Chapter 1: Siblings

  In the dense forest, three figures appeared in the distance, two short and one tall. The three of them stared blankly at Lu Chen's battle with the lone wolf, their faces filled with a hint of doubt.

  A short and stout man looked at him and said to the tall, long-haired man: "Xue brother, why is this person alone?"

  The man with the surname Xue had a calm expression, thought for a moment and said: "Looking at his strength is not high, always using earth-based Taoist techniques, and swordsmanship is awkward. If he didn't leave the team, it's his first time entering the Desolate Expanse. Chen brother, you see that every time he makes a move, it seems like he's considering something, should be here to test his immortal law."

  That short and stout Chen surname pondered for a moment, nodded his head and said: "Looking at his strength, it seems that he hasn't even reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining, he should be separated from the team, otherwise who would dare to appear in this place with such strength? Hehe, this person is really lucky, the only lone Horned Fire Wolf let him bump into, fortunately his Taoist cultivation is not bad, a single non-intelligent Horned Fire Wolf can also deal with it."

  Another young man with a scar on his face said, "Alright, let's go hunting instead. We shouldn't interfere in other people's business."

  "Uh-huh."

  The young man with the surname Xue nodded along with the young man with the surname Chen.

  At this time, Lu Chen had already discovered that there was someone behind him. With a hint of caution in his heart, he didn't dare to continue practicing. The long sword in his hand swept across the neck of the lone wolf, and then stopped.

  Lu Chen didn't turn around, he just quietly guarded against it, and this action once again caused the three people to misunderstand...

  A man with the surname Xue thought for a moment and didn't approach, shouting from afar: "Fellow Taoist, the single horn of the Single-Horned Fire Wolf can be used to refine equipment, its fur can be used to make low-grade immortal armor, and its blood can be used to draw talismans. It's worth some spirit stones, don't waste it."

  Lu Chen heard this and slowly turned his head. No matter what, the words of the Xue surname man just now contained a hint of reminder, and Lu Chen could feel that they were spoken sincerely. Although he had already made some inquiries about the Lone Fire Wolf before, and didn't need anyone to remind him, out of politeness, he still needed to express his gratitude.

  He placed his long sword behind him, and Lu Chen cupped his hands in a gesture of gratitude, saying: "Thank you for reminding me, fellow Taoist..."

  The man with the surname Xue smiled kindly and didn't respond.

  The man with the surname Chen suddenly said: "So it's really your first time coming to Honghuang."

  The man with the surname Xue nodded and said out of kindness: "Fellow Daoist, you're new to the Desolate Expanse, aren't you?"

  Lu Chen didn't feel any malice from his opponent, but he also didn't let his guard down. He took a few steps forward and smiled: "Heh, fellow Taoist has sharp eyes."

  A man with the surname Xue smiled and said, "I admire your courage, fellow Taoist. However, this desolate land is full of dangers, and it's really difficult for one person to stay here for long. Since you're new here, why not find some like-minded people to travel with? That way, you'll be safer."

  "Ah? Met a noble person on the way out. This young man's character is not bad." After a few sentences of conversation, Lu Chen felt a good impression towards this Xue surname man and said straightforwardly: "Fellow daoist is right, but Yu Huo has just arrived and only has cultivation at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, it's really hard to find someone with similar aspirations and values." Lu Chen smiled and turned around to start dealing with the corpse of the single-horned fire wolf.

  "Five layers of Qi cultivation?"

  Originally, they didn't care about Lu Chen at all, but when they heard Lu Chen report his own strength, the Xue surname man and the Chen surname man were obviously stunned, even the scar-faced man took a few more glances at Lu Chen.

  "Five layers of Qi? How is that possible? A cultivator with five layers of Qi can defeat the Lone Wolf of the Blazing Fire? And so effortlessly?"

  The three of them were unbelievable, but in fact, they had already seen that Lu Chen's strength was not high just now. But even if it was lower, in the Hong Huang area, without practicing Qi to the seventh layer, it would not work at all. At least six layers should be fine. They never thought that the opponent's strength was only five layers.

  They looked at Lu Chen in surprise, and the three of them found that Lu Chen's eyes did not have any hidden meaning, which made it even more unbelievable.

  "Practicing Qi for five layers?" The Chen surname man paused slightly, as if remembering something. He whispered to the Xue surname man and the scar-faced man beside him: "I remember now, when I entered the city earlier, I heard Zhao Tian jokingly say that a Practitioner who had reached the fifth layer of Qi or was a single Earth Spirit Root came to Hongyuan without regard for his life. At the time, I even chatted with Zhao Tian about it... Could it be him?"

  "Are the Five Elements all of the Earth attribute?" This time it was the scar-faced man's turn to be surprised: "This kid has a lot of guts, he's only at the fifth level of Qi refinement and yet he dares to come to the Desolate Expanse with just the Five Elements all being of the Earth attribute?"

  Xue surname man clearly played the role of the leader of the three, thought for a moment and said: "Brother Chen, Brother He, don't underestimate others, maybe he has something to rely on."

  The man with the surname Chen said: "That's right, only... Alas, this is after all the territory of the Unicorn Fire Wolf. Don't forget, the Unicorn Fire Wolf is a pack animal."

  The scar-faced man nodded and said, "Although this person's swordsmanship was a bit awkward just now, it was indeed very exquisite, stronger than the lower-level Taoist methods. Maybe he won't have any problems with one Lone Flame Wolf, but if there are more Lone Flame Wolves, his life will be in danger."

  And also...

  Moreover, he only has five layers of Qi, and cannot fly with his sword. If he were to be surrounded by the lone horned fire wolf, he would have no choice but to die... The knife-scarred man surnamed He had not finished speaking when the man surnamed Xue took over.

  "Alas, let's go, the two of us. Don't worry about others' business, we've been here for more than a year or two and have seen many cultivators meet their demise in the belly of beasts. I just reminded you out of kindness, but it's not our concern. Let's focus on ourselves." Chen sighed and said to Xue, "Brother Xue, let's go hunting instead. Your younger brother is still waiting for Yu Congliu to heal his eyes, isn't he?"

  The man with the surname Xue nodded, but still out of kindness, he called out to Lu Chen: "Xue admires Jade Lake's diligent heart, but I must remind you that it's best not to come alone next time. Farewell..."

  Lu Chen had just finished stripping the skin of the single-horned fire wolf, and was pouring its blood into a bottle he had prepared earlier. He then put away the horn and only then heard Xue's reminder. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Yu Huo has taken note of it. I'll be leaving soon."

  "That's great."

  Listen to advice and eat a full meal. Seeing Lu Chen's nonchalant attitude, the Xue surname man nodded slightly and followed the Chen surname man and He surname man into the woods.

  Lu Chen naturally had to leave, from the beginning, his purpose was just to take a look at the situation here and then formulate a cultivation plan. It's just that he can't leave now...

  "With my current strength, I can handle one lone wolf with ease. Two shouldn't be a problem either. If I can take on three, and if I'm lucky enough to encounter such a group, then I'll have a chance to hone my skills."

  Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, pinching a low-grade spirit stone in his hand to replenish his depleted spiritual power.

  "The Void Sword Technique consumes more spiritual energy than the Taoist technique, and in this case, the speed of absorbing the spiritual energy from the spirit stone will also be faster. If you consume nine layers, it may not take a day to absorb one spirit stone, half a day is enough. Indeed, cultivating here is much faster than cultivating inside the sect."

  "The Great Expansion Technique emphasizes a solid foundation, I need to accumulate more spiritual energy than ordinary people, about twice as much, in order to advance to the sixth layer of Qi Refining. According to the amount of spiritual energy absorbed from the spirit stones, others would need 200 pieces, but I estimate that at least 400 pieces are required. Good grief, 400 pieces! Even all my savings wouldn't be enough. However, I have the Great Expansion Technique and the innate Stone Pulse Body, which allows me to absorb spiritual energy at twice the speed of others. Time-wise, it's almost the same. No way, I must hunt more demon beasts."

  After careful consideration, Lu Chen had a general direction for his cultivation goals.

  He got up and picked dozens of herbs, which could be exchanged for spiritual stones. It was a pity not to take them, so Lu Chen began to move forward...

  After walking for a while, the number of lone wolves gradually increased, with groups of five or six... eight or even more than ten. Lu Chen searched for a long time but couldn't find any groups of two or three, and he couldn't help feeling a bit discouraged.

  Looking at the sky, it's still early, but rushing on the road also takes some time. This is my first time coming to Honghuang, and it's not suitable to spend the night in the wilderness, fearing danger.

  "Alright, let's head back first and prepare more vials of beast blood. We'll come back later and see how much spirit stone we can get for this pelt, blood, and horn. Next time, we might have to stay here for a few more days..."

  With a plan in mind, Lu Chen decided to give up staying in Hongyuan and head straight for the Xianmeng City.

  At noon, dark clouds began to move over from the east, and a light rain started falling, making the desolate landscape even more mysterious and profound...

  PS: Cough, 3 more came. Seeking votes~