When that group arrived at the edge of the swamp and saw that someone else was actually here, a trace of surprise flashed in their eyes.

Tang Yan swept his gaze over the group-eight people in total, six men and two women. The weakest was at the Third Grade of the Black Rank, while the strongest was the leading blue-robed youth, roughly at the peak of the Fifth Grade of the Black Rank.

However, Tang Yan cast a meaningful glance at the young woman in white standing quietly beside the youth.

With Tang Yan's discernment, he could tell that although this young woman's strength was only at the mid-stage of the Fifth Grade of the Black Rank, her status seemed no lower than the youth's.

"This young master, we saw this plant first. If you are also thinking of taking it, you had best leave," the blue-robed youth said, looking at Tang Yan with an arrogant tone.

Tang Yan glanced at the blue-robed youth but said nothing, his mind constantly calculating how to retrieve the Spirit-Baleful Orchid seventy or eighty meters away.

Seeing that Tang Yan actually ignored him, the blue-robed youth grew irritated. "Kid, did you hear me?"

"Forget it, he is probably just here to look. There is no need to bicker with him," the white-clad young woman frowned and said. "The spiritual herb is so far away; we need to think about how to pick it."

Tang Yan felt a bit displeased. He glanced at the youth glaring at him and thought to himself, 'If you keep barking, I will throw you into the swamp and step on you to cross!'

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, Tang Yan's eyes suddenly lit up!

As long as there were enough footholds on the swamp, couldn't he just walk across?

He had not expected the youth he disliked to give him such inspiration. In that instant, Tang Yan found him slightly less annoying.

Seeing Tang Yan turn and leave, the youth breathed a sigh of relief and sneered, "Good that you know to leave. It saves me the annoyance of looking at you!"

Tang Yan naturally paid no mind to a character like this. He walked a few steps to a large tree, took out his heavy sword, and with a surge of True Qi, the Unblemished Sword slashed like a bolt of silk toward the base of the trunk.

Crack! A crisp sound rang out, and the ten-meter-tall tree was instantly severed by Tang Yan.

However, Tang Yan's speed was so fast that the severed tree did not immediately fall.

Tang Yan's heavy sword did not stop, continuously swinging at the trunk.

One slice, two slices, three slices... In less than half a minute, the tree was cut into planks of varying sizes.

He stored most of the wood in his Spatial Spirit Ring, ignored the crowd's astonished gazes, and returned carrying a stack of wooden planks.

Just as everyone was still baffled by what Tang Yan was doing, the white-clad young woman's expression changed slightly. "Not good! He is going to use the planks as footholds to get the Spirit-Baleful Orchid!"

By then, Tang Yan had already waved his hand, tossing the planks into the swamp. Each plank was spaced three meters apart, forming a path straight to the Spirit-Baleful Orchid.

"Stop him!" the youth shouted, lunging toward Tang Yan.

Although his speed was not slow, compared to Tang Yan executing the Phantom Step, he was far too sluggish.

Glancing at the blue-robed youth following him, Tang Yan's heart grew colder.

Everything in the competition zone is ownerless-how did it become your exclusive property? Since you want to play, watch your grandfather play you to death.

With the Phantom Step fully pushed to its limits, the eighty-meter distance was crossed in an instant.

Arriving beside the Spirit-Baleful Orchid, Tang Yan quickly bent down, plunged his hand directly into the mud, and yanked upward. The entire Spirit-Baleful Orchid instantly fell into Tang Yan's grasp.

With a thought, the Spirit-Baleful Orchid entered the chaotic space within the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron.

"Kid, courting death!" the blue-robed youth roared angrily.

He had already warned this kid not to set his sights on the Spirit-Baleful Orchid.

He never expected the boy to completely disregard his words-this was a direct slap to Chen Cheng's face!

In a few leaps, he reached Tang Yan's back and swung his long blade fiercely toward him.

On the shore, the white-clad young woman frowned slightly, but thinking of Tang Yan's "misdeeds," she did not stop the blue-robed youth.

With no path ahead and a blade behind him, in everyone's eyes, this young man was as good as dead.

Feeling the danger behind him, Tang Yan did not panic. A playful expression appeared on his face.

Stomping hard on his plank, Tang Yan leaped sideways.

Just as he seemed about to fall into the swamp, a plank he had hidden in his Spatial Spirit Ring suddenly appeared beneath his feet. Landing securely, Tang Yan kicked off again, this time turning back and jumping onto the plank behind the blue-robed youth.

Stepping onto that plank, he looked back at the resentful blue-robed youth and chuckled lightly, "Idiot, you can play in the mud here by yourself."

With that, Tang Yan retraced his steps back toward the shore.

A speechless sight followed.

Every time Tang Yan took a step forward, the plank behind him was collected into his Spatial Spirit Ring. By the time Tang Yan reached the shore, the blue-robed youth was left stranded on a single plank in the middle of the swamp.

The plank's buoyancy was limited and could not support a person standing for long. Feeling his body slowly sinking, panic finally flooded the blue-robed youth's face.

"Kid, come back here!" the blue-robed youth cried out involuntarily.

"Have fun in the mud!" Tang Yan laughed heartily. Activating the Phantom Step, his figure turned into a bolt of lightning, fleeing into the distance.

"You guys cut down trees to save him; I will chase him!" The white-clad young woman's face held a trace of anger. That kid had actually snatched the Spirit-Baleful Orchid right under her nose!

The white-clad young woman gave chase for quite some time but saw no sign of Tang Yan's figure. She stomped her foot in frustration and was forced to turn back.

The blue-robed youth had been rescued by his companions by this time. A gloomy, vicious light flashed in his eyes. "When I see him again, I will definitely tear him to pieces!"

"The Spirit-Baleful Orchid is extremely important to me. Do everything possible-we must find that kid!" the white-clad young woman said coldly.

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

Tang Yan ran on his own for about a quarter of an hour. Seeing no one following behind, he found a quiet place to sit down.

Checking the Spirit-Baleful Orchid inside the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron, his eyes filled with growing delight.

A Spirit-Baleful Orchid! To obtain such a rare treasure, his luck was truly heaven-defying.

After admiring it for a while, Tang Yan took out seven Third Rank Beast Cores and, with a thought, absorbed them all into the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron.

Buzz! The seven Beast Cores entered the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron and instantly transformed into streams of Spiritual Qi. After the cauldron absorbed the vast majority of it, wisps of pure Spiritual Qi overflowed from within, surging toward Tang Yan's limbs and bones.

His strength was already at the peak of the Fourth Grade of the Black Rank. When this pure Spiritual Qi suddenly flooded his Dantian, Tang Yan felt an intense stirring inside.

Joy surged in his heart-it seemed he was about to break through!

Calming his mind, Tang Yan urged the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian to circulate rapidly along his meridians.

Stream after stream of Spiritual Qi gathered in his Dantian. Just as the Spiritual Qi reached a critical juncture, another massive surge crashed in.

Crack! The shackles were violently shattered, like a long-dry riverbed suddenly overflowing with a rushing, endless current.

The exhilarating sensation left Tang Yan thoroughly intoxicated.

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