Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong arrived at the back mountain.
Chen Xin sensed for a moment, then frowned, saying, "This sword qi, it is indeed Dixian."
Ning Fengzhi smelled a faint scent of wine in the air.
He sighed.
"Dixian's room is already empty."
"Inside are the riches he accumulated over the past six years."
"This child appears unrestrained, but in reality, he possesses considerable pride."
"Rongrong's words were too much for him to bear; he even resorted to drinking away his sorrows."
Gu Rong shook his head, saying,
"Pride without the ability to support it is merely a joke."
Ning Fengzhi remained silent.
He clearly agreed with Gu Rong's words.
Meanwhile, Chen Xin's frown deepened.
He did not want to see Li Dixian disheartened.
After all, he once regarded him as his successor.
In his opinion,
a qualified swordsman should not drink alcohol.
How can a drunkard hold a sword steadily?
Chen Xin flicked his sleeve, turned, and angrily declared, "Drowning sorrows in wine will lead to nothing great!"
Just then, a graceful figure ran towards them.
"Father, has Brother Dixian left the sect?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded, saying, "Dixian has suffered a great blow."
"Rongrong, if you ever have a chance to meet him again in the future, remember to compensate Dixian."
Ning Rongrong nodded with a complex expression.
However, she felt it would be difficult for her to see Li Dixian again.
She was going to Shrek Academy, which was known for only recruiting 'monsters'.
And Li Dixian was destined for a mediocre life.
"Let's go, Father."
Just as she was about to turn and leave,
Ning Rongrong suddenly felt as if she had stepped on something.
She looked down and lifted her foot.
A small clay sword, broken in two, came into view...
On a winding road,
Li Dixian rode a Soul Beast named Cloud Hoof Horse, occasionally tilting his head back to take a swig of wine.
He was travel-worn, his white robes stained with dust, and the long hair falling on either side of his forehead was matted from lack of washing for too long.
He looked quite disheveled.
But surprisingly,
he also had the air of a young Jianghu wanderer.
Li Dixian's destination for this trip was the Star Dou Great Forest.
He was now at twenty-first level Soul Power, and he didn't even have a single Soul Ring yet.
Several days later,
Li Dixian finally arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.
Thump-thump—
The sound of stepping on leaves echoed.
Even just the outer perimeter was enough to block out the sky.
Although it was daytime, visibility was dim, and all that could be seen were overgrown plants, with the air interwoven with the smells of grass and decay.
In the thickets, taller than a person, there were occasional rustling sounds.
"Fortunately, during the six years my Soul Power was stagnant, I learned a lot about Soul Beasts."
Li Dixian scanned the dense thickets around him.
"Qing Feng Mantis, its forelimbs are like swords, and its speed is extremely fast!"
"As the saying goes, in all martial arts, speed is paramount. My Azure Lotus Sword Spirit requires ultimate speed and attack!"
After half a day,
Li Dixian evaded attacks from several Soul Beasts.
He finally found his target.
In the lush jungle, on a towering giant tree,
lay a giant mantis with a slender body and dark green carapace that shimmered with a metallic luster.
On its triangular head, a pair of compound eyes resembled amber, and its forelimbs, shaped like two sharp blades, were folded across its chest.
Li Dixian secretly observed this Qing Feng Mantis.
"A hundred-year-old Qing Feng Mantis has a green carapace."
"This mantis has almost turned black; it's probably not far from a thousand-year lifespan."
Li Dixian's eyes flickered.
"Far exceeding the limit that a first Soul Ring can absorb."
"Moreover, the Qing Feng Mantis is extremely powerful in combat. This nearly thousand-year-old Qing Feng Mantis, even a level 30 Battle Soul Venerate might not be confident in defeating it."
He was preparing to look for another target.
He didn't even have a Soul Ring skill; a bloody fight was not a wise move.
But just as Li Dixian was about to leave,
a sudden buzzing sound rang out.
Another Qing Feng Mantis landed on the giant tree.
This Qing Feng Mantis was also dark green, but its body was twice the size of the first Qing Feng Mantis.
Li Dixian exclaimed in surprise, "This is... a female Qing Feng Mantis?!"
Insects are different from animals.
Animals have larger males.
But for insects, it's the opposite; females are larger than males.
Li Dixian was curious what this female mantis flew over to do.
Immediately after,
he saw the male mantis mount the female mantis.
Li Dixian: "..."
He picked up the celadon gourd tucked at his waist.
He took a gulp of wine.
Li Dixian wasn't leaving anymore.
He wasn't a pervert.
Rather, he suddenly remembered a habit of mantises.
In the dense thicket,
Li Dixian was hidden within.
On a towering giant tree about a dozen paces away from him, two Qing Feng Mantises were copulating.
About half an hour later,
the male Qing Feng Mantis suddenly withdrew its tail organ and spread its wings, flying towards the sky.
But the female Qing Feng Mantis had anticipated this.
It suddenly turned, its blades slashing out, so fast they tore through the air, fiercely hooking onto the male mantis's chest and abdomen.
Green blood spurted out.
Li Dixian's eyes lit up at this scene.
This was exactly what he was waiting for!
After mating, the female mantis eats the male mantis!
And the male mantis generally doesn't just sit there and wait to die!
So, they were bound to fight!
"Such a good opportunity is presented before me."
"Even if it exceeds the limit of Soul Ring absorption, I must try."
Six years of dormancy
made Li Dixian understand the preciousness of becoming stronger.
He had to seize the opportunity.
Thinking this, Li Dixian looked towards the two Qing Feng Mantises locked in battle.
The intense pain ignited the male mantis's ferocity.
It hissed and turned, its blades striking like lightning, attacking the female mantis's head.
The female mantis drew its blades and crossed them in front of its body to block.
Clang—!
The two sets of blades collided, producing a metallic sound.
Whoosh whoosh—
Whoosh whoosh—
The two mantises flapped their wings and flew up.
They fiercely clashed in mid-air.
With Li Dixian's eyesight, he could only see two dark green lightning bolts colliding wildly.
"Good thing I didn't act rashly!"
"The combat power of the Qing Feng Mantis is truly terrifying!"
"A level 30 Battle Soul Venerate might be instantly killed if they're not careful!"
Li Dixian drank wine gulp after gulp.
His Wine Spirit was a full Soul Power Spirit of the same rank as the Azure Lotus Sword.
Although it wasn't equipped with a Soul Ring, it possessed heaven-defying effects.
Besides enhancing Soul Power and healing injuries,
the more Li Dixian drank, the sharper his Azure Lotus Sword became.
The Sword and Wine Spirits had a synergistic effect.
As the wine flowed down his throat,
the lotus patterns on Li Dixian's Azure Lotus Sword slowly bloomed.
A startlingly sharp aura emanated from it.
The clang of metal on metal was incessant.
Broken limbs and shattered wings continuously fluttered down.
After dozens of breaths,
Bang—
The male mantis fell from the sky.
The female mantis followed closely, also crashing down.
It won.
But it was severely injured.
One compound eye was sliced off, its blade was broken for more than half its length, and its slender neck had a large gash, from which green viscous blood flowed.
It came to the male mantis's corpse.
It devoured its spoils of war in large gulps.
As the male mantis went down its gullet, its dark green carapace gradually deepened and turned black.
The female Qing Feng Mantis was advancing towards the realm of a thousand-year Soul Beast!
And just as it was eating with abandon,
Buzz—!
A sword light suddenly flashed.
In the dim forest, a dazzling cold light burst forth.
The female Qing Feng Mantis's eating motion stiffened.
The next second,
green blood splattered.
The female Qing Feng Mantis was severed in half at the neck.
A faint purple Soul Ring ascended from its corpse...