Chapter 199

"Does the lay disciple find it strange that I let this person go?" The middle-aged Daoist fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Hehe! It is a bit strange. That kid's magic treasure is quite good—I even felt tempted just looking at it!" The old man did not hide his thoughts and spoke bluntly.

"You'd better abandon this idea right away—this man must not be killed!" The Daoist frowned slightly, speaking with a hint of warning.

Upon hearing this, the green-robed old man's face flickered with surprise, but he said nothing. He knew that since the matter had been brought this far, given the other's character, he would surely explain further.

Indeed, the Daoist continued in a blank tone:

"This man is closely connected to Ma Ma Yunlong of Tianque Fortress—better not provoke him lightly!"

The old man was startled and exclaimed:

"That Tianque Fortress Ma Ma Yunlong—the one with the greatest chance in over a hundred years to reach Core Formation?"

The Daoist gave a bitter smile and sighed:

"Who else could it be? I've seen this man several times. The Falling Dust Pearl he holds in his hand is Ma Ma Yunlong's famed magic treasure—there's no mistake. So this young man is definitely closely tied to Ma Ma Yunlong—better leave him alone!"

"You're right! Thanks to your warning—I'd have made a grave mistake! Cough, let's just take the spirit herbs and leave. Don't want any more unexpected guests!" The old man finally regained his composure and immediately suggested.

The Daoist naturally agreed, and the two each took one "Purple Monkey Flower," then parted ways immediately.

Similar events were unfolding simultaneously in several other locations, but their conflicts were far from peaceful—they erupted into fierce clashes.

Beside a stone hut on a ridge of the circular mountain, four people had split into two factions, wielding various magic treasures in combat.

One man and one woman wore yellow robes—they were disciples of Huang Feng Valley.

The man, around forty, exuded scholarly air; in hand he held a shimmering silver brush and a golden book glowing brilliantly. With each sweep and unfurling, silver talismans and golden light rained down, forcing the two opponents across from him to sweat profusely and turn pale with fear.

The beautiful young woman also directed two flying swords—one blue, one yellow—to assist, but any observer could see her strength paled in comparison—not only to her companion, but even to the two opponents. She contributed nothing to restraining them; instead, she often needed her formidable companion to rescue her multiple times!

Yet their opponents were not from the same sect.

The ugly man, wearing a green light shield, commanding a flying serpent as thick as a bowl and a swarm of giant yellow wasps, frantically blocking the torrent of golden light from the Huang Feng Valley man—was none other than Zhong Wu of Lingshou Mountain, who had exchanged information with Han Li.

The other was a handsome youth with delicate, refined features; his blue robes marked him as a disciple of Huadao Wu.

Two crimson flying knives danced before him, radiating brilliant light—clearly not ordinary magic treasures. These should have been offensive weapons, yet now they formed two glowing shields, each the size of a cart wheel, straining to block the countless silver talismans like falling stars.

"Stop! We give up! Chen, you're ruthless—this stone hut's spirit herbs are yours!" The Huadao Wu youth, unable to hold out any longer, finally surrendered.

The ugly man Zhong Wu, upon hearing this, showed only faint resentment but said nothing—his silence was tacit approval. He recalled the serpent and the wasp swarm to his side.

"Hmph! You say you give up, and that's it? Is it that easy?" The weakest Huang Feng Valley woman pulled back her bangs, her voice laced with resentment. She had been completely ignored throughout the fight, and now her temper flared.

"What do you want? You're not going to slaughter us, are you? You don't even have the guts!" The Huadao Wu youth shrieked angrily—his voice sounded like a startled woman's. The other three shuddered.

"Of course not. My seventh sister is just venting. You two may leave—Chen will not hinder you!" The Huang Feng Valley middle-aged man frowned slightly, immediately silencing the woman's hostile words with a glance, then spoke calmly to Zhong Wu and the others.

"Hehe! Brother Chen truly lives up to being the eldest son of the Chen family—your bearing is nothing like those little girls. Then we take our leave!" The Huadao Wu youth suddenly calmed, his voice returning to a normal male tone, transforming instantly into a refined gentleman. The stark contrast stunned the others.

After speaking, the youth and Zhong Wu cast one last longing glance at the stone hut, then left with visible pain, vanishing behind the rocks.

"Big brother, why didn't you kill them? If we'd pushed harder, we could've wiped them out!" The beautiful woman, watching them depart, finally turned and asked the middle-aged man.

"Seventh sister, since that incident, you've become more extreme. You're quick to seek death. Do you know who these two are? Their families are well-known clans—though far below our Yan and Chen super-clans, they still cannot be underestimated. Better not make enemies lightly!"

"Besides, even if we truly wanted to kill them, we'd likely fail! Though your golden book and silver brush seem to have crushed them, that's only because they didn't try to flee. If we truly tried to kill them, they're no fools—they'd run. And then, no matter how powerful your golden book and silver brush are, you couldn't touch them—only earn more enemies!"

The Huang Feng Valley man first scolded the young woman gently, then carefully explained why he refused to kill—making her suddenly understand.

"By the way, seventh sister—that Lu family brat hasn't shown his face anywhere since trying to kill you. It seems the one who saved you truly killed him. If so, he got lucky—if not, I'd have made him wish he'd never been born, made him feel the horror of daring to strike at a Chen. But the identity of the one who saved you… is intriguing. I spent great effort checking which disciples were absent from the valley during those days, yet found no one capable of threatening that Lu brat. That scoundrel's magic power was negligible, but his Green Dragon Flag was a top-tier magic treasure! To rescue you from him, the savior must have been quite powerful. Could he really be a wandering cultivator from outside our sect?"

This "seventh sister" was in fact the cold, ice-like "Chen Sect Sister"—yet before her elder brother, she clearly reverted to a fraction of her true nature. Upon hearing this, she blushed and pouted:

"Pfft! Why bring up that guy? Fine, he saved me—but left me stranded in the wilderness and stole my Foundation Establishment Pill! He's probably no good at all!"

There was clear bitterness in Chen Sect Sister's voice.

Yet what truly enraged and shamed her was not that incident—but the memory of that humiliating night: feverish, unconscious, naked, her body exposed.

The rough hands that had freely touched every inch of her, and the strong male scent clinging to him—these still burned in her memory.

Yet, ashamed and furious, she tried hard not to think of it, burying the memory deep within. Now, hearing her brother mention it, the memory surged back, causing her face to alternate between red and pale.

When Chen Sect Sister finally snapped out of her daze, she found her brother watching her with a knowing, half-smiling gaze—as if he had seen every secret in her heart. Her blush deepened, radiant and tender.

Overwhelmed with shame, Chen Sect Sister stomped her foot and said, "I'm going to gather herbs!" Then she rushed toward the stone hut, trying to hide her inner turmoil.

The middle-aged man watched his beloved younger sister's back, smiled faintly, and already had a plan forming in his mind.

Then he followed after her.

…

In a certain dense forest, a girl in green robes bit her lips tightly, directing a small white eagle in a fierce struggle against a two-headed monster snake—neither side gaining clear advantage. Behind the snake stood a towering tree, its entire body glowing crimson, bearing several fist-sized red fruits on its branches.

…

In a narrow underground cave, a group of white-robed men and women walked in silence—about fifteen or sixteen in total. All surviving members of the Yan Yue Sect within the forbidden zone were here. Leading them was the elf-like girl who had once briefly glimpsed Han Li.

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