Chapter 59: Life or Death!

Almost at the exact moment Chen Heng's voice rang out, Bai Xiaochun, who had been pinned to the tree, suddenly raised his head. His eyes revealed a savage ferocity. He lifted his left hand and grabbed the arrow stuck outside his right shoulder. Despite the barbs embedded in his flesh, he yanked it out with brutal force.

Blood gushed wildly as the arrow was torn out along with chunks of flesh. Bai Xiaochun's body trembled violently from the pain, but he showed no hesitation. At that moment, *Violet Qi Cauldron Control* erupted fully within him. With the power of *Lifting the Heavy as Though Light*, he hurled the arrow straight at the approaching member of the Fallen Chen Clan, who was at the eighth level of Qi Condensation.

A sharp, piercing sound echoed in all directions. The arrow, now moving even faster than before, howled through the air toward the opponent.

Under the technique of *Lifting the Heavy as Though Light*, the force behind the arrow was as if it had been launched by a mountain.

At the same time, Bai Xiaochun's body fell from the tree. He quickly formed a hand seal and pointed forward. Immediately, the wooden sword flew out with a shriek, creating a dual attack. A chilling killing intent erupted into the skies. After countless life-and-death battles with the Fallen Chen Clan, Bai Xiaochun's combat experience had soared without him even realizing it. It was as if his innate talent for battle, long hidden deep in his bones, had finally been awakened by repeated brushes with death.

The member of the Fallen Chen Clan, who was about to fire a second arrow, was shocked. He had not expected Bai Xiaochun to be so ruthless. Thinking back, he realized that Bai Xiaochun may have deliberately taken the arrow earlier to avoid being bound by the blood flesh and to set up this very counterattack.

He abruptly retreated. As a seasoned eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivator who had long battled fierce beasts in the Fallen Star Mountains, he had plenty of experience. Though caught off guard, he didn't immediately defend himself. Instead, he used that fleeting moment to fully draw the bow he had half-pulled.

"Let's see if you block this!" he growled. The second arrow shot out with a shriek, heading straight for Bai Xiaochun. A vicious gleam appeared in his eyes.

He believed Bai Xiaochun would use the wooden sword to block it, thereby nullifying the twin strike and allowing him to regain the upper hand.

But at that critical moment, Bai Xiaochun's eyes turned bloodshot. He could not afford to give his opponent the slightest chance. If he got entangled in a drawn-out fight, others would soon arrive, and he would be dead for sure.

Gritting his teeth, he didn't even attempt to block the arrow with his wooden sword. He let it pierce straight through his abdomen.

In the same instant, his own arrow, charged with devastating force, pierced through the chest of the Fallen Chen Clan member, blood splattering everywhere. The man let out a shrill scream, shock filling his eyes. He tried to retreat using the arrow's momentum—

But at that exact moment, Bai Xiaochun's wooden sword, like a harbinger of death, slashed through the air and curled around the enemy's neck. In a blink, his head flew off.

Having finished the kill, Bai Xiaochun spat out a mouthful of blood. Without pausing, he turned and dashed into the forest behind him, quickly vanishing among the trees.

Just a few breaths later, figures from the Fallen Chen Clan rushed toward the scene from all directions. Each of them was shocked and horrified by the brutality of what they'd just witnessed. Bai Xiaochun's willingness to trade injury for a kill stunned them deeply.

Fallen Chen Clan's young master, Chen Heng, also arrived at the forest's edge with a flicker of his body.

He looked at the headless corpse of the eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivator, then at the blood-flesh bindings nearby, and fell silent. A powerful killing intent surged in his eyes.

"Chen Feng, Chen Gu — the two of you search the perimeter to prevent a diversion. The rest of you… follow me in. Unless we retrieve that man's head, we do not return!" With a wave of his sleeve, Chen Heng stepped into the forest. Behind him, five Fallen Chen Clan cultivators followed — three at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and two at the seventh.

The two seventh-level cultivators split off, obeying orders to search outside, while the other three, with killing intent in their eyes, followed Chen Heng into the forest.

In the wilderness of the nameless mountain range, Bai Xiaochun staggered with dizziness. His shoulder, abdomen, and right leg were all seriously wounded. On this rainy night, the chill penetrated deep into his body, causing his already shivering frame to tremble even more violently.

"Am I going to die…" Bai Xiaochun gave a bitter laugh. He looked down at his many wounds, and the searing pain made tears well up in his eyes.

In his mind, he saw again the scene of his parents' corpses growing cold, remembered the terror he felt as a child when they passed away.

Maybe it was from that moment on that he had developed such a deep fear of death.

"I want to live!" Bai Xiaochun wiped away his tears with his left hand, gritting his teeth against the cold. He sprinted through the forest, not knowing where he was going or what the future held — the only thought in his mind:

**"Survive!"**

That terror of death ignited a hidden reservoir of strength within him. It drove him forward through the stormy night.

He even slowly noticed that his cultivation, after these repeated brushes with death, was showing signs of loosening. It seemed that he was not far from breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation.

Gradually, the sun began to rise in the distance. Shafts of sunlight pierced through the treetops, reflecting off raindrops and casting dazzling lights in the forest. But the rain showed no sign of stopping.

Behind Bai Xiaochun, Chen Heng and the other four clan members continued their pursuit through the forest. Chen Heng's expression was growing darker. Despite the target's serious injuries, his speed in the forest was astonishing. They had been chasing him all night and still couldn't catch up — they'd even lost track of his direction.

The storm had washed away all traces. Even though they were veteran cultivators used to tracking beasts in the Fallen Star Mountains, they couldn't follow him in this heavy rain.

"Split up and search. He's wounded and can't have gotten far. Each of you spread out with a hundred-zhang gap. If you find him, do not engage — immediately retreat and signal me!" Chen Heng barked, his words firm. The three eighth-level cultivators hesitated for a moment but nodded and split off in different directions.

Time passed.

A day later, Bai Xiaochun was completely exhausted, at the edge of collapse. Were it not for his overwhelming will to live, he would have fallen long ago.

His lips were cracked, his face pale, and his speed had slowed significantly. After walking another incense stick's worth of time, his expression suddenly changed. He looked to his right and saw a figure leaping out — not toward him, but away in retreat.

It was a long-faced young man — one of the three eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivators of the Fallen Chen Clan. As he retreated, he crushed a jade slip in his hand, instantly sending out a message.

Bai Xiaochun's heart sank. He accelerated into the forest.

The long-faced cultivator hesitated briefly but then smiled, seeing two more figures closing in from about a hundred zhang away on either side.

They were also eighth-level cultivators. Further in the distance, a streak of light shot through the air — Chen Heng himself was approaching.

The three were converging fast. The two on either side would reach him in about ten breaths, and Chen Heng within twenty.

The long-faced youth laughed loudly. Having made his decision, he exploded with full power. Protective lights surrounded him, and with a slap to his storage pouch, he summoned a massive sword.

The seven-foot-long sword had a simple, ancient appearance. Held in his hands, it radiated deadly sharpness. With killing intent flashing in his eyes, he charged toward Bai Xiaochun.

"A genius from the Spirit Stream Sect — killing you will be a delight. Much more satisfying than killing those scattered cultivators!" he laughed, slashing down with his sword. A sharp sword light roared out, and as he formed a seal with his left hand, he pointed — summoning a fist-sized fireball that shot toward Bai Xiaochun.

Boom!

Despite the rain, the fireball exploded with heat, sending out a shockwave. Bai Xiaochun faltered for a moment, turning back with killing intent in his eyes. He knew that unless he eliminated this pursuer, escape would be impossible.

But just as he turned, the long-faced youth suddenly retreated, mocking him. He had no intention of giving Bai Xiaochun a chance to strike back. His only goal was to stall.

Bai Xiaochun clenched his fists and dashed forward again. Yet the long-faced youth kept interfering. Moments later, the other two eighth-level cultivators arrived, releasing their full power and charging.

Seeing this, the long-faced youth let out a triumphant laugh and joined the assault. The three closed in from different directions.

Chen Heng, still flying in from the distance, finally relaxed. With three eighth-level experts working together, even someone as slippery as Bai Xiaochun had no chance.

"Too bad… You won't live long enough to grow stronger," Chen Heng murmured. But in the next moment, his expression changed drastically.

In the distance, Bai Xiaochun was surrounded by the three. As their spells and techniques closed in, Bai Xiaochun formed a hand seal and launched his wooden sword at one attacker. At the same time, he threw a punch at another.

Boom!

The wooden sword was blocked, but his punch forced one opponent to cough up blood and stagger back. Bai Xiaochun also vomited blood, his wounds reopening — yet before he could retreat, the long-faced youth closed in and stabbed his sword forward.

In the face of danger, Bai Xiaochun managed to avoid a fatal hit to the heart. The sword pierced straight through his chest. The pain was so intense, sweat poured uncontrollably down his face.

The long-faced youth laughed as he tried to pull the sword back — but Bai Xiaochun suddenly grabbed the blade, and with a shout, threw himself forward, forcing the sword deeper into his body until only the hilt remained.

With that brutal move, he appeared directly in front of the stunned long-faced youth. The youth's face turned to horror — he was enveloped by a powerful sense of impending death.

He tried to pull back in a panic, but Bai Xiaochun's right hand, flickering with dark light, grabbed his throat.

"You—" the youth gasped, but before he could finish…

**CRACK!**

**His neck was crushed.**