“Get him together, Cun Wan!” Cun Nan said with great delight. “This fellow is very strong, not weaker than me!”
“Not weaker than me?” Cun Wan felt a jolt of surprise in his heart. His gaze turned towards Ye Chu. “No wonder so many from our clan could not handle him.”
Ye Chu looked at the two men blocking him from left and right. He sneered and said, “Do you really think this is enough to deal with me?”
Cun Wan did not even glance properly at Ye Chu. He spoke to Cun Nan instead. “Let us attack together and capture him. Once we have him in hand, we can drag that woman out as well. As long as he is with us, the woman will naturally come to us.”
Cun Nan nodded. The two men moved to either side, encircling Ye Chu in the centre. “To force the two of us to join hands to capture you, you can be proud of yourself.”
“Perhaps you do not know why I suddenly became so strong.” Ye Chu looked at Cun Nan and Cun Wan, then sneered. “In that case, let me show you right now.”
Cun Wan looked disdainful. He was only one step away from reaching the upper grade of the Innate Realm. At that level, one’s transformation was already terrifyingly powerful. Although Cun Wan had not yet stepped fully into it, he was already extremely formidable.
Moreover, with him and Cun Nan attacking together, even a cultivator who had truly reached the upper grade of the Innate Realm would find it troublesome. But had the man before them reached that level? Clearly not. Since he had not, capturing him would be effortless.
“Surrender!” Cun Nan struck out suddenly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Ye Chu said nothing. His hands moved in a dance. Before him, starlight shimmered and clear moonlight flashed forth. A wild, domineering intent surged outwards.
“Drawing upon the essence of sun and moon, harnessing the power of stars and moon, transforming it into the intent of Moon Shatter Slash, break for me!”
With Ye Chu’s roar, a landslide-like intent erupted from his body. Terrifying spiritual energy surged outwards, stirring howling winds all around. The surrounding grass and trees snapped instantly. The entire area was laid waste, reduced to barren ground.
“Power of stars and moon?” Cun Nan and Cun Wan cried out in horror. Their faces turned deathly pale. They stared at Ye Chu in disbelief. No one could believe that the man before them could actually unleash a technique belonging to a great cultivator.
How could mere Innate Realm cultivators possibly withstand such a move?
The two barely had time to react. Their figures shot outwards in retreat. But how could they possibly evade a great cultivator’s technique? With Ye Chu at the centre, the terrifying intent transformed into a slashing blade that swept outwards. Everything in its path was severed.
The two men frantically circulated their power to resist, but they could not block the might of this strike. It sliced them cleanly at the waist. Blood sprayed outwards, staining the ruined ground red.
Cun Wan and Cun Nan stared with wide eyes. Even as their breath faded, the shock and unwillingness on their faces remained unmistakable.
Ye Chu himself had not expected this strike to be so terrifying. Looking at the area that had been almost completely levelled, he stood in a daze. With just this one move, who in the Innate Realm could possibly withstand it? Below the Innate Realm, he was invincible!
The power of a great cultivator truly was unfathomable, like the work of gods and demons! Ye Chu’s heart pounded wildly. This was only a fraction, less than one percent, of the great cultivator’s power. If a true great cultivator unleashed it, how terrifying would it be?
But after executing this strike, Ye Chu felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over him. His entire body nearly collapsed. His eyelids grew heavy, threatening to close.
Ye Chu forced himself to muster a bit of strength and darted back into the forest. The commotion here would definitely attract others. If he did not leave quickly, in his current weakened state, even a single True Qi Realm cultivator would be more than he could handle.
Dragging his battered body, Ye Chu moved through the forest for a considerable distance before finally finding a place to rest.
Ye Chu sat cross-legged and began recovering his strength, driving away the overwhelming fatigue that threatened to make him fall asleep on the spot.
…
Several hours passed before Ye Chu finally restored his body. Feeling his strength return, he let out a soft breath. He thought to himself that while a great cultivator’s technique was powerful, the exhaustion afterwards was equally terrifying. Such a move could not be used lightly.
However, after executing this technique, Ye Chu sensed that the intent derived from the True Source had clearly increased. At least there was some benefit to it.
The village beneath Demon Origin Cave continued its relentless search. Ye Chu even caught sight of a terrifying Primal Spirit Realm figure flashing through the forest. This made him click his tongue in astonishment. He did not dare provoke them again.
The forest was dense. Despite the many skilled experts the other side had deployed, finding him in such a vast woodland was no easy task.
Ye Chu avoided them and took an extremely rugged, remote path, circling a long way around until he finally left their sphere of influence. Only after confirming no one was following did he emerge from the forest, change out of his torn clothes, and hurry towards the imperial city.
Along the way, Ye Chu remained wary that a stronger expert might appear at any moment. But even after rushing at full speed all the way to the imperial city, he saw no sign of pursuit.
Of course, Ye Chu did not know that his killing of the two cultivators had shaken the entire village. The area reduced to flat ground had made them believe, for a time, that a great cultivator had acted. This filled the village with terror.
A great cultivator was not someone they could afford to provoke lightly!
Upon returning to the imperial city, Ye Chu did not seek out Qing Wenting and the others. Instead, he went straight back to Huang Lin’s mansion. That girl Huang Lin would surely tell Qing Wenting, and Qing Wenting would naturally come looking for him.
…
In another part of the imperial city, Tan Miaotong looked at Qing Wenting and Ye Jingyun. “Ye Chu has not returned to the imperial city yet. Should we send someone to meet him?”
Qing Wenting looked at the anxious Tan Miaotong and giggled. “You are so worried about him. Why do you not go and meet him yourself?”
“Wenting!” Tan Miaotong frowned in dissatisfaction. “I am being serious. The cultivators in that village are not weak. If Ye Chu is intercepted by them, the outcome could be disastrous.”
“If he dies, he dies! He is just a troublemaker anyway!” Ye Jingyun giggled. “Miaotong, what are you so worried about? You would not have fallen for him just because he saw you once, would you?”
“You two…” Tan Miaotong’s face flushed red. “Hmph, it seems you do not want the Demon Origin Grass after all.”
Ye Jingyun’s expression changed instantly. She wrapped an arm around Tan Miaotong. “Good little sister! Do not be angry. I was only teasing you. But since that fellow told you to leave first, he must have had the confidence to escape. You do not need to worry.”
“Ye Chu might have already returned to the imperial city!” Qing Wenting added.
“But if he returned, why has he not come to find us?” Tan Miaotong did not believe it.
“Did you not hear what Huang Lin said? That fellow has a beauty hidden away in his golden house. He is just like Pang Shao. Why would he care whether we are worried?” Qing Wenting laughed. “Though I am quite curious. What kind of woman could make Ye Chu hide her away like that?”
Seeing even Qing Wenting acting so nonchalant, Tan Miaotong felt anxious but finally held back. “How about we go to Huang Mansion and check?”