Although this place was located in the wilderness, the spiritual energy here was no less than that in the Dragon Vein Secret Realm. Chase absorbed the spiritual energy into his body, quickly entering a state of cultivation.Though the effect of absorbing spiritual energy was minimal for Chase, cultivation had always been about gradual accumulation. There was no such thing as overnight success.In the latter half of the night, a sudden chill woke Chase. He spread out his consciousness, scanning the area but finding nothing unusual. When he shifted his gaze, he finally spotted half a pale face with blood-red lips peeking out from behind a tent.The figure was a woman, strikingly noticeable against the backdrop of the wilderness. As soon as Chase looked over, the woman locked eyes with him. Her eyes moved stiffly, as if studying him.Chase stood up, planning to ignore the woman and warn the men in the tent. However, he noticed that his sleeping bag had inexplicably disappeared. Steppi
The white-clad woman instantly stopped speaking and locked eyes with Chase. Meanwhile, the pool of blood around them slowly expanded, shrouding Chase in a blood-red mist that resembled a thick fog."Chase, don't be careless. This ghostly woman is the overlord of these desolate lands for miles around, known as the Bloodthirsty Preserver. It's said she was once a lover of a high-ranking figure in a tribe, who later abandoned her and tortured her to death."Her intense resentment transformed her into a vengeful spirit. Now, she preys on solitary travelers to absorb their light energy. It's strange, though. We've traveled this path many times and never encountered her before. I wonder why she appeared tonight?" said the leader of the merchants to Chase, alerting him.Chase slightly shrugged his shoulders, releasing a burst of true energy that instantly dispersed the blood mist around him.Sensing danger, the white-clad woman tried to dive back into the pool of blood to escape. Chase sw
"You're spreading lies! When have I ever killed hundreds or thousands of people?" the woman retorted upon hearing the accusations against her."Chase, you must not listen to this ghost's deceitful words," one of the men pleaded."Yes, Chase, you must take action for us. If you weren't here today, we might have become her victims," added another, clearly convinced by the rumors they had heard."Have any of you actually seen this woman kill anyone?" Chase asked, trying to reason with the men. He did not want them to think he was simply using his strength to protect the woman.Seeing Chase defend her, the woman calmed down. She lowered her head and stayed silent."Well, no. We haven't seen it ourselves. It's all just hearsay," one man admitted reluctantly."There you have it. None of you have seen it with your own eyes. It's all based on rumors, which tend to become exaggerated. From my observations today, this woman had no intention of harming you. She was just quietly observing ne
"If you keep following me, I'll take action. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because I saved you," Chase warned, trying to scare her off.However, the woman seemed confident that Chase would not hurt her. She was displaying a fearless expression."Go ahead, do it. You're strong, and I can't resist anyway. Come on now. I'm not even going to fight back," she said while drifting closer to Chase, acting as if she were at his mercy.Chase raised his hand, pretending he was about to strike her on the forehead.The woman did not move or evade. She just stared at Chase, convinced he would not actually hit her.After a moment, Chase had to lower his arm, feeling it start to go numb from holding it up."You can follow me, but stop asking so many questions, okay? Otherwise, I really won't let you tag along," Chase conceded. He realized he could not bring himself to harm someone who refused to fight back."Okay," the woman quickly agreed, clearly set on staying with Chase."W
As a mere ghost, she had not achieved any great feats, yet she was granted a dwelling akin to a blessed sanctuary.What had she done to deserve this? Initially, she was only grateful and a bit curious, so she followed this seemingly kind-hearted man for a while.Now, seeing this sanctuary, she felt both fortunate and more determined to follow Chase."Yes, you can reside inside here. Just try not to come out and scare people," Chase instructed."Thank you, Mr. Collins," Rolfene responded formally. In some tribes here, young men with some strength liked being addressed with respect, so she hoped calling him 'Mr. Collins' would be well-received.Rolfene pondered silently."By the way, do you remember much about your life? Tell me about it," Chase asked casually, deciding it was best not to reveal he was not a native."I don't remember much, but there are some things. If you don't mind, I'll share," Rolfene replied."Alright. Just tell me what you remember. And don't call me Mr.
There seemed to be a lack of confidence in him despite the praise.Rolfene was dramatically blunt as she said, "It can't be that you don't have some sort of tactic when dealing with supernatural beings like me but can't do any damage if the fighting were to get real, right?"The more she talked about it, the less confidence she had as she watched herself being surrounded from all four corners at the city gates.Chase glared at Rolfene."Stand to the side and watch. You'll find out how powerful your boss really is!"Rolfene knew she was on the losing end and kept quiet. She made a mental note to escape the moment she sensed something wrong.Chase was not bothered by what Rolfene was planning.He rushed to the front with the Dragon Abyss Sword in his hand as his feet pushed forward.Chase even had time to ask while in mid-air, "Who are you?"No one replied to him.It was a group of people who lived life at the edge.Those who enjoyed announcing their names out loud in public w
At the same time, the Dragon Abyss Sword was flying in the air in the opposite direction, piercing right through the back of the other man who was attempting to escape.It went through the man as a clean blade and exited his body covered in blood.Both men died on the spot.As for the trained muscled man, Chase had seen him making an escape into the city district from the city gates. Chase had no choice but to give up going after him. All he did was leave a trace of consciousness on that man.It was not difficult to kill him, but Chase had to find out what exactly was happening.Why would this group of men ambush him for no reason?Chase gave this some thought and guessed this could be because of the divine crystal.However, he wondered if they tried to assassinate him because of the divine crystal or if these people had sensed the divine crystal and were lying in wait. There was a chance they had no idea who possessed the crystal.There was a huge difference between both reaso
Scanlon was unlike the average commoner as he had experienced huge events before.He calmed down and asked, "Young man, did you come into Eagle City from the rear gates?""Yes, I did. Is there anything you need, sir?" Chase replied."Did you see or hear anything at the city's rear gates?" Scanlon finally asked without revealing the truth of the matter."No, I didn't. The city gates were quiet when I walked in. No one was out there at all," Chase pretended not to know anything."Oh, I see. What are you doing here at Eagle City, young man?" Scanlon relaxed quite a bit when he saw the young man in a green shirt acting cordial."I'm not here for anything much. I just happened to pass by this place. There's only wilderness all around here, and it's a difficult situation for me. I was thinking of spending a few nights in Eagle City to recuperate my mind and cultivate," Chase gave the most common excuse.Scanlon hesitated. The young man in the green shirt did not look like a bad man an
"Damn it! I shouldn't have been defeated so quickly even if I hadn't healed from my injury!"The man in black clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes slightly. He wanted to kill Chase badly and turn him into dust.He thought that if he exerted some power, the bumpkin in front of him would kneel and beg for mercy, but things turned out differently. That bumpkin had actually faced three moves from him without losing and even made him cough up blood."Roar!"The man suddenly shouted, and the air around began to contort. A terrifying wind galed and took Chase with it.After that, the man leaped like an eagle hunting a rabbit and went for the kill. An eerie light black as ink wisped around his right fist as he dealt out a vicious punch. His punch was like a venomous snake leaping out of the hole. It was precise and vicious, and quick as lightning.Chase's eyes widened as he moved half a foot to the side. It was a close call as the lethal blow almost landed on him. He kicked at the ma
This was a huge palace that stood as tall as the mountains. It was glittering and brilliant with various paintings and images hung on the walls. Some were of deities visiting the moon and playing musical instruments, some were of phoenixes flying through the clouds. There were others of dragons roaring and griffins clawing in a dance. They were lifelike and looked real."Where is this?" Chase looked around in a daze.Meanwhile, deep inside the palace, a man in a purple shirt approached Chase.He had a good-looking face and nice features. The man was tall and exuded a strong aura. He was like a deity."W-Who are you?"Chase was flabbergasted. This man intimidated him. Chase felt a heavy pressure above him, which almost suffocated him."Who are you? Why did you barge into the forbidden land of my ancient country?" The man sounded calm. He had a hand behind his back and looked down on Chase when he spoke."Ancient country?" Chase was taken aback at the man's words. Was this the leg
There was a muffled sound, and the leaf turned into dust. The man's palm was unscathed. All he had was some dust on his sleeve."You…" Chase's eyes widened with great fear. He was aware that all that man had to do was blow some air and Chase would be dead for sure."This can't continue. There'll be hope as long as I'm still alive. I have to leave this godforsaken place right now!" Chase made a quick decision. He stood up right away and made a mad dash for the coastline."Die, you lowly ant!"A roar echoed in the air, and Chase's movement slowed. He felt a chill.A massive power came crashing down like the skyline was collapsing. It suppressed everything in all corners and was suffocating.Chase's knees gave out, his bones cracking. He fell kneeling to the ground. His shoulders were trembling, and he was in great pain."I need to run as far as I can!" Chase was filled with great fear. He gave everything he could to channel true energy and ran crazily to the front."Hmph! Trying
The martial artists who survived in the land where light and dark convened were naturally tainted by evil energy. Their physique would gradually transform, slowly making them a better fit in the nether realm.While within the nether realm, martial artists would experience various hallucinations.They would hear spirits crying and wolves howling. Resentment was everywhere, and evil spirits would constantly appear. That place was covered in dark fog, and spirits roamed. Every corner of it was dangerous and had high death rates. Ordinary people would never dare step into this place.Chase had lived on Earth for 20 years. He trained in martial arts and medical skills from a young age and had seen a lot of this world.However, even he felt a chill down his spine after he was one reading the record on the nether realm."No wonder I keep having the feeling of a mysterious movement at the northeast corner of the martial realm. Could the dark energy from the nether realm have seeped throug
"Unfortunately, we chose to stay behind back then. There's no other way. If we aren't able to stop the balance from being destroyed, the martial realm will meet with catastrophe."All three elders looked at each other and sighed.That was when a skinny middle-aged man suddenly pushed the door open and entered. He gave them a fist and palm salute. "Masters, I have something urgent to report."An emerald slip appeared in the man's hand."Oh? Is there news of the influential families of the martial realm?""I can't believe there's news so soon."All three elders were surprised.It had only been 15 minutes since it happened, and there was already news. That was not easy to obtain.All three elders were top powerhouses with strong capabilities. However, they were hopeful that the news was true and reliable. They took the emerald slip and used the divine sense technique to check the news in it."What?!" "The martial realm's Secret Sect has been destroyed?!"All three of them rais
"I understand it now. This is a spiritual stone tablet with a record of a mysterious Soul Refining Technique!"Chase looked delighted.The Soul Refining Technique was used to refine a person's soul and purify the Origin of the Soul."That's really powerful!"Chase opened his eyes and took a sharp breath. "The things left behind by powerhouses of the nether realm are really incredible. Such treasure is highly valuable. Even a small piece of this would be enough for powerhouses to fight over it!"A notion crossed his mind, and a massive soul energy surged. The spiritual tablet was instantly crushed by the soul energy.The spiritual tablet was crushed to dust and recondensed into an emerald slip that floated in the air. It gradually flew toward Chase."Huh? That isn't right."There was a cold look in Chase's eyes. He discovered a thread of a soul energy's fragment inside the emerald slip.A contorted savage phantom shadow shot out of the emerald slip. It came clawing at Chase wit
"My gosh! How is this happening?!" The skeletal old man panicked. His soul energy sensed that heaven and earth's vitality seemed to be attracted by something when it was around Chase, and it flowed directly into Chase.Meanwhile, the brilliant glow of the sun appeared in the air behind Chase. It burned brightly and blinded those who saw it.A massive Divine Red Phoenix appeared and opened up its wings as it flew in the air. It was ferocious and had an air of danger about it."The Divine Red Phoenix?!"The sight of it put fear in the skeletal old man as his eyes widened. "Who exactly are you?!"Chase ignored him. He had formed into a golden-red phoenix and was emanating a terrifying aura in the air."Burning Sky Technique!"The temperature in the cave suddenly hiked up several hundred degrees due to the burning golden sun. Even the cave walls and ground were melted into lava that started to flow like a river.The skeletal old man screamed in pain as his body turned red instantly
Chase moved extremely fast. He appeared in front of the skeletal old man, who was about ten yards away, in an instant.They were fighting in close combat. Their hands and legs hit and kicked each other as protective energy flew about.Several muffled explosions were heard. It was difficult to determine the victor in this fight."You're at the end of your tethers, little bastard! You're about to die! I'm going to refine you and feed your soul to the Phantom Coffin. You'll be vanquished completely and turned into a part of my body."The skeletal old man held back his head and laughed wildly. His wounds were healing at an incredible speed.Chase's performance in this fight had angered him. He no longer cared about hiding his identity."You want to refine me? You're nothing but a ghost. Are you dreaming?" Chase sneered and suddenly lunged forward."Die!" Chase was quick as lightning as he instantly got close to the skeletal old man. He pressed his palm down on the old man's shoulder
A strange air of authority could be felt coming from him."How did this happen?"The skeletal old man's eyes widened, and his heart beat violently. He was trembling.Chase looked just like a demon king.He took a step forward. The earth and sky tremored as cracks appeared on the ground.Chase's physique suddenly expanded exponentially. His skin was bright red, and his bones seemed to be clanging. A strong dark blood energy flooded out from him.Chase waved his arms about crazily. Explosions went off in the air. Every punch he swung was followed by the terrifying sound of an explosion.The surface of the graveyard collapsed from Chase's savage strength.Chase crushed half the skeletal old man's face with one punch, and the old man's body flew off several yards away.Meanwhile, Chase was suffering from backlash because the true energy reserves within his body had erupted. Bloody arrows began shooting out of him."Only a little of my true energy is left!" Chase said sadly.Even