Zhao Beishan's face was filled with pride and a sense of importance.

As one of the first subordinates to pledge allegiance to Chen Yuan, their Yunjiang Four Ghosts brothers had also risen in status along with him. They already possessed great fame in Nanling Prefecture.

Now, with Chen Yuan's reputation and strength soaring, they too could share in some of the benefits.

For example, some resources that Chen Yuan obtained from within the Yuan Kong Realm but didn't need were basically given to them, greatly increasing the strength of their brothers.

One attains enlightenment, and even one's dogs and chickens ascend to heaven!

With his lord's exploding rise in the Potential Dragon Rankings, it was enough to prove how strong Chen Yuan's talent was. Moreover, so far, no bottlenecks had been seen.

Perhaps one day, he could truly achieve the same prestige in Qingzhou, and even the entire world, that he had previously held in Nanling Prefecture.

Mention Zhao Beishan, and there are no difficulties that cannot be overcome!

Yue Shan continued to echo:

"That kid surnamed Gu actually dared to attack Master Chen, he's simply courting death."

Zhao Beishan chuckled softly: "Indeed, Gu Hao's actions are no different from lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet."

Chen Yuan tapped his fingers on the table, reminding them: "Alright, hurry up and eat."

He had no intention of listening to others' flattery, because it was meaningless. Now, it was better to think carefully about where Gu Hao's elder father was.

And what methods would he use to find him?

This time, he hadn't deliberately revealed any clues.

Hearing Chen Yuan's voice, Yue Shan and Zhao Beishan exchanged a look, nodded, and lowered their heads to start eating!

Before long, the group finished their meal, packed some leftovers, disguised themselves, and left Shangyang Prefecture City.

The next two days were still very calm, so calm that even Yue Shan and the others began to think that perhaps the Qingyun Sword Sect hadn't prepared to send any powerful assassins at all.

But Chen Yuan never relaxed his vigilance, and the group still maintained their pattern of resting during the day and traveling at night.

By this time, the matter of Chen Yuan killing Gu Hao and Jingxin had also begun to gradually fade away, overshadowed by other major events. If someone hadn't suddenly mentioned it, it would have been as if everyone had forgotten.

But in fact, was it really so?

Chen Yuan didn't think so. There was always a bit of calm before the storm.

After several days of accelerating their departure, Chen Yuan's group had reached the border of Shangyang Prefecture. They only needed to travel about ten miles to step into the next prefecture and get one step closer to Qingzhou City.

At an ordinary tea stall on the official road.

Chen Yuan's group was divided into three tables, forming a defensive circle, with Chen Yuan at the head, silently savoring the slightly bitter tea in his bowl.

He had a faint premonition in his heart that the enemy was coming soon!

The tea at the stall wasn't good tea. It had a astringent, bitter taste upon entering the mouth, but if you savored it carefully, you could also feel a hint of sweetness that seeped into your heart.

Chen Yuan casually asked the tea stall owner what kind of tea it was.

The owner replied that it was a kind of wild tea from the nearby mountains. Their ancestors had been drinking this kind of tea. If Chen Yuan didn't like it, he could make a bowl of sugar water, but it would cost extra.

Hearing this, Chen Yuan smiled slightly. Indeed, there was nothing in the world that money couldn't do. If there was, it just meant that not enough money had been added.

Everyone had a price that could be measured, and his goal was to make people shy away from that price.

In the midst of the comings and goings, Chen Yuan suddenly felt a faint sense of loneliness...

However, this feeling, which was not conducive to cultivation, was quickly expelled from his mind after he noticed it. He was a very goal-oriented person and couldn't allow any other abnormal emotions to interfere.

Lest it affect his cultivation.

Cultivation was the most important thing.

Even though he was now in the midst of a crisis of being hunted down, he still hadn't given up on cultivation, and even worked harder.

So hard that he only took short breaks while traveling, and spent the rest of his time cultivating.

Now, after several harvests, he was no longer in such a hurry for Yuan Crystals. In his opinion, these things had to be converted into cultivation as soon as possible.

The mid-stage of the Profound Connection Realm had been completely stabilized, and he was progressing at a steady and rapid pace.

According to his calculations, even without the blessing of opportunities, he would be able to reach the peak of the mid-stage in at most three months. Don't think this time was too long.

Three months was a very short time for some other martial artists. Even if they didn't lack resources, it would take at least half a year.

And he could be so fast because he had many advantages at the Celestial Origin level.

The first was his physical blood and Qi, and the second was that his acupoints had already been greatly opened... These two conditions alone were enough to stop many people in their tracks.

Of course, if there was an opportunity to bless him, this speed would be even faster.

This could be seen from his previous situation.

After Qi Refining cultivation was Body Refining cultivation. Although that Senior Nether River had said that Body Refining only had four levels and no subdivisions within them,

There were still differences in strength.

And after he integrated the Buddhist relics of Master Kongji, his Body Refining cultivation could be said to have progressed by leaps and bounds.

The process of cultivating the Vajra Indestructible Body was even smoother than Qi Refining.

Sometimes he would even think that perhaps he had a stronger talent in Body Refining. Thinking about it carefully, this wasn't unreasonable.

He reviewed his cultivation process and then discovered that his initial cultivation of the Vajra Glazed Body was indeed exceptionally smooth.

Even with the blessing of his original body's cultivation, his entry speed was indeed too fast.

He didn't delve into it at the time, thinking that it might be related to his previous cultivation, but now, with his increased knowledge, he felt that it didn't seem that simple.

Perhaps, maybe, his talent really wasn't as ordinary as he had initially guessed.

It was just that the Body Refining techniques in the county office were too inferior to bring out his own talent.

Thinking about it like this...

Chen Yuan suddenly felt that he might really be a genius!

It didn't matter whether others believed this guess or not, he himself believed it.

After finishing his tea and resting for a while, Zhao Beishan left a piece of silver as payment for their group's tea. It might be a bit much, but he really didn't have any change.

They, who were at least at the Bone Refinement Realm, no longer cared about silver, let alone copper coins. In fact, this piece of silver was a piece that Zhao Beishan had forcefully broken off.

The tea stall owner thanked him repeatedly.

After a casual greeting, Chen Yuan stood up and prepared to leave. Suddenly, the world changed. In front of him, a terrifying dark cloud was sweeping in.

The weeds were rustling in the wind, and faint traces of chilling killing intent began to spread.

Yue Shan and the others, who were completely unaware, glanced at the sky strangely and exclaimed:

"The weather is really unpredictable. Just now it was clear and sunny, and now it's already showing signs of rain."

Zhao Beishan nodded: "Yes, that's right... Master Chen, should we wait under this tea shed for a while?"

Li Dongshan, Mo Donghe, and the others also echoed.

Only Chen Yuan, with a calm gaze, looked at the dark clouds in the distance and said:

"This isn't rain. It's the disturbance of the world's spiritual energy, combined with some of the original dark clouds, that's creating this scene."

The reason he was so sure was, of course, because of Chen Yuan's keen perception. If he couldn't even sense these anomalies in the world's spiritual energy, then he wouldn't be worthy of being called a Profound Connection martial artist.

The True Essence in his body was transformed from the world's spiritual energy, which was why it was called Innate True Essence.

As soon as Chen Yuan spoke, the expressions of Yue Shan, Mo Donghe, and the others instantly froze. They had obviously realized something as well. What kind of existence could stir up the world's spiritual energy?

Chen Yuan had told them about this before.

Only experts in the Upper Three Realms could achieve this!

In other words, enemies from the Qingyun Sword Sect or the Bright Temple were here!

One or even several Core Realm experts!

With only Core Realm cultivation, it would naturally be difficult to stir up the sky, but if there were already some changes in the world, then under the fluctuations of spiritual energy, it would still be possible to create the scene before them!

The gap between the Upper Three Realms and the Lower Three Realms was significant. It could be said that from the Core Realm onwards, martial artists were gradually moving towards the transcendent direction. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to establish sects and be called Grandmasters.

"Master Chen, what do we do?"

Mo Donghe nervously gripped the handle of the Wild Goose Wing Saber in his hand, his tone solemn but without a trace of retreat. He even stuffed a clove of garlic into his mouth and chewed it.

Since he had followed Chen Yuan and pledged his allegiance to him, Mo Donghe had no intention of betraying his lord and defecting to the enemy. Of course, the other party wouldn't accept him, a dog of the imperial court, anyway.

"Master Chen, why don't you leave first? We'll try our best to delay them for a while." Yue Shan took a deep breath.

The Yunjiang Four Ghosts remained silent, but their stance of drawing their swords was enough to prove their attitude.

The Five Elements Ghost Children had gloomy faces. Although they were nervous, their lives were in Chen Yuan's hands, and it was impossible for them to escape. Otherwise, they would be the first to die.

Yan Qing, on the other hand, looked at the calm Master Chen and wondered if he had any other tricks up his sleeve.

In fact, he wasn't wrong. Chen Yuan did have a backup plan, which was why he was so calm, appearing unfazed even when Mount Tai collapsed before him.

Moreover, with the Pill Talisman in hand, he wasn't without any power to resist.

The dark clouds were getting closer and closer, and a earth-shattering roar echoed for miles around.

"Chen Yuan, return my son's life!"

Hearing this, Chen Yuan knew who had come. It was Gu Hao's elder father from the Qingyun Sword Sect!

Unmoved, he took a step, stepping into the air, and faced the source of the voice, saying loudly:

"Gu Hao's life is a life, but aren't the lives of those he killed also lives? He wanted to kill me, so I killed him. This is the natural law of the martial world. What's wrong, can't afford to play?"