Chapter 24

Yan Buji had reached a critical moment in his cultivation; although he had noticed something odd about Yan Xirou a few days earlier, he didn't have extra time to investigate.

He felt that at the latest by the end of February he would find the key and be able to cultivate Blood Essence Skill and Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng simultaneously!

When the time comes, the floral pattern profound art on the Profound Accumulation Secret Order will help; using the level of Blood Essence Skill to nourish Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng, once you get started you can even try to break through to the Heaven-Man realm!

By then, participating in the Spring Literary Assembly will give a much better chance.

As for that mysterious wooden block, by then there will be no way to act on it; we can only keep it safe for later.

I only hope the capital's immortals don't come too soon, and I hope there's still enough time.

As soon as the Spring Literary Assembly is over.....

On the other side.

In front of Black Wind Cave.

Cao Shangfei, covered in blood, collapsed on the ground, glaring at the approaching great enemy.

The laughable part is he doesn't even know who these people are, yet at a glance.

There were actually twenty powerful half-step masters, plus six awe-inspiring masters—not to mention the mysterious old man standing at the front of the ranks, unfathomable in depth. Faced with such a terrifying lineup, even if Cao Shangfei saw the Grand Boss arrive he would feel despair; the last sliver of hope for survival in his heart was mercilessly shattered. These men gathered here were like an insurmountable mountain blocking Cao Shangfei's path, making him realize he had fallen into a desperate situation.

"Cao Shangfei, you'd better say where the foreign demon really is, or else even if you want to die today you won't get a quick death." The Wind Guard spoke.

"Hehe, if I knew... cough cough... where the Grand Boss is, I would have said so already. What... do you think I'm the type who's loyally devoted to someone? Hahaha! Kill me, and in eighteen years I'll be a good man again!"

Puchi!

The long blade swept down, drawing a line of blood across Cao Shangfei's neck, and he died then and there.

"Kūn Gate Master, we've combed through Black Wind Cave, and we've searched long for the other two bandit lairs, yet found no news of the foreign demon." Beside him, an iron-armed big man walked over, his stature taller than Yan Buji's, his whole body blocking out a large swath of sunlight as he stood there, imposing and extraordinary.

Except that one of his hands is made of iron, apparently some kind of mechanical contrivance.

The white-haired old man is called the Kūn Gate Master; his identity is easy to imagine—he is one of the two chief masters of the Iron Tiger Guard nowadays, and it is said his martial arts have reached the legendary Heaven-Man realm, making him the supreme expert of the martial world!

The Kūn Gate Master furrowed his brow, and on his weather-beaten old face layers of wrinkles instantly appeared; he then let out a sigh:

"In the end, we were just a step too late."

The Wind Guard came over, hastily clasped his fist and bowed, saying: "Subordinate lost track of that person; guilty of a death-worthy crime, please punish me, Master!"

"You're right; being able to defeat Zhang Batian head-on shows that person is also a peak master, and it's indeed impossible for you alone to detain him. But I didn't expect this person not only to slaughter everyone in the Wu Family convoy, but also to know the principle of 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows.' It seems he truly got that thing from the Wu Family's hands; otherwise he wouldn't have just dropped this and fled straight away." The Kūn Gate Master said.

"May I ask, Kūn Gate Master, are you referring to the Profound Accumulation Secret Order that the Wu Family has hidden?"

"The Profound Accumulation Secret Order is trivial; what truly matters is the immortal artifact the Wu Family escorted this time! And that Blood Essence Skill—we must find this person, destroy the Blood Essence Skill, and retrieve the immortal artifact, or else neither of us can escape blame!" The Kūn Gate Master said solemnly.

"Wind, fire, mountains, and forests, hear the command!"

"Subordinate is here!"

"I infer that person absolutely cannot run beyond the vicinity of Lin Shan Cheng these few days; step up the investigation, be sure to find anyone of similar height, and let none slip through!"

"Yes!"

"We can't let our guard down here in Lin Shan Cheng either, lest the bandits pull a sneak attack in the dark. I will stay here; once you find that person's trace, send word back immediately, and I will rush over at once. Remember, the bandits are vicious—you must stay close and not expose yourselves; wait until we're all gathered, then we'll come to kill this scoundrel!" The Kūn Gate Master's words were full of vigor, and no one present dared to oppose.

"Yes!"

The Wind Guard wanted to speak but held back, saying softly: "Kūn Gate Master, the Líng family once encountered that foreign demon; Ling Yan, the Líng family's daughter, didn't know that person was him at the time, they clashed, and she took a Blood Killing Pill to save her life—what do you think of this...."

"Since you've told me this yourself, could it be that Old Ghost Ling Chuanfeng personally came over to make amends?"

"Master, you're perceptive! Indeed, the head of the Líng family, Ling Chuanfeng, came personally; I feel we should still report this...." The Wind Guard gave an embarrassed laugh.

The Kūn Gate Master furrowed his brow: "First return to the relay station and have the Líng family's people come see me."

"Yes!"

The Wind Guard let out a sigh.

"Whether lucky or not, your Líng family has had contact with that foreign demon; if the demon were easy to deal with, there wouldn't be so much trouble—but the key is, as a mere Wind Guard I can't make decisions on this matter; I wish you luck, and I can only help you this far."

"As for that century-old great herb, I certainly won't be returning it."

After a while.

In the inn of the relay station.

Ling Yan and Zhong Shifu stood here, drenched in sweat.

And the leading middle-aged person said with a grin: "Hey, Kūn Gate Master, it's been years and your cultivation has grown even deeper—truly makes us juniors envious."

The Kūn Gate Master glanced at him lightly: "Ling Chuanfeng, you old thing, you're older than me—why are you pretending to be young? Your Eternal Spring Skill is practiced well, no wonder your ancestors produced an immortal."

"Hehe, if you talk like that it's boring. Relying on ancestral glory, how do you even live to today? Better speak plainly—my daughter encountered that foreign demon and everything that happened should have been told to you, Master; why are you still looking for her?" Ling Chuanfeng gave a hehe laugh twice, his words carrying an indisputable protective intent.

The Kūn Gate Master turned his head to look at Ling Yan, and Ling Yan felt a chill run through her body from that glance, fearing to provoke him.

She could only clasp her hands and say: "I am Ling Yan, and I have paid my respects to the Kūn Gate Master."

The Kūn Gate Master asked: "You've been in Lin Shan Cheng for days; have you ever seen anyone resembling that foreign demon?"

"Ah? Come to think of it, there were indeed a few, but I've already checked—none of them have that terrifying power like him." Ling Yan replied hurriedly.

The Kūn Gate Master said lightly: "Blood Essence Skill is no ordinary internal art; in the way of qi and blood it far surpasses even the top internal arts. So it's normal that gathering qi and blood makes you unable to see it—just give me the list of those few people, and I'll handle it myself."

"Is that really the case?!" Ling Yan exclaimed in shock.

"Could it be that among the few people I saw, the foreign demon might actually be one of them?!"

"Yes."

Ling Yan sat to the side and began to pick up her brush to write.

As she wrote, when she put the brush to paper she suddenly hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that this person is a celebrity in Lin Shan Cheng; I don't think he...."

"Yan'er, just write if I tell you to. Isn't it that the Kūn Gate Master wouldn't wrong a good person, you'd say?" Ling Chuanfeng laughed, then turned his head to look at the Kūn Gate Master.

The Kūn Gate Master nodded: "I naturally know the importance."

Ling Yan, seeing them say that, no longer hesitated and wrote down a name.

Yan Buji