A sage master under the pine tree imparted the Dao and taught longevity.

The cultivator lying on the ground stiffened slightly and gasped, "This junior...this junior is still a novice, and I really can't remember the inscription on the stele beside the Sword Washing Pool..."

Chen Chuan pretended to be deep in thought and slowly said, "Oh? The inscription on the stele is 'Sword Heart Cleanses the Dust, Dao Follows Nature'. Since you are still a beginner, it is understandable that you can't remember it."

Upon hearing this, the man's eyes lit up instantly, as if a drowning person had clung to a piece of driftwood. He nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's exactly it! In my haste, I forgot that you are indeed a member of a sect, senior. I have been rude!"

After saying that, he struggled to get up and bow, his face full of relief at surviving the ordeal.

Chen Chuan stepped forward with a smile and said gently, "Since you are a fellow disciple of mine, there is no need to stand on ceremony. The wind and snow here are fierce, and your injuries are not light. Please come with me into the temple to rest, and we will make plans after your injuries have stabilized."

Before he finished speaking, the ochre-yellow talisman in his sleeve had already silently slipped into his palm.

With a surge of spiritual power, the [Earth Condensation Talisman] suddenly erupted!

A powerful, earthy-yellow light burst forth from Chen Chuan's palm, like a long-dormant earth dragon suddenly raising its head and roaring as it pounced on the man!

Where the light passed, a heavy sense of oppression, like a mountain pressing down, made it hard to breathe.

The "Qingyuan Sect disciple's" expression changed drastically.

Old bastard, you actually dare to play dirty tricks on me!?

He reacted extremely quickly, rolling on the spot in an attempt to avoid being enveloped by the light.

However, the [Earth Condensation Talisman] is a third-tier talisman. Given that he is a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining, he would have difficulty evading it even under his severe injuries.

With a muffled "boom," the earthy yellow light, like a giant hand, struck the man's left leg, stirring up a cloud of snow mist.

As the snow and fog dissipated, a thick layer of earth and stone had solidified, firmly binding the man's left leg to the ground.

"You old scoundrel! How dare you cheat me!"

Chen Chuan took two steps back, stood with his hands behind his back, and said calmly, "There has never been a Sword Washing Pool or a stone tablet on the back of Cuiwei Peak. I was just making it up on the spot, but you seem to recognize it clearly."

Upon hearing this, the man's face turned ashen.

The Sword Washing Pool and the inscription were all fabricated out of thin air. Desperate to survive, he panicked and ran headlong into the pool!

But regret is useless now.

His expression changed several times, and suddenly, a resolute look flashed in his eyes.

"laugh--"

A sharp sound rang out, and a flash of cold light appeared!

The man drew a short sword from his waist, and without blinking, he swung the sword down sharply at the back of his left knee!

"puff!"

Blood splattered, and the sounds of bones breaking and tendons snapping were clearly audible.

The entire left leg was severed cleanly at the knee, and blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the pristine snow a shocking crimson.

The man gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, but he didn't utter a single scream.

His leg was severed from his body, and he could barely stand on one leg. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Chen Chuan and roared hoarsely, "You old bastard! You ruined my plans! Even if I die today, I'll take you down with me!"

He suddenly bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the black sword. The sword immediately shone with a bright black light, and a foul stench filled the air.

With a series of swift sword strikes, several jet-black beams of light shot out from the sword tip, accompanied by a whooshing sound, and hurtled towards Chen Chuan and Xiao Jin!

The beams of black light flew to within thirty paces of the two, striking the protective array with a deafening roar. The array's light barrier rippled, but ultimately remained intact.

Chen Chuan let out a low shout and waved his hands repeatedly, unleashing the [Golden Light Technique] in succession. Several golden light blades, like a torrential rain, pierced through the magic array and poured towards the demonic cultivator.

After the demonic cultivator lost his leg, he was extremely inconvenient to move around. He could only struggle to swing his sword to block Chen Chuan's two golden lights. Then he heard a soft "whoosh" sound, and the golden light flashed past, severing his right arm at the elbow.

"Ah!" The demonic cultivator finally screamed in agony, blood gushing from his severed arm.

Chen Chuan's gaze sharpened, and golden light gathered again at his fingertips. A golden blade of light, even more refined than before, shot out and struck the demonic cultivator squarely in the chest.

"puff!"

The demonic cultivator's body stiffened abruptly as he looked down at the bowl-sized blood hole in his chest.

How could this be...?

He exerted all his strength, using his fellow disciples as cover, and employed the Blood Escape Technique, burning thirty percent of his lifespan, before finally escaping the encirclement.

Seeing the lights of Songjian Temple, he even thought to himself: Heaven never closes all doors; he has finally found a place to stay.

All you need to do is deceive this reclusive mountain cultivator, enter the temple, kill him and seize his spirit stones and pills, heal your injuries, and then escape a thousand miles away to regain your freedom.

But he still miscalculated one step in the end.

Who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary old Taoist priest was actually from the Qingyuan Sect, so meticulous in his thinking, setting up a scheme to deceive and trap himself completely...

"I'm not reconciled..."

This was the last thought in his mind.

Then, the light in his eyes dimmed completely, and his body collapsed into a pool of blood, never to be heard again.

Seeing the demonic cultivator fall, Chen Chuan did not relax. Instead, he emitted several more golden rays, blasting the demon into a bloody mess. Only after confirming the demon's death did he slowly walk out of the magic array.

He reached out and took a black storage bag from the demonic cultivator's waist, then rummaged in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a few scattered second-tier spirit stones and a demonic talisman.

He then used his divine sense to probe into the storage bag and carefully counted the contents.

The bag contained only a few spirit stones, a mere twenty-odd second-tier spirit stones, several bottles of healing pills, two black jade slips containing cultivation techniques, and a tattered leather scroll with a crookedly drawn route map, the destination of which was unknown.

Chen Chuan glanced at the demonic techniques and found that they were all vicious methods for absorbing the life essence of others and refining evil pills. He frowned and put the jade slips into his sleeve, intending to hand them over to Bai Pu for disposal later.

As he finished counting, his consciousness suddenly touched a warm, smooth porcelain bottle.

Chen Chuan's heart stirred slightly. He took out the porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.

He poured out the pills from the bottle, took them out and looked at them, and saw a pill lying quietly in his palm.

It is as red as a longan, with a smooth and lustrous surface and a faint milky white sheen.

Chen Chuan's heart jolted, and his breath caught in his throat.

"This is... a Foundation Establishment Pill!?"

His hands trembled slightly as he leaned closer to examine the pill. There were faint spiritual patterns flowing on its surface, and its fragrance was clear and refreshing, far beyond what ordinary pills could offer.

It is undoubtedly a Foundation Establishment Pill!

In this world, cultivators who wish to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage must condense their Dao foundation and transcend the mortal realm to become saints. The process is extremely dangerous, with only one in ten surviving.

A single Foundation Establishment Pill can greatly increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment, and its value is so high that even a thousand second-tier spirit stones cannot buy it!

He stared blankly at the pill in his palm, speechless for a moment.

Seeing his master's loss of composure, Xiao Jin cautiously asked, "Master, what is that?"

Chen Chuan snapped out of his daze, carefully put the pill into his pocket, took a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions, and said calmly:

"It's a great opportunity."

He murmured to himself, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

This pill is the key to breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. It is extremely rare and valuable on the market. Even inner disciples of the Qingyuan Sect need to make great contributions to receive one.

This demonic cultivator actually possessed such an item; he must have intercepted and killed some unfortunate rogue cultivator, intending to use it for his own future breakthrough.

Chen Chuan hurriedly ran back to the main room, put the Foundation Establishment Pill into his storage bag, placed the storage bag into the ebony box, affixed several talismans to conceal the spiritual energy, and then found a secluded place in the temple to hide it.