Chapter 152: The Lost Gate of the Ghost Domain

The forbidden dense forest was completely ordinary, save for its abundance of trees—strange, misshapen trees, some with crooked necks, others towering into the clouds completely devoid of leaves.

Su Fan walked slowly through the deep woods. It was not that he wished to travel at a snail's pace, but rather that Feng Shan ahead of him was moving slowly, forcing Su Fan to maintain a distance and follow at a measured rate.

Gradually, however, Su Fan realized that walking in this manner seemed deeply unwise.

He sensed someone approaching from behind. It was not that his spiritual perception had detected them, but rather that an intense, suffocating aura of killing intent could be felt clearly, despite the considerable distance.

The identity of this person was easy to deduce. He was undoubtedly a disciple of the Mad Blade Sect of Mobei. As for who specifically, it was even more apparent: among the fifteen members of the Mad Blade Sect who had entered, only one was at the mid-nascent soul stage, a man named Blood Cloud.

Shortly after, another aura drifted over. That presence was light and natural, yet imbued with an overwhelming, bone-chilling frost that struck terror deep into one's soul.

"Li Mingxuan?" Su Fan murmured in faint surprise, quickly stepping backward. He had originally intended to see if there were any treasures to be found, never expecting the commotion to be so vast that it would draw these two individuals here.

Feng Shan alone was difficult enough to deal with, and now two more bizarre figures had appeared. This forced Su Fan to retreat, and to do so swiftly.

Quietly, Su Fan vaguely perceived the two auras intersecting. Following that, their respective energies began to expand at an even greater speed, and in the blink of an eye, Su Fan found himself stepping right in front of the pair.

At that moment, Blood Cloud was hoisting a massive saber, glaring fiercely at Li Mingxuan, while Li Mingxuan's gaze remained hollow, staring blankly into space. The deadlock between them was instantly shattered by Su Fan's sudden arrival.

Su Fan had intended to sweep past the two of them quickly, but a slight miscalculation caused him to land right between them. At this juncture, any rash movement was out of the question. Offering an awkward smile, Su Fan muttered, "Please, the two of you, continue."

Seeming startled by Su Fan's abrupt appearance, Blood Cloud grew somewhat belligerent out of embarrassment. He shot Su Fan a cold glare and, seeing that the newcomer's cultivation base did not appear particularly high, barked angrily, "If you have nothing to do, get lost at once!"

Compared to losing one's life, gaining the upper hand in mere verbal sparring was something Su Fan cared little about. Even if you disparaged him into nothingness, if he possessed the strength, it would ultimately be a slap to your face.

Therefore, casting a deeply sympathetic glance at Li Mingxuan, Su Fan quickened his pace and walked forward. It was not that he believed Li Mingxuan incapable of defeating Blood Cloud, but rather a strange intuition: for Li Mingxuan to lower himself to fighting such a person was a profound humiliation in its own right.

"A pathetic stray dog. The Profound Mystery Sect is truly filled with nothing but trash."

Just as Su Fan was about to step out of their line of sight, he suddenly heard those words slip from Blood Cloud's mouth. His steps faltered slightly, and he slowly turned around, walking back toward Blood Cloud.

Li Mingxuan's expression froze in astonishment, and he sharply rebuked, "Are you out of your mind? Why have you come back? Get away from here immediately!"

Though the words sounded like a warning laden with mockery, to Su Fan's ears, they carried a trace of genuine goodwill. Although he had no deep friendship with Li Mingxuan, and the reputation of the Southern Heaven View was hardly that of benevolent saints, that was simply the impression Su Fan received.

"Fellow Daoist Li, do you feel profoundly humiliated by having to trade blows with such a person?" Su Fan smiled, sighing lightly as he looked toward Blood Cloud.

Li Mingxuan's frosty expression softened fractionally. He cast a look of profound sympathy at Su Fan and murmured quietly, "Even if you say such things, I will not help you."

Su Fan nodded gently, completely ignoring Blood Cloud, whose anger was already boiling over, and continued in a cold voice, "As for someone like me, a wandering rogue, you may say whatever you please, Blood Cloud. But the Profound Mystery Sect—is that an entity you are qualified to slander?"

Toward anyone who had shown him kindness, Su Fan maintained an unwavering philosophy of repaying debts of gratitude tenfold. Because of this, you could insult him all you liked, but to insult his benefactor was nothing short of seeking death.

In the eyes of outsiders, Blood Cloud was shrouded in an untouchable aura of slaughter, but in Su Fan's eyes, it amounted to nothing. He had killed plenty of people himself; his own killing intent was simply restrained rather than flaunted outwardly.

As he finished speaking, Su Fan unleashed his full killing intent. His crimson eyes locked onto the short-statured Blood Cloud with a piercing stare. Blood Cloud's narrowed eyes suddenly widened in shock, and he gazed at Su Fan in absolute disbelief.

Standing off to the side, Li Mingxuan looked at the young man with equal astonishment. He had initially assumed this youth, possessing only early nascent soul cultivation, was merely a good-for-nothing who had relied on sect patronage to come and temper himself here. He had not expected the View Master's words to be entirely true.

"Beware of Su Fan; you may disregard Ye Yang."

The phrase that Li Mingxuan had etched into his memory surfaced once again in his mind. He had thought that the young man whose cultivation had surged exponentially after inadvertently triggering a heavenly tribulation had merely relied on exceptional luck, yet he had never imagined this person was truly extraordinary.

Blood Cloud stared blankly at Su Fan, unable to utter a single word. It was only when Su Fan took a steady step forward, causing Blood Cloud to instinctively retreat a fraction, that Li Mingxuan was struck by a fresh wave of shock.

Perhaps a fierce sense of pride managed to override his underlying terror, for Blood Cloud wore a ferocious expression as he forced himself to stand his ground, barking, "If you don't want to die, get out of here right now!"

At that, Su Fan finally came to a halt. He said coldly, "Do not assume that because you've taken a few lives you are anything special. Taking lives is nothing to boast about; stop flapping your jaw about slaughter at every turn."

With those words, Su Fan turned to leave. Li Mingxuan raised a hand slightly and softly called out, "Fellow Daoist Su, please stay. This one has some matters to discuss with you."

Expressionless, Su Fan shifted his gaze back to Li Mingxuan and stated coldly, "Every single disciple of the Southern Heaven View is elite. Why bother discussing anything with someone like me?"

A bitter expression crossed Li Mingxuan's face. He let out a long sigh and wryly replied, "Of our fifteen-member party, I am the only one left."

Su Fan cast another cold glance at Blood Cloud. Blood Cloud's face was grotesque, his eyeballs bulging so far they seemed ready to pop out of their sockets, resembling the appearance of that giant toad from earlier.

"I suppose I can credit this lover of slaughter for that."

"Lover of slaughter" was Su Fan's helpless designation for Blood Cloud. Such a deduction was hardly unreasonable; since the Profound Mystery Sect had run into the Everlasting Joy Sect, it was only natural for the Southern Heaven View to cross paths with the Mad Blade Sect.

Li Mingxuan could easily piece this together, so he did not press the matter further. Instead, he asked softly, "I presume Fellow Daoist Su also encountered the people from the Everlasting Joy Sect."

Su Fan nodded slightly without offering a detailed explanation.

Seeing that Su Fan was unwilling to reveal the whereabouts of the Profound Mystery Sect's party, Li Mingxuan chose not to pursue the questioning. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "Actually, there is nothing grand to discuss. I merely wish to share a secret regarding this valley with you."

This was precisely the reason Su Fan had followed into this forbidden zone in the first place. Yet, hampered by the arrival of the two figures behind him and his lingering anxiety for Yu Ming and his other teammates, he had been forced to suppress his curiosity and withdraw quickly.

Now, however, one of the two threatening figures vaguely intended to make peace, while the other no longer seemed so terrifying. As for Yu Ming's safety, as long as it wasn't Feng Shan, Su Fan believed no one else could pose a threat to the team—unless another desolate beast appeared.

And if a desolate beast truly did appear, even Su Fan's presence would change nothing. Thus, he cast aside all lingering worries to fully indulge his own curiosity.

"Since Fellow Daoist puts it that way, I would certainly like to listen."

Li Mingxuan cupped his fists in a salute toward Su Fan, then walked over to the flustered Blood Cloud and said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Blood Cloud, if you do not leave now, you might miss the chance to witness Feng Shan opening the gates to the nether realm."

"The gates to the nether realm?" Su Fan's expression shifted drastically, though he quickly regained his composure. The ability to keep one's emotions hidden from view was a skill Su Fan had mastered well in his cultivation journey thus far.

At the mention of the "gates to the nether realm," Su Fan could not help but recall the time when he possessed only qi-condensation cultivation. When he had first gone treasure hunting, he had been plotted against by someone, and had it not been for a stroke of fortune that caused him to fall into the Ancient Tomb of the Underworld King, his cultivation might never have reached this point.

Due to his naivety at the time, he had been deceived once more by the ghost Chenyi, opening a portal that led to an unknown destination. He only remembered the Underworld King referring to it at the time as the Gate of the Nether Realm.

Recalling the scene now still filled him with lingering dread and a vague sense of terror—the terrifying giant hand of the Ghost King, who had been suppressed for countless years and possessed the power to tear the heavens asunder.

Regarding that incident, Su Fan still harbored a suspicion. The Underworld King was not at the nascent soul stage; Su Fan had seen plenty of nascent soul cultivators, but none possessed the terrifying might of the Underworld King.

Perhaps there was only one explanation that could convince Su Fan: the immortal realm. While Su Fan had mostly doubted tales of immortals and deities, the Underworld King's unfathomable strength, coupled with certain remarks he had made, forced Su Fan to suspect that an immortal world genuinely existed in this universe.

Only an immortal could harness such formidable might while operating within a nascent soul cultivation framework.

Hearing the phrase "gates to the nether realm" once again caused a violent upheaval in Su Fan's heart. Vaguely, he felt that this time, he might finally have the opportunity to uncover the secrets behind the Gate of the Nether Realm.

Upon hearing Li Mingxuan's words, Blood Cloud wore a grave expression and said coldly, "The lives of the fourteen golden core late-stage disciples of the Mad Blade Sect—I, Blood Cloud, will remember this debt for a lifetime. I trouble Fellow Daoist Li to remember it as well."

Li Mingxuan paused for a moment, then laughed out of sheer anger, shouting, "Are your Mad Blade Sect disciples' lives the only ones that matter, while my Southern Heaven View disciples' lives are worthless? Rest assured, I will remember this thoroughly without requiring Fellow Daoist Blood Cloud's reminder!"

Suddenly, it dawned on Su Fan that only the two of them remained out of all the disciples from the Mad Blade Sect and the Southern Heaven View. He chose not to imagine the sheer brutality of the clashes that must have occurred, but they were undoubtedly soaked in blood.

With an involuntary shake of his head, he stepped forward to gently pat the dazed Li Mingxuan on the shoulder, offering comfort: "In trials of tempering, life and death are inevitable. The path of cultivation is arduous; we can only hope they do not enter the Daoist gates in their next lives."

Li Mingxuan stared at the departing short figure—a silhouette that appeared diminutive yet concealed endless murderous peril—before finally snapping out of his daze a long moment later. He sighed heavily, "Let us hope they do not enter the Daoist gates in their next lives... This path has always been fraught with such peril. Since Fellow Daoist Su sees it so clearly, why continue cultivating?"

Su Fan once again fell silent. In the past, he had asked himself this very question countless times, always brushing past the answer with hasty excuses. Now, hearing someone else pose the question plunged Su Fan into deep contemplation.

"Indeed, what is the point of cultivation? Cultivation cannot bring my parents back to life. No matter how high my cultivation becomes, there will always come a day when I encounter a formidable enemy and meet my death. Then what on earth am I cultivating this immortality for?"