Chapter 66: The One Who Strikes First Prevails

"Earth Blaze Technique."

Pang Jian opened the booklet and roughly skimmed through the contents of the booklet. It was a method of attack cultivated through the accumulation of earthflame.

Earthflame referred to the fierce flames that erupted from volcanoes.

The Earth Blaze Technique entailed harnessing earthflame from the vicinity of volcanoes and refining it within the spiritual sea to unleash its explosive power in battles.

According to records of the Earth Blaze Technique, cultivators with a certain level of mastery could summon fierce earthflames from the palm of their hands.

In the mid-to-late stages of the Earth Blaze Technique, cultivators needed to refine the power within boiling magma to further enhance its potency.

Pang Jian meticulously combed through his memories, only to realize no volcanoes existed near the Solitary Mountain Range. There was no place for him to cultivate the Earth Blaze Technique.

He reached into the spatial pouch and pulled out a dark red stone.

A thought came to mind. Gazing at the Earth Blaze Technique, he flipped to the next page of the booklet, where he found a note.

According to the annotation, if one wanted to cultivate the Earth Blaze Technique but lacked a suitable training ground, they could also rely on Earth Blaze Stones.

Earth Blaze Stones could be found deeply buried beneath volcanoes. They contained not only spiritual qi but also substantial earthflame energy.

This must be an Earth Blaze Stone,

Pang Jian thought to himself.

Feeling around the bottom of the spatial pouch, he found a considerable number of Earth Blaze Stones. He reckoned he had sufficient resources for the initial stages if he wanted to cultivate the Earth Blaze Technique.

Glancing at the characters of "Earth Blaze Technique" on the cover of the booklet, Zhou Qingchen knew it had nothing to do with the Radiant Sun Sect.

He remarked, "This offensive spirit art doesn't belong to the Radiant Sun Sect. The cultivator from the Radiant Sun Sect likely considered the Earth Blaze Technique a supplementary technique to complement the Radiant Sun Sect's cultivation method when unleashing their power."

He also told Pang Jian about the authentic technique of the Radiant Sun Sect, which manifested as a blazing sun in the palm during attacks.

The Earth Blaze Technique resembled the techniques of the Radiant Sun Sect, and when combined, could amplify each other's power. This was likely the reason why the cultivator chose to cultivate them together.

"This technique is quite suitable for your initial cultivation," Luo Hongyan added, having also discerned the characteristics of the technique. As she was about to say more, her brows subtly knitted, and she said coldly, "Let's find a stone building first!"

Without further explanation, she grabbed Pang Jian and headed toward a three-story building.

Su Meng trailed along behind them, uncertain of what to do.

Han Duping and Zhou Qingchen exchanged a glance. Their expressions darkened and they also entered the building.

The stone building they entered appeared to be an inn. The ground floor had been furnished with heavy wooden tables and chairs, seemingly meant for meals and tea drinking.

The second and third floors consisted of individual guest rooms, catering to guests seeking rest and refreshment after dining downstairs.

The entire three-story inn had only one main entrance and two windows.

When Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping entered the building, Luo Hongyan ordered, "Close the door and shut the windows."

The two swiftly complied, closing the door and gently shutting the windows, leaving only a narrow gap.

The interior of the inn grew dark.

Surveying the inn, Pang Jian realized it was primarily lit up by the street outside. Once the doors and windows were shut, the inside of the inn plunged into darkness.

With a cold smile playing at the corner of her lips, Luo Hongyan's eyes gleamed with a hint of hostility. "Those seven individuals from earlier harbor ill intentions."

Su Meng was taken aback. "Why? We have no grievances with them. Why would they harbor ill intentions toward us?"

Luo Hongyan sneered, "Because they're poor. Extreme poverty breeds malice."

Su Meng shook her head. She did not understand.

"Their life in the Star River Alliance must be filled with hardship. They're already so old, yet they don't seem to have anything valuable. Upper world cultivators usually bring all their possessions when they venture out for training because they're unsure if they'll return alive. But I haven't seen anything valuable on any of them."

Luo Hongyan said disdainfully. "Trash like them aren't valued in the Star River Alliance. Even their masters wouldn't bother preparing bone forging, marrow cleansing spirit materials for them."

As she said this, she glanced at Han Duping.

Han Duping looked embarrassed. His friendship with Zhou Qingchen had initially stemmed from the hope of leveraging Zhou Qingchen's status and power to prepare spirit materials for his breakthrough into the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

He lacked innate talent and was born into an ordinary family. It was difficult for someone like him to gather all the spirit materials needed for the bone forging, marrow cleansing process.

"The spirit materials for bone forging, marrow cleansing are expensive. Some people can't gather them even after decades and remain stuck in the Meridian Opening Realm for their entire lives," Zhou Qingchen added. "Those guys are trying to break through to a higher cultivation realm. They'll do whatever it takes to find spirit materials."

Han Duping nodded lightly and sighed. "I just didn't expect they would still dare to harbor murderous intentions even after knowing Ning Yao is from the Star River Alliance."

"This is Eight Trigrams City. If we all die, no one will ever know it was them." Luo Hongyan said coldly.

Pang Jian silently peered through the crack in the window at the wide street while he listened to their conversation.

Zhou Qingchen stood at another window with Han Duping, similarly gazing through the narrow gap like Pang Jian.

Before long, they saw Jian Yaoyang silently darting across the street.

An expression of urgency was pasted on his face. It looked as if he had suddenly remembered something and wanted to catch up to them to say a few words.

Meanwhile, the six others with lower cultivation realms trailed behind him.

The six Meridian Opening Realm cultivators did not rush to catch up with Jian Yaoyang. Instead, they split up and darted into the stone buildings on either side of the street, searching them one after another.

Watching their actions, Pang Jian's brows knitted. He had a rough idea of what was going on.

The seven were unaware of their whereabouts or if they had headed straight for the city center. Therefore, the fastest among them rushed forward to pursue, while the others searched the buildings on both sides one by one.

This way, they could ensure they would find Pang Jian and the others.

"It's unavoidable," Luo Hongyan said, wiping down a table with a handkerchief before taking a seat. Glancing at Zhou Qingchen with great interest, she asked, "What's your plan?"

Zhou Qingchen hesitated before he said, "They have clear motives for murder and robbery, but they haven't acted on them yet. What I'm thinking is—"

Luo Hongyan interrupted him before he could continue. She shifted her gaze to Pang Jian and asked, "What about you?"

With a stony expression on his face, Pang Jian said, "Don't give them the chance to enact their plan. Let's hunt them down directly."

He had experience in this regard.

Since the other party had already revealed their murderous intentions, rather than waiting for them to attack, it was better to strike first to assert dominance.

The strategy and difficulty of such a situation would completely change depending on whether they decided to wait for the enemy to attack first or preemptively strike.

"Directly kill them..." Zhou Qingchen said as he rubbed his chin, seeming to still have some reservations.

"They're only just entertaining the idea of murdering us. They haven't actually taken any action yet. Perhaps they'll change their minds?" Su Meng suggested softly.

Luo Hongyan's voice hardened. "Should we invite them over, engage them in casual conversation, and wait passively for them to attack?"

Su Meng did not dare to utter another word.

Luo Hongyan's approving gaze lingered on Pang Jian's face for a moment before she calmly said, "Let me remind you, the leader of their group is in the Marrow Cleansing Realm and he's over thirty years old, so he's been in this realm for quite some time.

"The other six are all in the Meridian Opening Realm. If they were to ambush us...do you think we'll survive?"

Luo Hongyan's sharp eyes swept over Zhou Qingchen and the others with a cold and menacing expression on her face.

Zhou Qingchen gritted his teeth and said, "Alright then, let's do it!"

Luo Hongyan nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She looked at Pang Jian and said, "From now on, consider those seven individuals as prey to be hunted down in the wilderness. It's up to you to devise a plan."

Pang Jian was shocked.

"Why not me?" Zhou Qingchen asked in discontent.

Han Duping chimed in, "Pang Jian, come up with a plan? I think it should be me! Ning Yao, I have experience in this area. Entrusting it to Pang Jian seems like child's play—"

Luo Hongyan cut him off with an icy tone. "Let me ask the two of you one question. If it were you two at the bottom of that deep hole on Central Lake Island facing Dong Tianze's ambush, would you have emerged unscathed while inflicting injuries so severe that Dong Tianze had to flee?"

The two instantly fell silent.

Pang Jian wasted no time. He showed a new side of himself when faced with a life-or-death situation.

Walking straight to the table at the center of the floor, he gestured for everyone to gather around.

"Tell me about the strengths and weaknesses of the spiritual artifacts you possess, as well as your preferred combat styles," he said.

Apart from Luo Hongyan, the other three swiftly conveyed their skills to Pang Jian.

Zhou Qingchen's Heartguard Mirror possessed defensive capabilities and could emit a dazzling light that blinded opponents. His spiritual power was also incredibly robust, and he could both attack and defend.

Han Duping explained that he could transform himself into a silver ball and excelled in charging into the fray. He favored chaotic situations the most.

Su Meng had no combat experience and her specialties were practically useless in combat. Therefore, Pang Jian did not let her join the battle.

After a moment of contemplation, Pang Jian finally shared his thoughts. "Here's the plan."

The group listened quietly, their expressions growing more and more peculiar as they listened, eventually bordering on fear. They looked at him as if he were a demon.

"Senior Han, do you have any poison powder or toxic gas? Bring it out. When the chaos ensues, Young Master Zhou and I can use it to paralyze them for a while," Pang Jian suggested.

Han Duping's face flushed red and angrily replied, "What did you say? Why would I have such despicable things on me? Why don't you ask Ning Yao and Young Zhou? Why single me out?"

Han Duping appeared somewhat exasperated.

"Because I have a feeling you do." Pang Jian said seriously.

Zhou Qingchen softly cleared his throat. "Ahem, Old Han, please bring it out."

Han Duping reluctantly retrieved several packets of poison powder. He passed some to Zhou Qingchen first, then to Pang Jian. With a grave expression, he said, "Pang Jian, you're truly...poisonous."

Zhou Qingchen could not help but feel amazed. "Dong Tianze managed to escape with only severe injuries from the bottom of the deep hole. He's indeed lucky. I'm impressed."