C16 Return

Su Xue gazed at the young man clad in blue, her eyes brimming with scorn.

She was well aware that employing the Divine Weapon Fragment would only hasten the venomous effects of the Thousand Chance Poison. Yet, if she refrained from using it, death would be her inevitable end. Faced with certain demise either way, she decided to take her chances.

"Whoosh!"

At the moment her aura crested, Su Xue darted forward, the ten-meter gap dismissed as if it were nothing. Her sword ignited with a brilliance unmatched, slicing through the air and piercing the young man's energy shield before slashing deeply into his chest.

Clang!

The radiant sword met resistance, unable to penetrate further, but the ferocious power behind the blow sent the young man in blue spiraling through the air before he crashed to the ground, a mouthful of blood escaping his lips involuntarily.

"Thud!"

With the sword strike delivered, Su Xue's strength seemed to ebb away, and she collapsed to the ground, her body going limp. A pallor of gray swiftly overtook her exquisite features.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Amidst violent coughs, the bloodied young man struggled to his feet. His upper garments were shredded, revealing the silver soft armor beneath that had absorbed the brunt of what should have been a lethal blow. Despite its protection, the valuable armor now bore a lengthy gash.

The young man tore off the damaged soft armor and turned to Su Xue with a deranged laugh. "Junior Sister Su Xue, you've no strength left to resist, have you? Since we cannot be lifelong partners, let's settle for a fleeting union," he taunted.

"Whoosh!"

His words had barely left his lips when a sudden tightness gripped his heart. Years of honed instincts from skirting the line between life and death kicked in, and he instinctively jerked his body to the right.

Swish!

A chilling projectile flew out from the nearby dense forest, grazing his cheek and leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

"Who's there?!"

The unexpected assault sent the young man into a rage, and he bellowed furiously into the forest.

"You don't remember me?!" a voice called out. Under the watchful eye of the blue-clothed youth, Lu Chen gracefully descended from the tree, smiling as he took in the sight of the young man before him.

The blue-clothed youth was visibly taken aback upon recognizing Lu Chen, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered that not long ago, Lu Chen was merely a junior martial artist at the Body Refining Stage, posing no real threat to him.

With a frosty tone, the blue-clothed youth said, "I showed you mercy last time and spared your life. I never imagined you'd come here seeking your own death."

Lu Chen chuckled. "Ah, so you do remember me. That's good to know."

In a flash, Lu Chen's figure surged forward with astonishing speed, appearing in an instant before the blue-clothed youth. His palm, enveloped in a powerful surge of Origin Power, came crashing down without a hint of mercy.

"You're just a Body Refining Stage brat. If you're so eager to meet your end, I won't be the one to blame," the blue-clothed youth said with a cruel smirk, raising his own Origin Power-wrapped palm and striking out.

"At the Body Refining Stage, even if I were gravely injured, cutting you down would be like slaughtering a dog."

The two fists met with a thunderous crash, and the blue-clothed youth's sneer instantly turned to shock. An unstoppable force rushed through his palm, overwhelming him.

"Ah!" His body jolted violently, and he let out a pained howl as he was flung through the air, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

Wiping the fresh blood from his lips, the blue-clothed youth stared at Lu Chen, his face a mask of disbelief. "How is this possible? In such a short time, you've advanced to the Essence Gathering Stage?"

"There's nothing impossible about it. Now die!" Lu Chen declared, closing the distance once more. He delivered a brutal kick to the blue-clothed youth, sending him flying with a pained grunt. The youth skidded across the ground for several meters before coming to a stop.

"Hmm? Still not dead? The vitality of an Essence Gathering Stage cultivator is indeed formidable," Lu Chen mused with a hint of surprise. He then deftly flicked a fallen dagger up with his toe and advanced toward the blue-clothed youth.

"Kid... I'm an inner sect disciple of the Essence Star Sect. If you kill me, you'll..."

"Puchi!"

The blue-clothed youth's words were abruptly cut off as a sharp blade flew out, piercing his throat and silencing him.

"Since you've made a move against me, leaving you alive would weigh on my conscience."

Lu Chen gazed indifferently at the blue-clothed youth whose life force was ebbing away. He then crouched down and began searching the body.

As a sect disciple, he was bound to possess numerous treasures.

Lu Chen's hands moved quickly as he thought this, but after a thorough search, he found nothing of value.

Frowning, he wondered if the young man had hidden his valuables.

Unwilling to give up, Lu Chen continued his search until his peripheral vision caught sight of a black ring on the blue-clothed youth's right index finger.

He hastily removed the ring and wiped the bloodstains from it with his sleeve. He examined the ring but couldn't discern anything remarkable.

Just as he was about to discard it, a thought struck him. "Could this be a storage ring?"

Muttering to himself, Lu Chen channeled a thread of Origin Energy into the ring via his fingertip.

A humming sound resonated, and a two-meter cubed space materialized before him.

Inside, Lu Chen discovered a trove of items, predominantly yellow and white objects—two large chests sat in one corner of the space, containing what he estimated to be tens of thousands of taels.

Besides the coins, there were various medicinal pills, weapons, and garments...

After a cursory inspection of the storage ring's contents, he slipped the ring onto his right index finger and turned his attention to Su Xue.

Su Xue lay unconscious, her once fair skin now darkened, her delicate features marred by a frown, as her vitality rapidly slipped away.

Lu Chen paused, contemplating the situation as he watched over Su Xue.

From the earlier exchange between the blue-clothed youth and Su Xue, Lu Chen knew that Su Xue was carrying a Divine Weapon Fragment.

At that moment, all he had to do was wait in silence. Once the other person passed away, he would inherit everything they possessed, including the Divine Weapon Fragment.

A few moments later, Lu Chen exhaled deeply and retrieved a small jade bottle from his storage ring, inscribed with the words "Qian Qian Poison Antidote."

He uncorked the bottle and tipped out a pure white pill. Crouching down, Lu Chen gently opened Su Xue's lips and placed the pill in her mouth.

The pill dissolved instantly upon contact. The medicine quickly took effect, and the dark hue on Su Xue's face faded, returning to a healthy pallor.

Lu Chen rubbed his hands together, his gaze fixed on the pink storage ring on Su Xue's right hand.

"Since I've saved her, I'll consider this storage ring as my payment," he reasoned.

With that, he extended his hands and removed the storage ring from Su Xue's finger.

"Hmm!"

Just then, a soft moan sounded, and Su Xue, who had her eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened them.

She looked at Lu Chen in surprise, then her eyes widened in astonishment upon seeing the pink storage ring in his hand.

"Oh! You're awake?" Lu Chen blushed, caught in the act.

He cleared his throat and held up the storage ring, saying, "Consider this my fee for rescuing you!"

"Now that you're conscious, I should be on my way."

With those words, Lu Chen backed away sheepishly, then swiftly vanished into the thick forest, disappearing from sight.

Once Lu Chen was gone, Su Xue snapped out of her daze and glanced at the finger that once wore the storage ring.

A sudden realization struck her, and she bit her lower lip, her cheeks flushing with color.

Several kilometers later, Lu Chen halted, smacked his forehead, and exclaimed, "Right, the Divine Weapon Fragment is still with her!"

He immediately turned and hurried back.

Moments later, Lu Chen returned to the site of their encounter, only to find Su Xue gone. He could only sigh in resignation.

Afterward, Lu Chen made his way back to the cave he had visited the previous night. He dedicated a full half-day to meticulously harvesting materials from the wolf carcasses strewn across the floor. Once he had packed all the components into his storage ring, he set off to return.