Swordholder

"Nuomi, hurry up!"

Chen Yuan shouted, tapped the spider web beneath him with his toes, and used the force to leap to the edge of the pit, with Nuomi following closely behind.

boom!

The giant hand slammed heavily onto the ground at the edge of the abyss, sending rubble and dust flying everywhere!

The immense impact sent Chen Yuan and Nuomi flying together.

boom!

Another rotting giant hand emerged from the bottom of the pit and slammed down on the edge of the abyss.

Then, these two decaying giant hands supported the edge of the pit, and a huge figure hundreds of feet tall roared as it slowly crawled out of the abyss!

It was surrounded by a thick aura of demonic energy and the stench of decaying corpses. This enormous creature was actually pieced together from countless rotting corpses.

After it crawled out of the abyss, it kept pounding the ground and roaring as it chased after Chen Yuan, rampaging like a mad beast with astonishing destructive power.

Chen Yuan pushed off with his feet and ran wildly through the mountains to evade.

He narrowly avoided the giant hand's strike several times, but the residual force of the gale still sent him flying, his whole body rolling like a broken ball all the way to the foot of Cloud Break Mountain.

Roar! !

The enormous, decaying corpse, shrouded in black mist, roared once more, smashing through towering ancient trees along its path, relentlessly pursuing the pursuer.

"Brother Ayuan!"

Nuomi leaped after him and hugged Chen Yuan tightly around the neck from behind.

Her long hair suddenly grew longer, the tips piercing into the ancient trees and cliffs on both sides, using the pulling force to carry the two of them as they dodged and pursued.

But the enormous, decaying corpse relentlessly pursued them, leaving the two feeling helpless and utterly terrified.

"Why is it so persistent in its pursuit of us?"

Chen Yuan muttered to himself, thinking that it must have been the killing of Lu Anda and his group that disturbed the sleeping monster, which made it determined to exterminate them all.

Just as they were about to be overtaken, a magic boat suddenly appeared in front of them, speeding towards them.

"A-Yuan! Why are you being chased by this monster?"

On the deck of the Dharma Boat, Li Wei exclaimed in surprise.

"Young Master, jump up quickly!"

Chen Jianming and the others shouted anxiously.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan was overjoyed. He stomped his foot on the ground to gain momentum, and the soil and rocks beneath his feet exploded. His body shot into the sky like a cannonball, leaping dozens of meters high.

However, they were still dozens of meters away from the Dharma Boat, making it impossible to board directly.

The enormous, rotting corpse behind him swung its massive hand again, slapping him hard, and danger descended once more.

In that life-or-death moment, Nuomi opened her mouth and spat out a spider silk dozens of meters long, which stuck firmly to the bottom of the Dharma Boat.

"Take off quickly!"

Upon seeing this, Chen Zhaoning immediately gave a loud order.

Zhang Shan immediately urged the Dharma Boat forward, speeding towards the sky.

Li Shouren activated the ship's defensive array, and beams of energy blasted towards the giant hand of the enormous, decaying corpse.

Roar! !

The giant, decaying corpse roared in pain and anger, looking up unwillingly at the Dharma boat that was gradually disappearing into the distance above the clouds.

···············

"call--"

On the deck of the Dharma Boat, Chen Yuan and Nuomi collapsed to the ground, exhausted and panting heavily.

The Chen family members gathered around, their faces full of surprise and curiosity.

"Ah Yuan, what are you doing at Cloudfall Mountain?"

Chen Zhaoning squatted down beside him, looking at his disheveled appearance, her voice full of worry, and her heart finally settled down.

"Yes, young master, weren't you at Evil Burial Mountain? Did the Lord of Evil Burial Mountain manage to avoid causing you any trouble?"

Chen Jianchu asked.

"Look at what you're saying! How could the Lord of Evil Burial Mountain possibly do anything to the young master?"

Chen Jianming joked with a smile.

Everyone smiled; Chen Yuan's safe return put everyone in a great mood.

"I just wandered around."

Chen Yuan sat up, grinned, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

After much deliberation, he decided to keep the fact that he had killed all five major families of the Beastmen and the rest of the human cultivators a secret for the time being.

If he were to openly admit that he did it, it would surely cause a huge uproar.

It could even completely enrage the Xiang Beast clan, inviting relentless retaliation and implicating the entire Chen family.

Now that a strange, rotting corpse has appeared in Cloudfall Mountain, it's a perfect excuse to pin the cause of death of all the dead on the giant, rotting corpse.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing that his expression was strange, Chen Zhaoning asked in confusion.

Chen Yuan looked around at everyone and said, "The disciples of the five families of the Beast Appearance Clan, as well as other cultivators who were traveling with us, have all been killed. They all died at the hands of that giant, rotting corpse."

I saw it with my own eyes. If you hadn't arrived in time, Xiao Nuomi and I would have died today as well.

After saying that, he reached out and grabbed Nuomi's little hand, squeezing her palm.

Nuomi blinked, immediately mimicking a look of lingering fear, and patted her chest:

"Yeah, it was terrifying! That monster was so scary, it swallowed so many people."

The two men's words stunned everyone present.

"What?"

Chen Jianming was the first to exclaim in surprise.

"Young Master, are they... truly all wiped out?"

His face was filled with disbelief.

Among the five great beast-eating families, there are young masters, many young prodigies, and even Daoists at the Yellow Court Realm.

If they all die... it will definitely shake the entire Tianqing County!

After receiving Chen Yuan's affirmative nod, his initial surprise gradually turned into joy:

"This might not be a bad thing for us; we won't be hunted down anymore!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd cheered instantly.

Li Wei's eyes flashed strangely as he looked at Chen Yuan: "Such a coincidence? All the enemies died at the hands of that rotting corpse?"

"That's right, not a single one is left, they're all dead!"

Nuomi answered with a grin, casually rummaging through her clothes.

A series of flashes of spiritual light appeared, and hundreds of storage bags materialized out of thin air, instantly surrounding her and almost engulfing her small body.

"I understand now!"

Li Wei glanced at the storage bags scattered on the ground, then at Chen Yuan and his companion, his eyes widening in shock. "Holy crap, you two are incredibly audacious! Knowing those rotting corpses were hunting those people, you still dared to loot their bags?"

"Hey Viagra, what does 'licking the bag' mean?"

Chen Jianchu leaned forward and asked curiously.

Li Wei pointed to the mountain of storage bags on the ground, and everyone's eyes widened immediately, and they all gasped.

"No wonder that monster chased you so relentlessly; it turns out you stole its 'spoils'."

Li Shouren suddenly realized.

Chen Yuan grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and pointed to the storage bag, saying, "That's good. Now we can focus on our cultivation. After the aristocratic family conference ends, we can use our tokens to teleport away."

Moreover, with these storage bags, the resources needed for cultivation are sufficient.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"Haha, Little Nuomi, you're truly our lucky star!"

Chen Zhaoning was overjoyed and hugged Nuomi in her arms, kissing her affectionately several times, making the little girl giggle.

"Of course! Brother Yuan was only focused on fighting, he didn't have time to pick up anything. If it weren't for me, our group would have fallen apart. I'm the hope of the whole family."

Nuomi was beaming with pride, but as soon as she finished speaking, she realized she had let something slip and quickly covered her mouth, her eyes darting around.

"Oh? A-Yuan, you've been fighting with people the whole time?"

Chen Zhaoning turned her gaze to Chen Yuan, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, and looked puzzled.

"I had to restrain those monsters so that Xiao Nuomi could collect the treasures in peace."

Chen Yuan explained calmly.

That makes sense.

Chen Zhaoning nodded, then frowned and said solemnly, "But you must never take such risks again."

She hugged Nuomi tightly and said, "And you, little Nuomi, you must never put yourself in danger again."

"Hehe, I know, I'll be more careful next time."

Nuomi didn't argue; instead, she obediently nodded and then muttered something under her breath.

"Back then, my family was poor, so we had to save a lot of money just to make ends meet. Now it's different. We're clinging to Sister Ning, this rich woman, so we don't have to worry about food or drink anymore. Let's search for more cultivation resources..."

Hearing Nuomi's grumbling, Chen Zhaoning was both amused and exasperated. She pressed her fingertips against Nuomi's forehead and said, "You little rascal."

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Nuomi's hands, finally putting his mind at ease after the past two days.

Chen Yuan smiled, his gaze shifting from Chen Zhaoning and Nuomi to the others.

"Next, we will find a safe place to cultivate in seclusion and wait for the assessment conference to conclude."

Chen Yuan then gave instructions, "If any clansmen wish to go out for training, they may do so on their own, but they must be mindful of their safety."

Everyone readily agreed.

As for keeping the magic boat flying in the sky, that would consume a lot of spiritual energy.

It would even consume a certain amount of Yang Gold and Moon Silver, which would be too extravagant.

Moreover, there are many ferocious flying birds in the sky, and it is not safe to fly in the sky for a long time.

Afterwards, Zhang Shan piloted the magic boat, circled around the Evil Burial Mountain, and found a hidden cave.

This place was once the cave dwelling of a rogue cultivator. There were no evil spirits or restrictive formations inside, and the space was spacious enough for everyone to rest and recuperate.

The group immediately moved into the cave and settled down for the time being.

······

Time flies, and half a month has passed.

On this day, Chen Yuan finished his cultivation.

He opened his eyes, glanced at the dozens of people meditating cross-legged in the cave, and then checked his own body.

The spiritual energy consumed in the great battle half a month ago, whether it was demonic spiritual energy, evil spiritual energy, or pure spiritual energy, has all been fully restored.

It was even because of the great battle half a month ago that he felt exhilarated. Under immense pressure and surrounded by abundant cultivation resources, he made great progress.

He was just a little short of reaching the next level; one more exhilarating battle would be enough to break through to the mid-stage of the Yellow Court realm.

Chen Yuan clenched his fist, a sharp glint in his eyes.

He murmured to himself, wondering what it would be like if he could complete the first level of the Evil God Devouring Heaven Technique and the Demon God Devouring Heaven Technique.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, a dark glint appearing in them.

He recalled that when he activated the Evil God Devouring Heaven Technique, a red vortex of spiritual energy swirled throughout his body, turning his black hair into long, crimson hair!

His body exuded a terrifying aura.

That scene was truly terrifying.

That was the physical change he hadn't yet achieved the first level of cultivation. If he had reached the second level, who knows what his appearance would be like?

Could it turn into a ferocious beast?

"Unfortunately, all the enemies have been killed..."

Chen Yuan murmured, his eyes narrowing. He wanted to fight, he wanted to fight like a madman.

But he killed all the enemies.

"Young Master!"

At this moment, Zhang Shan and Li Wei rushed in from outside.

"Um?"

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"When Zhang Shan and I were training outside, we encountered several Huangting Daoists. From their conversation, we learned that they were assassins hired by the Xiangshou Clan to kill us all."

Li Wei spoke angrily, "Damn it, that beast-man clan is truly vicious. Not only did they tamper with the teleportation array, sending us to a deadly place..."

They even planted assassins here beforehand, just to ensure everything went smoothly!

Zhang Shan's expression was complicated. "Luckily we're alive, otherwise we would definitely be dead."

Chen Yuan's eyes lit up, and his voice carried a hint of urgency.

"Where are those Huangting Daoists?"

···