Chapter 322: Cruel Martial Way
“Boom!”
Xiao Chen vanished. Du Hao’s punch shattered all the rocks, and he rushed over. However, he only hit an afterimage. His punch landed on empty air.
Xiao Chen turned and took out the Lunar Shadow Saber from the Universe Ring. Xiao Chen watched as Du Hao stepped out of the dust. He placed his right hand on the saber hilt.
Xiao Chen had to admit, regarding close combat, Du Hao far surpassed him. Out of all the people Xiao Chen had seen, only Mu Heng, who had focused on turning the body into a saber, was the equivalent.
However, Xiao Chen’s true strength lay in Saber Techniques and not close quarter combat. When he exchanged moves with Du Hao, he only tried to expand his horizons.
“Take the Secret Treasures on the ground and leave. After I draw my saber, you will no longer stand a chance.” Xiao Chen warned softly. The two of them had no enmity with each other; there was no need to fight to the death.
Du Hao’s lips curled up into a cold smile, “What big words; I want to see what it means to no longer stand a chance.”
“Scarless Autumn Water!”
After Du Hao spoke, he shouted and leaped into the air. He quickly circled Xiao Chen.
It was as if he were an autumn stream, flowing quickly through the air, leaving behind countless afterimages. When the afterimages layered on each other, it looked like a blurry river with gentle ripples.
So, Du Hao has comprehended the state of water. No wonder he is so confident. Xiao Chen thought to himself. However, this state is recently formed; it is quite inferior to Duanmu Qing, Murong Chong, and the others.
In front of Xiao Chen’s Holy-Might-infused state of thunder, how could it stand a chance?
“Boom!”
A loud crack of thunder resounded in the refinery. The instant the thunder crackled, the tiny stream splashed up uncontrollably.
The instant the thunder reverberated, the Lunar Shadow Saber quickly released from its scabbard. It was like a flash of lightning. The purple saber Qi struck Du Hao, whose state was suppressed.
“Bang!”
A horrifying wound appeared on Du Hao’s chest as he landed heavily on the ground. Disbelief filled his face. His opponent had completely suppressed his state.
Du Hao only had to execute a killing move that could turn the situation around. However, he was stopped midway. How hateful!
Xiao Chen walked softly and sheathed his Lunar Shadow Saber. He did not even look at Du Hao as he headed for the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron and Lunar True Flames in the refinery.
Du Hao, who was on the ground, watched Xiao Chen coldly after he bandaged his wounds. He said, “Even if you have defeated me, you will not take possession the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron and Lunar True Flames. Chu Chaoyun, who subdued the gold-armored warrior, is not someone you can deal with.
“He defeated the nine of us. When he arrives, you will not stand a chance.”
This person’s mentality was easily understandable. It was a sour grapes mentality. He did not wish others to obtain what he could not. Hence, even though he failed, he used this reasoning to console himself.
Xiao Chen cast his gaze on the four strands of Lunar True Flame. He did not even turn his head as he said indifferently, “That is not something for you to worry about.”
Du Hao saw that Xiao Chen ignored him, and he snorted coldly. He casually picked up several dozens damaged Secret Treasures from the ground and left the refinery the way he came.
The state of thunder had infused in Du Hao’s wound. This stopped the injury from healing quickly. It seems like his fortuitous encounter in the Fire Li Sect had come to an end.
Xiao Chen stared at the four clumps of white flakes floating in the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron without blinking. The flames gave off no light; they looked very pale.
Each clump was about the size of a fist. They floated quietly above the mouth of the cauldron. When the wind blew, they swayed gently.
As Ao Jiao once told Xiao Chen, there were four kinds of strange flames in this world: Human Flame, Ghost Flame, Dragon Flame, and Heavenly Flame.
Of which, the Ghost Flame had two types. One had been found in the Mysterious Yin Cave, and the other was the Living Hell’s Nine Layers of Purgatory.
Xiao Chen suspected that the probability of the Lunar True Flame being the Ghost Flame from the Mysterious Yin Cave was high.
The four clumps of white flame in front of Xiao Chen were clearly flames without a source. It did not contain any of the Lunar Flame Origin.
However, they had still tenaciously survived several thousands of years. Without interference, they would continue to exist. The lifeforce of this flames was really strong.
Everyone knew the Fire Li Sect of the past used the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron and Lunar True Flames to refine Secret Weapons. After the Ancient Era, only the Fire Li Sect could still refine Secret Treasures. It was possibly due to these two items.
Xiao Chen always had a great interest in refining Secret Treasures. Natural, he would not give up on the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron and Lunar True Flames before him. Although they were not the original, they were still very valuable.
The only problem was how to preserve the four clumps of Lunar True Flame floating above the cauldron. This was a problem for Xiao Chen. As for the cauldron, he could place it into the Universe Ring directly.
However, Xiao Chen could not store pure energy in the Universe Ring; that would destroy the balance of the formations inside. He had to refine a Magic Treasure for storing flames specially.
If they were Yang attribute flames, Xiao Chen could use the Purple Thunder True Fire to swallow them up. However, the Lunar True Flames were extreme Yin Flames. It was hard for Yin and Yang to coexist.
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Chen extended out his Spiritual Sense from the sea of consciousness. He would check out the properties of these white flames before making a decision.
Xiao Chen turned his Spiritual Sense into a thin membrane and wrapped it around a flame. Then, he carefully examined its internal structures.
However, before Xiao Chen could react, the flame wrapped in his Spiritual Sense pierced through the blue cloth on his forehead and entered his sea of consciousness between his eyebrows.
Within the vast sea of consciousness, a strand of white flame floated quietly beside the scarlet throne. It was the dim white flame.
Xiao Chen was astonished. Then, he revealed a joyful expression. He said softly, “Can the sea of consciousness store flames? I should try to summon it out.”
Xiao Chen closed his eyes and felt for the white flames in his sea of consciousness. With a thought, the flame floated out from the mark between his eyebrows.
With another thought from Xiao Chen, the flame returned. This time, because it was not encased in Spiritual Sense, the blue cloth around his forehead burned in half when the flame pierced through it; it was no longer usable.
Naturally, Xiao Chen did not care about such small a matter. He immediately made his move and drew the remaining three clumps of white flame into his sea of consciousness.
After Xiao Chen collected all of the flames, he took out another strip of blue cloth and wrapped it around his forehead.
“Boom!”
Just as Xiao Chen finished wrapping the strip of cloth around his head, a loud shout came from behind him. A stout figure quickly leaped over from behind, punching towards the unprepared Xiao Chen.
The fist’s wind caused the air to tremble, creating a fierce shockwave. As the fist tore through the air, it gave off a piercing sonic boom.
It was so fast that Xiao Chen did not have time to dodge or draw his saber. His expression turned cold, and the bones in his body gave off a crackling sound. He turned and welcomed the punch with one of his own.
“Bang!”
The sounds of bones crushing resounded. Wen Yanbin, who made the sneak attack, howled in grief and pain from the ground. His entire right hand had reduced to mush as it lay limp on the ground.
Wen Yanbin was crippled; there was no chance of recovery. He revealed a horrified expression on his pained face.
He did not expect his full-power strike, ten thousand kilograms of force that had been stored up for a long time and used in a sneak attack, to fail in one move.
Just as Wen Yanbin stood and prepared to flee, two swords suddenly appeared at his neck. It was Xiao Chen controlling the silver-armored warriors, preventing his escape.
“Don’t kill me. You…you destroyed my arm. I am already half a cripple,” Wen Yanbin pleaded bitterly.
Xiao Chen said coldly, “Cripple your left hand, and you can scram.”
When Wen Yanbin heard this, he was stunned. If both his arms were crippled, he would turn into complete trash. After cultivating bitterly for ten-odd years, he had to depart from the way of cultivating.
When Wen Yanbin saw Xiao Chen’s impatient expression, he revealed a resolute look. He circulated his Essence to his left arm and severed all the meridians.
After Xiao Chen saw this, he ignored Wen Yanbin and indicated the silver-armored warriors to withdraw their swords. Men died for wealth, and birds died for food. From the moment he made the sneak attack, he should have prepared for the worst.
“Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!”
Several cultivators came pouring out of the tunnel Xiao Chen made. They coincidentally saw the crippled Wen Yanbin. They revealed astonished expressions in their eyes.
“Why are Wen Yanbin’s arms crippled? It looks like he crippled his left arm of his own volition. He was one of the experts of the Dongming Province. Who pushed him into such a state?”
“Look at the injuries of his right arm. It is clearly a result of competing in strength. His opponent’s strength completely suppressed his own. Who in the world is this strong?”
When they cast their gazes on Xiao Chen, they all stopped talking. The answer was now clear.
I have to remove the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron quickly. Otherwise, when Duanmu Qing and the others arrive, it will be difficult to snatch.
“There are still complete Secret Treasures on the ground. There is quite a number of them. We have struck it rich! Ha ha!”
“That thing in the middle looks like the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron. That has the highest value. It is a necessary item for refining Secret Treasures.”
After a while, the crowd discovered the situation in the refinery. They all shouted excitedly. They managed to find a significant number of complete Secret Treasures in the pile of damaged Secret Treasures. It was normally difficult to find a complete Secret Treasure. Yet, they managed to find so many here.
A few people rushed towards the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron without hesitation. When Xiao Chen saw the situation, his expression changed. He pushed off the ground gently and landed firmly on the mouth of the cauldron.
“Ka ca!”
He immediately drew the snow-white Lunar Shadow Saber and released a killing intent. Xiao Chen looked at the crowd expressionlessly.
“Ye Chen, what are you doing?! Get down quickly! You should have already taken the Lunar True Flames from within the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron. Don’t be so greedy and think of taking the Dragon Phoenix Cauldron as well.”
“Right. Although you are strong, you are definitely not a match for all of us.”
When the people below saw Xiao Chen standing on the cauldron, they complained. For them to take part in this operation, their strengths were not weak.
Wen Yanbin’s miserable situation did not scare them away. The crowd was of the opinion that, no matter how strong Xiao Chen was, he would not be a match for all of them at the same time.
“Don’t bother trying to reason with him. Let’s attack together and kill this fellow who does not know the immensity of heaven and earth. We can distribute the Secret Treasures and Lunar True Flames on him amongst ourselves.”
