Jiang Chen nodded and asked, "How were your hauls?"
"We were doing pretty well, but then Yan Yiming and his lot robbed us of everything!" Fatty Xuan's face was flushed with rage, teeth gritted in fury.
"So the spirit beads were taken — just hunt for more. As long as everyone's safe, that's what matters."
Jiang Chen then turned to Ouyang Ping. "Ouyang Ping, I owe you for delivering the message this time. I have two extra Green Spirit Beads here — consider them your reward."
Ouyang Ping scratched his head. "I… I couldn't possibly accept that."
"Take them." Jiang Chen furrowed his brow.
"Heh heh, well then, I'd be rude to refuse?" Ouyang Ping shrank back timidly, hunched over, and crept forward cautiously to accept the two Green Spirit Beads, thanking Jiang Chen profusely. "Thank you, Brother Jiang Chen."
Fatty Xuan let out a yelp. "Brother Chen, my shoulder blade still hurts a bit — can you take a look? Maybe it's dislocated?"
"A dislocation is nothing to make a fuss over. You're at the Six-Meridian True Qi stage — can't you even handle something like this?"
"Heh, well isn't that because Brother Chen is here!" Fatty Xuan was completely thick-skinned.
"Damn fatty," Jiang Chen cursed, but still walked over. He reached out and placed his hand on Fatty Xuan's shoulder blade.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen's nine-meridian True Qi surged. The hand resting on Fatty Xuan's shoulder balled into a fist and smashed down toward his chest with a thunderous blow!
Fatty Xuan let out a startled cry and tried to leap back, but he was half a beat too slow.
Bam!
A fist imbued with the profound mysteries of Four Withering and Four Flourishing struck him squarely.
Fatty Xuan's portly body slammed hard against the rock wall, blood spraying from his mouth.
Nearly at the exact instant Jiang Chen made his move, Huqiu Yue beside him moved as well. A short sword had appeared in his hand at some unknown moment, thrusting toward Jiang Chen's ribs like a venomous serpent.
The strike carried no flashy flourish whatsoever, yet like a serpent's bite, it aimed straight for a vital point.
Jiang Chen had clearly come prepared. At the same moment his fist struck Fatty Xuan, his other hand swept the nameless precious blade in a slash, barely intercepting that serpent-like sword strike.
Jiang Chen's figure retreated rapidly, about to leap sideways.
At that very moment, from within the darkness, a force without any warning shot forth from the void.
An arrow!
"True Qi condensed into a stream — a True Qi grandmaster?" Jiang Chen was greatly alarmed. He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
That arrow, blazing like a meteor, struck Jiang Chen's back with a thunderous impact.
Boom!
A muffled thud rang out. The arrowhead was razor-sharp and carried the full accumulated force of a True Qi grandmaster's strike. What should have been a scene of the arrow piercing clean through his chest did not materialize.
The arrow slammed into Jiang Chen's back with that heavy thud. Under the tremendous impact of the True Qi, Jiang Chen's body was blasted sideways for over ten meters before crashing heavily into the rock wall on the other side.
"Blegh…" A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
That devastating True Qi impact — even with the Sky-Silk Giant Whale Soft Armor protecting his body and preventing the arrow from piercing straight through, the powerful True Qi had still penetrated deep into his body, nearly sending his internal organs shifting out of place on the spot.
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. Jiang Chen gripped the nameless treasure blade in his right hand, propping himself up to stand. His Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil expanded to its absolute limit, scanning every direction.
The people right before his eyes, Jiang Chen was actually less concerned about. It was that hidden archer's strike he was most wary of.
If he were hit by that arrow just one more time, even if he didn't die, he would be severely wounded.
And within the opposing camp, there was actually a True Qi Realm master!
"Who exactly are you people?" Jiang Chen's tone was calm, yet he did not let his guard down in the slightest. With a sweep of his Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil, all he saw were various strange rocks.
"No good, there are too many visual obstructions here. I'll have to use the Wind-listening Ear." The Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil couldn't locate the target, so Jiang Chen activated the Wind-listening Ear once more.
This Wind-listening Ear could capture the faintest stir of wind or movement within a ten-li radius.
To the east—nothing!
To the west—also nothing!
To the south—aside from the sounds of subterranean creatures churning through the swamp, there was nothing!
To the north, Jiang Chen pricked up his ears and listened carefully, catching a faint sound of breathing, suppressed to its absolute limit. Without the Wind-listening Ear, he never would have picked it up.
"There's an archer at the True Qi Master level to the north!" Jiang Chen pinned down his opponent's position, and his heart settled with a bit more confidence.
"Jiang Chen, you're formidable! A mere high-stage True Qi Realm cultivator, yet you managed to find our weakness — impressive, truly impressive!"
The person impersonating Ouyang Ping tossed the two Green Spirit Beads aside, a strange smile curling at the corner of his lips: "A pity. Today, you will die without question."
"Die? I'll trade my life for a few of yours. Even if I go down, I'm dragging some of you with me."
"Hmph! That punch of yours injured Fourth Brother at best. Killing him? With your high-stage True Qi Realm cultivation, that's absolutely impossible!"
"Is that so? Then you overestimate your companion's ability to take a hit." Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
A single fist imbued with the profound mysteries of the Kurong Shenquan — even if the target was a True Qi Master, a direct hit to the chest would be fatal.
This much confidence, Jiang Chen still had.