Chapter 16: Greenhorn

Chapter 16: Greenhorn

As soon as Hong Tai finished speaking, the members of the Shadow Specter Sect moved to surround the group.

After learning that the newcomers belonged to the Shadow Specter Sect, the members of the three clans scattered around Blackwater Pond became anxious. They immediately started to brainstorm countermeasures, strategizing how to break through the encirclement.

Seeing the approaching Shadow Specter Sect's members, Zhou Qingchen's expression grew serious and no longer displayed the relaxed demeanor from before. "Old Han, it seems we'll need to split up and escape."

Zhou Qingchen had learned from Han Duping that Hong Tai, the leader of the group, had reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Marrow Cleansing Realm experts were at the pinnacle of existence in the Fourth World. Although Zhou Qingchen was on his way to, and would eventually reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he was still only at the Meridian Opening Realm at the moment.

The Shadow Specter Sect used Zhang Heng to gather insider information. The fact that they still dared to start a confrontation meant they were exceedingly confident in their abilities.

"Mn, I know what to do," Han Duping's eyes flickered.

Thud thud!

Pang Jian suddenly dashed toward the collapsed warhorses.

The Dragonwood Spear that Zhou Qingchen gave him, his long saber, bow, and arrows were all on the horse.

He knew nothing about the Shadow Specter Sect and could not discern their cultivation realms. All he could do was retrieve his weapons and prepare for the impending battle.

"Everyone!" Zhou Qingchen raised his voice. "Don't worry about me. Just try your best to escape. I, Zhou Qingchen, vow that as long as I leave this place alive, I won't leave to cultivate in the Red Mountain Sect in the upper world until I've dealt with all the intruders from the Shadow Specter Sect here today!"

His words bolstered the morale of those loyal to the Zhou Clan.

"Kill those sewer rats!"

"Aren't they just some shady characters lurking in the shadows? What's there to be afraid of?"

The Zhou Clan's cultivators tightly gripped their weapons and fearlessly charged toward the members of the Shadow Specter Sect, seemingly unafraid of death.

The space in front of the Blackwater Pond was shaped like an open folding fan. Their group stood near the head, where the ribs of a folding fan would be expose. Meanwhile, the members of the Shadow Specter Sect had spread out to cover the area leading away from the pond, making it almost impossible for the group to escape without coming into contact with them.

Soon, those loyal to the Zhou Clan clashed with the members of the Shadow Specter Sect and fights broke out.

During that time, Pang Jian had retrieved his bow, arrows, long saber, and Dragonwood Spear. Looking up, he saw the bloody battle had commenced.

"Pang Jian, I'm afraid I won't be able to look after you during this fight. I can barely take care of myself. The best I can do is draw the worst of the fight to me," Zhou Qingchen said, glancing at the frowning Pang Jian from afar. Then, addressing the rest of the group, he shouted, "Everyone, please take care of yourself. I hope we'll meet again!"

With that, Zhou Qingchen dashed out like a leopard. Seven consecutive beams of deep red light burst from the Heartguard Mirror on his chest. The beams instantly killed several members of the Shadow Specter Sect, disintegrating their bones and turning them into piles of flesh.

Zhou Qingchen's ruthlessness and dominance shook the members of the Shadow Specter Sect, and those who had yet to reach the Meridian Opening Realm hurriedly moved out of the way.

Zhou Qingchen laughed heartily. He leaped over the piles of flesh, fearlessly charging forward as though nothing could stop him.

Hong Tai had long since known about Zhou Qingchen's Heartguard Mirror. Seeing him reveal it, Hong Tai squinted his eyes greedily and said, 'It appears to be a treasure bestowed by the Red Mountain Sect. Not bad, not bad at all!'"

Hiss!

He rode his python toward Zhou Qingchen, flattening the lush vegetation along the way. Wherever the python slithered, it left behind a rugged trench that dug several feet into the ground.

Zhou Qingchen had not only attracted the main forces of the Shadow Specter Sect but also captured the attention of their leader, Hong Tai. He single-handedly bore the brunt of the Shadow Specter Sect's primary force and significantly boosted the morale of the rest.

Amidst the chaos, Ning Yao approached the fallen crimson warhorse. With a kick, she flipped over its lifeless body and slung the bloodstained sack of spirit stones over her shoulder.

"Uncle Yuanshan, we need to leave quickly!" Although Pang Jian was standing beside her, she did not even spare him a glance as she joined forces with Ning Yuanshan to make their way toward the area farthest from Zhou Qingchen.

Clang!

The impact caused Pang Jian's hands to go numb. Even his long saber had deformed from the blow. The poor quality and rigidity of the long saber made it unsuitable for combat between cultivators.

Pang Jian decisively reclaimed the Dragonwood Spear.

Unexpectedly, the spear, which felt incredibly heavy the first time he lifted it, had now become unbelievably light.

The weight of the Dragonwood Spear had not changed. The only thing that had changed was himself!

A powerful force surged from the joints of his arms as he tightly gripped the spear.

That dream, with the cleansing of the bone marrow in my arms and ribcage...

The slender man from the Shadow Specter Sect was stunned that Pang Jian had withstood his attack. Adjusting the angle of the enormous spiked club, he prepared to attack again.

Within that time, the younger, but taller and more robust Pang Jian had already approached the slender man with his spear.

"You dare retaliate against me?" The slender man swung his spiked club, intending to crush Pang Jian's skull and break every bone in his body.

Boom!

Upon impact with Pang Jian's spear, the spikes on the club's head shattered and sprayed all over the slender man's face and body. His hands on the spiked club could not withstand the force of the impact and burst open into bloody wounds.

Pang Jian had defeated his opponent with one strike.

Looking at the gruesome sight of the slender man, he could not help but mutter to himself, "So these are the cultivators from the Shadow Specter Sect? They're not very impressive,"

Pang Jian then stabbed the tip of his spear into the slender man's neck.

The Dragonwood Spear pierced the slender man's neck with a squelch.

Seeing how easily he killed the slender man, Pang Jian realized what Zhou Qingchen had told him before was true. Cultivators who had not reached the Meridian Opening Realm had not made any qualitative breakthroughs, and their combat abilities were limited.

Atop the last surviving warhorse, Zhang Heng let out a mournful, angry wail at the slender man's death, "Zhang Hu!"

He abandoned his fight with Ning Yao and Ning Yuanshan and rode his warhorse straight toward Pang Jian.

"Little Brother!" Eyes wide with fury, Zhang Heng stared at the fallen body of Zhang Hu, hoping to detect any sign of life. Unfortunately, his younger brother Zhang Hu was as dead as the poisoned warhorses he was surrounded by.

Zhang Hu was the only reason Zhang Heng had joined the Shadow Specter Sect. He whipped his warhorse in a rage as he screamed, "Pang Jian!"

Pang Jian wasted no time. He nocked an arrow into his bow and shot at Zhang Heng.

Previously, Pang Jian needed considerable effort to draw his bow. Now, however, he could fully draw his bow in the blink of an eye. He continuously shot arrows at Zhang Heng, but Zhang Heng either dodged them or blocked them with his longsword.

Zhang Heng was steadily approaching when Pang Jian switched targets to shoot at the galloping warhorse instead.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Arrows pierced the warhorse's eyes, neck, and forehead. After being blinded, it thrashed wildly, flinging Zhang Heng off.

Before Zhang Heng could even hit the ground, Pang Jian darted out like lightning, repeatedly stabbing upward with his Dragonwood Spear, piercing a series of holes in Zhang Heng's body.

Zhang Heng hit the ground, having met the same fate as his younger brother.

"You were so fierce. I thought you'd actually pose a threat to me," Pang Jian muttered with a strange expression on his face as he glanced at Zhang Heng's corpse.