C20 Coincidence

"Sigh, I could've been making a fortune from the comfort of my own home, yet here I am, trekking through the wilderness," lamented Zhang Binn as he followed the familiar path into the Devil Beast Mountain Range. "If only crystals would just rain down from the sky..." he mused under his breath, all the while keeping an eye out for any signs or tracks. He was a firm believer that luck favored the sly.

"Blue-leaf grass! Now that's a find." Zhang Binn's eyes lit up at the sight of a bluish hue on a cliff face. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it as a medicinal plant. "Blue-leaf grass, with its red stems and love for the breezy cliffside, what a stroke of luck to have the latest volume from Myriad Peace City with me. Is this book like an otherworldly encyclopedia or what?"

Discovering the valuable blue-leaf grass, Zhang Binn couldn't possibly leave empty-handed. At the first level of the Qi Refining Stage, scaling a cliff was a breeze for him.

With no time to waste, Zhang Binn activated his Blue Butterfly Azure Cloud Step and made a beeline for the cliff!

The primary distinction between the Qi Refining Stage and the Body Tempering Stage was the focus on internal versus external cultivation. Zhang Binn likened it to martial arts training, where one works on the external strength of bones and skin, and the internal cultivation of Qi. The Body Tempering Stage was about physical resilience, while the Qi Refining Stage was about nurturing the True Qi.

Having reached the Qi Refining Stage, Zhang Binn not only boasted a stronger physique than those in the Body Tempering Stage, but his True Qi also thrived with each movement.

Yet, what truly delighted Zhang Binn wasn't his robust body or the dynamic presence of his Genuine Qi. It was the Common Rank High Grade Blue Butterfly Azure Cloud Step, which had come into its own during the Body Tempering Stage...

Zhang Binn moved with grace, a trail of blue light following him. As he channeled his Genuine Qi, he resembled a majestic blue butterfly soaring towards the heavens!

Initially, Zhang Binn could leverage the cliff's irregularities to ascend, but as he reached the cliff's midpoint, he started to falter. The Blue Butterfly Azure Cloud Step, after all, was a mere movement skill, not a miracle that could make one ascend effortlessly. Plus, being only at the first level of the Qi Refining Stage, his Genuine Qi reserves were insufficient to propel him to the summit.

Zhang Binn lightly pressed his foot against a jutting rock, intending to propel himself upward, but his Genuine Qi was depleted, and his legs were weak. He lost his footing and began to fall.

"Oh my god!" In that perilous moment, inspiration struck Zhang Binn, and he swiftly drew the Hidden Dragon Sword, plunging it into the cliff face. This quick thinking saved him from a gruesome fate. "Thank goodness for my treasured sword!"

Clutching the sword's hilt, Zhang Binn took a moment to catch his breath, suspended between earth and sky, swaying gently with the breeze.

But as he dangled there, a new terror dawned on him. While showing off his Blue Butterfly Azure Cloud Step earlier, he hadn't considered one crucial detail—he was terrified of heights!

Zhang Binn was on the verge of tears, feeling as helpless as someone who dives into the water to save a drowning person, only to realize too late that they can't swim. It was a painfully ironic predicament.

After a long while air-drying on the cliff, Zhang Binn's fear of heights became a familiar companion. Besides, he was at the Qi Refining Stage, boasting not only considerable strength but also rapid recovery. Just as he was gearing up for another attempt to reach the Blue Leaves, a commotion arose from the mountain path below.

"Move it! The Sect Master and the elders have cornered that beast. We need to get there fast to lend a hand!" Zhao Xu, clad in yellow with 'Spirit Martial Sect' emblazoned in golden script across his chest, was clearly the leader of this group as an Inner Sect disciple.

"Senior Brother Zhao, if we go any further, we'll be in the inner reaches of the Devil Beast Mountain Range. There's a multitude of high-level devil beasts..." The diminutive Liu Huang was hesitant, but Zhao Xu cut him off sharply.

"Stop spouting nonsense! This is a critical issue for our entire Spirit Martial Sect. The elders and Sect Master have already cleared the devil beasts from our path. No backing down now! Let's go!" With that, Zhao Xu and the others sped off along the mountain trail, leaving Liu Huang to sulk briefly before hurrying to catch up with the team.

"It's a big deal for the Spirit Martial Sect! I've got to get in on this, preferably mess it up for them..." Zhang Binn, perched on the cliff, had overheard the entire conversation from the two below. His keen senses, honed by the Qi Refining Stage, were not to be underestimated. The group beneath him was rushing along, oblivious to the fact that someone was still suspended midair.

"But how do I get down from here..."

Zhang Binn brooded over his predicament, eager to stir up trouble.

The Spirit Martial Sect and the Heavenly Rotating Jade Sect were long-standing rivals, yet neither could gain the upper hand over the other. Both were Grade Eight sects with similar numbers of disciples and comparable sizes.

The root of their ongoing conflict was resources and status, which Zhang Binn likened to corporate competition. Like two companies vying for resources and clients, they were in a constant state of rivalry.

As a disciple of the Heavenly Rotating Jade Sect, Zhang Binn harbored a desire to thwart every major endeavor of the Spirit Martial Sect.

After a grueling descent, Zhang Binn finally made it to the ground. Ignoring his aching back and numb legs, he quickly picked up the trail of the Spirit Martial Sect's disciples and set off in pursuit. Their haste was evident; the path they left behind resembled a freshly cleared field.

"With all the noise you're making, just hand me a 98K, and I'll turn you all into boxes..." Zhang Binn muttered as he followed their tracks.

...

"Holy smokes, the Spirit Martial Sect is on a dragon hunt!" Zhang Binn, concealed in the branches of a large tree at the edge of a canyon, was taken aback by the sight of the Spirit Martial Sect's members moving about below.

This canyon was notorious, a five-star perilous site listed in the Hundred Treasure Book! Within the treacherous Devil Beast Mountain Range, it was an absolute no-go zone.

Known as Poison Dragon Valley, the site was famous for the birthplace of the Poison Emperor, a legendary dragon from centuries past. Although that event was ancient history, the presence of the Poison Flood Dragon in the valley was an undeniable fact.

Dragons were considered the lowest tier of Saint Beasts, while Flood Dragons ranked at the seventh or eighth tier of Devil Beasts. Creatures of this caliber could effortlessly dispatch a Myriad Image Stage expert, and only a powerhouse at the Nether Connecting Stage had any chance of subduing a Poison Flood Dragon.

"Opening such an advanced instance?" Despite his fear of the dragon's formidable presence, Zhang Binn couldn't help but feel a thrill. How could anyone not be drawn to the excitement of such a high-level battle?

"No pearl beneath its jaw, just a horn, and no claws. It's merely a dragon..." Disappointment crept into Zhang Binn's voice as he observed the dragon stirring up a ferocious aura in the valley. His distance from the action was the only thing saving him—if he were closer, the dragon's breath alone might be enough to kill him. "Why is there just one dragon? Does it prefer solitude? It's practically asking to be taken down by a team!"

While Zhang Binn was outside the valley, watching the live stream of the boss fight and making his commentary, a massive thunderbolt crashed down from the heavens, followed by an unrelenting barrage of lightning.

"Thunderbolt technique! Thunder Breaks Thousand Jin!" The cry echoed powerfully through Poison Dragon Valley, and Zhang Binn was sent tumbling from his perch in a tree.

"Damn, that was overkill!" Clutching his sore backside, Zhang Binn couldn't resist the urge to peer forward.

Gigantic purple lightning bolts cascaded down into the valley like a torrential downpour. The sky, already shrouded in dark clouds, was lit up by the lightning, appearing as if it had been torn asunder.

"Roar!"

Amidst the thunder, the enraged bellow of the dragon could be heard, its massive form causing clouds of dust to billow throughout the valley.

Zhang Binn longed to move closer for a better view, but the outer reaches of the valley were tightly encircled by the disciples of the Spirit Martial Sect. It seemed that only a few of the sect's elders were engaged in the fierce battle with the dragon.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, only those in the Nether Connecting Stage could wield such earth-shattering power," Zhang Binn mused with a mix of awe and envy.

Inside Poison Dragon Valley, it was as if the world had turned upside down, with boulders tumbling down the steep cliffs on either side.

"Roar!"

Another furious roar echoed from the valley.

"This is bad! How dare this monstrous beast!" came a cry.

"Disciples, fall back!"

Zhang Binn first heard the Flood Dragon's roar, then the urgent shouts that followed. He had thought the Spirit Martial Sect had triumphed in their dragon hunt. Eager to catch a glimpse of the creature, he moved closer, but suddenly, a billowing purple mist surged from within the valley, and the immense silhouette of the Flood Dragon burst forth, escaping into the world beyond.

In a fleeting moment, the valley crumbled, and the blast of air sent most of the Spirit Martial Sect disciples on the perimeter flying.

Zhang Binn, standing a bit further back, was only pushed back a few steps. Before he could steady himself, he was startled by the sight of a long, serpentine creature barreling straight toward him.

"Ah! It's huge!" Zhang Binn's cry of alarm was cut short as he was engulfed by tumbling rocks and logs.

Deep within the Poison Flood Dragon Valley, Jian Zhantian, a Nether Connecting Stage elder of the Spirit Martial Sect, sat meditating in a blue Soul Solidifying Formation, flanked by fellow Nether Connecting Stage Elders Luo Qing and Yan Wudi, who were tending to their wounds.

The valley was in disarray, the Poison Flood Dragon Pool nearly filled with fallen boulders, and the cliffs on either side were visibly worn down.

The ferocity of a Rank Eight Devil Beast and a Nether Connecting Stage cultivator was beyond imagination!

Suddenly, a massive boulder on the cliffside burst apart, and from behind the debris, a middle-aged man with an imposing presence stepped forward. With a single stride, he reached the heart of the valley.

"Greetings, Sect Master," the three healing elders greeted the middle-aged man in chorus.

This man was none other than Zhan Yunting, the Sect Master of the Spirit Martial Sect.

Zhan Yunting closed his eyes, regulating the disordered Genuine Qi caused by the flood dragon's spirit pearl detonation. Clenching his teeth, he spat out, "That creature is utterly contemptible, to have detonated its spirit pearl!"

"The explosion of the spirit pearl may impact our gains this time, but as long as the corpse of the flood dragon remains, we can reconvene the spirit energy," Jian Zhantian remarked while continuing his healing.

The spirit pearl, a reservoir of the flood dragon's spiritual power, had an explosive force that could not be taken lightly.

"Even though we can reconvene the spirit energy, the loss is substantial," Luo Qing lamented, his regret palpable. The others shared his frustration.

"That beast's self-destruction with the spirit pearl seals its fate! Once our sect's disciples retrieve it, the Sect Master will be able to drain the flood dragon's essence completely and surely ascend to the Void Returning Stage! Our Spirit Martial Sect is poised to rise to a seventh-grade sect!" Yan Wudi's face lit up with frenzied excitement, so much so that he didn't even notice the blood trickling from his mouth as he healed. "Then will come the downfall of the Heavenly Rotating Jade Sect! Hahaha…"

While Zhan Yunting didn't voice his agreement, his expression was one of sheer excitement. He whipped his head around to address those outside the valley, "Disciples of the Spirit Martial Sect, heed my command! Swiftly transport the Poison Flood Dragon back to our sect!"

His voice, resonant with Genuine Qi, echoed across the valley, prompting the Spirit Martial Sect disciples to spring into action.