Chapter 81

Huaiwu Cave.

Inside a mountain valley.

A huge wild beast, shaped like a Gu Diao but with a single horn on its head, suddenly flapped its wings and soared into the high sky. Its yellowish pupils flashed with a hint of violence. It opened its mouth and let out an infant's cry like a thunderclap.

"Yi ya..."

Tall trees shook violently, and the stream in the valley gushed toward the sky. The power of this strange infant cry was quite great, even shattering some loose rocks into flying fragments! They shot forward like a sudden storm!

Facing this surging attack, Chen Hang did not dodge or evade. The close-fitting inner armor worn under his moon-white Daoist robe suddenly released a circle of dark light, enclosing him in the center.

Whether it was the sound waves or the countless broken woods and stones swept up, all were steadily blocked by that dark light shield. Although the momentum looked impressive, it could not break the defensive power of the inner armor.

Taking advantage of this, Chen Hang pinched a spell, and the Qinglü Sword suddenly rose, like an arrow released from a bow, piercing straight into the long sky. In an instant, it arrived in front of the Gu Diao-like beast, appearing as if it were about to slash down.

Suddenly, the beast folded its wings, and in this hair-breadth moment, it flashed several zhang away in mid-air, barely avoiding the slash of the Qinglü Sword.

Facing the flying sword's strike again, it clearly had suffered before and knew its sharpness, so it did not dare to meet the blade head-on.

Relying only on its extremely sturdy body and the ability of its wings, it constantly dodged and fled, beginning to tangle with the Qinglü Sword.

Every now and then, it would spot a chance to swoop down from the clouds, wanting to kill Chen Hang directly under its claws, but it was repeatedly intercepted by the Qinglü Sword, unable to succeed.

"This thing looks quite like a Gu Diao, but it's a pity it's just a vain imitation, lacking the true spirit..."

Inside the Universe Bag, Ancestor Fu Can hiccuped from the wine and smacked his lips, saying:

"If it were a real Gu Diao, its cry just now would not just be mountain-splitting. If you didn't have a superior visualization method to protect your spirit, I'm afraid that with this cry, your consciousness would have fainted, and you would have become its food.

This is an innate divine ability, far stronger than that broken parrot you encountered at that Baoju Pavilion!"

"However..."

He paused again and continued:

"Although this method of yours to cultivate sword intent through combat is something you fumbled with yourself, it secretly matches a few points of true meaning. You know the Zhongyi Sword Sect in the East Hun Continent, right? That sect can be said to be the most troublesome among the Eight Mystic Sects, comparable to the Yuchen Sect.

Those people from the Zhongyi Sword Sect love to cause trouble in the outside world; they are completely different from my Taifu Palace! They want to use this endless combat to temper their sword intent in life and death, and elevate their Sword Dao realm."

At this moment.

The Gu Diao-like beast let out another cry, and the single horn on its head suddenly shot out a dazzling thin thread. In the blink of an eye, it had crossed thirty zhang, heading straight for Chen Hang's brow!

The iron-clad armor Chen Hang wore supported another circle of precious light, but this time, after only a few breaths, it shattered with a "Boom" sound.

And at the same time the iron-clad armor was broken, the Qinglü Sword arrived first despite being launched later, barely intercepting that dazzling thin thread just half a zhang in front of Chen Hang!

The two collided, producing countless sounds of metal clashing and shaking off starlight like shavings.

In a moment, that dazzling thin thread was completely worn away by the flying sword.

At this time, a hint of fear finally appeared in the Gu Diao's eyes. It raised its wings, not even caring about its nest, and wanted to fly far away.

But at this moment, Chen Hang naturally would not allow it to escape.

He pointed his fingers, and the Qinglü Sword, gaining the full force of his Embryonic Breathing, transformed into a brilliant green rainbow, killing its way forward.

In just a few flashes, it intercepted the Gu Diao in mid-air.

This slash was as fast as a shooting star or lightning. Even though the Gu Diao was covered in scales, it was almost sliced off half a wing. Its body trembled, and it almost couldn't stand in the clouds.

"Your Sword Dao cultivation is probably not far from 'killing in ten steps'. If you could enter the threshold of Sword Dao and obtain a Sword Canon, why would killing this thing be so laborious?"

Ancestor Fu Can, watching the show, shook his head and wagged his tail:

"But in this barren land of the Southern Territory, I'm afraid it's hard to find a superior Sword Canon. For a while, I'm afraid you won't be able to learn one..."

"Let alone a Sword Canon, even 'killing in ten steps' is not something I can easily achieve."

This old man was very long-winded; even if a rabbit ran by, he would chatter for a long time. Chen Hang replied to him casually and stopped paying attention.

At this time, the Qinglü Sword had already fought the Gu Diao for more than thirty rounds.

This fierce bird, with a wingspan of nearly seven zhang, looking like a black cloud pressing down, no longer had its previous majesty.

Half of its wings were broken, most of its scales had fallen off, and its body was covered in dense sword marks.

Although the beasts and birds in this Huaiwu Cave were all transformed from the spiritual essence of the eight directions and were not living things, they naturally would not bleed.

But in this situation, one could still see the Gu Diao's miserable and dejected state.

"The time has come."

Seeing this, Chen Hang's eyes flickered.

He urged the Qinglü Sword, and coldly let out a shout. The sword's light suddenly surged, and with a "Crack!", it was like a rainbow shooting in broad daylight!

The Gu Diao originally wanted to let out a demonic cry to force the Qinglü Sword to retreat, but it only saw a green rainbow killing its way over.

In just a daze, its scales and flesh were broken, and a sharp pain violently transmitted through it.

Immediately—

The world turned upside down! Its body and head were separated!

And in mid-air, the huge Gu Diao slowly lowered its neck, and then its bucket-sized head fell down first, landing in the stream and splashing up a sound of rushing water.

Following that was the headless bird body.

Seeing this, Chen Hang smiled slightly and summoned the Qinglü Sword to his side.

After the Gu Diao died, because it lost the body used for fixation, the vital essence inside, which was as agile and jumping as a white snake, manifested.

Chen Hang first grasped it in his palm and examined it slightly.

"As expected of a beast comparable to one who has just achieved Foundation Establishment, this single wisp of vital essence alone surpasses the sum of all my previous gains."

He took the porcelain bottle from his sleeve and collected this vital essence, his eyes narrowing.

In this combat, he only used the Qinglü Sword to deal with the enemy and did not use any other means, such as the Tai Su Jade Body, all of which were not activated.

Even using the iron-clad armor to protect his body was just for show, to give to the Huaiwu Cave spirit and the Huaiwu Cave Master who might be watching him.

Otherwise, with his current physical strength, if that Gu Diao dared to get close, why would he need the Qinglü Sword to defend and attack? He could have directly caught it in his palm and crushed it to death; it was something he could get with a wave of his hand.

"Although this Gu Diao is comparable to a cultivator who has just achieved Foundation Establishment, it is a beast after all, and transformed from vital essence, so it cannot compare to a true Foundation Establishment cultivator... However, I still have means I haven't used. With my current ability, whether I can fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I still have to try it myself."

Inside Huaiwu Cave.

Although it does not allow Foundation Establishment cultivators to bully the weak and attack Qi Cultivators, otherwise they will be immediately expelled by the spirit, and even the vital essence they collected cannot be taken away.

But the hearts of the side-door sects are always endless.

Taking precautions is never a mistake.

It's just a pity that although the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie has unfathomable divine abilities, it can only simulate cultivators of the same realm as him and cannot cross a great realm to invite a Foundation Establishment Daoist into the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie.

Embryonic Breathing simulates Embryonic Breathing, Qi Cultivation simulates Qi Cultivation...

And not everyone is like Xu Zhi, who suffered injuries that cut off his path and did not harbor any precautions against him, allowing him to be easily invited into the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie.

Otherwise.

If one wants to know where one differs from a Foundation Establishment True Person, one would know after fighting a round in the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie, why guess like this...

Thinking of this.

Chen Hang stopped thinking about it, took the Qinglü Sword that was wandering around his body, leaped, and transformed into light to fly away.

On a yellow mud ridge.

Deep in the wild forest, a large tiger with a white forehead was still sleeping soundly when a sword suddenly swept over, like picking a leaf or a flower, easily taking off its head.

And a few breaths later, a white escape light flew over from afar, casually taking away the vital essence.

In a river bend.

Dozens of green cranes were surrounded by a green rainbow, and in just a moment, they were all slashed into two sections, not a single one missed.

The chest and abdomen of an ancient ape with golden scales suddenly split open.

Before it could react, another green light circled around, directly shredding its entire upper body into powder.

River valleys, mountains, streams, plains—

Having flown for nearly half a day, along the way, Chen Hang didn't know how many beasts and birds he had casually slaughtered and how much vital essence he had collected, but the boundary of this Huaiwu Cave had still not been touched.

Such a clear and vast inner landscape, even Chen Hang was taken aback.

"I'm afraid this Huaiwu Cave, besides being used to collect the spiritual essence of the eight directions and trap enemies, is also a good place to refine arrays. The beasts and birds derived from these vital essences are at least equivalent to Embryonic Breathing cultivators, and the stronger ones can compare to Foundation Establishment..."

On a cloud peak.

Chen Hang landed his escape light, stopped by a huge rock, looked around, and thought to himself:

"I heard that whether it is the Mystic Sect or the Demonic Sect, they all have the tradition of refining Dao soldiers and puppets. If the beasts and birds in this Huaiwu Cave were refined into Dao soldiers, that would be hundreds or thousands of Dao soldiers capable of fighting Foundation Establishment cultivators. I'm afraid even a Gao Gong of the Purple Palace Third Layer would have to temporarily avoid their edge and not face them directly."

Furthermore.

This Huaiwu Cave might have a hidden hand. Let alone Foundation Establishment, I'm afraid there are beasts and birds capable of fighting the Purple Palace.

If that's the case...

At this moment, Chen Hang's eyes flashed, and he suddenly looked at a peak to the northwest.

With his hearing, he faintly heard a few almost inaudible roars and scoldings.

If he weren't concentrating, even with his senses, he would have ignored it.

"Killing people and robbing treasures? Only a few days after entering, and this has already started?"

Chen Hang withdrew his thoughts, but before he could make a move, the movement gradually grew larger, and the sounds of clashing and shouting became even louder.

After a dozen breaths, even without deliberately sensing it, it was clearly audible.

He looked northwest and saw a white fairy crane, about a zhang in size, flapping its wings miserably. On the crane's back was a man with a broken arm, his Dharma clothes in tatters.

Behind this man and crane fleeing for their lives, two streaks of blood light were in hot pursuit. Even from several miles away, one could smell the fishy and fierce aura within the blood light.

The man on the white crane's back seemed to have exhausted all his means. During this period, he even panicked and self-detonated a talisman artifact.

But it was of no use. The two streaks of blood light had long been prepared, and even the self-detonation of the talisman artifact only delayed them for a while. Catching up was only a matter of time.

"A white crane? This looks like a disciple of the Bai He Cave."

Chen Hang looked again and saw that in the two streaks of blood light, there were the figures of a man and a woman.

The man wore a black cloud blood-patterned robe, with thick eyebrows and deep eyes, and an extremely handsome face. A blood-colored python was wrapped around his waist and abdomen, its head resting on his shoulder, flicking its bright red tongue.

The woman wore a light gauze as thin as a cicada's wing, with green brocade wrapped around her arms. Her attire was seductive and bold, revealing her round belly and two thighs. However, her frame was twice as thick and sturdy as the man beside her, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and her body was also quite fat.

Between her movements, she was like a trembling mountain of flesh, giving people an unprovoked sense of oppression.

However, the male and female cultivators in the blood light both had a blood lotus flower hanging from their ears, crystal clear and dripping with red. One look and one knew they were cultivators of the Demonic Blood Lotus Sect.

During this flight.

The Bai He Cave disciple also saw Chen Hang's figure from afar. The look of surprise on his face had not yet fully appeared when, after sensing the aura on Chen Hang, his face instantly fell.

"Run! Kid, are you stupid and don't want your life? Can't you see this is a murder?!"

He patted the white crane under him and suddenly changed direction. Seeing Chen Hang still standing on the peak, he hurriedly sent a voice transmission and shouted.

And the male and female cultivators of the Blood Lotus Sect also saw Chen Hang.

The female cultivator sneered, rubbed her fingers slightly, and was faintly moved.

"A small Qi Cultivator of the fifth layer, even if we kill him, the vital essence in his porcelain bottle won't be much. Let's not waste our time!"

The male cultivator glanced at the female cultivator's expression and then impatiently advised:

"This Bai He Cave Daoist is at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation; the vital essence in his porcelain bottle must be quite a lot. We should hurry up and deal with him. Xiao Xiao Shixiong Sun is still waiting; don't delay his important business!"

"What's the rush? My corpse puppet was recently played to ruin, and I happen to be missing a warm and considerate person in bed. Although that Daoist has his face covered with a mask, I imagine he looks quite good. Could this be a gift from heaven?"

The female cultivator scolded: "Xiao Xiao Shixiong, stop talking nonsense! You and I are both at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation now. Do you still think you can control me like before?"

The male cultivator snorted coldly, his expression unkind, but he didn't speak again, only splitting his own blood light and forcing his way toward the Bai He Cave disciple.

On the other side.

As the distance closed, the female cultivator became more and more joyful. She opened her mouth, and a crystal-clear shell pearl floated out.

But before she could strike the shell pearl at Chen Hang, a green rainbow suddenly flew out, instantly flashing through layers of clouds and crossing a distance of dozens of zhang!

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong—"

The scream had just begun.

And then it stopped abruptly!

The Blood Lotus Sect male cultivator turned his head, and his body trembled violently.

The moment he turned around, he saw a dazzling green rainbow flash like lightning, and then, blood surged like a spring—

His own junior sister's head fell to the ground like a ripe melon!

"Flying sword?! So fast! So fast!"

This action was like a rabbit rising and a wild duck jumping; in just a few blinks of an eye, a perfectly good head was gone!

The male cultivator subconsciously patted his body, forcing out a scarlet flame to protect his vital parts, terrified beyond measure.

And the Bai He Cave disciple was also stunned for a moment, and it took a long time for him to come to his senses. Hesitating, he also stopped the white crane under him in mid-air.

At this time.

Chen Hang frowned slightly. Instead of taking advantage of the victory to pursue, he waved his sleeve, retracted the Qinglü Sword to his body, and protected himself.

Neither the male cultivator nor the Bai He Cave disciple understood his intention.

It wasn't until dozens of breaths later that a loud laugh suddenly came from the clouds, majestic and far-reaching, like a dragon's roar, extremely intimidating, shaking the grass and trees in the wilderness!

"What a lively fight! What a great show! How can such a big drama be missing me, Yuan Yangsheng?"

The owner of the voice turned toward Chen Hang. As his lips and teeth opened and closed, it was like two thunderbolts rubbing together, almost sparking electricity:

"Is this a mid-grade talisman artifact? An Immortal Dao cultivator who can operate a mid-grade talisman artifact at the Qi Cultivation realm? Not bad, you are not bad! Fighting you will surely be extremely interesting! It just happens to suit my Yuan Yangsheng's desire to make friends through martial arts!

Ever since I achieved the Dao, I have vowed to make a name for myself in these Nine Continents and Four Seas, so as not to disgrace the kindness of my elder brother who taught me the Dao back then! Daoist, you have bumped into me this time. This first battle for fame will start with you!"

"Martial Dao?"

Chen Hang looked at him, and there was a hint of strangeness on his face:

"You are not practicing Immortal Dao... is it the Gang-Sha Martial Dao of the Gujie Heaven?"

Two-in-one