Free Web NovelChapter 60: Chapter 60: Sending the Xie Family Juniors on Their Way
"Thankfully, they’re all Outer Disciples who just recently joined, here for the assessment trial. But these little whelps are surprisingly fierce. We need to rein things in a bit so they can’t just slaughter all the Demon Beasts."
"Okay. That way they won’t get bored and start poking around, which could lead them to our hiding place."
From within the cave, the Black-robed Cultivators seemed to have a perfect grasp of the situation outside, even though none of them had left.
"Huh? What’s going on? A Sword Light that fast and powerful? And it can kill from a distance?"
"Is the Cangwu Sect this strong? Can their newly-recruited Outer Disciples really be this formidable?"
But soon enough, one of the Black-robed Cultivators noticed Zhang Chi’s Sword Light and cried out in alarm.
"I can’t even see him through the Demon Beasts’ eyes? This person’s Divine Thought must be incredibly powerful, or maybe he has some kind of protective treasure."
"No matter. I’ll deal with him!"
The young woman known as Xuan’Er had her attention drawn as well. With a faint smile, she took out a black Jade Flute and began to play.
The Jade Flute, however, produced no sound—only an invisible wave that rapidly spread outward.
"Lan Xuan is taking action. Doesn’t matter who’s behind that Sword Light—they’re a dead man walking!"
Seeing this, the other Black-robed Cultivators looked on with expressions of reverence and anticipation.
——
ROAR!
Just as Zhang Chi finished off another Demon Beast, he braced himself for a long search for the next. Instead, a series of roars suddenly erupted all around him.
Zhang Chi probed with his Divine Thought, a little surprised by what he found.
He found three Tier One Middle Stage Demon Beasts and five Tier One Early Stage Demon Beasts, all of whom had apparently spotted him and were now charging in his direction.
’Excellent!’
But he was far from afraid—he couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. With a wave of his hand, Furnace Carbon shot out once more amidst a faint peal of thunder.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK...
The Sword Light circled as gracefully as flowing water, killing all the Demon Beasts in the blink of an eye.
Not even the Tier One Middle Stage Demon Beasts could withstand a single blow; they couldn’t even try to escape.
Furthermore, not even the fastest among them had managed to get within sixty zhang of him.
"Haha, what a great haul!"
In high spirits, Zhang Chi immediately steered his Flying Boat over to collect the Demon Beast corpses.
’Why are there getting to be fewer and fewer of them? Did I kill all the Demon Beasts nearby? Or can they sense the danger?’
However, after Zhang Chi finished processing the corpses and continued on his way, he found that no new Demon Beasts appeared for quite some time.
’No problem. I’ll just fly faster and keep changing direction. I’m sure to find more Demon Beasts that way!’
He wasn’t bothered, though. After taking a few new measures, he soon had another haul.
——
"Damn it, how is this guy so strong? All those Demon Beasts, and he still killed them with a single sword attack? I guess our only option is to make the beasts avoid him as much as possible!"
Back in the cave, Lan Xuan lowered her Jade Flute, her face a mask of horror and frustration.
"You failed?"
"That person couldn’t be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Cangwu Sect, could he? Someone who came in to protect those Outer Disciples?"
"He must be!"
The other Black-robed Cultivators wore similar looks of disbelief, and they couldn’t help but start speculating.
"Thank goodness I didn’t go out looking for trouble earlier. If I’d run into that guy, I’d be in deep trouble!"
The large barefoot man was particularly relieved.
"Such incredible speed. What a nuisance. We have to keep a close eye on him. We can’t let him get anywhere near our area."
"He’s too powerful. It’ll be a disaster if he finds our hiding spot!"
The Black-robed Cultivators continued to monitor their target, but they discovered that even when they tried to make the Demon Beasts avoid him, they couldn’t entirely prevent encounters.
As a result, their focus shifted to keeping their cave concealed.
Whenever he started to approach their area, they would use Demon Beasts to lure him away.
——
’What’s going on? I keep getting the feeling these Demon Beasts are deliberately avoiding me. And every time I get near the central region, it’s as if they’re trying to lure me away.’
「Ten days later.」
Zhang Chi gazed at the two Tier One Early Stage Demon Wolf corpses on his Flying Boat, feeling puzzled.
Just moments ago, he had spotted these two Demon Wolves howling in the distance and fleeing for their lives before he had even gotten close.
The Demon Wolves had been some distance apart, and even though they were no match for him, dealing with them had diverted him from his original course.
He had been on his way to the southern part of the canyon’s central region.
This was also the third time he had passed through this area.
Indeed, the canyon was several hundred li long—a vast distance for an ordinary Outer Disciple.
They had to constantly be on guard against Demon Beasts, could only use the Wind Manipulation Technique to travel, and didn’t dare to advance too quickly.
But for Zhang Chi, making a round trip was a quick affair whenever he felt like it. frёewebnoѵēl.com
’Could there be some kind of secret over there? Or is someone controlling these Demon Beasts? What if they’re not actually Demon Beasts, but Spirit Beasts?’
’Or am I just imagining things?’
Zhang Chi continued to ponder.
A Spirit Beast was simply a Demon Beast that had been subdued or contracted by a Cultivator.
’I’ll wait. Let the other Outer Disciples scout ahead. If there’s really something good, I can just play the role of the oriole and snatch it at the end. If it’s dangerous, well, then I just won’t go.’
After some deliberation, Zhang Chi quickly made his decision.
’Right, it’s about time. Time to send those Xie Family juniors on their way.’
’Doesn’t the Xie Family have some Outer Sect genius, Xie Jingyan, at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer? I’ll kill him too. I bet the Xie Family will be pretty damn upset, won’t they?’
With that thought, Zhang Chi immediately left two Four-legged Spirit Snakes to lie in ambush along the path leading to the suspicious area.
He himself then flew off toward the eastern side of the canyon.
At this point, the vast majority of Outer Disciples had yet to reach the canyon’s center, the Xie Family members included.
——
"Phew! That should’ve lured him away again. That wasn’t easy! The man is utterly shameless! A Foundation Establishment elder from the Cangwu Sect, competing with disciples for kills!"
In the cave, Lan Xuan and the others breathed a sigh of relief, their faces filled with undisguised contempt.
"Crap! There’s a group of young whelps outside, and I think they’ve found us!"
Just then, the large barefoot man cried out in alarm.
"Huh? When did they get here?"
"We must have been so focused on that Foundation Establishment Cultivator that they slipped past our notice!"
"Quick, get some Demon Beasts under control and lure them away!"
"Right!"
The other Black-robed Cultivators were shocked and deeply frustrated, but they had no choice but to act immediately.
——
"How have we not found that kid yet? Don’t tell me he’s already been eaten by a Demon Beast?"
"It’s entirely possible. He’s all alone, after all. If he ran into a Tier One Middle Stage Demon Beast, he’d be in real danger."
"God, I hope not. If that happens, we won’t get to kill him with our own hands and take his Storage Bag."
"Exactly! That kid’s an Alchemy Master, he’s got to be loaded with Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills."
On the eastern side of the canyon, the Xie Family disciples had long since regrouped. They conversed quietly as they cautiously searched for Demon Beasts.
BOOM!
But just then, a peal of thunder erupted from the black fog behind them, and an impossibly fast black Sword Light shot out.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK...
The Sword Light swirled around them as smoothly as flowing water, and in an instant, all the Xie Family disciples had their arms and legs severed.
They didn’t even have time to crush their Protective Jade Talismans.
Their other Protective Measures and their Magic Robes were like paper before the razor-sharp Sword Light, offering no resistance whatsoever.
"AHHH!"
"Who’s there? Why did you ambush us?"
"Senior, spare us! We’re from the Cangwu Sect’s Xie Family!"
