Five miles outside the canyon, above a gully formed by a mudslide, a dim green light flickered, and a blurry figure descended from the sky.
Gripping the Soul-Devouring Beast's horn, and confirming that no one was around, Chen Ke adjusted his invisibility suit and flew towards the canyon.
There's no such thing as a thousand days of guarding against thieves, only a thousand days of thievery.
The more than a thousand white-clad assassins in the canyon could strike anywhere in this mountainous region, attacking the Chen family's caravan.
Moreover, the Chen family's caravan was too large; it would take at least half a month to traverse this 500-mile radius of mountainous terrain.
This made it even more difficult to defend against.
Therefore, Chen Ke could only approach the canyon, trying to obtain some useful information.
At the very least, he needed to observe the movements of these white-clad assassins.
If the opportunity arose, he would join forces with the Chen family's warriors and Ding Lizhen to wipe out these assassins in one fell swoop.
Outside the canyon, jagged rocks stood amidst overgrown weeds.
Chen Ke, empowered by the "Thousand-Faced Guanyin Technique" and the "Ghost King's Escape Technique," transformed into a black phantom and silently advanced along the gentle uphill slope.
The entrance to the canyon was well-hidden; the mountains on both sides gradually narrowed inwards, and some crooked trees grew there, making it seem like a dead end at first glance.
Chen Ke lay hidden in the hay, scouting for a moment to make sure no one was guarding the entrance before emerging, crouching low, and slipping into the canyon.
His vision gradually opened up; the trees on both sides of the canyon were dense, their trunks leaning towards the canyon.
On the uneven rocky ground, small puddles of water could be seen intermittently, their flow unclear—whether spring water or accumulated rainwater.
Drip, drip!
The red dots reappeared in the viewing window.
Chen Ke's face paled; eight red dots were slowly moving in from four directions.
He was surrounded!
Whoosh!
A figure flashed out directly in front of him. The old man's cold gaze fell on Chen Ke, and he sneered, "Not bad, managing to follow me all the way here. It's just a pity your stealth skills are lacking!"
Chen Ke's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He had underestimated the strength of that expert. It turned out that the person had been hiding all along, avoiding him.
He had also made a fatal mistake: relying too much on the radar window.
Since they were experts, when on guard, they would naturally conceal their aura and even hide their forms.
In this situation, the radar would not be able to detect their presence.
But when he was completely surrounded, these experts stopped concealing their aura and forms, blocking all his escape routes.
Two in front, two behind, and two on each side of the hillside.
A chilling killing intent and a powerful pressure were applied to Chen Ke almost simultaneously.
Chen Ke's whole body went cold, as if his blood was about to freeze, and the true energy flowing in his meridians became sluggish.
There was no escape.
Chen Ke desperately resisted the oppressive aura emanating from the other party, gripping the hilt of the Dragon Tail Sword tightly, and instantly summoned the mouse.
*Beep beep!*
"The target's biomagnetic field is strong. Your soul value needs to reach 3000 points to view skill attributes."
*Beep beep!*
"The target's biomagnetic field is strong. Your soul value needs to reach 2800 points to view skill attributes."
Damn it.
Chen Ke looked at the two people in front of him, his remaining half-heart completely cold.
He controlled the mouse pointer and quickly scanned the remaining six people.
Good news: the skill attributes of four people were readable.
Bad news: the biomagnetic fields of two people were still too strong, and the mouse couldn't penetrate them at all.
The leading white-robed elder sneered: "Boy, stop looking around. Even if you are Ding Lizhen, you won't escape our encirclement today!"
Chen Ke remained silent, but his mind was rapidly calculating various escape routes.
No matter which method he used, he had to kill several experts and break through their encirclement.
The key question was, what price would he have to pay?
This was no joke; a single mishap could cost him his life.
He had initially expected the eight white-robed experts to attack immediately, but they merely held their positions, showing no intention of making a move.
Chen Ke suddenly realized that they probably suspected he had accomplices, hence their hesitation.
Two more white-robed experts hadn't appeared yet, undoubtedly searching the outer edge of the canyon.
If they returned, wouldn't his chances of escape be even slimmer?
Chen Ke gritted his teeth and suddenly charged forward with incredible speed.
However, halfway there, he abruptly turned around and ran back the way he came.
Divine Speed Technique!
In an instant, Chen Ke accelerated, like a bolt of lightning, rushing towards the white-robed experts on his left.
The eight experts watched Chen Ke's attempt to break free, their eyes flashing with surprise.
Not because Chen Ke was too strong, but because he was too weak.
They had always assumed that Chen Ke, who had managed to track them all the way here, was at least a level sixty-four expert.
Judging from Chen Ke's movements and the flow of his aura, he probably wasn't even at the forty-eighth level!
Although Chen Ke's movements were fast, they weren't particularly impressive to them.
A mere forty-eighth level cultivator trying to escape their encirclement was a pipe dream!
The white-robed expert looked at the charging Chen Ke with a mocking smile, his right hand transforming into a blade, a burst of red light surging from its tip.
Unexpectedly, when Chen Ke was less than three meters away, he changed direction again.
With a beautiful sidestep, Chen Ke accelerated once more, rushing towards the white-robed expert on his right.
Format!
Haotian Divine Sword!
Blood-red killing intent!
Death Devouring!
Under the mocking gazes of the eight experts, the blood-red dragon-tail sword precisely pierced the white-robed expert's throat!
*Pfft!*
A spray of blood erupted from the back of the white-robed expert's neck as the bone sword pierced through.
The white-robed expert's eyes widened, staring incredulously at Chen Ke before him.
Even in his dying moments, he couldn't believe that a mere level forty-eight could pierce his throat with a single sword strike.
"Hmph, this is the price of underestimating me!"
*Thud!*
Chen Ke drew his sword, and the white-robed expert's withered body instantly collapsed, scattering into ashes.
The corpse's powerful soul energy was absorbed by the chrysanthemum on the Greedy Tooth Ring.
A gray current of energy entered Chen Ke's body, instantly transforming into boiling blood and qi, burning fiercely.
Truly a master; his blood and qi are incredibly powerful.
*Ding!*
"Congratulations, you have absorbed soul energy. Your soul value limit has increased by 50 points."
The moment the dialogue box popped up, Chen Ke had already rushed up the right-hand hillside, thrusting his sword at one of the men again.
The seven white-robed masters were still in a state of extreme shock.
They never expected that Chen Ke, with his low strength, could kill their companion with a single sword strike!
The bizarre withering of their companion's corpse into ash was even more unsettling.
What kind of evil magic was this?
Could the opponent be a demon?
Although everyone was on high alert, especially the two white-robed masters on the right-hand hillside, an unbelievable scene unfolded again.
*Thud!*
The bone sword, radiating blood-red light, pierced another man's throat.
Only one strike.
One strike to the throat!