Chapter 222: Die with Clarity

The brilliant Lei Guang flashing deep in the wasteland could be clearly seen from dozens of li away.

The poisonous rats who had discovered the commotion in the Fire Phoenix Valley and intended to swoop in for easy pickings were so terrified by the sight of a cluster of supreme-grade experts dogfighting inside that they immediately clutched their heads and fled in panic.

As a result, once the mist sea dispersed, the surrounding hundred-li region turned directly into a desolate dead zone with no living souls.

However, the commotion beneath the ground continued unabated.

Boom, boom...

Boom...

The roaring of qi force and the explosive sounds of fire techniques echoed in the underground space, sounding just like a fire python charging wildly beneath the earth.

After the sound drew closer and closer to the surface, a spot on the Gobi Desert suddenly swelled and bulged, followed by:

Boom!

Earth and stones exploded into the sky, accompanied by a golden-red fire pillar; at night it looked like a volcanic eruption with magma gushing forth!

A figure was thrown out from the world-consuming flames, smashing a depression into the ground; the sword in his hand had melted into a half-molten iron rod, his body was scorched black to the point where his robes were barely visible, and upon touching the surface, he leaped up, stumbling as he fled toward the distance.

Shh, shh, shh~

Sand and fire rain scattered through the air, forming over a hundred large and small fire spots on the Gobi Desert.

After the blasted hole fell silent for a moment, an old man in a black-and-yellow Taoist robe shot up from the crack, surrounded by red radiance that added a touch of intense heat to the entire Gobi Desert.

The Fire-Ordering Token, which had originally only been held in the hand, turned entirely golden-red and floated beside his body; the Zhu Que relief carved on its back looked like a living creature, manifesting a phantom fire bird flying alongside him.

Lu Yan held the unconscious Xi Yanjun under his left arm, his eyes like fire demons emerging from a hell of crimson flames, quickly scanning the vast plain.

Not finding Xie Jinhuan lying in ambush, he lowered his head to look at the several sword and knife wounds on his body and cursed in a low voice:

"A seventh-ranked martial artist and a mere bandit leader dare to steal my treasure..."

Though his words were disdainful, the Divine Bestowal power lost in this battle exceeded what he had consumed in the previous ten-plus years.

The opportunity he possessed was stolen and had already been passed down through several generations; wasting it so much meant he might not even be able to pass it to a disciple, and at this moment his heart was bleeding!

However, the Zhang Sect senior brother was indeed divinely calculating; he said good fortune first, then misfortune, and so it was.

If he had seized the chance the first time and rushed forward to snatch the opportunity, Xie Jinhuan would have been unable to maneuver while just beginning to refine it, forced to abandon the opportunity and flee; he could have taken it and left.

But due to a moment of carelessness, he fell into a series of traps, lost half his old life, and was left with goosebumps from sheer disgust...

Thinking of this, Lu Yan felt his Dao heart unstable and his rage surging to the heavens!

However, Lu Yan was not foolish; noticing no one trailing behind during the struggle, he knew Xie Jinhuan had already fled.

As for why these few southern martial artists had come here to chase and attack him, he did not quite understand.

The opponent opened with two killing moves; upon discovering Xie Jinhuan had not yet finished his business, they also realized something was amiss.

But the opponent was also black-hearted; seeing an old widower carrying a dead weight, they suddenly felt evil rise from their courage, setting their sights on his Fire-Ordering Token and Ling Guang Divine Bestowal.

Seeing this, Lu Yan had no choice but to risk his old life to first repel the enemy, then pursue the cunning child.

Now discovering Xie Jinhuan had eaten clean and vanished without a trace, Lu Yan, burning with rage, wished he could rush to Luo Jing to demand an explanation.

But this was obviously unrealistic; heavenly creations go to the capable; as an elder being led around like a dog by a junior, if he dared to come knocking to settle accounts, even without Lu Wu Zhen lifting a finger, the spittle of heroes across the world would drown him.

To settle this score, Xie Jinhuan would have to run to Northern Zhou and throw himself into a trap, but that was obviously impossible...

Lu Yan quickly absorbed the heaven-and-earth power around him to restore his qi sea; after remaining on guard for a moment and finding no idle persons coming to seek death, he landed on the ground and gradually suppressed his aura.

Thump~

Xi Yanjun, thrown onto the ground, regained consciousness; opening his eyes in confusion, he discovered he was back on the surface and his junior uncle was covered in wounds; he hurriedly climbed up, his eyes wide with the tension of facing a great enemy:

"Junior uncle, what happened..."

Slap—

Lu Yan had originally thought Xi Yanjun was a promising seedling, but after witnessing the mindset and courage of the southern dynasty's juniors, he felt this was nothing but a waste incapable of great achievement; he swung his hand and slapped him seven or eight zhang away:

"Roll back to Northern Zhou yourself; if you die halfway, you will eventually die on the path of cultivation regardless of whether I protect you or not."

"Eh?"

Seeing his guardian abandon him, Xi Yanjun's face turned several shades paler; he intended to ask, but suddenly remembered some irrational fragments...

Oh my...

Xi Yanjun opened his mouth but dared not let out a single fart; he cautiously scanned left and right, then quietly made his way northward...

—

On the other side.

Xu Guanfu, holding half a broken sword, stumbled and flew across the Gobi Desert; after moving a hundred li away and seeing no one pursuing, he fell to the ground and hid in a rock crack, his body pitch black and naked, his hair and eyebrows gone, looking like a charred corpse crawling out of a bonfire.

"Huff... huff..."

Although he had long heard that the Five Spirit Mountain sect master Lu Yan was the strongest fire cultivator beneath the Zhang Sect, Lu Yan was ultimately of the Northern Zhou Taoist path.

As a southern dynasty martial artist, Xu Guanfu had never encountered him; only after this clash did he discover that the second-in-command of the Northern Zhou Taoist path matched Long Boyuan and Duan Yuechou, not him, the tail-end of the Seven Heroes.

Although Lu Yan could not borrow heaven-and-earth power underground and had limited maneuverability, relying on his own qi sea he could still deploy the Eight Gates Burning Array, the Flame Spar Counter-Strike, the Li Fire Body-Protection Spell, and other protective divine abilities.

Furthermore, with the Fire-Ordering Token and Ling Guang Divine Bestowal at his side, he was like a fire hedgehog; stabbing him with a sword would cost him half his life first; if on the surface, he wouldn't even be able to touch him before being drowned by the blazing true fire.

Fortunately, the restrictions underground were too great, so he still managed to come out alive...

Xu Guanfu had originally thought to snatch the opportunity to advance further, but after this battle, he only wished to retire from the martial world and become a wealthy recluse; with his age and family wealth, he could indulge in pools of wine and mountains of meat for at least several more decades.

But alas, once entered the path of cultivation, one either achieves long life or perishes and the Dao is extinguished; from ancient times to the present, how many people have retired peacefully?

Just as Xu Guanfu was breathing lightly to replenish his qi sea, his peripheral vision suddenly detected something amiss.

Looking up, he discovered that standing at the edge of the crack was a figure!

The figure was an old man draped in a black-green cloak, leaning on a Chi Dragon staff; the face beneath the hood had an air of ancient age, yet upon closer inspection was not very old; a pair of black eyes, like a black dragon lurking in the abyss, stared at him silently.?!

Seeing this disguise, Xu Guanfu's soul shook; without any thought, he thrust his sword toward his own brow.

Buzz~

Unfortunately, the moment his right hand raised the sword, it stopped halfway.

Xu Guanfu struggled with all his might, yet felt his soul and spirit strangled by the python dragon, his arm completely unresponsive.

"Such a fine physique, what a waste to destroy it."

"Mas... Master Sikong!"

Fear that pierced to the bone filled Xu Guanfu's eyes as he spoke with a trembling voice:

"I am also one of the Righteous Path. You were once taught by Saint Ye. If you capture Righteous cultivators to refine puppets..."

Sikong Tianyuan leaned on his cane with both hands and spoke with grave sincerity:

"Worldly prejudice truly takes deep root. How could I, the dignified Zhang Sect of the Gu Du Pai, care for a few puppet brats? With your meager cultivation, even if you stood by my side, who could you possibly deal with?"

"..."

Having lived in Great Qian since childhood, Xu Guanfu's impression of Sikong Tianyuan was that of a vicious demon of the Wu Sect.

Hearing these words now, he thought back carefully and felt it was indeed so.

Sikong Tianyuan's opponents were the Zhang Sects of the various sects; even with his 'Seven Heroes Puppets', how many blows from Wei Wu Yi could they withstand?

Even if the Zhang Sects ignored his broken puppet, who could he possibly kill?

At this thought, a glimmer of hope surged in Xu Guanfu's eyes:

"Then what does Master Sikong mean?"

"Your physique has a solid foundation. The Gu worms nurtured by your innate vital blood are enough to poison and injure the Zhang Sects of the Geda Sect."

"?"

This was even worse than becoming a puppet...

Xu Guanfu's face was pitch black and unreadable, but he was indeed pale as death:

"Master Sikong! Capturing Righteous cultivators to raise Gu worms..."

Sikong Tianyuan shook his head:

"You conspired with sea bandits to slaughter countless demon-slayers here, making a name for yourself across Great Qian as a Righteous new star. Do you even deserve to call yourself 'Righteous'? If I hand you over to the imperial court of Great Qian, do you think you will live or die?"

"..."

Xu Guanfu was instantly silenced, but immediately furrowed his brows again:

"Is this your setup? Do you know everything?"

Sikong Tianyuan rubbed his cane, speaking and acting with frankness:

"This boy is a threat who ruined many of my plans. Although the impact was not great, I am still proceeding according to the scheme of the past. If I do not crush this boy early, he might still disrupt my plans.

"I originally thought that you and Yan Lang, two Super-Grade martial artists, with Jiang Qizi waiting in the wings like a yellow oriole, would leave Xie Jinhuan no path to life. I never expected that you two wastes would be played like monkeys by a yellow-haired brat and actually go to kill Lu Yan..."

?

Xu Guanfu felt this old dog was truly vicious. The moment he stepped out of Great Qian, he had already been a cannon fodder taking the blame. Now, hatred showed in his eyes:

"How do you know Xie Jinhuan's and my whereabouts?"

Sikong Tianyuan replied calmly:

"Sanjiangkou City is as small as a palm; one glance sweeps everything clean. You took up residence in the county town. Liang Yue of the Black Yan Gang sought you for secret talks multiple times. Afterwards, Liang Yue was followed by Bu Yuehua. Bu Yuehua established contact with Xie Jinhuan.

"After it ended, Liang Yue left with you, while Bu Yuehua departed by boat with Xie Jinhuan. Xie Jinhuan had just returned to the capital and then vanished without a trace.

"The Black Yan Gang and Bu Yuehua have been investigating the Phoenix Tomb in Southern Jiang for nearly a year. The opportunity has indeed appeared. Is it hard for me to guess where you will go next?"

Xu Guanfu's eyes showed disbelief as he retorted:

"Were you also in Sanjiangkou at that time?"

"The scene was so grand; I happened to be watching the spectacle from the shadows."

"With your cultivation, why go to such great lengths? Was it difficult for you to assassinate this boy personally?"

Sikong Tianyuan shook his head and raised his eyes to indicate the sky:

"Men act, and Heaven watches. Walking the path of cultivation, one must avoid using oneself as a pawn, especially when dealing with such a talented genius of noble background.

"For instance, right now, you think you can walk wherever you please, but you encountered Lu Yan. Lu Yan thought he could walk wherever he pleased, not expecting me to be watching from behind the scenes. I feel there are no opponents for me in this Southern Jiang, but who knows if there isn't an Xie Laomo behind me, secretly protecting this boy's path?

"Even if this boy has no path-protector, given his 'as if aided by gods' bizarre foundation, I cannot ensure this news won't reach the ears of outsiders.

"By entering the game with yourself, you might win a hundred times, but lose once, and it is death and the dissolution of your Dao. But if you do not enter the game, you have a second game, a third game; there will always be a time to win."

"..."

Hearing these words, Xu Guanfu knew there could be no path to life. He gritted his teeth, wanting to bite in a final act of desperation, yet he could not even struggle.

Sikong Tianyuan raised his Chi Dragon cane, pointing it down at Xu Guanfu below:

"I have already let you die knowing the truth. Why make futile struggles?"

Boom~

A dull thud!

Xu Guanfu did not see the qi energy scatter, but a soul-shock like a mountain collapsing crashed into his brow, plunging him into darkness...

———

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(End of this chapter)