time has even passed?’

’His strength has broken through and improved again?!’

’Since when...’

’...did improving one’s Cultivation strength become so trivial?!’

They knew that even advancing a minor realm required several years of hard work!

Breaking through a single major Realm could even take ten years of accumulation!

In comparison,

everyone present couldn’t help but feel that they had wasted their entire lives!

The men exchanged glances,

bitter smiles on all their faces.

’It’s a good thing we’re not young anymore,’

’otherwise our Dao Hearts would have probably shattered on the spot!’

Shen Changchuan was unaware of the thoughts of the people behind him.

"Hm?"

Gazing at the massive blaze that burned fiercely before him, illuminating the surrounding mountain forest,

Shen Changchuan let out a soft sound of surprise.

A figure wreathed in flames suddenly shot out from the inferno, fleeing desperately toward the dark mountain forest behind!

It was the one-eyed bald man, hit by three Fireball Techniques!

He had been struck by three of Shen Changchuan’s Perfection Level Fireball Techniques,

yet the one-eyed bald man hadn’t died.

He even had enough strength left to flee.

At this moment, however,

he had no thoughts of resisting.

He was utterly terrified!

In his eyes, Shen Changchuan was like a terrifying demon, a sight that scared him out of his wits!

He regretted it.

He regretted provoking such a fearsome god of death!

He could no longer spare a thought for his "sworn brothers and sisters" of many years.

He just wanted to escape!

To get away from that horrifying man behind him!

Shen Changchuan stood his ground.

He did not give chase.

He didn’t even cast any Magic to hunt him down. The Soul-Attracting Bell remained in his hand, showing no signs of being activated.

It seemed as if he was just going to let the man go.

However, if one looked closely,

one would notice a faint white light glowing in Shen Changchuan’s eyes,

his gaze fixed on the direction the one-eyed bald man had fled.

"Young Master Shen, shouldn’t we chase him down to prevent future trouble?"

Just then,

Patriarch Li, who was among the less injured and had recovered slightly, hurried forward and asked Shen Changchuan.

’If you don’t beat a Tribulation Cultivator like him to death completely...’

’...he’s bound to become a huge problem later on!’

However,

Shen Changchuan didn’t move at all. Instead, he said in a low voice,

"Get back."

"Be careful!"

Patriarch Li was confused.

Under the fire’s glow,

he saw that Shen Changchuan’s expression was more solemn than ever. He stared in the direction the one-eyed man had fled, looking as if he were facing a powerful enemy!

Before Patriarch Li could figure it out,

in the darkness,

something unexpected happened.

THUD!

A dull thud was heard.

The one-eyed bald man, who had been fleeing for his life and was just about to dart into the pitch-black woods,

was suddenly kicked back as if by an unseen foot.

His body tumbled to the ground like a ragdoll!

"Truly useless. Can’t even handle such a simple matter!"

A hoarse, aged voice, like that of a viper, echoed from the darkness.

Beneath the pitch-black night sky,

a withered figure slithered out from the shadows of the forest like a snake.

It was an old man in his seventies or eighties, rail-thin and leaning on a cane.

He emerged from the shadows, each step covering several dozen feet, as if he were using the Shrinking Inches technique.

His figure moved almost like an Instant Teleportation, and in the span of a breath, he was standing before the one-eyed bald man, who was on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for air.

In the firelight,

the one-eyed bald man saw the old man’s aged face. His pupils shrank and a look of horror spread across his features.

He trembled slightly, a trace of terror in his eyes.

"Old Ghost Song, it’s you?!"

"Heh heh heh, that’s right, it is I!"

"The information you received was passed on by none other than me."

"A pity, though. A bunch of useless trash like you couldn’t even handle such a simple matter."

Old Ghost Song let out another strange laugh, then lifted his cane and instantly pierced the one-eyed bald man’s head.

As if simply erasing a scrap of waste paper,

Old Ghost Song paid it no mind. He tapped his cane lightly on the ground, and a flash of dark Magical Power cleaned all the blood from its surface.

He lifted his head,

his chilling gaze landing on Shen Changchuan not far away.

"Interesting. Truly interesting!"

"A Divine Soul so powerful that you could achieve Inner Vision at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer, and you’ve even mastered several Perfection Level Magic techniques."

"To have such achievements at such a young age is truly astounding!"

"If the Soul-Attracting Bell weren’t crucial for a very important matter of mine, I truly wouldn’t want to get involved with a chosen one like you."

Old Ghost Song’s raspy voice echoed eerily in the cold night air.

Shen Changchuan did not answer.

His vigilance was raised to its absolute peak.

Because...

...the man before him...

...was a master of the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer Realm!