First Battle

Danger!

Danger!

Danger!

Jiang Lu's heart skipped a beat!

Before her mind could even process the threat, her body instinctively dodged to the side.

Hiss—

Letting out a soft groan, she scrambled up from the ground without a moment's delay.

In the blink of an eye, a long spear slammed into the tree trunk right where she had been leaning.

A bead of sweat dripped from Jiang Lu's forehead. It had been a matter of a split second. If she had been even a fraction of a second slower, that spear would have impaled her.

She took two steps back, bending her knees slightly as she braced herself for a fight.

Sensing the hostile energy in the air, she swallowed hard and looked in the direction the spear had come from. A figure slowly emerged from the dense underbrush.

Her pupils dilated in shock. It was the cultivator who had thrown the egg at her to make his escape.

The cultivator stared at her blankly, his expression laced with a sinister malice. He looked completely different from his previous panicked state.

Looking closer, his clothes were stained with blood, and one of his sleeves was torn, appearing as if something inside was missing.

The cultivator glared at Jiang Lu, gritting his teeth in fury. Why hadn't she just run away with the egg like she was supposed to? If she had, those two demon beasts wouldn't have kept chasing him.

It had cost him his left arm.

But... no matter. He would make this female cultivator experience the pain of losing a limb.

She was only at the second layer of Qi Condensation. How could he, a cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, possibly lose to her?

Seeing his crazed gaze, Jiang Lu gritted her teeth, wondering what she had done to offend him so deeply.

Was it because she had refused to be his scapegoat? What kind of twisted logic was that?

But now, she had no choice but to face him head-on. Fortunately, her escape earlier hadn't completely drained her spiritual energy.

Hiding her hands behind her back, she secretly channeled her spiritual energy. Several fireballs materialized at her side, and with a wave of her hand, she sent them hurtling toward him.

Knowing the vast difference in their strength, Jiang Lu didn't dare to be careless. After launching the fireballs, she immediately followed up by throwing out a barrage of wind blades.

The cultivator dodged, extending his right hand and pulling back. The long spear instantly flew back into his grip.

He swung the spear in rapid succession, knocking Jiang Lu's fireballs and wind blades aside.

“Heh—with this kind of strength, you're barely tickling me.”

A yellow glow erupted from the spear, unleashing a fierce attack toward Jiang Lu.

Jiang Lu immediately leaped backward to dodge, but the waves of spiritual energy kept coming one after another, making it difficult for her to cope.

Chi Li and Cang Chen exchanged a look and immediately split up, darting to either side.

Having known each other for so long, a single glance was enough for them to understand each other's intentions.

Fireballs and water orbs flew toward the man in rapid succession. With his attention fully locked on Jiang Lu, he failed to notice the two figures flanking him.

He charged at Jiang Lu with a smug grin, his eyes bloodshot with madness, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

Suddenly, he let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

Chi Li knitted its brows. Its fireballs seemed a bit different, apparently much stronger than before.

It glanced at Jiang Lu. What other secrets did she possess?

It had a feeling that these changes were intrinsically linked to her.

Jiang Lu rejoiced at his scream. Stopping her retreat, she quickly conjured several wind blades to finish him off.

Strike while he's down!

After a few muffled groans, he fell completely silent.

Jiang Lu and the two spirit beasts approached. His body was stiff, his eyes bulging, and his face contorted in resentment.

Jiang Lu let out a long breath and collapsed onto the ground.

However, their fight had made some noise, and this was no place to linger.

Cang Chen snatched the storage bag from his waist, while Chi Li spat a burst of flame at him. In an instant, the corpse was incinerated into nothingness.

They then climbed back into Jiang Lu's pouch. Jiang Lu gritted her teeth, forced her trembling legs to stand, and stumbled away.

Jiang Lu ran a considerable distance with the two of them, panting heavily before she finally relaxed.

It should be safe here, right?

Completely exhausted and depleted of spiritual energy, she immediately sat cross-legged to recover.

Chi Li and Cang Chen scanned their surroundings, keeping a vigilant eye out for any movement.

Jiang Lu felt herself entering a strange state of mind. Her surroundings became so quiet that not a single breath could be heard, as if she were the only entity in the entire universe.

Yet, it was incredibly comfortable. She felt every pore of her body open with her breathing, allowing her to clearly perceive the spiritual energy circulating within her.

She felt as if something was gushing out from her body. Suddenly, her mind cleared, and through this clarity, she could sense her surroundings even with her eyes closed.

She tried to expand the range of her perception, but a barrier seemed to block her way.

Frowning slightly, she repeatedly surged against the barrier. As the fluctuations grew stronger, the barrier finally shattered completely.

What followed was a rapid surge in her strength. Rich spiritual energy rushed toward her from all directions, surging through her meridians and pouring into her dantian.

Chi Li and Cang Chen watched as a vortex of spiritual energy gathered above them. The vortex generated a violent gale, isolating Jiang Lu's location from the rest of the forest.

Any cultivators who noticed the disturbance and wanted to investigate were kept at bay by the fierce winds.

Jiang Lu only felt a warm sensation spreading through her body as a massive amount of spiritual energy flooded into her dantian, churning violently.

She noticed her absorption speed was incredibly fast. The spiritual energy constantly filled her meridians, widening them.

After a long while, two soft popping sounds echoed from her dantian.

She had officially stepped into the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, reaching the mid stage of Qi Condensation.

The surrounding energy gradually calmed down. She opened her eyes, her face lit with joy.

In just two short months, she had broken through from the first layer of Qi Condensation to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. Such cultivation speed would put even top geniuses to shame.

However, she knew that this sudden leap in strength was entirely due to her entering a meditative state. After depleting her spiritual energy, she had immediately cultivated again, and her tensed nerves had suddenly relaxed.

Through a series of coincidences, she had successfully entered a state of sudden enlightenment, leading to this breakthrough.

Such an opportunity was extremely rare. Some cultivators could search for a lifetime without ever finding it. She felt incredibly fortunate to have experienced it so early.

What's more, she hadn't just gained a boost in strength; she had also successfully unlocked her divine sense. Spreading it outward, everything within a hundred-meter radius fell under her perception.

For a cultivator who had just unlocked their divine sense, a range of ten meters was already considered excellent. Hers was ten times that.

This also meant that her sea of consciousness would be far wider than that of ordinary cultivators. In the future, anyone with weaker divine sense would never be able to detect her presence.

She stood up, preparing to leave.

The gale had kept the outside cultivators away, but now that the winds had dissipated, those waiting outside would definitely come to investigate.

However...

The corners of her mouth curled up as she looked mockingly in the direction of the approaching cultivators.