Chapter 274 - Assassins

Chapter 274 AssassinsStartled, Xiao Chen looked at him. “You… You’re still alive?”

“Meow! I’ll still live long and well after you die!” Zhiluan was hopping mad.

Xiao Chen shook his head with great force, trying to recall what happened that day. One-dot Red and Su Zimu still crushed their jade notes in the end, but Zuoqiu Yang refused to let him go and used a terrifyingly powerful move to strike him. Huangfu Xin’er unexpectedly ran over and took the hit for him. Then, the skies and ground collapsed and he lost his consciousness.

“Xin’er! Xin’er!”

He abruptly rose to his feet and used all of his strength to yell for Huangfu Xin’er. However, he couldn’t even see the shadow of a person in all these snow.

“Meow! Don’t yell, kid! You’ll cause an avalanche!” Zhiluan was so frightened that he wanted to take flight but tried as he might, he couldn’t unfold his wings.

“Avalanche…” Xiao Chen sat on the ground helplessly. If he wasn’t mistaken, the forest had experienced a spatial collapse that day. Were it not for Evernight and Su Xiaomei working together to protect him then, he would be dead now.

But Xin’er was a mere mortal. How could she endure the lacerating force of the spatial collapse? A searing pain stabbed his heart as he recalled memories of Huangfu Xin’er. Regardless of all their misunderstandings, their times in the Skygale Sect of the Skygale Sect were sincere.

He collapsed on the ground with his head facing the skies and allowed the snow-laden wind to hit him on the face. He muttered, “She could’ve left. She could’ve left…”

A long while later, he suddenly stood up. “I must find her! I must! Even if I die, I must find her!”

Behind him, Zhiluan was so cold that he was shivering. “Where will you find her in this cold, snowy land? I’m freezing. Let’s quickly find a way to leave this place.”

Xiao Chen scanned his surroundings and found nothing but boundless snow mountains in sight. Just as he was about to unfold Phoenix’s Wings, he noticed he couldn’t use vital force at all. He couldn’t even lift his flying sword. Even though Evernight and Su Xiaomei had protected him, his True Energy had been greatly depleted that day. Right now, he was no different than a regular Foundation Building Realm cultivator.

He probed the Nine-heaven Jade Pendant and the Frigid Jade Pendant with his Divine Sense but received no reply. Evernight and Su Xiaomei must have sunken into a deep sleep after exhausting their Soul Power.

“Hey, Leopard Cat Spirit! You can fly, can’t you?”

“Nonsense! If I can fly, do you think I wouldn’t be flying?” Zhiluan then muttered to himself, “Do you think I’ll stick around with a burden like you…”

Xiao Chen looked at him in anger. He pointed to himself. “I’m a burden? Who’s the one who hovered my head, asking to be rescued? Who’s the one who came to me when the skies and ground were collapsing?”

Zhiluan’s face reddened and he coughed once. “This great one won’t debate you on this for now.”

Xiao Chen shook his head. “Tsk. This young master doesn’t have time to entertain you.” He then walked over to one side, all while yelling, “Xin’er! Xin’er!”

Zhiluan was so terrified that all the hair on his body was standing on their end. “Meow! You’ll really cause an avalanche at this rate!”

Just like that, the human and the cat walked through the snow for a good four hours. No matter how they tried, they still couldn’t find a way out of the snowy mountains. Xiao Chen continued to yell for Huangfu Xin’er along the way. Zhiluan had long turned pale from fright.

“Meow! Consider this as me begging you! If you keep yelling, you’ll attract monsters even if not an avalanche!”

Xiao Chen spun around to glance at him. “What are you scared of? Aren’t you a thousand-year-old monster?”

Zhiluan was so angry that he jumped. “Get this straight! This great one is a Lingzhi Immortal… Achoo!” He sneezed and a string of snot hung from his nostrils. The snot swiftly froze into an icicle that he couldn’t shake off.

“Disgusting.” Seeing that he was going to remove the frozen snow with his paw, Xiao Chen took out the Fire-heart Jade that Huangfu Xin’er once gave him. He couldn’t help feeling upset looking at the jade in his hand. Then, he tossed it to Zhiluan. “Here, wear this if you’re cold.”

Without a word of protest, Zhiluan wore the jade around his neck and finally felt much warmer. He was thinking about what to say when Xiao Chen suddenly indicated for him to be quiet.

Zhiluan shivered in fright and immediately hid behind one of Xiao Chen’s legs.

Even though Xiao Chen had lost most of his powers, his Divine Sense remained sharp and not even the tiniest sounds would escape his attention. He heard the sound of several people’s footsteps coming in their direction.

He immediately grabbed Zhiluan and ran using his Immortal-override Steps, leaving no footsteps in the snow. They hid behind a huge pile of snow in the distance. He knew that the Daoist League of the Five Continents would surely send a search-and-rescue team seeing as some time had passed, but these people were full of murderous aura. They looked more like assassins who traded lives for money all year round.

Their footsteps were getting closer to the point that he could hear their quiet conversation.

“I’m sure the sound came from this direction. The kid’s a crafty one. Search carefully.”

“I see footprints but they stopped here. He must have noticed us! He must be nearby! Search!”

Xiao Chen had his back firm against the pile of snow and stopped breathing. Those men were in the beginner stage of the Core Forming Realm. He could easily kill them at his prime but he mustn’t let them discover him now.

Their aura was sometimes close and sometimes far as they searched every pile of snow. Xiao Chen’s heart was close to leaping to his throat. When the sound of their footsteps gradually faded, he finally sighed in relief. To his surprise, Zhiluan suddenly opened his mouth wide to sneeze.

Frightened out of his wits, he immediately reached out and pressed Zhiluan’s face onto the snow. Unable to breathe, Zhiluan began flailing and kicking snow everywhere. A muffled yelp escaped his throat.

“Shit!” Xiao Chen was alarmed.

Sure enough, a sharp Sword Qi instantly struck in their direction and snow scattered in the air. The snow pile had its top cleaved in half. Fortunately, he lowered his head in time or he would be headless by now.

Since they had been found out, there was no point in hiding anymore. Holding Zhiluan, Xiao Chen immediately made a run for it using his Immortal-override Steps. Unexpectedly, the men were even faster and stopped them before long.

There were four in total. Dressed in dark clothes meant for traveling at night, they were particularly conspicuous in the snow. Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by this?”

The leader stared at him for the longest time before turning to his partner and saying, “There’s no mistaking it. It’s him.”

“Did you come to kill me?” Xiao Chen’s gaze was cold and severe. He summoned a blade of Qi in his hand as he spoke. Beside him, Zhiluan was shivering in fright. “I don’t know this kid, I really don’t. You can just ignore me…”

One of them sneered. “Xiao Chen, we’ve heard of your name. But your powers are gone now. Now that someone has paid a handsome sum for your life, you only have your bad luck to blame!”

“Wait a minute!” Xiao Chen suddenly stretched his hand and took out a Tier Six Spirit Stone. “You’re just doing this for money, aren’t you? If you kill the one who wants my life, I’ll give you a million Spirit Stones! I’ll add on a thousand-year-old sentient Lingzhi!”

Zhiluan was hopping mad. “You disloyal bastard!”

The leader guffawed. “It’s a good deal. I’ll accept your Spirit Stones and Lingzhi! But I’ll be taking your life as well!” He charged at Xiao Chen with his palm, sending snow flying everywhere.

Xiao Chen raised his palm to block the attack and felt his entire body go numb. He staggered backward, covering a distance of more than ten feet, before finally regaining firm footing. Simultaneously, he waved his palm and sent countless blades of Qi flying at the assassins. One of them raised his sword to block the attacks. Clanging sounds reverberated in the air as he, too, was sent backward by several steps. He said solemnly, “Careful. He’s still left with thirty percent of his powers.”

The blades of Qi had taken all of his strength and were capable of heavily injuring any Foundation Building Realm cultivator. However, they did no damage to a Core Forming Realm cultivator. Considering this, Xiao Chen ushered Qi into his feet and ran away using Immortal-override Steps. Zhiluan yelped and followed after him.

“Get him!” the leader yelled.

He turned his flying sword into a blade of light that aimed for Xiao Chen’s back. Unable to evade the lightning-fast attack, Xiao Chen felt the sword pierce through his chest with a jeering sound. Blood sprayed from his mouth, leaving dots of red like plum blossoms on the snow-covered ground.

The remaining three assassins also caught up to him. Xiao Chen spun around and smiled wryly at them. He immediately circulated Qi all over his body and used his Dragon Roar Palm. The palm attack sent tremors through the skies and the strength struck the ground with full force. In an instant, ice and snow went flying and rumbling sounds reverberated without an end.

“Hehe. If you bastards want my life, I’ll bury you with me in the snow!”

His voice was still reverberating when the ground suddenly quaked. The snowcaps high above loudly cascaded down like the wild waves of a surging sea that couldn’t be stopped.

“Oh no!” The four assassins turned pale at the same time. Even though they could fly on their swords on flat land, they couldn’t do the same when vital force was so sparse at such a high altitude and they couldn’t summon the strength.

The power of heaven and earth must not be underestimated. Even a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator would hardly survive being submerged in the snow of hundreds and thousands of years old. Zhiluan jumped in fright. “We’re done for! We’re going to die! This great one is dead this time! Meow! I’m going all out!”

He bit down hard on his front paw and used his blood to dot between his eyebrows. Immediately, a dazzling red light emanated and a pair of snow-white wings emerged on his back.

Just as the snow was about to crash down on them, he speedily grabbed Xiao Chen’s collar and flew away as a lightning-fast light. The snow instantly cascaded down behind them. The vital force around them shook violently, causing him to rock uncertainty in the air. If they were even one step late, they would be unable to escape being submerged in snow.