Chapter 150: The Bond Between Master and Disciple Weighs Heavier Than Mount Tai

After the previous battle and the devastating bombardment by the Profound Fire Crystal Beast's inner core, the dense forest of Qingming Valley was left in absolute chaos. Layers of dead leaves were churned up once again, and a wave of rotting stench quickly filled the surrounding air.

Looking at the two Nascent Soul cultivators of the Everlasting Joy Sect with a playful yet mocking expression, Su Fan asked in a chilling voice, "Where did Feng Shan go?"

The two Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged glances. Instead of answering Su Fan's question, they slowly stood up, intending to help Yu Ming up and leave.

Su Fan immediately stepped into their path and said in a deep voice, "I only promised not to kill him, but I never said I would let you leave."

One of the cultivators, holding a curved blade, immediately flew into a rage and shouted, "You are so despicable! Do you really think the two of us are afraid of you?"

Su Fan hurriedly waved his hands and smiled. "My friend, please do not be so agitated. I merely want to know where your Third Senior Brother has gone. If you are unwilling to say, then I have no other choice."

The other, emaciated Nascent Soul cultivator shook his head helplessly and said, "Third Senior Brother's whereabouts are erratic; how could we possibly know? Besides, the mission Third Senior Brother is executing is an internal sect affair; is it something people like us can discuss?"

Su Fan nodded, then said earnestly, "You may leave now."

Yu Ming's expression instantly shifted. He looked at Su Fan in utter confusion, but ultimately remained silent.

The other two were equally astonished. They had expected a fierce battle to break out, yet they never imagined the opponent would so readily agree to let them leave.

After the two of them had supported Ye Yang far away, Yu Ming asked curiously, "Didn't you want nothing more than to kill Ye Yang? Why did you let him go?"

Su Fan smiled cruelly, his voice freezing. "His death and his crippling are two entirely different matters. If I had truly killed Ye Yang just now, those two would have fought you and me to the death no matter what. Both of those two possess cultivation levels above the Nascent Soul stage—one in the mid-stage and the other in the early stage. While they are not terrifying, even if you and I could fend them off and perhaps severely injure them, successfully killing them would still pose a challenge. Therefore, I crippled Ye Yang instead. This not only delays their movement speed but also eliminates their urge to launch a desperate counterattack, allowing us to minimize our losses."

A sudden realization dawned on Yu Ming, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes. Yet deep down, his admiration for this Junior Martial Brother reached absolute depths, mingled with a faint, nameless sense of fear.

"Where should we go now?" Yu Ming suddenly asked.

By this point in the journey, Su Fan had gradually supplanted Yu Ming's leadership role, becoming the master of the entire team—a fact that Yu Ming had tacitly accepted.

With his expression unchanged, Su Fan swept his gaze across the surroundings. Unbeknownst to them, they had already walked out of that dense forest. At this moment, a bright moon hung high in the sky, and a few distant stars twinkled incessantly.

"Let us rest and regroup here for a moment."

The terrain here was flat, making it suitable for a rest. Moreover, there were no hiding spots nearby, allowing Su Fan to be certain that no ambush awaited them, which was why he permitted the group to halt here.

Su Fan casually found an open patch of ground, sat cross-legged, and then took out Ye Yang's storage pouch to inspect it closely. The spiritual sense remaining on the storage pouch was not particularly strong, roughly equivalent to the strength of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

After a brief period of attrition, Su Fan ultimately managed to break it open.

The storage pouch contained an immense number of items, opening Su Fan's eyes once again. There were over a thousand middle-grade spirit stones alone—the largest quantity of spirit stones he had ever laid eyes on since beginning his cultivation journey.

Although his physique was abnormal and he could not directly utilize spirit stones, as an essential commodity for cultivation, spirit stones were still widely used in certain auction houses. These thousands of spirit stones could undoubtedly be considered a massive fortune.

After blushing slightly at his own lack of worldly experience, Su Fan finally and happily stowed all the spirit stones into his own storage pouch.

Aside from the spirit stones, various healing elixirs were piled up like mountains. Su Fan deemed these elixirs useless, for with the supreme divine jade artifact capable of miraculous healing, all other pills paled significantly in comparison.

Therefore, Su Fan generously distributed those medicinal pills among the disciples. From time to time, bursts of exclamation echoed through the air, with phrases like "fifth-grade spirit pill" and "sixth-grade spirit pill" ringing endlessly in his ears.

Initially, he had been unaware of the true value of these pills. Upon realizing just how many spirit stones these elixirs could be exchanged for, Su Fan could not help but feel a pang of heartache. Yet beneath that heartache was an even greater sense of envy at Ye Yang's extravagance.

If a mere disciple could travel with so many divine treasures, what about those higher-ranking disciples? And what about the storage pouches of those elders? Who knew what heaven-shaking divine treasures might be hidden within them.

After sighing, he had no choice but to lament his own poverty. He hailed from a prominent and orthodox sect, yet he was so shockingly ignorant of the world. Nevertheless, after a brief moment of sentimentality, he resumed plundering for treasures.

Aside from elixirs and spirit stones, the remainder consisted of various cultivation techniques of the Everlasting Joy Sect. Truth be told, the Everlasting Joy Sect's techniques held nothing out of the ordinary, focusing mostly on manipulating the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

As a fire cultivator, Ye Yang possessed specialized cultivation techniques. Su Fan was extremely curious about this; ever since discovering his own peculiar transformation and recalling that his physical body had been forged from the fire of a heavenly tribulation, he harbored a deep curiosity for fire-manipulation techniques. Finding a couple in Ye Yang's storage pouch, he immediately began examining them with utmost care.

Yet, after a few sighs, he put those techniques down. Most of them were flashy and lacked substance, pursuing gorgeous visual effects rather than genuine offensive power. Su Fan held a very low opinion of them and ultimately cast them aside.

As for magical treasures, since he had never seen Ye Yang use any, Su Fan had assumed the man did not rely on them. But seeing them today, he realized those near-worthless treasures were simply beneath notice, which explained everything.

Su Fan wiped the spiritual sense from each of those magical treasures and handed them out to the disciples. Though useless to Su Fan himself, they were quite commendable for these disciples.

As he was about to empty Ye Yang's storage pouch entirely, Su Fan finally spotted an extremely ordinary dagger. The crystalline gemstone on it looked quite precious, but only within the mortal realm.

Su Fan fiddled with it for a long time, yet remained unable to discern any profound mysteries within it, so he simply tossed it into his storage pouch, hoping to search for something else.

Finally, deep within the storage pouch, Su Fan found a piece of leather that resembled a map. He stared at it for a long time, still unable to make heads or tails of it, and was forced to place it back into the storage pouch once more.

Overall, Su Fan was extremely satisfied with the outcome of this operation. As for Qing-Shan's instruction not to let a single member of the Everlasting Joy Sect leave this place alive, Su Fan had no absolute certainty of success. However, since he had given his word, he would strive his utmost to accomplish it. Whether he succeeded or not in the end, his conscience would be clear.

Furthermore, his own personal grievances were intertwined within this endeavor. Unknowingly, Su Fan had become a person who held grudges and sought vengeance for every slight. If he had an enemy, he would hunt them to the ends of the earth to kill them; if he owed a kindness, he would repay it manifold.

His original motive for agreeing to participate in this competition on behalf of the Profound Mechanism Sect had not been entirely pure, but being able to repay a favor while taking revenge at the same time struck Su Fan as quite acceptable.

The midnight air in Qingming Valley was exceptionally piercing. Even Su Fan, whose physical body naturally possessed a fiery constitution to fend off the cold, could feel faint drafts of chilly wind seeping into his body.

Alas, he carried no cold-weather gear with him, leaving him with no choice but to endure the chill. Strangely enough, all the other disciples carried paper talismans designed to ward off the cold, which once again left Su Fan feeling utterly awkward.

Fortunately, Yu Ming handed his own paper talisman to Su Fan, sparing him from having to endure the biting cold.

Su Fan looked at the calm-expressioned Yu Ming, wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing at all.

Yu Ming smiled in response and said in a low voice, "Do you know why I risked my life to snatch that bone marrow?"

This was the question Su Fan had wanted to ask. Yu Ming was usually exceptionally calm, and his actions today had truly puzzled Su Fan. He had originally wanted to ask why, but held back out of unspoken considerations—such as matters concerning the Profound Mechanism Sect.

Yu Ming收敛笑容 withdrew his smile, sat cross-legged, and said gently, "My master is a true genius. She reached the late Golden Core stage at the age of thirty and formed her Nascent Soul in a mere year."

Su Fan had been unaware of this. Reaching the Nascent Soul stage in a year was something that filled Su Fan with shock. He himself had undergone the process of forming his Nascent Soul; he had been stuck in the late Golden Core stage for an unknown length of time, unable to take that final tiny step. In the end, had it not been for the fortuitous opportunities he encountered during the heavenly tribulation that enabled his breakthrough, he would have no idea when he could have achieved the Nascent Soul stage.

"Back then, after Master formed her Nascent Soul, it sent shockwaves through the entire Everlasting Joy Commandery. It is said that even major clans from the imperial capital dispatched people in an attempt to recruit Master into their ranks, but she politely declined them all."

At the mention of the major clans of the imperial capital, Su Fan could not help but recall the two individuals who had peered into his jade pendant that day—one claiming to be of the Situ family, and the other of the Shangguan family. He wondered which family Yu Ming was referring to.

"The world mocks Master for being foolish, but only we disciples of the Profound Mechanism Sect know that she refused such fortune solely because she had to protect the Profound Mechanism Sect."

"The Profound Mechanism Sect and the Everlasting Joy Sect are sworn enemies. Originally, the Everlasting Joy Sect was not so weak, but after years of sparring and trials, countless predecessors of our Profound Mechanism Sect perished, leading to the current stalemate."

"Following the incident involving Junior Martial Uncle, the conflict between the two sects escalated severely, leading to all sorts of covert slaughter between the factions. Although unspoken, the situation has already become dire."

"That year, I began my cultivation. Because my cultivation level advanced relatively quickly, the Sect Master swiftly sealed all information regarding it, thankfully allowing me to grow rapidly until I reached the early Nascent Soul stage."

"On one occasion, an elder of the Everlasting Joy Sect came to visit. Though called a visit, it was actually a reconnaissance mission to probe whether the Profound Mechanism Sect had any disciples of superior aptitude. As it happened, he ran into me."

"Thus, he discussed with the Sect Master about taking me back to the Everlasting Joy Sect. The Sect Master would never agree without Master's permission, so she summoned Master to come."

"Master has a fiery temper. After a few incompatible words, she came to blows with that person. That individual practiced chilling, frost-based cultivation techniques, and his methods were exceptionally venomous. Being young and hot-headed at the time, I rushed forward to help Master."

"Unexpectedly, I was taken hostage by that person. To save me, Master was severely injured. After numerous twists and turns, we managed to rescue me, though that person was also injured quite heavily."

Su Fan furrowed his brow slightly. This event, which ought to have been heart-stopping, was glossed over hastily by Yu Ming, suggesting that he harbored no desire to relive those memories.

"However, it wasn't until the year you ascended the mountain to join the sect that I discovered Master had ultimately fallen victim to that person's frost poison. After consulting ancient texts, I finally learned that the marrow fluid of the Profound Fire Crystal Beast could dispel the frost poison."