"Awoo!"
The Ice Armor Wolf let out a heartrending howl, its eyes pierced through instantly, blood mixed with brain matter spattering out!
Its massive body lost balance, slamming heavily to the ground, twitching a few times before falling still.
This sudden turn of events left Li Dageng and the others, who were barely holding on, stunned.
"Brother Chen?!" Li Dageng was both shocked and delighted.
He knew that Chen Ye would have a way to slay the Ice Armor Wolf!
Chen Ye didn’t pause, he needed a swift victory!
With a tap of his foot,
when one cultivates the Heavy Body Technique to Great Success, they can master a technique called Cloud Chasing Step.
But in the past, he never had the chance to use this technique.
Under the Perfect level enhancement of the Heavy Body Technique, the speed of Cloud Chasing Step was pushed to the extreme!
Chen Ye’s figure weaved through the chaotic battlefield like a ghost, charging directly at the Ice Armor Wolf attacking Xue Chengjun!
The Ice Armor Wolf, about to bite the nearly exhausted Xue Chengjun, suddenly sensed a fierce aura assailing from its side!
A flash of golden light, like a viper darting out of its hole, cunningly struck at the relatively weaker connection of the Ice Armor Wolf’s neck!
"Pssh!"
Though the Geng Metal Qi couldn’t completely pierce through the thick hide, it successfully broke open the ice armor, bringing out a spurt of steaming beast blood!
The Ice Armor Wolf, feeling the pain, abandoned Xue Chengjun, and swiftly turned its head, opening its bloody maw to spray a thick blast of cold air at Chen Ye!
"Buzz!"
A spiritual light instantly appeared around Chen Ye, and the Heart-Protecting Jade spontaneously emitted a Spirit Shield, effortlessly blocking the cold air!
At the same time, his left hand formed a seal, and three more strands of Geng Metal Qi shot out in a pin-like formation.
Piercing straight through the Ice Armor Wolf’s throat!
The ferocious demon beast let out a despairing wail, its massive body fell to the ground with a crash, utterly devoid of vitality.
In an instant, two demon beasts were killed consecutively!
The strength Chen Ye displayed shocked everyone present!
Xue Chengjun was left with lingering fear, looking at Chen Ye with incredulity in his eyes.
If not for Chen Ye’s intervention, he would have already perished in the wolf’s mouth!
Previously, he had begrudged Chen Ye for his breakthrough in cultivation.
But now, it seemed, this person’s foundation was solid, his strength extraordinary, far superior to him!
And yet, he still dared to badmouth him behind his back...
"Chengjun..."
Lin Qiongyu called out her partner’s name, but her beautiful eyes were blankly fixed on Chen Ye.
She had once attended a banquet at the Cloud Clothing Pavilion and knew about Chen Ye’s extraordinary Spirit Plant mastery.
But she hadn’t expected his magical battle prowess to be equally outstanding!
Wait...
She wasn’t surprised at first glance, but upon a closer look.
Lin Qiongyu suddenly felt that Senior Chen seemed... more handsome?
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, her cheeks grew slightly hot.
It wasn’t due to any romantic feelings.
But rather, she felt ashamed: how could a person change so much in just a few days?
She suspected that she found Senior Chen more handsome... could it be because she had developed inappropriate feelings?
Lin Qiongyu was startled, quickly retracting her gaze.
No! Impossible!
Who was Lin Qiongyu!
No matter what, she couldn’t develop such thoughts for a man twelve years her senior, with two children!
Lin Qiongyu took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her somewhat chaotic emotions.
She forced herself not to look at Chen Ye anymore, turning her attention to the still shaken Xue Chengjun, her voice returning to its gentle tone of the past: "Chengjun, are you okay?"
However, she didn’t realize that her peripheral vision couldn’t help but secretly glance again at that upright figure.
The black cloak billowed loudly in the cold wind, accentuating his upright posture and extraordinary demeanor.
"I... I’m fine," Xue Chengjun replied, still in shock.
Feeling Lin Qiongyu’s concerned gaze, his heart warmed.
Qiongyu still cared about him!
...
"There’s one more!"
Chen Ye turned his gaze to the last Ice Armor Wolf.
That Ice Armor Wolf seemed to sense the danger too, no longer intent on fighting, and turned to flee!
"Where do you think you’re going!"
Chen Ye scoffed coldly, rapidly flicking his fingers!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
Four strands of Geng Metal Qi chased after the Ice Armor Wolf like maggots on a bone, precisely embedding into its hind limb joints!
The Ice Armor Wolf let out a sorrowful cry, stumbled and fell, unable to escape any further.
Seeing this, the surrounding Loose Cultivators immediately rushed forward, their various spells and swords attacking it together, quickly dismembering the demon beast that had lost its mobility.
A sudden crisis was resolved so swiftly with Chen Ye’s powerful intervention.
On the street, only the three massive corpses of Ice Armor Wolves and the ground covered with ice frost and bloodstains remained, testifying to the brutality of the recent battle.
The group of Loose Cultivators came forward to express their gratitude:
"This Taoist friend is... the Spirit Plant Master who moved in not long ago? Thanks to the Taoist friend’s timely intervention, otherwise, we might have all ended up in the wolves’ bellies today!"
"Taoist friend hid their abilities, today we see that the real person doesn’t reveal their identity!"
"What on earth happened! How did the Lingyin Sect allow three demon beasts to break into Shunshui Street?"
"But, thanks also to Taoist Friend Ping... for holding back that late-stage Qi Cultivation Ice Armor Wolf."
Not wanting to delay, Chen Ye responded with a few cursory words and went straight to his small courtyard.
Upon pushing open the courtyard gate,
Chen Ye’s gaze swept across the yard, his face instantly darkening.
The courtyard was in utter disarray, with half of the courtyard wall collapsed.
Behind the wall was an equally chaotic mess in Neighbor Ping Zhuo’s yard.
And the sight of Ping Zhuo’s corpse, eyes wide and filled with resentment!
He was actually dead!
Ping Zhuo’s contorted face was fixed in Chen Ye’s sight.
The Artifact Refiner who had been chatting and laughing with him earlier, promising to reforged his Iron Sword.
Now was no more than a cold corpse.
There were obvious demon beast claw marks and bites on his body.
Yet, there was a bowl-sized bloody hole in his chest, with blood long coagulated into dark red ice crystals, making a terrifying sight.
The fatal wound was clearly not inflicted by the Ice Armor Wolf.
"Was... was he murdered?"
Chen Ye felt a shiver in his heart.
The chaos caused by the Celestial Tribulation, the demon beast attacks, and yet even amidst this, there was someone taking advantage to kill and rob!
Quickly, he scanned over Ping Zhuo’s yard.
It was equally in shambles, but unlike his own collapsed courtyard wall, there were signs of things being rummaged through in Ping Zhuo’s house.
Was it for money? Or revenge?
Chen Ye furrowed his brows tightly.
Ping Zhuo was an Artifact Refiner at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, certainly wealthy,
it was normal for people to covet him.
However, he seemed to be a relatively affable person, not the type to easily make enemies.
His strength was at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, a sect disciple, not someone an ordinary person could kill.
"Se... Senior Chen..."
Behind him came Xue Chengjun’s trembling voice.
He too saw Ping Zhuo’s corpse and was so scared that his knees were knocking.
"What happened... Brother Ping was at the late Qi Cultivation stage, he even killed that Wolf King! After he killed the Wolf King, he returned home severely injured, but how could he have..."
Lin Qiongyu was even more shocked, her face pale, and unable to speak, staring blankly at Chen Ye.
She had always been aware that her partner was concerned about her!
...
"Sir!"
Xue Chengjun called out to Chen Ye in a trembling voice and quickly rushed out from Granny Li’s house.
Her face was deathly pale, her voice quivering with sobs:
"Qing Jun is missing!"
"""