by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Although Lu Fang-er feigned being relaxed as she taught Long Chen these things, she was unable to conceal her apprehensiveness from Long Chen.
Long Chen was extremely grateful for this action of hers. He truly was in great need of this knowledge. Otherwise, even with his powerful Spiritual Strength, without ways to use it, he would naturally suffer once he met a true expert in that area.
According to Lu Fang-er, the Wind Spirit Pavilion’s soul arts were closely guarded, and even she had only come into contact with some of the more basic ones.
There were more profound soul arts that she didn’t have the qualifications to train in. Only geniuses like Feng Xiao-zi and Meng Qi had access to them.
Even so, Long Chen had gained a great deal. He was shocked to find there were so many ways to use Spiritual Strength.
On the other hand, Lu Fang-er was even more shocked by Long Chen’s abnormal comprehension skills. As long as she taught him the circulation method of Spiritual Strength, Long Chen would easily grasp it.
In fact, Long Chen began to bring up theories and understandings that even made Lu Fang-er’s eyes open wide. Once Long Chen grasped the basics, he would immediately think of other possible tricks that could be used similarly.
He proposed concepts that were completely unimaginable to her. And yet, they did seem to correlate to the basic principles she had taught him. But she had never even imagined such things.
“Long Chen, if I didn’t know your background, I would definitely think you had already learned all these soul arts and were just purposely teasing me,” sighed Lu Fang-er.
Long Chen felt some embarrassment. This was his first time coming into contact with true soul arts, and he found them to be all too miraculous. So he had involuntarily begun to come up with all kinds of thoughts.
Long Chen had never been the kind of person to stick to the well-established rules and customs. All kinds of wild concepts filled his head. Now some of them had unexpectedly leaked out.
He scolded himself for wanting to learn how to run before even learning how to walk. He was definitely overestimating his own abilities. “I just like to let my imagination run wild, so don’t take offense.”
“You misunderstand. I’m not angry. Your comprehension skills towards soul arts are just too shocking. Although these are all just introductory soul arts for true soul cultivators, the speed at which you comprehend them is terrifying. It feels like quite a blow to me,” laughed Lu Fang-er a bit bitterly.
These ‘introductory’ soul arts were all foundational techniques that included a wide range of topics involving soul energy. There were ways to nourish, export, control, and erupt out with soul energy. These techniques had required half a year for Lu Fang-er to just barely be able to control them.
Although Lu Fang-er had never viewed herself as being extremely talented, she was still above average in the Wind Spirit Pavilion. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the qualifications to enter the Jiuli secret realm.
And yet, in front of Long Chen, she felt as if her own skills had received a huge blow. Although she knew Long Chen was a pill cultivator and his Spiritual Strength wouldn’t be lacking, Long Chen had only just started learning about this topic. Just his comprehension skills had given her a heavy blow. Was he some kind of genius from legends?
“There are people ahead.”
Long Chen had been in the midst of trying to think of a way to change this awkward topic when several figures appeared in front of them.
There were a total of four people. One of them was an ordinary core disciple, while the other three were Favored. Their auras were extremely stable, making their strength very balanced.
In front of the four of them lay a huge Magical Beast. Long Chen was astonished to see that it was a fourth rank Magical Beast.
Fourth rank Magical Beasts were all powerful. From their postures, it was obvious this Magical Beast had been killed by just the four of them.
“You don’t need to be surprised. That’s just a Black-Tooth Porcupine. It’s one of the weakest existences amongst fourth rank Magical Beasts. It’s normal for it to be killed by them,” explained Lu Fang-er when she saw Long Chen’s astonished expression.
As a Beast Tamer, her ability in identifying Magical Beasts was number one. She would even be able to recognize some Magical Beasts that only existed in legends just based on their outer form.
Furthermore, she not only knew their names, but she also knew their ranks, techniques, attacking methods, and weak points. That was the knowledge all Beast Tamers consumed in preparation for the future.
Long Chen hadn’t been able to recognize it, but Lu Fang-er had seen through it with just a glance. This Magical Beast was the weakest possible kind of fourth rank Magical Beast. It couldn’t even compare to her two old housepets, let alone the Scarlet Blaze Lion.
The fact that their group was able to kill it without losing a single member definitely meant they weren’t weak, but there was nothing overly shocking about it.
They had just finished cutting open its head and taking out its crystal core when they suddenly saw Long Chen and Lu Fang-er.
With Long Chen present, Lu Fang-er had no worries about safety. Atop the Golden-Scaled Bull, the two of them were both very safe.
Magical Beasts that were a lower rank than it would all flee in fright. As for Magical Beasts on the same level as it, Long Chen would naturally handle them.
“That little fellow seems to be the person in the photographic jades.” The four of them stared closely at the two of them.
“You’re right, it’s him. That brat really does have luck with women. Another woman’s in his hands, and she’s so beautiful.” One of the Favored swallowed when he saw Lu Fang-er’s face.
They glanced at each other and sinister smiles appeared on their faces. They slowly approached the two of them.
Just what kind of person was Long Chen? Just from a look at their gazes, he knew what these idiots were thinking.
From their robes, he could see they all came from the same Righteous sect. But he didn’t recognize the particular sect marking on their robes.
Seeing the four of them approach her, Lu Fang-er ordered her Magical Beasts to stop. She cautiously looked at the four of them. “Four senior apprentice-brothers from the Cloud Returning Cave, the two of us only ran into you by chance here. We harbor no malice.”
The Favored at the front replied, “Junior apprentice-sister, you don’t need to be afraid. As fellow members of the Righteous path, we definitely won’t harm you. We’ll rescue you from this pervert’s hands.”
“You’ve misunderstood. I am friends with Long Chen, and we’re just exploring. What rescue are you talking about?”
Long Chen merely sat on the bull’s back without saying anything. He just watched as these four people surrounded them, simply smiling slightly from the start.
“Junior apprentice-sister from the Wind Spirit Pavilion, you don’t need to be afraid. Although Long Chen is despicable and shameless, vicious and malicious, with the four of us present, he definitely won’t be able to harm even a single hair on your head.” The head Favored then pointed at Long Chen and cursed, “Brazen Long Chen, you rape women, and then massacre fellow Righteous disciples. Today the four of us will take the place of the Heavenly Daos to punish you. Do you have anything to say? Don’t think the four of us don’t know you’ve seized this woman and are forcing her to speak for you. If you’re smart, you’ll immediately release this junior apprentice-sister. Otherwise, the four of us will have to hack you into a thousand pieces and turn your bones to ashes.”
Lu Fang-er’s expression sank and she icily said, “You really are just deliberately provoking us. I’ve already said we’re friends. Why do you keep talking about rescue?”
“Don’t be afraid junior apprentice-sister. We definitely won’t let you be degraded by this pervert,” said the Favored righteously.
As they had conversed, the four of them had been constantly moving. Now there were j
ust thirty meters from the Golden-Scaled Bull. Suddenly, one of them shouted, “Now!”
A ball shot out towards the Golden-Scaled Bull’s head. When it was less than a couple of meters away, it exploded, releasing a yellow powder. A faint smell filled the air.
Chapter 364 Yin Wushuang
Lu Fang-er had clearly not been expecting the four of them to suddenly attack them. Furthermore, this was obviously premeditated. They weren’t just targeting Long Chen, but both of them.
The Golden-Scaled Bull they were on collapsed to the ground when that powder hit it.
Before Lu Fang-er could even react, the four of their weapons were already whistling towards their vitals.
Only now did she realize these four were not some upholders of justice, but killers wanting to snatch their treasures.
The four of them moved extremely fast, coordinating very well to launch a vicious assault that had immediately sealed off any paths of escape. Lu Fang-er had no time to even form a hand seal.
She suddenly felt her waist tighten as a powerful arm wrapped around it. She soared up into the sky, out of the range of their attacks.
The four of them had just been about to kill the two of them. But they suddenly disappeared in front of their shocked eyes.
“So it was Yellow Bewildering Powder. No wonder.” Long Chen was slowly landing on the ground. He released Lu Fang-er, sneering at these four. “It’s no wonder you were able to easily kill a fourth rank Magical Beast. You were relying on medicine the entire time. Not bad. The Yellow Bewildering Grass is extremely rare, but you actually managed to obtain it. You must have had quite a few lucky encounters. Looking at how well you work together, you should have already killed quite a few people for their treasures.”
The four of them were all shocked, especially the head Favored. He had truly had a coincidental opportunity and managed to obtain a strand of Yellow Bewildering Grass in the outside world. That was something that had almost gone extinct in the outside world. Later, he had managed to find someone to refine it into powder.
This medicinal powder was extremely powerful, and even a fourth rank Magical Beast would fall unconscious for a breath’s time once they smelled it. That was the only reason they were able to easily kill a fourth rank Magical Beast.
Magical Beasts were unable to block the medicinal powder, and in truth, cultivators would find it even more difficult to defend against. However, they had seen that Long Chen was only at the early Tendon Transformation realm, while by his side was merely a physically weak Beast Tamer. So they hadn’t wanted to waste their precious medicinal herbs.
They first knocked out their Magical Beast, and then they wanted to instantly kill the two of them. However, in front of Long Chen, that cheap little trick was instantly seen through.
Having failed to kill them in one attack, they turned and fled. They were just ordinary Favored, and they didn’t have spiritual defensive treasures. If they really fought with a Beast Tamer, then her spiritual attacks would definitely kill them.
“How rude. You don’t even say goodbye?” sneered Long Chen. He suddenly moved, practically turning into a wisp of smoke, passing them in just a moment.
Because Long Chen had moved so quickly, that core disciple hadn’t even realized what was going on before Long Chen’s fist smashed into him.
Long Chen’s fist was so powerful that the core disciple instantly exploded into a bloody mist.
The remaining three Favored were all horrified, and they took out their weapons to fight.
Saber-light flashed, and two of them were cut in half, their mournful cries ringing out for hundreds of miles.
Three of the four of them had died in the blink of an eye. The remaining one was their leader. He was pale with terror.
His sword was constantly quivering. He wanted to attack, but he also didn’t dare. He wanted to run, but he didn’t dare do that either.
He suddenly knelt on the ground, his voice quivering as he said, “Senior apprentice-brother, we were blind and should not have offended you. Please spare my miserable life. I can offer all my treasures to you. As long as you spare me, I’ll give you everything I’ve stolen so far.” He took out over ten spatial rings and offered them to Long Chen.
Long Chen reached out and used Spiritual Strength to bring them to his hand. Seeing what was inside, a mocking smile appeared on his mouth. “You really were vicious. All these spatial rings were taken from Righteous disciples. Truly amazing.”
Although spatial rings were not split between the Righteous path and Corrupt path, just from what was inside the spatial ring, it was possible to tell what side the owner was from. Furthermore, Corrupt disciples all liked to carve a sinister fiend head onto their spatial rings.
“I really want to spare you, but if I spare trash like you, who knows how many people I’ll end up harming.” Long Chen shook his head.
“Senior apprentice-brother, please spare me. I’m not an evil person! The ones I killed were the evil ones,” begged the Favored.
“Whether or not you’re an evil person is something for the Yama King of Hell to care about. What I want to do now is send you to him.”
Long Chen grabbed the Chosen’s throat, and his terrifying spiritual qi instantly invaded his body. He didn’t dare move his body. In fact, he didn’t even dare speak.
“If you had known this day would come for you, would you still have acted like this? When you were killing others, did you ever have pity on them?”
That person’s begging didn’t move Long Chen. He closed his eyes. When he once more opened them, a small whirlpool had appeared over each of his eyes.
“Soulsearch?”
Lu Fang-er was shocked. Those whirlpools were made of Spiritual Strength and allowed one to go through another person’s memories.
Although this was a foundational soul art, and Lu Fang-er had already taught Long Chen the principles behind it, even she herself had never used it before.
One reason was because her soul energy wasn’t condensed enough, so she was unable to create such a powerful spiritual pressure that would allow her to examine other people’s memories.
The other reason she hadn’t used it before was that this soul art was extremely dangerous. The user’s soul energy had to be at least ten times greater than the other person’s, or if the counterpart used a spiritual attack while using this move, it would cause a powerful backlash to the user.
Not only was Long Chen capable of using this technique, but those whirlpools were also incredibly clear and stable. That was proof that his soul energy had reached an extremely condensed state.
If she didn’t know Long Chen wouldn’t trick her, she would really think that Long Chen had always been a powerful Beast Tamer and was just purposely feigning being a beginner.
As those whirlpools spun, the Favored became absent-minded, almost looking like an imbecile.
“Too terrifying! His first time using it and he can control it so easily, and he even controls it so well that he doesn’t harm the Favored’s soul,” muttered Lu Fang-er.
Soulsearch was an extremely barbaric soul art. There would naturally be a powerful resistance when you tried to forcibly probe another person’s memories.
But Long Chen’s Spiritual Strength had completely suppressed his counterpart’s soul, and even while probing his memories, he didn’t harm it. That required an extremely precise control.
“I see many faces aggrieved in death. I see many faces crying and begging. I see an endless thirst for life. Unfortunately, you mercilessly ended all those lives. Tell me, how am I supposed to spare you?” sighed Long Chen.
Originally, Long Chen had been planning on directly killing this person. He knew this Favored was definitely not some good person.
But a person’s death should always at least embody some kind of value. So, Long Chen now used him as an experiment to see just how amazing soul arts were. It was astonishing that it was possible to rifle through another person’s memories.
Alt
hough Lu Fang-er had already taught Long Chen how to use it, that was just a coarse explanation. But even though his usage of this technique wasn’t perfect, he still saw many scenes from this person’s memories.
Those were the deepest memories of this Favored’s life. And that was also why Long Chen saw so many miserable faces.
“I… I…” The Favored’s throat was clenched in Long Chen’s hand, his legs up in the air. He wasn’t even able to speak a single sentence.
“Don’t bother trying to say anything. Just pass on at ease. In your next life, don’t be so evil. If you don’t cherish other people’s lives, others have no way of cherishing yours.”
Crack.
Long Chen snapped his neck. His Spiritual Strength also cut off his life force.
The Favored’s corpse fell to the ground, his eyes still filled with terror.
“Impudent Long Chen, you’re once more slaughtering the innocent!”
Long Chen had only just let go when an angry denouncement rang out. Long Chen turned to see over ten people, all of them crowding around a young woman.
That woman was tall and slender, with picturesque eyebrows and skin white as snow. Each one of her movements was beautiful, bringing with them an indescribable grandeur.
However, that slight lift in the corner of her mouth and that lofty gaze of hers made it look as though she was looking down on you. It broke the beautiful image.
There were over ten disciples behind her who were icily staring at Long Chen. The majority of their expressions didn’t contain disdain, but delight in Long Chen’s misfortune.
“The first monastery!”
Long Chen’s heart shook. These disciples were all wearing the first monastery’s robes, and the majority of them were all Favored.
Furthermore, that woman might have yet to release her aura, but that powerful, unrivaled will of hers made people feel as if a mountain was crushing their hearts.
Lu Fang-er hastily rushed to Long Chen’s side. She also placed her Golden-Scaled Bull, which had only just awoken, back into her spiritual space.