232: Chapter 232 Tianxin Rescues Him

Clearly, his battle with the Poison Quill Rat just now had attracted other Disciples nearby.

Trouble, it had come again.

The atmosphere in the valley instantly became heavy.

Moonlight filtered through the sparse trees, casting mottled shadows and stretching the two figures slowly emerging from the darkness into long, thin silhouettes.

They were two tall and thin youths, both wearing Menial Laborer uniforms, their cultivation both at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Each held a gleaming steel blade, and with malicious grins on their faces, they approached Gao Feng step by step.

"Kid, you've got good luck, taking down a Poison Quill Rat all by yourself."

The youth on the left with a scar on his face licked his lips, his eyes staring greedily at the bulging chest of Gao Feng's clothing. "You look like a newcomer who doesn't know the rules. Hand over the blood pattern fruit, and we brothers might spare your life."

"That's right, don't force us to take action."

The youth on the right with triangular eyes chimed in sinisterly, "Our blades don't have eyes."

This familiar scene again.

Gao Feng sneered inwardly but wore a mask of perfectly timed panic and wariness. He held his firewood axe horizontally in front of his chest and shouted with feigned ferocity, "What do you want? This... I earned this with my own ability!"

"Earned with your ability?" The scarred face laughed loudly as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "In this Dao Hu Mountain, whoever has the bigger fist has the ability! Stop the damn nonsense, are you going to hand it over or not?"

Before he finished speaking, he exchanged a look with the triangular-eyed youth. With great tacit understanding, they flanked Gao Feng from both sides simultaneously, their steel blades reflecting a chilling cold light under the moonlight.

Gao Feng's eyes narrowed, his feet retreating repeatedly. He swung his firewood axe so fast it was airtight, constantly parrying the heavy, powerful slashes from the two.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing echoed continuously in the silent valley, sparks flying everywhere.

Although Gao Feng could handle it, he was inwardly groaning.

He could not expose his true strength of Body Refining Third Layer, nor could he use any trump cards from his portable space.

He could only suppress his strength to the level of Qi Refining Level One, relying on his far-above-average combat skills to maneuver against the two.

But continuing like this was not a solution.

The opponents were two people, and their cultivation was higher than what he was "showing." If this went on for too long, he would inevitably reveal a flaw.

"This kid can really take a beating!" The scarred face, unable to win after a long time, showed a trace of impatience. "Second, stop playing with him, use that move!"

"Alright, brother!" The triangular-eyed youth grinned and swapped positions with the scarred face. A faint Spiritual Qi light suddenly lit up on the steel blades in their hands, and their blade techniques became even more tricky and vicious!

For a moment, Gao Feng's pressure increased significantly. He could only dodge and parry in a sorry state, his clothes slashed in several places, putting him in constant danger.

While fighting, he slowly retreated toward the exit of the valley, thinking rapidly about an escape plan.

Just at this critical moment, a crisp, melodious, and delicate shout, like that of an oriole, rang out from above the valley without warning.

"Hey! Two grown men bullying a newcomer, what kind of ability is that!"

Accompanying the voice, two yellow streams of light streaked through the air like lightning, arriving later but reaching first, landing with pinpoint precision on the backs of the scarred-faced youth and the triangular-eyed youth!

"What is that?!"

The two were shocked, and before they could react, the two yellow streams of light exploded violently!

"Boom! Boom!"

With two muffled bangs, a powerful wave of air spread out. The scarred-faced youth and the triangular-eyed youth felt a huge force coming from behind, their bodies uncontrollably lunging forward, falling flat on their faces, in a miserable state.

"Qi Guiding Talisman?!" The scarred-faced youth leapt up from the ground, looking toward the direction of the voice with shock and anger. "Who the hell dares to meddle in our brothers' business!"

On a rock above the valley, a petite figure was standing gracefully, seemingly having been there for some time.

It was a young girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen, also wearing a loose Menial Laborer uniform, yet it could not hide her exquisite and well-proportioned figure.

She wore a playful ponytail, and on her delicate, oval-shaped face, a pair of bright, large eyes like stars in the night sky were currently looking down at them with a hint of cunning and disdain.

At her waist hung a bulging cloth bag, with some strange runes drawn in cinnabar on it; it was clearly a Talisman bag.

"I'm the one meddling, what, do you have an objection?" The girl put her hands on her hips, lifted her small chin, and looked fearless.

Her cultivation had actually reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining!

The scarred-faced youth and the triangular-eyed youth saw the Talisman bag at the girl's waist and felt the Spiritual Qi fluctuation from her, which was far beyond their own, their expressions turning extremely ugly.

A Talisman Cultivator!

This was an extremely troublesome type of Cultivator! Although their own combat strength was not strong, relying on their endless and bizarre Talismans, they could often unleash combat strength far exceeding their own Realm!

"Fine... consider us unlucky!" The scarred-faced youth gritted his teeth. After weighing the pros and cons, he ultimately did not dare to provoke such a mysterious Talisman Cultivator.

He glared fiercely at Gao Feng and the girl, helped his brother up from the ground, and left a harsh threat: "Kid, and you stinking girl, you just wait for us!"

After saying that, the two turned and dove into the dense forest without looking back, fleeing in a sorry state.

The valley returned to peace once again.

Gao Feng looked at the two fleeing figures, then at the pretty girl on the rock who winked at him. His heart was full of vigilance, and he did not relax in the slightest because of her "rescue."

In this trial where one is responsible for their own life and death, there is no kindness without reason.

Seeing the crisis resolved, the girl leapt nimbly from the rock, landing lightly in front of Gao Feng like a fluttering butterfly.

She curiously looked Gao Feng up and down, her large, lively eyes full of inquisitive expression: "Hey, are you okay? You were quite good at fighting just now, managing to hold out for so long against two Qi Refining Second Layer opponents by yourself."

"Many thanks for your help, Miss." Gao Feng put away his axe, cupped his fists, and said in a calm tone, "I am Gao Feng. May I ask how to address you?"

"My name is Tian Xin." The girl gave a bright smile, revealing two cute little canine teeth. "You don't need to thank me, I just didn't like the look of those two."

Tian Xin?

Gao Feng's heart stirred slightly; this name was somewhat special.

"Looking at you, you must also be a newcomer participating in this trial, right?" Tian Xin asked, tilting her head.

Gao Feng nodded.

"Then you are also from the Small World below?" Tian Xin's eyes lit up, and she pressed on.

"Are you, Miss?" Gao Feng asked back, his heart becoming even more vigilant.

"Yes!" Tian Xin seemed a bit excited, as if she had found one of her own, and said without any guile, "I come from a place called 'Lingxi Continent.' People from our place are naturally sensitive to runes, which is why I chose the path of a Talisman Cultivator. What about you? Where are you from?"

The girl's eyes were clear and bright, not looking like she was lying, but Gao Feng did not dare to believe her completely. He only vaguely said, "A very barren little place, not worth mentioning."

Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Tian Xin didn't mind and just continued to herself: "Sigh, this damn place is really too dangerous! I walked alone for half a day and was almost gored by an Iron-skinned Wild Boar. Fortunately, I ran fast. Acting alone is really too risky. How about... we form a temporary team? We are all from the Small World, so we can be considered half-fellows; we should help each other!"

She said this while looking at Gao Feng with expectation, her large eyes blinking, full of sincerity.

"Form a team?" Gao Feng pondered for a moment.

He observed that the two "Qi Guiding Talismans" Tian Xin had thrown earlier, while not very powerful, were effective due to their surprise factor, and there were clearly still many in the Talisman bag at her waist. Teaming up with such a Talisman Cultivator who was good at long-range attacks and harassment could indeed save a lot of trouble.

More importantly, from Tian Xin's eyes, he did not see the greed and malice like those people before, only a trace of uneasiness from being a newcomer and a longing for companionship.

Perhaps, he could trust her for now.

"Okay." Gao Feng nodded, agreeing to her proposal.

"Great!" Tian Xin clapped her hands happily. "I knew you were a good person! By the way, can you share one of the blood pattern fruits you just got with me? I can trade contribution points with you!"

"What do you need the blood pattern fruit for?" Gao Feng asked.

"To make Talismans!" Tian Xin said as if it were obvious. "Although the Spiritual Qi contained in the blood pattern fruit is weak, its juice is one of the best Materials for drawing basic Talismans! The Talisman paper and cinnabar I brought are almost used up, and I really need this!"

So that was it.

Gao Feng understood. He needed the blood pattern fruit to complete the trial, and Tian Xin needed the blood pattern fruit to make Talismans and replenish her "ammo." Their goals were aligned, and there was no direct conflict of interest.

This made their alliance a bit more solid.

"No need to trade, I'll give you one." Gao Feng took a blood pattern fruit from his chest and handed it to Tian Xin.

For a temporary ally, appropriate gestures of goodwill were necessary.

"Wow! You're so generous?" Tian Xin happily took the blood pattern fruit, holding it in her palm as if it were a treasure. She looked at Gao Feng, smiling until her eyes curved into crescents. "Gao Feng, I've decided to make you my friend! If anyone dares to bully you in the future, just use my name!"

Looking at the girl's innocent and romantic smile, Gao Feng's heart, which had long been hardened by schemes and slaughter, could not help but soften slightly.

Perhaps, in this cruel world, not everyone is full of malice.

The two thus joined forces and continued to advance toward the depths of the mountain forest.

Along the way, Tian Xin was like a chirping lark, constantly telling Gao Feng all the common knowledge she knew about this "Main World."