Chapter 252: Chapter 160: I’m Warning You, the Northern Wanderer Is Nearby

Perhaps a new opportunity would present itself.

However, Xiao Chen turned to him. "Du, you have the most comprehensive understanding of the situation. So far, it seems the Soul-breaking Needle hasn’t appeared very often."

"So, the current situation is that only the Four Great Wanderers can use the Soul-breaking Needle Secret Technique, is that right?"

He had listened carefully to the three men’s accounts and realized this Secret Technique didn’t seem to be widespread.

Du Mingjie was taken aback, wondering why Xiao Chen was focused on such a detail.

He thought back carefully before answering, "That’s right. Based on what we know, no other Demon Cultivators besides the Four Great Wanderers have mastered the Soul-breaking Needle."

"But the problem is, the sect currently has no way to counter the Soul-breaking Needle."

In fact, the Lingyuan Sect had noticed this situation long ago.

The Divine Fire Sect’s invasion had been so unstoppable precisely because the Four Great Wanderers, relying on the Soul-breaking Needle, had created a huge power gap between themselves and other cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

If not for that, neither the Ten Heroes of Li State nor the Demon-slaying Guard would have been so helpless against them.

But the issue now was that at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment level, the Lingyuan Sect was at a complete disadvantage.

Suddenly, however, Du Mingjie’s eyes lit up. "Xiao, you’re asking about this for a reason."

"Could it be that you have a way to counter the Soul-breaking Needle?"

Hearing this, the other two men also showed expressions of anticipation.

Xiao Chen shook his head slightly. "Not exactly. I don’t know much about that sort of thing."

The light in Du Mingjie’s eyes dimmed, and he gave a self-deprecating smile.

’Something like this is a job for the Preaching Elders. With their mastery of numerous Magic and vast experience, they would have a much better chance of devising a countermeasure.’

The next moment, however, Xiao Chen’s words took a sharp turn. "But I do have a way to solve this problem."

As he spoke, he took out a map. "Du, Yang, please mark the locations on this map where the Four Great Wanderers have reportedly been spotted."

Du Mingjie’s hope was instantly rekindled.

He couldn’t wait to ask, "Xiao, do you really have a solution?"

Xiao Chen nodded with a smile. "Of course. Why would I lie to you?"

"As the old saying goes, if you can’t solve the problem, solve the person creating it."

"Since only the Four Great Wanderers can use the Soul-breaking Needle, won’t the problem be solved if I just go kill them?"

After listening to the intel the three men had pieced together, he had a basic grasp of the invasion.

Although the Demon Cultivators seemed to have overwhelming momentum, the reality was that the Four Great Wanderers were simply using the Soul-breaking Needle to gain a crushing advantage in high-level fights.

The vast numbers of ordinary cultivators at the Middle and Late Stages of Foundation Establishment were simply terrified of the Soul-breaking Needle.

It was possible that at some strongholds, no battle had even occurred; the defending cultivators had fled before the Demon Cultivators even arrived.

Therefore, as long as he took action and eliminated the Four Great Wanderers, this Demon Cultivator invasion would naturally collapse.

???

Du Mingjie, Chang Shunping, and Yang Zhenghao were all instantly stunned speechless.

’That... actually sounded logical.’

’Eliminate the Four Great Wanderers, and no other Demon Cultivators would be able to use the Soul-breaking Needle. That would be equivalent to solving the Soul-breaking Needle problem.’

’But isn’t the whole problem that we can’t beat the Four Great Wanderers *because* we can’t deal with the Soul-breaking Needle?’

.

Although all three of them repeatedly tried to persuade Xiao Chen to be more cautious, he just smiled, politely refused, and obtained the movement patterns of the Four Great Wanderers.

"Consider this an early promotion to the Demon-slaying Guard."

Following the map, Xiao Chen went directly to Jinzhu Ridge, northeast of Qiuping County, where a small Spirit Vein was located.

The ridge was dotted with short pine trees, their old trunks bent and gnarled, their roots and needles a vibrant, dark green.

But the many buildings that once stood there had now been reduced to a pile of ruins.

The bodies of several hundred Qi Refining Stage disciples, drained of their blood, had been discarded in front of a warehouse.

The warehouse that once held Spirit Stones had been forced open, and the vast quantity of Spirit Stones inside had been plundered.

Xiao Chen activated his Eye of Truth to inspect the surroundings.

Unfortunately, too much time had passed, and there were no traces left inside the warehouse.

He turned to leave, but then he saw a burst of fiery light. An Array Flag materialized at the warehouse entrance, and the entire building was instantly enveloped in an Array.

"Heheheh, so there was a fish that slipped through the net after all."

A rough voice called out from outside, followed by a command: "Divine Fire, descend!"

Immediately, a massive amount of Spiritual Fire appeared out of thin air, turning the entire warehouse into a sea of flames.

Xiao Chen took out his Fire-Storage Treasure Gourd and instantly absorbed the nearby flames.

But new Spiritual Fire immediately appeared to take its place, seemingly in an endless supply.

"Interesting."

Xiao Chen had rarely encountered Arrays before. However, Du Mingjie’s repeated warnings to be wary of the Demon Cultivators’ traps had, paradoxically, only piqued his curiosity.

Therefore, he didn’t immediately use his Li Huo Thunder to try and break the Array, instead wanting to test its power.

’Looks like just absorbing the flames won’t be enough to deal with this Spiritual Fire before the Spirit Stones powering the Array are depleted.’

So, he took out his Flying Sword, wanting to see if he could break the Array with brute force.

"Seven-Star Sword Technique—Kaiyang."

The next moment, the Array Flag at the entrance flickered under the control of the Demon Cultivator outside.

The immense Sword Light shot out of the Array, landing directly on a nearby hillside and felling a large swath of pine trees. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

However, the Array itself was completely unscathed, having dodged the attack.

The one who had set up this ambush Array was a Demon Cultivator at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment—Ge Yonghai.

He turned his head to look at the hillside and was instantly startled.

’If that Sword Light had hit me just now, I would’ve been in for a world of hurt.’