Chapter 110, No Winner and Good Things Happen to Those Who Endure

Translator: Raznick

 

The shore of Green Mist Pond was where Zhou Chun continued to stubbornly hold on.

 

Facing an enemy who was superior to him in every way, all he could do was endure the blows and wait for an opportunity.

 

That opportunity just might be the arrival of Zhou Jiarui, who should be returning soon.

 

It could also be a mistake made by the enemy after a prolonged, fruitless assault.

 

Regardless of which chance came first, it would help him turn the tide.

 

Meanwhile, in midair, the middle-aged man grew increasingly startled and agitated with each passing moment.

 

He never anticipated that Zhou Chun and his pet would work together so effectively, actually managing to block wave after wave of his attacks.

 

What frustrated him was that, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he couldn’t even defeat a Qi Refining cultivator, a truly shameful display.

 

Even if no one witnessed this scene, he still found it hard to accept.

 

Furthermore, the continuous attacks, coupled with the spiritual power expended in the previous chase, had gradually depleted his own reserves by nearly half.

 

For a rogue cultivator to be driven to this point, things were not looking good.

 

Most rogue cultivators who ventured out in the wild could not afford to deplete their spiritual power; otherwise, they’d have to meditate to restore their spiritual power in the wild if they did not want to die.

 

Therefore, an experienced rogue cultivator would become extremely vigilant when their spiritual power was depleted by more than half, consciously controlling their own spiritual power consumption.

 

The middle-aged man decided to conserve spiritual power and ceased flying, descending to the ground.

 

Losing the high ground meant he had to get within three hundred meters to ensure his attacks would reach Zhou Chun and not be weakened by hills and trees, only shy of Zhou Chun and the Rock Turtle’s attack range.

 

This finally gave Zhou Chun an opportunity.

 

He first cast Soaring Art, and after weathering one wave of attack, swiftly raced toward the middle-aged man alongside Silver Thunder Python, flanking him.

 

Hmm?

 

The middle-aged man was puzzled by Zhou Chun’s actions, unsure why Zhou Chun dared to rush toward him without the Rock Turtle’s protection.

 

Did he believe that by letting him approach, he could harm him?

 

How ridiculous!

 

Nevertheless, though he didn’t believe Zhou Chun could harm him, for insurance, he raised his hand and beckoned, summoning a patch of blue spiritual light from the jade bowl artifact before him, which formed a shield to protect himself.

 

The jade bowl artifact, while not as powerful as many purely offensive artifacts, excelled in its versatility and suitability for both offense and defense, making it perfect for a rogue cultivator like him.

 

After all, as a rogue cultivator, he found it difficult to acquire both offensive and defensive second-grade artifacts at once, and his adventures often led to complex and unpredictable situations.

 

Under these circumstances, the usefulness of this jade bowl artifact, when calculated as a whole, certainly outweighed that of a single offensive or defensive artifact.

 

And now, with a layer of protection cast upon him, he sneered and spurred his jade bowl artifact, aiming his attack at Zhou Chun.

 

Without the rotten and tough Rock Turtle’s protection, he didn’t believe this mere Qi Refining cultivator could withstand two rounds of his attacks.

 

While attacking Zhou Chun, Silver Thunder Python Whitey unleashed a furious attack.

 

Whitey opened its mouth, spitting a silver-white thunder orb.

 

After the silver-white thunder orb exploded in front of the enemy, another snake-shaped lightning bolt struck his protective barrier, causing it to shake violently and dim considerably.

 

This caused the middle-aged man to furrow his brow slightly.

 

However, seeing that Zhou Chun had already been beaten to coughing up blood, with most of his defensive mystical art dissipated, he shrugged off the matter and launched a second round of attack.

 

He failed to notice that Zhou Chun had already closed the distance between them to only one hundred and fifty meters.

 

Now was the time!

 

As he witnessed the middle-aged man launch another attack, Zhou Chun’s face twisted with ferocity as he threw both hands simultaneously, launching two strands of Hard Gold Sword Energy.

 

The strikes tore through the air, emitting a sharp cracking sound.

 

In an instant, the middle-aged man felt death gripping his heart in a vise.

 

He had no time for detailed consideration and hastily channeled spiritual power, displaying a spiritual power barrier that any Foundation Establishment cultivator would know, while also slightly shifting his form.

 

Two muffled sounds were heard.

 

The spiritual power barrier that he had hastily activated, along with the faintly gleaming blue barrier, was easily pierced by the two extraordinarily sharp Hard Gold Sword Energy.

 

It was as easy as destroying the several defensive mystical arts that the Rock Turtle had used earlier.

 

Two crimson splashes of blood quickly appeared on his shoulders and abdomen, staining his clothes.

 

This wasn’t the most distressing thing.

 

What truly distressed him was that after those sword energy strikes hit his body, they swiftly dispersed intensely sharp metal Qi, like countless steel needles piercing his flesh and bones.

 

The metal Qi around his abdomen, in particular, pierced his intestines and other internal organs.

 

It was as if he, as a cultivator just beginning to cultivate the Hard Gold Sword Energy, was directly practicing with that refined metal Qi.

 

Fortunately, a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s physical body had already undergone initial tempering upon reaching Foundation Establishment.

 

Otherwise, just this amount of metal Qi would be enough to take his life!

 

However, at the moment when he was in excruciating pain and tried to mobilize spiritual power to eliminate those metal Qi, a flash of silvery-white lightning suddenly struck him, instantly sending him reeling with smoke rising from his head and his hair standing on end.

 

It was then that he remembered he was still on the battlefield, and the enemy wasn’t dead yet.

 

He bit his teeth, enduring the pain, and summoned a spiritual power shield to protect himself, then glanced at the location where Zhou Chun was standing, and swiftly took off to flee the battlefield.

 

He could kill Zhou Chun now if he exerted more effort, but the result could be that he himself would be seriously injured or even die here due to the metal Qi within his body and the attack of the Silver Thunder Python.

 

This was naturally something he couldn’t accept.

 

On the ground, Zhou Chun, also heavily injured by the middle-aged man, let out a sigh of relief when he saw the other man finally flee.

 

He didn’t want to go down together.

 

The result of mutual injury was already considered a fairly good outcome for him.

 

He then gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and took out a jade vial from his storage bag, swallowing a pill.

 

The pills he consumed were the precious healing pills obtained when he killed that black-robed elder of the Dragonized Sect.

 

He was gravely injured, and only this healing pill, which was immensely beneficial even to Foundation Establishment cultivators, could help him rapidly stabilize his injuries and prevent lingering damage.

 

The Dragon Blood Restoration Pill truly lived up to its reputation as a rare pill even for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

 

After Zhou Chun took the pill, he simply meditated and regulated his breath for a while, feeling that much of his internal injuries had healed, allowing him to get up and walk around a bit.

 

He no longer lingered and immediately stowed the Rock Turtle into his spirit beast pouch, then crawled onto the back of the Silver Thunder Python and had it pull him toward the water.

 

The current situation made staying on land more dangerous.

 

Zhou Chun feared that the middle-aged man would suppress his injuries and return.

 

Therefore, entering the water was the safest option.

 

Once he reached the Green Mist Pond, Zhou Chun had the Silver Thunder Python carry him underwater for a distance to disperse his aura and scent and then directed it to swim toward a small island dozens of miles away.

 

The island was only just under two hundred acres, truly a very small island.

 

But it was sufficient for temporarily settling down and healing injuries.

 

Zhou Chun had the Rock Turtle and Silver Thunder Python conceal themselves and keep watch, then continued to meditate and refine the medicinal power of the Dragon Blood Restoration Pill in a mountain cave that the Rock Turtle had casually dug out.

 

After meditating for a while, Zhou Chun was suddenly startled by a loud explosion.

 

He walked out of the cave and opened his eyes to see a giant crimson and purple orchid pattern hanging high in the distant sky, visible throughout a radius of ten miles.

 

The pattern seemed to be clouds condensed from smoke, suspended in the sky thousands of meters high, and it did not dissipate.

 

It was a Violet Mist Cloud Smoke that only a clan elder carried.

 

“It seemed Eleventh Uncle had returned!”

 

After staring at the orchid pattern for a moment, Zhou Chun called out with delight.

 

He knew that Zhou Jiarui activating this communication smoke flower now was naturally not seeking help from others but summoning scattered clan members.

 

After all, if he truly encountered an enemy even Zhou Jiarui couldn’t handle within the Green Mist Pond, sending a communication smoke flower would be dragging other clan members to their deaths.

 

He wouldn’t do such a thing unless he was driven to the extreme.

 

At this time, Zhou Chun, after meditating and regulating his breath for several hours, had recovered considerably, and his spiritual power had also been replenished.

 

So after a moment’s consideration, he had the Silver Thunder Python carry him toward the direction of the purple orchid pattern.

 

Less than an hour later, Zhou Chun saw Zhou Jiarui’s figure suspended in the air.

 

“Whew, it’s great that you’re alright, Zhengchun!”

 

Upon seeing Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiarui also breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed with gratitude.

 

Zhou Chun didn’t know that after the elder returned, he found that the island had been occupied by other cultivators and saw the captured Zhou Zhengtao. He was filled with shock and anger.

 

Especially after reuniting with Zhou Zhengjing and others and learning that Zhou Chun had single-handedly lured away a Foundation Establishment Stage enemy, he felt a surge of fear.

 

Perhaps Zhou Zhengjing and others only knew that Zhou Chun was now valued by the Clan Leader and various elders, but they didn’t know how much he was valued.

 

But Zhou Jiarui knew that in the heart of Zhou Daoyi, Zhou Chun’s importance probably exceeded that of himself, this Foundation Establishment elder.

 

Because cultivators like him, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, were maybe few in number in the Zhou Clan, but as long as one was willing to spend resources, it was not difficult to rear one.

 

However, finding a replacement for someone like Zhou Chun, who possessed the capabilities of a clan leader and whose own innate cultivation and strength were not lacking, proved difficult even for the Zhou Clan.

 

If Zhou Chun were to die in the Green Mist Pond, he, Zhou Jiarui, and others like Zhou Zhengjing would likely become the Zhou Clan’s scapegoats.

 

Hearing Zhou Jiarui’s lament, Zhou Chun also realized that his uncle had likely been quite frightened by this situation.

 

Still, he did not proactively mention his own condition, but instead, he inquired with concern, “Eleventh Uncle, now that you have returned, have you found my Seventeenth Uncle and Third Sister? Are they alright?”

 

Zhou Jiarui replied, “They are all fine, and they have not sustained any serious injuries. Those blasted rogue cultivators have also been captured.”

 

Then, he looked at Zhou Chun with a concerned expression and asked, “However, you seem to have been injured. How is it? Were your injuries severe? Should I send you back to the clan to recuperate?”

 

Hearing him ask this, Zhou Chun seized the opportunity to express his feelings, saying, “I truly came close to losing my life this time.

 

“Fortunately, I am blessed with great fortune, and after a battle with that thief that left us both wounded, I managed to frighten him away.

 

“Now that I have taken a healing pill, my injuries are not major, and Eleventh Uncle need not worry about me.”

 

A battle that left both of you wounded?

 

Hearing Zhou Chun’s words, Zhou Jiarui was immediately shocked.

 

He knew who the thief Zhou Chun was referring to; he was a cultivator with the same cultivation as him—an early Foundation Establishment cultivator!

 

Could it be that Zhou Chun was joking?

 

Zhou Jiarui, who knew that Zhou Chun had previously killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator, stared at Zhou Chun in disbelief.

 

Then, he looked at Zhou Chun urgently and said, “After you fought that thief, you both sustained injuries? Did I hear that right?”

 

Zhou Chun, seeing his reaction, could only nod slightly and say, “Eleventh Uncle, you haven’t heard wrong. I’ll tell you the details after we return to the clan.”

 

He then requested, “But before that, please keep this a secret and don’t let more people know. Just say that I lured out a second-grade demon beast and fought with him, seizing an opportunity to escape.”

 

Hearing his words, Zhou Jiacheng had countless things he wanted to say in his heart, but he could only bury his doubts deep within.

 

He nodded solemnly and said, “I understand. I won’t say a word.”

 

Then he led Zhou Chun to meet up with Zhou Jiacheng and others.

 

After everyone gathered, Zhou Chun learned that the Foundation Establishment cultivator had actually been invited by the rogue cultivator who had previously discovered the Eight Antlers Stag herd together with Zhou Jiacheng.

 

These people were originally sailing directly to the island, but they unexpectedly encountered Zhou Clan’s Zhou Fei, who was returning to the island with Zhou Zhengtao.

 

So, upon seeing the Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhou Fei immediately triggered the rescue flare, a warning signal exclusive to the clan and sect, for Zhou Chun and the others on the island.

 

And when the Foundation Establishment cultivator saw this rescue flare, he realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately handed over Zhou Clan’s pair to the rogue cultivators to be guarded and then chased after Zhou Jiacheng, who had come to check on the situation on the island.

 

If Zhou Chun hadn’t lured the man away at the time, they would have likely been captured, and their situation would have been very dangerous.

 

At this point, after the whole story had become clear and he heard about Zhou Chun’s near-fatal encounter, Zhou Jiacheng also said with a regretful expression, “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t gone easy and silenced that man, this disaster wouldn’t have happened, and Zhengchun wouldn’t have been put in danger!”

 

“Forget it; if anyone’s to blame, I am. If I hadn’t taken half a day to rest at the clan, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s just that good things come to those who endure.” Zhou Jiarui waved his hand and sighed, signaling Zhou Jiacheng to stop blaming himself.

 

Then he turned cold. “This won’t be let go. Since we know the origin of that man, he won’t be able to run away so easily!”