132: Chapter 132 Slaying Beyond One's Rank

"This kid's Alchemical Fire is strange!"

The leader of the men in black gave a low shout, and a dark red light flared intensely in his eyes.

"Do not hold back, attack together!"

The three of them exchanged glances and simultaneously urged the spiritual power within their bodies, causing the blood-colored mist around them to suddenly thicken several times over.

The mist churned and condensed around them, faintly forming into three ferocious ghostly face phantoms, which opened their blood-filled maws and lunged toward Zhou Tianchen.

Zhou Tianchen's gaze sharpened; the qiankun furnace flew from his palm and hovered in front of him.

He changed his hand seals, and the furnace body suddenly shook. A golden pillar of light shot up from the furnace mouth, exploded above his head, and transformed into a golden curtain of light that enveloped all four of them.

The three ghostly face phantoms collided with the golden light curtain, emitting ear-piercing shrieks. The blood-colored mist and the golden flames eroded and annihilated each other, erupting in a continuous series of explosions.

Zhou Tianchen's expression was solemn, but his hands remained as steady as a rock. As his hand seals changed, the flames within the qiankun furnace poured into the light curtain continuously, firmly blocking the three ghostly face phantoms outside.

"Fellow Daoist Tianchen!"

Seeing Zhou Tianchen fighting one against three, Shen Cihui forced back the man in black before him with a sword strike and turned to come over to provide support.

"Don't come over." Zhou Tianchen's voice was calm and steady. "Take care of yourselves."

Shen Cihui gritted his teeth and looked at Zhou Tianchen again. Seeing that his aura remained steady, he suppressed the worry in his heart, turned around, and continued to grapple with his own opponent.

He knew that Zhou Tianchen was not a reckless person; since he dared to take on three opponents at once, he must have some confidence.

Beneath the golden light curtain, Zhou Tianchen's eyes were fixed on the three ghostly face phantoms that kept striking the curtain, yet his heart was exceptionally calm.

The power of these men in black was indeed formidable; with their Soul Transformation Perfection cultivation and that eerie blood-colored mist, even if they faced a Cultivator at the Void Refinement Stage, they might not necessarily fall at a disadvantage.

Zhou Tianchen took a deep breath, and his hand seals changed abruptly.

The qiankun furnace suddenly lit up, and the runes on the furnace body seemed to come alive, flowing crazily across it.

Golden fire surged out from the furnace. It no longer just passively maintained the light curtain but transformed into a golden fire Dragon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it lunged toward the three ghostly face phantoms.

The fire Dragon collided with the ghostly face phantoms, erupting with a deafening roar.

Under the scorching of the golden flames, the three ghostly face phantoms emitted shrill shrieks, and the blood-colored mist melted and dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The three men in black turned pale with shock and hurriedly urged the spiritual power within their bodies, attempting to stabilize the ghostly face phantoms.

But the golden flames were too intense. The power contained within the flames not only scorched their techniques but also scorched the Devilish Qi within their bodies, making their spiritual power circulation become sluggish.

"How is this possible?"

The leader of the men in black exclaimed, his eyes full of disbelief.

"How could a mere Nascent Soul junior possess such power?"

Zhou Tianchen did not answer. His hand seals changed faster and faster. The golden fire Dragon circled and churned in the Void Realm, breaking the three ghostly face phantoms one by one, turning them into specks of dark red light that dissipated across the sky.

The three men in black were shaken back several steps by the backlash, their faces deathly pale, and blood spilled from the corners of their mouths.

Zhou Tianchen did not give them a chance to catch their breath. His figure darted out from the golden light curtain, and the qiankun furnace spun rapidly in his palm.

A golden line of fire, condensed to the extreme, shot out from the furnace mouth, heading straight for the heart of the leader of the men in black.

The man in black's expression changed drastically; he instinctively urged the Devilish Qi within his body to condense a dark red shield in front of him.

The golden line of fire collided with the shield. The shield only held for a single breath before shattering with a bang. The line of fire pierced through the shield and accurately sank into the man in black's heart.

The man in black's body stiffened abruptly, and the dark red light in his eyes flickered violently a few times before extinguishing completely.

His body fell straight backward, crashing heavily onto the ground, with no signs of life remaining.

The remaining two men in black exchanged glances, both seeing fear in each other's eyes.

"Retreat!"

One of them gave a low shout and turned to flee.

The other followed hurriedly. Their figures were as fast as ghosts, and in the blink of an eye, they had darted out several dozen zhang.

Zhou Tianchen did not pursue. He stood where he was, and the golden flames within the qiankun furnace slowly receded, transforming back into ordinary Alchemical Fire that danced at the furnace mouth.

He had exerted his full strength using the Scripture of Alchemy to urge the fire within the qiankun furnace. Fighting across ranks consumed an excessive amount of his spiritual power, but his aura remained steady, showing no signs of disorder.

On the other side, the battle between Shen Cihui and the others and their respective men in black was also drawing to a close.

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, Shen Cihui's opponent wanted to flee, but Shen Cihui cut off his retreat with a sword strike.

The sword light was like a ribbon of silk, severing the head of that man in black. Blood-colored mist gushed out from the severed neck and quickly dissipated in the air.

Chen Mo and Su Xiaowan joined forces and also killed the remaining two men in black.

Both were panting, bearing several wounds on their bodies, their faces pale; clearly, they had consumed a lot of energy.

"Fellow Daoist Tianchen, are you alright?" Shen Cihui sheathed his sword, walked quickly to Zhou Tianchen, and looked him up and down.

Zhou Tianchen shook his head: "It's nothing, just some spiritual power consumption."

He hung the qiankun furnace back on his waist, his gaze falling on the corpses of those men in black, his brows slightly furrowed.

These people's cultivation was far higher than theirs, and their combat power far exceeded that of ordinary Soul Transformation Perfection. If it weren't for their damaged intelligence and overly rigid fighting style, the outcome of today's battle would have been unpredictable.

"These people's Cultivation Technique is strange."

Shen Cihui also crouched down, checking one of the corpses, his expression solemn.

"The spiritual power within their bodies has been completely eroded by some kind of power; their Meridians, Dantian, and even bones have undergone some kind of mutation."

He raised his head and looked at Zhou Tianchen: "This is definitely not a result that can be caused by normal Cultivation."

Zhou Tianchen nodded; he had already sensed this point.

The blood-colored mist on those men in black was identical to the aura he had sensed in that valley soaked in blood; it was from the same root and origin.

These people were very likely related to those missing Cultivators.

"Let's go." Zhou Tianchen stood up, his gaze looking toward the looming mountains in the east. "We cannot delay."

Shen Cihui and the other two exchanged glances, did not ask more questions, and hurriedly followed.

The four of them passed through the valley and continued eastward.

Behind them, the corpses of those men in black lay in the wild grass, the blood-colored mist around them slowly dissipating, leaving behind only a few paper-pale shells that gradually grew cold in the night wind.