The earth-shaking sword strike Qin Chuan had just unleashed was so powerful that even Jin Pang, who was chasing behind him, sensed the tremors. He stopped and looked toward the source of the disturbance. “Is the enemy that strong?”
“No… that felt like a sword technique. With sword intent like that, aside from Pei Xuan, there’s practically no other Core Formation cultivator in the Sect who could unleash such a move. But Pei Xuan didn’t enter the Secret Realm.”
“It’s Qin Chuan!” Jin Pang quickly understood. That peerless sword technique had been executed by Qin Chuan.
“If Qin Chuan has to use such a move, then… the enemy must be on par with him. Me, a pill cultivator in the Core Formation Realm—going over would be suicide.”
“Maybe… I should just leave…?”
“But wouldn’t that be too dishonorable…” Jin Pang was caught in intense conflict. He wasn’t the kind of person to abandon a teammate. Even if his alliance with Qin Chuan was temporary, it was still a pact.
After half a quarter hour of hesitation, Jin Pang gritted his teeth and resumed his path toward Qin Chuan, muttering, “I’ll just go take a look. If I can help, I will. If I can’t, then it’s not my fault.”
…
Meanwhile, Qin Chuan was furiously cursing at how ridiculous female-oriented novels were. The female lead had so many life-saving treasures that any male-oriented novel protagonist would drool with envy.
Escape talismans, teleportation talismans—she had used over a dozen of them already. She had also burned through seven or eight high-grade defensive artifacts, all strong enough to withstand a full-powered blow from a Core Formation cultivator. And now, she was even using a flying treasure to zip away at absurd speed. If it weren’t for Qin Chuan having an equally large stockpile of treasures and overwhelming strength, he wouldn’t have been able to chase her at all.
“I refuse to believe I can’t kill you!” Qin Chuan caught up to Gu Xiran again. With his spiritual energy nearly depleted, he hurled a magical artifact at her, detonating it mid-air to try and kill her with the explosion.
Gu Xiran used yet another defensive treasure to block the blast. Not to be outdone, Qin Chuan tossed a second artifact—she blocked it again.
The two of them were now fighting like children in a playground fight—Qin Chuan tossing self-destructing treasures, Gu Xiran countering them with defensive items and talismans.
“I earned all these magical artifacts from killing and looting during my training. That weakling female lead clearly never trained in the wild. All her stuff must have been given to her. Damned group favorite female lead is enough to piss anyone off!”
Turning his frustration into killing intent, Qin Chuan hurled another artifact and simultaneously activated his Blood-Stained Technique, appearing instantly beside Gu Xiran. He aimed his sword straight at her throat.
“Let’s see what other life-saving treasure you’ve got this time!!!”
Gu Xiran was completely stunned.
Qin Chuan’s sudden proximity left her flustered. Her treasures and talismans were already exhausted. She had no way to counter him. Closing her eyes in despair, she had only one thought: “Am I really going to die just like this after being reborn?”
Just as Qin Chuan’s sword tip was a finger’s width from her neck, a wolf’s howl rang out. “Awoo!!!”
At the same moment, a massive wolf paw slashed toward Qin Chuan’s head. He had no choice but to abandon his kill and use the Heavenly Dominion Sword to block the attack.
Clang! The sword clashed with the wolf claw. Qin Chuan was blasted backward by the force, and Gu Xiran survived once again. The wolf demon completely ignored Gu Xiran and charged straight for Qin Chuan, aiming to kill him.
Faced with what appeared to be a late-stage Core Formation Realm wolf demon, Qin Chuan had no choice but to run. He immediately understood—this was the Heavenly Dao stepping in to protect the female lead.
“You damn bastard Heavenly Dao… just you wait. One day, I’ll tear you to pieces.”
The wolf demon was terrifyingly fast.
In no time at all, it caught up to Qin Chuan and swiped at his back with a claw. He was forced to stop and block with his Heavenly Dominion Sword.
The wolf’s strength was overwhelming. Qin Chuan had to grip the sword with both hands just to barely hold off the blow, then used the recoil to push himself backward and gain distance.
“This late-stage Core Formation wolf demon is beyond me. Dammit, that bastard Heavenly Dao is playing dirty! Why the hell is the wolf chasing me…?”
“Wait… the wolf… Shit, could it be because I killed two wolf demons when I first entered the Secret Realm?”
Mid-sentence, Qin Chuan suddenly remembered. A new idea flashed through his mind—but he had no time to dwell on it as another attack came.
The wolf demon’s sharp claws slashed again. Qin Chuan relied on the impact to widen the gap between them once more.
“This isn’t going to work. Its Realm is higher than mine, and I’ve already spent most of my spiritual power chasing Gu Xiran. If I keep running, I’ll run dry and end up wolf food. I need to wound it while I still have energy left.”
Even as he fled, Qin Chuan looked for a way to counterattack. Waiting to die was never his style.
The wolf demon caught up to him twice more, but both times Qin Chuan managed to deflect the attacks. Thankfully, his Master had given him the Heavenly Dominion Sword—its power was enough to block the demon’s claws.
From what he knew of the plot, Qin Chuan understood that his Heavenly Dominion Sword, Shen Qingyuan’s Heavenly Profound Sword, and the protagonist Cang Wu’s Lingxiao Sword were the three strongest divine swords born of the Sword Abyss.
At his current cultivation, he couldn’t fully wield the Heavenly Dominion Sword, so Shen Qingyuan had sealed most of its power. Qin Chuan would have to unlock it himself once he advanced in Realm.
Still, even in its sealed state, the Heavenly Dominion Sword’s sharpness and durability made it comparable to the natal magic treasures of Nascent Soul cultivators. Qin Chuan had relied on it several times to survive.
“My Master really treats me well—she even gave me such a heaven-defying divine sword. Heavenly Dominion and Heavenly Profound, truly a perfect match.” That thought crossed his mind every time he wielded it.
But there was no time for sentiment. The wolf demon attacked again—and this time, it had learned.
Instead of another head-on clash, it used one claw to seize the Heavenly Dominion Sword and the other to strike at Qin Chuan’s chest.
Qin Chuan had just been distracted thinking of Shen Qingyuan and had let his guard down. He didn’t expect the wolf to break its pattern. The claw tore through his robe before he even reacted. New chapters come out on novelping dot com first.
But years of life-and-death experience kicked in.
Without hesitation, he delivered a vicious kick straight to the wolf demon’s most vulnerable part. The beast let out a pained howl and flung both Qin Chuan and the Heavenly Dominion Sword away.
Strike while it’s down—kill it!
Ignoring his pain, Qin Chuan threw another artifact to self-detonate and buy time. Then he grabbed the Heavenly Dominion Sword, leapt into the air, and channeled formation energy and the power of the stars into the blade.
He even used the Blood-Stained Secret Technique to boost its strength—he was going to end this. Not even a late-stage Core Formation demon could withstand it.
“Heavenly Steel Demon-Breaking Sword!!!”
With one powerful slash, all of his spiritual energy was consumed. He fell from the sky, completely drained, unable to move a muscle.
The area where the wolf demon stood was torn in two by the sword energy. Qin Chuan weakly turned his head to look—but what he saw didn’t match what he had expected.
The wolf demon was still standing.
Only a not-too-deep gash appeared on its left shoulder.
“A pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm wolf demon!!! I’m screwed. That damned Heavenly Dao… it really wants me dead.” Qin Chuan finally realized that this wasn’t a late-stage Core Formation beast—it was in the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm!
If he had known that from the start, he would’ve run without hesitation.
The gap between late-stage Core Formation and Pseudo-Nascent Soul was massive. The latter referred to those who had repeatedly failed to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm but had touched its threshold.
Such cultivators could instantly kill any Core Formation cultivator.
And now Qin Chuan’s sword strike had enraged the beast.
With a furious howl, it lunged at him.
“Heavenly Dominion…” Qin Chuan made one final attempt.
Using the last sliver of spiritual power he had regained, he tried to command the Heavenly Dominion Sword to block.
But it was useless. The sword was swatted to the ground, and the wolf demon’s claw reached Qin Chuan’s face.
He didn’t even have the strength to clench his fists. He could only watch helplessly as the claw descended toward his head.