Behind Ao Xin Yan, a two-metre tall purple exotic grass grew. Wordlessly, on the surface of the grass leaf, a vein pattern emerged.
At the tip of the grass leaf, the leaf flesh cracked open, revealing a large black eye that looked like a human’s eye or the eye of a ferocious beast.
“Be careful.”Zhang Ruochen said.
Ao Xin Yan froze slightly, and in the next moment, she also detected an aura of danger and was about to dodge.
“Wow!”
One of the blades of that purple exotic grass quickly rolled over and wrapped around Ao Xinyan’s body.
Ao Xin Yan’s hands were bound and she was unable to pull out her sword, so she could only transport her true qi to her arms, wanting to break the grass leaf.
However, the grass blades were so tough that no matter how much strength she used, she couldn’t hurt it one bit.
Just when Ao Xin Yan was panicking, she accidentally breathed in a mouthful of disgusting gas.
That gas, seemed to be toxic, Ao Xin Yan only felt her brain faint, her whole body numb, even the speed of running her true qi became slower and slower.
“What a powerful human, after absorbing your blood qi, I should be able to raise my cultivation for a hundred years.”
That strain of foreign grass unexpectedly emitted a human voice.
The foreign grass had a total of seven blades, one of which was wrapped around Ao Xin Yan, and the tips of the remaining six blades turned into sharp, thin tubes that stabbed towards Ao Xin Yan’s delicate body.
“Swoosh!”
A sword sound rang out.
The Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword left its sheath and flew out, drawing a ghostly arc in midair.
The ancient sword, dragging out a sword qi, swung the sword and severed all six blades of grass.
The broken grass blades flowed out scarlet coloured blood.
The purple foreign grass, letting out a human-like scream, with only one blade left, rolled Ao Xin Yan and fled towards the distance.
“It can actually still move?”
A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Ruochen’s mouth as he stretched out an index finger, pointing it through the air and striking out a red-coloured sizzling sword wave.
The purple exotic grass, struck by the sword wave, was instantly split into pieces.
The grass blades were covered by a layer of flames, emitting snapping sounds, and soon burnt into a ball of black flying ash.
Ao Xinyan lay on the ground, her eyes tightly closed.
Zhang Ruochen retrieved the Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword and walked over, probing out two fingers and pressing them on her neck.
At the tips of his fingers, he released his True Qi and entered her body.
Afterwards, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his hand again and said, ”The poison she was hit by is not very strong, it only made her temporarily unconscious. With her cultivation, she will be able to wake up in half a day at most.”
“Hehe! Zhang Ruochen, how did you get into such a trouble, why don’t you let her stay here and we’ll go collect the Origin Qi first.”Xiao Hei .Dao.
Zhang Ruochen hesitated and said, “Take her with you! She is unconscious now, and staying here, she will soon be eaten by the wood spirits and grass monsters in the forest.”
“How can I bring her? You carry her, or me?”Xiao Hei .Dao.
“Of course it’s you.”
With his hands behind his back, Zhang Ruochen performed the Wind-Resisting Flying Dragon Shadow stance and disappeared into the forest, leaving behind only a series of lingering silhouettes.
Little Black glanced towards Ao Xinyan and said, “Really a troublemaker.”
After saying that, it carried Ao Xin Yan on its back and turned into a black shuttle of light as it hurriedly chased after Zhang Ruochen in the direction he left.
Not long after Zhang Ruochen and Little Black left, a group of people, came to where they were just now.
It was Pei Ji, Xi Yunxi, Zuo Quling, and the eighteen Heavenly Extremity Realm Great Circle experts sent out by the three great Saint Sectors.
“Buzz!”
Above Zuo Quling’s head flew a swarm of bees, each the size of a fist.
This was the second-stage savage beast, the Thousand Mile Bee.
Zuo Quling wasn’t just a martial arts prodigy, he was also an extremely gifted beast master. That was why he was able to harness the Thousand Mile Bee and track the scent left behind by Zhang Ruochen.
“Zhang Ruochen should have left only a quarter of an hour ago, and then, he continued travelling towards the northeast.”Zuo Quling said.
Xi Yunxi revealed a puzzled expression and said, “What exactly is Zhang Ruochen doing in the Wood Essence Market Realm?”
Zuo Quling said, “Zhang Ruochen’s move not only drew us to the Wood Essence Ruin Realm, but also the Black Market and the Demon Sect. In this case, it seems that the Wood Essence Ruins Realm might really have something extraordinary, otherwise, it would be impossible for Zhang Ruochen to take such a big risk.”
Xi Yunxi’s finger, gently stroked her chin and said meaningfully, “It might be that the Buddha Emperor and the Golden Dragon told him some secret before they died. That one secret could be in the Wood Essence Market Realm.”
Zuo Qiu Ling’s expression was stunned as he said, “It’s really possible.”
Pei Ji grimaced and said, “Right now, it’s useless for us to speculate about anything, when we catch him, we’ll naturally know his purpose for coming to the Wood Essence Market Realm.”
Zuo Quling and Xi Yunxi nodded.
Under the guidance of the Thousand Mile Bee, they continued to track up.
Daylight in the Wood Essence Market Realm was long, occupying two-thirds of the day.
When night fell, two bright moons appeared in the sky and were so huge that they were like two crystal jade discs hanging above a black cloth, shedding rays of bright light.
Zhang Ruochen and Little Black stopped rushing and searched for a location with higher ground to rest temporarily.
Ao Xin Yan had already woken up, and after taking the antidote pill, although her cultivation hadn’t fully recovered, she was no longer in any serious trouble.
But after waking up, she had been silent, standing under the moon, not moving a muscle.
She had always been a conceited, yet capricious person, losing to Zhang Ruochen was just a matter of fact, after leaving the Holy Academy, she had actually narrowly escaped death on two consecutive occasions, and if it wasn’t for Zhang Ruochen’s intervention to save her, the consequences would have been simply unimaginable.
How could this happen?
Ao Xin Yan had deeper doubts about her own strength.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on top of a white stone on one side, and after meditating for a while, he had already fully cultivated back the True Qi that he had consumed during the day, and regained his peak state.
It was getting closer and closer to the Heavenly Extremity Realm Great Extremity Position, and should be able to break through within the recent days.
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and collected back the true qi that had escaped around his body, opening his eyes and looking over towards Ao Xinyan, he found that she was still standing in her original position, as if she had never moved a bit.
Ao Xin Yan’s pair of eyes stared towards Zhang Ruochen and said, “Zhang Ruochen, are you laughing at me in your heart?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “What am I laughing at you for?”
“You’re definitely laughing at me, laughing at my uselessness, laughing at my lack of knowledge of the heavens, laughing at my lack of self-importance. Perhaps you’re right, I really should find a place to hide, leave this place, and then, honestly return to the Holy Academy.”
Ao Xin Yan’s eyes glowed red, as if they were about to shed tears.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?”
“The truth.”
Ao Xin Yan tensed up and held her breath.
Obviously, she cared very much, what Zhang Ruochen said about her.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Your talent is very high, one in a million, and you can be called a wunderkind. If, in the future, you can cultivate hard, becoming a Saint is expected.”
Ao Xin Yan said, “You’re lying to me.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “There’s no need for me to lie to you, if you didn’t have a high level of talent, I wouldn’t even bother to say so much to you, much less make two attempts to save you.”
“But ……,” Ao Xin Yan said.
Zhang Ruochen stood up and said, “The reason why you are as bewildered as you are now is because, you have never suffered a setback. People, only when they fall down, do they know how to get up.”
He continued, “The reason why you were assassinated by the Wei Clan Boss and the Grass Essence was not because you weren’t strong enough, but rather, because, since you were a child, you lacked experience and haven’t seen the perils of the human heart, and at the same time, you were too conceited about your own strength.”
“The Market Realm Battlefield is not a ring competition. Wanting to survive here is not an easy task.”
“You don’t have to be so pessimistic, with a few more experiences and setbacks, in the future you won’t be as unbearable as you are now.”
Ao Xin Yan listened to Zhang Ruochen’s words very quietly, that look was like a little girl listening to the teachings of her elders.
Zhang Ruochen told her a lot, and she listened to it all silently. That pair of beautiful eyes became brighter and brighter as she looked towards Zhang Ruochen, and there were a few more strange lights in her eyes.
About two hours later.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Almost everything that should be told has been told to you. Whether or not you can unravel the knot in your heart can only depend on yourself!”
Ao Xin Yan’s mood, which seemed to have really improved a lot, revealed a few smiles and said, “Team Leader, you said earlier that only those who have fallen will know how to get up. In other words, you once fell down as well?”
She took the initiative to change her name to Zhang Ruochen to “Team Leader”, thus showing that her state of mind had really undergone some changes.
Zhang Ruochen glanced towards her, a look of reminiscence appearing in his eyes as he nodded, as if he was talking to himself, “Fell down once, and, moreover, fell so badly that he almost didn’t have a chance to get back up again.”
“It can’t be! You’re so strong and invincible amongst your generation, there’s still someone who can make you fall?”Ao Xinyan revealed a curious expression.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You don’t have to ask! Even if you ask, I won’t answer. In addition, I will advise you once again that in the Wood Essence Market Realm, it is best not to follow me, it will do you no good.”
“Why? A beauty like me, travelling with you, would you still refuse? You have to know that many Sage Sect’s heirs took the initiative to ask me out, and I didn’t give them a chance.”
Ao Xin Yan seemed to have untied her heart and was in a good mood as she smiled with bright eyes and teeth and took the initiative to flirt with Zhang Ruochen.
Under the moonlight, Ao Xin Yan’s skin was as smooth as jade, her facial features were quite exquisite, and her body was concave and convex, outlining a beautiful curve.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Because, I’m going to make an enemy of the entire Wood Essence Market Realm.”
“What?”Ao Xin Yan asked.
“If I say it, you won’t understand.”
Just as Ao Xinyan was thinking about the meaning of Zhang Ruochen’s words.
Zhang Ruochen’s ears, gently twitched, his eyes condensed, and he quickly turned around, his gaze looking over to the south-west, saying, “What a powerful aura of killing, they’ve caught up after all!”
