Misty Rain of the Old Times

The shirtless middle-aged man at the site of the collapsed artificial hill was covered in bloody wounds from multiple sharp weapons. His body was covered in gravel and dust, and he looked extremely disheveled. As he got up, he noticed more than a dozen of his own corpses around him. He knew immediately that it must have been the work of those few who had fled.

With a cold glint in his eyes, he ruthlessly struck. He stomped his foot, sending several pebbles flying into his hand. With a flick of his finger, he launched them at Chen Xuan and the others, the whooshing sound like death knells, chilling everyone to the bone.

At this moment, Gui Yao and Xu Yun, the senior and junior siblings of the Tai Xuan Sect, had joined forces to attack. He had no time to check what was happening and could only deal with them with all his might, filled with shock and anger.

He was, after all, a master of the Innate Realm in the Chongyan Sect, a hall master in charge of a region, and he was confident that he could easily kill a few small fry with a single blow.

However, he narrowly escaped death several times due to the combined efforts of Xu Yun and her brother. This was the second opponent Gui Yao had targeted after defeating the first one.

This guy just couldn't understand why the two young men were staring at him so intently, as if they were sworn enemies. The key was that they both made him very wary. The woman was a high-ranking disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect, with innate cultivation and extremely superior martial arts and swordsmanship, making her stronger than him. But the young man filled him with shock and anger. He clearly only had acquired cultivation, yet his extremely powerful swordsmanship was enough to threaten his life. If he didn't get rid of him, given time, he would definitely become a major threat!

Strictly speaking, they do have a grudge against each other, but it's indirect. Back then, Xu Yun and her brother's master died at the hands of the Chongyan Sect, a blood feud that runs deep. That's why they deliberately targeted the Chongyan Sect. In the past, they weren't strong enough to encounter them, but today they finally got the chance to kill a few more.

Xu Yun's martial arts progress was hindered by his hatred, so he risked seeking guidance from Chen Xuan. After receiving instruction, he made rapid progress, but he never let go of his deep-seated hatred.

"To attack the weak, you truly deserve to be called a despicable member of the demonic sect. Let's see where you can escape to!" Gui Yao said coldly as she swiftly attacked with her sword. There was no time to rescue them; she could only eliminate this person to avenge those people.

As she spoke, she circulated her true energy, causing the surrounding temperature to drop rapidly. Visible cold air rose from her body, and she unleashed a fierce killing move. With a flick of her wrist, three crescent-shaped icy sword energies swept across the sky, as fast as fleeting light, scattering ice crystals wherever they passed.

Xu Yun remained silent, not making a hasty move. His gaze was cold as he waited for an opportunity to strike hard. After all, he was not a cultivator with innate cultivation, so he dared not confront the opponent head-on unless absolutely necessary. He could only cooperate with his senior sister, who was in charge of the attack, to find an opportunity to strike.

"You little wench and brat, you've gone too far! Today I'll eat your hearts and livers alive!"

Driven to such a point by his two juniors, he was enraged. In his roar, he recklessly used a secret technique to burn his essence blood and forcefully increase his cultivation. Blood mist rose around him, and his aura increased steadily. His body was also visibly shriveling up, making him look like a madman, which was extremely terrifying.

He neither dodged nor evaded the three icy, crescent-shaped, sharp sword energies, but instead used his enhanced true energy and physical body to withstand them. As the sword energies left deep, bone-revealing wounds on his body, he appeared like a ghost with his hands in claws, striking directly at Gui Yao's heart.

Unexpectedly, he risked his life by injuring himself, and his cultivation level surged under the influence of the secret technique. Gui Yao knew that she could not confront him head-on, as such secret techniques often had serious flaws, and the opponent would lose his fighting ability in no time. Therefore, she made a decisive choice to avoid and maneuver.

But the opponent was fighting desperately, how could she possibly dodge? Left with no other choice, Gui Yao held her sword across her chest to block, but his claw-like hand was like divine iron. Gui Yao's valuable sword could only wound his skin, and was almost shattered by the grip. His cold fingertips, emitting sharp and cold light, were still aimed straight at her heart. Her clothes were pierced and blood seeped out. It looked like he was about to crush the rice bowl of her future child and tear out her heart.

"Senior Sister, be careful!" Xu Yun cried out in alarm from the side, rushing to the rescue at top speed, even faster than the sword strike that defeated Yang Yi yesterday.

However, a sword strike that even Yang Yi could hardly dodge would only pose a slight danger to a master of the Innate Realm, let alone someone whose cultivation had skyrocketed due to a secret technique.

Just then, the man suddenly turned around and glared at Xu Yun, who was coming to the rescue, with a ferocious look in his eyes, and said bloodthirstyly, "You're my target!"

The moment he uttered the first word, his left hand shot out towards Xu Yun, a cloud of blood mist billowing and a chilling wind blowing, accompanied by the faint sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling, making one feel suffocated and dizzy.

In this situation, Xu Yun's expression faltered for a moment. Gui Yao, who was already in grave danger, was unable to come to his rescue and could only watch helplessly as that terrifying claw reached for Xu Yun's throat.

Just then, Xu Yun's gaze instantly cleared, and he slightly turned his body, flicking his wrist. The gleaming sword blade flashed with a hidden sword light, slicing past the opponent's eyes.

With a thud, Xu Yun, who was turning to the side, was hit in the shoulder. His clothes were torn apart, large pieces of flesh were ripped apart, and the bones were clearly visible. His entire shoulder and left hand were almost torn off. If he did not receive timely treatment, his entire left arm would be ruined.

Although Xu Yun paid a heavy price, his swift sword strike also blinded his opponent.

With blood streaming from his eyes, the Church Master of Chongyan Church suddenly went black and roared, "You bastard, you tricked me!"

He was already blind. Taking advantage of the blow, Gui Yao escaped the threat and looked at Xu Yun in surprise, asking, "Junior Brother, how are you?"

"Senior sister, don't worry about me. Now that this person is blind, the key is to take this opportunity to get rid of him," Xu Yun said through gritted teeth as she retreated rapidly, and charged forward again with her sword.

The two siblings worked together seamlessly, and Gui Yao had no choice but to suppress her worries and cooperate in eliminating the powerful enemy first. At this moment, the enemy could not see her, and even if they used secret techniques, their strength would be greatly reduced, making it the perfect opportunity to get rid of them...

On the other side, Chen Xuan, who was fleeing in a "disheveled" manner, noticed the stones flying slowly toward him. He calmly turned around and blocked them with his sword, pretending to be knocked away by a strong force. He also took the opportunity to pretend to kill two evil people who happened to be passing by.

But Zhang San and Li Si didn't have it so easy. Although they were the sixth in command, they were not so easy to withstand the attack of a master of innate cultivation.

Despite their best efforts, Liu Er's shoulder was still pierced, leaving a fist-sized hole. He vomited blood and fell to the ground, unable to get up. Ma Liu was hit in the back by a stone, fell several feet away, rolled a few times, twitched a few times, and then lay still. Ma Shan turned around and used the flat of his knife to block, but was still bounced back by the terrifying force. The blade hit his chest and he was sent flying with great force. The sound of bones breaking could be faintly heard. Li Si's chest caved in and he also rolled away.

After killing two people in the crash, Chen Xuan casually killed two more. Looking disheveled, he glanced in the direction of the others and wondered if these old bastards were really dead. Good heavens, his worries were completely unnecessary. They all looked like they were going to die, but in reality, they were all faking it.

Seeing this, he pretended to lie down in the pile of corpses with his eyes closed, as if he were dead.

If someone were to observe closely, they would notice that he wasn't even covered in dust, but in such a chaotic situation, who would pay attention to such details?

The Chongyan Sect's Innate Realm Hall Master who attacked Chen Xuan and his group, blind in the process, was unable to withstand the combined attack of Xu Yun and her brother for long, even with the use of secret techniques. He was cut into three pieces and died on the spot.

Such battles are inherently exhausting, not to mention that Xu Yun's shoulder was almost completely destroyed, greatly reducing his strength.

Ignoring the pain from her own chest injury, Gui Yao stepped forward to support Xu Yun, whose brows were furrowed, and asked with concern, "Junior Brother, are you alright?"

No one dared approach the battle between the innate masters, and no one dared to interfere. Xu Yun glanced at his shoulder, took a deep breath, and said, "Senior Sister, I'm fine, but I'm afraid I'll only be able to wield the sword with my right hand from now on."

As she spoke, she noticed Gui Yao's condition, flipped her hand and stuck the long sword in front of her, then pulled off her long robe and draped it over Gui Yao's shoulders with one hand.

"Junior brother, I'll take you to find Uncle Xuanqing. Your injuries can definitely be healed," Gui Yao said, her cheeks slightly flushed, as she helped him leave.

Xu Yun shook his head and said, "Master is dealing with a powerful enemy with all his might, so please don't disturb him. Senior Sister, I'm not dead yet. Let's go check on those people first. In the end, it was we who brought that person here and caused their deaths."

Upon hearing this, Gui Yao glanced in the direction of the fierce battle at Xuanqing, nodded, and headed towards Chen Xuan and the others with Xu Yun.

They soon arrived at the scene, and Guiyao shook her head, saying with pity, "We're too late."

Chen Xuan simply pretended to be dead, and no one of the same level could tell at all. The others were also barely breathing, clearly indicating they were not going to survive.

With a sigh, Xu Yun apologized and looked away, saying, "Senior Sister, let's go help the others. The evil sects have the numbers and the advantage; we righteous sects don't have a clear edge right now."

"Um……"

Watching the two siblings leave, Chen Xuan thought to himself that after this battle, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the two siblings would most likely become husband and wife; all that was left was to break the ice.

Back in the Tai Xuan Sect, Chen Xuan learned that Xu Yun and the others' master had died young, and he had practically been raised by Gui Yao, who also taught him martial arts. Could that be considered child-raised? At this moment, a group of more than ten evil cultivators approached, clearly just passing by. One of them shouted, "Brothers, anyone from the righteous path, dead or alive, give them a stab! It's just a side job. Even if we don't kill many, a stab is like collecting some interest!"

"makes sense"

As they spoke, they began to stab those on the ground who clearly belonged to the righteous side, mastering the art of finishing off opponents. I don't know where they learned this bad habit from.

Seeing that things were about to get out of hand, Zhang San suddenly sprang into action, swinging his knife and slashing. He was already quite skilled in internal energy, so he simply stopped pretending. The blade gleamed with a hidden sharpness, and with a series of unexpected sounds, he chopped off several heads.

Stop pretending! How could he possibly handle more than ten people by himself? He's already planning to make a quick getaway after this successful attack.

He then noticed that Li Si, who was almost lifeless, suddenly started killing people, followed by Liu Er and Ma Liu. Even Chen Xuan, who had previously appeared to be lifeless, suddenly got up and stabbed two people to death. In a short while, more than a dozen evil cultivators who were passing by and wanted to finish them off were all killed.

Then the group looked at each other, and the atmosphere became quite awkward.

"Well, I was really about to die just now, but I just remembered that I put a chest protector on my chest when I went out. I really didn't pretend to be dead on purpose," Li Si said with a dry cough and a vacant look in his eyes. As he spoke, he lifted his collar to reveal a dented chest protector.

Liu Er scratched his head and said, "I know a bone-shrinking technique. Don't be fooled by the hole in my shoulder; it didn't actually break any bones. It's just a superficial wound, but it really hurts."

Ma Liu rubbed his junior's back, grimacing, and said, "I've practiced Iron Shirt before. That master just struck casually; I won't die, but it really hurt."

After everyone had spoken, Zhang San lowered his head and said, "Well, actually I was wearing a soft armor, you know, for survival in a pinch, you know."

Liu Er and the others all looked understanding, and then they subconsciously looked at Chen Xuan.

Facing their gazes, Chen Xuan didn't even blink before replying, "My physique is special, and my resistance is extremely strong. It wasn't like I took a full-force blow from that person head-on; I can still withstand it."

Zhang San and the others twitched at the corners of their mouths upon hearing this, believing his nonsense, but they all laughed. Since none of them had died, they could consider it as sharing hardships.

Chen Xuan said anxiously, "Don't you believe me? I really do have a special constitution..."

"Alright, alright, let's stop arguing with the second brother, let's find another place to hang up. We don't know when this will end," Li Si waved his hand to interrupt.

Opening his mouth, Chen Xuan simply gave a thumbs up and said, "So all those guys were faking being on their deathbeds earlier? You made me worry for nothing. Well, I was one of them too."

The group immediately burst into laughter, their relationship instantly becoming closer. They felt a sense of kinship with each other, realizing they were all kindred spirits.

However, their good fortune didn't last long. Before they could find another shady spot, a cold laugh rang out: "I noticed you sneaky fellows a while ago. I never thought there would be shameless guys like you in the righteous path. I feel ashamed for the righteous path. I might as well get rid of you to avoid bringing shame upon the righteous path!"

The moment that sound rang out, Chen Xuan and the others instinctively turned their backs to each other, forming a circle to be on guard.

Liu Er said in a deep voice, "This is bad, everyone be careful! The newcomer is an assassin from the Shadow Assassin Sect, definitely a ruthless character. I haven't found where he's hiding!"

“This person must be eliminated, otherwise…” Ma Liu’s expression was uncertain as he gritted his teeth. Before he could finish speaking, those who understood understood: if they let the other party leave, they would lose face in the martial arts world.

Chen Xuan almost burst out laughing, wondering to himself, "Which side is that guy on? He's clearly an enemy, yet he wants to help the righteous path get rid of the 'bad apples'?"
Bah! What black sheep? This is clearly a way to survive, okay? It's just too despicable and not very honorable.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Chen Xuan suddenly looked up and said, "The other side is up there!"

"late!"

A cold laugh came from above, and in an instant, more than a dozen non-reflective darts shot towards Chen Xuan and his companions.

The incident happened suddenly, and even Zhang San and his gang of six couldn't react in time. It was too late to dodge, and they were all hit and fell to the ground with a series of thuds. Those who tried to dodge were not fatally injured, but they were still some distance from death.

The person who made the move was definitely an elite assassin from the Shadow Assassin Sect.

On the contrary, Chen Xuan wielded his long sword with such force that it was impenetrable, and all the darts flying towards him were deflected with a clanging sound.

"Kid, you've got some skills. Die!"

The assassin descended from above like a falcon, the dagger in his hand gleaming with a green light, like a venomous snake.

Chen Xuan then wielded the knife with one hand and slashed upwards. The blade flashed with a cold light, and with a soft thud, it cut the knife in two. At the same time, he stepped to the side to avoid the blood accidentally falling on him.

He muttered curses under his breath, "You're an assassin, and instead of hiding and ambushing me after I spotted you, you're clearly courting death."

Then, holding the knife, he looked at Zhang San and his men and asked, "Are you guys dead yet? Still pretending?"

“He’s really injured, but he won’t die. This guy must have been very careful; he didn’t put poison on the darts,” Ma Liu said, grinning.

The others stared at Chen Xuan in disbelief. Liu Er blurted out, "Brother Wang, you clearly didn't have any internal energy before. What happened to the sharpness of your blade when you killed the assassin? To achieve that with acquired cultivation, one would have to have cultivated an extremely superior technique."

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Xuan slung the blood beads from his blade over his shoulder and said matter-of-factly, "Didn't I just say that I have a special constitution that makes me stronger when facing stronger opponents? I was just interrupted before I could finish my sentence."

"What the hell? Is there such a physique in the world that can make someone with no internal energy generate internal energy in a crisis?" Li Si said with a twitching mouth, looking at me as if I were an idiot.

Chen Xuan, as always, spoke without hesitation, nodding without blinking, "Yes, the Battle Saint Body, which grows stronger when facing stronger opponents, haven't you heard of it?"

You're talking nonsense. There's no such physique in the world. Otherwise, what's the point of practicing martial arts?

"Really? The Battle Saint Body? This is the first time I've heard of it. I'll have to see if it's really as powerful as you say, growing stronger when facing stronger opponents. I'm a little skeptical."

At that moment, another cold laugh rang out, and a middle-aged man with a gun approached step by step, his temples bulging, exuding murderous intent.

"Quickly, split up and escape! This is a ruthless character who has opened up his eight extraordinary meridians with his internal energy. Otherwise, we will all die here!" Liu Er exclaimed in alarm, his expression changing.

Although the group was the sixth oldest and most cowardly, they still had some experience; otherwise, they wouldn't have survived this long.

But Chen Xuan, carrying his longsword, walked straight towards them with a burning gaze and said, "Everyone says I have the Battle Saint Body, which grows stronger when facing stronger opponents. If you don't believe me, then try it. It'll help me activate my physique."

Zhang San and the others were stunned. They thought, "Hey buddy, it's just a joke to fool our own people, why did you take it seriously?"
...(End of chapter)