Chapter 169: Battle Ends! Woman Disguised as a Man! Injuries!
The Law Mark engraved within Chen Xuan’s Nascent Soul shook violently. Spiritual Energy gathered and transformed into scorching flames that shot toward the opponent.
One moment, they were a hundred feet away. The next, they had already appeared before the female cultivator manipulating the formations.
She reacted immediately.
The formation flags surrounding her erupted with power, countless runes intertwining as layer upon layer of defensive formations rose before her.
Unfortunately, she had severely underestimated Chen Xuan’s Soul Formation-level control over the power of heaven and earth.
Before the formations could fully stabilize, the surrounding Spiritual Energy had already slipped beyond her control.
The very Spiritual Energy she relied upon had turned against her. The defensive formations shook violently as their runes dimmed one after another.
Their formation flags shattered into countless fragments, and the flames engulfed the woman completely.
An agonized scream echoed across the battlefield.
It only lasted for a brief moment before the flames consumed everything.
When the fire finally dispersed, not even a trace of ash remained.
Even the area of hundreds of feet around her had been scorched black, a testament to the terrifying might of a Soul Formation cultivator’s signature ability—the Law Mark.
Chen Xuan remained calm throughout the process. His gaze slowly swept across the battlefield.
It was empty. The female cultivator had been the last true threat.
Everyone else was dead.
Or rather... everyone except one.
As Chen Xuan looked toward the edge of the sealing formation and saw a lone cultivator trembling in a corner, his eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, he struck.
Azure flames erupted from his palm, blossoming into a magnificent lotus in midair before rushing toward the survivor.
Empowered by the Fire Law Mark, this attack was even more terrifying than the one that had just claimed the woman’s life.
The man’s face instantly turned pale.
Every instinct screamed at him to flee.
Yet when he tried to move, he discovered that his body no longer obeyed him.
It was as though heaven and earth themselves had descended upon him, suppressing every movement and leaving him no room to resist.
Despair filled his eyes.
Just before the flames reached him, he finally shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Wait! Wait!"
"We’re allies! I... I’m from the Holy Fire Cult!"
Seeing that Chen Xuan showed no intention of stopping, the man’s fear only deepened.
He was already prepared to close his eyes and accept death.
Yet just before the flames consumed him, they suddenly dispersed.
Chen Xuan’s figure blurred before silently appearing directly in front of him.
The two now stood only a few feet apart. Close enough that the man could have launched a surprise attack if he wished.
Yet he did not dare.
The image of Chen Xuan slaughtering Late Stage Nascent Soul cultivators one after another remained fresh in his mind.
He couldn’t muster even the slightest intention of resisting, much less attacking.
Chen Xuan seemed to have already expected this. Without saying a word, he calmly observed the person before him.
Short blond hair. Blue eyes. Delicate facial features refined enough to make most women envious.
The young man before him was undeniably handsome—only a few notches below Chen Xuan himself.
Yet Chen Xuan quickly noticed something else.
His opponent... was not a man at all!
With his own experience, combined with the Heavenly Insight Eye, the disguise was immediately exposed.
The person in front of him was a woman!
Though she was disguised as a man, it could not escape Chen Xuan’s gaze.
Although she had disguised herself flawlessly, such methods were meaningless before an expert’s eyes.
Looking more carefully, Chen Xuan noticed another detail.
Her appearance bore a faint resemblance to Su Tianyi.
Combined with what she had just said, a certain guess surfaced in his mind.
Even so, he did not reveal it.
Instead, he fixed his gaze upon hers and spoke coldly.
"What do you mean by saying we’re allies?"
"Do you really think I’m naïve enough to believe a few words?"
"If we truly were allies, why did you wait until now to reveal yourself instead of stepping forward from the beginning?"
His voice was icy.
At the same time, his aura surged once more, as though he would strike again if her answer dissatisfied him in the slightest.
The woman’s expression changed. She flinched.
She hurriedly waved both hands.
"No! No! I’m telling the truth! I didn’t help you earlier because I..."
She suddenly fell silent. It was obvious there was something she wished to hide.
However, inspiration soon struck her. Her divine sense entered her spatial ring, and she quickly retrieved a crimson token.
"Look! You’ll definitely recognize this! This is the Holy Fire Cult’s identity token!" she said and presented it to Chen Xuan without the slightest hesitation.
Taking it into his hand, Chen Xuan carefully examined it. Soon, he confirmed that it was authentic.
Moreover, using the verification method Su Tianyi had previously taught him, he discovered that the token was indeed bound to the woman before him rather than taken as spoils of war.
Clearly, the woman was telling the truth. At the very least, she truly was a disciple of the Holy Fire Cult.
As for whether they were allies...
Chen Xuan strongly doubted it.
"What’s your relationship with Su Tianyi? Why did you attack me before?" he questioned. His expression remained serious.
The woman immediately became flustered.
"M-Me... Su Tianyi and I are friends."
"Yes! Friends!"
She nodded repeatedly, as though trying to convince both Chen Xuan and herself.
"I only came because I was worried something might happen to you and she would become sad."
"Besides, didn’t I help you just now? If I hadn’t kept warning you, you would’ve fallen into their trap long ago."
The woman proudly puffed out her chest, looking as though she expected praise for her contribution.
Strictly speaking, there was some truth to her words.
Throughout the battle, she was the one who had repeatedly shouted out warnings, revealing several of the enemies’ preparations—including the existence of the Seal-Bearing Master and other hidden arrangements.
That was precisely why Chen Xuan had spared her long enough to explain herself.
Otherwise, even if she were a woman disguised as a man, he would never have shown mercy.
Several thoughts flashed through Chen Xuan’s mind as he silently stared at the crimson token for a few moments.
"I see..." he finally murmured.
The woman’s eyes immediately lit up.
"Right? Right? You’ve finally realized how much I helped you!"
"I went through so much trouble infiltrating their group just to protect you!"
"Hmph! I only did it for Su Tianyi’s sake! You’re really lucky that—"
Just as her confidence swelled and her tone grew increasingly smug, Chen Xuan calmly raised his hand.
Chop. His palm struck the back of her neck.
Her eyes rolled back.
Before she could even finish her sentence, her vision blurred, and she collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
With a calm expression, Chen Xuan withdrew his hand.
Moments later, black-and-white Dao patterns flowed from his fingertips.
They fused into a Yin-Yang Prison that wrapped tightly around the unconscious woman.
The prison rapidly shrank until it became no larger than the palm of his hand before being stored away.
In the meantime, Chen Xuan had already collected the corpses and spatial rings left behind by the fallen cultivators.
After taking a final look at the battlefield, he didn’t stay here any longer. His figure transformed into a streak of white light and disappeared beyond the horizon.
--
Inside a dimly lit cave, Su Ying paced back and forth.
Although she was already a Core Formation cultivator and should have possessed a calm temperament, the anxiety on her face was impossible to conceal.
Several hours had already passed since Chen Xuan left to deal with another battlefield.
In the past, every battle had ended within minutes of his arrival. This time, however, he had been gone far longer than expected.
By now, Su Ying started to worry.
’I should have realized it sooner...’
’This is the first time he insisted on leaving me behind instead of taking me with him.’
’Could something have happened?’
The more she thought about it, the more restless she became.
She looked toward the cave entrance before finally making up her mind. Just as she was about to leave and search for him herself, her eyes suddenly brightened.
A familiar aura entered the range of her divine sense.
Moments later, the concealment formation opened as the cave entrance parted.
A figure slowly walked inside. The instant Su Ying recognized him, joy appeared on her face.
But that joy lasted only a heartbeat.
"Brother Chen... what’s wrong with you?" she asked anxiously.
In response, Chen Xuan waved his hand dismissively.
"Don’t worry. I’m fine..."
Before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly turned pale. A mouthful of blood spilled from his lips, and his body staggered violently.
"Brother Chen!"
Su Ying’s anxious cry immediately echoed throughout the cave.
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