Martial Cultivator

Chapter 539: My Life Isn't as Flimsy as Paper

Sheathing his saber, Chen Chao made his way deeper into the desolate northern plains. Without a qi refiner like Liang Jinjin to clean up after him, it was only a matter of time before he was tracked down by the so-called great demons. Despite this, Chen Chao was reluctant to head towards Coldgate Pass, feeling an uneasy sense of foreboding.

After traveling several dozen miles in a single day, Chen Chao finally began to falter.

The battle with Autumn had almost drained him of all his qi, and the injuries he sustained were exceptionally severe; worse than any he had suffered before.

Despite this, he had no choice but to keep moving, not daring to stop. Autumn said that there would be great demons coming after him, Chen Chao fully believed it.

Yet, after another half day, Chen Chao leaned against the root of a rare large tree in exhaustion and sighed. If he kept running like this without any chance to recuperate, even if he was found later, it would still be a near certain-death situation, and there would be little difference.

Realizing this, Chen Chao decided to rest for half a day, recuperating and healing a bit before continuing.

His supply of medicinal pills was actually running low. After two great battles back-to-back, with Yuan Ling and Autumn being among the most formidable of their generation, it was nearly impossible to escape unscathed from a life-and-death battle with these two. The severe injuries had depleted a significant amount of his medicinal pills.

Fortunately, before setting off, Xie Nandu had given him some, and he had also taken some from the palace, so he still had a few left, though not many.

Chen Chao trembled as he poured a medicinal pill into his palm, held it in his mouth, and let it slowly dissolve. He felt the medicinal power gradually spreading through his body, bringing a sense of relief that nearly made him fall asleep.

The continuous battles had left him exhausted, and now he was barely holding on by sheer willpower. Otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago.

With his eyes slightly closed, he enjoyed this hard-earned moment of peace. However, after just an hour, Chen Chao got up. This time, he did not follow his planned route but chose a new direction, though he still headed deeper into the desolate north.

After walking for a long time, as night fell, Chen Chao saw a dense forest. Though it was still covered in snow without any greenery, seeing such a rare sight in the desolate northern plains was a stroke of luck. After all, most of the desolate north consisted of endless plains with little else.

Chen Chao hollowed out a century-old giant tree, crawled inside, and slept there with Cloud Mud.

In the morning, when Chen Chao washed his face in a nearby stream and looked up, the water suddenly erupted. Countless splashes hit his chest. Chen Chao was caught off guard and did not have time to draw his saber. He was knocked flying, crashing heavily into a towering tree, his fate uncertain.

The attacker would not stop there. In the dense forest not far from Chen Chao, countless trees uprooted from the ground and all rushed towards the giant tree where Chen Chao was.

The assault was relentless and unending; like a barrage of flying swords.

Chen Chao struggled to brace himself against the tree trunk and suddenly drew his saber. A wave of saber qi sliced through many of the approaching trees. However, the next wave of trees smashed into the tree Chen Chao was in. As the wind and snow settled, Chen Chao had already disappeared without a trace.

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On the trunk of a distant towering tree, a figure stood quietly. When he noticed Chen Chao's disappearance, this powerful figure, whose cultivation realm was unknown, scanned the surroundings in surprise but found no traces of Chen Chao.

In the next second, alarm bells went off.

That person suddenly looked down and saw a beam of saber light coming up from below.

Even he had not expected that the young martial artist, despite his severe injuries, would dare to launch a counterattack.

He stepped down, and overwhelming demonic qi surged instantly. However, it was controlled within the boundaries of the Great Beyond Realm and had not reached Nepenthe.

But even so, it was incomparably vast, and more than sufficient to deal with a seriously injured Chen Chao.

Chen Chao felt the overwhelming demonic qi and advanced forward instead of retreating. He used a fist infused with qi to smash towards that unknown demon cultivator!

The boundless qi erupted instantly. That person gave a cold laugh, “Indeed, a reckless fool. Even in such a state, you still want to act the hero?”

Chen Chao remained silent, but the two different qi collided instantly. The towering tree snapped and fell toward the ground, while that person stomped down heavily, pressing Chen Chao's body heavily into the snow as if he possessed thunderous might.

Chen Chao was immediately smashed into the snow.

However, the next moment, that person was surprised to find that the young martial artist he had crushed into the snow with one foot had disappeared again.

He frowned slightly, dispersing his demonic qi and searching around.

When he finally spotted Chen Chao, he found the young martial artist already several hundred feet away.

Chen Chao glanced back from afar, spat out a mouthful of blood, and without any hesitation, turned and fled.

The demon cultivator's eyes showed a hint of anger but remained indifferent as he swept forward.

If he could not take the head of an already heavily injured young Great Beyond martial artist, he would indeed be a laughingstock.

However, several days after having this thought, the demon cultivator who had been restraining his cultivation realm gradually grew irritated.

The young martial artist seemed to possess some unknown means. Despite his efforts over the past few days to approach Chen Chao, every time he struck, he aimed to kill Chen Chao with a single blow. But in the end, the young martial artist always managed to escape unscathed.

The young man was like an incomparably slippery loach, always managing to escape at the most critical moments.

That demon cultivator's patience wore thin. After another failed attempt to kill Chen Chao, he stood still, looking at the bloodstains in the snow, and sneered, “No matter how well you run, there won't be many chances left. Burning your essence blood for this brief respite is just fishing with poisoned bait. Delaying time will ultimately lead to the same result.”

……

……

Chen Chao's condition worsened. He had long been certain that the demon cultivator hunting him had reached the Nepenthe Realm and was a genuine great demon.

“Really thinking highly of Your Father, how blatantly shameless!”

Chen Chao’s face was pale as he avoided that person's probe. Watching that person's figure disappear from view, he cussed under his breath. However, he quickly shut his mouth. Over the past few days, he had gradually figured out the pattern. It would not be long before the great demon would find him again.

At that time, he would once again face an unavoidable life-and-death crisis.

As expected, after a few moments, that demon cultivator returned.

With a single palm strike aimed at the top of Chen Chao's head, countless gusts of wind and snow were driven back in shock.

Chen Chao rose with his saber, slashing toward the great demon's body.

The great demon let out a cold laugh, and in an instant, rolling demonic qi enveloped Chen Chao's figure. This time, the demon had no intention of killing Chen Chao immediately, he intended to keep Chen Chao here completely. However, he quickly realized that Chen Chao's saber had already torn through his robes. The white mist covering the blade was peculiar, which actually made it unexpectedly troublesome for him to handle.

Withdrawing his demonic qi, the great demon struck again, aiming to seize Chen Chao's Cloud Mud Cloud Mud. But in that fleeting moment, that young martial artist suddenly leaped dozens of feet right under the great demon's nose, glanced back from afar, and jumped down from a snow mound.

Seeing this, the great demon's expression darkened so much it seemed water could drip from it.

With his status, how could he allow himself to be continuously mocked by a human martial artist who had yet to step into the Nepenthe Realm?

Taking a deep breath, the great demon's aura surged violently. In just an instant, it surpassed the threshold of the Great Beyond Realm and entered the Nepenthe Realm.

No longer suppressing his cultivation, the great demon finally revealed his true cultivation realm at this moment.

In the human race, such a realm would generally be referred to as that of a great cultivator. But among the demon race, it was known as a great demon.

This was a true great demon.

Though not necessarily a very powerful existence among great demons, the chasm between the Great Beyond and Nepenthe realms was like a vast gulf separating the two stages.

No matter how strong Chen Chao was, he was only in the Great Beyond realm. Even if he were not injured and still at his peak, it would have been unlikely for him to be a match for a great demon.

Let alone now, when he was already gravely injured.

As soon as the great demon stopped suppressing his realm, a powerful pressure immediately appeared between heaven and earth, locking onto Chen Chao's position in an instant.

Chen Chao cursed under his breath, but he did not resign himself to fate. He slashed behind him with his saber and continued rushing forward.

However, the great demon advanced slowly, and Chen Chao was already struggling to move.

The distance between them was continuously shrinking. In just a moment, they were less than several dozen feet apart.

Chen Chao stopped, turned around, and looked at the great demon's figure. Smiling coldly, he said, “Do you really think I'm afraid of you?”

The great demon paused, completely unprepared for this young martial artist to still speak so boldly with death at his doorstep. But after a moment's thought, he realized that these young human geniuses might have been bestowed some life-saving methods before coming to the desolate north.

The great demon paused, completely unprepared for this young martial artist to still speak so boldly with death at his doorstep. But after a moment's thought, he realized that these young human geniuses might have been given life-saving measures before coming to the desolate north.

Originally, he had only planned to use seventy to eighty percent of his strength. This time, however, he re-circulated his demonic qi and focused all his energy.

As the saying goes, even a lion uses all its strength when hunting a rabbit - this was the moment for that.

Demonic qi filled the sky, enveloping Chen Chao as the great demon unleashed everything he had mastered in his lifetime.

An incomparably terrifying aura surged from his palm, like a monstrous beast ready to swallow Chen Chao in the next moment.

Yet, watching this unfold, not only did Chen Chao not feel fear, he smiled instead.

The great demon frowned, sensing that something was not right.

Chen Chao was not afraid that this great demon would not attack, what he feared was this demon not going all out.

The demonic qi surged violently, scattering the wind and snow. Countless giant trees began to sway in the chaos.

A sudden, inexplicable gust of wind arose between heaven and earth.

Chen Chao stood at the forefront.

But at this moment, a piece of paper gleaming with brilliant golden light had somehow floated out before him.

It was a piece of paper.