The body, cleaved in half, collided with the ground; blood gushed forth, staining the fragrant grass below scarlet.
Chen Nan picked up the Golden Core and tossed it to the Poison Wolf.
"Quick, pluck the Essence Fruit!"
Both of them leapt up, charging toward the Tree of Life and reached out to pluck the Essence Fruit.
However, at that moment—
A colossal Sword Light cut across the sky and chopped down, severing their path.
Another master had arrived!
Chen Nan and Poison Wolf both changed expression, hastily halting their movement to dodge the Sword Light and stood on the branches below.
"I am not too late, old man. You little children, this Essence Fruit isn’t for you. Hurry on home!"
Deep voice transmitted, an elder with graying hair standing on the branches, using his Qinggong to leap towards them, his body emanating an extremely terrifying energy fluctuation, his presence overpowering the world.
Chen Nan furrowed his brows.
The elder’s aura was so strong; he had definitely surpassed the Qi Dao Ten Layers Heaven and stepped into the Control Realm.
Chen Nan transferred the Hunyuan Sword to his left hand and took out a Flying Knife with his right.
He stared at the elder across from him, "Old man, as a master of the Taoist Realm, to actually meddle in the affairs of us juniors, how shameless of you! This Essence Fruit has already been claimed by me. If you know what’s good for you, you’d better retreat quickly, lest you lose your life in vain."
"You little child, what a big tone! Today, I will commence a slaughter. First, I will chop off your head, then I will pluck the Essence Fruit."
This elder had already stepped into the ranks of the Taoist masters. His True Qi had completely materialized, condensing into unbreakable Gang Qi. With a shake of his hand, he gripped the great sword tightly, the dazzling Sword Light exceptionally bright, as if it could smash anything that stood in its way.
On the other side, Hua Yunfei and the Cultivator had already stopped fighting, each backed away some distance, watching this side intently.
Now that a master of the Taoist Realm had intervened, they no longer had a chance; even if they continued to fight, it would be of no use.
What puzzled them was whether Chen Nan, at the Qi Dao Ninth Heaven, having slain a Ten Layers of Heaven Cultivator, believed himself to be invincible. How dare he challenge a master of the Taoist realm? This was no different from seeking death!
"Little child, this is the death you’ve chosen for yourself, don’t blame this old man!"
The elder’s face revealed a hint of a ferocious smile, raising the large sword in his hand, and while still a long distance away, cleaved it down towards Chen Nan.
The Sword Light was voracious, the great sword shrouded with intense Killing Aura.
Chen Nan knew in his heart that the power of a Taoist Realm master was not something he could contend with. He quickly cut his finger and smeared his blood on the Flying Knife, then mustered all his strength to shoot out the knife.
An explosive force burst forth from the Flying Knife, instantly shattering the elder’s Sword Light and then severing his great sword, shooting towards his chest at high speed.
Blood dyed the sky red; a fist-sized hole was punctured through the elder’s chest by the Flying Knife. The violent Inner Strength also tore apart his heart and shattered his veins and arteries throughout his body.
The body, spraying blood, crashed to the ground—a Taoist Realm master perished so unjustly.
The elder’s eyes remained wide open, death without closing them.
To his dying breath, he couldn’t understand how he fell at the hands of a mere Qi Dao Ninth Heaven youth.
A small Qi Dao Ninth Heaven, how could the Flying Knife he shot out possess such formidable power!
On the other side, Hua Yunfei and the Cultivator were also dumbfounded.
Qi Dao Ninth Heaven had actually killed a Taoist Realm master in a second!
"Who else dares to come forward!?"
Chen Nan’s killing aura surged violently as he cast a particularly cold glance at Hua Yunfei.
Hua Yunfei and the other cultivator both took two steps back.
What a joke it would be for them to try stealing the Essence Fruits; even a master of Yu Dao had perished under Chen Nan’s blade. With their strength, wasn’t it like an egg hitting a rock? No, more like an egg smashing against the planet!
Seeing that he had intimidated his opponents, Chen Nan eyed the three Essence Fruits and, along with the Poison Wolf, began to pick them.
Poison Wolf picked one, and Chen Nan picked two.
"We’ve killed two cultivators today. If their sect finds out, they will certainly seek revenge," said Chen Nan, glancing at Hua Yunfei. "If we want to keep this a secret, not one of these two can be left alive."
Poison Wolf nodded. "Let’s take one each and make it even!"
With the Essence Fruits in hand, Chen Nan had nothing more to worry about. He raised his Hunyuan Sword and charged at the cultivator, while Poison Wolf went after Hua Yunfei.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Hua Yunfei and the cultivator quickly turned tail and ran.
Previously, the cultivator could fly with his sword using the Hunyuan Sword. Now, without the Hunyuan Sword, he couldn’t fly on his own strength at all and had to run as hard as Hua Yunfei, taking large strides.
However, cultivators are only good at Qi Cultivation and Beast Control – their physical stamina is far inferior to that of martial artists.
Though he was channeling his True Qi desperately as he ran, he was quickly left behind by Hua Yunfei in the blink of an eye.
"I’ll go after him; you finish off this Cultivation Pig."
With a shout, Poison Wolf used his Qinggong to chase after Hua Yunfei.
Chen Nan held the Hunyuan Sword upside down and took the Slaughter God Seven Steps, quickly cutting off the cultivator’s path. He gathered his strength and brought the sword down in a slashing blow.
The cultivator had no desire to fight; he just wanted to escape as fast as possible.
He spat out a mouthful, and a horde of magic treasures flew out toward Chen Nan to suppress his onslaught.
But now that Chen Nan was wielding the Cultivation Treasure, the Hunyuan Sword, coupled with the power of his Crack Sky Hand, his formidable Sword Qi could sweep away any foe below the Control Realm. A single slash shattered three magic treasures.
The cultivator coughed up blood profusely and was forced to retreat repeatedly.
"If you dare kill me, you will regret it!"
"If I don’t kill you, I will truly regret it."
Chen Nan sneered, bringing down the Hunyuan Sword as if chopping vegetables.
Against the Killing Sword, those Cultivation Treasures were nothing but junk, to be chopped up as he pleased.
After cutting down the last Flying Sword, Chen Nan’s killing intent soared as he thrust his sword directly at the cultivator’s forehead.
Without his treasures, the cultivator had nowhere to hide. His entire body surged with True Qi as he tried to block with his crossed arms, but how could they possibly withstand Chen Nan’s murderous attack?
A crisp sound rang out, and both arms were severed, flying off.
His Killing Sword’s might undiminished, Chen Nan continued his downward slash.
Blood sprayed as the cultivator’s body was cleaved into two, dead beyond all doubt.
Chen Nan bent down to pick up the Golden Core and, without looking back, bolted toward the valley entrance, chasing in the direction where Poison Wolf and Hua Yunfei had fled, leaving behind only a ground littered with corpses.
Dozens came to snatch the Essence Fruits, but besides the few who escaped, the rest all perished.
Limbs and body parts were scattered everywhere; blood flowed like a river.