Complete one practice method every day

"what!"

A piercing scream escaped Cheng Ziqian's lips, his face contorted in agony like a demon.

But after years of wandering the martial world, his survival instinct overwhelmed everything. Cheng Ziqian endured the excruciating pain, pushed off the ground with his intact right foot, and his body burst with unprecedented speed, fleeing for his life with a trail of blood.

He didn't care about missions or saving face at that moment; all he wanted was to escape.

Shen Dujiang, standing behind, was completely dumbfounded, seemingly forgetting even the excruciating pain in his shoulder.

Chen Yue actually blocked that sword strike with his chest? Inner armor? Breast protector?

The key point is that Chen Yue's strike almost cleaved Cheng Ziqian in two, forcing him to flee in a sorry state!

In just one glance, the difference in skill was immediately apparent, and the outcome was already decided.

This...this is an alchemist? Shen Dujiang felt his understanding had been shocked like never before.

He suddenly remembered that when Chen Yue first came to the black market, he had bought martial arts manuals from him...

Based on the strength Chen Yue just displayed, his movement technique, his power... what use are those tattered manuals in the black market to him?

He had actually been seriously haggling with me back then... A feeling of utter absurdity welled up in Shen Dujiang's heart.

Chen Yue watched Cheng Ziqian's fleeing figure, and activated the Cloud Thousand Steps at full power. It was as if he was stepping on flowing clouds and gentle breezes. In just a few steps, he caught up with Cheng Ziqian.

Cheng Ziqian sensed the rapidly approaching aura behind him and was terrified. A look of madness flashed in his eyes, and he bit his tongue hard, causing his blood to surge and his speed to increase dramatically.

Without turning his head, he threw the longsword backward with his right hand.

The longsword transformed into a cold light, emitting a piercing shriek, and shot straight at Chen Yue's face.

This was a strike imbued with Cheng Ziqian's spirit and energy; he did not seek to kill the enemy, but only to delay him for a moment, giving him enough time to escape.

"roar!"

Chen Yue's muscles and bones throbbed, accompanied by the faint roar of a tiger. He channeled his inner energy into his blade and slashed down at the incoming longsword.

"clang!"

A deafening explosion erupted, sparks rained down, and Cheng Ziqian's desperate attack was cleaved in mid-air by Chen Yue's blade, sending him flying back, with fine cracks even appearing on the sword.

The short knife in Chen Yue's hand only paused slightly before slashing forward.

The blade flashed like cold moonlight and frost, tracing an arc as it passed by Cheng Ziqian's nape.

Cheng Ziqian's sprinting figure suddenly froze, and the momentum of his forward run made him stagger a few steps.

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but only large gushes of warm blood gushed out.

"Thump!"

Cheng Ziqian's body crashed to the ground like a collapsing mountain, kicking up a cloud of dust. He twitched twice and then fell silent. Only the smooth cut on his neck continued to gush blood, staining the ground beneath him red.

Chen Yue stepped forward and quickly searched Cheng Ziqian's body. Besides a few loose silver coins, he also found a folded parchment close to his body.

When Chen Yue unfolded it, he saw that the pattern and material were exactly the same as the one he had obtained from Yuan Tiansu.

Shen Dujiang also limped over at this moment. Looking at the corpse on the ground and the parchment in Chen Yue's hand, his eyes were filled with complex emotions and lingering fear. He whispered:

"Thanks to you this time, otherwise I would have lost my life tonight. What is this thing?"

Chen Yue shook his head and put the parchment away: "I don't know, it might be related to the forces behind them. We shouldn't stay here any longer, let's leave first. Your injury..."

"He's not dead yet!"

Shen Dujiang gritted his teeth, took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out two black pills with a pungent smell and swallowed them, then took out wound medicine and sprinkled it haphazardly on the wound on his shoulder, and tied it tightly with a strip of cloth.

"Come on, I have a courtyard that's safe for now, let's go there first."

Without another word, the two quickly cleaned up any traces that might reveal their identities, and then, under the cover of night, silently disappeared into the depths.

Shen Dujiang led Chen Yue through a maze of alleys, finally arriving at a low-rise courtyard on the edge of the old city.

The courtyard wall was mottled, and the wooden door was old. Shen Dujiang took out his key, skillfully unlocked the door, let Chen Yue in, and then quickly bolted the door shut behind him.

The courtyard was more spacious than I had imagined, but it was still very simple. There was only one main room, with a woodshed and a kitchen on either side. Some odds and ends were piled up in the corners, covered with a thin layer of dust, indicating that no one lived there often.

Shen Dujiang lit the oil lamp on the table in the main room. The dim light barely dispelled the darkness, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in a wooden chair and panting heavily.

Although the wound on his shoulder was simply bandaged, it was still bleeding, and his face remained pale.

He looked up at Chen Yue in the flickering lamplight and said, "Young brother, you...you're really an alchemist?"

Chen Yue sat down on another chair. Upon hearing this, a low chuckle came from behind his mask: "Didn't I already say that my friend is a pill refiner, and I'm just a martial artist? How could you forget?"

Shen Dujiang was taken aback. He remembered that Chen Yue had indeed said that before. At the time, he thought it was just an excuse to conceal his identity. But now it seemed... could it be true?

"But you already have this much strength!"

Shen Dujiang pointed in the direction of the black market, "Why would you buy those basic martial arts manuals like 'Grasshopper' from my stall back then?"

Chen Yue poured himself a bowl of cold tea from the table, smelled it, then slowly took a sip and said:

"You can apply what you've learned to other areas. Don't underestimate those basic manuals. A tall building starts from the ground up, and even the most advanced martial arts are derived from the basics. It can't hurt to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Shen Dujiang's eyes twitched, and he remained silent for a long time.

Looking at Chen Yue's sincere expression, he hesitated for a long time before finally giving up on arguing about the issue.

"Do you know what's going on in Youlin County lately? What kind of treasure is hidden in this small county town that has attracted so many strange and monstrous people?" Chen Yue put down his teacup and looked at Shen Dujiang.

Seeing that the topic had been brought up again, Shen Dujiang shook his head, his gaze slightly narrowed: "I'm also wondering. Moreover, these two groups of people don't seem to be working together lately."

"They're definitely not in the same group."

As Chen Yue spoke, he dipped his finger into the cold tea in the bowl and sketched a simple, twisting, rising flame pattern on the table.

Shen Dujiang leaned closer to examine it carefully, his brows furrowed, and he murmured:

"This pattern... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, it looks familiar. And those people from earlier, was that a different symbol?"

Chen Yue dipped his finger in tea again and drew several winding lines, like ripples in flowing water, next to the flame pattern.

"The one with the flame pattern calls itself the Divine Flame Cult, and this water pattern is a mark I found on that group of people today."

Shen Dujiang stared at the two side-by-side patterns, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, as if trying to dig out some corner deep in his memory.