https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-52-A-Chance-Encounter-at-Bat-Tower/13509916/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-54-Yunling-Xuelian-The-Heavenly-Path-to-Foundation-Building/13509918/
Chapter 53: Xuan Fire Raven! You're a Luotian Sect Lackey
Chapter 53: Xuan Fire Raven! You’re a Luotian Sect Lackey
Xiao Chen intentionally kept a safe distance behind Ye Fei, pretending to be just another pedestrian. With no experience in tailing people, he relied on his familiarity with the local terrain to stay unnoticed. He figured that as long as he closed the gap slightly at each intersection, losing sight of Ye Fei between paths wouldn’t matter.
But Ye Fei’s route twisted unpredictably, defying all logic. In a moment of distraction, Xiao Chen lost him completely.
Before him stretched an uninhabited forest, devoid of even a footpath.
“This isn’t the way back to the sect at all. Where the hell did he lead me?” Xiao Chen scratched his head, frustrated. He’d secretly hoped to play the cunning fisherman, benefiting from others’ struggles. But luck wasn’t on his side today.
“If Ye Fei managed an on-the-spot breakthrough, he probably won’t fall easily,” he mused, debating whether to return to Azure Water Peak or search the forest for his senior apprentice brother.
Before he decided, hurried footsteps snapped him alert. Ye Fei burst from the woods, face mask discarded.
“More ambushes? You really think highly of yourself, old man!” Ye Fei spat, launching a Falling Rock Talisman at Xiao Chen before pivoting to flee.
“Boom!” The boulder exploded mid-air, erupting into a cloud of dust ten feet wide. Xiao Chen dodged the debris but squinted through the smoke as Ye Fei vanished, leaving only a retreating figure.
Three black-cloaked cultivators surged after him, their ninth-stage Lian Qi auras roaring. No wonder Ye Fei had fled in panic.
Toumu glanced at Xiao Chen, pointing sharply. “That cloak—I saw it this morning. He’s involved!”
“Daoba, handle him. Meet us later at the usual spot.”
“Biaozi, with me! Get the Foundation-Building Spirit Artifact at all costs!”
Leaving a subordinate to eliminate Xiao Chen, Toumu and Biaozi chased Ye Fei.
Xiao Chen almost laughed. Just one opponent? Do they really think I’m that weak?
Still, the urgency around that artifact couldn’t be ignored. Raising a Golden Light Protection barrier, he retreated into the forest—better terrain for a fight without prying eyes.
Daoba followed, assuming Xiao Chen fled to use the woods as cover. He slapped a Soaring Wind Talisman on his chest, boosting his speed. Closing the gap, he chanted an incantation.
“Grass and Trees Are Soldiers—Seize Him!”
Two emerald streaks shot toward Xiao Chen, embedding into pine trunks ahead. The trees collapsed, crossing to block his path, then sprouted limbs and faces, rising as ten-foot Tree Giants.
“Damn! This is the kind of technique I should’ve learned!” Xiao Chen marveled, his Wood Spirit Root stirring with envy. But he acted instantly, flicking his wrist to unleash a swarm of ten Xuan Fire Ravens.
“Toxic Raven Black Flame!”
The ravens formed a fiery formation, engulfing the Tree Giants in infernos. Within moments, the giants crumbled to ash.
Daoba paled. “Luotian Sect’s Xuan Fire Crow? You’re one of their lackeys!”
He hurled a fireball-laced Talisman, conjuring three blazing orbs, then slashed his Flying Sword, unleashing a silver sword beam. “Die, Luotian Sect scum!”
Xiao Chen noted the sect name but stayed calm. He raised an Earth Shield to intercept the fireballs, then summoned his Golden Light Pearl overhead. As fire ravens swarmed Daoba, he drew the Evergreen Sword.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The fireballs shattered his shield. The sword beam cracked his golden barrier with a metallic clang.
These fireballs are stronger than expected, Xiao Chen mused, surprised. Daoba, meanwhile, gaped at the intact Golden Light Technique—a first for his sword’s hidden-aura-breaking strike.
“This isn’t right,” Daoba muttered, retreating. He smashed a clay figurine, summoning a three-meter Earth Golem to cover his escape.
Xiao Chen anticipated this. He’d lured Daoba here to ensure no witnesses. Releasing the Green Gourd, he summoned the Green Wood Spirit General to restrain the Golem. Pointing skyward, he commanded, “Fall!”
The Golden Light Pearl hurtled at Daoba’s back. He parried with his sword, but the fire ravens engulfed him, flames closing in from all sides. As Daoba flailed, the Evergreen Sword severed his head.
The Earth Golem, headless but durable, took Xiao Chen a quarter-hour to dismantle into eighty-one pieces. After erasing traces of the battle, he claimed Daoba’s storage bag and returned to Lihuo Sect.
Hope Ye Fei survives, he thought. His elimination of Daoba had eased Ye Fei’s pressure, but the rest depended on his senior brother’s skill.
Back at the sect, Xiao Chen bypassed Azure Water Peak and sought Elder Chen first. He needed to report the Black Market lead on standard-issue Flying Swords—matters like this required his master’s guidance.
(End of Chapter)
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