Chapter 1: When the father suffers humiliation, the son must avenge him

  Xiao Chen was currently troubled and did not want to create any more branches, but just as he was hesitating, a sudden surge of spiritual energy fluctuations came from behind him.

  Hmph!

  He let out a low, cold snort and his figure flashed suddenly, a spirit artifact shaped like a Wu hook struck out into the empty air, revealing its shape.

  "Hey, I didn't think you had any skills, but you actually managed to escape my trap. However, since you've ruined my plan, don't think about leaving this place unscathed!"

  Xiao Chen's eyes scanned down coldly, and he saw a man wearing black clothes with a mole at the corner of his mouth holding a Wu hook-shaped spirit device, staring at him with a fierce killing intent. This person had just made a move, clearly intending to take Xiao Chen's life. Xiao Chen's eyes flashed with a few hints of murderous intent. However, thinking of the people following behind him, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, revealing a hint of hesitation.

  "Haha, it's your bad luck that you ended up here! If anyone finds out, I'll be the one who'll really be dead and buried!" The black-clothed man saw the hesitation on Xiao Chen's face and became even more determined. With his spiritual weapon in hand, he charged towards him. Although this place was remote, it was still within the sect's grounds, and if anyone were to discover them, he would truly have no place to hide.

  Xiao Chen's eyes flashed with a cold glint, this person's cultivation had reached at least the seventh layer of the Qi Refining stage, and he also possessed an attacking technique, if they were to engage in combat, he would likely fall behind quickly, which would be troublesome.

  "It's over!" Xiao Chen's heart flashed with a few points of cruelty, and his divine consciousness suddenly broke out of his body, transforming into a sharp cone that shot straight towards the black-clothed man.

  Stabbing God's Spear!

  In the "Mixed Yuan Scripture", a primary divine consciousness attack method is recorded, with two forms of destruction and annihilation above it. The latter, when cultivated to the extreme, is said to be able to severely injure even an immortal cultivator! However, Xiao Chen's current strength is weak, and he can only use the Annihilating Stab once. With his current divine consciousness intensity, after being amplified fivefold by the Golden Seal, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator who is caught off guard would suffer severe injuries if attacked. This was originally a method he had prepared to deal with those behind him, but now he has no choice but to use it ahead of time. Otherwise, if they were to get entangled, it would be even more troublesome.

  Buzz!

  The divine consciousness attacked silently, the black-clothed man's body shook violently, and a faint green aura suddenly burst out from his body, enveloping him. Xiao Chen also felt that his divine consciousness was like colliding with a ball of cotton, transmitting a few hints of obscurity.

  "Mind attack, foundation repair!" The black-clothed man's face suddenly showed a look of terror, and he repeatedly begged for mercy: "Junior has eyes but no pearls, offending senior. I don't know which master uncle it is? Junior is the true disciple of Master Kuishui, please master uncle spare junior's life for the sake of our sect."

  After the fifth layer of the Refining Qi period, one can achieve spiritual awareness leaving the body, but wanting to attack with spiritual awareness is absolutely impossible without reaching the Foundation Establishment realm!

  Xiao Chen's eyes flashed coldly, this person must die, otherwise it would be impossible to intimidate the people behind him, and he would be in danger.

  "Die!"

  A low shout came from under the black robe, and the divine spear went crazy, the green light shield outside the black-robed man's body suddenly made a series of dense cracking sounds, and cracks filled its surface.

  "Ah! You can't kill me, or Master Mo will definitely avenge me!" The black-clothed man shouted in terror, seeing that Xiao Chen showed no intention of sparing him. A hint of venomous resentment flashed in his eyes, "If you kill me today, what awaits you is Master Mo's eternal pursuit and killing."

  Bang!

  The black-clothed man's jade pendant shattered instantly, the green light shield broke apart, and the divine spear pierced through his body. The resentment in the black-clothed man's eyes gradually dissipated, but at the moment of his demise, a dark light suddenly flew out from his body and entered Xiao Chen's body in an instant.

  At this sudden change, Xiao Chen's face suddenly turned gloomy, and his divine sense scanned over, and indeed found a black symbol emitting eerie fluctuations in the primordial spirit. This should be some kind of special mark that can make Mo Li aware, so as to find the murderer. Thinking of this, Xiao Chen's face became even more somber.

  "Thank you... thank you, Master Uncle, for saving me." Lin Ya'er's face was filled with fear and trepidation. The senior fellow disciple in front of her had struck out fiercely, killing the black-clad man with a single counterattack, making her secretly despair in her heart - if this person wanted to keep the secret, would he also silence her?

  "Alright, there's nothing for you here, leave now." Xiao Chen deliberately changed his tone, sounding like a 30-year-old middle-aged man, and waved his hand as he spoke.

  Lin Ya'er was overjoyed when she heard this and respectfully curtsied before preparing to leave.

  "Wait." Xiao Chen suddenly spoke up.

  Lin Ya'er was startled by his words, but still obediently turned around and looked pitifully at the "Shifu" in front of her.

  Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment, if he still had the strength, he wouldn't mind killing this woman. After all, leaving her alive would increase the chances of him being discovered. However, after using the Stabbing Divine Cone, his divine sense was severely depleted, and it would be difficult to leave her alive with just his skills. Moreover, there was someone behind her, if that person noticed anything unusual, Xiao Chen would be in danger. Therefore, he decided to let this woman go.

  "This spiritual device was originally yours in exchange, take it away as well."

  Lin Ya'er was taken aback, and a hint of gratitude immediately appeared on her face. She bowed respectfully to Xiao Chen and put the Wu Hook-shaped spirit device into her storage bag.

  "Master uncle, please rest assured, I swear to the heart demon that today's matter will absolutely not be revealed to anyone."

  As he watched the woman leave, Xiao Chen's heart slightly relaxed. He had done this to make her feel grateful and not spread the word about this matter. Unexpectedly, she directly made a vow to her heart demon, and his heart naturally felt at ease.

  The Heart Demon Oath is extremely applicable to true cultivators. If one goes against the oath, they will inevitably end up with a tragic fate of falling into madness and turning to ashes.

  Xiao Chen stood still for a moment, waiting until Lin Yao'er walked far away before turning around and saying faintly to an empty space tens of meters behind him: "Does this Taoist friend want to see what time it is? Do you think I'll personally come out to invite you?"

  Space fluctuated, Chu Kuang walked out with a face full of reverence and bowed respectfully: "Disciple Chu Kuang, pays respects to Master Uncle."

  Xiao Chen didn't say a word, staring at Chu Kuang, his body not revealing even half a hint of aura, but the more he did so, the more profound and mysterious he seemed. Chu Kuang's face also gradually broke out in a layer of fine sweat.

  "Master uncle, don't blame me. I followed you with no ill intentions. Today's events, I can swear to the heart demon that I will not tell anyone else. Please, master uncle, don't blame me."

  Xiao Chen's face was expressionless, neither confirming nor denying his words, still gazing at him calmly.

  "Master uncle, I followed you here with no ill intentions whatsoever. It's just that I'm curious about the remaining volume in my heart, please don't blame me."

  "Oh, really?" Xiao Chen's voice was flat and couldn't detect any change in tone.

  Chu Kuang's face turned even paler, seeing Xiao Chen's noncommittal expression. He gritted his teeth and said: "I also know some of the text on that fragment of the 'Mahasrotasara' scripture, but my knowledge is limited. Half a year ago, I accidentally obtained an ancient map that had been passed down, which should be the ruins of a certain ancient cultivator's cave. I have ventured deep into it before, but I didn't have the strength to make it to the end. That's why when I saw you paying so much attention to this fragment today, I followed behind you all along, just to confirm whether you really recognize these characters."