Immortal Path in the Palm of a Mortal's Hand

The auction continued for another half hour, with the grand finale being a talismanic artifact—a tiny, golden sword, about an inch long, encased within a jade talisman. Its spiritual pressure was overwhelming, clearly sealing the full-force attack of a Core Formation cultivator's natal magic weapon! It was of superior quality to the sword-shaped talisman Chen Fan had previously used, and could be activated three times! The starting bid was one thousand spirit stones, and after fierce bidding, it sold for a staggering two thousand three hundred spirit stones. Chen Fan observed coldly from the beginning. Such a treasure was not only terrifyingly expensive, but also easily attracted deadly danger. The grand finale item was often the source of disaster.

As the gathering dispersed, the old man rang the soul-summoning bronze bell once more, its chilling voice echoing: "Step out of this door, and you'll be strangers on the same road!" The crowd rose in turn, silently and swiftly filing out of the mine tunnel. They maintained a wary distance from one another, no one speaking, no one approaching.

Chen Fan blended into the crowd and emerged from the mine. Instead of using any magical artifact, he vanished into the dense, night-shrouded forest. He moved silently through the woods, changing direction several times, his divine sense spreading like a net to repeatedly probe behind him. Only after confirming there were no spiritual energy fluctuations indicating he was being followed did he stop beneath a secluded cliff. He took out an ebony box, placed the jade slip between his brows, and immersed his divine sense within it.

The entire "Ancient Breath Concealing Technique" consists of only a little over three thousand characters. Its essence lies in using a special method to layer upon layer gather and envelop the liquid true essence within the dantian (energy center), forming an extremely thin yet resilient "false wall" on the body's surface. When an outsider's divine sense scans it, they can only perceive the aura simulated by this false wall, unable to penetrate and probe the true realm within. The thickness of the false wall can be adjusted at will; at the highest level of cultivation, one can even perfectly disguise the power of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator as an ordinary aura!

Chen Fan imprinted the key principles of the cultivation technique word by word deep into the sea of ​​his consciousness. Three hundred spirit stones for such a life-saving miraculous technique—worth it!

As dawn broke, he reverted to his original appearance, summoned the Golden Flame Spirit-Slaying Blade, and transformed into a streak of light, hurtling towards Fire Cloud Peak. Once out of this desolate mountain region lay a main thoroughfare, and his guard relaxed slightly.

At that very moment—

A deafening magical explosion suddenly erupted from around the bend in the mountain path ahead! A violent surge of spiritual energy, mixed with debris and dust, swept in!

The explosions weren't deafening, but they were unusually frequent. The muffled thud of fireballs striking the rocks, the crisp clang of clashing magical artifacts, and a woman's suppressed groan mingled together. Chen Fan abruptly stopped his escape in mid-air, his divine sense sweeping forward like a tidal wave—about fifty feet beyond the bend in the mountain path, on a slope strewn with rocks, five figures were locked in combat. No, it was four against two!

Two women lay dead in a pool of blood, the younger one lying there, her Daoist robe soaked in dark red. Her chest heaved weakly, clearly critically injured and unable to move. The older woman, her slender frame protecting her, gripped an ancient bronze mirror artifact tightly, struggling to stay afloat. With each heavy blow the mirror withstood, the woman's face paled further. She was only at the Qi Refining stage, yet she had managed to hold on until now thanks to the three small but exquisite arrays surrounding the mirror—one for robust defense, one for subtle force deflection, and one for cunning deflection! These three shimmering arrays, stacked one upon another, had actually withstood the onslaught of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and three Qi Refining cultivators!

However, it was already at its last gasp. The light from the defensive array plate flickered, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the runes of the force-dissipating array plate.

Chen Fan's gaze swept over them without a ripple. His escape light subtly shifted, as if to circle around. What did other people's grudges have to do with him?

Just as the escape light deflected, the burly, scarred man below, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stages, seemed to sense something and abruptly looked up! Their gazes collided in mid-air! The burly man's hideous scar, running diagonally from his brow bone to his jaw, twitched, his eyes as sinister as a venomous snake. With a lightning-fast flick of his right hand, a dark light, carrying a chilling aura and a foul wind, shot forth from his sleeve, aiming straight for Chen Fan's face—it was a poisoned flying cone, its spiritual light dim and specifically designed to pierce through the protective qi of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Chen Fan slightly turned his body, and the dark light whistled past his left shoulder, embedding itself deeply into the mountain wall behind him with a "thud," sending shards of rock flying and landing on his shoulder.

"Get lost! Mind your own business!" The scarred, burly man's roar came from below, fierce and tyrannical, filled with impatience.

Chen Fan lowered his head and expressionlessly brushed the pebbles off his shoulder. Then, his escape light subsided, and he landed steadily on the rocky slope.

Seeing that Chen Fan not only hadn't left but had instead landed, the scarred burly man felt a sharp twitch in the flesh beneath his scar. He summoned back the poisoned flying spike with his right hand, and with his left, he formed a hand seal, instantly unleashing a thick layer of earth-yellow protective spiritual light around him. Seeing this, the three Qi Refining cultivators beside him also paused their attack, two of them separating to surround Chen Fan with hostile eyes. The burly man's lips curled into a ferocious grin: "Heh, trying to act like a hero? Why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror—"

Before the words were even finished!

Clang—!

The moment the Golden Flame Spirit-Slaying Blade was drawn, the flame patterns on its blade, infused with pure Foundation Establishment True Essence, suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden-red light! Chen Fan didn't test the waters; he attacked with all his might! The blade light slashed horizontally like a bolt of lightning, and an extremely condensed golden-red blade beam shot out, tearing through the air and striking the scarred strongman first! The strongman's pupils shrank sharply, and with a fierce shout, he hastily met the attack with his poisoned flying cone!

clang--!

A piercing metallic clang rang out! The blade struck the flying cone fiercely, causing the cone to flash with spiritual light and groan! The immense force sent the burly man flying backward as if struck by a heavy hammer, crashing into the mountainside behind him with a deafening roar, sending rocks tumbling down! He barely managed to regain his footing, and looking down at the flying cone in his hand, he saw a terrifying, half-inch-deep blade mark on its shaft!

Before the other two Qi Refining cultivators who had surrounded him could react to the lightning-fast exchange, Chen Fan's left hand had already risen up like a willow branch flitting through flowers—three fireball talismans were instantly activated!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Nine blazing fireballs rained down like meteors! The protective auras of the two cultivators shattered like paper, and they screamed as they were violently thrown back by the raging fire waves, crashing into the pile of rocks, their fates unknown. The last Qi Refining cultivator was so terrified that he didn't even bother to pick up his fallen magical artifact, scrambling and disappearing behind the rocky slope.

The burly man with the scar had barely managed to emerge from the crater in the mountainside, and before he could even swallow a mouthful of blood, Chen Fan's second strike was already upon him! The Golden Flame Spirit-Slaying Blade tore through the air, ruthlessly cleaving through the crumbling layer of earthen-yellow protective spiritual light! The blade tip stopped steadily half an inch in front of his Adam's apple! The icy edge sent chills down his spine, and as his Adam's apple bobbed, a thin line of blood quietly seeped out!

"roll."

One word: icy cold, like the chilling winds of the deepest hell.

The scarred burly man's facial muscles twitched violently as he stared intently into Chen Fan's unwavering eyes. Finally, he gritted his teeth, staggered around, and fled in panic without looking back, abandoning even his unconscious companion on the ground.

Chen Fan flicked his wrist, and the longsword clattered back into its sheath. The spirit beast's pouch twitched slightly, and the armored creature's small head poked out, its whiskers twitching warily twice in the direction the burly man had disappeared. Chen Fan lightly tapped its smooth carapace with his index finger, and the armored creature silently retracted.

At this moment, the older woman had already put away the bronze mirror. She quickly knelt down and placed a pill into the mouth of her seriously injured companion, helping him swallow it. Then she stood up and walked towards Chen Fan. As she got closer, Chen Fan could see her appearance clearly. The woman was about twenty years old, with delicate features and a calm, scholarly air about her. However, she wore a simple blue men's robe, tied only with a plain cloth belt at the waist, and her long black hair was tied up on top of her head like a man's. This attire, combined with her delicate features, exuded an indescribable contradiction and unique charm.

"Thank you for saving my life, fellow Daoist." The woman bowed with her hands clasped, her movements crisp and efficient, her voice clear and steady, neither humble nor arrogant. "My name is Xin Ruyin."

Chen Fan's gaze lingered on her for a moment. The Dragon's Roar Physique. This is a rare, one-in-a-million physique, born with a male body within a female form. Her meridians are extraordinary, and her perception of the flow of spiritual energy and the surrounding environment is exceptionally acute, making her a natural-born prodigy in the art of array formations. However, the true essence generated by the Dragon's Roar Physique is extremely yang and strong, yet it resides within a yin and feminine female body. Her meridians are unable to bear the burden, and with age, they will inevitably wither and dry up. Without extremely yang-tonifying medicines or rare and precious herbs to harmonize yin and yang, her lifespan may not exceed thirty.

"Why are those people chasing you?" Chen Fan asked, his voice calm and indifferent.