Chapter 114

She finished speaking, lightly raised her hand, and her figure instantly turned into a mass of black qi, drifting away.

"President, this demoness is ruthless and cunning, full of tricks; she will surely become a grave threat to our Long Ta in the future!"

Yang Sheng endured the pain all over his body and warned Ye Fei.

Lu Fan gave a faint smile, suddenly turned his gaze to Qiu Sheng, his expression stern, and said: "You don't need to call me President; what exactly is the Long Ta Guild? You surely know. As for you and people like Zhan Xiao, you're just fishing in troubled waters—there's no need to look so anxious; you're overacting."

"President, I, Yang Sheng——" Yang Sheng was about to say a few words to express his sincerity, but found he couldn't speak at all. He had originally come just to fish in troubled waters, hoping to gain some advantage; but after witnessing Lu Fan's astonishing methods, he couldn't help but submit.

But saying so would be too simple; even he himself didn't understand why he had changed so quickly, nor how to make Lu Fan trust him lightly.

"You look a bit wronged!" Lu Fan glanced at Yang Sheng again, then waved his hand and said: "No matter what, since you consider yourself a disciple of Long Ta, I will still look after the safety within the Long Ta Secret Realm. I will personally handle things at Xiulan's place—you need not make a fuss."

Yang Sheng nodded slightly; he had heard quite a bit of what Lu Fan and Xiulan had just said. Although he didn't understand much, he still grasped that it was extremely important, and if it were to spread, it would surely cause a major uproar in the Mingyue Empire.

"President, no matter how you view me, I will keep the matter of that demoness strictly confidential, ensuring no fourth person learns of it!"

He spoke these words with great weight, obviously putting sincere effort into them.

Lu Fan, however, showed no reaction, lightly waved his hand, leapt up gracefully, and shot through the air, leaving a leisurely remark in the void.

"Her matter is not important; to me it's irrelevant. You'd better worry about yourself—those demonic dao talisman formations have already blasted demonic qi into your tendons and bones; if you don't quickly refine it, you'll likely remain stuck at the tendon-and-bone stage for the rest of your life!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Sheng's face changed drastically; without a second thought, he immediately sat cross-legged, disregarding everything else, and began to circulate his true qi, slowly investigating.

In the endless primeval forest, Lu Fan leapt and bounded with ethereal grace. He traveled dozens of miles, yet encountered not a single person.

"This Long Ta Secret Realm is strange! With such abundant heavenly and earthly qi, there isn't even a trace of heavenly treasures or earthly riches, demonic beasts or fiends—it's utterly abnormal!"

He halted his stride, swept his gaze outward, and his spiritual power surged forth—this was unbearable; shadows flickered all around, and he found himself unconsciously ensnared in an illusionary formation.

"Interesting! A natural illusion formation exists—no wonder it's so peculiar!"

Lu Fan smiled faintly, instantly intrigued; he flicked a single hand, releasing a seal sigil that surged out, transforming a strand of formation mystic light into ripples that spread around.

In an instant, the world spun; the surrounding primeval forest gradually faded, replaced by a series of jagged boulders scattered haphazardly. Yet when he focused his gaze, he could not see clearly—only feeling that his sight and spiritual sense were utterly twisted, quite strange!

"I unknowingly stepped into this boulder formation; a natural illusion capable of so scrambling one's spiritual sense—this place is clearly not simple!"

He narrowed his eyes, casually formed a seal sigil, and then slapped it toward the ground beneath his feet.

With a "thud," a dull resonance rose from beneath Lu Fan's feet, rolling outward like a wave, surging across the entire boulder illusion formation.

The earthen wave reached the edge of the boulder formation, did not stop, passed over it, and sank into an unknown void.

Light and shadow flickered, the formation shifted, yet the boulder array remained unchanged, as stable as Mount Tai.

"Hmph! I thought it was some formidable formation, but it turns out to be a momentum generated by an earth-attribute secret treasure; once I take this thing, the surrounding formation will collapse on its own!"

Lu Fan let out a light snort, already having a plan; he twisted his body, raised his fist, and began to pound the ground around him.

"Boom boom boom!"

One after another, dull explosive sounds rang out; he seemed to have turned into a brute-force strongman, relentlessly pounding the ground with great force and weight, all of it pure strength.

Rocks shattered, force flew sideways. Though these thunderous blows struck only the ground three zhang beneath Lu Fan's feet, the entire boulder formation began to sway, those jagged stones trembling incessantly, sand and gravel scattering as the incantation "Earth Seal, Close!" was uttered.

Lu Fan let out a loud shout, his body suddenly leapt up, he stood in midair, formed a seal with one hand, and struck downward.

In an instant, the twisted, undulating earthen wave halted abruptly, as if time had frozen and space congealed; the murky surroundings instantly cleared, and the formation power that had distorted sight and spiritual sense dissipated without cause.

With a "crack," a tremendous shattering sound rang out; the jagged boulders all around, as if weathered by ages, split into countless fissures, and under the blowing wind turned to flying ash.

The surrounding primeval forest gradually reappeared.

Lu Fan gazed tiger-like and eagle-eyed, his spiritual power blanketing the void, his eyes scanning all around. He then focused his gaze on a small earth depression three zhang to his side, and swung both large hands toward it.

"Bang!"

He thrust his palm into the depression, clenched it suddenly, then pulled hard; a mass of lustrous jade stone, glowing with yellow light, emerged. It exuded thick earth-attribute qi, surging through the void and wrapping around his palm, forming a solid mud seal that sought to imprison Lu Fan within.

Lu Fan chuckled lightly, his mighty spiritual power mingled with true qi pressed down, instantly shattering the mud seal, and then he wrapped the lustrous jade stone around himself.

"Condense!"

He lightly tapped with one hand, inscribing a seal rune upon the jade stone. The scorching, surging earth-attribute qi upon it gradually subsided, sinking into the stone.

"A fourth-rank profound-grade earth treasure—no wonder it can spontaneously form a formation; after further refinement, a profound-rank sealing grand formation is inevitable!"

A glint of joy appeared in Lu Fan's eyes; he had barely begun and already obtained a fourth-rank profound item. The Long Ta Secret Realm seems not to be underestimated—future opportunities are significant.

"Haha, it turns out this earth-attribute profound treasure is here—truly, after searching high and low, it was obtained without any effort!"

A cry of surprise rang out, and immediately two youthful figures emerged from behind a large tree—one tall, one short—both possessing the cultivation of grand martial masters, their aura mighty and battle spirit ardent.

Lu Fan followed the sound, glanced over briefly, then paid it no heed, storing the fourth-rank profound treasure into his cosmos bag.

"Kid, bold! Dare to covet the treasure of the Sun clan's two heroes—are you seeking death?"

The short youth's eyes turned vicious, and he shouted with a murderous aura.

"Sun clan's two heroes? Never heard of them. You two have been lying in ambush for a while, haven't you?" Lu Fan shook his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over their wrinkled, baggy trousers—clearly they had been sitting cross-legged for quite some time.

The short youth blinked, about to speak, when the tall youth waved his hand and shouted: "Second brother, cut the nonsense—this kid is Lu Fan, you can't bluff him; we have to use our real skills!"

As his words fell, his entire body's true qi dispersed, and he sank into the soil beneath his feet.

"Earth escape technique!" Lu Fan gasped slightly, then realized: "This natural formation triggered by the profound treasure—have you two tampered with it?"

The short youth sneered and bellowed: "Hmph! You only understand now—too late!"

"Gravity technique!"

At that very moment, Lu Fan suddenly felt his waist burdened as if over ten thousand catties; the fourth-rank profound treasure in his cosmos bag broke through the seal he had placed, and a massive surge of earth-attribute qi erupted. It shot straight out of the bag, turning into a hazy earth-yellow mist that enveloped his body.

Seeing Lu Fan fall for the trick, the short youth burst into laughter, leapt into the air, his true qi spreading, and in an instant his whole body turned into a boulder that hurtled toward Lu Fan to smash him.

The force shattered the air, carrying an icy pressure, as if stars from the nine heavens were plummeting, crashing down upon Lu Fan's head.

"Hmph! Even petty tricks dare to brandish an axe before the master's door!" Lu Fan snorted coldly, flicked a finger in empty space, and a yellow lustrous light shot from his waist. The earth-attribute profound treasure, pinched in his hand, was about to be flung outward.

This item is a fourth-rank treasure; combined with the short youth's gravity technique, its power is unmatched—even a King of the Kaiyuan Realm could not break free in a short while.

"Heh heh! With just this bit of ability, you dare to act wildly before us, the Dragon-Elephant Heroes? You're practically begging for death—Grandpa Sun will take care of you!"

At that very moment, earth and stones rolled beneath Lu Fan's feet, and the tall youth burst out, lunging to grab Lu Fan's feet.

The gravity technique bolstered by the fourth-rank treasure, plus his entangling grip, leaves no one able to escape; under the short youth's bombardment, one would instantly turn to mincemeat. However, the brothers' famed secret art, honed over years, is a one-hit kill.

At this moment, Lu Fan showed not the slightest panic; the corner of his mouth twitched up, full of mockery.

"Hmph! You don't know what's good for you!"

He flipped his hand over; the fourth‑grade mystic treasure that had just been about to be flung out was instead slammed down by his palm, hurtling toward the ground before him.

Vast earth‑attribute qi poured down like a waterfall; within a ten‑zhang radius beneath his feet, the ground instantly turned to metal and stone. The tall youth was immediately trapped within, unable to move an inch.

"What! How can you control this mystic treasure!"

The tall youth's face drained of color; he never imagined that in the blink of an eye he would be outwitted by his opponent—it was almost supernatural.

Lu Fan had no interest in exchanging words with the opponent; the boulder formed from the short youth had already reached his head, and the next moment it would crush him.

"Earth Seal Boundary, Phase Separation!"

He gave a clear shout; the mystic treasure burst forth with light, suddenly spun, and the entire imprisoned earth instantly became a yellow sphere, flipping over.

"Ah—"

A miserable scream rang out; the short youth slammed into the tall youth, flesh and blood shattering, the tall youth's lower half vanished, his entrails spilling across the ground.

Had this land not been infiltrated by earth‑attribute qi and solidified into metal and stone, the tall youth would have been reduced to minced meat, not a trace left.

"This… big brother, I didn't mean to!"

The short young man's surrounding earth-attribute vital energy dissipated, turning into a human shape; seeing this scene, his face turned pale with shock, and he frantically stepped back.