Charging Alone, Sweeping All Before Him!

Crack! A bolt of lightning tore downward, startling several figures into scattering. Only after the arcs of electricity dissipated into the ground did the four aged silhouettes gather back together. The leader wore an aggrieved expression as he gazed out across the vast expanse of white, his heart just as lost and bewildered. "Don't the legends say that ancient cave dwellings and mighty ruins are strewn with opportunities at every turn?" "Yet aside from a few millennium-old spirit herbs and several chunks of fourth-order ore, we've come away with practically nothing." His words drew nods of agreement from his three brothers. Indeed, they couldn't see any sign of great fortune in this place. The youngest of the old men hesitated before venturing, "Could it be that this place was merely a casual resting lodge for some Deity Transformation expert, with little of value to begin with?" Cave dwellings of mighty cultivators came in different tiers. If it were a place the expert had cultivated and maintained over a long period during their lifetime, there would naturally be boundless opportunities. Cultivation methods, divine weapons, medicinal ingredients, and spiritual treasures. Perhaps there might even be an inheritance left behind. Yet if it were merely a spot where the expert had paused to rest during travels abroad, it was only natural that nothing extraordinary would remain. The logic was simple enough. When Foundation Establishment cultivators journeyed through the wild and tired, they might carve out a mountain cave to sleep in for a night. Would they deliberately leave behind countless treasures inside? Hardly! This ancient ruin closely resembled such a scenario. As for the few millennium-old herbs growing here, they were merely the product of vast stretches of time passing without anyone picking or trampling them, allowing them to grow undisturbed. However, there was still something that did not fit. The eldest cultivator shook his head. "There are palaces here. Even if it was a resting spot, it must have been a temporary palace of a mighty master. Moreover, an ordinary resting place could never produce the terrain of Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks." At his words, the other three brothers nodded in agreement. An ordinary cave dwelling would never boast such an arrangement. "Let us keep searching carefully. Perhaps we can still turn up something good!" "We must stay cautious! Even if opportunities are scarce, the danger here is unimaginable. Thunderbolts and lightning crash across the land, each blast far more ferocious than in the outside world. It's definitely not something Foundation Establishment cultivators like us can easily withstand." The others nodded one after another. They looked up at the sky. It was completely cloudless and clear, yet every so often, arcs of lightning would abruptly explode into being without warning. Nearly a year ago, over a hundred Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators had rushed in. After all this time, few had reaped substantial gains, while more and more had fallen. "Look over there!" One of the old men suddenly raised a hand, pointing into the distance. Far off stood a small complex of palaces. Though reduced to semi-ruins, spiritual qi steamed and billowed around it. A place of opportunity! The eyes of the other three lit up, and they flew toward it swiftly. Upon arriving outside the complex, however, their steps ground to a halt. Dense webs of silver-white lightning clung to the exterior of the ruined palaces, blocking the probe of their spiritual sense. "The lightning power here is constantly dissipating. Since we lack means to counter it, we'll probably have to wait a while." "No matter!" "With structures shielding the interior, there might be leftover resources inside. Even if there aren't, gathering a few millennium-old spirit herbs will make the trip worthwhile." The four immediately brought out their formations and set up a perimeter to wait. Time slipped quietly by. In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. The lightning shrouding several of the smaller palaces finally faded away. The four went to work, scouring the interiors, and managed to secure some modest yields. In the end, only the grand hall at the center remained. Looking at that hall draped in silver-white lightning, anticipation showed on the faces of all four. "I heard the Golden Core Masters of the six sects joined hands to explore deep into the ruins and even secured several True Artifacts. What an immense harvest!" "Don't even dream about it. Those places are far beyond what we can covet. Have you forgotten the rumor that Master Kaiyang of the Sword Sect slaughtered thirty-two rogue cultivators with a single stroke of his sword?" "For the sake of True Artifacts, even the six sects' Golden Cores are ready to tear out each other's throats." "True enough. Even if there were an opportunity to form a Nascent Soul here, it would never fall to us. It's just a pity that the rumored opportunity for core formation hasn't surfaced yet. That is what suits us best." As the four were conversing, the oldest among them suddenly turned around. Facing the empty expanse behind them, he rasped, "Fellow Daoist, since you have been spying on us for so long, shouldn't you show yourself?" As his voice fell, a faint shimmer of light rippled through the air, followed by a soft chuckle. "It is not that Xiao wished to be furtive, but rather that the fame of the Four Elders of Lian Cang is simply too formidable. Xiao had no choice but to conceal his tracks!" The Four Elders turned toward the sound. A dashing, handsome man with jade-like features and a jade flute in hand stepped into view. At the sight of the flute, the Four Elders' pupils contracted. "Xiao Sanren!" "Instead of wallowing in wine and women in Baihua Immortal City, what brings you to Mount Thunder Accumulation?" "Spying on us for so long—what are your intentions?" "Our brothers discovered this place first. Fellow Daoist Xiao, please withdraw at once!" Four voices barked out in rapid succession. Xiao Sanren knitted his brows slightly. "No wonder nobody likes dealing with you four old fogies. Talking one right after another like that is downright irritating." Just as the other three were about to speak, the eldest of the Four Elders held up a hand to quiet them. Clearing his throat, he fixed his cloudy eyes on Xiao Sanren. "Though our realm is not equal to yours, we four do not fear you. In this place, first come, first served. To avoid hurting harmony, you had best retreat of your own accord." The corner of Xiao Sanren's mouth twitched. An ancient expert's ruins, a place of opportunity! Where in the world was there such a rule as 'first come, first served'? Besides, what if the four joined forces? In his eyes, four people, one person, or a hundred people made no difference at all! Yet just as he raised his jade flute slightly, his expression flickered. The Four Elders, poised as though facing a great enemy, also stiffened. The sound of rushing wind approached, and from more than one person. Moments later, three figures arrived before them. One was a burly elder carrying an iron sword on his back. The other two were a cultivation couple cloaked in baleful aura. Xiao Sanren raised an eyebrow. "Zuo Song of Tianlan's Iron Sword Hall, and the Nether Twin Fiends of Baiyun Immortal City. It seems this place is getting quite lively today!" As he spoke, the newcomers took in the standoff before them. Zuo Song's expression shifted, and he instinctively halted his advance. Among those present, his cultivation was the lowest, on par with the Four Elders of Lian Cang at only the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment. Yet the elders were four united, whereas he stood entirely alone! Meanwhile, both the Nether Twin Fiends and Xiao Sanren were renowned rogue cultivators of the ten immortal cities. Not only were they all at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, but each possessed unique and lethal methods. In terms of reputation, they were in no way inferior to Chu Kui, the former chief of rogue cultivators in Tianlan Immortal City. Although Chu Kui's recent battle against a Golden Core Master had propelled his fame higher than ever, that gave Zuo Song no reason to look down on figures like Xiao Sanren. Zuo Song backed away, but the Nether Twin Fiends advanced a step further. The man and woman ignored everyone else entirely, casting burning gazes upon the only intact grand palace amidst the ruins. "Such dense lightning power—there is bound to be a great opportunity inside!" "My wife speaks the truth. This place is ours. Scram, all of you!" At these words, everyone's expressions changed. The Nether Twin Fiends were simply too overbearing! Nearly a year had passed since the Mount Thunder Accumulation ruins opened, and cultivators had pieced together certain patterns. The more concentrated the lightning, the more likely a tremendous opportunity lay within! Even if the danger multiplied as well, no one was willing to back down in the face of such a prize. It was said that the True Artifacts claimed by the six sects' Golden Cores were retrieved precisely from regions where celestial lightning converged most violently. With so much lightning pooled around this ruined palace complex, even if there were no True Artifacts, there would definitely be treasures left behind! What was more, the Four Elders of Lian Cang had arrived first and kept vigil for over half a month. How could they possibly surrender it without a fight? Sharing a single mind, the four elders instantly closed ranks. Seeing this, Ming Sha sneered, rolling his wrist. "Four old relics, looking to die?" The eldest of the Four Elders ignored him, turning instead to Xiao Sanren. "Join forces to explore?" Without hesitation, Xiao Sanren replied, "Done!" Just moments ago, the two sides had been at each other's throats; in an instant, an alliance was forged. With this, the Four Elders plus Xiao Sanren thoroughly outmatched the Nether Twin Fiends in sheer power. Ming Sha's face darkened with savage fury. He was about to speak when his Dao companion, You Sha, stopped him. "Everyone, whether there are treasures inside remains to be seen. If we beat each other bloody now only to find nothing within, we'll have made a laughingstock of ourselves." You Sha was exceedingly beautiful, and her voice was melodious. Xiao Sanren looked over her shapely figure, an unusual gleam in his eyes. "Madame You Sha speaks with utmost sense. Fighting and killing is such a mood killer. How about..." "Xiao Yulang, if you dare look at my wife with those eyes again, I'll gouge out your pair of dog eyes!" Ming Sha snarled viciously. Xiao Sanren smiled faintly, spinning the jade flute between his fingers. "Very well. There is no need for us to quarrel like this. The longer we delay, the more likely cultivators from the six sects will arrive." "When that time comes, this opportunity won't belong to any of us." "How about we join forces to break the barrier?" The Four Elders raised no objection to the proposal. Cowering in the back, Zuo Song nodded as well. Ming Sha looked displeased, but with You Sha holding him back, he held his tongue. You Sha smiled. "Joining hands to break the barrier is fine by us. But if there are treasures inside and not enough to go around, what then?" Xiao Sanren's brow rose. "Then naturally, it belongs to the virtuous!" Who was virtuous? Those with strength were the virtuous! In other words: each by their own skill and prowess, and whoever snatched it kept it. You Sha smiled. Ming Sha, brimming with confidence, also accepted this answer. Immediately, the seven moved forward together toward the grand palace where the lightning had yet to clear. Halfway there, Xiao Sanren suddenly turned back. "Fellow Daoist Zuo, aren't you going to explore the opportunity with us? Perhaps an extra share might fall to you, you know?" Zuo Song, who had been wavering, gritted his teeth and followed behind. *** Inside the hall! A pair of eyes snapped open! In that split second, a flash of white light burst forth in the gloom of the great hall, like a crack of thunder and lightning! Luo Chen opened his eyes. Feeling the state of his body, an uncertain, shifting expression appeared on his face. Then, with a sweep of his broad sleeve, he swept several valuable resources from the floor into his storage bag. Over the past year, in order to temper his body, he had virtually exhausted all the spiritual resources stored across more than thirty storage bags. Even his personal pool of spiritual power was now down to almost nothing. That was why his expression was so conflicted. His physique right now was strong—monstrously strong! Stronger than it had ever been! He felt as though he could shatter a mountain with a single punch. Yet the sheer emptiness of spiritual qi inside his body left him profoundly uncomfortable. Since embarking on the path of cultivation, he had almost never experienced such a state. Accustomed as he was to overflowing spiritual qi, this drought grated on him terribly. "The Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Art fused with Qi and Body from the Same Source, converting all the spiritual power I painstakingly accumulated over the years into this terrifying pool of qi and blood." "My immortal cultivation boundary remains intact, so cultivating back should not be difficult. As for the martial strength realm, I can't quite gauge it now; it has already diverged from the body tempering path Wang Yuan took, making it hard to judge." "Overall, though, the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks." After a brief analysis of his current condition, Luo Chen turned his gaze toward the rear of the hall. He had previously assumed that external lightning was being drawn inside because of him. Yet now that he had ceased body tempering, boundless lightning continued to flood into the palace without pause. It seemed the source of the phenomenon was not him after all. Rising to his feet, he strode toward the rear. Before long, his eyes were dazzled. Reflected in his pupils were flowers! "Could these be... Thunder Essence?" "No, it doesn't look like ordinary Thunder Essence!" Luo Chen swallowed hard, staring at the pure white blossoms of lightning that resembled camellias. Thunder Essence was a fourth-order mineral ore! It grew exclusively in lands saturated with the power of lightning. Even in a peculiar place like Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks, only a single portion would form every ten years. Across all nine peaks, that amounted to a mere nine portions! This material was an absolute necessity for Golden Core cultivators seeking to forge their lifebound magical treasures. Without Thunder Essence, a crafted treasure would be nothing more than an ordinary magical treasure, capped at the mid-grade rank at best. Moreover, it would possess no growth potential! Even if one took it as a lifebound treasure and nurtured it for decades, it would only gain power without ever advancing in grade. Only a lifebound treasure infused with Thunder Essence could raise its rank, perhaps even evolving into a True Artifact one day as the cultivator ascended to Nascent Soul! In fact, many Nascent Soul cultivators never managed to possess a single True Artifact. That alone showed how precious True Artifacts were. Yet before Luo Chen lay a full eighteen blossoms of Thunder Essence! What was more, these did not appear to be the ordinary variety harvested once every ten years. Ordinary Thunder Essence gathered once a decade was silver-white. The eighteen blossoms before him were pure white, virtually devoid of any impurities. Millennium Thunder Essence? Luo Chen took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together as he gazed at the eighteen blooms. It was a bit tricky to harvest! This material was said to be harvestable only by Golden Core Masters, requiring divine sense and true mana. Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed neither divine sense nor true mana, only spiritual sense and spiritual power that had yet to complete their transformation. "Perhaps I can try harvesting them with my current physique?" Luo Chen extended a hand, looking at his slender fingers. Yes, slender. His present frame was extraordinarily lean, such that even his broad-boned hands appeared exceedingly slender from the lack of flesh. Having tempered his body with heavenly thunder, even if his current flesh could not absorb the spiritual qi within lightning to cultivate qi, mounting a simple defense was well within his capabilities. Just as Luo Chen prepared to harvest the Millennium Thunder Essence with his bare hands, his gaze suddenly froze beneath the innermost pure white bloom. A black ring lay there quietly. Shielded by the aura of the Millennium Thunder Essence, the faint presence of magical treasure power lingering upon it would have gone completely unnoticed without careful scrutiny. Luo Chen extended a hand and beckoned. Whoosh! The black ring flew into his grasp. Its surface was scorched and charred, yet once held, the potent aura of a magical treasure—no longer muffled by the Thunder Essence—blossomed instantly. Luo Chen's eyelids twitched, and he blurted out, "A high-grade magical treasure!" He never would have imagined that inside this mineral pit where Thunder Essence grew, there would be a ring at the tier of a high-grade magical treasure. Could this be what they called karmic fortune? The three elements of immortal cultivation: aptitude, fortune, and disposition! Aptitude ranked first; it was both the threshold and the ceiling. Fortune ranked second; with enough luck, even a pig blessed with fortune could become an immortal ancestor. Disposition ranked last; countless resilient, unyielding individuals fell before their inferior aptitude. Likewise, far too many gifted talents floundered and perished due to a flawed disposition. Of these three elements, the only one Luo Chen truly possessed was a calculating mind and an unrelenting, steadfast disposition. His aptitude was pitifully low, compensated for entirely by sheer willpower. All his toil and exhaustive planning over the years—wasn't it all to bridge the chasm between his aptitude and that of other geniuses? As for fortune, he had some too; how could the system not count as fortune? Still, picking up a high-grade magical treasure just walking along the path was an experience he had truly never encountered before. Yet when he poured his spiritual sense into the ring, he realized what sort of fortune he had actually stumbled upon. "I thought it was some supreme offensive or defensive treasure, but after all that, it's just a storage ring!" Looking at the small iron spade and the fine sand stored inside, Luo Chen grasped the ring's purpose. Just as a mining pit contained shovels and ore carts, this ring was meant for harvesting and storing Thunder Essence! Moreover, its grade originally shouldn't have been this high. It had simply fallen beside the Thunder Essence and, over a thousand years of continuous transformation, naturally advanced into a high-grade treasure. After a thousand years beneath unceasing lightning, it had barely reached high-grade status, proving that the raw materials used to forge it were nothing extraordinary. "Still, talk about a pillow right when I'm dozing off!" Luo Chen had just been fretting over how to pick the Millennium Thunder Essence and how to store it properly. Now, there was no need to worry about any of that. Without a second thought, he immediately claimed the masterless space ring, christening it the Thunder Accumulation Treasure Ring. Then he retrieved the specially crafted iron spade from inside. Only after taking it out did he realize the spade was a magical treasure as well! Though it was merely low-grade, it was an authentic lightning-attribute magical treasure! "Just what kind of being was the master of this place?" "Not only did they cultivate so much Thunder Essence, but even the tools for mining are magical treasures. Isn't that a bit too lavish?" "And this seems to be a remote corner. If I went toward the center, there would probably be even better things." Luo Chen remembered clearly. Back when he opened the main doors, in order to avoid running into cultivators who might follow behind, he had deliberately picked the most remote direction to flee. In the end, he had discovered this half-ruined, miniature palace complex tucked away in the corner. That way, even if powerful cultivators entered the ruins later, their primary focus would be drawn toward the resource-rich central regions. Judging by the fact that no one had disturbed him for an entire year, his decision had undeniably been wise and correct. "Whoever it was, let's mine first!" No one would have believed that the first thing Danchenzi—the man who had slain a Golden Core Master—did upon waking was to dig for ore! Even with his spiritual power nearly exhausted, his immense physique—operating at a level Luo Chen couldn't even quantify—made the mining work proceed exceptionally smoothly! One by one, under the swing of his spade, the blossoms of Millennium Thunder Essence were uprooted from the mineral pit and deposited into the sand inside the Thunder Accumulation Treasure Ring. That sand was not meant for nourishment, but for containment. The lightning power contained within Thunder Essence was simply too pure. The energy inside Millennium Thunder Essence was no weaker than the heavenly tribulation lightning faced by Nascent Soul cultivators. Without this specialized sand to insulate it, even a sliver of leaking power would instantly shatter ordinary storage artifacts or magical treasures. Now, aided by this sand, the Thunder Essence could rest securely within the Thunder Accumulation Treasure Ring. It took Luo Chen an entire day to complete his mining. His mind was weary, but his heart was jubilant. With so much Millennium Thunder Essence in hand, when he eventually succeeded in forming his core and set about forging his lifebound magical treasure, he wouldn't need to scour the world for this material. Fiddling with the treasure ring, Luo Chen slipped it onto the index finger of his left hand with great satisfaction. Attractive and convenient! The black thunder ring against his pale, slender hand gave off an aura that was almost demonic. After a moment's thought, Luo Chen dumped the mountainous piles of resources from several of his storage bags into the Thunder Accumulation Treasure Ring as well. It was a high-grade magical treasure storage ring, after all! Its capacity far surpassed ordinary storage artifacts. Even after emptying five storage bags into it, it still seemed rather spacious. As for the other storage bags he had yet to unseal, he refrained from stuffing them inside. Stacking one spatial artifact inside another was foolish in the extreme. It easily provoked a conflict between spatial laws, triggering a catastrophic collapse. Luo Chen still possessed that much common sense. After tidying up, Luo Chen retrieved the brocade white robe Gu Caiyi had bought for him years ago, discarding the tattered Fire Cloud Daoist Robe that had lost all its defensive enchantments. Looking at the ruined robe, Luo Chen sighed. Though he had successfully slain Di Wanyun in their battle and achieved an astonishing, glorious victory, the cost and the reward were completely disproportionate. In that single fight, he had lost Thousandfold Peak, which had accompanied him for years, his Fire Cloud Daoist Robe, and over a hundred second-order Thorn Flower seeds. Even the Eighteen Wandering Formation Disks, fully restored not long prior, had shattered into dust after shielding his entry into these ruins. Not to mention, to trigger the third-order Violent Thunder and Raging Surges Formation, he had burned through five hundred mid-grade spirit stones! Oh, and the Profound Ice Talisman—far more precious than any ordinary magical treasure—that had been a truly invaluable treasure! And his gains? Nothing at all! Even the shape-shifting golden cloud magical treasure he had coveted was utterly destroyed under the barrage of myriad thunderbolts. "A massive loss!" "Never again will I do something like fighting across a major realm to kill someone." "Only a fool would do that!" Muttering under his breath, Luo Chen made his way outward. Yet he had only taken two steps before his figure froze. He wasn't the only one! Inside the hall, the eight cultivators who had just breached the formation immediately detected Luo Chen's presence in the rear chamber. "Damn it!" "Someone got here first!" "Seal the hall and capture him!" "Thief, get out here!" Amidst the chorus of shouts, a figure cloaked in dense, baleful aura leaped forward, lunging straight for the rear hall. Inside the rear chamber, a fierce gleam flashed across Luo Chen's face. Without the slightest hesitation, he willed it, and layers of pure white scales materialized across his entire body, encasing him completely. Transforming into a streak of white light, he vaulted outward. In a mere instant, the two figures caught sight of each other. Neither slowed down in the slightest, charging head-on. Seeing the white-clad figure, Ming Sha wore a savage grin, his fist clenched tight. He was a cultivator who had brought baleful body tempering to great completion! Did this person truly dare to clash with him head-on? "Courting death!" With a low roar, he thrust his fist forward. A black phantom tiger surged from his gauntlet. Yet facing this strike, the white-clad figure paid it no heed at all, answering with an identical punch. Crack! The phantom tiger shattered in an instant. As Luo Chen swept past Ming Sha, under the man's terrified gaze, a palm struck out. A torrential surge of qi and blood arrived with the force to cleave mountains and shatter stone. Mountain-Cleaving Stele-Shattering Palm! Ming Sha roared in fury, unfolding a defensive magical artifact. Boom! With just a single clash, he was sent flying dozens of paces, slamming heavily against the rigid palace wall. A vast wave of lightning power washed over him, jolting him with electric shocks. Only then did he tumble to the ground, rolling several times like a loose gourd before coming to a stop. "Husband, are you alright?" You Sha rushed over from the flank to help him up. When Ming Sha raised his head, he saw the white silhouette plunging directly into the encirclement of the Four Elders of Lian Cang. "Stay right there!" "Scram!" The intruder let out a low shout. His bare palms struck out in rapid succession, the surging gales of force forcibly driving all four elders back. Just at that moment, a colossal sword chopped down toward his head! A magical treasure flying sword, wielded with great completion sword kinesis—its might was barely inferior to that of a Jade Cauldron sword cultivator! Yet facing this sword, the man paid it no mind, lunging directly at Zuo Song, the Hall Master of Iron Sword Hall who was pinching sword incantations. "To disregard my sword kinesis so brazenly, you truly are courting de—ugh!" Zuo Song looked down at the gaping hole in his chest and abdomen, his face filled with sheer disbelief. His sword had struck its mark! That was a magical treasure flying sword! In a daze, he seemed to recall the faint scales that had surfaced. Protective qi armor? By this point, the white figure had already bypassed the crowd, about to cross the threshold of the palace doors. From the flank, Xiao Sanren smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoist, you had best stay behind!" He brought the flute to his lips and flicked his finger. A wisp of soul-snatching flute melody drifted out! This was his signature secret art: snatching the soul through sound! No matter how many enemies there were, beneath this spiritual soul attack, anyone with a soul weaker than his could not resist. Even someone with a stronger soul foundation would suffer heavy wounds. When that happened, surrounded by the seven of them, the intruder would have no hope of escape. Yet a scene that left Xiao Sanren horrified played out before him. A halo of black light abruptly surfaced around the white-clad figure. With a single ripple, it dissolved all the sound waves into nothingness. In the span of a single breath, the figure cleared the palace doors. When the Nether Twin Fiends joined hands and rushed outside in pursuit, not a single trace remained. Xiao Sanren walked to the entrance, his face pale, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. That was the backlash caused by the rebound of his soul-snatching melody. Gazing out into the empty expanse outside, his mind reeled in utter bewilderment. "Just who was that? Treating all eight of us as nothing, coming and going as he pleased without pausing for a moment." "Was that a Golden Core cultivator?" No one answered him. Because even a Golden Core cultivator, faced with the combined might of the eight of them, could never have departed so effortlessly! None of them were nobodies. Even the weakest among them, Zuo Song, was the master of a sect, barely inferior to a true disciple of a major sect. Yet the end result was one dead and two wounded. Even Zuo Song's Songyang Iron Sword had been snatched away by the intruder in passing. Just as Xiao Sanren stood there in shock, a surging tide of killing intent erupted from behind him. "Despicable!" The Four Elders of Lian Cang attacked simultaneously, hurling four magical treasures straight at Xiao Sanren. The Nether Twin Fiends' faces shifted, and they retreated madly. "Husband, let's pull back first!" This time, Ming Sha did not try to act tough. Having taken a direct hit from the mysterious intruder in the hall, he was injured and in no condition to fight. Paying no heed to Xiao Sanren battling the four elders alone, the Nether Twin Fiends fled immediately. Before leaving, however, Ming Sha threw a venomous punch with a savage grin. Besieged from all sides, Xiao Sanren was struck by the baleful qi, shuddering as if hit by a battering ram. "Despicable curs, none of you will leave alive!" Xiao Sanren shrieked shrilly, layers of sonic waves expanding outward. The Four Elders focused their minds to meet the attack, resolved to kill him. If they walked away with nothing today, it would truly be a total loss! A battle among top rogue cultivators thus erupted. *** Several dozen li away, the white light halted. Luo Chen stopped in his tracks. Feeling the immense power coursing through his physique, along with the protective qi armor that rivaled a defensive magical treasure, a look of surprise crossed his face. "It seems... they were weaker than I thought?" "No!" "It must be that I've grown stronger!" "This body, and my speed..." Murmuring, Luo Chen willed it, and a pair of fiery red wings unfurled from his shoulder blades, faintly laced with arcs of silver-white electricity. The Blazing Cloud Wings appeared to have undergone a transformation as well. Their grade had reached the peak-grade tier! "If I faced Di Wanyun again now, even without relying on the Violent Thunder and Raging Surges Formation, I should have at least a thirty-to-seventy chance of victory!" After murmuring to himself, Luo Chen retracted the Blazing Cloud Wings and flew toward the perimeter. He had no intention of heading toward the center of the ruins. Opportunities were always reserved for the prepared. This ruin had clearly caught the attention of the Jade Cauldron six sects. Even those standout rogue cultivators earlier had been forced into this remote corner, which showed just how brutal the clash at the center must be. Right now, although his physique was formidable, he had not mastered any lethal martial arts techniques and relied purely on brute physical strength to fight. His most practiced spells could not be cast freely either, given his scarce reserves of spiritual power. To fight for opportunities in such a state would be courting death. Leaving was the wisest choice. Without expending what little spiritual power remained, Luo Chen activated his great perfection mortal lightness skill, Carefree Wandering, and sped away. Concealing his tracks along the way, few could detect him. However, he did witness scenes of battle scattered across the land. There were few rogue cultivators, but many sect disciples. "Has the war still not ended?" "Or has it simply changed venues and forms, continuing as before?" Amidst his muttering, Luo Chen's footsteps suddenly ground to a halt. Ahead, an intense battle was underway. And both sides involved were 'acquaintances' he recognized! "What a narrow road for enemies!" Luo Chen's eyes turned frosty. The illusory wings on his back partially unfurled; one hand gripped a sword, while the other sprouted pure white scales like the razor talons of a roc!