Chapter 1: When the father suffers humiliation, the son will surely avenge him

  Calm and focused, Xiao Chen forced himself to enter a meditative state, but due to the intense physical pain, it took him a full minute to barely get into the right mindset. After an unknown amount of time had passed, when the sky was slightly brightening, a faintly cool spiritual energy began to circulate within his body, slowly flowing through his damaged veins. Xiao Chen opened his eyes, revealing a hint of relaxation in his gaze. He reached back with his hand and used the remaining bits of spiritual power to retrieve several bottles of medicinal pellets from his storage bag. As for the various precious treasures obtained from the sealed lands that could rapidly recover his injuries, although they were extremely valuable, Xiao Chen thought it over briefly before deciding not to use them. After all, those ancient medicines above a thousand years old were exceptionally precious, and their effects would be maximized only when refined into pellets and consumed.

  "With the help of these medicinal pills, I should be able to recover from my injuries quickly." Xiao Chen forced open the bottle's seal and poured out several pills, swallowing them into his mouth.

  The elixir melted as soon as it entered, and the medicinal power instantly transformed into a dense spiritual energy that burst out suddenly, rapidly circulating along Xiao Chen's severely damaged meridians.

  "Ugh!" Xiao Chen groaned, his face suddenly turning deathly pale, with fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. At this moment, the meridians in his body were severely damaged, and under the crazy circulation of spiritual energy, he felt wave after wave of pain piercing deep into his bones. However, fortunately, the injuries in his body were gradually recovering as the spiritual energy circulated, Xiao Chen gritted his teeth, allowing the spiritual energy to circulate within him.

  It wasn't until this spiritual energy had been depleted by more than half due to the repair of his physical injuries that the intense pain gradually dissipated, turning into a cool and refreshing sensation.

  Thus, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged in this place, constantly swallowing Dan medicine to refine the medicinal power, and the injuries inside his body gradually improved.

  Li Xun was an ordinary loose cultivator, but fortunately obtained a damaged five-element spell jade slip in his early years, which allowed him to embark on the path of cultivation. Over the years, relying on deceitful and murderous means, he barely cultivated to the fifth level of Qi Refining stage, and among many low-level loose cultivators, he was considered a number one figure. However, only he himself understood that his cultivation had long been stagnant, and without any extraordinary encounters, his cultivation in this life would be limited to the Qi Refining stage.

  Li Xun, despite his humble origins, had grand ambitions and was not content to remain stagnant. He often ventured alone into the deep mountains and forests, seeking treasures that could enhance his cultivation. Although he encountered powerful demonic beasts, each time he managed to turn misfortune into fortune, finding many aged spiritual herbs and even killing a severely injured second-tier demonic beast, Duo Er Hou, in a stroke of luck. Using its inner elixir, he exchanged it for a bottle of 20 Spirit Tempering Pills at the market, which greatly accelerated his cultivation under the pills' assistance. He reached the current realm of Seventh Layer Qi Refining. If he could further advance to Eighth Layer Qi Refining, he would be qualified to join the major sects and obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, giving him a great opportunity to soar to great heights and become a high-ranking Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  Just half a day ago, he had sensed from afar two powerful auras clashing in combat. The intensity of that feeling was absolutely that of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they were definitely at the mid-stage or higher!

  When two tigers fight, one must be injured. If grasped well, there is still a possibility of fishing in troubled waters. After hesitating for a long time, Li Xun's heart was determined, and he set up the Escape Light to rush towards the source of the aura. Along the way, the fluctuations of the two auras became more intense, until they suddenly stopped at the end, and both sides suddenly and simultaneously declined sharply, finally gradually disappearing in his perception.

  "Could it be that the two of them have perished together?" Li Xun's heart was ablaze with excitement, as the auras of the two individuals dissipated into nothingness. Even if they hadn't fallen at the same time, they must have suffered extremely severe injuries. If he could eliminate these two people, the storage bags of two Foundation Establishment middle-stage cultivators would be his for the taking - just thinking about it made him tremble with excitement.

  "Damn it, the source of the breath is clearly coming from here, how can there be no sign of a fight?" Li Xun's face was gloomy, his divine sense constantly being released, slowly sweeping over the ground, but without any gain.

  "Could it be that these two were injured and have already left this place?" Thinking of this possibility, his face became even more unsightly.

  "Hmm, no!" His divine sense swept over from somewhere, Li Xun was stunned for a moment, and then a look of wild joy appeared on his face. With a flash of light on his body, he rushed forward at incredible speed.

  After Xuan Zhen was killed, the demonic energy on his body dissipated completely. His corpse fell from mid-air and had already become a bloody mess. However, the storage pouch at his waist remained intact, quietly lying amidst the bloodstains.

  "Storage bag!" Li Xun's face was overjoyed, and he couldn't wait to clean the bloodstains. He took it in his hand, swung it out with a spiritual decision, and his divine sense swept through it. His face suddenly turned bright red.

  "It's done, it's done! With all the treasures in this storage bag, I'm sure to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If fate permits, maybe even achieving the Golden Dan Great Dao isn't impossible!" Li Xun was able to rely solely on a fragment of a Five Elements technique he obtained in his early years and cultivate to such a realm by himself, aside from being meticulous and ruthless, his spiritual roots and innate talent wouldn't be too bad either. At least it's top-notch material. Now that he has obtained that mysterious storage bag, it's equivalent to getting nearly half of the Qingling Sect's legacy. If he were to leave now, who knows what accomplishments he might have in the future.

  But at this moment, his greedy thoughts were stirring, and he looked again at the figure sitting cross-legged not far away.

  "This person can survive in the struggle, and his cultivation and treasure must be higher than mine. If I can get his storage bag, the path to becoming a Golden Elixir Master is certain!" Li Xuan's eyes were burning with excitement, carefully putting away Xuan Zhen's storage bag before slowly releasing his divine sense to wrap around Xiao Chen. If there was anything unusual, he would immediately turn and escape, but everything went unexpectedly smoothly, his divine sense reaching Xiao Chen's body without detecting even a hint of spiritual energy, the vitality was extremely weak, as if it would dissipate in an instant."

  "Heaven is helping me, heaven is helping me. It seems that the heavens have also determined that I, Li Xun, am absolutely not a mediocre person, and this is why they have brought me such a great opportunity." Li Xun's heart was filled with joy, but he had always been cautious and careful, which was why he had lived safely until today. So even though Xiao Chen appeared weak at the moment, he still did not dare to be careless.

  Hurry!

  He spat out a flying knife that was entirely crimson, three inches in size. This flying knife was an inferior spiritual artifact, which he had obtained by risking his life to kill a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining. It had been stored within his body and nurtured with warmth.

  After this flying knife appeared, it turned into a fiery red line and flashed down to behead Xiao Chen.

  At this moment, a white-clothed figure suddenly appeared beside Xiao Chen, his brow slightly furrowed, and with a slight wave of his hand towards the flying knife, without any visible means, the flying knife's momentum came to an abrupt halt, and then stabbed into thin air.

  The sudden appearance of the woman startled Li Xuan, and upon closer inspection, he discovered her breathtaking beauty, and his eyes involuntarily revealed a few sparks of passion. He chuckled and said: "So you're just a ghost slave, your cultivation is only at the fifth level of the Refining Qi stage. Do you think you can stop me? Unfortunately, once I kill your master, you'll dissipate along with him. Otherwise, after my power increases, I'll re-condense your body for you... Hehe..."

  Yu Ji frowned, a few hints of murderous intent flashing in her eyes, and shouted: "How dare you! You don't know life or death!"

  "You don't know whether you're dead or alive, huh? Well, I'd like to see who's the one who doesn't know whether they're dead or alive!" Li Xuan's eyes flashed with a fierce and sinister light, and with a wave of his hand, he cast out several magic spells. The flying knife emitted a burst of dazzling red light, shooting straight towards Yu Ji.

  Yu Ji's eyebrows furrowed, and her face revealed a few points of solemnity. She had been cultivating in the sealed land since she was young, but her cultivation had fallen to a low point, only reaching the early stage of Golden Elixir. Later, in order to break the seal, she fought against Chu Kuang and Ling Shi, and her physical body was destroyed, even her primordial spirit almost dispersed. At this moment, she only had the cultivation base of Refining Qi period, fifth layer realm, but no matter how many methods she had, she couldn't use them.

  "Mo Yan, burn!" Yu Ji's low voice sounded, and the demonic energy condensed out of thin air, transforming into clusters of dark black flames that formed a layer of demonic flame shields outside her body. These flames were as black as ink, looking icy cold without any temperature, yet emitting a strange and eerie sound that made people's minds uneasy.

  "Devilish work!" Li Xun's pupils constricted, and a hint of apprehension appeared on his face. Those who cultivate devilish arts are cunning and have many tricks up their sleeves. Most of their techniques can taint the opponent's magic treasures and harm their spiritual soul. This flying knife is his refined spirit device; if it were to be damaged, he would certainly suffer severe consequences.

  With a wave of his hand, the flying dagger was recalled, and Li Xun turned over to take out a stone-sized Buddhist bead with holes on both sides from his storage bag. A few flashes of pain passed through his eyes, and if he used it again, the Buddha's power contained in this treasure would probably disappear completely. However, soon after being suppressed by a fiery heat, if he could get this person's storage bag, this loss was really nothing.

  "Go!" Spiritual energy poured in, and the inconspicuous Buddhist beads suddenly emitted a burst of brilliant Buddha light. The sound of chanting voices faintly emerged, the Buddha light surged, even forming illusory images of Buddhas. At the same time, a powerful Buddha force swept out.

  The Buddha beads suddenly shook, and quickly fell towards Yu Ji.

  "Buddha's treasure!" Yu Ji's face suddenly turned gloomy, for a demonic cultivator like herself, the Buddha's treasure had an extremely restraining effect. If she were in her prime, this bit of Buddhist power wouldn't have been taken seriously by her, but at this moment it became quite troublesome.

  "Flame Reversal, Soul Evolution, Devour!"

  Yu Ji was inwardly shocked, but her expression remained calm and collected. Her slender fingers slightly pointed, and the rolling demonic flames instantly transformed into a massive black whirlpool several meters in size. Illusory demonic shadows wildly burst out from within, rushing straight towards the Buddha's bead.

  Splish splash!

  The demon's soul and the Buddha's beads met, like hot oil encountering cold water, suddenly rolling violently.

  The demonic shadow entered the Buddha's light, and immediately let out a mournful howl. It was quickly purified and dispersed, but at the same time, the Buddha's light also dimmed slightly. Although the demonic shadow knew it would die, it still fearlessly rushed forward in a frenzy, opening its mouth to devour wildly before its death. As these shadows dissipated, Yu Ji's complexion became increasingly pale, and the aura on her body continued to weaken and disperse.