Chapter 103 - 96: Astray

Chapter 103: Chapter 96: Astray

"..."

Little Black froze.

He thought, "Did he completely miss my voice transmission?"

Chen Jianghe ignored Little Black. He dove from the surface down to the riverbed, gathering Magical Power in his eyes as he focused his Spirit to stare at the water above.

He didn’t run. That Eight-Character Moustache could definitely sense that his aura had stabilized here, and surely knew that his Magical Power was vastly depleted. However, Chen Jianghe didn’t believe the inadequate Magical Power that Eight-Character Moustache had displayed, which was why he dove to the riverbed. As long as Eight-Character Moustache chased after him, he would be able to see whether the man’s shortage of Magical Power was an act or the real deal.

Judging from the previous attacks, it was certain that Eight-Character Moustache cultivated a Fire Element Technique. Although he could still fight him underwater, he wouldn’t be able to unleash his full strength.

"Not running anymore?"

With a flash of light, the Middle-Grade Flying Sword landed in his hand. Using Qi Manipulation, Eight-Character Moustache hovered in midair, his furious gaze growing cautious. He didn’t immediately attack Chen Jianghe at the riverbed. Nor did he land on the water’s surface; instead, he pondered why Chen Jianghe had stopped. He had chased him for a hundred and seventy miles, and his Magical Power was nearly depleted, yet the other party had stopped. The opponent even revealed a state of immense Magical Power consumption. He couldn’t help but be cautious.

He thought, "Is he out of High-Grade Escape Talismans? Is it really such a coincidence that just as I run out of Qi Recovery Pills and have two-thirds of my Magical Power left, you use up your High-Grade Escape Talismans?"

Eight-Character Moustache controlled the Flying Sword with the Magical Power at his fingertips, his eyes fixed tightly on the riverbed, where a sickening aura floated upwards.

He thought, "A Divine Movement Talisman, a Spirit-Chasing Talisman, three Qi Recovery Pills—that’s already cost me sixty-three Spirit Stones. If I just give up now, I won’t be satisfied.

"He’s only at the Seventh-Layer Qi Refining stage, and his Magical Power is already more than half depleted. I’ll launch a full-powered strike. If he isn’t heavily injured, I’ll flee!"

Eight-Character Moustache made up his mind. Sixty-three Spirit Stones was no small amount, but his life was far more important. As long as he stayed alive, he could always recover these sixty-three Spirit Stones from other fat sheep in the future.

SWOOSH!

The Flying Sword flared with fiery light, turning into a streaking rainbow as it shot toward Chen Jianghe at the bottom of the river. The moment it made contact with the surface, a ten-foot stretch of water instantly boiled.

"Little Black!"

Sensing the incoming Flying Sword, Chen Jianghe immediately released Little Black and threw him in the direction of the attack. Immediately after, he gathered Magical Power under his feet and shot out of the river in an instant, simultaneously activating four High-Grade Spirit Talismans in his hand!

A sudden, freezing wind caused the very air to turn to ice. Centered around Eight-Character Moustache, Cold Qi spread across a ten-zhang radius.

RUMBLE!!

Three bolts of cyan lightning, each as thick as a thumb, struck down.

He thought in shock, "A Late-Stage Tier One Spirit Pet, three Thunder-Attracting Talismans, and a Cold Ice Talisman.

"Is that really necessary?"

Eight-Character Moustache stared in horror at the three cyan lightning bolts descending upon him, his body going numb. He wanted to flee, but he was trapped in the freezing pool created by the Cold Ice Talisman. Without his Flying Sword at his side, it was impossible for him to instantly break out of the icy trap.

BOOM!

The three cyan lightning bolts—equivalent to a Thunder-Attracting Technique cast by a Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Great Cultivator—struck Eight-Character Moustache directly. Instantly, lightning flashed across a Fang Yuan of ten zhang. Then, the freezing pool exploded, and a familiar smell of charred flesh filled the air.

"He’s that weak?"

Chen Jianghe looked at Eight-Character Moustache, who had been reduced to a piece of charred carbon, completely devoid of human form. He then cast the Water Arrow Technique a few more times. Several transparent holes instantly appeared in the charred corpse. Only then did he feel secure enough to approach. Sweeping his Divine Sense over the body, he grabbed the Storage Pouch from Eight-Character Moustache.

"Little Black, let’s run along the riverbed."

Although he had killed Eight-Character Moustache, he didn’t dare to be careless. He called for Little Black to dive to the bottom of the river, then sat on the Turtle Shell as Little Black swiftly carried him away along the Youxian River.

With the Middle-Grade Flying Sword clamped in his mouth, Little Black gathered Magical Power in his four short little claws and swam forward vigorously. He was actually even faster than Chen Jianghe’s Water Escape Technique.

An hour later.

Inside a small two-zhang water cave in a tributary of the Youxian River, three hundred miles away.

Chen Jianghe sat down, leaning against a rock, and let out a heavy sigh of relief. This was his first time fighting someone, and he felt nervous and afraid inside. Even though he had slain that Eight-Character Moustache Robber Cultivator, he couldn’t muster a single trace of excitement and still remained tense. Worried that there were more Tribulation Cultivators chasing after him, he had Little Black turn into a tributary instead of swimming straight down the main channel of the Youxian River.

PTOOEY!

CLANG!

Little Black spat out the Middle-Grade Flying Sword. He was panting heavily, his Doudou eyes filled with a lingering fear of danger. The man and the turtle locked eyes in silence, both panting heavily.

A moment later.

Little Black suddenly raised his head. The fear in his eyes faded, replaced by a look of confusion.

"Master, what are we running for?"

"Here, take a look."

Little Black swam up to Chen Jianghe, stood upright, and spun around.

"His attack couldn’t even break my defense, so why are we running?" Little Black realized.

"They’re a Tribulation Cultivation Gang. He has accomplices."

"Huh? Good thing we ran fast, then." Little Black nodded hastily.

At this moment, Chen Jianghe thought back to the scene of his counterattack. It seemed that Eight-Character Moustache really was suffering from inadequate Magical Power. It hadn’t been an act. Pouring all his strength into the Flying Sword to attack him had consumed a massive amount of Magical Power, which was why Chen Jianghe was able to counter-kill him so easily when he used his Spirit Talismans. If Eight-Character Moustache still had seventy percent of his Magical Power, he probably wouldn’t have died instantly under the assault of the four Spirit Talismans.

"He probably didn’t expect me to have a Late-Stage Tier One Spirit Pet. Otherwise, as long as he had his Flying Sword in hand, four Spirit Talismans really wouldn’t have been enough to kill him," Chen Jianghe said.

Little Black helping to block that Middle-Grade Flying Sword was the key to victory. Of course, there was one more crucial point. This Tribulation Cultivator was just too poor. He was so poor that he couldn’t even afford a Middle-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact. Otherwise, he might have been able to escape. If the four Spirit Talismans hadn’t killed Eight-Character Moustache, Chen Jianghe definitely wouldn’t have pursued him.

Having calmed his tense nerves, he grabbed the Flying Sword that Little Black had spat out and inspected it closely.