Yang Che immediately rushed into the forest, put away his Sophora japonica Magical Artifact, and ran wildly through the woods.
Although he had made up his mind to fight with all his strength, he didn't want these two Cultivators to see his intentions.
In addition, he was at a disadvantage in terms of magical power and had to constantly pay attention to conserving it.
At this moment, Yang Che heard the female Cultivator suddenly say, "Senior Brother, this person's Magical Artifact is quite rare. Let's just punish him slightly, take his things, and then leave quickly."
"Junior Sister, there's no need to worry. This kid is so poor, he clearly has no background. Even if we beat him to death, no one will find out."
The male Cultivator's tone was full of mockery and contempt. As he spoke, he also descended into the forest, blocking Yang Che's path.
"Are you trying to escape towards a place where your fellow Disciples are?"
The male Cultivator sneered, spreading his palm, and a ball of fire danced in his hand.
Yang Che was expressionless. He looked up at the female Cultivator who was still in mid-air, and his eyelids twitched slightly.
Just then, the male Cultivator snorted coldly, and the fireball in his hand slammed fiercely towards Yang Che.
Yang Che was unable to dodge in time and hastily cast the 'Ice Arrow Technique' towards the fireball.
Ice and fire met, producing a strange sound.
The Ice Arrow Technique failed to block the fireball, but it bought Yang Che time to dodge.
He rolled on the ground, and the fireball struck in front of Yang Che, burning a pit about ten feet wide into the ground.
One of Yang Che's legs was grazed by the fireball, and a burning pain immediately spread through it. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and at the same time, he subtly glanced at a certain spot on the ground.
He had secretly buried two Flying Fire Needles there.
Without hesitation, Yang Che lightly patted his Storage Pouch, took out the low-grade 'Wandering Cloud Sword,' and fiercely hacked towards the male Cultivator.
With a 'clang,' the Wandering Cloud Sword struck the fiery red shield, unable to break through its defense at all.
However, Yang Che had already struck and retreated, leaping to a distance and continuing to run, while also burying two more Flying Fire Needles under his feet.
The male Cultivator, with the mindset of a cat playing with a mouse, watched Yang Che's disheveled appearance and felt a great sense of satisfaction.
Previously, this kid, as a weakling, had dared to strike at them first, which directly angered him.
Another fireball slammed towards Yang Che.
Yang Che fled in a circuitous manner, seemingly in a sorry state, but unconsciously buried all twenty Flying Fire Needles underground.
These twenty Flying Fire Needles formed an irregular circle, scattered beneath the ground where he and the male Cultivator had been maneuvering.
He still held four Flying Fire Needles tightly in his palm.
At this moment, Yang Che's body was covered in countless charred wounds, and he looked even more disheveled than before.
"Senior Brother, stop playing around. Take the things and let's go quickly."
The female Cultivator suddenly spoke again from mid-air, her tone subtly revealing a hint of urgency.
"Alright, I'll listen to Junior Sister."
The male Cultivator also seemed to feel he had played enough. He then took out a fiery red great hammer from his Storage Pouch, preparing to smash Yang Che to death with one blow.
"Kid, be born into a good family in your next life."
The male Cultivator let out a sinister laugh, directly raising the great hammer, intending to smash Yang Che's head.
Just then, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in one of his soles, as if something had suddenly pricked it.
In an instant of hesitation, the same stinging pain immediately came from his other sole.
"Bastard, you dare to ambush me!"
The male Cultivator was both shocked and enraged. The fiery red great hammer slammed into Yang Che's chest with lightning speed.
Yang Che, who was fully concentrating on controlling the Flying Fire Needles, had no time to dodge. He felt as if he had been struck by a mountain, a large mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and then he heard the sound of his sternum breaking.
However, those Flying Fire Needles that Yang Che had previously buried underground, under his full control, now all shot out from the ground like venomous snakes, striking the male Cultivator's heart, glabella, neck, and other vital points like lightning.
The male Cultivator was currently resisting the rampage of the two Flying Fire Needles that had drilled into his soles, so his speed was completely at a disadvantage.
Although he timely took out his fiery red shield to block the Flying Fire Needles aimed at his glabella, neck, and heart, he was directly pierced through the back of his head by a Flying Fire Needle shot from behind.
The male Cultivator mumbled something, then collapsed to the ground, his life fading away.
Meanwhile, in mid-air, the female Cultivator seemed to have seen something incredible. She did not attack Yang Che but immediately stepped on her Magical Artifact and disappeared into the vast dark night.
Yang Che, at this moment, was willing but unable to pursue.
The Flying Fire Needles in his palm, which contained an advanced usage, were originally prepared for the female Cultivator, but he didn't expect her to not attack and simply leave like that.
In fact, Yang Che had no idea that the female Cultivator had been frightened by Yang Che's Physical Body strength.
In her opinion, her Senior Brother's heavy hammer, which had poured most of his magical power into it, would have turned even a Qi Refining fifth-layer Cultivator's Physical Body into a pulp, let alone a Qi Refining fourth-layer Cultivator.
But this young man, who was only at Qi Refining fourth-layer, had actually endured it?
In addition, she was naturally timid and had repeatedly urged her Senior Brother to quickly take the things and leave. But her Senior Brother had refused to listen and had finally died here in such a bizarre way, so she was directly 'scared' away.
Yang Che, lying on the ground, had already swallowed a Nourishing Yuan Pill.
However, he dared not stay here long, not to mention that the Spiritual Qi fluctuations from the battle might attract other Cultivators, and the female Cultivator might very well call for help.
Yang Che endured the severe pain in his chest, stubbornly stood up, collected all the Flying Fire Needles, then put the male Cultivator's fiery red shield and great hammer into his Storage Pouch. Just as he was about to step onto the Sophora japonica Magical Artifact to leave, he suddenly caught sight of the Storage Pouch at the male Cultivator's waist.
Yang Che felt his heart beating somewhat rapidly, but he still quickly took off the man's Storage Pouch, and then with great effort, threw the man's corpse into the cliff before returning to Wangxi Residence in Sunset Gorge.
Stepping into the small courtyard, his tightly strung nerves finally relaxed.
Sitting cross-legged, Yang Che began to fully heal his injuries and recover.
He was now filled with lingering fear, realizing that his entire back was soaked with cold sweat.
Fortunately, he had the Nourishing Yuan Pill; otherwise, his life would truly have been in danger this time.
Unfortunately, his Nourishing Yuan Pills were also becoming fewer and fewer.
The chest injury was extremely severe. It took Yang Che more than half a month to recover enough to walk normally.
At this moment, he lay on a rattan chair, replaying every detail of that battle in his mind, summarizing his experiences and shortcomings.
It seems that even within the same Sect, it's unavoidable for fellow Disciples to harbor ill intentions.
While this left him feeling quite helpless, he also vaguely sensed that the world of Cultivation might be even more cruel than the mortal world.
Just like this time, if he hadn't had the Flying Fire Needles to use as a 'hidden weapon' for a sneak attack, there was no doubt that he would have been the one to die.
His own Cultivation level is important, but external objects also seem equally important.
Also, when that great hammer struck his chest, the inexplicable power hidden within his muscles and bones seemed to play a significant role.
Yang Che carefully pondered, then took out the "Heaven and Earth Chaos Art" and continued to study it.
Currently, although he could roughly read the three pages of text with characters, he still couldn't fully understand their meaning except for the first page.
And merely Cultivating what was described on the first page brought him a sense of mystery that amazed him every time.
"It's fine if my Cultivation progresses slowly. It seems I still need to continue Cultivating this Chaos Art."
After this battle, Yang Che became even more cautious. Apart from disguising himself to go out to Hundred Crafts Hall once to collect some herb Seeds, he stayed in Sunset Gorge and practiced Cultivation diligently.
It wasn't until two months later, when Yang Che found that the female Cultivator seemed to have taken no further action, that he opened the male Cultivator's Storage Pouch on a beautiful evening and took out its contents.
When he found a Jade Slip among them and read its contents, Yang Che was momentarily stunned.
It turned out that this male and female Cultivator had indeed found a way to quickly earn Spirit Stones.