Xiao Yi hadn't been gone for long.
In the dense woods, dozens of figures swiftly moved through, and shortly after, they settled at the site where Zhao Shi and his men met their end.
"Young Master, Zhao Shi and his team have been completely annihilated..."
Observing the bodies strewn across the ground, the newcomer made a thorough inspection of the corpses and said in a grave voice, "Judging by their wounds, it looks very much like the work of the Blazing Wind Pursuit Sword..."
"Zhang Xiong, are you certain it was the Blazing Wind Pursuit Sword?" Lei Bao narrowed his eyes and asked.
The man before them, dressed in black with a fierce scar on his face, was Zhang Xiong, the leader of the Zhang Family Hunting Team, at the peak of the Eighth Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm.
And having battled demonic beasts in the Southern Desolate Mountain Range for years, his combat prowess was comparable to that of an ordinary Ninth Layer of the Gathering Qi Realm fighter.
Fang Ao's eyes blazed with a fierce light, "Zhang Ze's Blazing Wind Pursuit Sword is in the hands of Xiao Yi; it seems that these men were all killed by him."
Zhang Xiong nodded, focusing on the corpse of Zhao Shi, "Zhao Shi and Zhao Jin, the five of them combined were quite strong. Even I would have to expend some effort to deal with them. If Xiao Yi were able to kill them, and given the battle traces here, he was in absolute dominance over the five men, crushing them all the way through. Based on my estimate, his cultivation must be at least no weaker than the Sixth Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm!"
"What? The Sixth Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm?" Fang Ao was utterly bewildered.
Lei Bao's face was also filled with shock, "The first time I saw him, he was only at the Tenth Layer of the Physical Body Realm. How much time has passed? And now he's already comparable to the Sixth Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm?"
Everyone couldn't help but gasp.
Since Xiao Yi had arrived in Nanhuang City, only a month had passed, yet he had grown from being completely devoid of cultivation to a powerhouse on par with the Sixth Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm.
Such a rate of cultivation was indeed terrifying.
Lei Bao's face was gloomy, "We absolutely cannot let this child remain; if we allow him to continue growing, I'm afraid we will all have to look up to him in the future!"
"We must find him immediately..." Fang Ao said.
Zhang Xiong uttered a grunt of agreement, his eyes cold and filled with ferocity and madness, "Rest assured, I've brought the best of the hunting team. They'll soon find Xiao Yi's whereabouts. However, this forest makes it easy to hide one's presence; we must not fail. Shadow, come out..."
A dark figure emerged from the crowd, "Captain, rest assured, I know what to do!"
Atop a towering great tree with dense foliage.
Xiao Yi sat cross-legged, with his palms facing upwards, his eyes tightly shut, the aura around his body undulating and fluctuating.
Streams of heaven and earth essence were absorbed into his body, and, with the rotation of his mysterious skill, amplified his own cultivation.
Over these past two days...
He had been refining the twenty Qi Gathering Elixirs he had plundered from Zhao Shi, and now, his cultivation had risen two levels, reaching the Third Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm.
He exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Xiao Yi channeled the gathered essential aura into the God Sealing Seed within him, activating the God Sealing Seed continuously.
The twenty Qi Gathering Elixirs and the essential aura of the Third Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm activated a total of forty God Sealing Seeds, bringing the total number of activated God Sealing Seeds he possessed up to eighty. With the feedback of power from the God Sealing Seeds, Xiao Yi was surrounded by a luminescent glow.
With his current strength, paired with the Sword Intent seedling and the Blazing Wind Pursuit Sword, he was capable of defeating a fighter at the Eighth Layer Peak.
Xiao Yi entered the Eternal Tomb immediately, but even after awakening eighty God Sealing Seeds, he was still unable to find a new target to seal.
"It seems my strength is still not strong enough," Xiao Yi helplessly left the Eternal Tomb, "With my current strength, I can barely handle the Ninth Layer of the Gathering Qi Realm, but that Purple-Patterned Blood Python is comparable to the Peak of the Gathering Qi Realm. I should head to the tomb of the Shentong Realm expert that Zhao Shi mentioned!"
Following the map, Xiao Yi continued on his way.
Since entering the Southern Desolate Mountain Range, three days and nights had passed.
His cultivation had progressed from the Qi Gathering Realm First Layer to the Third Layer, and this was indeed key to the twenty Qi Gathering Elixirs contributed by Zhao Shi; otherwise, such rapid advancement would have been impossible.
As he moved on, just as he was about to arrive at the ancient tomb indicated on the map, suddenly, a cry for help echoed from the bushes ahead, "Help, save me..."
Xiao Yi was momentarily stunned.
A disheveled and beautiful woman, looking desperate, was fleeing. Three fierce-looking young men were relentlessly chasing after her. The woman's eyes lit up when she saw Xiao Yi, and she quickened her pace.
She ran up to Xiao Yi and hid behind him, looking pitiful, "Young Master, save me..."
The three young men followed closely, growling viciously, "Kid, don't meddle in other people's business!"
"If you know what's good for you, get lost, or else we'll deal with you too!"
Xiao Yi frowned and looked at the three young men, "Scram!"
"You've got a death wish, kid!" one of them bellowed.
"Brothers, kill him!"
As the three of them exuded killing intent, Xiao Yi snorted coldly and quickly stepped forward, "Eight Extremes Collapse!"
"Eight Extremes Lean!"
"Eight Extremes Swing!"
With a punch, a shove, and a swing, all three men were down on the ground, unable to move. The "Eight Extremes Fist" was a martial art known throughout the Blue Star Realm for its lethal potency.
"Thank you, kind sir, for saving my life. I have nothing to return the favor, but here is a treasure for you," the woman said gratefully, standing in front of Xiao Yi. She bowed deeply, but as she rose, the gratitude and smile on her face were gone, replaced by a sly, chilling smirk, "Die!"
A white powder flew from her hands.
As the white powder landed on Xiao Yi, his body trembled, rendered immobile. The woman laughed heartily, "Xiao Yi, bet you didn't see this coming, did you? With my Muscle-locking Powder, you'll be paralyzed for the next half hour, completely at my mercy!"
"Who are you? Why are you trying to harm me?" Xiao Yi's brows knitted tightly.
The woman sneered, "I'm a shadow from the Zhang Family Hunting Team, sent by the young gang leader to kill you!"
"Hahaha, Xiao Yi, even you have met your doom?"
Amidst the deranged laughter, the figures of Zhang Xiong, Fang Ao, and Lei Bao appeared one after another. Both the Zhang Family Hunting Team and the Black Tiger Gang's members, over thirty people in total, emerged and encircled him completely.
"So it was you…" Xiao Yi narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Fang Ao and the others.
"Didn't expect that, huh? Thought you could rely on Elder Yan? If you're so capable, call him now, hahaha..." Full of pride, Fang Ao was eager to step forward but still glanced at Zhang Xiong, "He can't move, right?"
Zhang Xiong nodded, "He's hit with Muscle-locking Powder. He won't be able to move for half an hour!"
"Hehe, half an hour, eh? That's more than enough!"
Fang Ao approached Xiao Yi with a vicious smile, "Xiao Yi, didn't you look down on me? Weren't you too disdainful to kill me, saying you'd wait for my brother to come back so I could watch how you'd kill him? Now tell me, who is killing whom?"
He pulled out a dagger and waved it in front of Xiao Yi, "So, should I stab this knife into your heart or should I slice open your throat and watch your blood slowly drain? Oh right, weren't you saying I shouldn't touch Fang Qingzhu? How about I castrate you, take your head, and then ravish Fang Qingzhu right in front of you? How does that sound?"
"Dare to touch a single hair on Qingzhu's head, and I will decimate your entire clan!" Xiao Yi glared, his eyes narrowing.
"Aiyo, you're about to die and you still threaten me? Go reunite with Fang Qingzhu in hell!"
With a vicious laugh, Fang Ao swung his dagger toward Xiao Yi's vitals...