North of Wangzhou City, in the desolate wilderness.
Jiang Che held his breath and stayed silent, hiding behind a withered tree. His gaze was locked dead onto two Holy Dynasty cultivators engaged in hushed conversation not far away.
He had just made the excuse of "having business to attend to," but in reality, he'd come to scrounge up some spirit stones to pay his bill. He truly hadn't intended to dine and dash—he was simply too broke.
Three low-grade spirit stones was already a fortune to him.
This was also one of his important sources of cultivation resources in recent years.
However, the moment he drew close, he overheard a piece of news that made his blood run cold.
"Did you hear? They caught another 'Calamity Star!'" a shrill voice said with a hint of excitement.
"Oh? Which outpost caught them?" another gruff voice asked.
"It wasn't an outpost that caught them. Someone actively defected to the Holy Dynasty and helped set a trap to lure in another 'Calamity Star'!"
The shrill voice dropped lower. "They say the one who defected was a formation prodigy who laid a trap that completely trapped the other one..."
"Tsk tsk, these Calamity Stars are truly sinister. Even turning on their own people like that..."
"The Holy Emperor declared that anyone who captures a Calamity Star will be heavily rewarded! Maybe we could too..."
Jiang Che could no longer hear the rest. He only felt his entire body turn cold, as if plunged into an icy abyss.
The news struck like a bolt from the blue, shaking his soul to its core.
He had to know more! He had to know who had betrayed them and who had been captured!
Thoughts of paying his bill, his shortage of spirit stones—all of it was instantly cast to the winds.
At this moment, only one thought filled his mind—capture these two Holy Dynasty lapdogs and pry open their mouths!
A resolute killing intent flashed through Jiang Che's eyes.
Though he only had early-stage Profound Passage cultivation, as a prodigy of the lower realm's Immortal Spirit Holy Land, his foundation was far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
He silently produced a talisman brush—his most valuable possession right now, one he'd swiped off a Holy Dynasty cultivator. It was a "Green Jade Talisman Brush" that barely reached the spirit artifact level.
Jiang Che bit the tip of his tongue, spraying a mouthful of essence blood onto the talisman brush. The brush tip instantly blazed with green light!
He drew rapidly through the air, and a complex restriction rune instantly took shape, silently enveloping the two completely unaware Holy Dynasty cultivators!
"Who's there?!" The two cultivators finally sensed something was wrong, but it was too late!
The green light descended, and the two were trapped as if in a quagmire. Their movements instantly became sluggish, and they couldn't even make a sound!
Jiang Che's face paled. He forcefully endured the weakness from his essence blood loss and dashed forward.
His talisman brush pointed directly at their brows. "Soul Search!"
This concerned crucial intelligence—he had no choice but to employ extreme measures!
Just as the talisman brush was about to make contact, a terrifyingly overwhelming pressure descended from the heavens!
"How dare a mere ant!"
It was like a thunderclap exploding. Jiang Che was struck as if by a sledgehammer, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood as his entire body was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground!
From midair, a middle-aged cultivator wearing Holy Dynasty black armor slowly descended. His expression was cold and stern, and the aura around him was as vast as the ocean.
He was unmistakably a powerhouse at the Perfection of the Guiyuan Realm!
"M-My Lord!" The two restricted cultivators cried out with a mix of surprise and joy.
The black-armored cultivator gave Jiang Che a cold glance.
"Early Profound Passage? Yet you managed to restrict two late Profound Passage cultivators. Interesting."
"Are you a spy from the Anti-Holy Alliance?"
Jiang Che's heart filled with terror. He forced himself to stand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his mind raced.
Guiyuan Realm Perfection! This was far beyond anything he could handle!
He had to flee! He must escape!
"Not talking?" The black-armored cultivator sneered. "Then die!"
He casually waved his hand, and a pitch-black palm print materialized out of thin air. It carried an aura of corrosive malevolence, and slammed toward Jiang Che!
Jiang Che's pupils contracted. His talisman brush danced wildly, essence blood spraying out as if it cost nothing.
"Five Elements Escape Art!"
Hum!
Five-colored radiance flared, and Jiang Che's figure instantly blurred, narrowly avoiding the palm print by the slimmest of margins.
The ground where he'd been standing was struck by the palm print, instantly corroding into a deep pit that sizzled and smoked.
"Hmm? Not a bad escape art." The black-armored cultivator appeared mildly surprised, but the killing intent in his eyes only intensified.
"But it's still not enough!"
He formed hand seals, and the void instantly solidified like iron! Jiang Che's escape art was broken on the spot, his figure reappearing!
"Die!" The black-armored cultivator pointed a finger, and a spectral light tore through the air, heading straight for Jiang Che's heart!
There was no way to dodge!
A mad light flashed through Jiang Che's eyes. He violently plunged the talisman brush into his own chest.
"By my essence blood, burn my soul! Open!"
BOOM!
An aura far surpassing the Profound Passage Realm erupted from within Jiang Che! The Green Jade Talisman Brush shattered inch by inch, transforming into a brilliant streak of light that forcefully blocked that deadly spectral beam!
"Pfft—!" Jiang Che spewed fresh blood once more, his face turning as white as paper. His aura instantly withered.
But using the force of the rebound, he transformed into a streak of blood light, frantically fleeing toward Wangzhou City!
"Burning your origin?!" The black-armored cultivator laughed instead of growing angry.
He took a step forward, shadowing Jiang Che's every move. "I'd like to see how long you can last!"
Ahead, Jiang Che desperately burned his already meager origin, his speed pushed to the absolute limit. Only one thought filled his mind: escape to Wangzhou City!
Once inside the city, there would be hope for survival!
Behind him, the black-armored cultivator pursued with the ease of a leisurely stroll. He periodically fired off attacks that forced Jiang Che to dodge awkwardly, his injuries steadily worsening.
"That's about enough." The black-armored cultivator seemed to have grown bored. A cold light flashed in his eyes as his speed suddenly surged, and he slammed a palm toward Jiang Che's back!
Jiang Che sensed the lethal threat behind him, and despair flickered in his eyes. He was already completely spent, unable to even burn his origin anymore...
At this critical juncture, a patrol squad from the Anti-Holy Alliance suddenly emerged from the woods ahead!
"Enemy attack! It's a Holy Dynasty Guiyuan Realm!" The patrol captain cried out in alarm, unhesitatingly activating a signal talisman!
Whoosh—Crack!
A crimson firework exploded in the sky!
The black-armored cultivator's movements paused. He gave a cold snort.
"Consider yourself lucky!"
He glared coldly at Jiang Che one final time, then turned and departed as a streak of black light.
Though powerful at the Guiyuan Realm, even he didn't dare linger too long in the heart of Anti-Holy Alliance territory.
Jiang Che saw his powerful enemy retreat, and his heart relaxed. The willpower he'd been forcefully sustaining instantly collapsed.
His vision went black, and he plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the roadside brush.
In his hazy consciousness, he felt his internal organs had shifted, his meridians were severed, and his origin was depleted. His cultivation couldn't even maintain the Profound Passage Realm anymore.
This time, he'd truly taken a massive loss.
"I wonder... how Junior Brother Hong is doing..." he thought muzzily.
"Damn it, that kid... probably thinks I dined and dashed..."
Just then, he vaguely saw a figure walking quickly toward him. The silhouette was thin, clothes tattered... somewhat familiar...
Jiang Che tried desperately to see clearly, but his vision was blurred. Assuming it was a hallucination from his severe injuries, he gave a bitter smile and used his last ounce of strength to murmur.
"Brother... don't blame me... your senior brother really didn't skip out on the bill on purpose..."
With that, his head lolled to the side, and he lost consciousness completely.
Hong Longxiang, who had rushed over, happened to hear that final line about "not skipping out on the bill on purpose." Seeing Jiang Che covered in blood and barely clinging to life, his belly full of anger instantly evaporated.
"Senior Brother!" Chen Xingcai had already rushed to Jiang Che's side in a single step, frantically checking his injuries.
Discovering the situation was far more serious than it appeared, her delicate brows furrowed.
"Origin burning, meridians completely severed... Senior Brother must have encountered a powerful enemy."
Hong Longxiang watched Chen Xingcai's expression of worry far exceeding what she'd shown when she'd met him earlier. A complex emotion flickered through his heart.
But after so many years of tempering, his will was already resolute. In an instant, he dispelled that trace of complicated feeling and stepped forward to help support Jiang Che.
Chen Xingcai quickly took out several pills and stuffed them into Jiang Che's mouth. She then used pure spiritual energy to protect his heart meridian, finally stabilizing his injuries.
"Let's take him back to our lodging first." Chen Xingcai's tone was grave.
"With injuries like Senior Brother's, he'll need to rest for quite some time."
The two hurriedly carried Jiang Che away.
...