vncnus Chapter 243 Why Force Me
Chapter 243 Why Force Me
Chapter 243 Why Force Me
The next moment, the flames around the old man Red Eagle suddenly went out, his flame spirit body was broken, and he could no longer maintain his state of being one with the beast.
A human figure and an eagle figure were forced apart. He crashed heavily onto the scorched earth at the bottom of the pool, his chest heaving violently.
Only then did he see the extent of his injuries: his right shoulder, along with his entire arm and half a rib, had been shattered in the explosion.
The wound was a bloody mess, and one could vaguely see the internal organs convulsing under the intertwining of lightning and fire. Every time he circulated his magic power, he was accompanied by excruciating pain.
Not far away by the pool, the red eagle that had merged with him also collapsed to the ground, half of its wing blown to pieces, its feathers charred black, only able to emit a weak mournful cry, clearly also seriously injured and on the verge of death.
Only then did the old man, Red Eagle, fully regain his senses and recall the "lightning" he had just been chasing.
That's not some kind of lightning technique at all; it's clearly just a small lightning crystal core!
He was tricked by such a simple trick and ended up in such a state.
"This junior—how could he be so insidious and ruthless!"
He was shaken, his eyes filled with regret, and he struggled to lift his head to look at the water.
Several different magical energy fluctuations emanated from there, rapidly approaching the bottom of the pool.
The next second, the old man Red Eagle, sensing the situation, suddenly changed his expression, and his regretful eyes were instantly replaced by fear.
Ignoring his injuries, he used his last bit of strength to frantically transmit his voice towards the water's surface: "No! Fellow Daoist Chen, spare this old man this once!"
"I know I was wrong, and I am willing to compensate you, fellow Daoist, and I swear I will never be your enemy again!"
He had clearly sensed that the fluctuations of magical power originated from the puppet power of the three attacking puppets and the demonic power of the two demonic beasts, all locking onto him from different directions.
At this point, he was powerless to withstand an attack of this level.
"You don't know you're wrong, you just know you're going to die."
Chen Yi replied calmly, without stopping his actions.
With three muffled thuds, three dazzling beams of puppet energy shot straight down from the water's surface, like three sharp spears, precisely piercing through the stagnant water and scorched earth at the bottom of the pool, striking the Red Eagle Elder's heart, head, and dantian respectively.
The moment the three beams of light pierced his body, his body stiffened abruptly, the light in his eyes quickly faded, and he fell completely silent.
Almost simultaneously, a bolt of earth-yellow lightning and a ball of bright red soul fire struck the heavily wounded red eagle.
This also completely extinguished its vitality.
After the battle ended, Chen Yi nodded slightly to the Crimson Flame Sparrow.
The Crimson Soul Sparrow, which had been waiting on the shore, let out a clear cry, flapped its wings, and flew into the water. It precisely snatched the carcass of the red eagle and flew towards the distant mountains and forests.
The avian flesh and blood and elixir contained in the corpse of this mid-stage third-tier demon beast are perfect for the Crimson Soul Sparrow of the same species, helping it to improve its cultivation.
The treasure-hunting rat also emerged from the mud by the pool, nimbly diving to the bottom. It used its claws to pry open the storage bag from Old Man Red Eagle's waist, and after carefully examining it…
He then spat out a flame talisman and activated it. A pale red flame ignited at the bottom of the pool, gradually burning the Red Eagle Elder's body to ashes, while also cleaning up the bloodstains, scorched earth, and other traces of battle at the bottom of the water as thoroughly as possible.
Only after the traces at the bottom of the pool were cleaned up did Chen Yi slowly withdraw his gaze and look towards the direction where Yue Qingqiu and Elder Kumamoto were fighting, dozens of miles away.
The magical energy fluctuations there were still intense, but Yue Qingqiu's aura had weakened considerably, indicating that she was still struggling to hold on.
Each time she used Moon Escape to teleport in the air, the amplitude of her swaying increased, and the duration of her pauses also lengthened.
At first, it was just a momentary pause, but now it takes a full half-breath before they can move again.
The effect of Moon Escape has been greatly reduced. The escape light that could originally travel several miles can now only move a few hundred feet, making it difficult to even evade Elder Kumamoto's attacks.
Even more noticeable was the moon blade she unleashed. Previously, it had maintained the sharpness of a peak third-tier weapon, but now its spiritual energy was dim, and its edges even bore fine cracks.
When the hammer fell on Elder Kumamoto's side, the opponent's hammer swing became much easier.
The reason why Elder Kumamoto never killed him was not because he couldn't, but because he received a clear order to capture him alive.
Yue Qingqiu's reputation as "Fairy Qingyue" was widely known throughout the Qingyun Cave Heaven. The Nascent Soul Ancestor had long ago given instructions to bring this stunning female cultivator back to enjoy her intact.
That's why he patiently wore her down, trying to exhaust Yue Qingqiu's magic power and completely stun her soul with the rattlesnake's soul sound, so that he could capture her without any damage.
Just then, Elder Kumamoto suddenly turned his head and looked sharply toward the deep pool in the mountains dozens of miles away.
A strong surge of magical power just came from over there, the kind of noise only heard when late-stage Core Formation cultivators are fighting, and it clearly originated from the area previously shrouded in the array mist.
Immediately afterwards, he saw a streak of cyan-purple lightning rip through the sky, shooting towards the battlefield.
He recognized the figure; it was none other than Chen Yi, the spirit chef, whom they considered to be "the least combat-effective."
What alarmed him even more was that the Red Eagle Elder's aura completely disappeared after that fluctuation.
Elder Kumamoto's expression changed rapidly, and a huge wave of emotions surged within him:
"This kid actually killed Red Eagle? He's just a cultivator who relies on puppets and spirit pets, how did he manage to kill Red Eagle in its beast form?"
"No, we can't delay any longer! We must close the net as soon as possible, or things will get complicated!"
Elder Kumamoto gritted his teeth inwardly.
Ever since he learned that the Black Serpent Ancestor had been taken away by True Monarch Qingmu and was unable to come to his aid, his confidence had already diminished considerably. Now that Red Eagle had also fallen into Chen Yi's hands, he was now the last remaining fighting force of Eagle Ridge Mountain.
Fortunately, the situation is still under control: Yue Qingqiu's magic power is depleted and her soul has been attacked, and she is about to lose her fighting ability;
Even though Chen Yi had more tricks up his sleeve, those mid-stage third-tier puppets and spirit pets posed no real threat to his "Man and Bear as One" defense.
With this in mind, Elder Kumamoto stopped trying to hide it and quickened his pace in tapping the rattlesnake's scales.
The spiritual fluctuations that were originally hidden in the sound of the hammer now erupted without reservation, and a series of silent rattles and soul-shaking sounds surged out like a tide, layer upon layer, enveloping Yue Qingqiu.
At the same time, those subtle soul sounds that had previously seeped into the depths of Yue Qingqiu's soul acted as if they had planted fuses in her sea of consciousness.
At this moment, it all erupted, directly drawing in and absorbing all the dozens of rattlesounding, soul-shaking sounds behind it.
Furthermore, it directly penetrated Yue Qingqiu's spiritual defenses and rudely entered the core of her soul.
In mid-air, Yue Qingqiu had just finished a Moon Escape and was about to adjust her breathing to gather her magical power.
Each rattlesnake sound transformed into an invisible sharp needle, piercing deep into her consciousness, causing her excruciating headaches and making it difficult to even stay conscious.
Her delicate body swayed violently, and the already dwindling Moon Spirit Magic Power within her instantly became chaotic, rendering her unable to mobilize even a fraction of it.
My eyelids felt as heavy as lead, my vision gradually blurred, and I was about to lose my balance, barely able to maintain my balance even while floating in the air.
"It's the sound of a serpent's soul!"
Yue Qingqiu's heart sank suddenly, and she instantly recognized the source of the attack.
"It's the life-bound scale of the rattlesnake under the command of the Black Serpent True Lord of Eagle Ridge! When did that bear start carrying this thing?"
Normally, she wouldn't be without a way to deal with such a soul attack. The Moon Spirit's magic power has the characteristic of nourishing the soul, and with the help of a special defensive technique, it would be enough to keep the snake's voice out.
But today, one thing after another has happened. From the self-destruction of the Nascent Soul Ancestor to being chased by Eagle Ridge Mountain, she has already exhausted her strength. Not only is her magic power on the verge of depletion, but her soul has also suffered hidden injuries in the previous battle.
Several moments of despair gave the snake-like voice another opportunity to lurk in the shadows and take advantage of the situation!
"It's over..." A sense of helplessness rose in Yue Qingqiu's heart. "I'm afraid I can't save this body."
A look of despair appeared on her beautiful face. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and her consciousness was shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible for her to mobilize even a trace of magic power.
She knew very well that if it fell into the hands of Eagle Ridge Mountain, the Moon Spirit Essence she had painstakingly accumulated over decades would definitely be absorbed by their Nascent Soul cultivators and become an "opportunity" to help them break through their cultivation levels.
But that's not the worst part.
The Star Moon Sect has lost its Nascent Soul Ancestor, and now even her, the last Golden Core Peak cultivator, is about to perish, leaving the sect's inheritance virtually without successors.
Eagle Ridge Mountain already has a grudge against the Star Moon Sect, and it will definitely not allow the Star Moon Sect to continue to exist. It is only a matter of time before the entire sect's lineage is destroyed.
"Hehehe, Fairy Qingyue, didn't expect that, did you?"
Elder Kumamoto's smug laughter came from below.
"You think I, Old Bear, can only passively defend and stall for time?"
In fact, I, the Black Serpent Ancestor, lent me this skill long ago.
"You don't need to struggle. Once you've been hit by my Black Serpent Lord's Soul-Shaking Sound from the Serpent's Tail, there's no way to undo it without a Nascent Soul cultivator specializing in soul cultivation. Just accept your fate!"
He paused, a lewd smile playing on his lips:
"But you don't need to worry too much. With your exceptional physique, no matter which Nascent Soul ancestor you offer it to, you'll be repeatedly cherished and rewarded handsomely. Hahahaha!"
Now that things have come to this, and it's time to close the net, Elder Kumamoto has finally stopped hiding his true intentions.
Previously, everyone thought that after merging with the bear, his mind would be damaged and he would only rely on brute force. But that was just the limitation of ordinary beast-taming cultivators.
As a peak Core Formation cultivator with the potential to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he already possessed a special treasure to maintain his mental clarity, which is why he dared to use such a treacherous scheme in secret.
Now that his scheme had succeeded, he was in high spirits, and even his laughter became exceptionally hearty.
Sure enough, upon hearing these words, and with the snake tail sound in her soul gradually reaching its maximum, Yue Qingqiu could no longer maintain her senses.
Her body stiffened slightly in mid-air, and then, like a kite with a broken string, she plummeted straight down into the forest below.
"hey-hey……"
The massive, half-human, half-bear figure, as imposing as a small mountain, let out a sinister laugh and charged toward the direction where Yue Qingqiu had fallen.
His enormous bear claws, covered in demonic energy, were slightly open, clearly intending to catch the graceful body falling from the sky and take her away.
But just as the bear's paw was less than ten feet away from Yue Qingqiu's skirt—
A streak of cyan-purple lightning flashed by like lightning, its speed exceeding the peak of the third tier, leaving a faint afterimage in the air.
Chen Yi's figure suddenly appeared behind Yue Qingqiu. Just before the bear's claws fell, he steadily pulled the woman into his arms, paused and turned in mid-air in an instant, and then fled backward.
"Senior sister, how are you?"
Chen Yi's gentle and steady voice reached Yue Qingqiu's ears.
At this moment, Yue Qingqiu was in excruciating pain and her magical power was stagnant, barely able to maintain the last shred of consciousness.
In her blurred vision, a familiar face appeared, enveloped by a blend of lightning and the fresh scent of green wood. The sense of security she felt instantly eased her tense mind.
"Junior brother... I never expected it would be you who came to save me..."
The thought had barely formed in her mind before she could utter it aloud when a sharp pain from the depths of her soul completely overwhelmed her consciousness. Yue Qingqiu's eyelids drooped, and she fainted completely.
For Chen Yi, whether Yue Qingqiu survives or not is not only related to whether he can continue to cultivate peacefully in the Star Moon Sect, but also to the opportunities he may obtain in the future.
Now that it has been confirmed that the Nascent Soul cultivators from Eagle Ridge Mountain will not be coming, and with the threat of high-level combat power gone, it is only natural to lend a helping hand.
Moreover, Eagle Ridge Mountain had targeted him many times before, and this time they had gone to great lengths to kill him. He did not want to see them succeed in kidnapping Fairy Qingyue.
"You brat, how dare you snatch someone from my face! You're asking for death!"
When Elder Kumamoto saw that the beauty he was about to win had been snatched away, he was instantly enraged. The demonic flames around him suddenly surged, and his already enormous body swelled even more.
His gaze toward Chen Yi was filled with murderous intent. He slammed his claws together and shot toward Chen Yi like an arrow, his speed increasing by 30% compared to when he chased Yue Qingqiu.
"Whoosh!"
Holding Yue Qingqiu in his arms, Chen Yi dared not linger for even a moment, activating his lightning escape technique to flee at full speed, his target being the distant mountain forest and pool area where the illusion array still remained.
There was a formation he had set up there, which was also the place where Chen Yi planned to make his move next.
In mid-air, Chen Yi wrapped one arm around Yue Qingqiu's waist and hips. His fingertips inadvertently touched the soft and smooth texture, and he could clearly feel the curves of her waist and hips, but he was not distracted at all.
He quickly scanned Yue Qingqiu's face and saw that her brows were furrowed and her face was pale. He immediately used his divine sense to examine her soul state, and his expression changed slightly.
The power of the serpent's tail, like water dripping on stone, had long since seeped in from the beginning and accumulated into a "vast ocean" that swept over the soul.
If not dealt with in time, even if Yue Qingqiu wakes up in the future, the residual soul sound may cause irreversible damage to her soul, and her probability of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage will be greatly reduced.
That's enough...
Chen Yi sighed inwardly.
He was not a cold-blooded person after all—when he left the sect for the Monster Mountain Range, Yue Qingqiu had lent him the mid-grade magic weapon, the Moon Blade Shuttle, and he had always remembered this favor.
After a moment's thought, Chen Yi no longer hesitated.
He re-divided his nearly fourth-tier gray divine consciousness into five colors of the Five Elements divine consciousness within his sea of consciousness.
Then he took out a wisp of late-stage third-order cyan-green divine consciousness and a wisp of life dew power from his ancestral aperture. After the two merged, he extended his index finger and gently touched Yue Qingqiu's brow.
The emerald green spiritual light seeped into Yue Qingqiu's soul through her fingertips, slowly dissolving the entangled snake tail soul sounds.
Yue Qingqiu felt as if her soul was being repeatedly struck by countless heavy hammers. The intense pain swept through her consciousness like a tidal wave, making it difficult for her to even maintain the integrity of her soul. She even had the thought of "it would be better to die now."
The serpentine voice, like a leech clinging to her bone, reverberated deep within her soul, tearing her consciousness apart and pushing her to the brink of collapse.
Just as she was about to give up—
A cyan-green divine consciousness, imbued with a rich life force, suddenly surged in from between his brows, nourishing his parched sea of consciousness like a gentle spring rain.
This divine sense went straight to the source of her soul, quickly spread out, and condensed into a thin green protective film, temporarily blocking the rampant snake-tailed soul sounds outside.
Immediately afterwards, a crystal-clear droplet of divine soul life water also appeared.
After the water droplets entered the soul, they instantly transformed into a warm mist, spreading out finely like spring rain nourishing the fields, beginning to nourish and repair the soul space damaged by the snake's roar.
Yue Qingqiu felt enveloped in warmth, as if she were a baby returning to its mother's womb. The previous excruciating pain melted away like ice and snow, replaced by an indescribable comfort.
With a "whimper",
Yue Qingqiu opened her starry eyes a crack.
Through the blurred vision, Chen Yi's gentle yet refined profile came into view.
His index finger was gently pressed against her brow, and the warm energy that reassured her came from his fingertip.
Having confirmed that the life-saving spiritual energy came from Chen Yi, Yue Qingqiu didn't have much energy to ponder the wonders of Chen Yi's spiritual abilities; she was simply enveloped by an unprecedented sense of peace.
She hadn't felt this way since she officially broke up with her senior brother and Daoist partner decades ago.
She relaxed her tense mind, closed her eyes again, and even subconsciously adjusted the position of her waist and hips slightly to nestle more comfortably in Chen Yi's arms.
Like an infant seeking shelter, she completely entrusted her fragile body to the other.
At this moment, in the desperate situation where life and death are intertwined, and under the torment of excruciating pain in her soul, the so-called distinction between men and women, the taboo of skin contact, and the usual arrogance of a cold fairy were all thrown to the winds.
She was no longer the Fairy Qingyue of the Star Moon Sect, but just a little girl in extreme pain, yearning for warmth and protection.
"Ugh! I'm so angry! Die!"
When Elder Kumamoto saw the "fairy" he was about to win over being rescued by a hero, his anger instantly clouded his judgment.
In the air, amidst the chasing bear-like escape light...
He suddenly raised his hand, and a burst of scorching fire energy erupted from his palm, hurtling towards Chen Yi's back like a fire dragon, causing the air to crackle and pop.
However, Chen Yi's speed using the Lightning Escape technique was already at the peak of the third tier. He nimbly drew an arc in the air while holding Yue Qingqiu.
As light as a willow catkin in the wind, the fiery aura brushed past the hem of her clothes and slammed heavily into the distant mountain wall, blasting open a scorched crater more than ten feet deep.
After dodging the attack, Chen Yi didn't linger and rushed straight towards the mountain forest that was still shrouded in mist.
Seeing Chen Yi holding the soft, fragrant fairy tightly in his arms, his movements even carrying a hint of inappropriate touching between a man and a woman, Elder Kumamoto was furious. His thick bear paws clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.
"I went to such great lengths and exhausted all my efforts to wear her down, not so that you could be my stepping stone and let me be the hero who saves the beauty and takes away the fairy!"
"You little thief, if I don't destroy you today, I'm not a Xiong!"
He was confident in his incredible defense after merging with the bear, his mastery of the secret arts of the soul, and his ability to consume mana far exceeding that of ordinary Core Formation cultivators. He was not afraid of Chen Yi's illusionary formations at all.
Without further hesitation, the demonic flames around him surged once more, and he pursued them from behind with even greater speed.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Yi vanished into the illusion array, disappearing from both the outside world's sight and divine perception.
Within the misty illusion of the mountains and forests, the ethereal mist, like a light veil, enveloped the surroundings, completely isolating them from the noise of the outside world.
Chen Yi carefully placed Yue Qingqiu on an inconspicuous patch of grass.
A faint cyan-green divine sense lingered around his fingertips, gently landing on Yue Qingqiu's forehead. The power of the five elements of divine sense slowly circulated around her soul, like weaving a fine protective net.
This protective layer precisely isolated the rattlesnake sound that was reverberating in Yue Qingqiu's soul, allowing her originally tense brows to gradually relax and completely severing the intense pain emanating from her soul for a short period of time.
"Senior sister, you should get some sleep first."
Chen Yi's voice was gentle.
He then quietly infused a wisp of calming and sleep-inducing spiritual energy, which seeped into Yue Qingqiu's soul through her brow, gradually calming her tense mind.
In a short while, Yue Qingqiu's breathing became even, and she fell into a deep slumber of her soul, unable to perceive anything outside.
After settling Yue Qingqiu in, Chen Yi ignored Elder Kumamoto, who was getting closer and closer behind him, and instead turned around and walked into the depths of the illusion array.
He closed his eyes slightly, and his spiritual energy suddenly receded, replaced by an indescribable aura.
He was simultaneously activating his Insightful Eye and his ability to perceive the power of heaven and earth!
His expression was extremely serious. This was the first time he had tried to find the mysterious secret in the universe, like peeling silk from a cocoon, and then integrate it into the illusion array he had designed.
Chen Yi's goal was clear: to completely block the subsequent actions from the calculations of the third-level divination master as much as possible.
As for fourth-tier divination masters, there are very few in the entire Central Continent. With Eagle Ridge Mountain's current strength, it is absolutely impossible to invite such a big shot.
With his ability to sense the world running wildly, Chen Yi simultaneously took out a palm-sized fragment from his storage bag—a fragment of the fifth-tier Xuan Tian gourd given to him by Old Hu.
He held the fragment in his palm, activated the power of his internal system, and began to extract the wisp of Xuan Tian Qi contained within the fragment.
Pale golden currents of energy, like wisps of silk, seeped from the fragments and slowly flowed into Chen Yi's meridians, emanating a mysterious aura that could not be locked onto.
Gradually, with the enhancement of his Insightful Eye, the entire structure of the world became clearer in Chen Yi's eyes.
Especially in the mountain forest and pool area where he was located, countless subtle causal energies intertwined like silk threads, outlining the connection between this place and the outside world.
Chen Yi took a deep breath and channeled two-thirds of the Xuan Tian Qi accumulated in his body, condensing it at the tip of his index finger.
In an instant, an indescribable heaviness came from his fingertips. It was the pressure brought by the law of cause and effect, like a mountain pressing down on his hand, making his right hand almost unable to move.
Chen Yi dared not delay and immediately activated his fourth-order gray divine sense, all the golden core power in his body, and even the two thunder crystal marrows in his body.
With all the strength in his body supporting him, Chen Yi's index finger finally twitched slightly.
The next moment, the Xuan Tian Qi at his fingertips seemed to come alive, precisely hooking onto the wisp of causal energy representing this place between heaven and earth.
Like plucking a string on a musical instrument, the wisp of causal energy broke free from the original intertwined net, transforming into a pale golden stream of light that disappeared into the depths of the illusion array.
The result of this operation is that
Everything that happens in this illusion array in the short time to come will disappear into the causal energy of this world.
After doing all this, Chen Yi felt as if all his strength had been instantly drained, and a strong sense of emptiness swept over him.
He staggered back two steps, barely managing to steady himself by leaning against an ancient tree.
This feeling was like being instantly reduced from a Golden Core cultivator back to a mortal, and then experiencing three days of diarrhea that caused exhaustion, leaving one with almost no strength left to even lift their hand.
Fortunately, the life-restoring power within his golden core circulated in time, and the pale green life energy nourished his withered meridians like spring rain, gradually restoring some color to Chen Yi's pale face.
He gasped for breath, gazing at the dissipating causal energy deep within the illusion array, and couldn't help but sigh, "To recklessly tamper with the secrets of heaven comes at such a high price!"
Looking at his slightly trembling fingertips, Chen Yi sighed inwardly: It would probably be difficult to recover to his peak condition in less than a year or two.
This cost is not a loss at the level of cultivation, but rather a deeper depletion of one's foundation, potential, and even lifespan.
It's like a big tree whose root system has been weakened. It won't wither, but it will take a long time to re-establish its roots and become stable.
Fortunately, one of his three golden core patterns specifically represents life force, making him naturally adept at self-repair.
If an ordinary Core Formation cultivator were to encounter such a backlash from heaven, it would probably take decades to recover, and might even ruin their chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
Chen Yi let out a soft breath.
This time, in order to help the Star Moon Sect out of its predicament and to avoid being locked into the subsequent divination and calculations, and being drawn into a deeper vortex of cause and effect, he paid a considerable price.
From the perspective of facts and cause and effect, after this incident, he not only no longer owed any favors to the Star Moon Sect, but the Star Moon Sect also took advantage of him quite a bit.
He stopped dwelling on past gains and losses and instead focused his attention on the current situation.
Just then, a scorching heat carrying the aura of earth evil emanated from the entrance of the illusion array.
The enormous human-faced, bear-bodied figure charged fiercely into the mountain forest illusion array, its body ablaze with peak-level third-tier earth fire evil energy.
The scorching temperature was like the passing of a blazing sun; wherever it passed, the misty fog within a radius of several miles was completely burned into water vapor, and even the grass on the ground withered and charred in an instant.
As the fog dissipated, Chen Yi's slightly weary figure gradually came into view, and on the grass behind him...
Yue Qingqiu was sleeping peacefully, her beautiful face appearing exceptionally serene in the dim light of the forest.
"Heh heh, kid, you don't really think I'm as stupid as Red Eagle, afraid of your mere third-tier illusion array, do you?"
Elder Kumamoto narrowed his eyes, a disdainful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
However, he did not rush forward. Instead, he secretly released all his divine sense, scanning the surroundings like a fine spider web.
Chen Yi stood quietly several miles away, neither running away nor taking precautions. This unusual behavior made Chen Yi more wary, as he couldn't figure out the other party's intentions.
Chen Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering even without wind, his voice as calm as a still pool, yet piercingly cold:
"Kumamoto, I am but a humble chef, and all I seek is to cultivate peacefully in the Star Moon Sect."
As he looked up, a glint of lightning seemed to flicker deep within his pupils:
"How dare you, Eagle Ridge Mountain, disturb my peaceful cultivation time and time again! Today you even intend to kill me!"
Before the words were even finished, the spiritual energy within a hundred-foot radius suddenly froze, and all the vegetation bowed low.
"Why are you forcing me!"
(End of this chapter)