Chapter 269: Tiger Stripes

Suddenly, raised patterns, like flat, protruding ribs, tore through flesh and fascia to create space, the pain reaching his very soul.

The extended patterns of strain were then, Chen Ji's body, ablaze with the fire of a bright furnace, extinguished once more. Molten currents flowed from his limbs and countless bones towards the patterns, even his hair dried up entirely.

At this moment, a knife chopped from the right side, and Chen Ji retreated frantically within the core of the Meihua knife array. His body's strength suddenly fluctuating high and low made him unable to adapt for a time, his legs bending uncontrollably.

Another person swung a knife to chop from behind Chen Ji; he could only, like a drunken hooligan, lie on the ground and roll to avoid it!

The waiters of Yuan Cao Tang couldn't help but be startled, all surprised and uncertain: How could this young man, one moment ascend a heavy building, shedding his mortal body and exchanging bones, and the next moment return to the Full Prosperity realm, and now roll on the ground without any expert appearance?

What was truly happening? Was it disguise to show weakness, or was he truly so wretched?

Someone whispered: "He should be truly crossing tribulation to ascend the heavy building now, quickly kill him."

But taking advantage of this moment, Chen Ji, covered in dust from head to toe, with a gray and dirty face, had already escaped through the gap he had just kicked out!

After rolling out of the Meihua array, Chen Ji used both hands and feet to scramble up, staggering towards the small mountain-like pile of grain!

When the waiters of Yuan Cao Tang came to kill him, he would circle around the grain to avoid the pursuit!

When the Yuan Cao Tang waiters attacked from both sides of the grain mountain, he again used both hands and feet to climb up the stacked grain sacks!

Chen Ji stood on the "grain mountain"'s summit, kicking sack after sack towards the Yuan Cao Tang waiters who were killing their way up, while urgently shouting: "Wu Yun, eat again."

Wu Yun meowed in response: "No more."

Chen Ji was slightly startled, had all that ginseng been eaten up?

As he spoke, the Yuan Cao Tang waiters raised their knives again and killed their way towards the grain mountain's summit. Chen Ji's foot slipped as he dodged, and he rolled down the grain mountain like a ball, landing on his back on the stone slab!

"Chase." The Yuan Cao Tang waiter who had been chasing leaped from the top of the grain mountain, raising his pu dao high overhead, carrying the sound of wind, and chopped down towards Chen Ji.

The force was overwhelming.

Chen Ji propped himself up from the ground to sit, but it was already too late to dodge!

This heavy, sinking knife strike, it was feared, could split him in two!

But just at this moment, a black shadow flashed across!

The waiter in the air hurriedly looked for the black shadow, and when he saw clearly, he discovered that it was impressively a black cat that had come to Chen Ji's side and touched Chen Ji's body with its claw!

In an instant, it seemed like a scorching, boiling flood surged turbulently within Chen Ji's body!

It felt as if coming any closer, his hair would be burned dry and curled by this heatwave!

The Yuan Cao Tang waiter's knife finally chopped down, striking fiercely on Chen Ji's head!

Silence!

The air in the courtyard seemed to solidify for an instant; there was no chopping sound, nor any splashing of fresh blood!

The pu dao, carrying a thousand jun of force, was clamped between Chen Ji's hands, forcibly stopped!

The Yuan Cao Tang waiter regained his senses, looking towards Chen Ji, only to see, behind his clasped hands, Chen Ji's calm eyes!

The Yuan Cao Tang waiter was shocked beyond measure: "You…"

A wave of great force transmitted through, forcing the Yuan Cao Tang waiter to loosen his grip on the knife handle!

He staggered back, but the knife in Chen Ji's hand had already turned its blade and chopped down from his shoulder, straight through his chest and abdomen!

The waiter incredulously looked down at the knife wound, then went to look for the trace of the black cat from just now!

Turning his head, he saw the black cat nimbly jumping into the crowd!

He saw Wu Yun rush to the edge of the wall and leap lightly, then step onto the windowsill, turn and pounce. Between waves of its claws, a fierce knife light suddenly appeared from among them, like a crescent moon!

The knife light passed through the bodies of four Yuan Cao Tang waiters, slicing them in two.

The Yuan Cao Tang waiter in front of Chen Ji slowly knelt on the ground, his eyes returning to Chen Ji's body, filled with unwillingness and disbelief; he had never seen such strange things!

A moment later, the courtyard became quiet again. Chen Ji stood with the knife raised, while Wu Yun squatted to one side, silently licking his claws!

A courtyard full of corpses!

Chen Ji lifted the torn opening in his clothes, looked at the three-striped patterns on his waist and abdomen, and felt the more than five hundred lamps of furnace fire within his body...

Even at this moment, he was still not certain what these patterns were exactly, why his master had never once mentioned them?

Although Yao lao tou was harsh, he wouldn't joke about important matters. Since the other party didn't mention this matter, there must be a reason for not mentioning it. Why not mention it?

Could it be that only he himself would grow these patterns, that even his master had not seen them?

Wait, the sword seed was still wandering within the first stripe pattern, freely and easily, as if it was originally part of the pattern!

A thought moved in Chen Ji's heart, and the sword seed flew out from within the pattern. The sword seed, thin as a cicada's wing, carved a "Bai" (白) on the ground!

"Eh?"

Chen Ji was startled. Originally, he could only control the sword seed to fly straight, return directly, rush horizontally, and collide directly. Now, writing characters was no longer difficult!

He summoned the sword seed back, and it lightly jumped and rotated between his fingers, yet it didn't once cut and injure them!

Strange!

The Mountain Lord's path and the sword seed's path were originally clearly separate, unrelated to each other. Why could the Mountain Lord's path help him learn and grasp the sword seed's path?

Moreover, at this moment, sunlight sprinkled down. The sunlight that should have been used to nourish the sword was instead divided, with some staying within the other two striped patterns...

What did this mean? Could it be that he could still nurture new sword seeds?

This matter, he probably could only go ask Xuan Yuan!

While thinking, distant shouts and the sound of horse hooves gradually approached!

Chen Ji started awake. He turned his head and looked at the grain in the courtyard, turned and hugged Wu Yun, leaped forcefully, leaping onto the roof like pulling green onions from the ground early in the morning, no longer needing to claw at the roof eaves for leverage!

He stood on the roof and overlooked the south, only to see the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry had already rushed into the city, wantonly burning, killing, and plundering, firelight reaching the sky!

The common people of Gu Yuan were driven to flee north, and at the city gate, continuous black iron cavalry were still killing their way in, endless!

Just at this moment, a sharp whistling sound came through. Chen Ji's cheek slightly turned to the side, and a whistling arrow shot straight towards his face. After shooting through the hair at his temple, its momentum still did not stop!

Chen Ji suddenly turned his head to look towards the source of the arrow, and saw a black-armored iron cavalryman sitting steadily on a horse, looking from a distance of over a hundred steps!

A Jing Chao divine archer.

Along with the whistling arrow, the black iron cavalry, as if receiving guidance, immediately divided out ten people, urged their horses, and followed the sound, wanting to surround and kill Chen Ji here!

Chen Ji turned to run, but the Jing Chao divine archer was like a lingering ghost, continuously drawing his bow and setting arrows, seemingly tireless, guiding the direction for the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry!

Chen Ji dodged the whistling arrows while turning his head to size up the pursuers behind him!

He jumped into an alley to avoid the other party's line of sight, but the opposite divine archer completely abandoned his horse and climbed up a high platform to overlook the rows of flat houses, continuing to guide the direction for the others!

Chen Ji turned back and forth in the labyrinthine dirt alleyways. When he turned a corner, he suddenly stopped his feet!

A silent iron fetus arrow shot narrowly past him from in front, piercing the mud wall!

If he hadn't stopped in time, it would have pierced him!

This divine archer could even predict in advance that he would appear in this place; he hadn't even arrived yet, and the arrow had already shot out!

The other party saw that one arrow didn't hit and set another whistling arrow, using the arrow's whistle to guide the direction for the iron cavalry. The divine archers were the soul of the Jing Chao Tian Ce Army; they were the direction of this battlefield!

At this moment, Wu Yun in Chen Ji's embrace said: "I'll go kill him."

Chen Ji deeply inhaled: "No need!"

Gradually, ten Tian Ce Army cavalry urged their horses to weave a net, following the divine archer's guidance, suddenly tightening towards Chen Ji, blocking all of Chen Ji's escape routes!

But Chen Ji did not dodge or avoid; he welcomed an iron cavalryman charging towards him!

They met, and that heavily armored iron cavalryman, carrying the momentum of wind and thunder, stabbed with a spear.

In an instant, the Tian Ce Army cavalryman's face changed, only to see Chen Ji steadily grasp his spear tip: "Come down."

The cavalryman on the horse was forcibly disarmed by Chen Ji, swept down from the horse with the tail end of the long spear!

Chen Ji turned again, and the long spear in his hand shot out at speed, forcibly bringing down the cavalryman who had caught up behind him, nailing him to the mud wall not far away!

Chen Ji calmly turned his head, looking remotely towards the divine archer on the distant roof!

This person was very formidable, always able to accurately find him!

But, being able to find him did not mean being able to keep him!