Chapter 143: Killing (Part 1)

The azure mountains were shrouded in gloom, and dusk was descending upon the firmament.

The first day passed entirely in flight. Since many of the disciples had never left their mountain peaks since joining the sect, their excitement inevitably bordered on excess.

In daily life, Yuming was exceptionally stern within the sect. Possessing formidable aptitude, the disciples were often influenced by his reputation among their peers and consequently held a certain fear of him.

Regarding this, Su Fan also found himself somewhat troubled. Yuming possessed a proud disposition, and unless he encountered someone he truly respected, he would scarcely engage in idle conversation.

Fortunately, Su Fan possessed an easygoing temperament, allowing the disciples to maintain their laughter and chatter throughout the flight. Yuming and Su Fan also conversed amicably, preventing the journey from becoming overly dull.

As his gaze swept over these young disciples, a peculiar sensation stirred within Su Fan's heart, suddenly recalling the time he and Xiao Lin traveled to the abode of the Tianyuan Sect's trial disciples.

Back then, he, too, had been entirely ignorant of the world. Yet, the vicissitudes of life were unpredictable; ever since the first time he committed master-cide, there had been no turning back. Reflecting upon it now, he even resented having embarked upon the path of immortality.

Had he not pursued cultivation, he would not have formed a blood feud with the Three Emperors Village; his mother would not have died; nor would he have discovered that the flawless father in his heart was actually such a man.

"Night is falling. Shall we continue our journey?"

Suddenly interrupted from his distant reflections by Yuming’s inquiry, Su Fan realized that the final trace of light on the horizon had vanished into the abyss of the sky, breeding a vague and obscure sense of unease within his heart.

"How much longer until we arrive?"

"A day's journey."

"Descend and walk. Do not halt."

Yuming froze. Descending to walk on foot was practically a humiliation for cultivators accustomed to flight, as it equated them with ordinary mortals.

However, Su Fan's remarkable performance a few years prior had earned him Yuming’s utmost respect, so Yuming did not refute the suggestion. Instead, he asked, "Why must we walk on the ground?"

Su Fan had anticipated such a question. Even if Yuming did not ask now, the disciples would surely inquire once they started walking, so he had already prepared his response.

"The sky is akin to being isolated from the world. I believe it is detrimental to the disciples' perception of worldly affairs, which is exceedingly unfavorable for their future cultivation insights."

Su Fan did not directly state that there was danger, as this was merely his personal judgment. Even if he currently held a certain degree of prestige, it was still insufficient to fully convince others without evidence; while danger had yet to manifest, one could not claim it existed.

Hearing this explanation, Yuming found nothing to argue against, and even felt a measure of admiration for Su Fan's unique perspective. After issuing a few instructions and explanations, the disciples willingly descended to travel on foot.

Beneath the sky lay a village. From afar, wisps of kitchen smoke could be seen curling upward, painting a warm and harmonious scene. Up close, amidst the profound tranquility, it possessed a distinct and rustic charm of its own.

Su Fan suddenly asked, "Senior Brother, where is your hometown?"

Yuming was slightly taken aback, then replied, "I do not know. Our master rescued me from a pile of corpses. It is said that during a severe flood that year, many people starved to death, and Master happened to pass by and brought me back to the mountain."

Su Fan nodded, seemingly struck by another thought, and asked, "Senior Brother must have been very young back then. To begin cultivation at such an early age, it must have been very bitter, wasn't it?"

Yuming replied, "I did not practice cultivation at that time."

Observing Su Fan’s bewildered expression, Yuming hurriedly explained, "Master said I had to wait until I was old enough to understand the world before deciding whether to cultivate. If I wished to, I would cultivate; if not, she would send me down the mountain."

Su Fan fell silent. He understood why the old crone had done this—the path of cultivation was not as carefree and unrestrained as mortals imagined; once one entered the world of cultivators, one had to live by trampling upon the heads of their enemies.

Were it not for this, he would have been killed without a doubt. This was no exaggeration; without the protection of the Profound Mechanism Sect, those disciples would likely spend every day worrying about how to escape with their lives.

Having experienced those ordeals, and guided by figures like Lan Yifeng and Xiao Lin, Su Fan was no longer the naive young cultivator of the past. When the old crone took Yuming in, she must have realized this truth as well, which was why she did not force him.

"Senior Brother's cultivation must have reached the late Nascent Soul stage, correct?" Su Fan suddenly asked.

Inquiring casually about another's cultivation realm was a major taboo. Fortunately, their relationship was out of the ordinary, so Yuming nodded in tacit confirmation.

Su Fan smiled faintly and walked among the disciples, who were looking around curiously. "My fellow senior and junior brothers, do not think Senior Brother Yuming speaks very little; he is actually very kind to others."

Hearing Su Fan's words, Yuming shook his head helplessly, then walked toward the rear of the procession, ignoring the disciples' looks of astonishment and murmurs of surprise.

By now, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, accompanied by gusts of biting wind.

They had long since left the village behind and ascended the mountain path. The mountain trail was desolate, filled with the endless, haunting cries of beasts. The shadows of ancient cypress trees cast upon the bluestone slabs resembled a traditional ink landscape painting.

A cold wind, blowing from an unknown direction, swept into Su Fan's sleeves, causing him to shiver involuntarily. His expression tightened as he raised a hand and ordered, "Wait."

As he abruptly halted, the disciples paused in unison. Yuming hurried up from the rear and asked, "What is it?"

Su Fan did not answer, instead sweeping his gaze across the surroundings. After a moment, he called out, "Elder Liu? You've been following us for a whole day, aren't you tired?"

At the mention of Elder Liu, Yuming’s expression shifted slightly. The memory of the enmity from that single sword strike five years ago remained vivid in his mind.

Though he rarely spoke of it, silence only indicated the depth of his concern. Part of his emotional fluctuation stemmed from that person, while the other part stemmed from Su Fan.

Elder Liu's cultivation was that of a powerhouse in the Heart Transformation realm, whereas Su Fan was merely in the early Nascent Soul stage. Even with the assistance of the Azure Robe in the past, he shouldn't have been capable of detecting this person.

Furthermore, recalling how Su Fan had acted strangely from the moment they descended to walk on foot, right up to his questioning in the village, it now appeared as though he had known long in advance that someone would appear.

With an indifferent expression, Su Fan awaited the emergence of Elder Liu, who still remained hidden. A cold smile played on Su Fan's lips as his fingers flicked, sending a restriction talisman flying toward a boulder. A resounding crash echoed, yet the boulder remained smooth and unblemished.

Following that, Su Fan formed hand seals rapidly, his fingers dancing as countless restriction runes flew forth in an instant, embedding themselves into the surrounding boulders. Suddenly, the entire mountain seemed to tremble, prompting Yuming to quickly shield the disciples behind him.

A moment later, a massive abyss manifested upon the mountain path, spanned by a narrow bridge. Upon closer inspection, what had previously appeared to be a flat mountain trail was actually a bottomless gorge, merely concealed by optical illusion restrictions to deceive the eye.

Beyond the bridge lay endless darkness, from which a voice filled with doubt soon emerged.

"I thought you were..."

Before the sentence was finished, Su Fan had already confirmed the speaker's identity. He could never forget that voice, and neither could Yuming.

"You thought I was intentionally probing?"

"Correct."

"Yet now you realize I was not intentionally probing, but genuinely aware of your presence."

"Correct."

"You are wrong. I was indeed just probing," Su Fan said with a triumphant grin.

Immediately afterward, an infuriated voice rang out: "Since you were merely probing, how did you know it was me?"

Su Fan let out a wry smile and replied, "In the Everlasting Joy Sect, you are the only senior I know."

A figure finally stepped across the bridge. Dressed in black robes and wearing a furious expression, it was none other than Elder Liu. He roared in anger, "Yet you know those restriction techniques!"

Su Fan chuckled softly and remarked casually, "Restriction techniques are not particularly difficult to learn. I simply happened to master the method to crack your formations."

In truth, it was not as simple as Su Fan made it sound. What he mastered were ancient restrictions; the ghosts and entities from the Underworld Monarch's Tomb possessed extraordinary origins, and the restrictions associated with them were naturally no ordinary items.

As for the restrictions Elder Liu had deployed, they were creations of modern practitioners. Although ingenious, they were ultimately derived from the study of ancient restrictions. To others, they might be utterly impenetrable, but to Su Fan, breaking them was not difficult.

However, the Dao of restrictions was by no means simple to master. There were many supreme experts who had reached the Three Realms of Dao Integration yet remained blocked outside the threshold of restriction mastery. This field depended entirely on one's personal comprehension. For someone like Su Fan, who possessed exceptional affinity for it, learning it upon first encounter naturally made it seem effortless.

Su Fan's utterly casual remarks pushed Elder Liu's patience to its breaking point. Seeing that Su Fan had survived had already filled him with rage, and now, being exposed and humiliated by him, his fury surged to new heights.

"The Profound Mechanism Sect has killed so many of my disciples. Today, all of you shall be buried here!"

The moment the words fell, Elder Liu launched an attack. A soul-shaking sword slashed straight toward Su Fan. Before Su Fan could react, the edge of his robe was severed by the blade.

As the sword swept back for a second strike, Su Fan hurriedly dodged.

Yuming let out a cold snort and slammed a fist directly against the sword. The blade instantly lost its luster; although inferior to the pseudo-immortal artifact destroyed by the heavenly tribulation days ago, it was by no means a mediocre weapon.

Yet under Yuming's single punch, it dimmed instantly and teetered on the brink of shattering.

With no time to lament his damaged weapon, Elder Liu lunged forward to engage Yuming, silently pointing a finger.

The point condensed the unformed mountain mist into freezing vapors that pierced straight into Yuming's marrow. Yuming gave a sharp shout and flicked his wrists, casting three willow leaves.

Spitting out a single word, "Explode!"

The willow leaves shattered instantly. Elder Liu hastily retreated to evade the explosive force, only to find that the blast of the willow leaves lacked any devastating power.

Immediately afterward, Yuming swiftly manipulated a whip to lash back at him. Woven from the branches of the Profound Mechanism Sect's extraordinary willow trees, the resulting magical treasure was likewise extraordinary.

Caught off guard by Elder Liu's underestimation of his opponent, several bloody gashes were left across the elder's body.

Su Fan suddenly spoke in an icy tone, "You are already struggling so much against my Senior Brother alone. If the rest of us were to attack together, Elder, you might find yourself at a disadvantage."

Elder Liu's body shuddered violently as he jerked backward, instantly dissolving into starlight and vanishing without a trace.

Casting a wary glance at the spot where Elder Liu had disappeared, Su Fan said in a deep voice, "Let us move quickly."

Yuming shook his head helplessly and sighed, "It is fortunate that he retreated. Had he persisted a moment longer, all of us would have been slain by him."

Su Fan smiled. "It is a pity that he fled."

Yuming nodded silently, then asked, "Did Master not say there would be no ambush?"

Su Fan chuckled softly. "Words spoken by elders are not necessarily absolute."

Author's Note:

If you read without adding to your collection, the author weeps in vain. Esteemed readers... please add this to your collection... would you kindly?

Humble thanks,

Humble thanks.