93: Black Wind Mountains, the murderous intent of the Styx

Inside the Pill Tower's inner pavilion, within Xiao Chen's courtyard, a sharp aura shot up into the sky before quickly receding. The door to the quiet room opened, and Xiao Chen stepped out, his aura perfectly contained and introverted. Yet, deep within his eyes, flames seemed to burn, sharp as blades. Seven days of tempering in the Heaven Burning Tower not only allowed him to successfully break through to Six-Star Dou Zong but also honed his physical body, soul, and Axe Intent to a completely new level. At this moment, he desperately needed a real battle to sharpen his edge.

Without a moment's delay, Xiao Chen, holding the token of Xuan Kongzi's personal disciple, left the Pill Tower's inner pavilion unimpeded. He transformed into a stream of light, heading directly out of the Pill Domain. He did not alarm Han Xue, Ye Chong, or others; this matter involved the Soul Hall and the Styx Alliance, and having more people would only complicate things.

According to the information in Elder Mo's jade slip, the Black Wind Mountain Range was located in the buffer zone between the Pill Domain and Tianbei City. The mountain range was continuous, with treacherous terrain, inhabited by many fierce magical beasts. It was also a hiding place for many shadowy forces. Mo Linglin's group was ambushed while crossing this mountain range.

Xiao Chen pushed his speed to the limit. His Illusory Spirit Steps combined with his initial grasp of the Power of Space allowed him to move like a phantom through the clouds. In less than half a day, he had already reached the edge of the Black Wind Mountain Range.

A scent mixed with blood and decay assaulted him. A faint, dark gray miasma hung over the mountain range, and eerie roars of beasts occasionally echoed from within the forest. Xiao Chen's soul power spread out like a tide, instantly covering a radius of several dozen li. Under the perception of Spirit Realm Great Perfection, the energy fluctuations, life auras, and even residual traces in the mountain forest were all clearly presented in his mind.

“Northeast direction, there are intense energy residues and the smell of blood!” Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed, and his figure instantly vanished from its original spot.

A moment later, he appeared in a ravaged valley. The ground was scorched black, trees were broken, and residual ice-elemental, fire-elemental, and a cold, deathly silent Dou Qi fluctuation lingered. Several corpses of Thousand Medicine Workshop guards were scattered about, their deaths tragic, clearly having endured a fierce battle. A faint lotus fragrance also permeated the air—the unique scent of the seven-colored spirit nurturing lotus.

Xiao Chen crouched down, carefully examining the traces. His soul perception delved into the soil and the residual energy, capturing subtle clues.

“Ice-elemental Dou Qi… a coldness carrying the aura of the Styx… it's definitely people from the Styx Alliance.” A cold light flickered in Xiao Chen's eyes. “There's also a more subtle soul fluctuation, carrying the unique deathly aura of the Soul Hall… As expected, they're colluding!”

He followed the direction of the battle traces and energy residues. The other party did not seem to intentionally conceal their tracks, perhaps believing that no one could trace them in this Black Wind Mountain Range, or perhaps… they intended to lure him in!

Xiao Chen's thoughts raced, his vigilance at its peak. But his steps did not halt; instead, his speed increased. Whether it was a trap or not, he had to find Mo Linglin.

A hundred li deeper into the mountain range, the traces disappeared before a steep cliff. Below the cliff was a bottomless, gloomy valley, shrouded in miasma, obstructing soul detection.

“Hiding down there, are they?” Xiao Chen snorted coldly and leaped down the cliff. As he fell, a faint golden Dou Qi surged around him, forming a protective barrier that isolated the corrosive miasma. At the same time, his soul power was highly concentrated, scanning the cliff face and the valley floor.

Just as he was about to land in the dense jungle at the bottom of the valley, a sudden change occurred!

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Dozens of shadow blades, pitch-black as ink and swift as lightning, attacked silently from all directions! Wrapped around the shadow blades was the cold Styx death qi, specifically designed to break through Dou Qi defenses and strike at Xiao Chen's vital points!

An ambush!

Xiao Chen remained calm in the face of danger, twisting his body strangely in mid-air. His Illusory Spirit Steps were pushed to the limit, leaving behind trails of afterimages. At the same time, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and a faint golden Axe Intent surged from his fingertips, precisely striking several of the most insidious shadow blades!

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

The shadow blades collided with the Axe Intent, emitting slight explosive sounds and scattering. But more shadow blades were already upon him!

“Soul Emperor Bell!”

Xiao Chen let out a low shout, and the solid, ancient giant bell phantom instantly enveloped him! Faint golden patterns flowed on the bell's wall, imbued with the tenacious artistic conception of Heaven Opening Axe Intent!

“Ding-ding-dang-dang…!”

A dense series of impacts rang out. All the shadow blades were blocked by the Soul Emperor Bell, but the bell's phantom also fluctuated violently, its light dimming a few shades. The strength of the attackers was not to be underestimated!

“Cowards hiding their heads and tails, get out here!” Xiao Chen landed, his gaze coldly sweeping the surrounding jungle.

“Hehehe… Not bad reaction, little genius of the Pill Tower.” A sinister laugh echoed from the forest, and four figures slowly emerged, surrounding Xiao Chen. The leader was a pale-faced, sinister-eyed middle-aged man, holding a pair of pitch-black short daggers. His aura had astonishingly reached Peak Six-Star Dou Zong! The other three consisted of two Five-Star Dou Zongs and one Peak Four-Star Dou Zong! All of them wore robes with the Styx wave pattern, emitting a cold killing intent.

“Styx Alliance, the Four Styx Ghost Stabs.” The leader licked his short dagger. “Someone paid a hefty price for your life. I didn't expect you'd deliver yourself to our doorstep.”

Xiao Chen's expression remained calm, but his heart sank. Four Dou Zongs, one of them at the peak—this lineup clearly came prepared, their target explicitly him! Mo Linglin was probably just bait.

“Where is Mo Linglin?” Xiao Chen asked coldly.

“That little girl? Don't worry, she won't die for now. After all, the 'seven-colored spirit nurturing lotus' still needs her to nurture it.” The Styx Ghost Stab leader sneered. “However, once you're dead, her fate will be hard to say.”

“In that case, you can all go to hell.” Xiao Chen's killing intent surged in his eyes! The other party using Mo Linglin as bait had touched his inverse scale!

He wasted no more words, his figure suddenly moved, launching the first attack! His target was the weakest among them, the Peak Four-Star Dou Zong! He wanted to clip their wings first!

“Illusory Spirit Steps, Power of Space!”

Xiao Chen's figure was like a ghost, instantly appearing before the Peak Four-Star Dou Zong. His speed was so fast that the opponent had no time to react! At the same time, the surrounding space subtly twisted, causing a slight deviation in the rescue routes of the other three!

“Die!”

Xiao Chen punched out, faint golden Dou Qi condensed on his fist, and a hint of Heaven Opening Axe Intent's sharpness was contained within it! Simple, direct, yet incomparably tyrannical!

“Styx Body Protection!” The Peak Four-Star Dou Zong paled in horror, frantically channeling his Dou Qi to condense a pitch-black Styx water curtain in front of him!

“Bang!”

The fist force collided with the water curtain, and the water curtain shattered like paper! The fist's momentum remained unchecked, slamming heavily onto his chest!

“Pfft!”

The Peak Four-Star Dou Zong's eyes bulged, his chest caved in, and blood mixed with fragments of internal organs spurted out. His body flew backward like a broken sack, breaking several large trees, his aura instantly extinguished!

Killed in one blow!

“Fourth Brother!”

“You're asking for death, kid!”

The other three Styx Ghost Stabs were both shocked and enraged, furiously pouncing forward! The leader's short daggers transformed into two venomous snakes, striking directly at Xiao Chen's back and throat! The other two, one on the left and one on the right, unleashed Styx Chains and poisonous mist, sealing Xiao Chen's retreat!

“Good timing!”

Xiao Chen let out a long cry, advancing instead of retreating! His Spirit Realm Soul power fully erupted, and the Illusionary Dream Realm instantly enveloped the entire scene! Although the opponents' souls were not weak, this sudden soul illusion still caused a momentary delay in their movements!

“Heaven Opening Axe Intent, River Severing!”

Xiao Chen clasped his hands together, using his hands as an axe, and an incomparably condensed faint golden axe qi swept out horizontally! Where the axe qi passed, the Styx Chains snapped, and the poisonous mist was split in two! The Five-Star Dou Zong who bore the brunt of the attack had his protective Dou Qi shatter like foam, letting out a scream as half his body was almost cleaved open, heavily wounded and falling to the ground!

At the same time, Xiao Chen's figure twisted strangely, narrowly avoiding the leader's deadly twin daggers. He countered with a Soul Breaking Finger, imbued with a Soul Impact, pointing it at the other Five-Star Dou Zong!

That Five-Star Dou Zong had just broken free from the illusion when he saw the finger wind approaching. In his haste, his soul defense was breached, his sea of consciousness experienced excruciating pain, and his movements stiffened!

“heaven burning furnace, Refine!”

Xiao Chen conjured a fragment, and a crimson light curtain swept out, enveloping him! The power of the furnace erupted, frantically refining his Dou Qi and soul! That Five-Star Dou Zong let out a bloodcurdling scream, his body shriveling at a visible speed!

In the blink of an eye, of the four Styx Ghost Stabs, one was dead and two were severely wounded! Only the Peak Six-Star Dou Zong leader remained!

The Styx Ghost Stab leader's face was ashen, his eyes filled with unbelievable horror. He had never expected the target's strength to be so terrifying, and his fighting style so ruthless and decisive!

“Intelligence is wrong! This kid's strength far exceeds our estimations! Retreat!” He decided to flee, crushing a Escape Talisman (escape talisman), his figure transforming into black smoke, intending to escape.

“Want to leave? Too late!”

Xiao Chen's eyes were cold, his Spirit Realm Soul locking onto the opponent. The Power of Space surged under his feet, instantly catching up! At the same time, he fully activated the Heaven Opening Axe Intent, condensing it at his fingertip, and pointed it out!

“Heaven Opening Finger, Void Breaking!”

This finger strike contained his latest insights into Axe Intent and the Power of Space. Its speed was extreme, ignoring spatial distance, directly striking the core of the black smoke!

“No!” The Styx Ghost Stab leader let out a desperate roar, desperately channeling Styx death qi to resist!

“Splat!”

Where the finger wind passed, the death qi dissipated! A muffled sound came from within the black smoke, which then vanished. Only a corpse with a pierced brow and frozen eyes remained on the spot.

The Styx Ghost Stabs were completely annihilated!

Xiao Chen slowly retracted his finger, slightly out of breath. Continuously using his ultimate moves had consumed a considerable amount of energy. He quickly cleaned up the battlefield, collected the spoils of war, and found a black token and a simple map on the leader's body.

The front of the token was engraved with a Styx pattern, and the back had the character “ prick” (stab). The map marked a red dot, located deeper within the gloomy valley.

“The confinement location, huh…” Xiao Chen looked towards the depths of the gloomy valley, his eyes sharp. He did not rest, taking a recovery pill, and immediately began to stealthily move in the direction marked on the map.

No matter if it was a mountain of blades or a sea of fire ahead, he would charge through! This was not only to rescue Mo Linglin but also to declare to the Soul Hall and the Styx Alliance — he, Xiao Chen, was by no means a soft persimmon to be easily manipulated!

The real battle, perhaps, had just begun.