Stone Turtle!

Chen Ji seemed to see where the stone turtle lay.

He brought his blade down from the air, but its power dissipated midway; the might of a green dragon stirring the sea or a tiger roaring through the forest was gone.

The Centurion frowned, “What’s wrong?”

After landing, Chen Ji stood in deep thought.

Just as the Centurion was about to swing his blade at him, Chen Ji called out, “Wait a moment.”

“Wait a moment.”

Chen Ji’s call to wait a moment made the Centurion truly wait in place, slowly retracting his simple saber.

Chen Ji dragged his long saber to the edge of the mountaintop, where the Five Vanguards were circled. He pushed them aside as if they weren’t there, and the Five Vanguards truly moved aside for him!

The Five Vanguards exchanged glances, then looked at the Centurion, who gently shook his head.

There seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them; they all realized something but chose not to voice it.

Chen Ji gazed south, then dragged his long saber and ran north.

This time, the Five Vanguards blocking the north voluntarily moved aside, allowing him to gaze at the northern mountains.

Chen Ji suddenly turned and asked, “What are the ancient legends about the Stone Turtle and Bixi?”

This was a blind spot in his knowledge, so he could only ask the Five Vanguards.

The Centurion was silent for a moment, but then actually replied, “For Bixi, the five toes of the front claws represent Yang, and the four toes of the hind claws represent Yin. Thus, they are a great embodiment of Yin and Yang!”

Chen Ji turned again to look at the northern mountains. The low silhouette of the distant mountains strikingly resembled the five toes of the stone turtle.

He then looked south again. The outlines of Yingluo Rock and Furong Terrace resembled the four toes of the hind claws, Xishan resembled a hunched turtle shell, and Xianglu Peak was Bixi’s head, raised towards the sky!

Chen Ji looked down at his feet, at the mountaintop paved with square stones!

He threw his long saber through the air towards the Centurion, saying, “Help me cleave this ground open!”

The Centurion didn’t understand why, but still complied.

He took the long saber and repeatedly struck the square stones. A fierce wind wildly swept, causing the clothes of everyone on the mountaintop to flap loudly!

The square stones were thick and heavy. Not until after more than thirty blows did cracks appear! When the thirty-second blow fell, a thunderous roar was heard. The long saber shattered mountains and split stones, cleaving a deep gully into the mountaintop, and dust filled the air!

Chen Ji held his breath until the dust cleared, revealing half a foot of a sword hilt in the gully.

He glanced at the surrounding Five Vanguards, hesitating whether to use the sword to nourish his own at this moment. But then he saw the Centurion use his long saber to lift the hilt, retrieving the divine sword hidden underground and bringing it to Chen Ji.

The long sword was ochre-yellow, as good as new!

The Centurion casually asked, “You ran through several mountain peaks just to find this sword, didn’t you? If you’re going to use a sword to nourish your own, this one is indeed the most suitable.”

Chen Ji remained silent.

He had sought this sword earlier to fight the Five Vanguards. Now that the sword was found, he wondered if he should continue the fight.

At this moment, the mountain wind swept through, rustling Chen Ji’s clothes.

The sky gradually brightened, illuminating the three faint streaks beneath Chen Ji’s ragged clothes.

The fires within the Five Vanguards flickered wildly, as if they had witnessed something incredible, or as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from their hearts.

All previous doubts were explained by these streaks! The Centurion softly said, “You’re back!”

These four words weighed a thousand pounds, leaving Chen Ji unsure how to respond.

He glanced at the long saber in the Centurion’s hand and asked, “Shall we continue our contest?”

The Centurion looked back at the sky, seeing a ray of golden light emerging from the distant mountain silhouette, as a red sun was about to peek over the ridge!

The Centurion smiled, “No need. I have no regrets now.”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then asked, “Those I killed earlier…!”

The Centurion replied indifferently, “Our lives were given by you; what harm is there in letting you kill us once? There’s no time; let me do one more thing for you before I go! Or would you prefer to say yourself that you owe us a bowl of wine?”

Chen Ji was startled, “I owe each of you a bowl of wine!”

The Five Vanguards burst into laughter, and the Centurion also laughed heartily, “No regrets.”

With that, he suddenly lifted his long saber and walked towards the edge of the mountaintop. The Five Vanguards, seemingly in sync with him, followed behind.

As they were about to descend the mountain, the Centurion looked back, and the Five Vanguards all turned their heads in unison. The golden sunlight illuminated their silhouettes on the cliff edge, making them appear indistinct yet mighty.

Together, they adjusted the bone masks on their faces and said, “Victory!”

The next moment, the Centurion led the Five Vanguards as they all leaped off the mountaintop, charging down the mountain like a mighty army.

The Centurion dragged his long saber. The saber was like a giant plow, cutting through soil and decaying leaves on the slope, carving a deep gully behind him.

The Five Vanguards followed close behind, and four horns blared in unison.

Three Mountain Hunters, faster than the Centurion, leaped between tree trunks, moving as if on flat ground.

The three arrived at the mountainside, where they suddenly discovered numerous faceless corpses of Eastern Palace assassins scattered on the ground. They then followed the tracks on the ground, continuing their pursuit down the mountain.

They didn’t stop until they saw Mr. Liao in his brown robes, at which point they simultaneously shot a whistling arrow into the sky!

The whistling arrow shrieked piercingly, guiding the army to the attack!

Mr. Liao’s face showed astonishment. He didn’t know why these specters, who were originally pursuing Chen Ji, had suddenly come to kill him instead. Was Chen Ji dead or alive?

As he was pondering, a sword hum suddenly echoed from the top of Xianglu Peak. The hum seemed to resonate in everyone’s heart!

Mr. Liao’s expression changed. “What was that sound?” Before he could figure it out, the three Mountain Hunters had already closed in!

The Mountain Hunters reached into their bodies, broke off a rib, and transformed it into a bundle of bone arrows. They gripped these bone arrows in their bow-holding hands, firing them in rapid succession, forcing Mr. Liao to twist and turn to dodge!

In an instant, the spot where he had stood was riddled with bone arrows. The bone arrows relentlessly pursued his movements, making it impossible to keep up!

Yet, Mr. Liao was, after all, a Grand Envoy of the Dao-Seeking Realm, and had just broken through to the third heaven by devouring twelve assassins. His vital energy was at its peak!

The bone arrows of the three Mountain Hunters always missed him by a hair’s breadth!

Mr. Liao angrily said, “Is there some misunderstanding?”

The Mountain Hunters ignored him. The three surrounded him but did not press the attack, waiting until the main army arrived!

Then, the Centurion came surging forward, dragging his long saber. His first move was to strike down with a saber, precisely the same first blow Chen Ji had just used on him!

This strike was not learned on the spot; he had known it ten thousand years ago!

Taught by the same person!

Mr. Liao dared not directly take the blow. He flicked his sleeve, donned a red-faced, fanged mask, and transformed into black smoke, fleeing into the distance!

But the Centurion pursued relentlessly, like a shadow!

The black smoke flew for more than ten zhang before landing. Just as Mr. Liao’s form materialized, he saw the Centurion’s saber already descending towards his head!

Amidst the overwhelming power, he had no choice but to transform back into black smoke and flee again! When he tried to land again, a bone spear shot forth, thrown precisely at where the black smoke would land!

Mr. Liao could only forcibly summon his energy to flee again. The Centurion sneered, “Your escape skills are truly remarkable.”

Mr. Liao, as black smoke, enveloped a Soul-Collecting Ban. But three breaths later, the Soul-Collecting Ban remained perfectly unharmed!

His official’s black smoke surged, enveloping the Soul-Collecting Ban, which struggled continuously. His face-stealing technique, clearly, had no effect on the Five Vanguards!

The Five Vanguards were faceless to begin with!

Left with no choice, Mr. Liao could only flee again. The Soul-Collecting Ban, holding its own head, spat, “What kind of monstrous thing is this?”

Mr. Liao then enveloped another Mountain Hunter, but he was equally ineffective!

These Five Vanguards seemed inherently immune to his techniques! The Five Vanguards hunted Mr. Liao; whenever Mr. Liao transformed into black smoke and tried to land, Five Vanguards would immediately rush to encircle and attack him. Two Soul-Collecting Bans, wielding white bone banners, drove him back, preventing him from breaking out of the encirclement!

A Grand Envoy of the Dao-Seeking Realm, with all his personal techniques, was rendered ineffective, and was actually forced to flee in disarray by this group of Five Vanguards!

The Centurion dragged his saber closer, “You rely too much on your official’s abilities; you’ve long forgotten how to fight!”

After the black smoke failed to land several times, the Centurion suddenly closed in. “Now!”

Just as Mr. Liao was about to land, the Centurion swung his long saber, using the hilt as a pivot to twist towards the landing spot of the black smoke!

Mr. Liao’s face drastically changed, and he transformed into a wisp of black smoke again, fleeing into the distance!

But this time, it was too late!

The Centurion’s long saber descended. The timing was perfect; just before Mr. Liao fully transformed into black smoke, the saber struck the forming smoke!

A pained shriek echoed from the fleeing black smoke. An arm, along with half a shoulder, fell from the smoke, spilling blood onto the ground!

In that instant, Mr. Liao no longer held back. He immediately split the black smoke into eight masses, flying in eight directions!

The black smoke caused a dazzling confusion in the forest, and the Five Vanguards were momentarily unsure which way to pursue!

The eight masses of black smoke enveloped the mountain, raising a dark mist. When the mist cleared, only one much smaller mass of black smoke was seen fleeing east, having already outdistanced the Five Vanguards by dozens of zhang!

The Soul-Collecting Ban shouted loudly, “Pursue!”

But the Centurion calmly said, “No need to pursue!”

The Five Vanguards all looked up together. A golden sun peeked out from the mountain ridge. The boundary between sunlight and darkness surged towards them like a tide line!

The Soul-Collecting Ban stood still, watching Mr. Liao disappear into the distance, and asked, “What about that villain?”

The Centurion looked back at the mountain, just as he saw Chen Ji swiftly descending, pursuing Mr. Liao. “Leave it to him. He’ll kill his own enemy!”

The Soul-Collecting Ban, puzzled, said, “But he’s still very weak now!”

The Centurion seemed to have heard a joke. “You’ve had your share of beatings, haven’t you!”

“Aren’t you curious how he cultivated the sword seed? That’s Xuanyuan’s ability.”

“Aren’t you curious how he returned to the human world?”

“Back then, he was…”

The Centurion suddenly raised his hand and clenched his fist. Everyone fell silent!

He looked at the distant mountains and rivers, and sighed softly, “The human world is truly beautiful!”

Only the sounds of wind and birds remained in the forest. No one wished to disturb this rare tranquility.

The Centurion watched the dividing line between sunlight and darkness as it approached. He turned to everyone and said, “Everyone, I apologize that I couldn’t bring you to taste the fine wines of the human world this time! We’re leaving!”

The next moment, as sunlight touched the Centurion’s toes, then his calves, then his entire body, he transformed into a ball of fire, burning into a wisp of white ash that scattered in the wind!

“They’re gone!”

“They’re gone!”

As a wisp of white ash dispersed, the fires in their eyes flew into Chen Ji’s body like shooting stars!

A total of eighty-two individuals, with one hundred sixty-four wild flames, flew into Chen Ji’s body, igniting the furnace fires: six hundred ninety-one, six hundred ninety-two… seven hundred thirteen, seven hundred fourteen!

Not until the seven hundred fourteenth furnace fire ignited within Chen Ji’s body did all the Five Vanguards completely vanish!