Chapter 433 - 237: Foundation (Part 2)
Chapter 433: Chapter 237: Foundation (Part 2)
Xu Yang drifted down like a gentle breeze, a dead wild deer in his hand.
"Ah—"
Just then, a shrill scream cut through the mountain forest. Though it came from far away, he still recognized it as Hong Lei’s voice—a sound filled with terror and pain.
’Something’s happened!’
Xu Yang’s expression shifted. He immediately released his Heart Spirit, which he had just withdrawn, letting it spread out to envelop his surroundings.
"Huh..."
He was about to sneak over and see what Hong Lei and Tian Kuan had encountered when his Heart Spirit suddenly detected something. A hundred zhang away, there was an area where the trees were all splintered and saber scars littered the ground. Experts had clearly clashed here. A patch of soil was stained with blood that had long since dried and turned black.
Xu Yang rushed over. The signs were recent, suggesting the fight had happened within the last few days.
Amidst the scarred battlefield, a few scraps of cloth stood out.
He bent down, picked one up, and saw it was a bloodstained fragment from the uniform of a Purple Sun Sect Inner Sect Disciple.
’Could this be from the Zhang Heng and Zhang Quan brothers?’
Xu Yang’s gaze swept the area. He saw that besides human footprints, the battlefield was also marked with enormous, terrifying claw prints. At a glance, one could easily mistake them for gashes left by a sword or saber.
BOOM! BOOM!
Fierce clashes echoed from the distance, accompanied by a tremendous roar and Tian Kuan’s furious shouts. Xu Yang gripped Red Blood and stealthily made his way toward the sounds.
There, in a forest clearing, he saw Hong Lei, drenched in blood. A horrifying gash from a claw ran from his shoulder to his abdomen, deep enough to expose the white of his bone and the glistening sheen of his internal organs.
Hong Lei was propped up by his saber, having already stumbled to the side. A Black Panther, as large as a tiger, moved like a black streak as it tangled with Tian Kuan in the woods.
Everywhere the man and beast fought, rocks shattered and vegetation was obliterated.
The Black Panther’s speed was terrifying. Even Tian Kuan, a master at Marrow Cleansing Great Success, was clearly struggling to cope. More frightening still were its strength and claws; it could effortlessly shatter a boulder the size of a millstone into powder, and Tian Kuan’s Half-Spirit Weapon only created a shower of sparks when it struck the beast’s claws.
The aura it radiated was even a few degrees stronger than that of the Tuo Dragon from Moon Lake.
"You beast!" A sudden, explosive roar echoed through the woods.
Gao Lin, Lu Chuping, and Hu Ze had heard the commotion and arrived on the scene. Their powerful auras pulsed through the forest. The Exotic Beast, the Black Panther, shot a wary glance at the newcomers before turning and vanishing into the trees as a black streak.
"Don’t you dare run, you beast!"
Tian Kuan, who had been on the defensive the entire time, suddenly felt a surge of bravado. He executed a Body Technique and gave chase. However, when he saw that Gao Lin and the others weren’t following, he stopped, a look of chagrin on his face.
Xu Yang also emerged from another direction, still carrying the wild deer.
"What in the world happened?" Gao Lin asked, his face grim.
Hong Lei’s injuries were severe; the gash had nearly reached his organs. Any deeper, and he would have been dead.
Xu Yang shook his head. "I don’t know. After we entered the mountains, Senior Brother Tian Kuan and Senior Brother Hong went their own way. I only came over when I heard the commotion."
Gao Lin’s expression darkened further, and he turned his gaze toward Tian Kuan, who was now walking over.
"It was an accident," Tian Kuan said. "Junior Brother Hong and I were hunting when that beast appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, I reacted quickly enough to send it flying, saving his life." He conveniently omitted any mention of splitting up with Xu Yang, focusing only on how he had saved Hong Lei.
Gao Lin shot Tian Kuan a cold glance. He was just the senior disciple, not Elder Huoyun; he had no real authority over Tian Kuan.
If Tian Kuan hadn’t insisted on separating from Xu Yang, this incident might have been avoided.
Although Hong Lei was alive, he was now a liability to the group. They couldn’t continue on their journey with him; his injuries made travel impossible.
But leaving him behind wasn’t an option, either. They had to either assign someone to escort him back or have someone stay here to protect him until the rest returned.
"I will report this matter to Master when we return!" Gao Lin snorted.
’Those two idiots,’ Gao Lin thought, feeling an urge to curse them out. ’I explicitly warned them not to separate, but they just had to ostracize Xu Yang at a critical time like this and stir up trouble.’
Tian Kuan’s expression faltered. He said nothing, instead putting on a show of concern for Hong Lei’s injuries.
"I have some wound medicine. Use this for now!"
Lu Chuping pulled out a porcelain vial and tossed it to Tian Kuan, his face grim. He couldn’t believe they had already suffered a casualty before even encountering their true foes.
He felt a wave of disgust toward both Tian Kuan and Hong Lei. ’Why couldn’t idiots who can’t grasp the situation just die outright?’
"Senior Brothers, I found something in another direction. Do you want to come and see?"
Xu Yang spoke up, describing the battlefield he had discovered.
Hearing that it might be related to the Zhang Quan brothers, Gao Lin and the others lost all interest in dealing with Tian Kuan and Hong Lei and immediately hurried over with Xu Yang.
After a brief investigation, Gao Lin and the others could only confirm that an Inner Sect Disciple from the Purple Sun Sect had fought a powerful Exotic Beast here. They couldn’t be certain if it had been Zhang Quan and Zhang Heng.
"Perhaps it was that Black Panther from earlier," Hu Ze said.
The claw marks on the ground did resemble a panther’s.
"Whether it was or not, we all need to be on high alert tonight," Lu Chuping said.
Powerful Exotic Beasts kept appearing in the area, and they had just fought one. They had to be vigilant tonight. While Exotic Beasts weren’t highly intelligent, they held grudges far more fiercely than ordinary animals.
The four of them returned to the cave to find that Tian Kuan and Hong Lei were already there. Hong Lei was seated deep inside, circulating his energy to heal. The torn flesh of his wound had been forcibly sealed together by his Gang Qi.
The disciples casually butchered the deer Xu Yang had caught and gathered around a fire to roast the meat.
Knowing he had acted foolishly, Tian Kuan said little and took it upon himself to look after Hong Lei.
...
At the Song Family estate, Song Shirong had already received news that Xu Yang had left the Purple Sun Sect, but he was powerless to act.
Xu Yang hadn’t left the Purple Sun Sect alone; he was traveling with several disciples who had reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success. Even if they had the audacity to attack so many disciples from the sect, the Song Family simply didn’t have enough masters for the job.
Right now, the Song Family, including himself, only had five members at the level of Marrow Cleansing Great Success.
"Let’s ask the Yushao Ancestor to make a move. With him, Xu Yang’s death is guaranteed."
Song Shixian said coldly, unwilling to let Xu Yang live a moment longer.
"With so many Purple Sun Sect disciples present, if the Yushao Ancestor only kills Xu Yang, it would be far too conspicuous," Song Shirong said, shaking his head.
"Then kill them all!" A vicious gleam flashed in Song Shixian’s eyes.
Song Shirong shook his head. "Among Xu Yang’s companions are Lu Chuping, disciple of the Master of Li Fire Peak; Hu Ze, disciple of Elder Gong Shu; and Xiao Yu, disciple of Elder Tie Fu. In other words, disciples of all four great elders of Li Fire Peak, as well as the Peak Master himself, are present."
Killing them all would be like kicking Li Fire Peak’s hornet’s nest.
The Song Family already has its hands full dealing with just Elder Huoyun, let alone the entirety of Li Fire Peak.
"We cannot let this boy live," Song Shixian said grimly. "Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan have already reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success. If we miss this opportunity, by the time he reaches that stage, none of us will be able to kill him, given his talent. We’d have to rely on the Yushao Ancestor then."
In two or three months at most, Xu Yang could achieve Marrow Cleansing Great Success. Once he does, neither he nor Song Shirong would be confident in their ability to kill him.
Song Shirong still shook his head. "The Yushao Ancestor is the pillar of our family; he cannot take such a risk. I will go and retrieve something from our family’s hidden reserves. You, Grand Elder, will be the one to make the move. If you are exposed and the Purple Sun Sect comes after you, you must bear the full responsibility. With Elder Liu and the others working within the Purple Sun Sect, the family itself should remain uninvolved."
The Song Family’s true foundation, of course, was more than just Song Yushao, their Celestial Essence expert. It wasn’t that they truly couldn’t handle a single person at Marrow Cleansing Great Success. It was simply that such methods were part of the family’s deepest reserves, not to be touched unless there was no other choice.
But now, to eliminate Xu Yang as quickly as possible, they could no longer afford such reservations. If they waited until he truly reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success, he would be even more difficult to kill.
’The family’s hidden reserves?’
Song Shixian’s eyes lit up. "Excellent! I’ll go kill him myself!"
Song Shirong nodded. "As for Lu Chuping, Gao Lin, and the others—avoid them if you can. Do your best not to engage them."
The two men rose and left the room, soon arriving at a heavily guarded location. This was the Song Family’s Treasure Vault, where their important items were kept. It was garrisoned at all times by two Marrow Cleansing Great Success Martial Artists.
Song Shirong took out his key and opened the Treasure Vault’s main door, revealing a chamber filled with all manner of precious goods.
The two men didn’t spare the treasures a single glance, continuing deeper until they reached a second door.
This time, both men produced a key. The two keys fit together as one to unlock the door. A narrow space, its walls inlaid with Luminous Pearls, slowly revealed itself to them.