Chapter 400: Hong Lian Witch

All, pull yourselves together.

The first ten layers of the Demon Abyss are just small fish and shrimp; we're here only to deal with the Hong Lian Witch, and those demonic cultivators won't come out for such a trivial matter.

The more you fear, the more the monsters here think you're easy to bully.

Leading the extermination group, the Legend Realm elder was vigorous in spirit, rallying everyone.

The life‑snatching scholar Fan Yu'an remained calm and composed, as if he were not affected at all by the Demon Abyss.

The party soon arrived at the seventh layer of the Demon Abyss.

However, Lin Chuan did not sense any trace of the Pure World Hong Lian.

"Daoist Friends, it seems the Witch hasn't arrived yet; let's set up an ambush here first, and when the Witch comes, we'll swarm her and be sure to slay her."

Having said that, everyone took their positions for the ambush.

Up to that moment, no one doubted the organizer's words.

Obviously, these cultivators who kept proclaiming they would exterminate the Witch had no real understanding of the Pure World Hong Lian's power.

At that moment, the leading Legend Realm elder came up to Fan Yu'an.

"Young Master Fan, will the Hong Lian Witch really come? There seems to be no sign of the Pure World Hong Lian being born here."

That question made Lin Chuan pause.

From the start, he had felt that the scholar was no good.

For something so important, he dragged a mere 'bystander' like him into the team; now it looks even less like a respectable cultivator.

"Hold on."

Fan Yu'an, looking confident, said, "If the signs of the Hong Lian's birth were that easy to detect, countless demonic cultivators would have swarmed here long ago."

"I, the young master, happened upon this information by chance."

"You're ready to set the ambush; would I still joke with my life?"

"Young Master Fan, don't get angry; I was merely asking in passing, not questioning you," he quickly softened, muttering as he left.

Seeing Lin Chuan stare at him, Fan Yu'an seemed a bit uneasy and took the initiative to change the subject.

"Young Master Lin, do you know anything about the Hong Lian Witch?"

"I do."

Lin Chuan laughed, saying no one could know it better than he does.

Fan Yu'an was startled, "It seems Lin Xiong has done a lot of preparation for this visit."

"Not really."

Lin Chuan chatted casually, "My joining the expedition was purely accidental; I just happened to pass by, so I came along to take a look together."

"Oh?"

Fan Yu'an, puzzled, asked, "Then why did Lin Xiong claim to know the Hong Lian Witch?"

"According to what I know, the Hong Lian Witch's rise was brief; she only wreaked havoc in a few prefectures near Han Xu, and usually hides in the Demon Abyss to cultivate."

"Lin Xiong, you're an outsider—how could you know?"

"That's a long story," Lin Chuan smiled and retorted, "Young Master Fan, you seem quite concerned about the Witch, don't you?"

Meeting Lin Chuan's gaze, Fan Yu'an subconsciously felt a pressure, became uneasy all over, and forced a dry laugh:

"Since I'm here to exterminate the Witch, of course I'm more attentive."

While the two were talking, something tore through the sky nearby.

Lin Chuan's eyes narrowed; even though the figure wore a mask, he could tell it was Lady Sangyu, the Hong Lian Witch spoken of by everyone.

"The Hong Lian Witch has arrived!"

Fan Yu'an's eyes widened; he was the first to charge out, and the other cultivators, seeing this, were about to follow suit.

And then they saw…

At the moment Fan Yu'an, who was at the front, reached the Hong Lian Witch, he slipped, fell to his knees, and prostrated himself on the ground.

"Honorable Witch Lady."

"I… I have brought you exquisite blood‑food; please enjoy it and feed the great Hong Lian with their flesh and blood."

Fan Yu'an knelt, his tone reverent.

Like a dog.

The extermination group's cultivators: "???"

Lin Chuan was stunned; after all that effort, the supposedly fiercest 'life‑snatching scholar' turned out to be the Witch's lapdog?

【48】 Now that's truly a death‑snatching situation.

Lin Chuan replied casually, "My joining the extermination group was purely accidental; I just happened to pass by and decided to take a look."

"Fan Yu'an, you dog‑thief!"

The extermination leader, realizing too late, shouted angrily, "You've colluded with the Witch, bringing disaster to all living beings; you shall not die a good death."

"A swarm of ants!"

Fan Yu'an sneered, "Being the Witch's blood‑food is your honor."

"Devour‑Essence Array! Activate!"

Accompanied by Fan Yu'an's maniacal laugh, a shadow enveloped the surrounding world, and all the extermination group's cultivators were suppressed by the Grand Array.

After suppressing the extermination group's cultivators, Fan Yu'an flatteredly looked toward Mo Sangyu,

"Witch Lady, this is a small token I offer you; please accept it with a smile."

"Who are you?"

Mo Sangyu replied coldly, a hint of doubt in her voice.

Fan Yu'an laughed, "The little one is unimportant, I'm just a minor cultivator who admires you…"

"Qing Shan Sect? The sect I annihilated three years ago? Are you from Qing Shan Sect?" Mo Sangyu asked.

No.

Fan Yu'an bowed his head: "I, the lowly, have suffered the oppression of the Qingshan Sect. When I was powerless, I saw you."

"You slaughtered the Qingshan Sect to near extinction; that elegance, I will forever keep in my heart."

"Please let me stay by your side, to serve you like a loyal hound and horse forever."

Fan Yu'an's tone was devout; he knelt on both knees, bowing his head lower and lower until it pressed into the ground.

"Go and kill them all, so that I can see how loyal you are."

Mo Sangyu pointed at the trapped Extermination Society cultivators.

"These people came to kill her."

"When dealing with those who would kill me, Mo Sangyu never shows mercy; anyone who dares to deceive me even a bit, I will annihilate their entire clan."

"As you command."

Fan Yu'an rose and walked toward the Extermination Society cultivators trapped within the array.

"Dog thief! You shall not die a good death! You will surely receive retribution; we upright cultivators of the righteous path will come to settle the score with you."

"Fan dog! You have a human face but a beast's heart! You will sooner or later go to Di Yu!"

The Extermination Society cultivators kept hurling curses at Fan Yu'an.

"How amusing."

Fan Yu'an scoffed, "A bunch of leaping clowns, daring to challenge the Witch Master; it's nothing but a fool's dream."

"Don't even look at how insignificant you are."

"What right do you have to contend with the Witch Master?"

"Now! It's time for you to pay the price for your stupidity."

Fan Yu'an fully activated the Grand Array, refining the crowd entirely into blood qi.

A torrent of blood qi surged toward Mo Sangyu.

A blood lotus hovered in her hand, greedily devouring the supplement.

"By the way, there's one more."

Fan Yu'an recalled something, turned his head toward the direction where Lin Chuan had been, only to find it completely empty, nothing remaining.

"Where is the person?" Fan Yu'an frowned. "Escaped? It seems that fellow had been wary of me from the start."

"Did you really think you could get away?"

She had long been prepared, placing a mark on Lin Chuan; with a brief deduction, she could discern his whereabouts.

Fan Yu'an counted on his fingers and was stunned again.

"Hmm?"

"Right here?"

The deduction made Fan Yu'an break into a cold sweat; turning his gaze, the Lin Chuan he thought he could always control had, at some point, stood beside the Witch.