Chapter 535 - 238: Black Island’s Scheme

Chapter 535: Chapter 238: Black Island’s Scheme

"You’re just a young man, and I’m getting on in years. Can’t you... go a little easy on me?"

"That scared of me?"

Fang Shuwen asked, somewhat amused.

"So, do you submit?"

"I submit!"

Daoist Wuyi said immediately.

"I submit to you, completely and utterly!!"

"..."

’He’s clearly just terrified.’

Fang Shuwen sighed.

"Actually, the world misunderstands me a great deal..."

"So you didn’t kill all those people?"

A glimmer of hope appeared in Daoist Wuyi’s eyes.

Fang Shuwen thought for a moment.

"I did."

"..."

’Misunderstanding, my ass!’

Daoist Wuyi thought to himself, his expression growing even more deferential.

It was no wonder Daoist Wuyi had lost his nerve... Faced with this Demon Evil God, how many people would dare not to?

If he hadn’t witnessed Fang Shuwen’s Martial Arts for himself, it might have been a different story. It was common for a grand reputation to be undeserved. But as it happened, Daoist Wuyi had seen Fang Shuwen’s Martial Arts with his own eyes.

The man before him was clearly an earthly Evil God whose Martial Arts were absurdly powerful and who killed without batting an eye.

His only comforting thought was that this Evil God didn’t seem entirely savage. Otherwise, he probably would have been beaten to death last night.

"Alright, enough nonsense. What are your thoughts on the Black Island matter?"

Fang Shuwen asked.

Hearing this, Daoist Wuyi frowned slightly and blurted out:

"This Daoist Master, I..."

He stopped abruptly and glanced cautiously up at Fang Shuwen.

Fang Shuwen shot him a sidelong glance.

"Ever since we first met, it’s been ’Daoist Master’ this and ’Daoist Master’ that. If I wanted to kill you, would I have let you live this long?"

Daoist Wuyi breathed a sigh of relief and then said:

"This Daoist Master is now realizing that I seem to have underestimated this Black Island.

"It now seems there’s likely a significant connection between Black Island and the Four Saints of the East Sea."

"Oh?"

Fang Shuwen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Why do you say that? Are the Four Saints of the East Sea on bad terms with the Eight Forbidden Lands?"

"Hmph. Scheming, backstabbing, putting on a smiling face while plotting your downfall... they do it all."

Daoist Wuyi snorted.

"Sometimes, when I think about this so-called Eight Forbidden Lands, their actions are even worse than those of the so-called Demon Dao of the Jianghu."

"Explain."

Fang Shuwen had previously noticed the disdain on Daoist Wuyi’s face whenever the Eight Forbidden Lands were mentioned.

He had even directly offered to join them to fight against the Eight Forbidden Lands.

Hearing this, Daoist Wuyi looked troubled and scratched his head.

"I don’t know how to put it...

"Anyway, they’re just a bunch of no-good scoundrels.

"But on the surface, they act all prim and proper, as if they’re the arbiters of the Righteous Dao in the Jianghu.

"But in reality, if someone genuinely suffers an injustice and wants to ask for their help, it’s impossible to get an audience with them.

"After all, they’re a Forbidden Land... What does ’Forbidden Land’ mean? It means outsiders aren’t allowed!"

Fang Shuwen blinked. Thinking carefully about what Daoist Wuyi said, he felt it actually made a lot of sense.

Setting aside whether the "backstabbing" and such was true or not...

...the very name "Forbidden Land" already meant the Eight Forbidden Lands were completely different from the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain.

And yet, their existence was somewhat analogous to the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain...

It was just much stranger.

Speaking of which, Fang Shuwen was somewhat familiar with one of the Eight Forbidden Lands, the Celestial Water Palace.

Shui Qianrou and Shui Qianliu hailed from the Celestial Water Palace.

’I wonder if the siblings returned to the Celestial Water Palace after we parted ways?’

His thoughts suddenly drifted. Fang Shuwen didn’t dwell on it. He could just investigate after they reached Black Island.

He had been comprehending a Fist Technique earlier but was interrupted. Now, he had no urge to continue, so after a word with Daoist Wuyi, he returned to his room to rest.

The headwind had now turned into a tailwind, and he estimated they would reach Black Island before nightfall.

He could use this time to rest and conserve his energy.

However, after returning to his room, he remembered the Blood Shadow Seven Extremes Sword manual he had taken from Jin Yuheng and casually opened it to read.

Luo Shuqing was still in Fang Shuwen’s room. Seeing him reading something, she glanced over curiously.

The next moment, Luo Shuqing’s expression suddenly changed.

"Don’t read that!!"

Fang Shuwen looked up at Luo Shuqing, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"What did you say?"

"I... nothing..."

Luo Shuqing started wringing the hem of her skirt with both hands again and said in a low voice:

"That... that manual you’re reading, it doesn’t seem... it doesn’t seem like a proper Martial Art... You... you shouldn’t practice it. It’s definitely not good for you...

"I-I was just too anxious just now..."

Fang Shuwen looked at her.

"Don’t you know nothing of Martial Arts? You can understand a manual?"

"I... I do know a little bit of Martial Arts,"

Luo Shuqing said in a low voice.

"In that case, it seems I have underestimated you, Miss Luo."

Fang Shuwen shook his head gently.

"Don’t worry, I won’t practice this manual. I was just curious about this Blood Shadow Seven Extremes Sword."

"Really?"

Luo Shuqing studied Fang Shuwen carefully.

Seeing him nod, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, and her voice became much lighter.

"That’s... that’s good. You must be extremely careful when practicing Martial Arts.

"If things go wrong, you could suffer from Qi deviation, and that would be terrible."

"Have you seen someone suffer Qi deviation from their training?"

Fang Shuwen asked casually as he continued to read.

Luo Shuqing lowered her head and reached up to touch her mask.

"I... I have...

"His... his end was very tragic..."

"Mm."

Fang Shuwen finished reading the Blood Shadow Seven Extremes Sword manual, then shook his head. He suddenly placed the manual between his palms and clapped.

The entire manual instantly exploded into a cloud of tiny fragments.

Luo Shuqing stared blankly, watching the paper scraps drift down like snowflakes. She couldn’t help but reach out, catching two pieces before looking at Fang Shuwen.

"You... you destroyed the manual?"

"You said the manual was no good. So it’s not worth looking at."

Fang Shuwen replied casually, but the real reason was that he had already finished reading it and found nothing of value within.

Moreover, he had a faint feeling that some hidden trick was concealed within the manual.

But he couldn’t quite figure out what that trick was.

The creator of this manual clearly had no intention of walking a righteous path.

Once tainted by it, one’s life would be ruined.

A single day without drawing blood would lead to Qi deviation.

And if the stored blood were to flow through one’s body, they would die in a crazed frenzy.

To put oneself in such a life-or-death predicament, all for that little bit of power it granted in battle.

No wonder Jin Yuheng had been so composed in the face of death.

Luo Shuqing stared blankly at Fang Shuwen, who had already sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. Her clear gaze seemed to soften slightly.

But she quickly turned her head away.

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Sure enough, just before night officially fell, Zuo Xuan’s voice called out:

"Hero Fang, should we stop the ship?

"We’re about to reach Black Island. If we go any further, I’m afraid they’ll spot us."