Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

East of the rocky hill, the terrain suddenly flattens out, but becomes increasingly eerie.

The ancient trees ahead towered into the clouds, their branches intertwined, like demonic claws reaching out from the depths of hell.

A thick, almost tangible white mist slowly flowed through the forest. This was no ordinary mountain mist, but rather a "misty forest" mixed with putrid miasma and chaotic spiritual energy.

Once a martial artist ventures deep into the area, not only will their vision be obstructed, but their spiritual sense will also be greatly suppressed.

Chu Chang and Lin Ruoxue stood side by side at the edge of the Misty Forest.

Lin Ruoxue had already removed her bamboo hat, and her cool and aloof face appeared somewhat unreal in the drifting mist. She gripped her azure longsword tightly, her ice-elemental true energy concealed, causing the surrounding temperature to drop slightly.

"This mist is strange; it can erode your protective true essence," Lin Ruoxue said softly, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Chu Chang circulated his true energy, feeling the chilling aura seeping into his skin, and nodded slightly: "It seems Zhao Meng's choice of this hiding place was indeed well-thought-out. His injuries are extremely severe; he couldn't escape the Divine Sword Sect's search talisman in ordinary places. Only in this misty forest, which can isolate divine sense and interfere with the secrets of heaven, can he barely survive. Senior Sister, take this antidote pill."

Chu Chang handed over a round, fragrant pill, which he had bought at a high price at the Black Wind Town black market during the day.

Without hesitation, Lin Ruoxue took the pill and put it in her mouth. A cool sensation immediately spread throughout her body, dispelling all the miasma that had invaded her body.

"Let's go inside."

The two figures flickered, like two ghosts, and instantly disappeared into the billowing white mist.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the visibility around them had decreased to less than three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the faint rustling sound of the two people stepping on the decaying leaves.

Suddenly, Chu Chang stopped in his tracks, grabbed Lin Ruoxue's hand, and like a cheetah poised to pounce, instantly disappeared into the shadow of an ancient tree.

Lin Ruoxue felt a heat in her palm and instinctively wanted to break free, but seeing Chu Chang's stern expression, she immediately suppressed her emotions, obediently pressed herself against his side, and held her breath.

"Shh...shh..."

From the thick fog ahead came a series of chaotic and hurried footsteps, accompanied by low curses.

"Damn it, this place is no place for a human to stay! If it weren't for the treasure on that traitor from the Divine Sword Sect, I wouldn't have come here to suffer like this!" a rough voice complained.

"Alright, enough nonsense! The chieftain said that Zhao Meng is seriously injured and can't have gone far. Anyone who can provide concrete clues will be rewarded with five hundred spirit stones and three 'Body Tempering Pills'! If you can get his storage bag, you'll be promoted to the third leader of Black Tiger Stronghold!" another sinister voice scolded.

Thick fog rolled in, and five figures slowly emerged.

The five men were all dressed in the standard leather armor of the Black Tiger Stronghold, wielding a variety of weapons, and exuding a fierce and menacing aura.

The leader was a burly, one-eyed man with a face full of scars, whose strength was around the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm. The other four were also formidable opponents at the fifth or sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

As they poked at the bushes ahead with their weapons, they grumbled and walked toward the direction where Chu Chang and his companion were hiding.

"Boss, look at this!"

Suddenly, a bandit pointed to a thicket and exclaimed.

On the leaves of the shrub, there were still a few drops of dark red blood that had not completely dried.

The bloodstain contained a faint but extremely pure fluctuation of spiritual energy, clearly left by a disciple of a prestigious sect.

The one-eyed giant stepped forward, dipped his finger in the blood, and smelled it. His eyes lit up with wild joy: "Haha! It's the blood of the Pure Yang Technique! That traitor Zhao Meng is practicing the Divine Sword Sect's Pure Yang Technique! He's definitely nearby, and his wound has reopened! Quick, chase after him in this direction!"

Hidden in the shadows, Lin Ruoxue's beautiful eyes turned cold, and her true essence began to gather.

Zhao Meng is a traitor to the Divine Sword Sect. He must be brought back by the Divine Sword Sect or executed on the spot. He must not fall into the hands of these bandits, and they must not be allowed to obtain the sect's secret treasures.

Chu Chang gave Lin Ruoxue a wink and gestured for a quick resolution.

This misty forest is not only inhabited by bandits, but also by demonic cultivators. If time is delayed and an even more powerful being is attracted, things will become extremely troublesome.

These five bandits must be killed instantly!

"Let's do it!"

Chu Chang silently shouted to himself.

"call out!"

In the silent mist, a sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out.

The five bandits were ecstatic about their impending riches, little did they know that two deadly assassins were lurking in the thick fog where their senses were blocked.

Chu Chang shot out like a black lightning bolt, the iron sword in his hand bursting forth with an extremely dazzling golden light.

The golden sword energy drew a dazzling arc in the mist, instantly tearing a huge gap in the thick fog.

"Damn it, an ambush!"

The one-eyed giant lived up to his reputation as a ruthless bandit who had lived on the edge of a knife. The moment the danger struck, his hair stood on end, and he let out a furious roar.

Almost instinctively, he raised the ghost-headed broadsword in his hand, and the earth-attribute true essence in his body surged wildly into the blade, transforming into a thick yellow light screen.

"clang!"

A deafening metallic clang rang out.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The one-eyed giant felt an overwhelming force surge through the blade, causing his arms to go numb and his tiger's mouth to split open instantly, bleeding profusely.

He flew backward uncontrollably, his feet carving two deep furrows in the muddy ground.

"Qi Refining Realm? No, this quality of true essence... he's a disciple of a sect!" The one-eyed giant was utterly shocked.

However, Chu Chang's attack was only the beginning.

At the same instant Chu Chang made his move, Lin Ruoxue also moved.

A faint blue icy sword light silently appeared from the other side of the thick fog.

The sword light carried no fire, not even a whistling sound, yet it was incredibly fast.

The two bandits, who were only at the Body Tempering Realm, didn't even have time to let out a scream before they felt a slight chill on their necks.

Immediately afterwards, the extremely cold ice-attribute true essence flowed down their throats and instantly froze their blood, meridians, and even their souls.

The two remained with horrified expressions as their bodies were quickly covered in a layer of frost. Then, like ice sculptures, they fell heavily to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Two people were killed in an instant!

"Ergou! Sanzi!"

The other two bandits were furious.

They couldn't see Lin Ruoxue's figure at all; they only felt the temperature around them drop to freezing point in an instant, and crystal snowflakes drifted down from the air.

But each of those snowflakes contained a deadly sword aura.

"Let's fight them!"

The two bandits roared like cornered beasts, brandishing their battle axes and spears, squeezing out all their inner energy, and slashing wildly towards the spot where Lin Ruoxue had landed, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

"Overestimating one's abilities."

Lin Ruoxue's clear, cold voice drifted uncertainly in the mist.

She shifted her body slightly to the side, like a snow lotus swaying in the cold wind, and gracefully dodged the powerful axe blow.

At the same time, she gently tapped the air with her jade-like finger.

"Ice Blossom Explosion!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, several incredibly sharp, enormous ice spikes emerged from the soil beneath the feet of the two bandits.

The ice spikes not only pierced their bodies, but also exploded in the next instant.

Countless tiny, blade-like ice shards instantly riddled the two bandits with holes, creating a cloud of blood mist.

In the blink of an eye, the five-man squad was reduced to just the one-eyed giant who had been cleaved away by Chu Chang's sword.

The one-eyed man was terrified.

He watched as his four skilled men turned into a pile of cold corpses in less than three breaths, without even touching a single piece of their clothing. His greed had long been swallowed up by endless fear.

Sect elites!

He is definitely one of the top geniuses in the inner sect of the Divine Sword Sect!

"Escape! We must bring this message back!"

The one-eyed giant had no desire to fight. Using the momentum from being thrown backward, he bit his tongue hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence, and used some kind of secret technique to mutilate his own legs.

His speed doubled in an instant, and he became a blur as he frantically fled back the way he came.

He'll be safe as long as he can escape into the encirclement of the main force!

"Can you escape?"

Chu Chang's icy voice seemed to ring right against his eardrums.

The one-eyed giant turned his head in shock, only to see that the gray-robed rogue cultivator had somehow become his shadow, following him closely.

That seemingly ordinary face now wore a chillingly indifferent smile.

"Kid, I'll fight you to the death! Gale Rock Slash!"

Seeing that escape was impossible, a hint of madness and despair flashed in the one-eyed man's eyes.

He roared, gripped the ghost-headed broadsword tightly with both hands, and poured all his true energy into it, causing a layer of earth-yellow flames to ignite on the blade.

He unleashed his strongest move ever, striking down hard at Chu Chang's head.

He used all his strength in that strike, and even his meridians were slightly torn.

Wherever the blade wind passed, the soil and gravel on the ground were forcibly swept up by the violent true energy, turning into a flying sand and stone dragon.

Faced with this desperate attack, Chu Chang didn't even dodge.

He simply raised his right hand slowly.

In that instant, Lin Ruoxue even sensed that the true essence within Chu Chang's body seemed to have undergone some kind of mysterious reorganization in a flash.

On the surface of his skin, a layer of dark gold patterns faintly appeared, like the scales of an ancient god or demon.

"break."

Chu Chang uttered a single word softly.

He didn't use a sword, but instead clenched his fist and threw a punch.

"boom!"

The golden fist energy exploded in the void. The terrifying physical strength, combined with the indestructible metal-elemental true essence, actually produced a thunderous roar in mid-air.

The menacing dragon of earth and sand crumbled inch by inch the moment it came into contact with Chu Chang's fist.

The one-eyed giant felt an unparalleled, terrifying force strike his precious sword.

"Snap!"

The black iron ghost head saber that had been with him for more than ten years was actually blasted into countless cracks by this punch, and then shattered into iron filings in the air.

Chu Chang's fist, still powerful, slammed heavily into the one-eyed giant's chest.

"puff!!!"

The one-eyed giant's chest caved in instantly, and the clothes on his back were torn open by the violent true energy.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs, and flew more than ten feet away like a kite with a broken string, crashing into two ancient trees as thick as bowls before collapsing limply to the ground.

He stared wide-eyed at Chu Chang, who was slowly walking towards him, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but could only make a "hoarse" sound of blood foam.

Where exactly is Zhao Meng?

Chu Chang walked up to him, looking down at him with no pity in his eyes.

"I...I don't know...Black Tiger Stronghold...will not let you go..." A trace of resentment flashed in the one-eyed man's eyes, then his head tilted to the side and he breathed his last.

Chu Chang raised an eyebrow and flicked a wisp of golden flame with his finger. The flame landed on the one-eyed giant's corpse, instantly turning into a raging fire that burned it to ashes, even evaporating the bloodstains on the ground with the intense heat.

On the other side, Lin Ruoxue had also efficiently disposed of the other four corpses.

The stench of blood in the air was quickly masked by the thick fog, as if a fierce battle had never taken place here.

"Your skills are getting better and better." Lin Ruoxue walked to Chu Chang's side, looked at him, and a strange glint flashed in the depths of her cold eyes. "That punch just now, did you use your physical strength?"

"We've only gained a little something," Chu Chang smiled, offering no further explanation. "However, Senior Sister, although these bandits are of average strength, their presence here indicates that the main force of Black Tiger Stronghold, and possibly other forces, have already surrounded this area. We need to speed things up and find Zhao Meng before their encirclement completely closes in."

"Mm." Lin Ruoxue nodded.

The two dared not delay, and moved again, following the direction in which the one-eyed giant had discovered the bloodstains, they ventured even deeper into the misty forest.