Chapter 203: They are merely miscellaneous cultivators; death is death

The four people exited the carriage one after another; Zhuang Buran's mind stirred slightly, the halo barrier revealed a passage, and he said:

"Everyone, it seems you're being chased by something; come inside first and we'll talk."

Their eyes flashed with a hint of astonishment, yet they saw clearly the faces of the yellow-clothed youth and Lu Xueqi.

The white-skinned monk walked into the passage while speaking:

"I am the Dharma Appearance of Heaven Sound Temple; this is my junior fellow disciple Fazhan; beside us are the outstanding disciples of Incense Burning Valley, Li Xun and Yan Hong."

Qi Hao heard this and also introduced himself to the four; upon hearing that the yellow-clothed youth was called Zhang Xiaofan, the Dharma Appearance flickered a strange light in his eyes, which vanished instantly.

Immediately, countless hideous and terrifying black giant bats surged toward the halo.

However, when the black giant bats struck the barrier emitting a pale yellow light, they instantly turned into a mass of blood mist.

"Elder brothers and sisters, don't worry; although these monsters are nearly endless, they cannot break the barrier set by my magic treasure; it's just that this filthy blood is too foul-smelling, let's go inside the carriage first and talk."

The yellow-clothed youth shook his head slightly in disdain, turned and walked into the carriage; after everyone entered and sat down, he said to the Dharma Appearance and others who wore looks of surprise:

"This carriage can both block outside odors and repel dust; we can chat at leisure, no need to worry about the blood mist's stench seeping in."

The Dharma Appearance gave a faint smile:

"The Azure Cloud Sect truly deserves to be the leader of the orthodox path; the Daoist true law stands unmatched under heaven; facing the swarms of vicious monsters, they remain calm and composed, leisurely elegant."

Qi Hao returned the smile likewise:

"I have long heard of the great name of the Senior Brother Dharma Appearance of Heaven Sound Temple, praised by the Orthodox Cultivation School as a rare talent in a thousand years; seeing you today, I finally understand what it means that hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once."

The two exchanged compliments for a while, then the Dharma Appearance began to describe the situation of Kongsang Mountain.

"The bats outside are a strange breed raised by the Demonic Cult in the past—ferocious, brutal, and fond of sucking blood."

"Back then, the demonic monsters that occupied this mountain either died or fled; some bats survived, and after eight hundred years of propagation they have reached their present scale, leaving no human habitation within a hundred-li radius."

"Also because they prefer to forage at night, that's why we ran into them; for now, the best plan is to wait until tomorrow morning to explore the Myriad Bat Ancient Cave."

"So that's it; please rest well inside the carriage, and if you're hungry, you may have some snacks." The yellow-clothed youth lifted the wine cup beside him and took a sip.

Yan Hong, seeing this, poured herself a cup of peach blossom wine without thinking, took a slight taste, and her lovely face bloomed with a bright smile:

"Zhang Shidi, this wine is delicious, and it even has the effect of nourishing the spirit and strengthening the body!"

"If you like it, you can drink a little more; this wine doesn't intoxicate, it's a medicinal liquor, my personal pleasure." The yellow-clothed youth raised his eyebrows slightly.

Yan Hong, upon hearing this, seemed somewhat hesitant:

"In that case, I have a request that may be inconvenient."

"But go ahead and speak." Zhuang Buran spoke bluntly.

Upon hearing that, Yan Hong happily said:

"I fear that in the future drinking wine will lose all flavor; I wonder if Zhang Shidi could gift me a few jugs of wine?"

The yellow-clothed youth spoke with a hint of helplessness:

"The wine I placed in the carriage has been almost finished after these days of travel."

Yan Hong smiled charmingly:

"No problem; since it's an inconvenient request, I shouldn't trouble Zhang Shidi—I'll come myself to fetch it."

She paused, then continued:

"I've long heard of the Azure Cloud Six Views, never having the chance to see them; now that I'm coming to get wine, I can also take a look at this marvel, and I fear I'll have to trouble Zhang Shidi a bit."

"I don't know if Zhang Shidi will mind my chatter disturbing his cultivation."

Beside them, Li Xun saw his junior sister no longer her usual modest and humble demeanor; he couldn't help glancing at the somewhat lazy yellow-clothed youth in the upper seat, and instantly understood the refined sentiment from the subtle cues.

He then glanced at Lu Xueqi without changing his expression, also setting aside his usual arrogance, and said with a beaming smile:

"I too have long yearned for the Azure Cloud Six Views; I heard that one of the six sights, the Moon Terrace, is located on Little Bamboo Peak."

Lu Xueqi interrupted in a calm voice:

"Little Bamboo Peak is entirely female cultivators; even disciples from other peaks of our sect are not allowed to come here without permission."

"Moreover, Zhang Shidi is not only highly expected by Uncle Tian, but the Sect Leader Uncle of our sect also regards him as an unparalleled talent capable of shouldering the responsibility of defending the orthodox path of the Azure Cloud Sect."

"Therefore, you two had better not come to disturb Zhang Shidi's cultivation; otherwise you'll provoke Uncle Tian's anger, and the situation might become rather awkward."

Upon these words, the atmosphere suddenly shifted; Qi Hao and Ceng Shushu froze, never expecting the usually cold and quiet Lu Xueqi to have such a side.

However, if the Chief of the Azure Cloud Peaks saw this scene, they would only think she bears the manner of her master; Master Shuiyue's eloquence is just this sharp—always keeping a cold face, it's fine if she stays silent, but once she speaks, it leaves people unable to retort, and we ourselves would find no words to rebut.

The Dharma Appearance saw that the yellow-clothed youth remained lazily carefree, seemingly not grasping the deeper meaning of the words, and so he took the initiative to smooth things over:

"Two junior sisters, tomorrow morning we will go to the Myriad Bat Ancient Cave; it is highly likely we will have to confront the Demonic Cult's evildoers directly, so nurturing essence and energy is the foremost priority."

Qi Hao echoed:

"What Senior Brother Dharma Appearance said is correct; we should all close our eyes and nurture our spirits, for tomorrow there will surely be a great battle."

Immediately, the carriage fell completely silent; everyone closed their eyes and began meditating.

The next day, at dawn.

As soon as everyone stepped out of the carriage, a foul stench hit them; outside the barrier, besides bloody filth, there lay piles of bat corpses as high as mountains.

The yellow-clothed youth collected the Six Harmony Mirror, flicked his sleeve, and the mountain-like piles of bat corpses burst into flames.

He had eight Yellow Turban strongmen lift the carriage and set off toward a point thirty li beyond Kongsang Mountain, then said:

"Senior Brother Dharma Appearance, you should have located the exact position of the Myriad Bat Ancient Cave; please lead the way."

The Dharma Appearance's body flashed with light as he flew up the mountain; the others immediately followed.

Then, landing on the shady side of the mountain, they saw a huge half-mountain cave; from the pitch-black entrance could be heard a gloomy sound like whispers or ghostly wails.

"Surely it's the heretical evil path, only capable of petty tricks unfit for the stage."

The yellow-clothed youth's waist cord turned into a wooden sword; he raised the sword and slashed, actually cutting out a fire dragon over a hundred zhang long, then fiercely and fiercely charged into the cave entrance.

The Dharma Appearance and others felt their pupils shake; they could clearly sense the might of Burning Heaven Boiling Sea contained within the fire dragon, feeling that if they got even slightly closer they would surely be burned to ash.

What is even more terrifying is that this fearsome move was not only emitted by the yellow-clothed youth's casual wave; its power is also concentrated within a tiny space, leaking nothing outward.

Qi Hao said with an indescribable expression:

"Zhang Shidi, in the previous Seven Meridians Martial Assembly Grand Trial, how much of your strength did you actually use?"

"Probably one or two tenths." Zhuang Buran said nonchalantly.

Ceng Shushu blurted out upon hearing:

"You couldn't have already broken through to the Upper Clarity Realm, could you?"

"If I hadn't broken through to the Upper Clarity Realm, how could my master have said before my departure that he had confidence in my cultivation?"

Zhuang Buran, ignoring the several people behind him who were astonished beyond compare, stepped on the cloud vapor and flew unhurriedly into the cave illuminated by firelight.

Everyone had no time to be overly shocked, and hurriedly followed.

Upon entering the cave mouth, they found a huge cavern burned to white ground; following the yellow-clad youth, they discovered that no matter how deep they went, aside from the desiccated rock, only the ground scoured white by the flame dragon remained.

Near many forked paths, suddenly several miserable cries were heard.

Five magic treasures flew from different directions in succession to the yellow-clad youth's front: a dark red small fork, a three-foot-long treasure sword, a huge unknown beast's fang, a thin rope, and a gilded fan.

Zhuang Buran's thoughts stirred slightly; the gilded fan opened automatically, its surface suddenly depicting a mountain, a river, and a great roc.

"This is the gate-guarding magic treasure of the Jieshi Mountain Wind and Moon Old Ancestor, the Mountain River Fan!" Ceng Shushu spoke up, saying:

"This is a famous cultivator of the Eastern Jieshi Mountain Upper Clarity Cultivation, with profound Dao cultivation, who has always been harmless and lived in peace with the world."

"Is it necessary to know the reason?"

Zhuang Buran turned his sword, and the five magic treasures were burned to ashes; he said calmly:

"They're just miscellaneous cultivators; dead is dead."

(End of chapter)