Chapter 101: The Art of Radiant Mist

“Your movements are stealthy—do you think I am blind? Or do you believe I am so weakened now that you can take advantage of me?” Jiang An halted the Black Tiger Master’s advance, rising to his feet. Turning coldly toward a large tree on the opposite side of the battlefield, he spoke aloud.

Sure enough, behind the tree emerged a man in his fifties or sixties, of average height and unremarkable features—except for one distinct trait: he had no eyebrows.

This man appeared to be the one following Basong. Jiang An’s memory was sharp; at once, the face struck a chord.

“Please forgive my audacity. I am Cai Xinkong, Basong’s second disciple. Master Jiang, I humbly ask for your guidance,” the man introduced himself.

It was none other than Cai Xinkong, the once-defector who had fled to the Golden Triangle and risen to become a regional overlord. Unexpectedly, he had become a disciple of Basong.

At this moment, Basong was likely engaged in fierce combat with the Vermilion Bird Envoy, two formidable masters taking their fight far across the mountains. Though separated by several ranges, the thunderous sounds of their clash echoed intensely. Among masters of such caliber, victories were decided, but mortal deaths were rare. They possessed a unique skill—self-detonation—that ensured even the strongest would hesitate to kill an opponent outright, lest they be severely wounded themselves. Without deep-seated enmity, none would pay such a price.

Because of this, Cai Xinkong had been sent here to observe and seize an opportunity. He saw Jiang An’s strength and also noticed his labored breathing—a sign of exhaustion that left Cai torn between retreat and persistence. In his hesitation, he revealed his presence and was detected by Jiang An.

“Come if you intend to fight—enough with the nonsense!” Jiang An crossed his arms, disdainful.

This provoked Cai Xinkong’s resolve. If he retreated now, his reputation would be tarnished. Moreover, he suspected Jiang An’s outward show of strength was a bluff meant to intimidate him—an empty fortress strategy. Hmph. Today would be the day of his demise.

Clenching his teeth, Cai released his aura and charged fiercely, intending to overwhelm Jiang An with a devastating initial strike and finish him swiftly.

Jiang An remained calm as the enemy rushed forward. Raising his fist, he unleashed a mysterious and domineering aura. Even before striking, Cai Xinkong was startled—was Jiang An luring him into a trap? The power of that first punch was something he could not withstand. He had walked into a snare! Retreat quickly!

Doubt and fear shattered Cai’s momentum. He decisively turned and fled, faster than when he attacked, like a rabbit escaping death. Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air near his ear—a gust of wind struck him, and an unbearable pain radiated from his very marrow.

Cai Xinkong lost a part of his soul in terror and fled desperately, vanishing into the dense forest shortly after.

“Indecisive, hesitant—a mere rat,” Jiang An muttered, watching the figure disappear and feeling a quiet relief. Just as Cai had feared, Jiang An was indeed weakened from prior exertions; further combat would be difficult. So he used a ruse to scare him off, delivering a final blow with his Celestial Punishment Four-Colored Finger as a parting gift, exploiting the enemy’s distraction.

But lingering here was risky, drawing unwanted attention. After consideration, Jiang An returned to the edge of the pit and jumped in.

The massive corpse of the Black Tiger gradually cooled. Such a treasure trove lay within, yet Jiang An lacked a suitable spatial artifact to preserve the body intact.

He crouched and prepared to employ a rare technique—the Rainbow Glow Art.

This was a secret method of the Great Sect of the Immortal Realm, unique to the Ten-Thousand Beasts Mountain, designed for harvesting materials from beast corpses. It could swiftly condense the essence of all parts of a beast’s body into a single, iridescent orb, sparing the user the tedious processes of dissection and refinement. Essential for traveling cultivators hunting monsters for alchemical ingredients, it was convenient but imperfect: it only worked on lower-grade beasts and resulted in up to ten percent loss of essence. Cultivators seeking specific parts avoided it.

Now was the perfect moment.

Jiang An placed his hand on the Black Tiger’s head, chanting softly as black light burst from his palm. The corpse visibly shriveled and soon disintegrated into ash, leaving a small orb about the size of a baby’s fist in his hand.

Within this tiny sphere resided the full life essence of the Black Tiger’s body—its flesh, bones, blood, brain, heart, claws, and every usable part.

Satisfied, Jiang An secured the orb and leapt from the pit, lifting the Black Tiger Master’s lifeless form. Swift as a shadow, he departed the place.

...

At a temporary camp, all members of the Divine-Level Squad were resting—some standing, some sitting, but nine lay prone.

Among them were Rat, Tiger, Bellflower, Ox, Rooster, Sheep, Boar, Thunder God, and Dragon. The most severely wounded was Thunder God, pierced by a bullet and now clinging to life solely through medicinal pills.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the camp’s center.

Instinctively, others grasped their rifles, but upon recognizing the newcomer, they relaxed.

“Instructor!”

“The instructor has returned!”

The Divine Dragon Squad greeted Jiang An warmly. He nodded slightly in acknowledgment and turned to Ouyang Shi.

“How are things, Brother Ouyang?”

“Most are fine, though some passed out from overexerting their potential. One is severely injured, sustained only by pills and my own energy stabilizing his heart meridian. But he won’t last long.”

“I see. Let me take a look.”

Jiang An approached and gazed at Thunder God’s grim wound. He thought silently that the man was fortunate—had reinforcements not arrived at the last moment, he would have perished. Well, since conditions permitted, he would save him.

He extended his hand, reinforcing Thunder God’s heart meridian with spiritual power, then quietly infused the man’s body with the life essence from the Black Tiger orb. The Black Tiger, an exotic breed nourished for years with countless elixirs, possessed extraordinarily potent essence—more than enough to save an ordinary life without significant depletion.

“All set. Take good care of him. He’s out of immediate danger.”

After Jiang An’s words, comrades hurried around the once pale, ghastly Thunder God. A flush of color returned to his cheeks; his breathing grew steadier and stronger.

The Divine Squad rejoiced, immediately kneeling before Jiang An in gratitude.

“Thank you, Master Jiang! Thank you for saving us!”

Members of the Divine Dragon Squad exchanged glances, emotions flickering in their eyes, but hesitated to speak.

Jiang An’s keen insight perceived their thoughts. Since he had saved one, why not save them all? Otherwise, these fledgling disciples, having barely begun refining their Sky-Piercing Body Technique, would be crippled by injury to their primordial energy and never practice martial arts again, doomed to a life plagued by illness.

Without hesitation, Jiang An used the Black Tiger’s life essence to replenish the injured’s depleted primordial energy—a reward they deserved.

With this done, the camp’s atmosphere shifted from sorrowful and somber to joyous.

Amidst the squad’s heartfelt thanks, Jiang An pulled Ouyang Shi aside.

“This is the Empty Lang Stone from our mission. I was a step too late—Brother Yun has fallen. Please, Brother Ouyang, deliver this as proof.”

Jiang An handed over the Empty Lang Stone without elaboration. Ouyang Shi was unaware that the Vermilion Bird Envoy had also appeared. The Vermilion Bird, unwilling to be discovered, had tried to scan Jiang An’s spiritual perception secretly multiple times, but Jiang’s spiritual senses caught the intrusion.

“What do you mean, Brother Jiang? Aren’t you returning?” Ouyang Shi was puzzled.

“No, I have urgent matters to attend to here. Brother Ouyang, I entrust this to you,” Jiang An answered with some reluctance.

He did not mention the stone was empty; dismantling the seal would be troublesome. Once it reached the estate, the elders would find the seal untouched and suspect no foul play. Jiang An preferred to avoid stirring trouble.

As for his delayed return, it was due to new information extracted through the Night Lantern Technique’s interrogation of the Black Tiger Master, forcing him to alter his plans.