Chapter 441: Chapter 428: Ignorant Junior, Striking a Stone with an Egg

Star Pattern Steel was jet-black and lustrous, with strange, star-like patterns upon its surface.

Legend said that this was a Spirit Stone that had absorbed the Power of the Stars after being bathed in the light of the sun, moon, and stars for ages.

If refined into a defensive weapon, it not only granted the wearer the mysterious protective Power of the Stars, but it could also ward off Curse Arts like ice, fire, and lightning.

And if it was used to refine a Divine Weapon, it would possess an extremely strong Breaking Technique Piercing power!

Whenever it appeared on the market, it was always a Top Grade material that the major Sects and Artifact Refining Masters would fight madly to obtain.

This legendary ore, said to only form after being exposed to the light of the sun, moon, and stars for over ten thousand years—who would have thought it would be at the bottom of a cliff like this?

The fact that it existed at the bottom of this cliff only further proved its value... This Star Pattern Steel had likely formed an unknown number of years ago!

It had simply been buried deep underground due to the changing of eras, the passage of countless years, and the shifting of mountains and rivers!

And for this kind of material, the older, the better.

Ying Huo gazed at the Star Pattern Steel Ore Vein, his heart filled with a thousand emotions.

As the Commander of the Thunder Guard, merciless slaughter had been the main theme of his life.

But this period of time following Shen Lang had his emotions churning like the sea beneath a hurricane...

A turbulent sea of monstrous waves, rising and falling.

In this respect, Qian Luo was different.

Qian Luo didn’t bother considering any of that complicated nonsense.

Every time they discovered an ore vein, the fellow would immediately get to work.

Dig, and dig with all his might!

Dig with every ounce of his strength!

Besides, Shen Lang never stopped him, so he just dug as much as he could!

"We wasted a few days looking for these. Fifteen ore veins are already the limit for the five Sects to mine. Any more and they’d have to pour out all their forces." Shen Lang said with a hint of regret, "Let’s go back."

Ying Huo and Qian Luo, who were beside him, immediately broke out in a waterfall of sweat.

Finding fifteen huge ore veins like this was like finding fifteen treasure troves!

The two of them still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock, yet he was actually saying they’d wasted a few days.

He was probably the only one who would dare say something like that...

’Fifteen ore veins are already the limit for the five Sects to mine. Any more, and they’d have to mobilize everyone.’

Tossing a piece of Star Pattern Steel in his hand, Shen Lang decided to quit while he was ahead and not continue any further.

Just as the three were about to leave, Shen Lang suddenly stopped and turned to his right.

"Who’s there!"

Ying Huo had also noticed something amiss. With a low shout, he drew his longsword and stood on guard!

’For me to only notice them now, they must be hostile!’

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!

The crisp sound of clapping echoed through the canyon as three strangers slowly walked over from the canyon entrance in the distance.

The leader of the three was an old man in gray robes with a face like an orange peel.

Although this person looked ancient and frail, his aura was immense and towering. He moved like a dragon or a tiger.

The two middle-aged men following him had equally powerful auras, in no way inferior to someone like Qian Luo at Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven.

"Shit, it’s them!"

Qian Luo was greatly alarmed the moment he saw the three men.

Beside him, Ying Huo’s expression shifted; he had clearly recognized them as well.

Just then, the old man burst out laughing and said, "I’ve had a feeling something good would happen these past few days. I never thought the heavens would actually give me such a great gift!"

"Star Pattern Steel... HAHA! To think a Star Pattern Steel Ore Vein this massive would be in a place like this. It’s truly unimaginable!"

The old man’s gaze on the cliff wall behind Shen Lang’s group was naked and undisguised.

The expressions on the two men beside him were even worse. Their eyes were practically burning with fire, and they looked like they wanted to pounce over and snatch the Star Pattern Steel right away!

Suddenly, Qian Luo, who was beside Ying Huo, began to cry out loud...

"Grand Elder, save me! It’s me, Qian Luo!"

Qian Luo shouted hysterically, "These two are from the Profound Dao Sect! They placed a Restriction on me and forced me to scout for them in this dangerous place! Grand Elder, save me!"

Ying Huo shot a cold glance at Qian Luo and whispered, "My Lord, be careful. This old geezer is Fu Chen, the Grand Elder of the Holy Light Sect. He reached the Cultivation of Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven many years ago. His Martial Soul is a mutated version of the extremely bizarre ’Soul-Devouring Beast,’ which can devour a person’s flesh, blood, and vital essence. He’s incredibly domineering and difficult to deal with."

"Holy Light Sect? Soul-Devouring Beast Martial Soul? It must be fate." Shen Lang’s eyes flickered slightly.

At this point, Fu Chen’s gaze finally moved from the Star Pattern Steel Ore Vein to the three of them.

His gaze lingered on Shen Lang for only a moment before fixing on Ying Huo.

"Thunder Guard Commander Ying Huo? What wind blew you all the way to the Barbaric lands?" Fu Chen asked casually.

Ying Huo said grimly, "If you can come to the Barbaric Land, why can’t I?"

"What? By the looks of it, Grand Elder, you intend to fight us for this Star Pattern Steel Ore Vein?"

Fu Chen gave a wicked laugh. "Fight? You think too highly of yourself. You think you’re qualified to say something like that to me?"

"A Thunder Guard Commander is impressive, and you can scare plenty of people, but you’re not even worthy of carrying my shoes! When I was roaming the Celestial Profound Mountain Range, you were still playing in the mud somewhere!"

The two men beside Fu Chen immediately started chuckling sinisterly. None of them took Ying Huo seriously.

On one side was an old geezer who had reached Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven years ago, along with two experts at Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven.

On the other side was Thunder Guard Commander Ying Huo, all alone.

As for Qian Luo, he was also from the Holy Light Sect. Even if he couldn’t fight, he at least wouldn’t side with Ying Huo.

As for Shen Lang, he was almost completely ignored by them.

No one recognized him, and no one thought he posed any threat.

Shen Lang had been hiding his Cultivation, which was at the Spirit Martial Realm Early Stage... Even if he didn’t hide it, by any normal person’s understanding, a Cultivation at Spirit Martial Realm Seventh Heaven was nothing in the face of these Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses.

Forget Fu Chen, who was at Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven; even the two men beside him could crush a Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist with almost no effort.

However, while they were overjoyed looking at the exposed Star Pattern Steel on the cliff wall, Shen Lang seemed even happier than them.

Shen Lang was genuinely happy. Truly.

He had just been worrying about how to find a more powerful figure from the Holy Light Sect to inquire about their affairs.

And now someone had delivered themselves right to his doorstep!

Even Qian Luo didn’t know the full details of the Holy Light Sect’s business; he only had a vague understanding.

But this person who had just arrived was different from Qian Luo.

A guy of Fu Chen’s or Yuwen Huaji’s Level, of course, wouldn’t be much in the Imperial Dragon Sect.

They would be as common as dirt there.

But in a Sect like Holy Light Sect, which had only been a Profound Iron Level Influence for a few years, you definitely wouldn’t find many of them.

At most, there would only be two or three.

Even if Fu Chen was the only one, that would be completely normal.

Someone at Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven was practically the number one person below the King Martial Realm powerhouses.

If even he didn’t know about the Holy Light Sect’s business...

...it would either mean that those old monsters in the Holy Light Sect were extremely sinister and terrifying, or that the matter itself was extremely serious.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to keep it a secret even from someone of his Level.

"Is the Holy Light Sect’s search area really this large? You’ve even reached the outskirts of the Barbaric lands?" Shen Lang said with a grin.

For these people to appear in the outskirts of the Barbaric lands was too much of a coincidence.

Recalling that the Holy Light Sect had already deployed many disciples around the Profound Dao Sect to search for something, Shen Lang immediately guessed their purpose.

Sure enough, as soon as he asked, Fu Chen’s expression changed dramatically!

"You little bastard, who are you? What else do you know? Spit it out obediently, and maybe I’ll leave your corpse intact. Otherwise... HEH HEH HEH!"

Even Fu Chen’s voice changed, now filled with chilling killing intent!

"Leave my corpse intact? You old bastard, you think too highly of yourself. You think you’re qualified to say something like that to me?"

"Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven is impressive, and you can scare plenty of people, but you’re not even worthy of carrying my shoes! When I was roaming the Celestial Profound Mountain Range, you were probably already buried in the ground and turned to mud!"

When these words came out, Qian Luo, at the side, couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing with a PFFT.

"You sharp-tongued little brat! I wonder if you’ll still be laughing so happily when I perform Soul Extraction and Refining on you later!" The opposing Fu Chen was furious.

Then, he saw Qian Luo’s reaction and was stunned for a moment. ’This fellow Qian Luo is acting strangely. When I appeared, he was only slightly taken aback, even a little fearful, but he didn’t have that overjoyed look of seeing reinforcements. His later act was completely faked!’

’What the hell is going on? Logically, even if Ying Huo really did injure him severely and place a Restriction on him, he should still be happy to see me arrive, right?’

’Could it be that he was bought over by the Profound Dao Sect?’

’Forget it. I’ll just pull them out by the roots. I’ll kill them all!’

Thinking this, Fu Chen gave a sinister smile and said, "You two go slaughter Qian Luo. I’ll handle Ying Huo and that little bastard."

Before the two could answer, Shen Lang, copying Fu Chen’s move, waved his hand and tossed out all the members of War Wolf from the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.

"You go slaughter those two. I’ll handle the old bastard."

Seeing this, Qian Luo was no longer willing to keep up the act. "So that’s how it is, you old bastard! I’ve worked my ass off for the Holy Light Sect for so many years, and not only do you not want to save me, the first thing you do is order those two pieces of trash to slaughter me?"

"FUCK YOUR MOTHER! FUCK YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY! Come! Come! Let’s see if these two pieces of trash die, or if I die!"

Qian Luo beat his chest, bellowing as he took two steps forward.

After two steps, Qian Luo realized something was wrong.

He looked back and saw the group of War Wolf members just watching him quietly. Not a single one had moved forward with him.

A fawning smile immediately appeared on Qian Luo’s face. He made a "please" gesture and said, "Gentlemen, after you. I’ll be your assistant. But remember, don’t kill them right away. Leave them breathing so I can kick them a couple of times to vent my anger. Thank you, thank you."

Tie Feng and the other nine drew their weapons, fanned out, and closed in on Fu Chen and his two men.

"You’re courting death!"

Although Fu Chen was surprised by where this crowd of people had come from, their actions immediately enraged him once more.

Before him, a Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven expert, a group of Martial Artists at the Fifth and Sixth Heaven of the Xuanwu Realm were nothing but ants!

It’s said that enough ants can kill an elephant, but how could a mere eight or ten ants withstand a single stomp from an elephant like him!

Fu Chen’s aura erupted from his body as he stomped his foot on the ground.

That single stomp sounded like ten thousand drums beating at once, shaking the heavens and the earth. A powerful Qi Force spread out, immediately forcing back the approaching crowd by several meters and making them afraid to get any closer!

At this moment, Shen Lang had already put away all his Blue Cobalt Copper. He clenched his fists, and the bones and sinews all over his body rang out like the clash of metal, echoing through the mountain forest!

"Old bastard, your opponent is me!" Shen Lang cracked his neck.

"Your timing is perfect. I just so happen to have a few questions for someone. Since you’ve so recklessly delivered yourself to me, I’ll start with you!"

The moment he finished speaking, Shen Lang left an afterimage in his place, already shooting toward Fu Chen like an arrow!

"Ignorant junior, you’re like an egg trying to smash a rock!"

Being disrespected again and again by such a junior, Fu Chen was thoroughly enraged...

Driven by killing intent, his fury made his hair stand on end.

A ferocious power like a flash flood erupted from his body, bursting outward. It instantly swept across the entire area, sending sand and stones flying and huge trees tumbling through the air!