Chapter 3, A Small Test of Skills

I do not care whether you belong to a sect or not; I am determined to obtain the thousand-year-old black fungus. Even if you are a disciple of a major sect, I will still slay you beneath my sword.

The sword enthusiast wasted no words and directly launched an attack, with the flying sword piercing straight at the old Taoist of Duobao

The aura around the old Taoist was dim to the point of being on the verge of extinguishing at any moment. The old Taoist took out an axe and directly activated it with Dan fire. After forming the Golden Dan, he could use the Dan fire to double the attack power, along with a burning effect. Under the activation of the Dan fire, the axe instantly grew larger, ten times bigger than the old Taoist himself. He struck a fiery red blade of light towards the sword fanatic. Where the blade passed, a trench one meter deep was left in the ground, demonstrating its extraordinary power. Under the activation of the Dan fire, the axe instantly grew larger, ten times bigger than the old Taoist himself. He struck a fiery red blade of light towards the sword fanatic. Where the blade passed, a trench one meter deep was left in the ground, demonstrating its extraordinary power

"Good boy, you actually ran away. Let's see how far you can go." After a long while, the black-faced deity, realizing the situation, cursed loudly and summoned his flying sword to chase after Hong Lian.

I am all alone, without a sect. As for my skills, just consider that I was born with them, " Hong Lian said, watching her opponent warily.

Xiao Zhong began to spin on the head of Master Duobao, and a yellowish-brown halo enveloped Master Duobao

After repeated chopping, slicing, stabbing, and single attacks were all evaded, the black-faced deity realized that this approach would not work against the crimson lotus

With both hands holding the sword, a mouthful of blood was sprayed onto the flying sword, and it visibly enlarged several times. Although it still lacked sword energy, the sword's aura had doubled. The black-faced deity raised the sword with both hands and struck towards the red lotus. If there were any highly skilled cultivators present, they would surely curse him as a fool, for using a sword to strike would damage the foundation of the flying sword

That nun is quite radiant and her age is hard to discern, but it is not surprising for a nun to have an ageless appearance

Hong Lian stood upright, gazing at the Black-faced Deity, who, disregarding his flying sword, fearfully employed a certain shield technique to escape

Since there is no destination, why not take a look at the emergence of this extraordinary treasure? Even if I cannot obtain it, it would be good to see it and broaden my horizons, thought Hong Lian to herself.

The two cultivators in front of the crowd clearly exuded a much stronger aura. Together, they unleashed two palm strikes towards the pursuing cultivators, causing sand and stones to fly, and a wave of energy pushed all those who were chasing them back a step. The other cultivators could only retreat helplessly, as preserving their lives was of utmost importance. In the realm of cultivation, strength has always been the ultimate criterion; power is the undeniable truth.

Hong Lian seemed to have made some decision after a brief consideration, doing nothing but slightly leaning forward

The Black-faced Deity was taken aback, staring at his empty hands, which trembled a few times. He finally realized that someone had stolen his millennium-old He Shou Wu.

The red lotus in the embrace of the female cultivator appeared so carefree, and the faint fragrance emanating from her made the red lotus forget everything else. It did not forget to rub its head against the female cultivator's chest, causing her to laugh heartily.

The flying sword returned in its usual manner, while another foot simultaneously lifted a stone from the ground, hurtling directly towards the black-faced deity. The stone's speed was slightly faster than that of the flying sword, striking the black-faced deity's foot first, causing him to fall. The flying sword followed closely behind, with less than one-tenth of a second separating the two.

"The little brother is truly adorable, may I take you back?" The nun, perhaps having the same flaws as ordinary women, enjoys being complimented on her beauty, said with a beaming smile.

As the flying sword approached Honglian's face, it moved. Honglian's hand, which was gathering energy, deflected the flying sword, directly disrupting the true essence controlling the sword from the black-faced deity, causing it to go out of control. At the same time, with a shift of the body, the Tai Chi pushing hand was executed, and the flying sword unexpectedly turned around towards the black-faced deity. With a forceful push of the hand, the flying sword surged straight towards the black-faced deity, moving even faster than before, and the sword aura above it remained intact, just as it had come.

"Damn, good things are indeed different. Just now, the flying sword was able to break the energy arrow of the Sun-shooting Bow precisely because the old Daoist's cultivation is one level lower than mine" said the sword fanatic angrily

The crowd paid no attention to the retreating shadowy figure, all rushing at the fastest speed to seize the thousand-year-old He Shou Wu, revealing the disparity in their cultivation levels at that moment

People couldn't help but feel puzzled; how could the thousand-year-old herb be fake? Then what about the real one, the Black-faced Deity? Yes, it was the Black-faced Deity who had thrown out the fake thousand-year-old herb to deceive everyone. So we still have hope of obtaining the herb. The crowd reached a consensus and began to chase in the direction the Black-faced Deity had fled. If the Sword Enthusiast knew that the thousand-year-old herb was fake, I wonder if he would die of anger.

"Old man, are you calling me?" Hong Lian stopped in her tracks

Jian Chi looked at the ochre-colored halo and knew it was a defensive magical artifact of the earth attribute. There is no doubt that among the attributes, defense is the best. Looking at the deep color of the halo, even a fool could tell it would be difficult to break, and it should be a magical artifact refined by a master at the Nascent Soul stage

Hong Lian ran wildly while sensing the situation behind her with her spiritual awareness. She saw a dark shadow rapidly enlarging, as the black-faced deity approached quickly on a flying sword. Despite making several sharp turns, she could not shake him off. Finally, she stopped in a relatively open area, adopting a Tai Chi stance to await the arrival of the black-faced deity

"I never expected that pretending to be innocent would be so enjoyable, and there are benefits to gain from it." Hong Lian glanced at the elixir in her hand, feeling overjoyed.

"Junior Sister, we are in a hurry," complained another young male cultivator.

Hong Lian soon arrived at the tranquil town after leaving the forest, observing the few busy people around, many of whom were cultivators carrying flying swords. Occasionally, a flash of light could be seen in the sky as a skilled practitioner soared by on their flying sword

The light of the sword vanished, and the flying sword also stopped, returning to the hands of the sword enthusiast. The sword in the old Taoist's hand broke directly and was rendered useless. The old Taoist showed no signs of heartache; instead, he swiftly took up a bow, drew it back, and released a full moon arrow, sending several dazzling energy swords towards the sword enthusiast.

Hong Lian currently has no purpose at all, unsure of where to begin, and a wave of confusion has taken hold of her heart. The surrounding cultivators, observing an ordinary child with no cultivation walking down the street like this, cannot help but feel a bit puzzled

"Stop right there, kid, you almost got away from me." The black-faced deity finally reacted.

Thus, with a flurry of movements from both palms, the strength and speed increased by half. Hong Lian floated like duckweed on the sea, drifting and swaying with the palm winds. To outsiders, it seemed quite perilous, but the black-faced deity knew that all of his palm force had been deflected aside, and he could do nothing to Hong Lian.

The pores of the entire body opened up, absorbing the spiritual energy from the surroundings. Although it was scarce, it was still a way to pass the time and, by the way, to comprehend how to progress from the mid-stage to the late stage of Tai Chi.

"Why aren't you running? You've annoyed me." The dark-faced deity suddenly appeared before Hong Lian, raising his empty hand to strike her down, intending not to take her life.

Those fools are even fighting over fake millennium-old herbs. I wonder how things are now, hehe... The Black-faced Deity is now far away, over a hundred miles away, laughing heartily on the mountaintop as he takes out the millennium-old herb to examine it.

In fact, Hong Lian has encountered a stroke of bad luck this time. Those five cultivators should be experiencing their first outing for training, completely unaware of any dangers and lacking any sense of precaution. If it had been some seasoned veterans who have been out in the world for a long time, they would have long since dealt with Hong Lian. In the realm of cultivation, even the smallest child is at risk, let alone one held in one's arms

"Old Daoist, I advise you to leave the thousand-year-old He Shou Wu to me. How can I repay you a favor? If it comes to a fight, you will not be able to withstand my sword energy." The sword fanatic said with great arrogance, holding his sword.

Qingxu Town is a small town located on the eastern edge of the Eastern Continent. Due to its relatively remote location, the population is sparse, and cultivators typically do not come here unless for special reasons. However, today there are significantly more people than usual, suggesting that something unusual is occurring.

Hong Lian picked up the flying sword and walked into the forest

In fact, the shadowy figure is aware that he cannot possibly obtain this millennium-old herb. If he does not let go, he will surely be reduced to a pulp by the flying sword; thus, giving up is indeed a good way to preserve his life

The aperture suddenly dimmed, and it seemed on the verge of shattering, yet it ultimately withstood the flying sword

Without waiting for him to make any move, thousands of flying swords pierced towards that shadow, among which was a child's shoe

"In any case, I have nothing to do, so I will follow that female cultivator and see how they compete for the exotic treasures." After muttering to herself, Hong Lian began to run wildly, but her speed was utterly pitiful compared to that of a flying sword; it could only be described as tortoise-like.

Is it fake? Ah! This is infuriating! I destroyed a treasured artifact and was severely injured, only to find out that the thousand-year-old ginseng is fake? Black-faced deity, remember this: I will come for you. The old Taoist was furious but helpless, and he flew away directly.

Hong Lian carefully observed the surroundings and discovered that many cultivators had already surrounded the area. Among them, only a small portion could be sensed, while the majority remained undetectable; these should be formidable figures. Fortunately, Hong Lian's cultivation technique possesses a characteristic of blending into the world, making it difficult for others to detect him. Even if he were to be discovered, he would merely be regarded as a frightened child. Hong Lian cautiously found a place to hide.

Hong Lian learned from the townspeople that a significant event was about to occur in Qingxu Town. The cultivators received news that treasures or rare flowers and herbs would appear in the deep mountains near Qingxu Town. Upon receiving this information, the cultivators began to flock to this usually sparsely populated town.

Big sister, you are so beautiful, I really like you. Can I hug you? "Honglian color" | The color stretches out a hand to hug.

I don't know what kind of elixir this is, but never mind, I'll keep it for now; it might come in handy later. However, that female cultivator's embrace is so soft and warm. Hong Lian had a lecherous look on his face, reminiscing, almost drooling.

Stopping in front of Honglian, four men and one woman, who were cultivators riding flying swords, appeared immaculate and clearly belonged to a major sect as disciples undergoing training.

The old Daoist Duobao raised his knife, and the true essence rolled through his robe, billowing without wind, as he struck out a silver blade of light towards the flying sword. The flying sword lost its aim and flew past the old Daoist.

"Who is so uncouth as to throw shoes? Don't they know how to use magical treasures and flying swords?" the shadowy figure exclaimed in frustration

"Brother Fang, please don't look so menacing. Can't you see this is just a child from an ordinary family?" The female cultivator turned to Hong Lian and asked, "Child, is your home nearby? It's not safe here right now; there may be bad people around. Would you please go home quickly?"

The four male monks had expressions of deep frustration on their faces, yet they could not express their anger.

It turned out that Honglian was aware that she might be unable to move, so she leaned forward in advance, using gravity to fall and evade the attack of the flying sword. The flying sword brushed past her back, and at the same time, the effect of the immobilization spell had worn off. Honglian kicked the hilt of the flying sword with her foot in the opposite direction, employing the same old technique, but this time using her foot instead of her hand

The sword enthusiast stood in mid-air, and the flying sword emerged from its sheath, instantly releasing a sword aura so fierce that it was difficult for one to open their eyes.

The sword aura that was cut out has doubled in size, now as thick as the body of a red lotus. Red Lotus looked at the sword aura, which was as thick as a water bucket, and estimated that it could not withstand it, so she could only dodge.

The reason why Honglian appeared here and seized the thousand-year-old ginseng is that he initially saw through the scheme of the Black-faced Deity. A person who would abandon the thousand-year-old ginseng to save their life would not be the first to take the thousand-year-old ginseng from the forest birds; there must be a trick involved. Thus, Honglian pursued the direction in which the Black-faced Deity fled, which also caused him to miss the opportunity to witness the duel between the Daobao Old Daoist and the Sword Enthusiast.

In fact, many highly skilled cultivators have noticed the actions of the red lotus, but upon probing with their divine sense, they discovered that it was merely an ordinary child and did not take any action. Moreover, cultivators generally have a common flaw of viewing the common people as insignificant, believing themselves to be above it all and indifferent to the lives and deaths of the ordinary.

The sword aura, like a star, swept across with a shadow, aiming to cleave Honglian in half. Honglian did not move her feet; instead, her body rotated and fell. Just as the sword aura passed, she straightened her body while continuing to rotate, exerting force beneath her feet, and swiftly moved to close the distance to the black-faced deity.

"Here it comes." Hong Lian stood there, growing increasingly impatient, when a shout came from afar.

"This is the Sun-shooting Bow, which can simultaneously fire nine energy arrows, with the power depending on the user. It is said to be the divine bow left by Hou Yi after shooting down the suns," shouted the cultivator watching the performance from a distance.

The footsteps of the red lotus shifted slightly, and with a wave of the hand following the palm's wind, the palm's force was directed aside

The monks around burst into a loud laugh. This can undoubtedly be regarded as the most absurd incident in the realm of cultivation

The monks surrounding rushed forward, and a very swift shadow flashed by, clearly indicating that the plant had been taken by this person

The black radiance is indeed peculiar, as black is supposed to lack any luminosity; this is likely the strange nature of the thousand-year-old He Shou Wu. It is said that a single plant of thousand-year-old He Shou Wu can extend a person's lifespan by ten years, enhance beauty, and elevate one's cultivation in dark attributes by ten years. However, if a practitioner of light attributes refines it, they can only gain the benefits of beauty enhancement and lifespan extension, without any increase in cultivation. Only practitioners of dark attributes can achieve twice the result with half the effort through refinement.

Yes, come here, do not force me to take action. It would be beneath my dignity, so hand it over yourself. What did you just call me?

The black-faced deity pointed at Hong Lian, casting the immobilization spell from the Ghost Valley's ultimate teachings, which has a certain probability of immobilizing opponents with a lower divine consciousness than oneself. At the same time, the flying sword began to spin, piercing towards Hong Lian like a drill, with the sword aura swirling around it, exhibiting extraordinary penetrating power

When Hong Lian saw the black-faced deity reciting the incantation of the divine technique, she felt that some secret art was calling to her. Moreover, upon witnessing the opponent's flying sword begin to spin, she roughly deduced the black-faced deity's intentions, which were nothing more than to use some form of magic to restrain her while fiercely stabbing with the flying sword. Given its penetrating power, being struck would indeed lead to certain death.

Turning around, I happened to see Honglian crouching down and sneaking away quietly. The black-faced deity scanned the surroundings with his divine sense and discovered that Honglian was merely a child from an ordinary family, without any trace of true essence. He couldn't help but wonder who had stolen the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, as there were no other cultivators around. Could it be that a highly skilled old monster was involved?

"You must be dreaming. I have come specifically for this thousand-year-old polygonatum today, and it is absolutely impossible for me to return empty-handed. Your sword energy is indeed formidable, but I also possess a treasure that can restrain you." The Daoist Master Daobao summoned a small bell.

Hong Lian remained unperturbed; over a year of living as a hunter had forged his resilient spirit, and in the face of any situation, his first instinct was to remain calm

"Damn, do you really think you are a god? With a brain like a pig, I'll smash you like a bird out of the woods." Hong Lian took off her shoes and threw them at the shadow.

"Still pretending. If you don't take out the thousand-year-old He Shou Wu soon, I will take action." The black-faced deity looked fierce and menacing

The black-faced deity was taken aback and hurriedly attempted to control the flying sword, but the trace of true essence he exerted was dispersed, rendering him unable to control the sword. He summoned a defensive magical treasure, and a blue light curtain flickered to block the flying sword. The black-faced deity directly spat out blood, clearly injured. The flying sword came to a halt and fell into the black-faced deity's hand, reestablishing the connection.

It seems I underestimated you; I did not expect you to possess such a special technique. To be able to unleash such powerful moves without true essence is remarkable. I, with my cultivation at the Heart-moving stage, do not believe I cannot handle you. The black-faced deity was so astonished that his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

"Little brat, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home? Is this a place you can come to?" A stern-faced cultivator with a strong presence questioned.

That’s not right, there was no fluctuation of true essence just now, could it be? Turning around to look at the red lotus that had walked several meters away, yes, it is this child, only this child can explain so many doubts. The absence of true essence fluctuation is because this child has no true essence.

Logically, exotic treasures should not appear here. Not only is the spiritual energy thin, but the mountainous terrain does not seem to have any spiritual veins. It cannot even be considered a feng shui treasure land. Why would exotic treasures appear here? Hong Lian felt puzzled as a sound of breaking air approached. Someone was getting closer, and Hong Lian suddenly opened her eyes and jumped to the ground, on guard.

Haha, just like the sword cultivator, I sent him flying. The thousand-year-old ginseng belongs to me now; even suffering a serious injury is worth it. The old Taoist Duobao stood in the air with great difficulty, laughing as he took out the thousand-year-old ginseng to examine it.

"Good" Honglian turned around and reached into her bosom, preparing to run. As she pressed the power hammer, a blue light circle appeared, and her feet immediately dashed away, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and a bewildered black-faced deity.

"Old man, what do you want me to take out?" Hong Lian displayed an innocent expression

Hello, big sister, you are so beautiful. I have never seen such a beautiful big sister. When I grow up, I also want to find a girl as beautiful as you to be my wife. Hong Lian decided to put on an act

A dark shadow flashed with red light, and a dome-like halo enveloped the shadow completely. When the flying sword struck the halo, it shattered instantly, and the shadow seemed to suffer a mental blow, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood as if it were free of charge.

"Young man, I did not expect you to be so deep and unassuming. Which sect do you belong to, to possess such skills?" The black-faced man had a dark complexion that twitched, indicating that it seemed quite painful

Thus, the footsteps slowly approached the Black-Faced Deity. When there was still half a meter left, Hong Lian suddenly opened all the pores on her head, and the surrounding spiritual energy rapidly entered her body. After storing the energy, she exhaled and struck a palm towards the abdomen of the Black-Faced Deity. The Black-Faced Deity was directly sent flying.

Hong Lian ran wildly towards the direction of the female cultivator. After about half an hour, he finally saw her in the distance, panting heavily. However, she appeared calm and composed, clearly having arrived long ago. Sigh, the difference in speed is just too great to compare. Continuing to compare would be fatal.

The Black-faced Deity lost his balance and fell, exerting force on the already unresponsive areas. There was no way to evade the flying sword; he could only withstand it head-on. The Black-faced Deity channeled his entire true essence into his hands, and surprisingly, his hands formed a true essence shield, directly grasping the spinning flying sword. After a brief moment of friction between the high-speed rotating flying sword and the true essence shield, the shield began to dissolve. The residual force of the flying sword still left the Black-faced Deity's hands bloodied and mangled.

The thousand-year-old He Shou Wu appeared entirely black and glossy, emanating a black radiance accompanied by waves of an unusual fragrance

The sword enthusiast used true essence to control the flying sword, suspending it in mid-air. With a few gestures, the flying sword transformed into six, rotating swords that collided with the energy arrows. This time, there was no sound; the energy arrows were directly destroyed by the swords. The energy arrows only managed to withstand five of the sword energies, while the remaining flying sword struck directly against the old Taoist's light circle.

"Well then, this is a very useful elixir. Make sure to keep it safe. Do not use it unless in a dire situation. I am leaving now," the female cultivator said as she handed the elixir to Hong Lian and then flew away on her sword.

This child can actually withstand my palm force, yet I have not observed any fluctuations of true essence from him, which is quite strange

The flying sword was blocked, but the shoe did not stop and hit the shadowy figure directly in the face. This caused the shadowy figure to fall down, surrounded by the cultivators.

The black-faced deity's flying sword, accompanied by a layer of sword light, soared towards the crimson lotus. The flying sword of the black-faced deity was incomparably inferior to that of the sword enthusiast. The radiance was not at all dazzling, and there was no sword energy; it relied entirely on true essence to propel the flying sword, possessing only a layer of sword aura.

Hong Lian did not stay in the town, but instead found a hidden large tree in the woods on the outskirts of the town to sit down and wait for the emergence of the extraordinary treasure

Hong Lian looked at his scratched hands and feet, feeling a wave of helplessness. At this moment, he had no defense at all; his hands and feet were injured by the leaked sword aura when they came into contact with it. The side of the sword aura originally had little lethality, just like the flat side of a sword blade which is not very harmful. Despite this, it still managed to injure Hong Lian, highlighting just how poor his defenses were

The Daoist Duobao held a small, knife-like magical artifact in his hand, entirely black with some special patterns, which was a knife-type magical treasure inscribed with a magical array

In the midst of dodging the palm winds, Hong Lian thought to herself, if the speed of my breath through my nose can withstand all the palm winds of the Black-faced Deity, then I still have room to counterattack

The axe blade that was sent flying back struck the old Taoist, causing the already dim light shield of the small bell to shatter. The blade hit him directly, resulting in severe injuries that would take several years to recover from.

The Black-faced God saw that Xin Le was delighted, and if you wish to die quickly, you cannot blame me

"Hehe, children are so lewd; what will they be like when they grow up? Since you are so adorable, very well." The nun held the red lotus in her arms

As the Sword Enthusiast changed his gesture, the flying sword immediately turned around and stabbed towards the old Taoist from behind. The old Taoist swiftly turned, and the knife in his hand spun rapidly, forming a shield of blade light. The flying sword struck the knife shield, creating a "boom" as a shockwave radiated outward, severing everything in its vicinity, demonstrating the formidable power of the sword energy.

A burst of colorful rays emanated from a plant resembling ginseng, and within a short period, the rays converged entirely upon that plant

With one hand free after sheathing the sword, he chanted incantations, his gestures flying as he executed the fierce martial arts techniques. Meanwhile, with the other hand holding the sword, he channeled his true essence, intensifying the sword's aura.

A little boy over seven years old, dressed simply, would undoubtedly be recognized as the child of a hunter.

It is time to fight with all one's might. The sword fanatic, with the flying sword in hand, transforms all the golden elixir fire into sword energy. The entire sword radiates light and its blade shines brightly, several times larger than before. Like a divine being, the sword fanatic casts a spell to unleash the flying sword. The flying sword rushes straight towards the axe's blade, and upon collision, the blades are sent flying back. It is well known that sword cultivators have poor defenses, and the sword fanatic is directly injured by his own sword energy, stepping on the flying sword to escape immediately

The two individuals are the Daoist Duobao and the Sword Maniac Miaoshu. Both are renowned Golden Core cultivators. Daoist Duobao is famous for his numerous magical treasures; he possesses an endless array of them and is notorious in the cultivation world as a bandit, specifically targeting other cultivators. Some Golden Core cultivators have even been killed by his treasures, so his presence here is quite normal. The Sword Maniac Miaoshu is a sword cultivator from the Liuguang Sword Sect. Compared to ordinary cultivators of the same level, sword cultivators possess significantly greater offensive power. This individual is solely focused on sword cultivation and shows little concern for other matters, so why has he emerged now to compete for this millennium-old ginseng?

"I surrender, damn it, I got hit in the face with a shoe. This thousand-year-old herb is beyond my fortune to enjoy." The shadowy figure was quite carefree, and after tossing the thousand-year-old herb into the air, he swiftly flew away, disappearing into the forest in a flash

Hong Lian's body was immobilized by a binding spell, rendering her completely unable to move, with only her thoughts able to function. As she watched the flying sword approach her face, Hong Lian fell down first

"Elder sister, I am going home now. I can go back by myself," Hong Lian reminisced with a sense of reluctance.

The millennium-old He Shou Wu on the black-faced divine hand has vanished