Chapter 47

Second update! Please favorite! Click! Red ticket! The new book ranking has been dominated again, so sad~

---

Phew!

Chen Xi woke up from his meditation, took a deep breath, and a stream of white smoke spurted out, like a dragon or a galloping horse, with a long and continuous breath.

"I've broken through. After a night of hard cultivation, I have reached the Ninth Level of the Innate Realm, just one step away from the Purple Mansion Realm!"

Chen Xi stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt the surging power throughout his body. He thought to himself, "Before, I could crush cultivators of the same level with my Eighth Level of the Innate Realm cultivation, even defeating Li Huai. Now that I have reached the Ninth Level of the Innate Realm, I should have the ability to protect myself even when facing those in the Purple Mansion Realm."

However, Chen Xi also understood that in the Southern Barbarian Nether Region, the power of Purple Mansion Realm cultivators was limited, which allowed him to compete with them. If this restriction were removed, the outcome against the true strength of Purple Mansion Realm cultivators would be unpredictable.

The sky was already bright, returning to its dark red state. When Chen Xi walked out of the stone house, he saw that Du Qingxi and the others were already ready to go.

"Have you advanced in cultivation?" Du Qingxi asked in surprise, noticing the inner radiance in Chen Xi's eyes.

"It seems that yesterday's battle was quite helpful to you." Duanmu Ze's eyes also flashed with surprise.

"Hmm, I think it was a matter of course." Song Lin looked at Chen Xi with deep meaning, making it hard to fathom his thoughts.

Chen Xi didn't know that his battle with Li Huai, whether it was the sword technique, body technique, or the Great Collapse Fist at the Heaven-Earth Unity level, had convinced Song Lin that there must be a high-level mentor guiding him.

The morning light was bright, and most of the cultivators in Bloodshed City had already left to hunt demonic beasts. Only a few, like Chen Xi and the others, were heading deeper into the Blood Mountain Range, toward the end of the Southern Barbarian Nether Region.

When they left Bloodshed City, Chen Xi finally saw that over thirty cultivators, all emitting powerful auras, were heading out of the city. According to Du Qingxi's explanation, these cultivators were all at the Purple Mansion Realm, including disciples from the eight major sects, three academies, and six families of Dragon Abyss City, as well as Purple Mansion Realm experts from other cities in the Southern Barbarian Region. They could be considered a gathering of experts.

Su Jiao and Cang Bin were among them, accompanied by seven or eight young men and women, each with a powerful aura and clear eyes, making them quite noticeable.

Are they already forming alliances?

Before Chen Xi could react, a cheerful laugh came from the crowd, and four or five young men and women, dressed differently but all exuding vigor, walked over.

"Brother Duanmu, Brother Song, Miss Du, you're here too." The leading young man in black smiled and said.

After a brief exchange, Chen Xi learned that this black-clothed young man was named Chai Letian, from one of the eight major sects of Dragon Abyss City, the Starry Sky Palace. He was tall and handsome, with a scar on his left cheek that added a rugged and masculine charm.

The three men and one woman beside Chai Letian were from the three major academies of Dragon Abyss City, and their status was no less than Chai Letian's. They were Yu Haobai from the Dragon Abyss Myriad Cloud Academy, Du Quan and Du Kui from the Wind Ling Academy, and Murong Wei from the Green Wood Academy.

Yu Haobai was a slightly delicate and handsome young man, with an extraordinary elegance.

Du Quan and Du Kui were twin brothers, both tall and strong, but very taciturn.

Murong Wei was the only female among them, with a gentle and delicate aura, like a lily in a secluded valley, charming and evoking a desire to protect her.

These five people had clearly reached a certain understanding, all following Chai Letian's lead.

Chai Letian and Du Qingxi seemed to have a good relationship, and even the cold and aloof Du Qingxi couldn't help but show a rare smile in response to Chai Letian's greetings.

Chen Xi noticed that the smile on Duanmu Ze's lips disappeared, and a hint of vigilance and caution appeared in his eyes when he saw Chai Letian and Du Qingxi talking happily.

"Hmm, little Zeze is actually quite pitiful. Pursuing Su Jiao, he has Cang Bin as a strong rival; pursuing Qingxi, Chai Letian appears. Truly a cause for sighs."

A subtle whisper entered Chen Xi's ears. He looked up and saw the disheveled and lazy Song Lin standing beside him, with sleepy eyes, as if he had never been fully awake.

"What are these people doing?" Chen Xi asked in a whisper.

"Of course, they are forming alliances. If you observe carefully, you'll see that although Chai Letian and the five others, as well as Su Jiao and her group, come from different forces, they belong to two completely different camps..."

As Song Lin explained, Chen Xi finally understood what was happening.

The so-called eight major sects, three academies, and six families of Dragon Abyss City had extremely complex relationships, divided into two camps.

Chai Letian, representing the Starry Sky Palace, and Yu Haobai and the others, representing the three academies, as well as Du Qingxi, Duanmu Ze, and Song Lin, representing the Du, Duanmu, and Song families, all belonged to one camp.

Su Jiao, Cang Lin, and the seven or eight young men and women beside him represented another camp.

This time, both camps had people entering the Southern Barbarian Nether Region, and to prevent the other side from taking action, it was best to act together.

"These forces have very complex relationships, after all, they are all massive entities with nearly ten thousand years of history, with competition and communication between them. The complexity of these relationships is enough to make one's head spin."

Song Lin yawned and said listlessly, "But you only need to remember that Su Jiao and those people are our enemies."

Chen Xi was speechless, realizing that he had been assigned to a camp without knowing whether it was good or bad.

"Is this the Chen Xi who defeated Li Huai yesterday?" Chai Letian suddenly turned around and smiled at Chen Xi.

Du Qingxi nodded, "That's right."

"Good, good." Chai Letian laughed heartily, then turned back to continue chatting with Du Qingxi, never giving Chen Xi a chance to speak.

Clearly, in Chai Letian's mind, Chen Xi was just a dispensable existence, and a brief greeting was enough, not worth much attention.

Chen Xi didn't mind, but Duanmu Ze was not pleased and whispered, "Being ignored, can you just let it go?"

"It doesn't seem that serious, does it?" Chen Xi was taken aback.

Duanmu Ze, seeing Chen Xi's indifference, was deeply distressed, "In life, dignity and grace are the most important. Without dignity, what's the difference between living and a dead fish? As the saying goes, a person lives by their face, a tree by its bark..."

"Do you have a grudge against Chai Letian?" Chen Xi could tolerate being ignored but couldn't stand Duanmu Ze's nagging, interrupting him.

"Unforgivable!" Duanmu Ze answered angrily.

"Shall we team up and kill him?"

Duanmu Ze's expression froze, suddenly snapping out of his inexplicable rage, his face changing, and finally said dejectedly, "No, if I did that, Qingxi would look down on me for the rest of her life."

He patted Chen Xi's shoulder, "Brother, you have a heart! When we go to Dragon Abyss City, we must have a good drink together."

Chen Xi was speechless, suddenly remembering what Song Lin had said before, Duanmu Ze was indeed pitiful when facing Chai Letian as a rival.

"Let's go!"

In the distance, Su Jiao waved her hand, leading her group to rush forward.

Chen Xi suddenly saw that Li Huai was following behind Su Jiao's group. He seemed to have been hiding in the crowd and now turned to look at Chen Xi. Seeing Chen Xi's gaze, his face instantly turned as dark as water.

"Let's go too."

Chai Letian spoke, and from Du Qingxi's expression, it was clear that she acknowledged his leadership.

"Hmph, except for Qingxi, I won't follow anyone else's orders. What about you, Chen Xi?"

"Me?" Chen Xi was taken aback, "It doesn't matter."

Duanmu Ze immediately patted Chen Xi's shoulder, "Good, from now on, we'll go in and out together. As for Chai Letian... Bah, he just has an ancestor at the Nether Transformation Realm. If not for that, he wouldn't be leading the group."

Faced with Duanmu Ze's familiar behavior, Chen Xi helplessly touched his nose but didn't object.

...

The Crimson Flame Mountain Range was vast, with towering peaks like swords piercing the sky, shrouded in clouds. Occasionally, low and fierce roars of demonic beasts could be heard.

The Crimson Flame Mountain Range was located ten thousand miles from Bloodshed City, sprawling over a vast desert, and was a must-pass place to reach the end of the Southern Barbarian Nether Region.

The demonic beasts here were not only numerous but also had powerful leaders in their depths. In the past, the disciples participating in the Southern Barbarian Nether Region trial were always warned by their elders not to approach the Crimson Flame Mountain Range, making it a dangerous no-go zone.

Under normal circumstances, no one would dare to enter, but today was clearly not a normal day. Figures suddenly appeared at the foot of the mountains, leaping forward into the depths of the range.

Their speed was fast, but they still encountered waves of demonic beast attacks. These demonic beasts came from all directions, with a fierce and cruel aura, as if defending their territory, charging at the cultivators without fear of death.

Soon, cries and roars echoed, adding a terrifying atmosphere to the Crimson Flame Mountain Range.

The group quickly disappeared into the depths of the mountains.

"Is this the Crimson Flame Mountain Range?"

Soon, Chen Xi and the others also appeared at the foot of the mountains, looking up at the vast range, their faces grave.

"This is the last barrier to the end of the Southern Barbarian Nether Region. The demonic beasts here are rampant, and there's no way to avoid them. We can only charge through."

Chai Letian frowned, "We need to speed up. Su Jiao's group has already taken the lead, and there are only three days left until the end of the month. We must arrive before then."

Swish!

As he spoke, Chai Letian took the lead, leaping into the depths of the mountains.

The others followed, and Du Qingxi was about to leave when she suddenly noticed Chen Xi standing still, unmoving. She asked, "What's wrong with Chen Xi?"

Duanmu Ze was also surprised, shook his head, and patted Chen Xi's shoulder, "Brother Chen, it's time to go."

"Oh, okay." Chen Xi's body stiffened, and he responded vaguely, as if waking from a dream.

No one noticed that Chen Xi's gaze, as he looked at the towering Crimson Flame Mountain Range, had a glint of light in it.

---

Page break for ads

---

Page break for ads