Chapter 43: The Duo of Trouble Came Knocking!
At the same time, on the other side of the island, the duo of Lian Huo and Zi Ling had already been wandering for quite a while.
By now, they couldn’t help but feel increasingly irritable.
“Senior Brother, we’ve been searching for so long and haven’t even caught a glimpse of those two.”
“Junior Sister, don’t be anxious. I believe those two realized that all the righteous sects are hunting them down, so they’ve probably found a place to hole up and hide.”
Zi Ling thought that made sense.
After all, though the righteous sects served different masters, if they encountered Gu Fan and Lin Yi, their first instinct would be to kill them on sight.
“Senior Brother is right. I bet they’re just scared and have chickened out. After all, Senior Brother, you’re already half-step Primordial Yang Realm. Killing those two is like crushing insects!”
Lian Huo couldn’t help but feel a bit smug after being flattered like that.
“But it’s still a little odd. Never mind not finding Gu Fan and Lin Yi, how come we haven’t even run into the other two teams?”
“Yeah…”
But the two quickly forgot about this detail.
The most important thing right now was to call back all their fellow sect members, especially since the competition was nearly over.
Dawn wasn’t far off.
Lian Huo took out his sect token and activated it with his divine sense.
“This is Lian Huo. Everyone, regroup at the spot where we originally separated.”
A moment later, a response came through.
“Senior Brother… over here… we’ve discovered traces of Gu Fan and Lin Yi. I’ve marked the location. Hurry and come!”
Hearing the voice transmission, Zi Ling, who had been listening from the side, exclaimed excitedly upon learning Gu Fan had been located:
“Senior Brother! They’ve found Gu Fan? Let’s go get him now!”
Lian Huo furrowed his brows slightly, as if harboring some doubts.
“What’s wrong, Senior Brother?”
“Something feels off.”
“Off?”
Zi Ling thought back but didn’t notice anything strange.
“Senior Brother… you’re not worried about Gu Fan and Lin Yi’s strength, are you?”
Lian Huo’s face showed a flash of displeasure at her words.
“Of course not, Junior Sister. A mere mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm disciple—I can kill him with one hand! Since Junior Sister is in such a hurry, then we’ll go.”
With that, he waved his sleeve and led Zi Ling toward the marked location.
...
Elsewhere on the island.
Gu Fan and Lin Yi were casually seated on a large rock.
In front of them was a fellow disciple whose arms and legs had been severed, yet he continued to beg for mercy.
“Please, Senior Brothers! Great Sirs! I’ve already told you everything you wanted to know. Please spare my life. I pose no threat anymore!”
Gu Fan rested his chin on one hand, smiling faintly.
“If you knew this would happen, why act so arrogant before? Weren’t you just shouting about avenging your two junior brothers?”
“Lord Gu, I was wrong! I acted on impulse just now. With competition being so fierce in the Shangqing Sect, I wish you’d kill more of them! I had no real intention of revenge.”
Gu Fan suddenly found it boring.
Compared to spineless cowards like this, he much preferred the unyielding resolve and die-hard spirit of Liuli Garden.
In comparison, the Shangqing Sect didn’t seem that impressive. How could they be the leader of the righteous path?
“Lin Yi, this one’s useless. Kill him.”
The moment his words fell, a cold flash ended the man’s life instantly.
Suddenly—
Gu Fan sensed a surge of spiritual energy from Lin Yi’s body.
Lin Yi’s expression shifted, and without time to explain, he sat cross-legged immediately.
Spiritual energy surged chaotically around him.
In no time at all, he let out a hearty shout.
“Ah! That felt amazing! I’ve reached the sixth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm! Brother Gu, I’ve finally caught up to you!”
Gu Fan was momentarily stunned, then chuckled.
“So killing really does make you stronger. You actually broke through.”
“Haha! All thanks to sticking by your side, Brother Gu. Who else gets to kill so many enemies? This is incredible!”
Gu Fan’s face darkened.
“If you’re going to keep talking, at least say something useful…”
As the two chatted idly—
Suddenly, a fierce wind roared around them.
Two figures sped through the air and landed directly in front of them.
It was none other than Lian Huo and Zi Ling!
The moment she saw them, the long-tormented Zi Ling burst into laughter, fueled by her hatred.
“Hahaha! Gu Fan! Lin Yi! We’ve finally caught you!!”
Compared to Zi Ling, Lian Huo glanced around with a grave expression and questioned coldly:
“Gu Fan, where are the other members of my Shangqing Sect?”
“Heh, are you talking about these three?”
As he spoke, Gu Fan casually tossed three sect tokens onto the ground.
Fresh blood still stained them, indicating their owners had met a tragic end!
Upon seeing this, Lian Huo’s expression turned even darker, and his caution intensified.
He looked at Gu Fan, who sat on the stone with a leisurely demeanor, and the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.
Logic told him that even if both of these mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm cultivators attacked together, they still wouldn’t be his match.
But his cultivator’s intuition screamed that something was off!
The two before him were far too calm—there wasn’t a hint of panic!
Unfortunately, before he could speak, Zi Ling once again taunted:
“Well done, Gu Fan! You’re courting death, daring to kill disciples of the Shangqing Sect. Now that Senior Brother Lian Huo is here, I’d like to see how you’ll die!”
She then turned to Lian Huo with a smile and said:
“Senior Brother, the two of them are right here. Please take them down and avenge me!”
Lian Huo’s expression shifted, feeling momentarily caught in a dilemma.
If he backed down now, the news would surely spread—how a dignified half-step Primordial Yang Realm cultivator was scared off by nothing but a vague intuition and two Spirit Sea Realm demonic cultivators.
He wouldn’t be able to hold his head up in the cultivation world.
At the very least, he was still half-step Primordial Yang Realm.
Retreating without a fight was out of the question!
Worst case scenario, if he couldn’t win, he could still escape, right?
With that thought, he steeled his resolve.
But before he could act—
Gu Fan and Lin Yi had already stood up.
In a flash, they split and moved to block off Lian Huo’s escape routes from the front and rear.
“Lin Yi, that loudmouth hag is yours. Lian Huo is my prey.”
Lin Yi responded with slight reluctance, then made the first move, dragging Zi Ling toward a separate battlefield.
Seeing this, Gu Fan also stepped forward, raising a fist and smashing it toward Lian Huo!
“Hmph! Do you really think I fear you?”
Lian Huo was finally enraged by their contemptuous attitude.
His full aura erupted!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Waves of powerful pressure instantly crushed the surrounding forests and hills into rubble.
A radiant blue light flared around him as he struck out with a palm to meet Gu Fan’s crashing fist!
“Kill!!”
The moment their attacks met—
A tremendous shockwave burst outward from the two of them, spreading explosively in all directions.
The force was so immense it resembled an earthquake. Half the island quaked, and the ground collapsed for dozens of miles!
Gu Fan withdrew his fist and immediately punched again.
Panic flickered in Lian Huo’s eyes.
He hadn’t expected a mere sixth-layer Spirit Sea Realm cultivator to possess such terrifying physical strength.
Gu Fan laughed heartily.
“Come on! Again!!”
Then the two exchanged blows in a fierce flurry.
Fist met fist. Palm met palm.
Waves of force burst forth with every strike.
Even the residual force alone was enough to seriously injure a typical Spirit Sea Realm cultivator!
“Half-step Primordial Yang? What, didn’t eat enough this morning?”
Gu Fan laughed as he widened the distance with a punch.
Then, fists swirling, he launched another assault.
His punches came at bizarre angles, each one brimming with immense power, leaving Lian Huo constantly dodging!
While defending, Lian Huo cursed inwardly.
His physique wasn’t his strong suit, and every block relied on counterforce to create distance and buy himself time to recover.
He had to change the tempo—he couldn’t let Gu Fan control the rhythm any longer!
Finally, after being forced to retreat repeatedly, Lian Huo erupted with spiritual energy and broke open some distance with a punch.
The string of humiliations had infuriated him. It had been years since he had been pushed into such a sorry state!
“Gu Fan! Forcing me to use this move—you can die with honor!”
Rumble!!
Blood energy surged as spiritual energy formed a totem in the air!
Gu Fan immediately understood—he was unleashing his ultimate move!
The kind of technique one used when going all out!