Chapter 55

"Alright, the warm-up is over. I'm going to make my move now." After the fierce battle, the two retreated again. Zi Chen's expression turned serious.

"What? Weren't we fighting just now?" Zhang Haotian was dumbfounded.

He felt that his body was filled with energy. At this moment, the more he fought with Zi Chen, the better he felt. Moreover, he was showing signs of suppressing Zi Chen, so he was very happy. However, he did not expect that Zi Chen was only using the previous battle as a warm-up.

"As I said, I want to test the Flowing Light Sword and break through the bottleneck to comprehend the essence of the True Intent. That's why the Flowing Light Sword is the focus."

Zi Chen smiled lightly. The power of the silver lightning from the Abdomen flowed through his meridians to his arms and finally converged on his two fingers. The two fingers formed a sword and suddenly pierced towards Zhang Haotian.

The Flowing Light Strike was like a ray of light, reaching the pinnacle in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Haotian only saw a flash of silver light before Zi Chen was already pointing at his forehead. He was startled and screamed, "Zi Chen, are you serious?" His body suddenly retreated.

Zi Chen did not say a word. He once again approached Zhang Haotian with speed, aiming at his forehead.

"Ah, Zi Chen, I'll fight you to the death!"

Zhang Haotian saw coldness in Zi Chen's eyes. Only now did he know that Zi Chen was really going to test his sword.

With a loud roar, the ninth layer of Zhen Qi surged and the Heaven Tyrant Fist appeared.

A fierce aura appeared from Zhang Haotian's body. At this moment, Zhang Haotian seemed to have turned into a giant. He punched out, bringing with it a whistling sound. The fist fell like a fist that could dominate the sky and destroy the earth.

The True Intent of the Heaven Tyrant Fist was the strongest battle skill against the Martial Ancestor. Zhang Haotian had already comprehended it.

"Peng!"

Zi Chen's fist landed on the sword light, producing a muffled sound. Zi Chen's body slowed down as he felt a strong force flowing from his fingertips to his entire body. However, this force was instantly neutralized by his strong physique.

Zi Chen's body slowed down, and he borrowed the force to launch another attack.

Flowing Light Strike.

Boom!

Zhang Haotian raised his fist and punched out. For a moment, a fierce wind blew through the forest and sword light flashed. Zi Chen's finger sword carried a sharp sword intent.

The more they fought, the braver they became. Zi Chen's attacks also became faster and faster.

Miao Kong, who was watching from afar, was dumbstruck. "Is this really a monster?"

In his eyes, Zi Chen had first transformed from a streak of light to a state where he had become one with the sword. He was the sword, and the sword was him. This was a transformation that came from someone who had comprehended the quintessence of True Meaning.

But all of this was not Zi Chen's end point. With Zhang Haotian as his sparring partner, he wanted to push himself to the highest level of the Flowing Light Sword.

That was the state of man and sword as one. The sword was one's arm and fingers. With a single move, one would be able to unleash the strongest attack.

Unknowingly, Zi Chen's feet had already flashed with the Misty Steps. His figure was in an illusory state. With a tap of his foot, he had already moved to the left and stabbed out with his sword. But immediately after, his feet moved again. This was a feint. The real attack was a sword strike from the right.

Zhang Haotian was gradually losing. He did not have Zi Chen's illusory footwork. His previous attack had turned into a passive defense. But with his ninth layer Zhen Qi and his strong physique, he was able to resist for a period of time.

This battle continued until two hours later …

As a spectator, Miao Kong's eyes were about to pop out. He looked at Zi Chen as if he was looking at a monster.

Two hours ago, Zi Chen had not comprehended the quintessence of a first-rate sword art. But two hours later, not only did Zi Chen comprehend the quintessence of the True Meaning, but he could also fuse the Misty Steps into his attacks.

From the previous jerkiness, it had become smooth and well-connected. It had become a tight combination without any gaps.

"This is a fused first-rate battle skill."

Miao Kong was shocked. Seeing Zi Chen fuse his footwork and sword art into one, Miao Kong felt as if he had seen the fused Ferocious Tiger Fist.

"He really is a genius."

Miao Kong sighed. But in the end, Zi Chen did not completely fuse the first-rate battle skill because Zhang Haotian was completely defeated. His Zhen Qi was completely exhausted, and so was Zi Chen.

"Huff, huff, stop fighting, stop fighting. You are simply abnormal!"

Zhang Haotian repeatedly retreated. He leaned against a tree and panted. He did not attack again, even if he would be killed by Zi Chen in the next moment.

Zi Chen stopped. There was a trace of regret in his eyes. He was just one step away from fusing the battle skill. But the Zhen Qi in his body could not continue. He could only stop.

"Monster, monster." Miao Kong repeatedly cried out. He began to make a fire for the two of them to eat.

The next step was to look for spirit herbs. The three of them went all the way. They passed through dense forests, mountains, and rivers. The area of the spirit herb garden was very large. The deeper they went, the more spirit herbs there were, and the better the quality.

Zi Chen and the others also had a big harvest. But everyone's harvest had entered Zi Chen's stomach. He was like a bottomless pit, devouring all the spirit herbs that could be devoured. Even the ones that were 05 years old were not spared.

The wind leaves a trace, and the goose plucks the feathers. This was what Zi Chen said. He really did not let go of any spirit herbs. Along the way, his fists had smashed countless vicious beasts. The Flowing Light Sword in his hand was stained with blood.

In the end, Zi Chen could not bear it. He just took away the spirit herbs and did not kill them.

"You are soft-hearted." Miao Kong lightly smiled.

Along the way, Zi Chen had devoured nearly a hundred spirit herbs. If they were exchanged for True Qi Pills, they would be worth hundreds. But with so many spirit herbs in his stomach, Zi Chen's strength was still at the early eighth level. His progress could not be said to be great.

"This won't do. It seems I have to find spirit herbs that are over five hundred years old. Otherwise it won't be effective." Zi Chen shook his head. He was very dissatisfied with his current cultivation speed.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, another month had passed. The spirit herb garden had been open for more than four months. There was still a month before it closed.

"This won't do. The spirit herb garden is about to close. We have to speed up."

Within the spirit herb garden, there was abundant heaven and earth ling qi. There were many spirit herbs, but Zi Chen's cultivation speed was so slow. Once he went out, relying on his own bitter cultivation, it would take him several years to break through to the ninth level of True Qi.

The speed of the three of them was much faster.

…

Outside a deep valley, Ling Chen stood on a large rock, looking in the direction of the valley. His eyes were filled with anticipation.

When he arrived at the spirit herb garden, he began to prepare for this matter. Four months had passed, and it was finally time to finish. Success was imminent, but his heart was filled with apprehension.

"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream came from the valley, followed by several more screams.

Ling Chen's face changed slightly. He thought to himself, "Please don't let anything happen. Otherwise, all our efforts will be for naught."

While waiting anxiously, a figure finally flew out of the valley. It was a young man. His speed was very fast, and there was a hint of panic in his eyes. His clothes were all torn, and he looked very miserable.

"Xie Qiu, how was it?" Ling Chen asked.

"We lost three, but everything is done." After running out of the valley, Xie Qiu's mood calmed down.

"Three!" Ling Chen's heart sank. One had to know that those who went in were all at the tenth level of True Qi. Three had died just like that.

"Inform the others that we can move out. Everything will go according to plan." He did not have time to feel heartache. The spirit herb garden was about to close. He had to speed up.

"Okay, I'll go now." Xie Qiu hurriedly left.

"Hmph, a 6055 year old spirit herb should be enough to attract your attention."

Ling Chen looked at the valley and snorted, then turned and left. It would not be long before this place became a graveyard.

On this day, many disciples of the Martial Ancestor hurriedly left.

"Hey, did you guys know? Someone actually found a 6055 year old spirit herb in the spirit herb garden."

"It can't be, a 6055 year old spirit herb. That's something that even Xiantian masters can use."

On this day, the news about the 6055 year old spirit herb spread throughout the spirit herb garden.

…

The spirit herb garden had been open for more than four months. Most of the cultivators here had already given up on searching for spirit herbs. Instead, they occupied a territory and began to loot.

The death rate of the cultivators of the three sects greatly increased.

As for some places, they had turned into dead regions.

Not far from where Zi Chen killed the nine disciples of the inner sect, there was a dense forest. In the past, there were many ferocious beasts and spirit herbs in this forest. Human cultivators would often come here. However, in the past month, the entire forest was filled with a thick smell of blood.

Many of the ferocious beasts here were bitten to death by a half-human half-beast. Their flesh was eaten raw, and many of the spirit herbs here were also forcefully swallowed by him.

This was a human, but he was crawling on the ground like a ferocious beast. His clothes were wrinkled and stained with pitch-black blood. His eyes, which were supposed to be black and bright, were emitting an endless bloodthirsty red light. His entire body was filled with a cruel aura.

This person was the eldest of the ten disciples, Xu Yan. That day, he could not bear the shock of his brothers dying and being eaten by wild beasts and went crazy.

After becoming a half-human, half-beast existence, all the ferocious beasts in this forest were killed by him. All the human cultivators who came here were also bitten to death by him. The current Xu Yan was a level ten ferocious beast that had lost its mind.

The dense evil aura around him caused all the ferocious beasts to tremble in fear. The ferocious beasts that sensed this evil aura from several miles away would immediately flee.

On this day, Xu Yan, who was patrolling his territory, found a six hundred year old spirit herb. However, the ferocious beast guarding this spirit herb had run off to who knows where.

Using both hands and feet, Xu Yan pounced towards the spirit herb. His bloodshot eyes revealed a bloodthirsty desire. He lowered his head, revealing his blood-red teeth, and bit towards the spirit herb. After a few bites, he suddenly swallowed it.

During this period of time, Xu Yan had swallowed countless spirit herbs. It was a miracle that he did not explode and die.

However, today, after swallowing this spirit herb, Xu Yan lay on the ground and began to roll around. He let out a low growl like a wild beast, the blood vessels all over his body bulging. His eyes were wide open and the corners of his mouth constantly twitched, as if he was in great pain.

Swallowing the spirit herb did not cause his body to explode, but the impact of the spirit herb seemed to have caused some problems in his brain. At this moment, Xu Yan did not know how to circulate his cultivation technique and allowed the spirit herb's Spiritual Energy to flow freely in his stomach.

He was in great pain, but was unable to make a sound. Instead, he was like a wild beast, constantly letting out low growls.

Within his body, an endless amount of Spirit Qi was flowing. The Spirit Qi that was previously immersed in his veins was also being driven out by this dense Spirit Qi today. While the Spirit Qi was flowing randomly, Xu Yan's cultivation method suddenly started to circulate. Following which, this heterogeneous energy flowed through his meridians towards his Dantian.

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