Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 163 No, your name isn't Du Wei, your name is Chen Ye!

Chen Ye was quite satisfied with this upgrade.

With his Asura Blade upgraded to level 3 and his Star River Qi Refining Technique reaching level 2, it meant that both his ability to fight head-on and his efficiency in meditation had improved significantly.

At the same time, Chen Ye understood that the reason for such rapid progress was thanks to this land.

The mountains weren't filled with as much messy, polluted air, which made his connection with the stars clearer. In addition, he ate and drank either wild delicacies or spiritual spring water every day, and his physical body was gradually nourished and became stronger without him even realizing it.

This feeling of getting stronger every day is so addictive.

While Chen Ye was engrossed in cultivation, on this day, several dazzling sword lights pierced through the clouds dozens of miles north of Kawa Village, rushing towards the direction of the Southern Wilderness Mountains.

The person in the lead was none other than Jian Wuchen, the young master of Tianjian Manor.

He was accompanied by only four disciples, all of whom were known in the manor for their composure and competence.

At this moment, Jian Wuchen's face no longer showed the irritability and anger of the past few days. Instead, it was a calm that he deliberately suppressed. However, the occasional glimpse of gloom in his eyes revealed his inner resentment and anger.

"Young Master, the land ahead belongs to those mountain people," a disciple said, pointing to the rolling, desolate mountains below.

Jian Wuchen nodded without speaking, but urged his flying sword to slowly descend.

The closer he got to this area, the more he could feel an invisible pressure. It wasn't the pressure of a cultivator, but rather the heavy aura emanating from the mountain itself.

Even Jian Wuchen felt that the circulation of his own true essence had become sluggish.

"Just as the elder said, there's something strange about this place," he thought to himself.

Jian Wuchen knew that this mountain was the home of the mountain people and the mountain god behind them. Entering this place was equivalent to entering their territory, so it was normal to be suppressed.

"Remember this: once you're down there, follow my orders. No one is to say a word or do anything extra without my command!"

"Yes, Young Master!" the four disciples replied in unison.

They eventually landed their flying swords on a relatively gentle hillside.

In the distance, the outline of a huge mountain village was faintly visible in the clouds and mist; this was Kawa Village.

Gazing at the rugged village that seemed to blend seamlessly into the mountains, Jian Wuchen's eyes flickered. He then straightened his robes, forced a friendly smile onto his face, and strode over.

Just as we stepped into the forest area surrounding Kawa Village, before we had walked more than a few dozen meters, a loud and long horn blast suddenly rang out from the direction of the village.

"Woo--Woo--"

The sound of horns pierced through the forest, carrying a primitive and rugged warning meaning, echoing among the mountains.

The birds in the forest were startled and scattered, and the once peaceful forest instantly became agitated.

Jian Wuchen paused, his brows furrowing deeply.

Such a quick reaction, such tight security.

They had deliberately concealed their presence and acted with extreme caution, yet they were still discovered so quickly. It seems the mountain people of the Southern Wilderness are indeed as renowned as they say.

Meanwhile, inside Kawa Village.

Upon hearing the sound, the mountain people, who were busy with their own tasks, almost reflexively put down what they were doing.

The men rushed back into the house immediately and grabbed the bows and arrows, spears, and machetes hanging on the wall.

The women quickly led the children home, then stood guard at the door with wooden sticks in hand, their faces full of fierce determination.

In just a few dozen breaths, the entire village transformed from a peaceful scene into a heavily guarded fortress.

Chen Ye, who was practicing his swordsmanship inside the house, naturally heard the horn.

Before he could even get up, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Ah Shan's tall figure appeared in the doorway, his face more serious than ever before.

"Brother Chen Yuan, stay inside during this time and don't come out!" Ashan instructed quickly. "No matter what happens outside, don't show your face. This is the old clan chief's order!"

Chen Ye was taken aback, but didn't ask any further questions. He simply nodded and said, "I understand. You all be careful too."

He wasn't stupid; of course he understood that the old patriarch was protecting him.

Seeing that he agreed so readily, Ashan breathed a sigh of relief, then turned and strode away, joining the group of warriors holding weapons and waiting in battle at the entrance of the village.

Chen Ye walked to the window and peeked out through the crack.

He could sense a chilling aura gathering at the entrance of the village. These usually honest and simple mountain people, once faced with an enemy, had their fearless and indomitable spirit fully unleashed.

……

In front of the giant wooden gate of Kawa Village.

The old clan chief stood at the very front, leaning on his black wooden cane.

Behind him were key members of the village, such as A Niu and A Gui Gong, and further back were nearly a hundred armed and stern-faced Kawa warriors.

They stood there quietly, watching the five uninvited guests slowly emerge from the woods.

Jian Wuchen's eyelids twitched involuntarily as he looked at the scene before him.

He could sense that the aura emanating from the mountain people opposite him was extremely strange and powerful, which made him secretly tremble.

He then forced down his discomfort, put on what he considered his most amiable smile, took a few steps forward, and cupped his hands in greeting to the old clan chief.

"I am Jian Wuchen from Tianjian Manor. I have just met you, sir." His voice was clear and his attitude was very humble. "We have no ill intentions. We are just passing by while tracking down a criminal. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

The old clan chief's cloudy eyes sized him up and down before he slowly said, "Since you're just passing by, please leave quickly."

Upon hearing this, Jian Wuchen's smile almost froze.

He didn't expect the old man to be so disrespectful.

However, Jian Wuchen took a deep breath and told himself to be patient.

“Old man, we have come here to hunt down a murderer who killed my disciples. His name is Chen Ye, and he is a swordsman. We have clues that he may have escaped into the Southern Wilderness Mountains.”

As he spoke, he carefully observed the old clan chief's expression, trying to glean something from it.

But the old patriarch's face was like dry old tree bark, unchanged.

"Chen Ye?" The old clan chief seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head. "I've never heard of that name."

Then he turned to look at A Niu and the others behind him and asked loudly, "What about you? Have you seen any outsiders named Chen Ye come to our village recently?"

"no!"

"never seen it!"

"Outsiders? We don't have any outsiders here!"

The mountain people behind him started chattering away, each one shaking their heads and speaking with absolute certainty.

The old clan chief then turned to look at Jian Wuchen, and helplessly spread his hands: "Young man, you must have heard it too. There is no one named Chen Ye in our village. The person you are looking for may have died in the mountains and been eaten by wild beasts or demons. So please go back."

These words were flawless.

Jian Wuchen was speechless for a long time, but he couldn't lash out. He could only force a smile and say, "Old man, please don't misunderstand."

Jian Wuchen took another step forward, his tone so sincere that even he felt disgusted, “It’s not that I don’t believe what you and the villagers have to say, it’s just that this criminal named Chen Ye is extremely cunning and a master of disguise.”

"Perhaps he disguised himself as someone or used some method to sneak into your village without your knowledge. So I'm doing this for the safety of your village. Think about it, how dangerous would it be to have a ruthless killer hiding by your side?"

His words were sincere and heartfelt, showing that he was completely concerned for the mountain people.

"So, if you could do us the favor of allowing us to enter the village and take a look, that would be best if there was nothing there. We would leave immediately and offer you generous gifts as an apology. If there is something there, then it would be a great relief to your village, wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

He felt that what he said was polite enough and reasonable enough.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Ah Niu, the hunting captain standing behind the old clan chief, suddenly slammed the spear in his hand to the ground!
"Boom!"

A muffled thud shook the ground.

A Niu glared with his bull-like eyes, pointed at Jian Wuchen's nose, and said, "Who do you think you are? You think you can come and search our village? Do you think our Kawa Village is a place you can come and go as you please? No way!"

Ah Niu's shout was like lighting a powder keg.

"That's right! Get out!"

"Do you think we, Kawazhai, are easy to bully?"

"If you don't get out of here, I'll break your legs and throw you out!"

The mountain warriors behind them also joined in the cursing.

Jian Wuchen's face turned green instantly.

He was, after all, the young master of Tianjian Manor, a powerful expert in the Inner Realm. Wherever he went, he was always surrounded by people who treated him with utmost respect. When had he ever been subjected to such blatant insults?
A terrifying killing intent emanated from him uncontrollably.

His four disciples behind him drew their longswords with a whoosh, their swords gleaming with menacing aura, pointing directly at the mountain people opposite them.

The atmosphere instantly became tense, ready to explode at any moment!
Just then, the old clan chief, who had been silent all along, raised his wooden staff and gently tapped the ground. "Aniu, shut up."

The old patriarch's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.

Ah Niu, who had been cursing, immediately shut his mouth, but still stared at Jian Wuchen with his fiery eyes.

The commotion at the entrance of the village also subsided.

The old patriarch then turned his gaze back to Jian Wuchen, whose face alternated between pale and flushed. His tone was calm, yet every word was as firm as iron.

“Young man, although we mountain people don’t understand your outside world’s grand principles, we do know the six words ‘well water does not interfere with river water’.”

“Our Kawa Village and your Tianjian Manor have been living in peace for so many years. I, an old man, have no reason to lie to you over a trivial matter that has nothing to do with us.”

“I said I’ve never seen the fugitive you’re looking for, and that’s exactly what I mean.”

"If you really don't believe me, then there's nothing I can do." The old patriarch paused here, and a chilling glint suddenly flashed in his cloudy eyes.

"But, you absolutely cannot enter my village to search. This is the rule of us mountain people, the bottom line passed down from our ancestors."

As he uttered his last few words, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

What was originally a thin morning mist has somehow become thicker, like a gray wall, enveloping the entire Kawa Village.

Jian Wuchen felt as if he were being watched by the entire mountain. The feeling of his true essence being suppressed became stronger and stronger, and even breathing became difficult.

Jian Wuchen's heart sank to the bottom, but he still couldn't give up and secretly sent out a wisp of his divine sense to try to bypass the crowd and sneak into the mountain stronghold.

However, his divine sense had barely drifted out for less than ten feet when it seemed to crash into an invisible, intangible, yet indestructible wall.

Then, a vast, mountain-like force directly crushed his divine thought to dust!
Jian Wuchen groaned, feeling as if his head had been hit hard by a sledgehammer. Stars flashed before his eyes, and his blood surged.

It is the power of the mountain god demon that Elder Jian mentioned!
The passive defense that merely surrounds the village is already so terrifying; if that great demon were to actually make a move...

At the thought of this, Jian Wuchen's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

He then understood where Elder Jian's fear came from, because this was simply not an opponent of the same level.

Running wild here is no different from courting death.

Therefore, Jian Wuchen could only suppress the humiliation and anger churning in his chest and squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "I was being presumptuous."

"Since your village is not harboring any criminals, then our intelligence must have been incorrect. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

After saying that, he turned around abruptly and shouted at the four disciples behind him who also had grim expressions.

"let's go!"

The five people left dejectedly.

Only after escaping the dense fog and soaring into the sky did the suffocating sense of oppression slowly dissipate.

Then Jian Wuchen stopped his flying sword and looked back.

The village, nestled among the mountains, had vanished back into the clouds, as if everything that had just happened was nothing but a nightmare.

But that deep-seated fear and shame were so real.

“Kawa Village...Mountain God...”

He read it out slowly and deliberately, his voice filled with deep-seated hatred.

"You just wait! I, Jian Wuchen, will remember this humiliation!"

"Once I attain the Golden Core stage, I will personally raze your village to the ground and kill that damned mountain god you worship!"

"I'll show you what happens when you offend my Heavenly Sword Manor and my Sword Master Jian Wuchen!"

He vented his anger, his chest heaving violently.

At this moment, a slightly bolder disciple cautiously approached and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, what should we do now?"

Yeah, what to do?
They didn't find the person and got humiliated. How could they go back empty-handed? How could they explain it to the manor? How could they explain it to the cultivators in Qingzhou who were waiting to see them make a fool of themselves?

This question was like a bucket of cold water, waking Jian Wuchen from his rage.

He gradually calmed down, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"follow me."

Then Jian Wuchen turned his sword around and flew towards the outer area of ​​the Southern Wilderness Mountains.

Jian Wuchen felt that he had been incredibly unlucky lately, but he knew that now was not the time to vent his emotions. The most urgent task was to deal with the mess in front of him.

If Chen Ye cannot be found, the Heavenly Sword Manor's kill order will become a huge joke, and Jian Wuchen will become a laughing stock in the entire Qingzhou cultivation world.

Therefore, he had to find a Chen Ye.

Whether this Chen Ye is real or not is no longer important.

The important thing is that Tianjian Manor needs a result to save face.

"Young Master, where are we going?" a disciple couldn't help but ask.

"Find someone." Jian Wuchen's voice was as cold as ice.

He activated his divine sense, sending it covering the vast mountain forests below.

However, this time his search targets were no longer swordsmen at the Sea Condensation Realm, but rather bandit hideouts or lone cultivators lurking on the edge of the mountains.

He needed an unlucky guy, someone with little ability, no background, and no one would care if he died, to play the role of Chen Ye.

Soon, Jian Wuchen's divine sense locked onto a target.

It was a secluded valley between two mountain peaks, with some crudely built wooden houses and fences, looking like a bandit's den.

As Jian Wuchen scanned the area with his divine sense, he could sense that there were dozens of people inside, each of them carrying the stench of blood. The highest level of cultivation among them was only a leader at the Unobstructed Realm.

"This is it." A cold glint flashed in Jian Wuchen's eyes, and he directly steered his flying sword towards the mountain valley.

The bandits in the mountain valley were feasting on meat and drinking wine, completely unaware that annihilation was about to befall them.

"Boss, this batch of goods we robbed this time will keep the brothers entertained for a while!"

"Hahaha, that's right! In a couple of days, we'll go down to the town and grab a few women to have some fun with!"

The gang leader, who was known as the boss, was a young man. He put one foot on the table, raised his wine bowl, and was about to say something.

Just then, a dazzling sword light descended from the sky without warning!

The sword light was so fast that no one had time to react. It carried a terrifying aura of destruction and instantly enveloped the entire mountain valley.

"Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!"

The sword light flashed like rain, and wherever it passed, blood and flesh flew everywhere.

These bandits, who had been shouting and yelling just moments before, didn't even have time to utter a scream before their bodies were sliced ​​into countless pieces by the sharp sword energy.

Blood and entrails were scattered all over the valley.

In just a moment, everyone in the entire bandit stronghold, except for the bandit leader, was dead.

The bandit leader froze on the spot.

He held the wine bowl in his hand, his smile frozen, but his eyes were filled with confusion.

Looking at the limbs and severed bodies scattered all over the ground, and seeing his men who had been calling him brothers just seconds before turned into a mass of mangled flesh and blood, his mind went blank.

what happened?
Is this a punishment from heaven?
Just as he was at a loss, five figures descended from the sky and stood in front of him.

The young man at the head of the group was dressed in white, and was so handsome that he seemed otherworldly.

The bandit leader's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Jian Wuchen coldly looked at the survivor.

Both his age and physique are similar to those of Chen Ye described in the intelligence report.

He was very satisfied with this, so he waved his hand, and an invisible force suppressed the bandit leader who was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and tried to get up and escape, making him unable to move.

"What's your name?" Jian Wuchen asked condescendingly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"I...I am called Du...Du Wei..." the bandit leader stammered, his teeth chattering.

Upon hearing the name, Jian Wuchen slowly shook his head. "That's not right."

“Your name isn’t Du Wei, you should be called Chen Ye.”

(End of this chapter)