sinovels Chapter 681 It's you? You actually broke through to the Nascent Soul stage!
Chapter 681 It's you? You actually broke through to the Nascent Soul stage!
Chen Fan looked at him indifferently, without answering.
His expression remained calm and expressionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
Seeing that he did not answer, Wu Yan's smile gradually faded, replaced by a sharper scrutiny.
He scrutinized Chen Fan's face, his gaze lingering on the dark-skinned, sharply defined features for a long while. Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were trying to discern something.
He felt that the face looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen it before.
The man in front of me had dark skin, wore a worn-out sheepskin robe, and old leather boots. His palms were calloused, and stone powder was embedded in his fingernails. He looked exactly like an old herdsman who had been herding sheep on the grassland for decades.
But what stood out in stark contrast to his attire were his eyes. The calmness in those eyes wasn't the simple honesty of a shepherd, but rather a composure that only comes from having seen too many storms.
Wu Yan stared at those eyes for a long time, then her pupils suddenly contracted sharply.
He remembered someone from the Hundred Sects Conference a year ago.
That person was just as steady as Mount Tai!
That person once used a single golden cicada to slay several Nascent Soul level Gu worms in a Gu worm battle, and in a Gu array battle, he used standard array flags to set up a sixth-grade Gu array, breaking a three-hundred-year record. On the cultivation arena, he fought to a draw with Song Tianren, the number one person below the Nascent Soul level.
That man was Zhao's top retainer, and the number one advisor to the eldest prince, Zhao Yan.
Chen Fan.
But shouldn't Chen Fan be somewhere in the State of Zhao?
Wang Zhenyue chased this man for three days and three nights, after which the man disappeared without a trace, and everyone thought he had long since fled back to the State of Zhao.
How did this person end up in this remote little tribe and become a shepherd who herds sheep and carves stones?
Wu Yan's expression changed.
He instinctively took a half step back, his throat bobbing: "You...you're Chen Fan?"
Chen Fan did not deny it, but just looked at him quietly.
Wu Yan reacted much faster than the bearded man.
He made his judgment almost the instant he confirmed Chen Fan's identity.
Although this person's cultivation level is only at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, his true combat strength cannot be measured by his cultivation level alone.
Both Xue Chanzi and She Lingzi were defeated by this man, and even a ruthless man like Song Tianren could only fight him to a draw.
Although he had been immersed in the Nascent Soul Great Perfection for many years, in terms of combat power, he was not even as good as Xue Chanzi, so how could he be a match for this eunuch?
"So it's Elder Chen." Wu Yan suppressed the turmoil in his heart and forced a smile. "I met Elder Chen once at the Hundred Sects Assembly. I never expected to see him here again today. I greatly admire Elder Chen's composure in the face of Wang Zhenyue's pursuit. Today's events are purely a misunderstanding. I will leave with my men now and will not disturb Elder Chen's cultivation."
He turned to leave after he finished speaking.
Chen Fan spoke up: "Since you recognize me, you must know my methods. When those Foundation Establishment cultivators came to the tribe to forcibly conscript men, I only drove them away and didn't take their lives. You've come again today. If I let you leave again, this tribe will never have peace."
Wu Yan's expression changed drastically.
Almost the instant Chen Fan finished speaking, he made a hand seal and slammed open the blood-red insect cage at his waist.
A dark red light flew out of the cage, transforming into a three-foot-long blood-red centipede worm. Its body was covered with dense, blood-red carapaces, and its hundred legs moved in unison, emitting a rustling sound that made one's scalp crawl.
The aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator at the Great Perfection stage was released without any concealment, making the surrounding air feel somewhat heavy and stagnant.
The bearded man and the other two Foundation Establishment Gu cultivators also unleashed their respective Gu worms, filling the air with the hissing of Gu worms and the sweet, pungent smell of insect spirit energy.
Chen Fan did not draw his sword.
He simply took a step forward.
As this step was taken, a pressure from the Nascent Soul stage spread out in all directions like an invisible tide.
The oppressive aura was neither violent nor aggressive; it simply existed calmly, like the wind on the grassland, omnipresent and all-pervasive.
Under this oppressive force, the crimson centipede gu worm at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage let out a mournful hiss. Its massive body trembled violently a few times before collapsing to the ground, its hundred legs all curled up, not daring to even lift its head.
The newly replaced Gu worms in the insect cage at the waist of the bearded man died on the spot without even making a sound, turning into several pools of black water that seeped out from the gaps in the insect cage.
Wu Yan's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
"Nascent Soul...you've broken through to the Nascent Soul stage?"
At the Hundred Sects Conference a year ago, Chen Fan was only at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. Although his combat power was astonishing, his cultivation level was still comparable to Chen Fan's.
However, after only a year, this person has already entered the realm of Nascent Soul.
What he knew even more clearly was that Chen Fan was able to kill Li Jiuyuan, defeat Xue Chanzi, and fight Song Tianren to a draw when he was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Now that he had broken through to the Divine Transformation stage, his strength had increased many times over, and he was no longer a match for him.
Chen Fan did not answer his question.
He raised his right hand, joined his index and middle fingers together, and waved it gently.
There was no sword light, no spiritual energy fluctuation, and no earth-shattering sound.
With just a gentle flick of two fingers together, it was like an invisible sword.
Wu Yan felt an indescribable, powerful force coming towards him. The force was a mixture of the purity of spiritual energy and the domineering nature of demonic energy, as well as a power of intent that he could not understand at all.
Before he could even react, his protective Gu aura shattered silently. He was sent flying seven or eight feet away as if struck by an invisible hand, crashing heavily onto the grass, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.
Those Foundation Establishment stage Gu cultivators didn't even utter a sound before flying out and crashing to the ground.
Several detached Gu worms froze in mid-air for a moment before falling to the ground, lifeless upon impact.
Wu Yan struggled to lift her head, looking at Chen Fan's still calm face, her eyes filled with shock and regret.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but found that his voice was stuck in his throat and he couldn't make it out.
Chen Fan only used 30% of his strength in that attack.
If he had used all his strength, he would be a corpse by now.
Chen Fan withdrew his hand and said calmly, "Go back and tell the Gu King that we've protected the people of this tribe. From now on, no one on the grasslands shall set foot here again. If anyone doesn't believe us, they are making an enemy of us."
Wu Yan struggled to his feet, bowed deeply to Chen Fan, blood still seeping from the corner of his mouth.
He dared not utter another word, but staggered to the horse and mounted it.
The other Gu cultivators also struggled to their feet and scrambled onto their horses.
The four horses fled into the depths of the grassland without looking back, and soon disappeared into the horizon.
The tribe was very quiet.
Batu stood at the tent entrance, watching all this. The expression on his face was no longer one of fear, but rather a bewildered look that left him speechless.
Batel stood beside his father, holding Qiqige in his arms. Qiqige had woken up at some point and was looking in Chen Fan's direction with her bright black eyes.
Batel muttered to himself, "Uncle Chen..."
Batu took a deep breath, about to say something, when another streak of light appeared on the distant horizon.