"Not good—that's the Blood-Melting Demon Blade!"
The instant the burly demonic cultivator saw the saber embryo, his expression twisted in panic. He didn't even bother to pick up the fallen golden needle on the ground—he simply turned and bolted.
Unfortunately for him, facing a saber embryo whose might was close to that of a second-tier magic weapon, and with no defensive artifact left, he had no way to resist. Barely a dozen breaths later, Chen Nianzhi's saber light flashed—and the man's head flew from his shoulders.
The other old, skeletal demon fled under the protection of his defensive artifact, and in the blink of an eye had already shot several hundred meters away.
But his cultivation was ultimately a notch weaker. He only managed to escape that far before Chen Nianzhi cut him off at the edge of the island in the center of the lake.
The two exchanged blows, magic artifacts clashing. Earlier, even when the two demonic cultivators had joined forces, they hadn't been his match. Now, facing him alone, the old demon was naturally completely outclassed.
Barely ten moves later, Chen Nianzhi seized an opening.The crimson saber embryo smashed through the little demonic bell—and his sword followed in a cold arc, slicing the old demon cleanly in two.
When the battle finally ended, Chen Nianzhi didn't even bother with appearances. He dropped straight onto the ground, breathing hard.
Killing three late-stage Qi-Refining demonic cultivators was no simple feat, even for him—especially using the Red Iron Saber Embryo. A second-tier artifact like that was meant to be driven with true essence.
He had only barely managed to urge it with his exceptionally strong spiritual qi, and the cost had been enormous. Three uses of the saber embryo had drained nearly sixty percent of his qi.
Of course, the effect had been unquestionable.
The first strike shattered the Golden Heart-Piercing Needle.The second beheaded a ninth-layer Qi-Refining demon cultivator.The third broke the old demon's bell and took his life.
Every time the saber embryo came out, it earned its keep with a clean, decisive kill.
After resting for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, and recovering a bit of qi, Chen Nianzhi rose to his feet. He first burned the three demonic corpses to ash, erasing all traces, then began to sort through the spoils.
For all that he had killed three late-stage demonic cultivators, the actual gains weren't as great as one might think.
Most demonic artifacts were steeped in blood fiend energy. Using them recklessly would taint the mind and disturb one's spirit. Chen Nianzhi had no intention of using the demonic tools those three left behind.
The only item he could truly make use of was the Golden Heart-Piercing Needle. Like his little green shield, it was a proper righteous-path artifact.
As long as he erased the demonic imprints lingering inside it, he could refine it for his own use without any hidden dangers.
Once their owners died, the divine sense imprinted on the storage pouches became rootless, easy to disperse. He spent half a month slowly breaking open the three pouches.
Unfortunately, most of what was inside was things like blood crystals, demonic cores and other resources specific to demonic cultivation—practically useless to him. He couldn't very well sell them off and strengthen the enemy, so in the end he destroyed them on the spot.
If he had to pick something of value, it would only be the hundred-plus spirit stones scattered among the three bags. That at least counted as a decent haul.
All that, however, came later.
In truth, that very night, Chen Nianzhi rushed back to Green Tether Mountain in haste and went straight to the spiritual spring at the back mountain, where Chen Changxuan was still in seclusion.
He recounted the ambush in detail, then said with a solemn expression,
"Those three were all late-stage Qi-Refining demonic cultivators, and they had Six-Ghost Talismans in hand. They probably weren't nobodies.
"I'm worried…"
Chen Changxuan listened quietly, his brows furrowing for a moment. After a while, his expression eased, and he slowly shook his head.
"In Yu County, the only one who can refine Six-Ghost Talismans is that old demon Zhang.
"If that's the case, then their identity is obvious enough. Old Demon Zhang has six disciples at the late stage of Qi-Refining. We wiped out two when we purged the demonic sects before. Now you've killed three more. The remaining ones are no longer worth worrying about."
Hearing that, Chen Nianzhi finally let out a silent breath of relief.
But then another thought crept up in his mind, and a belated chill crept over him.
"I killed four of Old Demon Zhang's disciples in total. What if he comes for me himself?"
At that, Chen Changxuan actually smiled, shaking his head.
"Old Demon Zhang is cunning and paranoid by nature. Three years ago, he suffered heavily at my hands. I'd wager his injuries still aren't fully healed. In his state, he won't dare step into our Chen family's territory."
As he spoke, he hesitated for a heartbeat, then reached into his robe and took out a talisman.
"But just in case… take this. With it, you'll have nothing to fear."
"This is…"
Chen Nianzhi's heart trembled. He hadn't expected the clan head to hand this talisman to him.
This was the Blazing Heavenly Sword Talisman.
The previous patriarch had paid a tremendous price to seal his own divine ability into this one charm, leaving it behind as the Chen family's final trump card.
Its grade was as high as a second-tier superior talisman. Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was a true life-saving ace—used well, it might even kill a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert.
Back when the clan had faced a grave crisis, the patriarch had preferred to sell his own life-bound artifact rather than part with this talisman. That alone showed how precious it was.
Chen Changxuan pressed the talisman into Chen Nianzhi's hand, his expression uncharacteristically grave.
"This is the last piece of deep foundation our family has. Use it with care.
"Of course, if Old Demon Zhang really dares lay a finger on you, don't bother holding back. As long as you're alive, we can always earn everything else back."
Chen Nianzhi hesitated for a moment, but in the end he didn't refuse. He accepted the talisman with both hands.
He wasn't being polite for show—he genuinely understood that, among all the younger generation, he was the one who needed this talisman most.
"…"
With the Blazing Heavenly Sword Talisman in hand, Chen Nianzhi felt much more at ease. When he returned to Spirit Continent Lake, his days there felt far safer and more settled.
Time flowed quietly by.
In the blink of an eye, another seven months had slipped past.
On this particular day, Chen Nianzhi sat cross-legged before a pill furnace on the island at the center of the lake, staring at it with a hint of nervousness in his eyes.
Half an hour later, he formed a hand seal and opened the lid. Inside the cauldron, a single Qi-Gathering Pill spun slowly in midair, clear and round.
"It worked."
A smile spread across his face as he finally let out a long breath.
A year ago, the Chen clan had decided to groom him as their next alchemist. After the Sixth Elder passed away, they pushed this process even faster.
With his natural aptitude for alchemy, the notes left behind by the Sixth Elder, and the clan's full support, Chen Nianzhi hadn't needed to struggle too much to become a first-tier low-grade alchemist.
After that, he even spent his own savings to send clan cultivators to Yuyang Market to buy herbs so he could practice. Naturally, his progress was rapid.
This furnace of Qi-Gathering Pills was the very first batch of first-tier mid-grade pills he had ever refined. There was only a single pill, but that was enough—it meant he had successfully broken through to the level of a first-tier mid-grade alchemist.
Most alchemists needed close to ten years to reach this stage. For him to get there in a single year spoke volumes about his talent and comprehension.
"I'll just need more practice to stabilize my success rate."
"The clan's Qi-Gathering Grass will mature in four years. Before that, I have to push my alchemy to first-tier high-grade."
With that thought, he put away the pill, tidied up the alchemy room, and walked out.
Another year came to an end, and the time to return home for the New Year arrived once more. A few days later, he brought his younger brother and sister back to Green Tether Mountain.
This year, things on the mountain were much simpler. The elders held a short year-end meeting, tallied up the clan's earnings… and that was that.