AWB Chapter 201 Old Man
Chapter 201 Old Man
Chapter 201 The Old Man's Slow Down (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Above the snow-covered plains, in the icy, howling winds...
Chen Yi stood on the Crimson Soul Sparrow Fire Wings, his body surrounded by pale blue lightning. His Wind and Thunder Escape Light had been pushed to the peak of the mid-stage of the third rank, and the escape trail he left behind was instantly swallowed up by the raging wind and snow.
The boarding point for the Great Rift Valley of the Monster Mountain Range was still tens of thousands of miles away, but the blood-red streak that followed them like a shadow was rapidly approaching.
"Chen Yi! You can't escape!"
A furious roar pierced through the wind and snow. A hundred miles behind, the Blood Fiend Elder was surrounded by a thick, impenetrable blood mist. Even the surrounding snow was vaporized by the Blood Fiend power into a white mist with a fishy smell.
He was using the forbidden demonic technique [Blood Transformation Escape], sacrificing his life essence to temporarily boost his escape speed to the late stage of the third tier.
Wherever the crimson light passed, even the wind and snow were stained dark red, clearly determined to intercept Chen Yi within ten thousand miles and avenge the Bat King whose head had been blown off.
However, without the Bat King as a means of transportation and combat support, the [Blood Transformation Escape] technique became an immense burden for him.
Elder Blood Fiend had relied on the Blood Fiend Divination Technique for many years, and his body was already old; his vital essence and blood were no longer in their prime.
This kind of escape technique that burns away one's life essence can only be used for a short time and cannot withstand long-term consumption. Every moment he endures, a sharp pain comes from his internal organs.
Half a day later, in the sky above the snowfield eight thousand miles away, the blood-red streak of light had caught up to within a hundred miles of the distance, which was decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Chen Yi glanced down behind him, slightly surprised.
This old man was able to chase after us this far by burning his life essence; it seems the death of the Bat King really hit a nerve, and he's almost risking his life for it.
He didn't panic. Instead, he took out a porcelain bottle from his storage bag that was shimmering with a pale purple lightning light.
As the seal was broken, a refreshing burst of lightning energy rushed out; it was the ordinary version of [Azure Thunder Brew] that only amplified escape speed.
With a flick of his wrist, he poured all the Thunder Brew in the bottle directly onto the Crimson Soul Sparrow Fire Wings.
The Crimson Soul Sparrow was naturally skilled in wind and thunder escape techniques. Now that it had come into contact with the thunder brew, its fiery wings instantly rose three feet high with cyan-purple lightning, and its feathers were covered with fine lightning patterns. It actually transformed into the Thunder Spirit Sparrow body!
His escape speed suddenly doubled, instantly leaping to the late stage of the third tier, comparable to Elder Blood Fiend's [Blood Transformation Escape].
The distance that had been narrowed has stabilized again at more than 100 miles, and there is even a slight tendency for it to widen.
Upon witnessing this scene, Elder Blood Fiend's pupils contracted sharply, and a surge of rage welled up within him.
This little thief not only hid the Azure Thunder Brew, but also went so far as to give it to a spirit pet!
It should be known that even third-tier cultivators on the battlefield regard [Azure Thunder Brew] as a treasure, yet Chen Yi fed it to the Crimson Soul Sparrow as if it were a common bird.
What angered him even more was that the speed of the Spirit Sparrow after being enhanced by the Thunder Brew actually caught up with his [Blood Transformation Escape]. No matter how much he urged his essence blood, he could not close the gap even slightly.
"You brat! What kind of skill is it to run away? Do you dare to dismount and fight me?!"
Elder Blood Fiend's roar pierced through the wind and snow. His withered fingers clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms. Blood dripped from between his fingers, merging with the crimson light below, making the stream of light even brighter.
Astride the Thunder Spirit Sparrow, Chen Yi's robes fluttered in the wind and thunder, his face showing no sign of panic, but rather a hint of leisurely composure.
"Hahaha, old man, you can't even catch my bird. Even if you have extraordinary cultivation, what can you do to me? If you're so capable, go faster. Once you catch up, I'll play with you."
These words pierced Elder Blood Fiend's heart like needles, and he cursed inwardly.
He could only grit his teeth and endure the excruciating pain in his internal organs, burning his essence and blood once more. The crimson light suddenly surged, increasing his speed by another third.
The distance between them and Chen Yi slowly closed to eighty miles, seventy miles... They were about to enter the attack range where Chen Yi could unleash the Blood Fiend Technique.
Just then, the Thunder Spirit Sparrow, which was more than 30 miles ahead, suddenly stopped. Chen Yi took out another bottle of Azure Thunder Brew from his storage bag, and with a flick of his wrist, he forced the spirit sparrow to drink it again!
The cyan-purple lightning surged again, and the speed of the Thunder Spirit Sparrow's escape body instantly rebounded, not only stabilizing the distance but also subtly widening it further.
Elder Blood Fiend's eyes widened in horror. He had desperately burned his life essence and was finally about to catch up, only to find that his opponent still had a bottle left?!
Little did he know that Chen Yi had more than a dozen bottles of this "ordinary version" of [Azure Thunder Brew] hidden in his storage bag.
In his early years, when he was refining Thunder Brew for the Qi royal family, the royal family provided materials at exorbitant prices, and there were plenty of surplus materials, so he refined an extra batch. He originally intended to sell them in the market later to exchange for some spirit stones, but he never expected that they would play such a significant role today.
This thunder brew is useless for his cultivation and doesn't play a significant role in battle, but it's perfect for accelerating the Crimson Soul Sparrow.
After chasing for another quarter of an hour, Elder Blood Fiend felt that nearly half of his vital essence had been depleted. The intense pain in his internal organs made him extremely uncomfortable, and even maintaining the [Blood Transformation Escape] technique became difficult.
He was already reluctant to make a move openly in the area near the Central Continent Chamber of Commerce's flying boat because of his sensitive identity as a demonic cultivator. After all, that was the territory of the Xuanmen forces, and once his identity was exposed, it would probably bring more trouble.
Seeing that Chen Yi still had Thunder Brew available, he began to consider retreating.
Just as they were about to slow down and turn to leave, they saw...
The Crimson Soul Sparrow in front suddenly lost its strength, its lightning rapidly dimmed, and its escape speed plummeted to the mid-stage of the third tier, as if it had truly exhausted itself.
"Hmm? So you couldn't hold on either?"
Elder Blood Fiend was taken aback, then his eyes flashed with wild joy.
He no longer cared about the loss of his essence and blood, and immediately burned his essence and blood again. The crimson escape light shot out like an arrow, chasing for another hundred breaths, closing the distance to ten miles.
This is the limit of the range at which he can unleash the [Blood Fiend Soul-Splitting Arrow]. If he gets a few more steps closer, he can deliver a fatal blow.
However, at this crucial moment, the Crimson Soul Sparrow in front seemed to be suddenly stimulated, and the lightning around its body surged again.
The Thunder Spirit Sparrow's form reappeared, its speed suddenly increasing, once again widening the distance to twenty miles, leaving only a mocking trail of lightning that drew a dazzling arc on the snow.
After this repeated back and forth, and a chase that lasted for several hundred miles, Elder Blood Fiend had already exhausted seventy percent of his vital essence.
Even his Blood Escape technique was becoming unsustainable, yet no matter how much he unleashed his power, he remained about ten miles behind Chen Yi.
Even though they could catch up with just a little more effort, they were constantly being toyed with by the Thunder Sparrow, which was sometimes fast and sometimes slow.
When the Crimson Soul Sparrow once again became listless and its speed plummeted, Elder Blood Fiend finally stopped, refraining from recklessly burning his essence blood.
He suppressed his dizziness, squeezed out three drops of blood essence from his fingertips, and formed the Blood Fiend Divination Seal. A pale red hexagram slowly appeared in his palm, attempting to deduce the true state of the Crimson Soul Sparrow.
The moment the divination result became clear, Elder Blood Fiend nearly vomited blood.
The divination clearly shows that the Crimson Soul Sparrow ahead is in perfect condition; the dimming of the lightning on its body is merely a disguise.
Furthermore, Chen Yi still had at least ten bottles of [Azure Thunder Brew] hidden in his storage bag, clearly intending to wear him down with the tactic of "wearing out the old man"!
"You little thief! Trying to outlast me with these tricks?"
Elder Blood Fiend was both angry and shocked. He secretly rejoiced that he had done an extra divination, otherwise he would have become the "old man who was worn out" in the opponent's tactics.
His life essence was nearly exhausted, and continuing the pursuit would only lead to his own destruction. He immediately gritted his teeth and stopped his escape. The blood mist around him gradually subsided, and the crimson light slowly dimmed, clearly indicating that he had completely given up the chase.
More than ten miles ahead, Chen Yi, controlling the Crimson Soul Sparrow, hovered in the air, turned back to look at Elder Blood Fiend, his tone tinged with mockery:
"Old man, why did you stop chasing? Weren't you burning through your life essence just now? Now you don't even have the strength to chase anymore?"
"Hmph! You little thief, all you can do is rely on your spirit pet and thunder brew to escape! If you have the guts, turn around and fight me. If you win, I'll let you do whatever you want with me!"
Elder Blood Fiend, feigning weakness, deliberately made his voice hoarse in an attempt to provoke Chen Yi to turn back—he knew he was powerless to pursue him and could only hope that Chen Yi, young and impetuous, would come to him willingly.
But Chen Yi wasn't fooled at all, and instead laughed loudly:
"Old dog, stop pretending. Your life force has long since burned out, hasn't it? Trying to lure me back? No way! If you don't chase after me, I'm leaving. The next time we meet won't be so easy!"
"I'll spare your life today! But if I catch you again, I'll grind you to dust!"
Seeing that his provocation had failed, Elder Blood Fiend was extremely frustrated, but he could only utter a harsh remark to save face.
His withered hands clenched and unclenched, but in the end, he couldn't take another step in the pursuit.
Seeing that Xue Sha had no intention of pursuing them further, Chen Yi felt a pang of regret.
He originally planned to wander around a few more times to wear down the old man completely before turning back to try and kill him using hidden methods such as the Thunder Spirit Body, Golden Thunder Crystal Core, and Thunder Soul Whip. Unexpectedly, the other party saw through the disguise with Blood Fiend Divination and gave up the pursuit.
However, he didn't dwell on it. Having achieved his goal, he stopped pretending.
Controlling the Crimson Soul Sparrow, unleash its full lightning speed, no longer circling around.
It flew straight towards the Great Rift Valley of the Monster Mountain Range, hundreds of miles away. The cyan-purple lightning was like a shooting star, quickly disappearing into the snow and wind at the end of the snowfield.
Elder Blood Fiend stood in the air above the snowfield, panting heavily. His withered chest heaved violently, and the blood mist around him had thinned to the point of being almost invisible. He needed the remaining power of Blood Fiend to support him even when he was standing.
He squinted at the direction Chen Yi had left, muttering to himself, his tone filled with barely concealed apprehension:
"A powerful concealment technique, almost reaching the mid-grade of the third tier of body refinement. Two third-tier demonic beasts..."
"And so much [Azure Thunder Brew]... How could this rogue cultivator accumulate so many cultivation resources in just a few decades?"
His fingertips shimmered with blood-red veins as he formed the divination seals again. More fragmented clues surfaced in his mind, and the more he thought about them, the more alarmed he became.
"Two hundred thousand spirit stones from the secret realm, over two hundred thousand spirit stones from the Jade Dragon Sect, and spirit bamboo accumulated by Lin Fan of the Wonderful Sound Sect over several decades."
The production of Azure Thunder Brew likely involved siphoning off considerable resources from the Qi royal family, and also suggests connections with the Ji family of Zhongzhou, Qin Chengcheng, and the Qi royal family.
Cunning, greedy, adept at hiding and manipulating relationships—this style of behavior most likely refers to Xu Jiu, who fled from the State of Qi back then!
"In all my years, I have never seen such a difficult-to-kill newly-formed Core Formation cultivator."
Elder Blood Fiend sighed deeply, his voice filled with resentment and helplessness.
By letting the tiger return to the mountain this time, given Chen Yi's scheming abilities, it will only be more difficult to deal with him in the future.
Now that the Demon King has betrayed the Demon Clan, the Holy Temple is preoccupied with suppressing internal rebellions. Even if he were to report this matter...
The temple might not mobilize a large force for a cultivator who escaped from Qi. At most, it would inform the Qi royal family and let them deal with this "fish that slipped through the net".
A cold wind swept across the snow-covered plain, stirring up the snow that stung Elder Blood Fiend's face, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
Clutching his throbbing internal organs, he transformed into a pale red streak of light and sought out a demon beast's lair in the snowy plains to rest briefly and recover his energy and magical power.
This pursuit not only failed to avenge him, but also depleted most of his life essence.
After returning to the temple, he still had a lot of trouble to deal with: the death of the crow, the death of his spirit pet Moon Shadow Bat King, and the fact that he had burned so much of his essence blood that he would be unable to use large-scale divination spells for several years. He needed to explain all of these to the temple.
"well--"
Elder Blood Fiend, who had cultivated for hundreds of years, felt a sense of frustration and bitterness he had never experienced before.
Three days later, in a hidden cave in the snowfield, Elder Blood Fiend sat cross-legged on a cold jade futon, his blood fiend power receding, and his pale face gradually regaining its color.
After three days of arduous cultivation, he had recovered 50% of his depleted magical power. Although he was not fully recovered, he had enough to activate the Blood Fiend Divination Technique.
He made a hand seal with his fingertips, and three drops of his essence blood condensed into a blood-red divination symbol. Pale red causal lines spread like a spider web, extending towards the flying boat in the Great Rift Valley.
Still unwilling to accept Chen Yi's escape, even knowing the background of the Central State Chamber of Commerce, they still wanted to calculate the airship's route and find a final opportunity to hunt him down.
"Even if it's a flying boat from Central Plains, if given the chance, I'll risk exposure to find that little thief!"
A fierce glint flashed in Xue Sha's eyes. The divination symbol accelerated its rotation, the causal lines gradually became clearer, and it was about to touch the trajectory of the flying boat.
He had already planned: if the airship docked in an uninhabited area, he would ambush and attack; if it continued uninterrupted, he would coordinate with his spies to create chaos, aiming only to kill Chen Yi and then deal with the matter and hold him accountable afterward.
However, the moment the divination symbol was about to lock the cause and effect of the flying boat, it suddenly trembled violently, and the cause and effect line melted away like melting snow.
A dark aura swept over, carrying the pressure of "devouring" and "annihilation," causing the Blood Fiend God Soul to tremble the moment it touched the divination symbol.
The divination symbol shattered inch by inch, blood gushed out, and the face turned ashen white:
"This is……"
In his hundreds of years of practice, he had never seen such a sight before—the oppressive aura of darkness was so strong that he dared not explore any further, and he could not see any upper limit at all. He could only sense that it was the source of the trouble affecting a top-tier fourth-order powerhouse!
"Impossible! How could a calamity whose limits I can't even see appear near this remote airship?!"
Blood Fiend cried out in shock, his withered body trembling with fear. Looking into the Great Rift Valley, all resentment and ruthlessness vanished, leaving only terror.
A fourth-tier powerhouse can roam freely in one region; even the Lord of the Demonic Path Palace might not be able to match him.
Such a calamity, let alone his late-stage third rank, even if the entire demonic path were to come out in full force, it wouldn't be enough to fill a tooth gap.
"Luckily, I didn't chase after them rashly..."
Blood Fiend was filled with lingering fear.
Chen Yi has already boarded the flying boat of the Zhongzhou Jiutian Chamber of Commerce.
Before boarding, the official cultivators of the Qi Kingdom were verifying the purpose of their journey to the Central Plains one by one. He stepped forward to register in his true form:
"Chef Chen Ling, have you accepted the invitation from Ji Wuchen of the Ji family to visit the Ji family in Zhongzhou?"
"Exactly."
"Are these three your attendants?"
The cultivator's gaze swept over Old Hu and his wife, along with Xiao Mingyue, who were standing beside Chen Yi.
"good."
Chen Yi nodded in response.
"Hmm, the reason is valid. You may board the ship."
The monk added the information after verifying that it was correct.
"Furthermore, since True Person Chen is a Core Formation cultivator, he can enjoy a first-class room on the flying boat, which is equipped with a near-third-tier spirit array, priced at eight thousand spirit stones."
"Wow...that's so expensive!"
Chen Yi gasped, but still nodded in agreement.
As a Core Formation cultivator, if he were to squeeze into an ordinary cabin with Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, he would definitely be surrounded and stared at like a rare iron-eating beast.
Eight thousand spirit stones are expensive, but if we can safely cross the Monster Mountain Range, it's worth it.
To Chen Yi's slight surprise, nearly a hundred cultivators had chosen the high-class rooms this time, including five Core Formation cultivators, more than twenty Pseudo-Core Formation cultivators, and dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators with third-order or near-third-order skills.
The reasons given by the others for boarding the ship seemed somewhat far-fetched to him:
Some said they were invited by friends to visit the ruins, others said they were sent by their families to develop trade in the Central Plains... Such reasons would usually not be approved during wartime, but this time they were all allowed to go.
"The Nine Heavens Chamber of Commerce has been traveling between Zhongzhou and Qi for nearly thirty years. Although they have been ambushed by monsters occasionally, they have never made any major mistakes. Their reputation should be reliable."
Chen Yi pondered to himself that he had no choice but to board the ship first. If something really happened, he would have a backup plan.
The first-class guest room is about 20 square meters, and in addition to the main meditation room, there are also two servants' rest rooms.
Chen Yi decided to let Lao Hu's family come and benefit as well.
He met Lao Hu by chance outside the flying boat. At that time, Lao Hu was struggling with the strict exit inspection of Qi Kingdom due to the great changes in the secret realm and the invasion of the demon realm. He was worried about making up an identity and a reason to go to Zhongzhou when he happened to meet Chen Yi.
After a brief exchange, Chen Yi agreed to take him along. This small matter was nothing to him, given his status as a Core Formation cultivator.
"Senior Chen, thank you for your help."
Inside the room, Lao Hu bowed and thanked him.
Chen Yi stared at him for a long time, a look of doubt on his face:
"Old Hu, why do I feel like you're experiencing a revival, like a withered tree blossoming again?"
Although Lao Hu still had gray hair and looked middle-aged, he intuitively felt that the other person's vitality was quietly turning around.
"Haha, Senior Chen has a good eye!"
Old Hu laughed loudly.
"I recently had a fortuitous encounter, and my cultivation has gained some insights. Now that I'm over eighty, my magical power has actually advanced further, approaching the peak of Qi Refining. Perhaps one day I'll be able to establish my foundation!"
"That's truly a remarkable thing," Chen Yi exclaimed. "Achieving Foundation Establishment at the age of eighty is a rare occurrence even in the millennia-old records of the cultivation world. However, anything is possible in the cultivation world, and it's a blessing that you, Old Hu, have been fortunate enough to have this opportunity. You can rest here from now on. If Xiao Mingyue has any questions, feel free to ask me anytime."
"Thank you, Uncle Chen!"
Hu Mingyue, who was standing to the side, thanked her softly.
The young girl was just a teenager, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and skin as smooth as jade. Although she had not yet fully matured, she already showed the outline of an unparalleled beauty. Her bright eyes were clear and lively, and her dimples appeared when she smiled, giving her a pure and ethereal aura.
The flying boat stopped at the Demon Beast Mountain Range Grand Canyon for half a month, and set off when the time limit was up.
Having driven for over a thousand miles into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, an aura mixed with the blood and malice of monsters, ancient minerals, demonic intent, and earthly evil swept over them.
Almost all the cultivators on the flying boat stopped their cultivation; this environment was simply not suitable for meditation. Even the private rooms protected by arrays could not completely isolate this chaotic aura.
Although Chen Yi had a system that allowed him to absorb these auras without being affected, he still followed the crowd and stopped cultivating, often leaving the cultivation room to communicate with Lao Hu's family.
When he returned to his cultivation, he finally took the time to extract the essence of the [Void Shadow Bat] bloodline that he had obtained from the Bat King and slowly absorbed it through the system.
As the system absorbed the spiritual essence of his bloodline, Chen Yi's ability to conceal his breath significantly improved.
This time, not only has the ability to conceal one's aura and cultivation level in a static state been enhanced, but more importantly, the ability to hide one's dynamic flight trajectory has been improved.
Not long after, when he used the third-tier mid-grade Wind and Thunder Escape Technique, his momentum was reduced by 90%. From the outside, it looked as if he was only using a second-tier escape technique, but his speed and power were indeed at the level of the third-tier mid-stage.
This ability to conceal his presence while flying was something he was possessing for the first time.
(End of this chapter)