Chapter 101: Attacking From the Shadows, What Kind of Skill Is That

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Attacking From the Shadows, What Kind of Skill Is That

After walking some distance, Liu Chen glanced back at Nangong Ye and saw him crawling toward the cave on all fours, his will to survive incredibly strong.

’What a pain.’

The sight of Nangong Ye’s struggle made Liu Chen shake his head.

Liu Chen didn’t care about the Nangong Family, but he had to show some respect to Qingxu Hall. More importantly, he worried that killing the man would cause Qingxu Hall to target him, which would be even more of a hassle.

As for his master’s wife’s mission, according to Junior Sister Ye, the Nangong Family had only grown so brazen because Nangong Ye had become an Inner Sect Disciple of Qingxu Hall.

By that time, Nangong Ye was already an Inner Sect Disciple, so he likely wouldn’t have done something like barging into the Ye Family’s rear courtyard to force a marriage contract. To put it another way, if an Inner Sect Disciple of Qingxu Hall like Nangong Ye had taken an interest in Junior Sister Ye, the Ye Family would have sent her over to the Nangong Family ages ago.

’The Qingxu Hall disciple the Purple Cloud Valley traitor mentioned must be Nangong Ye. In that case, I can follow this blood trail to find the pillar of light and the Black Feather Dynasty cultivators. Those people from the Black Feather Dynasty destroyed my seclusion spot; death is too good for them. Still, the Magic those two used looked impressive. I wonder if their Storage Rings have any Cultivation Techniques.’

Liu Chen looked away and followed the blood trail on the ground. As he passed the former volcanic crater, he saw a Ghost Soul wandering nearby. He had no idea who the unlucky bastard was, but he went ahead and purified it all the same.

Half an hour later, Liu Chen was hiding behind a stone wall, observing the cliff ahead. Nangong Ye’s blood trail started from here, which meant the so-called pillar of light must be at the bottom of the cliff.

Liu Chen now understood why Nangong Ye had been in such a miserable state. The only way to get to the bottom of the cliff was to jump, but doing so would make one a living target in mid-air.

’So troublesome...’

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes and turned to leave. Going down would make him a living target, and he wasn’t about to get himself killed. Treading the Peak Path had allowed him to contend with a normal Meridian Passage Beginner. Now that he had entered the Meridian Passage Beginner realm via the Peak Path, his combat power was, in theory, about the same as a cultivator in the Meridian Passage Early Stage.

However, the Array in Fire Dragon Valley didn’t suppress Cultivation. Who knew if the Black Feather Dynasty’s Cultivators included those in the Meridian Passage Late Stage, or even at Meridian Passage Peak.

However, he had only taken a few steps when his Spiritual Sense detected three figures slowly climbing up from below the cliff.

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes and hid behind a large rock, scanning the surroundings with his Spiritual Sense. The last two cultivators had both been at the Meridian Passage Beginner realm, and one careless mistake could have ended in disaster. But these three were merely at the Body Tempering Late Stage. He could probably question them for intelligence on the situation below.

’If there aren’t many of them, I might just be able to go down directly.’

Three figures slowly climbed up from below the cliff. The one in the lead looked at the bloodstains on the ground and shook his head.

"Those two masters are probably just fooling around again. It’s a pity those Cultivators from Purple Cloud Valley are nearby. The Third Prince is preparing to relocate. As long as we kill those four or five Inner Sect Disciples from Purple Cloud Valley, the Third Prince will have a lead over the other four Princes."

The leader shook his head and followed the blood trail forward. The other two offered no opinion, simply following him in silence.

From behind the rock, Liu Chen released his Snowflake Sword. It transformed into a flash of cold light and shot straight toward the three men.

"Watch out—"

The leader hastily dodged, but just as he landed, two screams echoed from behind him. A scan with his Spiritual Sense told him his two followers were dead.

Another flash of cold light streaked past. The man in black felt a sharp pain at his waist and looked down to see he had been cut in half.

"What kind of coward attacks from the shadows!"

The man in black screamed, pulled out a Token, and crushed it. Just as Liu Chen was about to emerge and ask some questions, a totem of a black iron eagle appeared in the sky. Immediately after, his Spiritual Sense detected five figures scaling the cliff face.

’A pleasant surprise.’

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes. ’If I can lure up the Black Feather Dynasty Cultivators from below, they’ll be the targets, not me.’

Under Liu Chen’s control, the hovering Snowflake Sword beheaded the last man and then returned to his hand.

A moment later, five figures vaulted over the top of the cliff. Before they could even react, a flash of cold light struck, and blood splattered across the ground.

Five heads, along with their bodies, tumbled down the cliff. Liu Chen slowly emerged from behind the rock, using Magic to dispose of the first three corpses while simultaneously probing the situation below with his Spiritual Sense.

At the bottom of the cliff, the once-composed Third Prince, Yu Haenze, was now on his feet. His two Meridian Passage Realm Cultivators had yet to return, and eight of his Body Tempering Late Stage cultivators had perished. Of his original team of fourteen, only four now remained.

Besides himself, there were three Body Tempering Late Stage thugs left. But their opponent had the ability to kill a Body Tempering Late Stage Cultivator instantly, making the three of them negligible.

"Wait for him to come down!"

Third Prince Yu Haenze spoke slowly. The three men grew vigilant, materializing bows and arrows of Spiritual Power in their hands. At the slightest sign of movement from above, they would riddle the target with holes.

After dealing with the corpses, Liu Chen threw the three stripped-bare bodies over the cliff.

"Here it comes!"

Yu Haenze’s Spiritual Sense detected something falling. In an instant, three arrows flew up and pinned the falling corpses to the cliff face. As the Spirit Arrows slowly dissipated, the already gruesome bodies looked even more wretched.

"Damn it."

Yu Haenze narrowed his eyes. He was tempted to charge straight up, but if the opponent was a Body Tempering Cultivator who had walked the Peak Path, then in a direct confrontation, whoever struck first would essentially win.

Besides, there was no need to be hasty. He just had to wait for his two Meridian Passage Beginner Guards to return, and victory would naturally be his.

’Three people attacked. Even if some are holding back, the total number can’t be more than ten. Time for an experiment.’

Liu Chen, having sensed the corpses being struck by the Spirit Arrows, narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his finger, a nearby rock flew up and tumbled over the cliff’s edge.

The next second, another three Spirit Arrows shot up, pulverizing the rock.

’The same flight trajectory. The archers are the same as before. That means it’s highly likely only these three below have mastered this Magic. A conservative estimate puts four more in hiding who haven’t attacked. That means seven people can pose a threat while I’m falling.’

Liu Chen continued to ponder. He then turned and walked back behind the rock he had been hiding behind, took a mask from his Storage Ring, and put it on. It was the same kind of mask worn by the two Meridian Passage Beginner Cultivators.

This way, even if someone saw him, his identity wouldn’t be exposed. Liu Chen even deactivated his Resting Technique, dropping the concealment of his Cultivation and revealing the aura of a Meridian Passage Beginner.

Liu Chen’s wait lasted for two hours. If he hadn’t observed earlier that climbing was the only way up from the bottom of the cliff, he would have assumed the Black Feather Dynasty Cultivators had already left.

He used this time to slowly cultivate his Body Protection Technique. Half an hour yielded a thousand Proficiency points, so two hours netted him four thousand Proficiency points for the Body Protection Technique. During these two hours, Liu Chen consumed a total of fifty Spirit Stones to keep his Spiritual Power from being depleted.

Fortunately, his patience was ultimately rewarded. His Spiritual Sense detected two figures climbing up, one after the other.