Chapter 70 - 62: Something’s Wrong, There’s a Thief!

Chapter 70: Chapter 62: Something’s Wrong, There’s a Thief!

After reviving, Lu Chen still felt a chill down his spine as he recalled the consequences of forcefully executing the Outer Path One Sword. It hurt. It hurt too much. That sensation of his physical body being torn apart and his soul being sliced into pieces was difficult to accept, even for someone like him who had experienced death countless times. Subconsciously, he didn’t even want to remember the scene.

However, he had to admit that the Outer Path One Sword was the most terrifying Sword Form he had encountered so far. While trying to Copy the strike with his Cyan Lotus Flower Pupil, Lu Chen even had the illusion that he could cleave straight through the sky.

"Although the Outer Path One Sword is strong, this strike... is a genuine life-claimer!" he muttered to himself. "Is there any way for me to execute it without having to bear the side effects of death?"

After pondering for a long time, Lu Chen’s eyes suddenly lit up. He returned to the Sword Pavilion on the third floor and looked at the broken Sword Stele.

"If everything goes as I expect, I’ll have one more trump card."

With this thought, Lu Chen once again used his Cyan Lotus Flower Pupil to assist in analyzing the residual Outer Path One Sword left on the Sword Stele. Before long, the Cyan Lotus Petals in his pupils were covered in unique patterns.

However, this time, he didn’t use his main body to execute the copied Outer Path One Sword. Instead, he unleashed his Talent Divine Techniques—Outer Path Incarnation. As a clone materialized, Lu Chen immediately experienced a wondrous sensation. Not only could he control the clone’s every move, but he could also share all of its senses.

Looking at the Outer Path Incarnation that was identical to him, Lu Chen handed it an ordinary Magic Sword from his Storage Pouch. Under his control, the Outer Path Incarnation took the Magic Sword and walked alone to the center of the clearing on the third floor. It then activated the Cyan Lotus Flower Pupil and executed the copied Outer Path One Sword.

BOOM!

To Lu Chen’s absolute shock, even though the might of the Outer Path Incarnation’s strike wasn’t as terrifying as when his main body had performed it, it was still roughly three times more powerful than his strongest sword move, the Dragon Roar Heaven-Breaking Strike. It was worth noting that his Dragon Roar Heaven-Breaking Strike could pierce right through the physical body of a Foundation Establishment Stage Magic Corpse. The fact that the Outer Path Incarnation could unleash a strike three times as powerful—while only possessing half the Cultivation and physical strength of the main body—was enough to highlight the massive gap between the Outer Path One Sword and the Dragon Roar Heaven-Breaking Strike.

Just as Lu Chen had expected, immediately after executing the strike, the Outer Path Incarnation shattered into a sky full of light specks. Right after, Lu Chen, having absorbed all the memories and senses of the clone, was brutally reminded of what it meant to experience a fate worse than death.

Fortunately, this time he only absorbed the memories and suffered no substantial physical damage. After resting for a moment, he fully recovered. Though his face was pale, he couldn’t hide his excitement.

"As expected, the idea of using the Outer Path Incarnation to execute the Outer Path One Sword is completely viable," he reasoned.

"However, this method cannot be used frequently. After all, if the clone dies once, I have to spend a whole day to re-condense the Power of Outer Path needed to summon it again.

"Not to mention, when the clone dies, I instantly absorb those painful memories, which will completely incapacitate me for a short period of time.

"So, unless I have absolute confidence in victory, or my main body is in absolute safety, it’s best not to use this method rashly."

Having weighed the pros and cons, Lu Chen resumed exploring the third floor of the Sword Pavilion. Aside from the black Sword Stele, there was nothing else of value on this floor. And after studying the stele for quite a while, he found no other use for it beyond the lingering sword marks. Not wanting to waste any more time, he immediately chose to leave the Dungeon.

Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb, cleared!

October 11th. Luocheng First High School, Cultivation Chamber.

Returning once again to the comfort of the Cultivation Chamber he had awakened in, Lu Chen inexplicably felt as if a lifetime had passed. Compared to the fast-paced life-and-death battles within the Dungeon, the quiet and peaceful school Cultivation Chamber truly made him feel as though his soul was being healed. The sensation was akin to getting a massage at a legitimate foot spa after a hard day’s work in his previous life; it deeply relaxed his otherwise taut nerves.

With this in mind, Lu Chen decided on a rare whim to give himself half a day off. However, while his real-life self was taking a break, his in-game self certainly was not. As for why he wouldn’t afford his in-game self the same luxury, Lu Chen was very adamant and stubborn about his reasoning.

A day off? Only those who were useless to the Sect took days off! With his lofty status as an Inner Sect Disciple of the Cyan Cloud Sect, he was a pillar of talent born to contribute to the Sect. Therefore, his in-game self... had to put in the utmost effort in Cultivation! Only by doing so could he live up to the Sect’s painstaking efforts to nurture him.

In reality, Lu Chen closed the door of the rented Cultivation Chamber and headed out of the school.

"Cultivation is not just about refining the body; refining the mind is equally important," he muttered. "I’ve been working hard recently, so taking an occasional break to relax won’t hurt. I’ll go home and take a look. It’s been a while since I’ve been back. I hope it hasn’t attracted any thieves..."

Saying this out loud, Lu Chen couldn’t help but laugh at himself. His thought was simply too absurd—what kind of blind, unlucky thief would ever think of robbing his house? Given the state of his home, aside from a few basic appliances, there was absolutely nothing of value. Even if a burglar did pay a visit, they’d likely walk in with a smile and walk out crying, cursing a wasted trip.

However, what Lu Chen didn’t know was that some thieves visiting his home weren’t there to steal his belongings, but rather the person living there!

"Strange, did someone come into my house?" Lu Chen thought as he stood before his front door.

The strand of hair he had left wedged in the door gap was missing. It was clear that someone had opened his door while he was away. The moment this realization hit, his expression immediately turned grave.

Before coming back, he had just been joking about a thief taking advantage of his days of absence. He never expected the joke to turn into reality. Yet, with his house utterly destitute, what could possibly be worth stealing? Driven by his inherently cautious nature, Lu Chen didn’t rush to push the door open. Instead, he stood outside and pondered.

In the next second, his eyes shifted into a lotus shape. The solid concrete walls instantly became transparent to his vision. Without knowing the exact situation inside, using the X-ray Vision effect of the Eight-Petaled Cyan Lotus was undoubtedly the safest approach. Besides the X-ray Vision, the microscopic enhanced vision effect from before was still present.

Thus, in a mere instant, Lu Chen spotted the Power of Outer Path permeating his room. This discovery made his expression turn incredibly solemn.

An Evil Demon and Heretic Dao had actually broken into his home? What were they trying to do?

Following the traces of the Power of Outer Path, Lu Chen immediately looked toward his bedroom... A swarm of bugs entirely enveloped in the Power of Outer Path quickly fell into his line of sight.

Seeing this, Lu Chen immediately made a decision. He didn’t enter the house, making sure not to tip off the enemy. Instead, he retreated to the stairwell alone and took out his phone.

Before long, the call connected.

"Hello, Lu? Why did you suddenly call your Uncle Tian?"

"Uncle Tian, there might be a situation on my end. I need you to come over..."

Lu Chen then relayed his discoveries inside the house to Yu Tianqi.

Yu Tianqi fell silent for a moment before replying, "Don’t alert them. I’ll be right there."

"Understood."

Lu Chen hung up the phone. He looked calmly down the stairwell toward his apartment, a sneer curling at the corner of his lips.

Did they really think he was one of those idiots from movies and TV shows who never told anyone about their problems and just tried to handle everything solo? What a joke! Calling for backup immediately upon discovering the enemy was the only rational decision a normal person should make! When dealing with an Evil Demon and Heretic Dao, it was only righteous to outnumber them!

They liked playing ambush, huh?

Then they were about to see who was really ambushing whom.

***

PS: Tomorrow will have three updates. If all goes as expected, the novel will hit the premium shelves on Friday. On release day, Pang Hu will first upload ten Chapters. I’ll write more stockpiled Chapters these next few days.