Chapter 12: Extreme Yang Valley
"Forget it, since I've been discovered, I'll just go all out!"
The big man infused his True Qi into his long knife, his gaze fixed on Su Zhaoyue. He smirked and said, "Men must die, but if the woman is willing to serve me well, who knows, if I'm pleased, I might spare you!"
… Putting women above men?
Can this be tolerated?
Su Zhan's face turned cold, and he dashed forward.
Su Zhaoyue was startled and hurriedly said, "Be careful, this person is—"
"Whoosh!"
The sound of a sword tearing through the air rang out.
A gash appeared on the big man's neck, followed by a gush of blood that spurted out. His large body fell to the ground with a loud thud!
Even in death, his face still bore an expression of horror. It seemed that he never expected to be instantly killed by a Qi Sea Realm cultivator who was more than ten meters away from him.
"Who is he?" After killing the big man with a single sword strike, Su Zhan turned to Su Zhaoyue and asked.
"He…" Su Zhaoyue was a bit confused and didn't know how to organize her words for a moment.
After a while, she regained her senses and sighed, saying, "He is a notorious criminal in Liang Province, a practitioner of the demonic path. The number of warriors who have died at his hands is in the tens of thousands, including dozens of Essence Condensation Realm cultivators, it is rumored that he is very powerful and has already reached the peak of the Essence Condensation Realm!"
"The peak of the Essence Condensation Realm… Rumors are not to be trusted." Su Zhan looked at the corpse of the big man, feeling somewhat speechless. The peak of Essence Condensation Realm, and he was this weak?
It should have taken at least several sword strikes to kill him, right?
Taking off the storage ring from the big man's finger, Su Zhan looked at it curiously. Even though It was the lowest-grade storage treasure at the level of a Spiritual artifact, it was something he never had before.
This was the first time he had obtained such an item, so he couldn't help but be curious.
Infusing True Qi into the storage ring, Su Zhan felt that the space above the ring seemed to change. With a thought, he moved the sword in his hand towards the ring, and indeed, the sword's blade directly entered the empty space within the ring.
Putting the big man's Spiritual weapon, the large knife, into the storage ring, and after inspecting the contents inside, Su Zhan took out the sword and continued forward with Su Zhaoyue.
A day later, the two arrived at the entrance of a mountain valley.
"This is the Extreme Yang Valley, and it's also my target location."
Su Zhaoyue looked at the valley entrance, her emotions somewhat excited. "Inside the Extreme Yang Valley, there are some special Purple Yang Flowers that enhance cultivation. Let's hurry in and gather them!"
Just some cultivation-enhancing herbs?
Su Zhan furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that the gains from this journey were a bit too small.
Just as the two were about to enter the Extreme Yang Valley, another person arrived.
"Huh? It's you two wastes?"
Yang Tiangui stood on the other side of the valley entrance, looking somewhat surprised. "Qi Sea Realm cultivators can actually survive in the ruins for more than a day. It seems like you have really good luck, not even encountering a demonic beast or other cultivators!"
"Well, we've encountered you now, haven't we?" Su Zhan glanced at Yang Tiangui and said indifferently.
"Hahaha! So, your luck has turned bad!" The True Qi pressure emanating from Yang Tiangui suddenly erupted as he sneered, "Two Qi Sea Realm wastes, thinking of taking the Purple Yang Flowers in the Extreme Yang Valley? Even if I don't intervene, those demonic beasts waiting for the flowers to ripen can devour you two wastes!"
"Encountering me, at least I can make your deaths less painful!" As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Tiangui stepped forward.
Displaying a certain body technique, he dragged a long afterimage and attacked Su Zhan.
"A Profound Rank body technique!" Su Zhan's gaze slightly condensed, and without dodging or retreating, he also moved towards Yang Tiangui.
Using his Swift Wind Steps, his speed was not inferior to Yang Tiangui's.
After all, Yang Tiangui's Profound Rank body technique was only at the entry level, while his Swift Wind Steps had reached the pinnacle!
Moreover, he had even cultivated some Intent of footwork, allowing him to move with the wind.
Of course, the Intent of Swift Wind Steps was not as prominent as Sword Intent and was difficult for ordinary people to perceive.
"Interesting!" The corner of Yang Tiangui's mouth curled up. It seems like another person with some special treasures or who has encountered some great opportunities.
If it were an ordinary Essence Condensation Realm cultivator, they would probably be defeated by this person who surpasses their level. Unfortunately, you've encountered me, Yang Tiangui! Your opportunities and treasures will all belong to me today. Yang Tiangui sneered in his heart as he unsheathed his long blade from his waist!
"Ethereal Blade Strike!"
A Profound Rank low-grade martial arts blade technique. He had already cultivated it to a small achievement. With a single strike, a translucent ripple appeared in the space ahead.
It was the extremely domineering Qi of the Ethereal Blade Strike!
Su Zhan also displayed the Cold Sword Technique. At the same time, he activated the pinnacle-level body-refining martial arts, the Diamond Body Sutra, and a layer of golden light appeared on his body.
Underneath the golden light was a layer of jade-like, moist white light. It was the manifestation of the pinnacle level Cold Jade Art pushed to its limits!
"Sword Intent! How is this possible!" Yang Tiangui widened his eyes, shocked to the core.
Although reaching the level of comprehension for Intent was a basic condition for the Essence Condensation Realm, meeting the condition was one thing, being able to comprehend it was another.
As the number one talent in Liang Province, Yang Tiangui had only touched the threshold of Intent and hadn't truly mastered it. But now, a Qi Sea Realm cultivator had actually comprehended Sword Intent, which was something he found hard to accept.
"So what if you have Sword Intent? The gap in strength is there. Die for me!"
The sword and blade clashed.
Instantly, Yang Tiangui sensed the terrifying power contained in Su Zhan's sword, and his face changed drastically.
The next moment, he flew backward, only stabilizing himself several tens of meters away. His clothes had a long gash, revealing the silver-white armor underneath. His face turned pale, and he pressed his hand against his chest, seemingly suppressing the surging qi and blood inside his body.
"This is the number one talent in Liang Province? How could he be so weak?" Su Zhan was somewhat surprised.
He had thought there would be a fierce battle, but he didn't expect to send Yang Tiangui flying with a single sword strike.
"You!" Yang Tiangui was furious. His qi and blood surged, almost causing him to spit out blood.
"You're seeking death!" Yang Tiangui roared, and a black talisman appeared in his hand. He squeezed it lightly.
"Boom!" The talisman shattered, releasing a burst of black light. The black light condensed into a ten-meter-tall giant ghost with a terrifying black face and sharp fangs.
The giant ghost's two eyes emitted a pitch-black light, enveloping Su Zhan and Su Zhaoyue.
The next moment, the sky darkened, and terrifying and ferocious ghosts appeared all around, screaming as they rushed forward.
"Hahaha! Under the ‘Ghost King Soul-Shaking Talisman,' let me see how you resist!"
Yang Tiangui grinned maliciously, but his smile only lasted for a brief moment before dissipating.
As he watched Su Zhan casually walk out from the engulfing black light, Yang Tiangui was dumbfounded. He stuttered, "Y-you, how did you escape the environment of the Ghost King Soul-Shaking Talisman? With your Qi Sea Realm cultivation, it's impossible for your mental power to withstand such a corrosive attack!"
Ghost King Soul-Shaking Talisman?
It sounded impressive, but its effect seemed rather garbage!
Under the influence of the Composure Halo, although the ghastly creatures gnashed their teeth and claws, Su Zhan's inner world remained unaffected. It couldn't even muster a trace of disturbance, let alone be trapped in an illusion.
Seeing Yang Tiangui's incredulous expression, Su Zhan expressed his surprise, "Are you an idiot? Do you think a few ugly monsters twisting around can trap me? I wasn't raised to be easily frightened!"
"I…" Yang Tiangui covered his chest, his anger rising along with his blood. His mind was heated.
The mental attack talisman specially bestowed upon him by the Sect Master before he left was said to be able to intimidate any cultivator below the Martial Master Realm, even someone at the peak of the Essence Condensation Realm. It was supposed to shroud them in an illusion for at least three seconds before regaining clarity… It was his strongest trump card on this journey.
And now, in Su Zhan's words, it had become "a few ugly monsters twisting around"?
What the hell, did the Sect Master boast too much or was Su Zhan just too damn powerful???
Yang Tiangui was completely bewildered at this point.
His most powerful trump card was totally ignored by Su Zhan. He felt like the whole world was unreal, and he began to question the meaning of life.