Chapter 26: Despicable

Chapter 26: Despicable

The young couple chasing the Fire-Patterned Python sensed someone approaching.

The two kept a wary eye on the newcomers while speeding up to finish off the python.

The Fire-Patterned Python struggled relentlessly but was already at its last gasp. Finally, the female cultivator bound and killed it with her artifact. They showed a flicker of joy, but by then the newcomers had already arrived.

The two recognized the attire of the arrivals, exchanged a glance, and said politely, "So it's Senior Brother from Flying Stone Peak."

The newcomer, however, rudely stared at the still-struggling Fire-Patterned Python and the artifact binding it, and replied without courtesy, "What luck, finding this right at the entrance. The Fate-Thread—a fine treasure. It's wasted on you."

Their expressions changed instantly. "Senior Brother, what do you mean by that?"

The newcomer said, "Don't you understand? I want the Fate-Thread."

The two quickly became alert. "Our Soaring Wind Valley has always been on good terms with Flying Stone Peak. Senior Brother, aren't you afraid the sect will punish you?"

"As long as you're not around to tell, it's fine."

Their faces paled. "Run!"

But the Flying Stone Peak disciple had already drawn his sword, with no intention of letting them leave.

The young couple fought two-on-one but were still outmatched. In desperation, they summoned the Fate-Thread, but still couldn't block the relentless assault.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the fight was over. Both were defeated by the opponent's artifact.

"Junior Sister, run!"

"Heh."

The male cultivator, seeing no hope, desperately wrapped the Fate-Thread around the deadly flying sword, not realizing the Flying Stone Peak cultivator used twin swords. The short sword was faster and pierced the female cultivator's chest from behind.

"Ah!"

"Junior Sister!"

"Your turn."

"Ugh!"

In an instant, the two trying to flee separately were struck down one after another.

A breeze passed, bringing a faint smell of blood.

Shang Yunduo and Lou Dengge both instantly realized this was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Foundation Establishment disciple from Flying Stone Peak unhurriedly collected the storage pouches of the ill-fated couple, burned their bodies, then used the Fate-Thread to bind the dying Fire-Patterned Python and kill it. He extracted its tendons, skinned it, cut off its fangs, and removed its venom sac. Only then did he prepare to leave by sword flight.

Shang Yunduo's heart, which had been in his throat, slowly relaxed. Just as he let out a breath, the man suddenly turned and hurled his sword toward their hiding spot.

Who had exposed them?

No time to think. Shang Yunduo quickly crossed his arms in front of him, using his arm guard to block the flying sword, and jumped aside.

The blow forced two people out of hiding. The Foundation Establishment cultivator was startled too. He quickly sized them up and picked his first target.

Before Shang Yunduo could steady himself and discuss via voice transmission whether to fight or flee—separately or together—he heard Lou Dengge shout, "Daoist Shang, go find your master!"

Shang Yunduo: "???"

What master did he have?

In the blink of an eye, before he could react, Lou Dengge had already slapped on a Haste Talisman, darted out over a hundred meters, and vanished into the mountains and forest.

Deceived by this, the Foundation Establishment cultivator turned his attention to Shang Yunduo, who apparently "had backing" and was more likely to run.

"..."

Shang Yunduo cursed him as despicable under his breath and slapped on a Haste Talisman to bolt.

What made it even more infuriating was that the Haste Talisman Lou Dengge used was one Shang Yunduo had given him!

Ahead were low hills and dense forests. Without a second thought, Shang Yunduo plunged into them.

First, his meridians were injured, making sword flight inconvenient.

Second, the opponent had higher cultivation; even if he flew, he might not outrun him. He'd be better off using the terrain to hide.

Shang Yunduo intended to take advantage of the terrain, but the opponent also had tracking experience. He flew through the forest while chasing, barely affected.

One ran wildly, the other chased fiercely, their speed matching. Shang Yunduo dared not be careless and ran wherever the terrain was most treacherous.

If Niu Chengdian and his group still used deception, traps, and other underhanded means to kill and rob, this Foundation Establishment cultivator was direct, crude, and far more brutal.

Just because he coveted the other's artifact, disregarding sect relations, he killed them on sight. His way of disposing of the bodies was even more practiced than someone who had burned dozens of corpses. It was easy to imagine what would happen if he fell into this man's hands.

Shang Yunduo was pushed to his limits. The Body Tempering techniques he had only learned but never used began to flow. He leaped, turned, jumped, and scrambled like an ape.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator was also greatly surprised. He hadn't expected this kid to be a body cultivator.

Not only that, but he was also wearing such clothes. In the dense forest, if he lost sight of him for a moment, he might lose him altogether.

He coveted Shang Yunduo's clothes and arm guard, so he wasn't about to let him go easily. Originally, he planned to kill the kid first to seize the treasures and then go after the one who ran away. He hadn't expected Shang Yunduo to be so quick.

Forget it, he would kill this one first.

Shang Yunduo also hadn't expected the opponent to be so persistent.

Darts, hidden weapons, talismans—he sent them after him recklessly, as if they cost nothing.

Fortunately, the rocks and trees provided cover, and his defensive artifacts protected him. The opponent couldn't do much to him.

And so they ran, one chasing, one fleeing, for another two hours. The other hadn't caught up, and Shang Yunduo hadn't escaped.

Other cultivators from different sects in the distance saw them but avoided getting involved in trouble. Shang Yunduo grew increasingly afraid of running into more disciples from Flying Stone Peak and being outnumbered.

Zhou Jiao swallowed a Qi Recovery Pill and sneered when he saw they were finally about to exit the mountain range.

On the ground, Shang Yunduo's view was blocked, so he couldn't see far. When he realized that ahead was a large open plain, he quickly wanted to turn back, but Zhou Jiao wouldn't miss the chance to catch him. He threw several Explosive Fire Talismans in the direction Shang Yunduo intended to run, blocking his path.

Shang Yunduo was forced to turn sharply again. He ran through the flames and dashed blindly in another direction, his legs almost blurring with speed.

At that moment, only one thought remained in his mind: the classic "never look back at explosions"—that wasn't just for style; it was because you literally didn't have time to!

If he didn't run faster, he would be too late!!

He no longer cared that Pei Jie had forbidden him from using spiritual power. He concentrated spiritual power into his legs and feet, almost as if taking flight, sprinting desperately through the blazing light as if he were racing a hundred meters.

Explosions piled on explosions, flames mixed with flames. Startled birds and animals in the forest scattered in all directions. As the smoke and fire dissipated, Zhou Jiao thought he would see an injured Shang Yunduo, but there were only craters, burning and toppled trees—no trace of Shang Yunduo at all.

Looking up again, leaves rustled in the distance; who else could it be but Shang Yunduo, already running over a thousand feet away?

Gritting his teeth, he unleashed the Fate-Thread and dual swords, pushing his flying sword to its maximum speed.

A persistent ghost.

Shang Yunduo dodged haphazardly, hurriedly slapping on another Haste Talisman. He barely evaded the Fate-Thread, only to have to dodge the relentless mother-and-child swords again.

That young couple had just died on these two swords; he had no idea what grade of artifact they were, or if they could pierce his defensive artifact.

"Fellow cultivator, we've never met—there's no need to kill me outright!" Seeing a lake ahead, Shang Yunduo had no choice but to veer sharply again.

In response, he got only a cold snort.

Shang Yunduo sighed inwardly.

If he could help it, he didn’t want to fight anyone, especially someone with higher cultivation than him.

But his opponent could keep eating pills, while if his own spiritual power ran out, he would injure his meridians.

Shang Yunduo stopped abruptly, turned around, and grabbed the Fate-Thread that the other party hadn’t yet refined. The semi-transparent thread glistened cold and sharp as a blade, but for now it could do nothing against his defensive qi.

The Fate-Thread coiled around him like a snake. Having just seen how that unlucky python had been tied up, Shang Yunduo wouldn’t let it succeed—he grabbed it and pulled it taut.

His hand wasn’t cut.

He had defended successfully.

Relieved, Shang Yunduo called out loudly: “My family never allowed me to fight since I was a child. How about we call it quits? You go your way, I go mine, as if we never met.”

With the Fate-Thread caught, Zhou Jiao wasn’t about to listen. He never imagined Shang Yunduo could grab the Fate-Thread barehanded!

Even early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t do that. How many artifacts did this kid have?

For now, he could only command the Fate-Thread to try to entangle Shang Yunduo again while accelerating the dual swords’ attack and closing in himself.

Seeing this, Shang Yunduo simply wrapped the Fate-Thread around his arm, took out Tang Huan’s Giant Sword, and swung it in a wide arc to knock the approaching dual swords away.

Seeing his sword, Zhou Jiao’s eyes lit up: “Xuan Yi spiritual treasure!”

Shang Yunduo bragged shamelessly: “A mere treasure? I have plenty! Take this!”

Zhou Jiao laughed: “Good, good, good—then I really can’t let you go!”

As he spoke, he caught the dual swords and attacked Shang Yunduo.

Shang Yunduo thought: Great, you dare to get close! I was afraid you wouldn’t come down!

He swung the giant sword to meet the attack. The swords clashed, and the resulting sword wind knocked the surrounding trees askew.

Shang Yunduo was forced back by the sword aura, sliding a great distance across the ground before stopping. His necklace and belt were triggered simultaneously, blocking the relentless sword pressure.

He quickly suppressed his surging blood and qi, feeling nauseated from the impact. Was the gap between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment really this huge?

Zhou Jiao also stumbled back several steps, staring at Shang Yunduo in shock. Just a Qi Refining cultivator, and yet he could push him back? No wonder he was a body cultivator—such immense strength.

But…

his eyes gleamed as he stared at Shang Yunduo. This kid really did have more hidden treasures.

Shang Yunduo took a deep breath, swung his sword, and charged once more.

A second time, a third time…

Confirming that Zhou Jiao could only suppress him with spiritual power and that his weapons were useless against his array of artifacts, Shang Yunduo relaxed completely. He suddenly retracted the giant sword, dodged the short sword, and closed in—first with a punch, then a palm strike. Taking another step, he grabbed Zhou Jiao’s arm and, before Zhou Jiao could react, hurled him like a sandbag into the nearby rocks.

Zhou Jiao hadn’t expected him to suddenly drop his weapon; caught off guard, he suffered a slight setback. Hastily twisting in midair, he pushed off the rock to counterattack, only to find several small wooden beads appear before his eyes.

“Huh?”

What was this?

In a flash, he sensed danger. Before he could even see what they were, a pure fire qi surged, and the bead-like objects exploded into roaring flames.

The fire came so suddenly that he frantically cast a spell, but still got singed and his clothes burned. He cursed angrily: “Aren’t you supposed to be a body cultivator?!”

“I—cultivate everything!” Shang Yunduo finally saw an opening, lunged forward, and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks. “Body Techniques—I cultivate them too!”

Gritting his teeth, he used every move he could recall, attacking recklessly with all his strength. Even the “many-arms many-legs fist” that he could never master came out. Caught up in the frenzy, his punches unconsciously carried spiritual power, each strike stronger than the last, like waves driven by a gale, slamming heavily into the sword the opponent raised to block.

Crack—

Both their hearts tightened.

Zhou Jiao’s short sword had its blade shattered.

Shang Yunduo quickly glanced at the ring on his finger. Good, it’s fine—that scared him.

Whether it was due to the spiritual power in his punches or the ring’s effect, the sword broke in half. The continuous punch wind rushed through the blade, creating a gust that drove Zhou Jiao’s chest inward, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a “pfft.”

Shang Yunduo stepped back two paces, his own blood and qi surging, and took deep breaths.

Ten beads circled him like a Dharma ring.

It must look really cool.

Shang Yunduo praised himself inwardly while also thinking, Damn it.

He had used half of his spiritual power, and his meridians were starting to ache.

But no matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t lose momentum and reveal a weakness. He put on a disdainful expression, pulled the now-docile Fate-Thread off his arm, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it into his storage pouch: “Still want to fight?”

Zhou Jiao tried to say something, but coughed up blood again. Wiping his mouth, he exclaimed with shock and anger: “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m your grandfather!”

Shang Yunduo thought: At a time like this, can I really tell you? So you can remember and seek revenge?

Shang Yunduo took out his sword again, exhaled, and gripped the hilt tightly.

Let’s end this.

He stared at the nameless, inexplicable opponent, hearing his heartbeat grow louder.

Thump, thump, thump…

Feeling the gradually congealing killing intent, Zhou Jiao gritted his teeth, flung out a string of Explosive Fire Talismans, and fled on his flying sword at top speed.

Shang Yunduo dodged the flames, watching the direction of his retreat, unsure whether he felt anger or relief.

He didn’t dare stay either, ran for half an hour first before finding a cave to pull out his compass and determine his location.

He had no idea where he had ended up; the Central Mountain Range had ended up north of him.

Shang Yunduo sighed, then pulled out the Fate-Thread again.

Without anyone activating it, it was soft and delicate like a silk thread.

He wound it tightly around his finger and plucked it—quite sturdy, maybe he could make it into a zither string?

Recalling the method Pei Jie had taught him to refine the Wood Fire Pearl, Shang Yunduo refined the Fate-Thread as well.

But since he didn’t know how many people Soaring Wind Valley had sent, what size their sect was, or whether they would recognize the Fate-Thread and come after him, he decided to avoid using it for now.

Putting his things away, Shang Yunduo ate two more fruits, rested a little, and since it wasn’t dark yet, continued walking toward the Central Mountain Range.

It was the third day, and Pei Jie still hadn’t shown up; he didn’t know if Pei Jie was safe.

It was said that the entrance to the Ancient Plain Hidden Realm would shift nine or ten days after entry, and if one didn’t leave in time, they would be trapped inside forever, but at the moment, both the Central Mountain Range and the Floating Cloud Flower were still far away.

Shang Yunduo pulled his hat tighter—the closer he got to the center, the fiercer the competition; the more he thought, the more annoyed he got.

Thinking about the possibility of meeting that Foundation Establishment cultivator again, he felt a pang of regret.

The other person belonged to a sect; there were only the two of them. If the other side held a grudge, he didn’t know if they could get away unscathed.

He should have… just now…

But he also knew that he had only seriously wounded the other by exploiting the opponent's underestimation and carelessness. With his current power, killing a Foundation Establishment cultivator across an entire cultivation realm wasn’t that simple.

Maybe the other had hidden some life-saving or even counterattack artifacts.

Sigh…

If possible, he needed to become stronger.

He didn’t want to kill, nor did he want to be killed. In this vast cultivation world, he didn’t know what level he had to reach to protect himself.

Author's note:

Daoist Lou: I'm so jealous, so many artifacts, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator can’t do anything to him.

Yunduo: How dare you say that?!

Pei Jie: So I don’t understand what there is to be afraid of.

Yunduo: Senior, Senior, where are you?