Chapter 8: Fierce Battle in the Stone Cave

  So Su Che moved slowly towards the cave entrance, getting closer while trying to find a better angle for himself to launch an attack.

  As the distance drew closer, Su Che also judged that the guy's cultivation strength should be at the third layer of Qi Refining, still within the realm of the early stages of Qi Refining. (The four small realms of the Qi Refining stage: layers one to three are the early stages; layers four to six are the middle stages; layers seven to nine are the later stages; and the tenth layer is the peak realm of Qi Refining Great Perfection.)

  This is also because Su Che formally entered the Qi Refining stage, only then would he possess the ability to judge his opponent's cultivation. At that time in the mountain valley when they encountered each other, he still couldn't do it yet.

  Inside the stone cave, although he was healing his wounds, he still maintained enough vigilance. Even if Su Che fell silently to the ground and approached within a distance of ten zhang, he was still discovered by him in advance.

  "Who is it?"

  The person inside the cave had a loud and clear voice, but Su Che was able to tell that this wasn't his normal voice, but rather one that was forced out with great effort, trying to cover up how severely injured and weak he actually was.

  Su Che also did not respond, standing outside the cave staring straight at his opponent.

  "Is that you?" The person inside the cave immediately recognized Su Che, who was actually the poor and pitiful self-cultivating disciple from a few days ago in that mountain valley...

  No way! He's already at Qi Refining stage...

  "Have you already cultivated true energy?" The person inside the cave showed a hint of surprise, and his trembling voice inadvertently revealed his current dire situation.

  "Yes." Su Che's expression remained calm and composed as he naturally changed the way he addressed him: "Senior brother, please instruct me on how to address you?"

  "Chen Shi."

  His name is as ordinary as his appearance.

  "Brother Chen, why are you the only one here? Where's Brother Bai Ji and Sister Yun Lan?" Su Che tried to make conversation, intentionally stalling for time, wanting to more accurately assess his injuries.

  Chen Shi's face was dark, and he knew that his injuries were not light, so he frankly said: "We encountered a monster, the three of us joined forces but were no match for it, we had to scatter and escape... I'm injured, I plan to rest here for a day."

  "How is Shixiong's injury? Do you need me to help..." Su Che revealed a warm and enthusiastic expression, making a gesture as if he was about to rush into the stone cave.

  "No need!"

  Chen Shi's expression changed, and he subconsciously tried to stop her, but then his eyes rolled over, and he nodded: "Alright, I'll trouble you then."

  Su Che had already understood in his heart, and with a flick of his wrist, he threw the stone that was pinched between his fingers, using the technique of shooting hidden weapons like an ordinary martial artist.

  Although it is a worldly method, it is also the stimulation of true energy. A small stone has enough power to pierce through a large tree that two people can hug together. This is the terrible power of true energy, even if it is only at the stage of practicing energy.

  Undoubtedly, Chen Shi was also a profound and cunning person. In the face of danger, he had long anticipated many dangerous situations and secretly hid two talismans in his left and right hands, one for attack and the other for defense.

  The moment Su Che threw the stone, his left and right hands moved simultaneously, the defensive 'Vajra Seal' was activated on his body, and the attacking 'Ice Arrow Seal' also shot out.

  Bang!

  The pebble-like projectile seemed to hit Chen Shi's chest, but was blocked by a thin layer of golden light. The pebble exploded into fine powder and did not cause any harm to Chen Shi.

  This is the protective effect of the Diamond Seal.

  At the same time, Su Che threw a stone and then prudently dodged to the left, hiding behind a large rock.

  It's really true that being cautious can avoid big mistakes. Although I didn't understand Chen Shi's methods, I happened to dodge the shallow blue ice arrow that was over three feet long.

  Pfft!

  This ice arrow is not as simple as the ordinary sharp arrow, although it did not hit Su Che, it completely entered a giant stone more than one person high, almost piercing through this giant stone, and also exploded its freezing effect inside the stone block.

  The terrifying low temperature caused the entire boulder to be covered in frost in an instant, and Su Che, hiding behind it, shuddered violently, as if he had fallen into an ice pit and been soaked through by the piercingly cold water.

  "This is really..."

  Su Che's eyes widened, and while secretly rejoicing, he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear: "But still underestimated the opponent, these door disciples' means, how could they be guessed by a half-baked cultivator like himself?"

  Inside the stone cave, Chen Shi shouted loudly: "Are you Su Che? Don't be foolish, leave immediately and I can still forgive you. When we return to the sect, I can even greatly promote you."

  "Hmph! Su Che coldly sneered in his heart, he was already in a situation where he couldn't turn back, even if he knew it was impossible, he still had to do it! If he didn't die, would he himself have a future?"

  Go back to the sect and rely on me? Hmph, Ling Chi is still somewhat comparable to me.

  Without hesitation, Su Che bent down and picked up another stone, flying out from behind the giant stone covered with white frost, and shot the stone dart in mid-air.

  Whoosh!

  He was once a qualified martial artist, and his accuracy in throwing hidden weapons was still good, hitting Chen Shi's chest position again.

  Bang!

  A flash of golden light, the stone exploded into fragments, but still couldn't hurt him.

  However, Su Che also knew that the Golden Armor Symbol's defense was strong, but its energy was limited. After withstanding a series of attacks, there would come a time when his spiritual power would be exhausted. Even if he could bring out more defensive symbols, if the force of the attack was sufficient, he himself would still suffer some degree of shock.

  That's right, it's bullying him when he's seriously injured, can't dodge, can't move, and can't withstand too much trouble.

  Kill him!

  This was Su Che's intention, in short, he must not let him leave the Blood Mountain Range alive.

  "Su Shidi, there's no need to be like this, you can't possibly hurt me..." Chen Shi in the cave naturally guessed Su Che's intentions and was filled with resentment in his heart, but still had to repeatedly advise him.

  Su Che filled his ears and didn't hear, flying back and forth outside the cave, continuously shooting stones and darts inside. The little monk struck the bell, hitting the opponent's Vajra symbol protective cover.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang......

  It's true, this move is indeed useful. Although each blow isn't heavy, it's like a small wooden hammer constantly pounding Chen Shi's heart, not enough to kill him, but making him extremely uncomfortable.

  Chen Shi was already seriously injured, and the severe poison in his body had not been completely resolved. After being beaten for over a dozen times, the golden defensive talisman on his body still hadn't dissipated, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood with a "wa" sound.

  Nor did he know if it was due to the shock or if Su Che's despicable tactics had enraged him and worsened his injuries...

  "Fine, fine, you've forced me to this!" His face twisted in a scowl, his right hand trembling as he pulled out from his waist a talisman emitting an extremely strong spiritual energy fluctuation.

  Su Che flew back and forth outside the cave, but didn't see the talisman he had just taken out, yet heard his words full of resentment.

  With just this sentence, Su Che realized something and decisively turned around and ran away!

  Waaaah~~~~

  A fiery dragon emerged from the stone cave, shaking with a strange whistling sound, as if it were a real dragon's angry roar, shocking people's hearts.

  Boom!

  The fire dragon couldn't find a target to attack, but suddenly exploded into a sea of flames, covering an area of over 20 zhang.

  Su Che barely escaped the range of the fire, the terrifying high temperature in the air made him feel like he was in a furnace, and his long hair at the back of his head was scorched.

  "Fortunately, I've grown an extra heart's eye and dodged in time. Otherwise, just this one attack would have been enough to burn me to a crisp... Who knows what level of talisman this fire dragon is, its power is so terrifying?"

  Su Che didn't have time to think much, and with a few consecutive leaps, he returned to the outside of the stone cave where Chen Shi was hiding, but this time he didn't arrive at the entrance, but instead landed on the back side of the stone cave.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......

  Su Che adopted another approach, taking out the short sword given to him by Yu Qing Dao Ren, using the external release of sword energy to cut and slash those huge boulders from a distance.

  External sword energy, or the martial arts techniques of a secular warrior, cannot be considered as true cultivation methods. This is also unavoidable, as Su Che had just entered the Qi Refining stage and did not have the opportunity to learn authentic Taoist internal alchemy techniques.

  Not even one move!

  However, the sword energy formed by the external release of true energy also has a bit of invincibility, and this short sword is not an ordinary product. The sharp sword energy can be used to cut through ordinary rocks with great effect.

  This method shouldn't be bad. That cave, made of several giant stones stacked on top of each other, as long as the supporting structure is dismantled, Chen Shi can be buried alive inside.

  Each of these massive stones weighs tens of thousands of catties, and it's uncertain whether they can crush him to death. Pressing him down on the spot should be no problem.

  This guy is seriously injured and has difficulty moving, even a slight movement of his fingers makes him grit his teeth in pain. If he's crushed by the giant stone, won't he be at the mercy of others?

  (New book upload stage, extremely need everyone's support, please don't forget to collect and recommend votes, thank you)