Chapter 284 - 191: Where Is This Place?

Chapter 284: Chapter 191: Where Is This Place?

And so, he turned and fled.

’The mission from the Observatory to guard this node? What was that compared to his own life?’

"Hmph. Trying to run? It won’t be that easy!"

The green-robed, ghost-faced man sneered, gripped his short sword, and gave chase.

~~~~~~

In the vast, desolate mountain forests, far from any sign of civilization, they had crossed the boundary.

Fierce Beasts became more frequent here—it seemed there was one every hundred paces, and a dominant one every thousand. An ordinary Martial Artist, even a Qi Sensing Martial Master, would surely perish if surrounded by Fierce Beasts in such an environment.

Fang Yue’s figure darted swiftly through the jungle, each stride covering several meters.

The jungle was vast. He had lost track of how many kilometers he had run, yet he still couldn’t shake his pursuers.

’I can’t believe these guys are so persistent. They actually followed me all the way here!’ Fang Yue was astounded. He had thought that by fleeing into the deep forest, he could shake off the three men chasing him.

But unexpectedly, they had remained hot on his trail.

They had caught up to him in the forest several times during the chase.

After several clashes, he too had been injured.

~~~~~~

"My lords, it’s only going to get more dangerous from here. Why don’t we call it quits? Let’s stop the chase," Luo Wei said, looking at the two men before him with a bitter smile.

’Damn it. I’m in way over my head now.’

He had originally come only to kill Fang Yue and avenge his murdered brother.

He never thought he’d end up getting mixed up with people from the Blood Dragon Platform.

And now he had to follow them into the lands beyond the seal. This was going to be the death of him.

In the past two days, they had already encountered three Fierce Beasts on their path, creatures that he was no match for.

Thus, Luo Wei, being the weakest of the group, had long since started to have second thoughts.

’Avenging his brother and venting his anger was one thing, but was any of it more important than his own life?’

Besides, Fang Yue was even deeper in than they were; he’d probably already been eaten by some Fierce Beast.

"No. I want to see him alive, or see his corpse if he’s dead," the ghost-faced, green-robed man said, his expression grim.

That animal hide was of the utmost importance. It led to a treasure hoard, and it was said that within it lay a treasure that could enable a person to break through to the Transformation realm.

Now that he knew of such a treasure, he could not possibly let it slip through his fingers.

Therefore, he would not retreat until he laid eyes on Fang Yue’s body.

Seeing this, Luo Wei could only bite the bullet and continue on.

The three of them clung to Fang Yue’s trail like mad dogs, refusing to let go.

Though Fang Yue was fast, he couldn’t hold out against the combined pursuit of two Qi Sensing Martial Masters.

He was wounded again.

But he didn’t stop, instead trying to formulate a plan as he fled.

’This can’t go on,’ he thought. His injuries weren’t too severe, but if left untreated, they would undoubtedly begin to hinder him.

Sooner or later, the three of them would catch up to him.

’Looks like I’ll have to take a gamble.’

Fang Yue recalled a valley he’d seen earlier on his path, one that was filled with a toxic miasma.

When he’d passed it before, just a whiff of the air had caused a reaction in his body; it was only thanks to the fragment of the Mo Mountain Tribe’s scepter he carried that the toxins were dispelled.

With this in mind, Fang Yue immediately changed direction and dashed toward the valley.

「One day later」

The green-robed, ghost-faced man stared at the valley before him, which was filled with a pale-yellow mist.

A strange, faint fragrance seemed to emanate from the miasma.

His sense of smell was keen; a single whiff sent a wave of dizziness through him. He only recovered after using Primordial Qi to seal his pores.

He knew then that the valley was far too treacherous to enter.

’No. I’m not going in, but I’m not just leaving either. I’ll wait for him here. I refuse to believe he can go in and never come out!’

The green-robed man was unwilling to give up. He simply made camp outside the valley, far from the miasma, and began a dogged watch.

If he himself couldn’t last long in the miasma, then it was even more impossible for Fang Yue. Therefore, once Fang Yue could no longer stand it, he would be forced to come out.

「Three days later」

The green-robed man’s expression had turned completely foul. Even though he didn’t want to believe it, he had no choice but to accept that Fang Yue was likely dead inside.

"What rotten luck!"

The green-robed, ghost-faced man was in a foul mood. He barked at Luo Wei and the other man, "Let’s go!"

"Yes!"

The two men answered respectfully.

With that, the three of them left.

「Two hours later」

The green-robed, ghost-faced man reappeared at the edge of the valley, staring at the unchanging landscape.

’Is he really dead?’

The green-robed, ghost-faced man was filled with unwilling resentment.

But in this situation, what good was his resentment?

He simply couldn’t enter this valley. Even an Innate Grandmaster wouldn’t last long inside.

Now, he truly had no choice but to leave.

~~~~~~

...

In a quiet, rustic courtyard, Fang Yue lay on a bed, his breathing even, as if fast asleep.

His entire body was wrapped in gauze, and his frame trembled slightly.

An old man in a white robe sat nearby. His expression was placid, but his eyes held a sharp gleam.

"Senior Brother, do you think he’ll wake up?" a woman in a red dress asked from beside them.

The white-robed old man shook his head and sighed.

"It’s hard to say. His physical body is powerful, and he’s consumed a large quantity of Elixirs, so his regenerative abilities are extraordinary. His physique and natural aptitude are of the highest caliber; he has the kind of powerful build that would let him cultivate to the Transformation realm without the slightest hindrance."

He sighed. "However, his current state isn’t optimistic. He absorbed too much poison. Whether or not he can wake up will depend on his own fortune."

"If that’s the case, Senior Brother, why not just give him to me? I can just refine him into an Iron Corpse."

The red-robed woman’s eyes filled with a covetous light as she stared at Fang Yue.

She cultivated the secret Puppetry art passed down in her sect, which included a Technique for refining the bodies of Martial Artists into Iron Corpses.

"Absolutely not. That Secret Technique for refining Iron Corpses is a taboo of our Xuanming Sect. The lineage is broken, and the technique is now incomplete. It’s impossible to succeed. You must not try it," the white-robed old man said sternly.

Hundreds of years ago, the Xuanming Sect had been a major Sect in the Demon Realm, one that specialized in Corpse Refining.

But one year, a Puppet Corpse refined by the previous Sect Leader suddenly went berserk and began a massacre within the Sect.

The once-powerful Sect lost the vast majority of its combat strength overnight, plummeting to the status of a third-rate sect.

Now, only the two of them—senior brother and junior sister—remained in the Xuanming Sect.

"Fine," the red-robed woman said, unwilling to let the matter drop. "But Senior Brother, if he dies, you have to give him to me."

The old man shot his junior sister an exasperated glance, then pointedly ignored her.

~~~~~

"Hey, walk faster! If we don’t get back before dark, the heavy snow will seal off the mountain!"

Fang Yue heard the red-robed woman’s voice and looked around in disbelief. The surrounding landscape was lush and green, a picture of summer. ’How could there possibly be heavy snow?’

"You don’t know? Are you from the south? Have you never been on Changmo Mountain before?" Seeing his confusion, the red-robed woman immediately asked with suspicion.

Fang Yue shook his head, indicating that he didn’t remember.

The surroundings were completely unfamiliar; Fang Yue truly didn’t remember how he had gotten here. He only remembered entering the valley and hiding near its entrance at first.

But that green-robed, ghost-faced man had unexpectedly kept waiting outside, leaving him no choice but to bite the bullet and head deeper into the valley.

He remembered eventually leaving the range of the miasma and entering a strange-feeling mountain forest.

He had been attacked by a ferocious beast there, and then, somehow, he had lost consciousness.

When he next awoke, he saw the red-robed woman before him, a woman named Qiudi.

Once his injuries had healed a little, the woman started ordering him around.

Every day, he had to follow her up the mountain to chop firewood, catch small animals, and hunt for game to cook.

After some time, his body had already recovered for the most part.

"Oh, right. I forgot you’re an idiot," Qiudi said, shaking her head slightly, not pressing the issue further.

’What can you get from questioning an idiot? Absolutely nothing.’

’Anyway, as long as he follows me and acts as my apprentice, that’s good enough.’

’Yes, and what’s even better... if this apprentice of mine dies, then Senior Brother can no longer stop me from refining him into an Iron Corpse.’