However,
Before he could laugh for long, his laughter came to an abrupt halt.
Because he discovered he couldn't move!
"Soul-Anchoring Sword Strike?"
Old Demon Tan remembered something, his face turning ugly as he spoke.
The Soul-Anchoring Sword Strike was Jiang Ziyou's most widely known killing move! It could act directly on a person's soul, rendering them immobile for a short time.
He never expected that even at this critical moment, Jiang Ziyou still had the power to activate this Sword Art!
And after unleashing that strike,
Jiang Ziyou's face grew even paler.
She then took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning Qi and blood within her, and spoke: "Split up and run!"
She understood clearly that if they continued fighting, all the Ling Tian Sect Disciples who came with her this time would likely die here.
It was better to take this chance to flee separately!
This way, perhaps a few might still manage to escape alive... Hearing this, the Ling Tian Sect Disciples gritted their teeth and said: "Alright!"
After speaking, the group broke free from their entangled opponents and shot off in all directions.
Jiang Ziyou did the same, choosing a direction and quickly leaving the battlefield.
Seeing this situation,
Old Demon Tan's face instantly turned even uglier. Gnashing his teeth, he roared: "What are you standing around for! Chase after them! We must capture Jiang Ziyou!"
Having paid such a great price and lost so many experts, if he failed to capture Jiang Ziyou and bring her back, he would definitely face punishment from the higher-ups in the palace upon his return!
Thinking of that consequence, Old Demon Tan couldn't help but shudder violently.
Upon hearing the order, the Demon Dragon Palace Martial Artists immediately charged after Jiang Ziyou's departing direction like a pack of starving wolves, their eyes red... As for all this,
Su Chen, located over ten kilometers away, knew nothing about it.
At this moment, he was inside a cave, cultivating that Profound Rank Low Grade 'Sword Drawing Technique'.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Inside the cave.
Su Chen, holding a longsword, swung it again and again towards a massive boulder before him, like a tireless machine.
The stone wall was already covered in dense, crisscrossing sword marks.
A rough count revealed over five hundred of them!
These were precisely the marks Su Chen had left in the last hour.
During this hour, Su Chen had not rested for a moment, continuously swinging his sword.
"Not fast enough! Not ruthless enough! Not precise enough!"
Swish!
Su Chen stared at the boulder before him, his eyes bloodshot, appearing almost crazed.
Even though he was now drenched in sweat, his wrist swollen and red, and his arm aching with soreness, he showed no intention of stopping.
Because he was now just half a step away from mastering the first form of the Sword Drawing Technique.
The Sword Drawing Technique had three forms: Mountain Splitting, Sea Severing, and Moon Shattering.
Cultivating this Sword Art could be said to be both simple and difficult.
To summarize simply in three words: Fast, Precise, Ruthless!
When these three aspects were all achieved, the first form of the Sword Drawing Technique would be mastered.
And at this moment, Su Chen was only lacking that tiny bit.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
As strike after strike fell, sand and gravel flew from the boulder, filling the cave with dust for a moment.
This caused Su Chen to instinctively close his eyes.
And in the instant his eyes closed.
Swish!
The longsword descended, directly cleaving a groove a full foot deep into the stone before him.
"Huh?"
Opening his eyes, Su Chen was somewhat astonished to see this sword mark, far deeper than the hundreds before it.
Then, a flash of understanding seemed to dawn in his heart, as if he had grasped something, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Five minutes later.
He closed his eyes again, holding the longsword, standing perfectly still before that massive boulder.
Ten breaths later.
A gentle breeze drifted in.
Su Chen's eyes snapped open, and then—swish!
The longsword swept across the boulder.
Instantly, it cleaved the massive stone in two!
First Form of the Sword Drawing Technique—Mastered!
Seeing this, Su Chen's face was instantly filled with excitement.
"As expected of a Profound Rank Low Grade Sword Art! Such formidable power!"
That single strike just now had increased his combat power by a full twenty percent. If he faced that Iron-backed Lion that had condensed a Primal Core now, he could likely kill it in one strike, without needing to swing seven times!
Moreover, Su Chen couldn't help but think, if a Profound Rank Low Grade Sword Art was this powerful, what about High Grade, or even Earth Rank, Heaven Rank ones?
"Sigh! But even if I had those now, I probably couldn't use them!"
Because the more powerful the Martial Skill, the more spiritual energy required to activate it!
That single strike just now had consumed one-tenth of the spiritual energy within his body.
Let alone Earth Rank or Heaven-Rank Martial Skills; the spiritual energy required for those would likely be a terrifying amount.
"I still need to raise my Realm!"
Thinking this, Su Chen prepared to head deeper into the Black Wind Mountain Range.
However,
Before he could move.
Suddenly.
Whoosh!
A sharp, piercing sound of something cutting through the air rang out from not far away.
Hearing this commotion, Su Chen instantly halted his steps and stayed within the cave.
From the sound, he could tell it was likely a powerful expert rushing somewhere.
And he had no desire to run into such an expert.
After all, who knew if the expert was good or evil? In the world of martial arts, it wasn't uncommon for some perverse experts to kill others simply because they didn't like their looks.
So without a second thought, Su Chen decided to wait in the cave until the expert left before moving on.
"Such a terrifying sound of cutting air... the person rushing must be incredibly strong."
Su Chen mused silently in his heart.
If it were him, he couldn't possibly create such a commotion.
"When will I ever reach that Realm? I'm really envious."
Su Chen's thoughts began to wander.
With that kind of strength, he could probably easily crush that bastard Su Tianpo, right?
However,
Su Chen soon stopped thinking about these things.
His expression changed, turning extremely grim.
Because he discovered that as time passed, that piercing sound of cutting air not only didn't fade away, but instead grew increasingly sharp!
This meant the powerful expert creating that sharp sound was getting closer and closer to his cave!
"Damn it!"
Su Chen cursed aloud.
What a sudden misfortune from the heavens!
Then, without another thought, Su Chen immediately moved, preparing to leave the cave and avoid the expert.
Only,
When he stepped out of the cave, he found he was already too late.
Swish!
A woman in white robes, holding a longsword, descended from the sky, landing directly before him.
Looking closely,
The woman's face was flushed, her breathing ragged, and her eyes were filled with a hazy, unfocused look.
And before Su Chen could speak.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the valley, and a group of people in black clothes, their faces ferocious, charged in.
When they saw the woman, their eyes instantly lit up.
"Haha, Saintess Jiang, you can't run anymore!"
"Surrender quietly!"
Then they also noticed Su Chen's presence.
And when they sensed the latter was only at the ninth level of the Meridian Opening Realm, their faces instantly filled with disdain. "Hmph, kid, seeing this is your bad luck. Go, kill him to silence him!"