Chapter 42: Chapter Forty-Two: One Arrow, Two Eagles

“Willing!”

The speaker was Lu Fang.

Eager to seize great fortune, he was willing to try even if he believed only four-tenths of what Snow Luo Sha said.

If they could truly find the ancient land of a human cultivator of great power.

Not only might they gain vast fortune, but also have a chance to obtain the residual spiritual imprint and divine arts of that human cultivator!

Danger and reward are always proportional.

It’s nearly impossible to gain vast fortune without taking risks.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lu Fang agreed.

“Really going?”

He Zixuan frowned.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Snow Luo Sha—his heart simply had no confidence; ancient sages’ records said the ancient lands of the Lesser Upper Realm were extremely dangerous.

Throughout history, very few had survived emerging from those ancient lands.

The ancient land of a human cultivator of great power was indeed tempting.

But with only their three’s strength, they might fall into grave peril…

“Go! Why not?”

Lu Fang’s gaze was resolute.

“You’re willing?” Snow Luo Sha wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I certainly don’t want to go searching with you.”

“Has no one ever told you how childish you are?”

Lu Fang rolled his eyes upward in an exaggerated, theatrical motion.

“You’re utterly rude!”

Snow Luo Sha rolled up her wide palace sleeves, revealing pale arms, clearly preparing to teach Lu Fang a lesson.

“Stop! Stop! Stop!”

He Zixuan once again stepped between the man and the Luo Sha, shaking his head vigorously at Lu Fang, then at Snow Luo Sha.

He was utterly fed up!

Did these two have incompatible destinies?

Why did two words lead to fists?

“Please don’t harm your harmony. Princess Snow Luo Sha, this gentleman is our Great Zhou’s Civil Crown Marquis—he means no harm.”

He Zixuan glanced at Lu Fang, whose dark armor had already materialized, then at Snow Luo Sha, fists clenched and eyes blazing—clearly neither had listened.

“He Zixuan, move aside. Let me teach her a lesson.”

Lu Fang said in a low tone.

“You move aside! How dare he talk about teaching me a lesson? I’ll knock every tooth out of his mouth—I’m furious! Even my two-headed dog is stronger than him! How can anyone be this unbearable!”

Snow Luo Sha’s melodious voice turned shrill.

Both the man and the Luo Sha reached out and grabbed He Zixuan’s shoulders, pulling him left and right.

He Zixuan spun like a ball, turning several times in place.

“Enough!”

He Zixuan shouted sternly.

Just as he was about to scold the two for their foolishness, his peripheral vision caught a figure rapidly approaching from afar.

That figure looked vaguely familiar.

Lu Fang also saw the newcomer. “It’s Xiao Yunru!”

He Zixuan nodded. “Why does he look so disheveled? Like he’s fleeing for his life—who has the strength to chase him?”

“Still fighting or not?”

Snow Luo Sha snapped irritably.

To her surprise, He Zixuan and Lu Fang completely ignored her, instead commenting on Xiao Yunru’s frantic escape.

“This scene is rare indeed.”

He Zixuan pulled a memory-recording talisman from his treasure pouch and recorded the pitifully fleeing Xiao Yunru.

Snow Luo Sha, ignored, felt as if she’d punched air—furious, she stomped her foot. How utterly insulting to a Luo Sha!

“Oh? Xiao Yunru, why do you look so ragged?”

He Zixuan tucked away the memory talisman and greeted Xiao Yunru as he arrived.

Xiao Yunru ignored him entirely, darted past the trio, and kept running without pause.

‘You’ll have no more laughter left!’

Xiao Yunru thought bitterly.

Lian Yi clung to him like sticky glue—he couldn’t shake him off, so he angrily stopped and fought a few rounds with Lian Yi.

But the moment they clashed, he immediately abandoned the fight.

He was no match for Lian Yi!

After fleeing for a while, Xiao Yunru devised a plan to kill two birds with one arrow: lure Lian Yi to Lu Fang, forcing them to fight each other.

He could escape Lian Yi’s pursuit and use the blade to kill Lu Fang.

“Is this guy being chased by dogs? Running so fast?”

He Zixuan teased, watching Xiao Yunru’s retreating back.

Lu Fang, however, frowned at a distant dark shadow.

In less than ten breaths.

A black-robed monk in a saffron cassock sprinted over, landing lightly atop a sand dune, palms together as he uttered a Buddhist greeting, his eyes—full of aggression—boldly scanned Snow Luo Sha.

“Luo Sha woman, you are destined to be mine.”

Lian Yi’s gaze was greedy.

The Black Lotus Buddhist sect’s arts centered on plunder, and Snow Luo Sha’s potent Yin energy was the perfect match.

He Zixuan recognized the monk’s attire, his smile freezing: “Black Lotus Buddhist Sect!”

“His power is immense!”

Lu Fang warned.

He had read about the Buddhist kingdoms and, upon hearing the man was from the Black Lotus Buddhist Sect, prepared for immediate combat.

“A monk from the Buddhist kingdom that worships plunder—the Black Lotus Buddhist Sect?” Snow Luo Sha scrunched up her face. “I have no destiny with you. Leave now!”

“No, no, no!”

Lian Yi shook his head wildly, glancing sideways at Lu Fang and He Zixuan. “I want only the Luo Sha woman. You two are lucky—I allow you to leave.”

With that—

A black lotus platform, the size of a palm, rose from Lian Yi’s chest, swelling with the wind until it grew to over ten zhang wide, engulfing him and Snow Luo Sha.

Powerful pressure spilled from the black lotus, forming gales that whipped sand into chaotic swirls.

“She is our friend. If you intend to trouble her, you’d better weigh whether you have the strength to fight three at once!”

He Zixuan’s voice was hoarse.

Lian Yi’s strength was obvious to any sane person.

He spoke firmly, yet still felt dread—perhaps even their combined strength wouldn’t be enough against Lian Yi.

After all, this man was the monk who had chased Xiao Yunru to the brink.

“Bravo! You truly have a gentleman’s spirit!”

Snow Luo Sha, enclosed within the black lotus, was far calmer than He Zixuan—she even gave a thumbs-up, nodding approvingly.

“Leave—or die!”

Lian Yi didn’t look at He Zixuan; he tilted his head toward Lu Fang.

“We don’t want to leave. And we don’t want to die.” Lu Fang met Lian Yi’s violent gaze without fear.

Snow Luo Sha nodded slightly, smiling at Lu Fang. This human wasn’t as unbearable as he’d seemed.

Oh dear, I was probably quite rude just now myself.

“Hey, you looked so confident a moment ago—your strength must be decent. Can’t you just defeat this little monk yourself?”

Lu Fang whistled, smiling as he continued:

“If you can’t beat him, and even our combined strength can’t beat him, then for our safety, if you lose, we’re running!”

Snow Luo Sha was stunned. When she finally processed it, she shut her eyes, lowered her head, then snapped her head up and screamed: “Ahh!”

How could there possibly be such an unbearable human in this world!