Hearing these words filled with killing intent, Old Daoist Renewed Peace was unexpectedly not flustered. After glancing at Chen Chao, he spoke to himself, “What a bunch of useless trash. That’s fine too. Since they’re all dead, there’s no need to consider them anymore.”

In his view, since Chen Chao had come up the mountain alone and could reach this place, it meant those old daoists who had tried to stop him were all dead at Chen Chao’s hands.

In that case, although it did show that this young martial artist’s martial cultivation was truly unprecedented, after killing so many old daoists, how much strength could he still have left?

This kind of thing needed no explanation.

Therefore, Old Daoist Renewed Peace did not feel flustered at all. After sizing Chen Chao up, he smiled and said, “Boy, being able to reach this place, you can indeed be considered a hero of this current era. But that’s all. This penniless daoist truly does not understand. Isn’t it fine to live well? Why insist on coming here to die?”

Chen Chao did not answer this question, because after a brief pause, he could no longer conceal his killing intent. His body swept forward like an arrow released from the bow.

A surging, majestic qi moved ahead of Chen Chao's body, opening up a path here.

It was like a great wind had risen, blowing through everything in the cave dwelling. Naturally, the first to be affected was the old daoist’s already sparse white hair.

Old Daoist Renewed Peace narrowed his eyes. He was somewhat surprised at the surging blood vitality of the young martial artist before him.

For a martial artist not yet thirty years old, abundant blood vitality was normal. But he had not expected that after such a prolonged fierce battle, this martial artist still possessed such overflowing blood vitality. He was hardly like a human, more like a humanoid ferocious beast.

“Good, good. Such abundant blood vitality, perfect to be eaten together with this fruit. After eating both of you, this penniless daoist will be able to grow younger by a full sixty-year cycle!”

Old Daoist Renewed Peace raised his thin hands. Strands of heavy daoist qi slowly spread out, gradually forming a massive vortex before him. As it continuously rotated, a withered arm extended from within, attempting to drag Chen Chao into it.

Chen Chao’s expression was indifferent. At some point, a sheathed straight saber had appeared at his waist.

Gripping the hilt, Cloud Mud had already let out the cry of a dragon.

With only a few feet between the man and the hand, Chen Chao drew the saber from its sheath.

A flash of Cloud Mud’s blade light vanished in an instant. The sharp edge directly cut off that arm. As soon as Cloud Mud tasted blood, the saber hilt turned snow-white in an instant.

Turning white upon tasting blood had always been Cloud Mud’s unique trait.

Chen Chao heavily stomped on the severed arm that had fallen to the ground. With a crack, the arm was crushed into bloody pulp in an instant.

A trace of pain flashed across Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s glabella, but it was smoothed over immediately. Blood poured from the severed point of his arm, and at this moment, strands of flesh slowly began to grow, as if a brand new arm was about to form.

But Chen Chao had no intention of giving him that chance. Cloud Mud slashed down from above, like drawing a brilliant white line, directly tearing open a wound.

Chen Chao pressed forward in one continuous motion, not thinking about anything else. At this point, the only thing he wanted to do was to kill Old Daoist Renewed Peace here in the shortest time possible and make him die completely.

Seeing the barrier before him split open by Chen Chao, Old Daoist Renewed Peace, unwilling to sit and wait for death, formed a seal with one hand. Strands of daoist qi condensed into daoist talismans that shot toward Chen Chao like flying swords, carrying boundless sharpness.

But as those daoist talismans swept toward Chen Chao with countless strands of daoist qi, Chen Chao had already heavily slashed out with a single strike. Along that line, every talisman that met this strike was instantly cut in two, split apart. Yet after being shattered, those talismans reverted into strands of daoist qi and then re-condensed, once again lunging toward Chen Chao.

In an instant, they formed a cage, trapping Chen Chao within.

Chen Chao extended one hand and grabbed a talisman, but at the same time, his arm was struck by the surrounding talismans, and it was instantly covered in blood.

At the same time, countless strands of daoist qi tried to seep into Chen Chao’s body through his wounds, but very quickly those strands of daoist qi were crushed within his body by an even more mysterious aura.

Chen Chao paid it no mind. As he held that daoist talisman, he exerted slight force, and cracks began to appear across it.

They spread like a spiderweb.

Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s expression turned heavy. It was not because Chen Chao had grabbed one talisman, but because he could not understand how Chen Chao had managed to grasp that particular talisman.

Among all the daoist talismans, only that one was the most profound, because within that cage, it was the true core, akin to the formation’s eye.

He did not know how Chen Chao had discovered it, but he knew this was absolutely not a coincidence.

This young martial artist before him was far from as simple as he appeared. There must be something else about him.

In the blink of an eye, that daoist talisman was crushed by Chen Chao. Then Chen Chao took a deep breath and stepped forward. The cage that had trapped him instantly vanished like smoke, the daoist qi completely shattered by the qi before him.

Before Old Daoist Renewed Peace could react, Chen Chao stepped forward. His body left an afterimage in place, then another, then another, one after another, more than a dozen afterimages appearing in succession.

When all the afterimages converged, Chen Chao’s fist had already smashed into Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s chest.

Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s entire body was blasted into an afterimage, as if at this moment, even his soul was about to be forcibly knocked out by this young martial artist.

Only then did this young martial artist, who already had few equals in the world, finally spoke, "Old swine, living this many years, did you live them like a complete waste? For your own sake, you make others die?"

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and said, “You think that because your seniority is high, your realm is high, and your age is great, you can do whatever you want? You think you can treat other people’s lives as nothing? If that is the case, then this official also wants to tell you, in this official’s eyes, your life is also not a life!”

Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s qi collapsed, but in an instant he gathered it again. An old cultivator who had cultivated for so many years absolutely had no shortage of methods. How could he be so easily defeated?

“This penniless daoist is merely lacking in blood vitality now, no longer as in those years. If we had met back then, you little animal would have been suppressed by this penniless daoist with a mere flick of the hand.”

Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s eyes were full of venom.

What he resented was not only Chen Chao, but also time itself. In his youth, he had once been the kind of existence that roamed the world, with few who could rival him. He had a profound cultivation realm and was revered by others. But under the erosion of endless years, his blood vitality had long since withered, no longer what it once was.

Chen Chao smiled and said, “You really are good at finding yourself a way out?”

As he spoke, Chen Chao had already sent out another slash. The snow-white blade edge swept across Old Daoist Renewed Peace in an instant.

There was faintly the sound of a dragon’s cry in the world.

Old Daoist Renewed Peace took a deep breath and began to mobilize what little blood vitality he had left. The older one was, the more one valued this blood vitality, because at his age, the loss of blood vitality was almost irreversible. Using a portion meant one portion less.

Once it was used up, he would have no choice but to face death directly.

Birth, aging, illness, and death. Cultivators might not fall ill, but death was something they could not escape. They could live many more years than ordinary people, but after those many years, when they finally faced death, they would naturally fear it even more.

But at this moment, there was no time to consider so much. Moreover, as long as he killed the young martial artist before him, and then consumed the fruit Zhu Xia afterward, it would be fine.

Thinking this, Old Daoist Renewed Peace no longer held back, but fully mobilized the blood vitality within his body. His head of white hair slowly returned to its previous black.

The wrinkles on his face also began to slowly disappear, and in the end revealed a smooth face. Though not extraordinarily handsome, it was still very delicate and refined.

At this moment, Old Daoist Renewed Peace had returned to roughly thirty years of age.

At that time, he had once been hailed by the world as a genius.

Looking at his hands, now once again full of flesh and blood, Old Daoist Renewed Peace smiled slightly, as if at this moment boundless heroic spirit had also arisen in his heart, carrying a hint of an old man rekindling youthful vigor.

He slowly rose into the air and sat cross-legged in midair, his expression calm.

But in the very next instant, a voice like thunder exploded by his ear, “Old thing, do you really think you’re invincible in the world now?”

Old Daoist Renewed Peace was startled, then turned his head. At some unknown moment, a black figure had appeared at his side.

That person threw a heavy punch, directly smashing down toward the top of Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s head.

Old Daoist Renewed Peace reacted quickly, raising both hands, but he was still knocked aside by Chen Chao’s punch. The top of his head took that heavy blow, and the daoist qi he had just gathered instantly dispersed.

Old Daoist Renewed Peace, who had only just regained the bearing of a great daoist sage, had no choice but to lower his head again. His whole body fell to the ground, his head stepped on by Chen Chao.

“Impossible, impossible!”

Old Daoist Renewed Peace shouted somewhat hysterically. He simply could not understand how, after clearly adjusting himself to his peak state, he could still lose.

And he was even defeated so quickly?

That was something impossible.

Chen Chao lowered his head to look at the old daoist. He did not intend to say anything more. His foot continued to press down, and in the next moment he would crush that head.

“Even if you kill this penniless daoist, she won’t be able to live. She is destined to die!”

Old Daoist Renewed Peace spat out blood, yet his face twisted into a ferocious grin, a smile that looked extremely eerie.

“That’s not something you should worry about.”

Chen Chao only left behind this single sentence, then crushed his head with one step.

Blood splattered everywhere. Everything around them became incomparably messy at this moment.

Within Old Daoist Renewed Peace’s body, a strand of aura condensed and then frantically fled toward the outside of the cave dwelling, but as it passed by Chen Chao, it was grabbed by this young man and crushed heavily.

Only then did Chen Chao look toward Zhu Xia, who was suspended in midair. He cut the rope and rescued her.

Holding Zhu Xia, Chen Chao lowered his head to look at the girl who once had brilliant light in her eyes, and felt some heartache.

Now her eyes had already become dim and lifeless.

Zhu Xia forced out a smile. The dimples on both sides of her cheeks were now like dried-up springs.

“Chen Chao, I almost thought I would never see you again.”

Zhu Xia spoke with difficulty. Her entire body was extremely weak. Chen Chao held her hand and sent some qi into her, but he quickly discovered that Zhu Xia’s condition was extremely terrible. At this moment, the blood within her body had already dried up, and her vitality was continuously dissipating. Even if he used qi to protect her life force, he could no longer stop it.

Chen Chao frowned, somewhat annoyed. Was it still too late?

Zhu Xia seemed to see his sadness and gently shook her head. “It’s alright. As long as I could see you one last time, it’s already enough.”

Chen Chao looked at Zhu Xia before him and thought of Xie Ying from before. Once upon a time, that girl had also died in his arms like this.

Chen Chao shook his head and said, “No, I won’t let you die!”

Chen Chao spoke these words with extreme firmness. He would not allow the same tragedy to happen to him twice.

Carrying Zhu Xia, Chen Chao stood up and looked toward the great cauldron, then walked over.

An indescribable medicinal fragrance emanated from the great cauldron. Those liquids had all flowed out from Zhu Xia’s body. Chen Chao thought for a moment, then placed Zhu Xia into it.

As soon as Zhu Xia came into contact with those liquids, her complexion indeed improved quite a bit.

Chen Chao stared at the liquid, deep in thought.