It was eleven o'clock in the evening.
Chen Nan received a call from Li Mu: "You've caused a huge mess. I just got word that Fan Ce has left the Huashan Sword Sect with the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, heading to the ancient capital to kill you!"
"Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends?" Chen Nan frowned. "That sounds quite powerful!"
Li Mu cursed, "That's stating the obvious. The Huashan Sword Sect has two major sword formations: the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, composed of seventy-two peak experts at the first level of Foundation Establishment, and the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, composed of thirty-six experts at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment."
"As far as I know, the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends are strong enough to kill experts at the sixth or even seventh level of Foundation Establishment."
"Indeed, quite strong!"
Chen Nan hadn't expected that a sword formation composed of seventy-two Foundation Establishment cultivators at the first level would possess such terrifying power, capable of killing those in the middle to late stages of Foundation Establishment.
It seemed he had underestimated the Huashan Sword Sect's strength.
Li Mu said, "Chen Nan, sometimes I really don't understand your methods. The Huashan Sword Sect has an irreconcilable hatred for you, yet why did you openly declare you'd visit in three days?"
Chen Nan chuckled, "That way I can probe their strength! See? I've already drawn out the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends!"
"Alright, tell me their route, and I'll cripple this trump card of the Huashan Sword Sect first!"
Even though the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends were powerful, he felt no fear.
Destroying this trump card would be his first warning to the Huashan Sword Sect.
"Fine!"
Li Mu finally relented and told Chen Nan the essential route the Huashan Sword Sect would take to the ancient capital.
"Sisters, you rest here first. I'm going out," Chen Nan said to the Yue sisters before heading straight for the Valley of the Dead.
That was the necessary path for the Huashan Sword Sect to reach the ancient capital.
He intended to intercept them there!
***
The night was dark.
One couldn't see their hand in front of their face!
As winter had arrived, the howling north wind shrieked like ghosts wailing.
An ordinary person would be terrified here, but having stayed in the Kunlun Mountains for so long, Chen Nan found this scene utterly insignificant.
He hid in the darkness, quietly awaiting the appearance of the Huashan Sword Sect disciples.
But at that moment.
A sense of crisis struck him.
Chen Nan's scalp tingled. He used his "Shrinking Earth into an Inch" technique to move away from his current position.
He looked towards the darkness as if facing a formidable enemy.
There was nothing visible in the darkness, yet it felt as if a pair of eyes were silently watching him.
At this moment!
Goosebumps rose all over Chen Nan's body.
He had experienced many dangers before.
However.
He hadn't expected to feel such an ominous presence here.
He unleashed his spiritual sense, and every rustle of wind and grass within a two-kilometer radius appeared within his perception.
"What is that?"
Chen Nan saw a green vine.
A vibrant green vine!
Its leaves swayed in the cold wind!
"This green vine is strange!"
Chen Nan's expression grew solemn.
It was winter, and everything was withered and barren.
Yet, here was a vibrant green vine.
"Could this be a mountain spirit?"
All things possess a spirit.
Humans, upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, could fly swords and even ascend to immortality.
Similarly.
Trees and flowers, after cultivating to a certain extent, could become spirits!
Mountain spirits were what people called these plants!
However.
Mountain spirits were extremely rare!
Before Chen Nan could react, the green vine transformed into a streak of emerald light, tearing through the darkness and shooting towards him like a fleeting glimpse.
"So fast!"
Chen Nan gasped.
He hadn't expected this mountain spirit to be so fast!
Even less did he expect this little thing to attack him proactively!
"Die!"
Chen Nan raised his hand and unleashed a fire dragon, striking the green vine directly.
Just as he was congratulating himself, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle!
Looking down, two green vines had wrapped around his ankle and were constricting it tightly!
As the vines tightened, their leaves, sharp as knives, cut into his ankle, and blood began to flow, rapidly absorbed by the vines!
"Damn, this green vine actually sucks human blood?"
Chen Nan's scalp crawled.
It wasn't surprising he was shocked.
After all, he was a cultivator at the peak of the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, with an exceptionally terrifying physique!
Yet, this green vine had easily pierced his defenses and was now absorbing his blood. How could he not be shocked?
"Could this be the Immortal Slaying Vine?"
Chen Nan recalled a forbidden item from the Ancient Records of Strange Treasures.
A creature that fed on the vital essence of cultivators; its target's fate was dire once it set its sights on them.
Even more terrifying was that if it absorbed even a drop of a cultivator's blood,
and that cultivator escaped, the Immortal Slaying Vine would sense it and appear nearby if the cultivator bled again.
In other words.
Once targeted by the Immortal Slaying Vine, it was either death for you or death for it!
"Begone!"
Recognizing it as the Immortal Slaying Vine.
Chen Nan felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. He formed hand seals, and his Shadowless Sword shot out, severing the two vines around his ankle.
Simultaneously, he immediately took a Lingjiao Pill to restore his vitality and heal the wound on his ankle.
"Fortunately, this Immortal Slaying Vine is still young, otherwise, even with my Shadowless Sword, I wouldn't have been able to cut it!"
Chen Nan, still shaken, continued heading west.
He had intended to ambush the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends here, but now he had to find another location.
After all, the Valley of the Dead was the Immortal Slaying Vine's home turf!
If he stayed here, he might become its waste before he even encountered the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends.
Ultimately.
He stopped in a mountain hollow about ten kilometers from the Valley of the Dead. After confirming there were no immediate dangers, he concealed his aura and hid himself in the darkness.
He waited for about an hour.
A group of men wearing white robes and carrying long swords appeared from the west.
They moved like the wind, their speed astonishing!
"Hall Master Fan, is it really necessary to deploy the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends for just a junior in the Foundation Establishment stage? It's overkill!" Mu Yu, the leader of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, said to Fan Ce with a hint of displeasure.
It wasn't that he was unhappy about descending the mountain.
It was his dissatisfaction with the Second Elder!
If it weren't for the Second Elder being the sect leader's brother and using a sect leader's token, they wouldn't have paid him any mind.
After all!
The Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends and Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits were the protective sword formations of the Huashan Sword Sect, their mission being to protect the sect!
Now, they were reduced to being the Second Elder's pawns!
They felt extremely resentful!
Fan Ce said, "Commander Mu, I understand your grievances, but these are the Second Elder's orders, and I cannot refuse. It's just a junior in the Foundation Establishment stage; we'll kill him and return to the mountain."
Mu Yu said coldly, "If he knew that our Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends were deployed, do you think he would still remain in the ancient capital? He would have been scared out of his wits by now, right?"
Fan Ce was about to speak.
A scream came from the ranks behind them!
Mu Yu's expression changed, "What happened?"
A middle-aged man rushed over, his face grave, "Leader, we're missing a brother!"
Mu Yu drew his long sword and said, "Enter combat formation!"