AGM 268 - Silent Endurance
The glint of light in Zhan Chen’s eyes was even sharper compared to a sword’s edge, his killing intent immediately erupting forth the moment he sensed he was being spied upon.
If news of this matter were to leak out, that he ruthlessly chose to sacrifice his companion for the sake of his goals, the Pill Emperor Palace would be the first to slay him.
Hence, that spy must die.
“Run!” Qin Wentian knew that Zhan Chen had discovered their presence, he hadn’t expected Zhan Chen’s perception to be this strong. Holding Bailu Yi’s hands, Qin Wentian retreated with explosive speed.
“Hey, why don’t you stay behind?” The voice of Zhan Chen rang out, the killing intent he manifested was so thick that it caused those exposed to it to feel their bodies turning cold.
How could Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi stop? Executing the Garuda Movement Technique to its limits, Qin Wentian dragged Bailu Yi along.
With a flick of his finger, Zhan Chen concentrated Astral Light ahead of him, as an ancient sword coalesced from it. Zhan Chen instantly stepped on top of it as the Astral sword functioned like a skateboard, powered by his cultivation base, causing great clouds of dust and earth to kick up as it sped after Qin Wentian, shrinking the distance between them.
Although Qin Wentian’s movement technique was godly, his cultivation base was only at the third level of Yuanfu. The same went for Bailu Yi. How could their speed match up to a peak-level Yuanfu cultivator who was ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Fate Rankings?
The disparity of their power levels were too far apart.
Qin Wentian’s countenance grew extremely unsightly as his gaze turned cold. He also hadn’t expected to discover Zhan Chen’s secret and now, Zhan Chen wanted their deaths to ensure their silence.
“Bzzz!” With a wave of his hands, Qin Wentian sent out the Yellow Springs Monument, which appeared on a mountain slope.
“Come.” Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi directly stepped onto it. Qin Wentian continued stepping in a rhythmic manner as thunderous sounds rang out. An instant later, a crimson glow emanated forth from it, along with a terrifying pressure.
When Zhan Chen dashed over, he only saw Qin Wentian on the verge of dashing into a trap. With a wave of his palms, a screen of swords manifested around him.
“DIE!” Zhan Chen spat out, as that screen of swords transformed into a layer of sword shadows, flying towards Qin Wentian.
The speed of the sword shadows was so fast, it created a shrill sound as the air ripped apart. “Down!” Qin Wentian pulled Bailu Yi along as they tumbled down the mountain slope, narrowing avoiding the attack.
Zhan Chen coldly snorted, as he rode his Astral sword forward, directly rushing into the formation. He had no fear of the majority of traps here.
Qin Wentian’s countenance sank. He was unwilling to die like this.
“Little Yi, Wentian.” Right at this moment, an excited voice called out in a certain direction. Hope bloomed on Bailu Yi’s pale face, that voice was exceedingly familiar to her.
Only now did Qin Wentian notice a silhouette madly dashing over. This person was none other than Bailu Jing.
A look of unwavering resoluteness flashed in Qin Wentian’s eyes. He sliced the skin of his finger and pressed it down onto the Yellow Springs Monument, channeling his blood energy within it.
Zhan Chen slashed down with his palms as a terrifying sword began to form in mid-air, cleaving downwards to Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi.
A crimson light flashed in Qin Wentian’s eyes as he gestured for the Yellow Springs Monument to fly forward, smashing towards Zhan Chen. Zhan Chen only felt the pounding of his heart, as well as a surging of his blood, when a deafening sound echoed the moment his sword attack slashed upon the stone monument.
“RUMBLEE~” The monument rebounded back from the impact of the collision, slamming onto Qin Wentian. His body and Bailu Yi’s grinded upon the earth as the force of the rebound flung them backwards, causing them to cough up several mouthfuls of blood. Only at this moment did Bailu Jing arrive.
“Stay your hand!” Bailu Jing roared, his whole person transformed into a shadow and an instant later, a killing technique descended from the skies. A golden thread manifested, shooting towards Zhan Chen.Zhan Chen flicked his fingers, his monstrous sword intent ‘cracked’, transforming into countless sword fragments that attempted to slice apart the golden thread.
The golden thread proved impervious to his attempts, and continued descending downwards, seeking to tear Zhan Chen apart.
“Great Sun Nine Beheading Technique!”Zhan Chen’s gaze stiffened, as the sword Qi he projected grew stronger and stronger. He stabbed forth with his finger, his attack landing onto the golden thread as a terrifying destructive energy ignited, causing the surrounding space to distort. And finally, with this last attack, that golden thread snapped. But it bought enough time for Bailu Jing, who now stood protectively in front of Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi.
“Brother.” Bailu Yi called out, Bailu Jing acknowledged her with a nod, a bone-chilling coldness radiated out from him as he stared at Zhan Chen.
“Ranked #56 in the Heavenly Fate Ranking, Bailu Jing. Based on your current strength, your ranking would surely improve when the time comes for the Venerate Heavens Sect to refresh it,” Zhan Chen stated, staring back at Bailu Jing.
Bailu Jing’s eyes were filled with killing intent, he knew that Zhan Chen’s earlier strike was meant to kill Qin Wentian and his sister Bailu Yi.
A terrifying pressure gushed forth as Bailu Jing released his Astral Souls. Of his three Astral Souls, one was a divinity covered in raging flames, the second one a wind shadow, while the third one, was a resplendently glowing Seven Slaughter Astral Soul.
His Astral Souls originated from the third, fourth and fifth Heavenly Layers respectively!
Bailu Jing, who was always so composed, now exuded towering flames of anger that seemed to reach the Heavens!
“Big Brother Jing, everything was just a misunderstanding.” At this moment, Qin Wentian’s voice drifted over, causing Bailu Jing to start. Qin Wentian then continued, “Zhan Chen, why are you pursuing us for no reason? Did we do something that offended you? I don’t think we’ve ever interacted before.”
Since Zhan Chen was ranked #11 on the Heavenly Fate Ranking, and someone chosen from the Pill Emperor Hall, there was was no need to doubt his strength. Even though Bailu Jing might be powerful, it was obvious that it was to their disadvantage if a fight really broke out.
Zhan Chen shifted his gaze onto Qin Wentian, meeting clear eyes with no hints of hatred. He felt taken back at how deep Qin Wentian’s scheming ran. By intentionally pretending that it was all a misunderstanding, Qin Wentian was saying he would keep his silence on what he had just witnessed. And as for Zhan Chen’s earlier attempt to murder them, Qin Wentian couldn’t care less.
Did he really not mind? Or was he merely enduring it in silence?
“Haha, Zhan Chen, you are actually here as well.” At this moment, a group of cultivators walked over. These newcomers were none other than Zhao Lie and Old First of the Li Clan’s three brothers. Old First was evidently unlucky, in meeting Zhao Lie and then being forced to lead the way.
“It’s that Divine Inscriptionist Grandmaster. Excellent, with two Inscriptionists, we can definitely exit this bloody space.” Zhao Lie’s eyes flickered with fire as he glanced at Qin Wentian. He assumed that Zhan Chen had been coercing Qin Wentian to lead the way but Bailu Jing refused, which led to the conflict between them.
“Hehe, that’s what I think as well. I wonder if Grandmaster Qin is willing to lead the way?” Zhan Chen stared at Qin Wentian as a grim smile appeared on his face.Qin Wentian understood, if they didn’t die today, the killing intent in Zhan Chen’s heart would never fade.
However, wasn’t it the same for him as well? If there was a chance, he would definitely slay Zhan Chen.
“Naturally.” Qin Wentian smiled, agreeing without hesitation.
“With Little Brother Qin leading the way, our path forward would surely be many times smoother.” Old First laughed heartily, the earlier tension in the air melting away.Bailu Yi naturally understood Qin Wentian’s intentions, pretending that they saw nothing earlier.
And as they resumed their journey, Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi kept their distance from Zhan Chen. Bailu Jing didn’t question them, Qin Wentian intentionally wanted to keep what they witnessed a secret.After a while, they returned to the formation where Zhan Chen and Qing Yue had conversed at.
And in that moment, even more people appeared. The new arrivals were experts from the Hua Clan.
“Is everyone here?” Behind them, a voice drifted over. Zhu Sha and two others from the Star-Seizing Manor had arrived as well.The ice-cold gazes of Zhu Sha and Yang Fan then landed onto Qin Wentian. From their perspective, Qin Wentian definitely had to pay for the deaths of over ten peak-level Yuanfu cultivators they had lost.
However, they could read the current situation. They knew that they couldn’t harm Qin Wentian, as they still needed to depend on his strength to break through this goddamned space.“Grandmaster Qin, please.” Zhan Chen made a gesture of invitation. Qin Wentian swept a glance at the characters in front of him, his countenance serene, yet he knew that they were currently in an extremely perilous situation.
“Right.” He nodded in agreement as he moved forward and started to inscribe Divine Inscriptions. Bailu Jing and Bailu Yi stayed behind Qin Wentian, while Old First stood beside Qin Wentian, working together with him to neutralise this formation.Qin Wentian’s actions were very slow, causing Old Li to feel that there was something going on. It was as though Qin Wentian was doing this intentionally.
In actuality Qin Wentian was looking for an opportunity, but as he thought of the strength of those behind him, he knew that it wasn’t possible for him to kill them all with a single move.
Zhan Chen, Yang Fan, Zhao Lie, Hua Feng; all of them were rankers in the Heavenly Fate Ranking. There was no way he could simultaneously kill them all with sneak attacks. He could only focus on neutralising the formation.
An instant later, Qin Wentian picked up one of the interspatial rings, yet he left one lying on the ground. Old First faltered, before picking up the remaining ring with his trembling hands, his face a mask of agony.“Old Third.” Old First tightly clutched the interspatial ring of his third brother. An instant later, his countenance froze, he saw Qin Wentian inscribing a word—Zhan—before him.
“Zhan, Zhan Chen.” Old First’s heart pounded, as he felt his body trembling, a glint of hatred flashing past his eyes. However an instant later, he took a deep breath and calmed himself, pretending as though he hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.
Qin Wentian blocked the word with his body, and immediately wiped it away after writing it as he continued to neutralise the formation. After each trap was neutralised, they slowly advanced with the the rest of the group, who quietly followed them from behind. Gradually, the ever-green pine trees and ancient mountains appeared at arm’s length.The exit was very near.
“Energy fluctuations from Divine Inscriptions.” Qin Wentian abruptly shifted his gaze forwards. Although those trees and mountains appeared quite near to them, they were shadowed by a faint distortion that shimmered in the air, taking the shape of a rampart manifested by Divine Inscriptions, blocking their way.His movements involuntarily halted, and he closed his eyes, silently contemplating the intangible rampart in front of him.
Qin Wentian could feel that freedom was just a step away!