The forest was dark and gloomy, filled with towering ancient trees. Two figures were flying through it at high speed.

Jiang Jichen was in the lead with Han Qing behind him. Han Qing was panting for breath and shouted from behind, "Hey, kid up front, can we take a break? You’re working this Master Han to death."

Jiang Jichen’s indifferent voice drifted back from ahead. "No!"

"Damn it, we’ve been running for several double-hours! Are they hounds or something? How can they still be tracking us?"

"Besides, this Master Han can’t compare to young guys like you. You can sprint for hours and act like it’s nothing, even while you’re injured. Jiang Jichen, I’m seriously starting to doubt if you’re even human. I’ve activated my Earth Spirit Body and my Spiritual Power is almost completely drained. If I weren’t drawing the Power of the Earth from the ground, I would’ve collapsed from exhaustion long ago."

Han Qing grumbled and complained from behind, but he didn’t fall too far behind Jiang Jichen.

Jiang Jichen sped onward, using his Shadow Step with incredible ease. He had also swallowed a handful of First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills and was circulating the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique as he ran. His injuries had already healed significantly.

He was quite surprised by Han Qing. He was only at the Fifth Level Mortal Realm, and his Spiritual Power Line was just a faint cyan color. Yet, after activating his Earth Spirit Body, he could continuously draw Earth Spirit Power from the ground.

The Earth Spirit Power was infinite and inexhaustible. If not for his low Realm and the need to push himself to his limits every moment, using a Spirit Cultivation Step Technique just to keep up with Jiang Jichen, he wouldn’t have felt tired at all.

’Han Qing has his secrets. He’s far more than he appears on the surface. Perhaps he possesses some incredible inheritance.’

But Jiang Jichen had no intention of prying into them, just as Han Qing made no effort to deliberately probe Jiang Jichen’s own secrets.

Just then, Jiang Jichen spoke calmly, "I used a Secret Skill to misdirect them earlier, but they’ll realize what happened soon enough. They’ll discover the truth in two double-hours, and at their speed, it won’t be long before they catch up to us."

In truth, Han Qing was just running his mouth. He was naturally aware of all this.

If those old geezers caught up, with their current strength, they probably wouldn’t even have a chance to escape with their lives.

Several double-hours later, after leading Han Qing through a dense forest and over a mountain peak, Jiang Jichen finally arrived before the waterfall.

However, Jiang Jichen’s expression changed. He grabbed Han Qing and gracefully leaped away from where they stood.

BOOM!

A large crater appeared in the thirty-foot-wide area where they had just been standing. Even the hard rock was shattered, sending fragments flying everywhere.

At the same time, several figures flew out from the deep pool. From above the waterfall, a few more passed through the watery curtain and landed gracefully before Jiang Jichen. All around them, even more figures began to appear.

Jiang Jichen’s gaze turned cold as he looked ahead.

Zhang Xiaoyu was being held by a young man in his twenties. He was covered in blood, his breathing faint and shallow.

Little Yue’Er was being held by a beautiful woman. She had no major injuries, but Jiang Jichen could see bloody marks on the delicate little hand the woman was gripping. Little Yue’Er didn’t make a sound, holding back her tears.

In front of these two stood a young man in white robes. Jiang Jichen could see the Mountain Sect’s emblem of mountains, rivers, and clouds embroidered on his clothes. He was clearly from the Mountain Sect, and his status was undoubtedly high.

In addition, the four people who flew out of the pool were all at the Innate First Realm, elite figures from various sects.

Looking around, he saw disciples from the various sects and noble families, about a hundred of them in total.

Trapped in such an encirclement, Jiang Jichen showed not a hint of panic. Instead, he grew even calmer. His indifferent gaze swept across the crowd, and he spotted some familiar faces from Cyan Moon City.

On a nearby mountain peak stood a group of talented young cultivators from the noble families of Cyan Moon City.

Among them were Hex Yao, Mun Xia, Bai Yiyi, and Luuo Xue—the Four Beauties of Qingcheng. Murong Qingshu, Murong Hee, Lü Yinghao, Shen Yuqing, and others were all present. There were about twenty of them in all. They stood on the peak, watching Jiang Jichen surrounded by the powerful young experts from the sects, their expressions a mixture of complexity, excitement, and glee...

"Jiang Jichen is dead for sure this time. No one can save him now, haha..."

Hex Feng said with glee. Jiang Jichen had bent his fingers back, held him upside down, and humiliated him in public, filling him with infinite hatred.

"I heard he repaired his Qi Sea and formed a new Spirit Vein—a legendary Golden Spiritual Vein, no less. Perhaps he can still pull off a miracle!"

Luuo Xue, one of the Four Beauties of Qingcheng and once one of Jiang Jichen’s fiancées, sighed softly.

Hex Yao sneered, "With the Mountain Sect’s legacy grand disciple Hex Feng, the Golden Snake Sect’s legacy grand disciple Jin Hong, the Flower Rain Sect’s senior sister, and all the other elites from the sects, Jiang Jichen is doomed even if he had three heads and six arms."

"Trash is still trash. Even if Jiang Jichen’s Qi Sea is restored and his Spirit Vein is back, he can’t escape death today. Besides, the older experts are on their way. As an enemy of all the sects, Jiang Jichen has no chance of escape."

A follower standing beside Murong Qingshu said with a sneer.

Many of the others remained silent, their expressions complex. They had always mocked and looked down on Jiang Jichen for his crippled spirit body, but now, he had actually repaired his Qi Sea and even formed a new Golden Spiritual Vein—a talent of legendary proportions.

Even with a crippled spirit body, Jiang Jichen had switched to the Body Refining Dao and still defeated all of his rivals in Cyan Moon City, remaining undefeated among his peers.

Now, he had risen from the ashes and formed a Golden Spiritual Vein. Just how stunning was a person like that?

Though they wouldn’t admit it outwardly, they had to concede in their hearts that they were far inferior to Jiang Jichen. For most of them, this realization sparked an endless flame of jealousy.

They all felt a deep sense of unease. However, Jiang Jichen was already an enemy to all the sects and was now surrounded by the successors of the most powerful sects in the Celestial Pearl Country. He was trapped in a situation with no hope of survival.

Perhaps only by watching Jiang Jichen die with their own eyes could the shadows in their hearts truly fade. Only then would it not leave behind a Heart Demon that could affect their future path of spirit cultivation.

In the center of the clearing, the Mountain Sect’s legacy grand disciple, Hex Feng, smiled arrogantly. "To think you could dodge an assassination attempt from a Ninth-level Mortal Warrior. You’ve got some skill. But since you dared to kill members of my Mountain Sect, you have become an enemy to all sects. I, Hex Feng, the future Young Sect Leader of the Mountain Sect, will be the one to kill you."

Han Qing, ever the loudmouth, saw Zhang Xiaoyu’s miserable state and the wounds on Little Yue’Er’s hands. Even surrounded and facing certain death, he showed no fear, roaring in anger, "What bullshit Young Sect Leader of the Mountain Sect? You’re actually proud of threatening children? I’ve seen shameless people before, but I’ve never seen anyone as shameless and bottom-feeding as you! Let them go! If you’ve got a problem, take it up with Master Han!"

Hex Feng’s expression turned icy. He pointed a finger at Han Qing and said, "You’re courting death!"

A beam of Spiritual Light shot from his fingertip like an arrow, instantly piercing toward Han Qing’s face. Even his defensive earth power couldn’t block it in the slightest.

Even with his Earth Spirit Body, Han Qing’s Cultivation Realm was simply too low. He could not block this attack.

But at that moment, Jiang Jichen also raised his hand and pointed a finger.

PFFT!

A golden light flared like the sun, seeming to pierce the very sky. The beam of Spiritual Light from Hex Feng’s finger was extinguished, but Jiang Jichen’s golden light did not fade. It continued on, shooting toward Hex Feng.