Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

In the hidden valley cave, the Black-faced Asura seated on a stone throne suddenly shivered with cold.

A sense of inexplicable crisis surged in his heart!

The bandit leader uncertainly put down the wine cup in his hand and reached out to grab a bronze mirror.

"Big brother, what's wrong?"

The burly man sitting beside him asked in confusion, "Is something wrong?"

The Black-faced Asura forced a smile, "It's nothing, I'm just checking on the situation outside."

The name Black-faced Asura was not his real name but a nickname given by others, which he then adopted as his own brand.

Actually, this was common practice among cultivators who turned to be outlaws, generally using false names or nicknames.

Black-faced Asura earned his name due to his dark complexion and his ruthless and bloodthirsty nature. With such a reputation, he recruited a group of down-and-out Loose Cultivators to roam the woods and engage in the business of plundering merchants.

He was doing quite well for himself.

But Black-faced Asura was well aware that this kind of business couldn't last forever—if a strong disciple from a sect suddenly showed up, they could potentially wipe them all out with a flick of their finger.

To save his own life, Black-faced Asura had spent most of the wealth plundered on fortifying his stronghold.

What he had just taken out was precisely the duck part of the Mandarin Duck Mirror.

The matching drake part was situated outside the cave, allowing him to monitor the outside situation even when the doors of the Cave Mansion were sealed, preventing any surprise attacks.

When he infused mana into the precious drake mirror, it immediately displayed the images reflected by the duck mirror.

Then, Black-faced Asura was shocked to see, in the image, a hand rapidly enlarging from afar and suddenly, the screen went "black"!

"Damn it!"

The bandit chieftain immediately felt that something was terribly wrong. He leaped up and shouted fiercely, "We're under attack!"

It wasn't just the Mandarin Duck Mirror that had problems—the Array set up at the cave's entrance had also been triggered!

Boom!

As soon as Black-faced Asura's voice fell, the surrounding bandits hadn't yet reacted when a thunderous explosion was heard at the entrance, and countless pieces of stone scattered and shot out.

The three-feet-thick stone door that was sealed and bolstered with spells was forcefully shattered from the outside!

A tall and burly figure dashed into the cave and, in a single breath, charged into the midst of the bandits.

The Black-faced Asura roared, "Kill him!"

At the same time, the bandit leader retreated swiftly, grabbing two Talismans from his hands and slapping them onto his body.

The Black-faced Asura was very clear—the enemy who had broken in was extraordinary, and his people stood no chance against them.

As the saying goes, "better the fellow disciple die than me." He didn't become the boss to block calamities for his underlings.

On the contrary, as long as his underlings could buy him the time of three breaths, he was confident he could escape with his life.

Though losing the long-established stronghold was a pity, it was certainly better than losing his life!

Black-faced Asura was very clear-headed, his calculations and reactions were nearly impeccable.

However, just as he activated the Talismans to enhance his own body, he heard a shout in his ear.

"Bind!"

Black-faced Asura couldn't help but tremble, his whole body as if plunged into solidifying mud, finding himself unable to move at all.

Binding Skill!

At this moment, Black-faced Asura truly felt utter despair.

He was a Qi Cultivation eighth layer Cultivator, and under normal circumstances, even those nearing Qi Cultivation Perfection wouldn't be able to restrict his movements with this Spell.

The assailant was a true Purple Mansion Cultivator!

Then, the immobile Black-faced Asura watched helplessly as the intruder swung a Fine Copper Whistle Stick, wreaking havoc among his men.

With one swing of the stick, five or six bandits burst open, splattering blood and scattering limbs and body parts!

These bandits were all Qi Cultivators, with the weaker ones at the second or third level and the stronger ones at the fourth or fifth level. But against the opponent's copper stick, there was no difference; they couldn't withstand a single strike.

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Boom! Boom! Boom!

Blood mist erupted, and in an instant, over a dozen bandits were slain.

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"Ah!"

The remaining bandits let out cries of sheer terror, having completely lost their will to fight as they desperately fled in all directions, wishing they had more legs to carry them faster.

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Clang!

The next moment, the brilliant sword light instantly illuminated the entire cave.

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Streaks of light followed by shadows danced about as heads were sent soaring into the sky, deepening the pervading hue of blood!

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The fleeing bandits were all beheaded, with only a few quick-witted or more appropriately, cowardly, ones surviving by lying prostrate on the ground, trembling violently.

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After the flying sword eradicated the last of the desperate bandits, it turned and hovered over the head of the Black-faced Asura.

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The bandit leader's body relaxed as the binding force dissipated, causing him to involuntarily kneel.

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"Upper Cultivator, spare my life, please!"

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Resisting was futile, the quicker one resisted, the more tragically they died. Under the sway of absolute power, any scheming or trickery was but a joke, and he didn't have the capital to wager on.

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The Black-faced Asura could only hope to prove useful to his captor, clinging to every second of life afforded to him.

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Wang Chen smiled, reaching out to recall his flying sword.

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He sat down on a stone seat nearby and addressed the kneeling Black-faced Asura, "I'll ask, you answer, understand?"

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This band of bandits' hideout was quite interesting, hollowing out the belly of the mountain to construct a large-scale cave mansion, well-organized inside and evidently imbued with a more abundant spiritual energy than the outside world.

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If Wang Chen were still a Loose Cultivator, occupying this place for secluded cultivation would be quite nice.

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Of course, he certainly wouldn't care for it now.

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"Understood, understood!"

The Black-faced Asura kept nodding his head desperately, his dark face was filled with terror.

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His face was a clear identifier, allowing Wang Chen to easily pinpoint the leader of the bandits.

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Wang Chen waved his hand, setting up a mana seal around the two of them.

```n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

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He bluntly asked, "I'm looking for Mysterious Intent Taoist, do you have any way to find him?"

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The Black-faced Asura was momentarily dumbfounded, "Mysterious Intent Taoist?"

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Of course, he knew who Mysterious Intent Taoist was, but he never expected that Wang Chen would kick down his lair and kill so many of his men, all in search of Mysterious Intent Taoist!

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The Black-faced Asura answered with a quivering voice, "I, I don't know where Mysterious Intent Taoist is."

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"Mhm."

Wang Chen nodded, "So, you're saying you're no use to me then?"

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Your adventure continues at empire

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He lifted his right hand, his index and middle fingers joined to form a sword gesture, the tips emanating a golden light.

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The Black-faced Asura felt a sharp pain in his forehead as if a blade were about to pierce his brain, and in great terror exclaimed, "Upper Cultivator spare me, I know someone who can contact Mysterious Intent Taoist!"

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Instinct told the bandit leader that Wang Chen was serious about killing him, not just trying to intimidate him.

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Wang Chen withdrew his hand, "Speak."

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The Black-faced Asura hung his head, "The Carefree Wanderer, he has a good relationship with Mysterious Intent Taoist. I know where he resides in seclusion. I'll take you there right now."

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Wang Chen chuckled.

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He made a chopping motion with his palm through the air towards the bandit leader.

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"Agh!"

With a scream, a blood-drenched arm fell to the ground.

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"Lying."

Wang Chen said indifferently, "I'll give you one last chance."

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"Next time, it won't be your arm that's lost!"

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