Chapter 33: Six or Seven Years, Every Year
Chapter 33: Six or Seven Years, Every Year
When the Greater Demon began to use its sharp claws and teeth, it signified its readiness to fight to the death.
Having spent over two years on the frontlines of the Yunyang Sect, Su Chen was well aware of these tactics.
At this moment, protecting himself was of utmost importance.
The Greater Demon's current goal was to injure, and even though it knew it would get hurt, it was still determined to harm its opponent.
Su Chen, on the other hand, was no longer as aggressive as before.
The swiftness of the Lin Family Blade Technique seemed to demonstrate its ingenuity at this moment.
When people mentioned blade techniques, they often spoke of their fierce and powerful nature.
In reality, blade techniques also had various ingenious variations and unpredictable moves.
Previously, when Su Chen was practicing in the courtyard, he believed he had already mastered the Lin Family Blade Technique.
He even secretly felt that this set of blade techniques had many redundant and unnecessary moves.
But at this moment, as he executed his moves, Su Chen suddenly had an epiphany.
These moves were not redundant and unnecessary; they were feints!
Such tactics were meant to deceive opponents and create a dynamic and unpredictable situation.
Moreover, the feints were executed with such ingenuity that even during his practice, Su Chen had not been able to discern their true meaning.
It was only in actual combat that their effects became fully apparent.
Su Chen also understood in his heart that this was most likely due to the Blade Walker's Divine Destiny.
The characteristic of enhancing blade technique insight was the greatest help in his enlightenment.
After this realization, Su Chen's long blade became even more formidable.
The feints caused the wolf demon before him to become increasingly flustered, and its attacks with sharp claws and teeth seemed even more frantic.
Taking advantage of its confusion, Su Chen's feints suddenly turned into real attacks.
The blade fell, striking its vital points.
The moves were as swift as lightning, and without giving it a chance to breathe, Su Chen delivered a series of blows to its weak spots, ending the beast's life.
The dog demon that had just been baring its sharp claws and teeth now lay on the ground.
Su Chen did not waste any time and immediately returned to the hollow.
Pushing aside the snow, he began searching for herbs within.
He could also skin and bone the demon's corpse and sell it for some money.
However, Su Chen did not bother with that.
The skin and bones of Golden Demons still had some value, but the corpse of a Greater Demon was not worth much.
Moreover, in this wilderness, the scent of blood was extremely sensitive to other demonic creatures.
Skinning and boning the corpse himself would spread the bloody smell even further, attracting other demons.
Taking the skin and bones of the Greater Demon would also mean carrying the bloody scent with him.
This was essentially inviting other demons to come after him.
Therefore, it was better to focus his attention on finding those herbs.
In the hollow, Su Chen discovered several more valuable herbs.
To progress steadily and go far on the path of cultivation, resources were incredibly important.
Without a powerful backer or anyone willing to provide him with abundant resources, he had to rely on himself.
Two hours later, Su Chen activated his Dexterous Hands Divine Destiny and quickly searched the hollow.
He found seven herbs in the hollow, packed them into his bag, and then swiftly left.
Walking to a distance and looking back, he could faintly see the silhouettes of other demonic creatures nearby.
The blood of the dog demon from earlier had attracted the others.
These demons cautiously approached, gradually getting closer to the fallen Greater Demon.
It wouldn't be long before the dead Greater Demon became food for the other demons.
Su Chen found a hidden spot to rest for a while.
He recalled his recent battle with the dog demon.
That dog demon had already shown signs of reaching the level of a Golden Demon.
Its offensive power was far more formidable than the tiger demon he had encountered that night.
But it also allowed him to witness his recent progress.
The body tempered by the Profound Heaven Heart Sutra was indeed stronger than the improvements gained from other cultivation methods.
Most of the time, human bodies are slightly inferior to demonic creatures.
Su Chen's body, having reached the Intermediate Stage of Essence Refinement, was already comparable to the top Greater Demons.
Logically, the strength of a Seventh Stage Initial Realm of Concealed Valley cultivator should be at most on par with it.
Here, one could also see the effectiveness of the Profound Heaven Heart Sutra.
With the cooperation of the Blade Walker's Divine Destiny, Su Chen's blade technique had also improved by a level.
Moreover, this confrontation allowed him to comprehend the true power of the Lin Family Blade Art.
The Blade Walker's understanding of the blade technique, enhanced by his Divine Destiny, could be better utilized in actual combat.
Overall, the battle against this dog demon yielded quite a few gains.
Su Chen's current strength, even among the newly enrolled disciples this year, while not among the top few, was certainly not lacking.
Su Chen wasn't very familiar with the others.
However, after nearly two months with Wu Yi and the others, he had some confidence.
As for Ouyang Chuan's evaluation of him, it was all nonsense, casually belittling him.
The students under his command were most likely not Su Chen's match.
It wasn't as he claimed, that Su Chen couldn't compare to anyone.
Su Chen didn't dwell on these matters, but he wanted to clear his name, and his current strength was far from sufficient.
The journey was still long, and he shouldn't be complacent, but there was no need for self-praise either.
In the distance, some demons were already tearing at the corpse of the dog demon.
Su Chen headed northeast, angling upwards along the outer perimeter of the defense line.
He continuously searched for depressions, collecting herbs.
However, the terrain of these depressions wasn't very suitable, and one day, Su Chen didn't find a single herb.
As night fell, Su Chen, as usual, rested near the defense line.
Here, Su Chen encountered a group of herb gatherers.
Their skin was dark and cracked, and their eyes were filled with fatigue.
Judging by their appearance, they probably weren't cultivators of the martial path.
They seemed more like hardworking commoners, taking advantage of the cold winter to earn some extra money despite the dangers.
Su Chen approached them and struck up a conversation. Upon seeing the Tian's Pole City disciple's robes, these herb gatherers became much more polite.
These few were from a nearby village to Tian's Pole City.
They wanted to earn some money for their families, as their younger generation was growing up, and they needed to build a new house.
They carried quite a few items, so Su Chen gave them some extra money and bought some to try.
The herb gatherers politely declined, but Su Chen insisted on giving them the money.
Looking at them, Su Chen asked about their harvest.
The four of them, usually two would keep watch while the other two searched for herbs.
They had been here for over ten days and had only found two herbs.
Near the defense line, herbs were indeed becoming scarcer.
Without martial strength, they dared not venture too deep.
During the conversation, Su Chen learned some interesting news.
They mentioned the Mao Family Valley, and Su Chen casually asked more about it.
"Every year at this time, many experts go to the Mao Family Valley. We're used to it; when gathering herbs, we just avoid that area a little."
"It's been six or seven years, and they come every year."
"I heard it's because there's an Earth Spirit Treasure growing there."
"These experts probably come to find that Earth Spirit Treasure."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
