Chapter 273: Sudden Driving

Heng Xian examined the corpse traces, then looked at the gray iron sword in his hand.

The sword's material was merely ordinary gray iron, not anything good; at first glance it seemed worse than a mundane pig‑killing or vegetable knife, but closer inspection revealed that the blade was etched with a strange ancient pattern.

These patterns converged to form a complicated pattern seal, seemingly possessing unfathomable spiritual power!

He finally understood that the omen of the Mysterious Yellow Heavenly Hexagram showed why he had to take the weapons inside the hut!

In this deserted town, there is a kind of humanoid monster; weapons brought from outside cannot kill it, so one must use the unique weapons found in the ancient ruin hut.

Fortunately, the hexagram reminded him; if he were like ordinary sect disciples, unable even to pass the Blood River Scholar's trial, how could he reach the hut? Even if he got inside, forgetting the scholar's final verse would surely prevent him from taking the weapons.

If he couldn't obtain the weapons and rushed straight here from the teleportation array, encountering these monsters, even if he could defeat them he could not kill them; they would swarm him from behind, frantically attacking—who could endure that?

Moreover, he was certain that a large portion of people had failed to obtain any weapons at all.

This ghastly place's trial is… absolutely insane!

Thinking this, he gripped the gray iron sword and walked to one side.

Just then, the shop assistant and four patrons burst out of the tavern like lightning.

The five wielded different weapons, but all had pallid faces and a vivid peach‑blossom mark on their foreheads.

This "Peach Blossom Mark" seems to be a kind of mark or symbol of identity.

Seeing the five swiftly and fiercely charging at him,

Heng Xian flourished his gray iron sword with a sword flower, tapped his foot, and darted toward the five, his body moving strangely as he passed through them, thrusting five swords.

"Pu pu pu——"

The five brushed past him and flew far away, then suddenly paused; two breaths later they collapsed with a crackling crash, littering the ground with corpses that instantly turned black and rotted.

In a single encounter, they were all instantly slain!

Heng Xian sheathed his gray iron sword, glanced at the nauseating pile of corpses, stepped toward the tavern, reached the doorway, and sized up the wooden tub where that woman had just been washing clothes.

The tub was not small; it held water, soap‑pod, and clothes, completely ordinary, with nothing unusual.

Turning, he entered the tavern, glanced around, and went to the table where the four patrons had been eating.

Half of the six dishes on the table had been eaten, but like the candied haws on the street earlier, they had completely lost their moisture and flavor.

Besides that, there was nothing else particularly noteworthy.

He scratched his chin, left the tavern, and continued forward.

Passing through streets lined with shops and alleys, he looked around—only dead silence met his eyes.

It seemed that the few people inside that tavern were the entirety of this world.

Just then, at a turn ahead, Heng Xian was about to take another street when he saw four people carrying a sedan chair emerge from the corner.

Four gray‑clad men, their foreheads bearing a blood‑red small‑sword mark, had no trace of human color on their faces.

Inside the sedan chair was likewise deathly still, revealing nothing.

Upon seeing him, the four bearers paused briefly, but did not immediately attack.

Heng Xian gripped the hilt of his gray iron sword and remained still, curious about what the mark on these people's foreheads signified—before it had been a peach blossom, now it was a small sword.

The two sides stared at each other for a full ten breaths; the four men ignored him, hoisted the sedan chair, and sprinted straight across the alley at great speed.

Heng Xian felt greatly surprised, so he simply followed behind.

The sedan chair twisted left and right, finally stopping before a small courtyard.

Around the courtyard at that moment were more than a dozen gray‑clad, pallid men, each bearing a small‑sword mark on his forehead and holding a blade, gazing into the courtyard.

The sedan chair halted, and a youth stepped out from within.

He wore a blue‑green long robe, like a specially made garment, quite distinctive; the youth's face was somewhat pallid, but his forehead's small‑sword mark had turned silver, and as he looked into the courtyard he slightly raised his hand.

But suddenly he turned his head to look at Heng Xian.

Heng Xian met his gaze, still unable to fathom what these humanoid monsters were up to.

At that moment the green‑clad youth suddenly opened his mouth and let out a roar, his black‑hole‑like maw utterly chilling.

This roar resembled a command.

The dozen or so men surrounding the small building and the four sedan‑chair bearers leapt forward to attack, each more ferocious than the last.

Heng Xian thought it over; it seemed there was no need to hold back, so he raised his gray iron sword and unleashed several airborne slashes.

Sword qi crisscrossed, mighty and grand, rolling up ground stones in layer upon layer.

The dozen or so men charged with extreme speed, yet under the sword qi they could not withstand a single blow; their bodies fell in disarray, instantly turning into a vast expanse of rotting black flesh.

Seeing that, the green‑clad youth again opened his black‑hole mouth, shouted angrily, leapt into mid‑air, and brought down a peerless, fierce blade strike.

He was obviously far stronger than those dozen men just moments before.

Heng Xian smiled, tapped his foot, and advanced head‑on; his gray iron sword traced a mysterious arc, shattering the youth's blade with the first strike and cleaving the youth in half with the second.

The youth's two halves and his sword crashed down heavily, smashing violently into the neighboring house.

For a moment, dust and tiles filled the air.

Heng Xian landed on the ground, glanced at his right hand, and involuntarily shook his head.

After his Qi Sea had been refined six times, his strength and spiritual power surpassed his imagination, becoming overwhelming; for a moment he could barely contain it, having overexerted his force.

He glanced at the ruined house, was about to leave, and couldn't help but stare in surprise.

He saw that within the youth's rotting black corpse lay something the other humanoid monsters lacked—

a silver token.

He walked over, picked it up, and examined it; it appeared to be made of pure silver, its front bearing a likeness of some identity symbol, though the characters had been strangely erased, while the reverse showed a small‑sword emblem.

After pondering, he took from his Storage Bag the previously written treasure‑hunting plan; his eyes skimmed "Deep Forest Potion", "Monster Spirit Herb", "Blood River", and finally landed on "Ku Cheng Monster Token".

"All right, you're it—the treasure for the next stage!"

Heng Xian put away the silver token, his mind now at ease, walked off into the distance, but after a few steps he turned back to look at that small courtyard.

What were those green‑clad youths and their entourage doing surrounding the small courtyard just now?

He thought, his body flickered, and after a few leaps he was in the courtyard.

Just as he landed, he heard a girl's voice faintly from inside the room: "Lin, Senior Brother Lin, are those monsters going to break in?"

A boy's voice: "They, they should be coming in!"

The girl said: "Can we... still hold them off?"

The boy gave a wry smile: "Looks like another big one has come; I really can't do anything, Wu Junior Sister, we... might as well accept our fate!"

The girl fell silent for a moment, then began to sob: "I don't want to die; I am the legitimate daughter of a general of a state, and also an inner disciple of the Da Luo Holy Sect. I am only twenty-one and have already broken through to the seventh layer of Condensing Qi. My master said that if I obtain this Fate Opportunity, with my talent I could hope to form a Golden Core by forty. Wah..."

The boy sighed: "My father is the Grand Tutor of the Jin State, and I am also an inner disciple of the Guangfa Palace. Barring accidents, I too can form a Golden Core before forty. Don't laugh at me—I, I haven't even touched a woman yet!"

The girl choked up, unable to speak.

The boy suddenly said in a strange tone: "Wu Junior Sister, since we're going to die anyway, why don't you give me a little—let us kiss, okay?"

The girl: "I, I have no mood."

"Just give it a try!" the boy's voice trembled, "Listen!"

"Mwah..."

"No!"

"Slurp..."

"Mm-hmm..."

"Senior Brother Lin, don't!"

"It's already like this!"

"How, how come they're not coming in? How come they're not moving?"

"I, I'm scared, I can't get up!" the boy said, utterly dejected.

Outside, Heng Xian looked astonished.

Holy shit, the art style's all wrong—suddenly we're driving?!!!!

(End of chapter)