Chapter 358 - 329: A De-feathered Xuan Peng is Worse than a Chicken

Chapter 358: Chapter 329: A De-feathered Xuan Peng is Worse than a Chicken

CLANG!

The Flying Swords flowed like rushing water, pouring out in an instant and circling his body.

The Bone Arrow, hurtling through the air, struck the Sword Group with a DING, setting off a continuous, ear-piercing series of explosions. The arrow sent countless sparks flying, momentarily illuminating half the sky.

Why only for a moment?

Because in the next instant, they were swallowed by the Sword Group.

"Motherfucker!"

Gu Ruan was not a Sword Cultivator. He only knew that the attack he had spent so long charging up had been completely engulfed by the Sword Group, and he couldn’t help but curse inwardly. With this attack having missed, launching another one would not be so easy.

Just as he predicted, the thought had barely formed when the flowing Sword Group crashed before him in a flash of lightning.

"This is bad!"

Gu Ruan was horrified.

"BOOM—"

His Protective Gang Qi was torn to shreds in an instant. Even though the Sword Group only grazed him, it still mangled nearly half of his body.

A torrent of blood erupted from his body, falling like a shower of crimson rain.

"WAH!"

Although Gu Ruan had avoided a fatal blow at the critical moment, his physical body was still ten to twenty percent destroyed. Forget his future path of cultivation being ruined; it was questionable whether he could even preserve his current Realm.

’If I don’t kill this kid, I won’t even be able to break even.’

In that moment, his ferocity flared.

Even without his left arm and the left side of his face, he still let out a furious roar and flipped his hand, sending several Talismans flying. The instant they left his grasp, the Talismans ignited spontaneously in midair. A violent power radiated from them before they transformed into several cyan Array Banners.

RUMBLE!

An earth-shattering, heaven-rending sound followed.

The calm ground suddenly tore open as if countless earth dragons were turning over beneath it.

Then, tree roots like horned dragons burst from the earth. They intertwined and coiled together, transforming into towering trees in the blink of an eye, blanketing the entire area.

In a mere instant, they had swallowed Chen Che’s figure.

This was the Ten Thousand Lives Celestial Tree Talisman, a Tier Three Low Grade Talisman that could be used for both offense and defense. Its primary function was to prevent an opponent from escaping. A Cultivator with weaker Cultivation would be instantly crushed by these colossal trees.

"Attack—"

Gu Ruan had made this move to create an opportunity for Dan Xuanzi to kill Chen Che in one fell swoop.

As a Sword Cultivator, Dan Xuanzi was still quite powerful.

If the two of them regrouped, they might have had a chance to take him down. Unfortunately, after his shout faded, several breaths passed with no response. When he turned to look, he saw that Dan Xuanzi had already fled dozens of miles away.

"You..."

The opportunity he had risked his life to create was ignored. Gu Ruan’s vision went black, and he felt a surge of rage well up in his chest, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood.

Having recognized the Sword Pill, Dan Xuanzi naturally had to flee.

Unlike a substitute like the Sword Box, the Sword Pill was the exclusive ultimate weapon of a Sword Cultivator. Although his own Sword Box contained many Tier Three Flying Swords, it couldn’t compare to his opponent’s in either quality or quantity.

The Ten Thousand Lives Celestial Tree Talisman could trap most Cultivators, but it definitely couldn’t restrain someone who possessed a Sword Pill.

Staying behind was a guaranteed death sentence.

"Fine, fine, fine!"

Seeing his partner flee, Gu Ruan couldn’t be bothered with anger anymore. He immediately turned to run as well.

SCHLICK!

Just as he turned, an icy sword light shot out from the forest without any warning. Wherever the light passed, countless giant trees were sliced in half at their trunks, as fragile as leeks.

The sweeping Sword Qi passed through Gu Ruan in an instant. He couldn’t even take another step. His body tilted and split in two, plummeting from the sky.

Seeing this, Dan Xuanzi was so terrified his liver and gallbladder felt like they were splitting apart.

"HISS~"

He bit the tip of his tongue. A crimson aura immediately rushed to the top of his head as his True Essence surged severalfold, his own aura climbing frantically with it.

Clearly, he had used some kind of Secret Technique.

However, Dan Xuanzi didn’t charge at Chen Che. Instead, he fled without a backward glance, leaving a long rainbow trail in his wake.

"SHREEEE!"

Chen Che had just slain Gu Ruan with a single strike. Before the corpse even hit the ground, he was about to give chase.

However, before he could even move, a cry rang out.

The Little Chick had already tossed aside Feng Qianghao’s thoroughly dead body. With a single flap of its great wings, it rode a fierce wind, catching up in just a few breaths. As its wings spread wide, its shadow instantly fell over its target.

"You beast..."

Dan Xuanzi nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Originally, he had feigned escape, planning to kill Chen Che when he gave chase. But man proposes, and God disposes; he never expected such a twist.

No matter how fast he was, he couldn’t out-fly a bird. Seeing the Little Chick about to catch him, he didn’t dare hesitate. He shook his sleeves, and as if from a pocket universe, tens of thousands of Flying Swords shot out from his cuffs.

No one knew that he also had two Sword Boxes hidden in his sleeves. Although the Flying Swords in these two were inferior to the one on his back, each contained over ten thousand swords.

In that instant, the swords did more than just blot out the sun and sky.

A surprise attack of this magnitude would turn even a Cultivator of the Same Tier into a sieve.

"Damn it, this beast has ruined everything... This time, I’ve lost my entire investment!"

But before Dan Xuanzi could even feel the sting of his loss, he witnessed an incredibly bizarre scene. Faced with ten thousand swords hurtling toward it, the Little Chick had no intention of blocking or dodging. To Dan Xuanzi’s horror, it simply drew its wings in and then thrust them out.

Amidst a howling gale, every single one of its feathers shot out at once, leaving it completely bare.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In an instant, countless Feathers met the Flying Swords. Amid the continuous clang of metal on metal, innumerable sparks exploded in midair, as brilliant and magnificent as fireworks.

What’s more, the creature had more Feathers than there were Flying Swords, and they pierced right through the Sword Rain.

Dan Xuanzi was so stunned by this sight his jaw hung open. Just as he was shakily preparing to flee again, the Little Chick blasted through the scattered sparks on a gust of wind and appeared right in front of him.

Its massive talons led the charge.

With a loud CRACK, the Little Chick’s talons slammed firmly into Dan Xuanzi’s body. Before Dan Xuanzi could even react, the world started spinning. He lost his balance and was brutally smashed from the sky down to the ground.

"BOOM!"

A tremendous sound echoed.

"PFFT!"

Even with his Protective True Essence, he couldn’t withstand such a heavy blow. Dan Xuanzi felt as if his organs had been rearranged and every bone in his body had shattered. He instantly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing the Little Chick’s beak pecking toward him, he was once again scared witless and hastily shouted:

"Wait—"

"Don’t you want to know who hired me to kill you?"

"You’re willing to talk?"

Chen Che did want to know who the mastermind was, but he also knew that these Golden Core True Masters were treacherous and usually tight-lipped. He hadn’t planned on even asking. Hearing the offer, he was taken aback for a moment.

"You didn’t even ask, so how would you know I’m not willing to talk?"

Dan Xuanzi was grinding his teeth in hatred.

His hatred wasn’t for Chen Che, but for his employer.

The information provided by the employer had never mentioned that his target possessed a Sword Pill. If he had known, he would have never taken this job.

Besides, his opponent’s Spirit Pet was simply too bizarre. Not only was it ferocious, but it could also shoot its feathers out like Flying Swords. It had shed them all in an instant, leaving it looking like a plucked pheasant that had been scalded in boiling water—utterly ridiculous.

But he was in no mood to laugh.

Because this ’plucked pheasant’s’ talons were pinning him down, and its Demon Qi was suppressing him so completely that he couldn’t even circulate a shred of his True Essence.

"So, who is it?"

Chen Che asked curiously.

Pinned to the ground, Dan Xuanzi gritted his teeth and said:

"A Golden Core True Master who calls himself ’Wanjia.’ He issued a slaughter order in Faqian City. The three of us brothers heard about it and accepted the contract. Upon completion, we were to receive a bounty of three hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"

"I was originally reluctant, but he said you were a Pill Master with no elders or affiliated Sect to back you up."

’Wanjia?’

Chen Che frowned. He didn’t recognize the name; it was probably an alias. He had heard Meng Qianxun mention these "slaughter orders" once before. It was basically a hit list; people who had a price on their head would be put on it.

The list was backed by a local power. The client would pay first, then assassins would accept the job, and finally, they would turn in the mission upon completion.

"And I suppose you don’t know what he looks like, either?"

Seeing the man nod, Chen Che simply waved his hand, preparing to let the Little Chick peck his head open.

Unexpectedly, Dan Xuanzi grew anxious and quickly said:

"Valley Master Chen, why is your killing intent so strong? We can talk this out! What else do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything! As long as you spare my life, anything can be negotiated. Besides, I was just a hired hand..."

"I’m willing to buy my life back—one million Spirit Stones, how about it..."

CRUNCH!

His words were cut short.

Before Dan Xuanzi could finish his plea for mercy, the Little Chick clenched its five talons. Caught completely off guard, Dan Xuanzi’s body exploded like a watermelon.

Even a Golden Core, having suffered such an injury, had no chance of survival and died on the spot.

SPLATTER...

In a moment, blood splattered everywhere.

’He’d take a job from the slaughter order worth three hundred thousand, where his cut was only a hundred thousand, yet he could supposedly cough up a million Spirit Stones?’

Chen Che raised an eyebrow, not believing it for a second.

After a thorough search of Dan Xuanzi’s body, he found three Sword Boxes—two of which were empty, while the last one was still mostly full. He also found a Storage Belt containing about a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

There were also quite a few Tier Three Materials, several bottles of Pills, and over a dozen Cultivation Technique manuals, most of which were related to Swordsmanship.

The most valuable item on Gu Ruan’s body was the bow he had been holding, a Tier Three High Grade artifact. Along with it were several dozen Bone Arrows. Judging by their quality, some came from Demon Beasts, and some from Cultivators.

He didn’t have many Spirit Stones, but he had some Talismans. He was wearing a suit of Tier Three Low Grade Spirit Armor, but unfortunately, it had been pierced by the Sword Pill.

The poorest of the three was Feng Qianghao. Other than his two curved blades, which were worth something, he actually still had many Tier Two items. Chen Che didn’t bother inspecting them closely, just stuffed everything into his Gourd. After a moment’s thought, he slung Dan Xuanzi’s Sword Box onto his back.

"Master, are we going to Faqian City now?"

Seeming to have read Chen Che’s intentions, the Little Chick swallowed Dan Xuanzi’s Golden Core in one gulp and flapped its bare wings, poised to take flight the moment Chen Che nodded.

Glancing at the bald Little Chick, Chen Che shook his head.

"*I* am. You are not..."

"..."

The Little Chick opened its beak.