Chapter 51: Saving Lives

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

Since the advancement of [Medicine], Fang Yuan, wanting to further push the boundaries, ordered the Zhou Family to release some news and rules on his behalf.

He built a straw pavilion before the secluded valley, seeing only three patients a day. Patients wanting to seek treatment had to personally head down to the pavilion.

In addition, the consultation fees had to be paid first. Trespassing on the back of the secluded valley was also prohibited. Any trespassers would be instantly kicked out, never being allowed back for treatment!

Indeed, such rules were naturally infuriating.

But in their world, only the strongest had the say and there were many people more eccentric than Fang Yuan. The people of Qingye City had grown to accept such rules as quirks of the divine healer, choosing to place their faith in him.

What were these mere rules compared to one's life?

Over time, the rules set by Fang Yuan became commandments that were strictly adhered to.

"Today, it's a little odd!"

Fang Yuan sat resolutely, his face showing signs of suspicion, "Usually it's rare to even see a person in a day. This time I'm actually met with both Zhou Wenwu and Lin Benchu ..."

Thinking back to the most recent patients that he treated, most of them suffered exterior wounds caused by the blade or close combat. Suddenly, Fang Yuan had a conjecture.

"Come in!"

"My respects Master Fang!"

Lin Benchu ordered his men to stretcher in a martial artist whose face was pale but lacked any presence of blood, looking just like a zombie.

Upon seeing Fang Yuan, Lin Benchu dared not overstep his position, completely adhering to the etiquette that he showed to Master Wenxin when they had first met.

He bowed, displaying utmost sincerity, "Please save him, Master Fang!"

"Medicine can't revive the dead. I need you, Minister Lin, to understand this point!"

Overhearing the correspondence between Fang Yuan and Minister Lin, Lin Benchu knew that knew that the favours that he accumulated in the past were of no use. He let out a bitter laugh, his heart experiencing an ineffable sense of regret.

Fang Yuan ignored him and walked forward to lift the white cloth so as to examine the injury.

"Eh?"

He instantly noticed something different from that one glance.

"How is it, Master Fang?"

Minister Lin asked uneasily as if he was afraid that Fang Yuan would reply with a 'No'.

"This person ... is probably someone whose skill was beyond the View Gate. He was only one step away from crossing the Pain Gate by condensing his inner force."

Fang Yuan glanced over at the slightly depressed chest of the body. He shook his head, "Moreover, the martial art he practiced was an extremely Yin fist technique. Overestimating his own abilities, he challenged an in-house expert. He crippled his own Yin technique and suffered injuries caused by inner force."

"Tsk..."

Upon hearing that, Minister Lin took a deep breath of cold air as his voice quivered, "Divine healer ... You are saying that he was injured by an inner force expert?!"

"What benefit do I get from lying to you?"

Fang Yuan looked at Minister Lin and rolled his eyes, "Who's the person that injured him? Where is he now?"

"Well, I am not sure either ... Regardless, this guy is a disciple of Spirit Returning Sect, Zombie Fist Feng Han. I plead you to quickly treat him ..."

Minister Lin's face revealed a shred of awkwardness, but he still sincerely knelt down to plead.

"This injury... Way too difficult!"

Standing up, Fang Yuan paced around for a few steps, before shaking his head again, "You must know that external injuries are easy to treat, but internal injuries are very challenging. I can't guarantee that I can heal this guy…"

With a sigh, Minister Lin's heart sank.

"However, saving his life and even allowing him to regain consciousness shouldn't be a problem…"

Fang Yuan's subsequent sentence caused Minister Lin to regain his vigor, his heart aching to shout words of abuse.

Fortunately, he himself knew that these were definitely not people he would want to offend. Thus, he promptly whipped out a box, "I heard that the divine healer has interest in various spiritual items. Pardon the old man's inability, but I specifically found a Vermillion Fruit ..."

"What? A Vermillion Fruit"

Fang Yuan laughed out, "Is it the legendary fruit that can immensely improve one's inner force, a mystical fruit that bestows power equal to ten years of hard work?"

"Yes..."

Minister Lin face exuded a hint of awkwardness, "The Vermillion Fruit is an object of legend, so how could an old man like me obtain such a rarity? Well, I exhausted all my efforts to find this one fruit, I seek that the divine healer does not laugh at my incompetence!"

Fang Yuan rolled his eyes once more, almost believing that Minister Lin was playing tricks with him.

However, he still took the box. Upon opening the box, a dark red fruit was in sight.

This fruit was the size of a baby's fist and had the texture of a peach. While appearing ordinary, after meticulously feeling the fruit, Fang Yuan could sense a hint of spirituality.

"Eh... This is definitely a Vermillion Fruit..."

After confirming that the fruit was indeed a spiritual object, Fang Yuan felt an even stronger headache.

The Vermillion Fruit had a legendary reputation even amongst the ranks of other spiritual plants such as the Vermillion Jade Rice and the Emerald Jade Grass. It came as no surprise that the Vermillion Fruit had such stringent requirements for the environment it grew in.

Naturally, it would not sprout even after 8 or 10 years if it was casually planted in a random plot of land.

To make matters worse, this fruit had an extremely long period of maturity. 100 years could be considered as a single unit of time when describing the length of time required. Hence, one would only be expected to obtain this fruit through a chance encounter. Otherwise, only sects with a long history would dedicate the time to grow this fruit.

"If this fruit can sprout, my [Botany] skill will definitely see a breakthrough, but..."

Fang Yuan shook his head, "Unless... it's within the Green Peak Spiritual Grounds, along with my unique skills, there can be still some hope!"

"Divine healer... So what do you make of this situation?"

Seeing the uncertainty in Fang Yuan's face, Minister Lin asked anxiously.

There was definitely a case to be made with the presence of this spiritual object. Regardless of how preposterous the request was, he gathered his focus on this sole hope.

"Hmm... I will help on the account that you and my master knew each other!"

Fang Yuan carefully kept the box and took out a cloth pouch containing rows of thin golden needles.

With a needle in hand, his face turned serious and the aura surrounding him instantly changed.

"Whoosh!"

Minister Lin looked at this scene and was thrown into a trance. It was as though he was watching the reincarnation of Master Wenxin.

"Chi.. Chi!"

Fang Yuan's needles were seemingly flying, in a blink of an eye, he pierced over ten of Feng Han's acupoints.

Feng Han's face distorted, abruptly opening his mouth to spit out a mouthful of black blood.

"Hoo..."

Although he was only awake for a short instance, falling back into unconsciousness shortly, his breathing stabilised and his face had a pinker hue. One could clearly see that he managed to cling to what was left of his life.

"Thank you, divine healer! Thank you!"

Minister Lin was overjoyed and said emotionally, "Witnessing the divine healer's needles is like watching your master... I can't believe that despite the divine healer's young age, you managed to obtain the true skills of your master and even surpass his abilities!"

Bootlicking was free and hence he naturally continued to bootlick.

"Although I already knew this Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing technique beforehand, I still can't be compared to my master. With Level 3 Medicine, the effects are still magical!"

Fang Yuan felt ashamed but his act of brilliance managed to gain the respect of Minister Lin.

"The patient has been treated, Minister please return home. Forgive me for not sending you out!"

Seeing that Lin Benchu still had words to say, Fang Yuan decisively rolled up his sleeves and lifted his hand to gesture them out.

"Sigh..."

Lin Benchu joined his hands to bid farewell and along with his servants took their leave.

Fang Yuan glanced over at his back view and murmured, "Old sly fox."

If he were to really keep them around, it was not as if they would be honest and tell him the truth.

Rather than trying his luck getting answers out of them, he would rather look for someone else.

"Divine Healer Fang!"

An instant later, Zhou Wenwu entered and bowed. He spoke with a tone of utmost respect.

"Eh? Are you hurt?"

Fang Yuan shook his head and poked Zhou Wenwu with the golden needle.

"Thank you, divine healer!"

Zhou Wenwu suffered a minor internal injury and felt that his inner power flow was not smooth. Upon the jabs of needles, he instantly felt comfortable and displayed his gratitude.

"Don't mention the titter tatter, what's actually happening outside? The injured that the three big families are sending here is abnormally many..."

Fang Yuan frowned, "Also, these are wounds from fights. To think that these injuries come from dealing with merely Guo Family?"

"The divine healer knows it himself..."

Zhou Wenwu's face turned solemn, "The three big families reached an agreement to divide Qingye City. I was fully rested and obtained manpower to kill and establish dominance. The Guo Family was the best target! I discussed this plan with the divine healer before..."

"Indeed, but you met with trouble?"

Fang Yuan nodded his head.

In reality, he already knew from the get go that the Guo Family had issues but he deliberately kept it from this bunch of people, hoping that they could be the ones to draw out the problem.

"Previously, everything went smoothly. Although the Guo Family was brave, they were no match for the three families. Even some of their businesses were about to be lost..."

Zhou Wenwu started to have suspicions, "However, from three days ago, the Guo Family managed to get the help of a powerful ally, causing a great hit to us... There is another strange thing!"

"Oh? Quick, tell me!"

Fang Yuan waved his hand.

"The Spirit Returning Sect has somehow managed to catch hold of this and specially sent a group a people over. The first of which was Zombie Fist Feng Han, to think..."

Zhou Wenwu shook his head, clearly showing how surprised he was, "When all these news are reported to the sect, they will definitely send more people down. Maybe even an elder will personally lead a team!"

While saying this, he was full of confidence. After all, from his perspective, there was nothing that the Spirit Returning Sect could not resolve within the Qinghe County.

But Fang Yuan was pretty clear that the mysterious party supporting the Guo Family was someone with an unpredictable strength that could definitely match the power of Spirit Returning Sect.

"The battle of the two titans is nearing..."

Although he did not know how Guo Family managed to get the help of such a power, Fang Yuan was no longer kept in the dark and could understand the current situation.

And perhaps even Lin Benchu that old fox knew less than he did.

"Zhou Wenwu!"

Contemplating to this point, Fang Yuan made a decision.

"Your humble servant is here!"

Facing Fang Yuan, Zhou Wenwu was obedient as ever, bowing instantly and listening intently.

"The Guo Family incident has a complicated background..."

Continuing to contemplate, Fang Yuan did not want the periphery that he built up to suffer heavy casualties, "If the sect has any requests, you should do your best to fulfill them. But remember never to personally put yourself at the frontline. I wish you all the best!"

"Could it be that the divine healer feels that Spirit Returning Sect is at a disadvantage?"

Zhou Wenwu heart felt a perturbing chill, suddenly feeling a great sense of inscrutability.

Chapter 52: Winning Over

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Vermillion Fruit…"

After turning away someone who was seeking medical help, Fang Yuan glanced at the nearly filled proficiency progress bar while he tossed the box containing the Vermillion Fruit. He was satisfied.

This might give him the chance to upgrade his [Botany] to Level 4.

"It is impossible to grow Vermillion Fruits in the secluded valley, but it might be possible to grow it on the spiritual lands of Green Peak. Either way, it is always good to be prepared!"

As Fang Yuan entered the valley, the Flower Fox Ferret darted towards him and circled him continuously. It seemed to have sensed a gem on Fang Yuan.

"This seed is of paramount importance, I cannot allow you to eat it!"

Holding onto the box, Fang Yuan said, "Anyway the Vermillion Jade Rice is about to ripen soon, are you still worried there is not enough food for you it?"

"Keke!"

Upon hearing this, Flower Fox Ferret thought about it extensively before indignantly making a choice.

"That's right, good boy!"

Right after Fang Yuan's compliment, Flower Fox Ferret raised its paw and pointed towards the direction of the spiritual bamboo. Its intentions were crystal clear.

"What… you want the spiritual bamboo after they have borne fruit as compensation?"

Fang Yuan touched his forehead and said, "You are really insistent on not being short-changed…Eh? Wait!"

Fang Yuan smelled something fishy as he looked at the expression on Flower Fox Ferret's face. It looked as though he made a deal that was almost too good to be true. This aroused Fang Yuan's suspicion and he hurriedly walked towards the spiritual bamboo.

Before he even reached, he took in a deep breath and felt enveloped by a gush of current in the air.

"The purity of the air here is already almost on par with that of the spiritual land. What a pity it is still lacking in terms of spiritual energy…"

Shaking his head, Fang Yuan crossed the drain.

Next to a rock, a green bamboo looked as though it was brimming with life and energy.

"From what I saw earlier this morning, it looks extremely different…Is this because it has finally accepted this plot of land?"

Fang Yuan broke into a smile. This meant that the spiritual bamboo was completely alive. Furthermore, looking at the flower buds, it would only take a few days for it to blossom.

Fang Yuan finally understood why Flower Fox Ferret was willing to compromise on the Vermillion Fruit. It had set its sights on the spiritual bamboo!

Of course, if the Vermillion Fruit was perfectly undamaged, with its flesh intact, it would be a completely different situation altogether.

...

One night passed.

On the next day, Fang Yuan woke up early in the morning. He immediately felt there was something different about his surroundings.

"Could this be…...the spiritual energy produced by the spiritual bamboo? It could even travel till here?"

Appearing to be solemn, Fang Yuan was actually filled with astonishment at this discovery.

"Keke!"

Flower Fox Ferret sprinted towards Fang Yuan. It was obvious that there was important news from the garden.

Fang Yuan rushed over to where the spiritual bamboo was. The flower bud he saw the day before was in full bloom. Its pure white petals danced in the wind, releasing its spiritual energy. It also seemed to be causing a subtle resonance in the area next to it.

"Is that…the field of Vermillion Jade Rice?"

Fang Yuan tensed up and walked hurriedly to the side of the field. He was shocked at what he saw.

In front of him were several red stalks of rice. They were half the height of a grown man and bore enormous grains that bent the thick stalks of the plant.

"It ripened surprisingly fast! This is even faster than the previous harvest!"

Fang Yuan stepped forward and stroke the grains and said, "Furthermore, the quality appears to be more superior than the previous harvest. Even though there were no major and sudden changes, could it still have been gradually accumulated?"

Looking at this, Fang Yuan was filled with aplomb.

As long as he selected the best harvest and continued to grow them over the next few seasons, he would definitely be able to bring about a transformation in the spiritual plants.

Looking at the numerous fields nearby, Fang Yuan was suddenly touched and thought to himself, "Great! There is sufficient spiritual rice from the harvest this time for Flower Fox Ferret and me to consume over the year...There will even be leftovers after we leave behind those for planting and cultivation...If we can sell the rest, it would definitely bring in immense riches!"

The Vermillion Jade Rice was only the lowest grade of spiritual plants. There was even a department within the Spirit Returning Sect that sells it as a source of revenue.

Previously Fang Yuan was thoroughly shocked by the price of this sort of spiritual plants. Based on the quality of his recent harvest, he was sure that it would be in great demand on the market.

Of course, there would be people who did not deserve it but yet desired to obtain it.

"If it is just the Vermillion Jade Rice, it isn't such a big deal…furthermore…why would I even need money?"

Upon packing the last sack of Vermillion Jade Rice into the storage room, Fang Yuan broke into a wide smile of satisfaction. He thought, "Great, we shall eat Vermillion Jade Rice every day starting from today until we get sick of it!"

"Keke!"

Flower Fox Ferret which was next to him jumped about excitedly. It looked like it could hardly control its excitement.

With the spiritual rice, what else was there for Fang Yuan to fret about? He cooked a big pot of fragrant Vermillion Jade Rice right away.

The uniqueness of the flavour of the Vermillion Jade Rice this time was many times more intense than the flavour previously. The immense pleasure from eating the Vermillion Jade Rice was also intensified.

After a long time, Fang Yuan finally woke up from his deep sleep. He opened his mouth and released a breath of white gas.

He looked down and saw that he had already finished the entire pot of spiritual rice. Down to the very last cell in his body, he felt as though as he was reborn

"The effects of the spiritual rice are even stronger this time…"

Fang Yuan was extremely pleased. As he looked in the direction of the spiritual bamboo, he was filled with doubts as he wondered, "If the blossoming of the flower of the spiritual bamboo could actually accelerate the time taken for the spiritual rice to ripen, what type of spiritual bamboo is this? What are the uses of its fruits?"

His doubts were answered soon enough.

After three days, most of the flowers from the bamboo withered. They were replaced by green fruits which hung on the branches, brimming with life. It was a sight Fang Yuan had never seen before.

"Bamboo fruits…in the legends, they were the staple foods of the phoenixes…"

Flower Fox Ferret was already waiting patiently at the side for some time. Fang Yuan glanced at it, plucked a fruit and tossed it in the air.

"Shoo!"

In a flash, Flower Fox Ferret appeared on the other side of the rock with fruit in its mouth. It then devoured the fruit voraciously.

"What is it like?"

As Fang Yuan watched Flower Fox Ferret intently as he waited for Flower Fox Ferret to finish its meal.

"Keke…Keke…"

Flower Fox Ferret pretended to not understand Fang Yuan and pointed at the spiritual bamboo again. It was hinting that it could not taste the full flavours of fruit completely by just trying one piece. It needed a few more in order to get a sense of it.

"What a greedy rascal!"

Fang Yuan jokingly reprimanded. At the same time, Fang Yuan had a sense of assurance as he thought, "There should not be a major problem with it…"

At the same time, Fang Yuan plucked a fruit and tossed into his own mouth.

Crunch!

It had the flavours of a green apple. It was sweet and palatable. At the same time, it sent a warm sensation flowing smoothly down his throat.

"Erm… this is…"

Fang Yuan's eyes widened as he felt his strength, inner force, Spirit, and Magic recharged to its maximum at that instant. He felt comfortable and extremely energetic at the same time.

"It does not increase stats, could it be that it promotes recovery?"

He thought again, "Could this allow one to recover Essence, Spirit, and Magic in such a short time?"

As his train of thoughts led to Red-eyed White Bird's outburst, Fang Yuan finally understood why the spiritual bird treated the bamboo fruit as though it's a piece of treasure.

After its outburst, it would definitely deplete a lot of its energy which would mean a long recovery time. However, with the fruit, this time would shorten.

"Even during a duel when both sides suffer serious injuries, this fruit could be consumed?"

Looking at the spiritual bamboo, Fang Yuan was gradually enlightened. He thought, "No wonder, this bamboo fruit could even snatch a person away from the hands of death, which explains its immense value..."

"Hold on!"

Slightly worried, Fang Yuan looked at Flower Fox Ferret and asked, "You did not seem to expand a lot of energy today and you even ate one fruit before this, why are you still asking for more?"

"Keke?"

Flower Fox Ferret thought for a moment and began gesturing. Fang Yuan then realised the bamboo fruits could only induce recovery in humans. However, when consumed by spiritual beasts, especially birds, it appeared to aid in their growth on top of its recovery effects. As a result, it was no surprise the Iron-tailed Black Eagle and the Red-eyed White King Bird treasured it so much.

Fang Yuan broke into a slight smile as the thought of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle surfaced in his mind.

Recently in the deep valley, Fang Yuan came across several dead beasts such as wild boars and tigers. Their wounds looked like they were inflicted by an animal with razor sharp claws. These must be the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's acts of gratitude.

At this instant, Fang Yuan thought of an even better idea.

"Flower Fox Ferret...take these bamboo fruits and tempt the Iron-tailed Black Eagle into becoming our companion...No, tell the Iron-tailed Black Eagle that we would give it bamboo fruits if it ensured the safety of this valley. How about that?"

The Iron-tailed Black Eagle had a formidable strength. Even though it was slightly inferior to the Red-eyed White Bird, it had an advantage over most others as it could fly.

Generally, once it took flight and circled around the valley, nobody could come within 3 miles of the valley, not even the most experienced foot soldiers.

Actually, Fang Yuan had already thought about making use of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle for quite some time.

After he finally understood the instructions, the Flower Fox Ferret sped off into the vegetation with a few bamboo fruits.

...

"Caw Caw!"

In no time, along with an ear-piercing shriek, a deafening noise reverberated through the valley.

Fang Yuan hurried over and found a dead python that was as thick as a human's arm lying the ground. There were a few big holes on its body which fresh blood flowed out from.

"Eh? Golden Silk Python?"

Fang Yuan stepped forward to take a closer look. His face instantly lit up with joy as he thought, "Even though we do not have the snake gall, the skin and bones of a snake are also exceptional medicinal ingredients. Along with snake meat, we have sufficient food to last a few days..."

"Chirp! Chirp!"

Amidst the strong wind and loud noise, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle descended from the sky. From its back, a white little head emerged and hopped off gracefully and moved over next to Fang Yuan.

"Brother Eagle, have you considered my offer?"

Fang Yuan laughed and drew out a few bamboo fruits from his robes.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

Although the bamboo shoots did capture the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's attention, it tilted its head upwards, as though it was not easily swayed by Fang Yuan's gifts.

However, it was evident from the eyes of the spiritual beast that it was indeed tempted by Fang Yuan's offer.

"Keke Keke...Sssss..."

As Flower Fox Ferret gestured and explained, Fang Yuan quickly understood the situation. He remarked, "Oh, so Brother Eagle is unwilling to be the spiritual beast of humans? You misunderstood my intentions, I never thought of doing that. I only wanted to hire you that's all. You will help me to patrol and protect this area and I will give you the spiritual fruits as payment...if it is insufficient, there are spiritual tea and spiritual rice..."

Fang Yuan shook his head and ordered Flower Fox Ferret to translate it for the Iron-tailed Black Eagle.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed Black Eagle communicated through gestures and Iron-tailed Black Eagle eventually shook its head.

"What a difficult nut to crack!"

Fang Yuan wrecked his brain for a solution and told Flower Fox Ferret, "Flower Fox Ferret, let Iron-tailed Black Eagle know, we will not hire it. Instead, we are offering it...These spiritual fruits are the gifts we offer respectfully to it for its service in protecting the valley. How about this?"

Shaking his head, Fang Yuan sent the Flower Fox Ferret to translate his words.

"Chirp! Chirp"

As expected, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle nodded its proud head this time, intently eyeing the bamboo fruits in Fang Yuan's hand.

"Alright, there you go!"

Fang Yuan tossed the fruit into the air and watched the eager beast rushed to consume it. In his mind, Fang Yuan was speechless as he thought, "This beast is so ridiculously egoistic. This deal I made him was exactly what I proposed earlier. Fortunately, it met me, if not it would not be as profitable..."

Chapter 53: Urgent Matters

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

Autumn passed by slowly into the bitterly cold winter.

Snowflakes as large as goose feathers fell from the sky, blanketing the entire secluded valley in no time.

Fang Yuan opened the window and exhaled a mist of white air.

As he was an inner force expert, the temperature of the surroundings had little effect on his body. Even though he was wearing just a layer of thin clothing, he did not seem to feel cold at all.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

Iron-tailed Black Eagle called out in mid-air before landing steadily on the snow. It clutched a carcass of a young deer in its talons and looked at Fang Yuan intently.

Iron-tailed Black Eagle's was already extremely pampered by the offerings of spiritual items and other foodstuffs that Fang Yuan fed it daily. It seemed as if Fang Yuan were to chase it away, it would not be willing to return to its previous harsh lifestyle in the wilderness.

"Keke!"

Upon seeing good food, Flower Fox Ferret sped away, leaving shallow footprints in the snow that looked like plum flowers.

"Choo..."

Iron-tailed Black Eagle cried out when it saw Fang Yuan walking out. Its message was crystal clear.

"Oh? There's someone familiar approaching?"

Through some interaction recently, Fang Yuan managed to grasp some of the more basic terms of the language used by these spiritual beasts. However, he has yet to fully master them. Nonetheless, he was still definitely confident of the few terms he used to communicate with the Iron-tailed Black Eagle.

"Keep out of sight in the meantime..."

As he tended to the small deer in preparation for his next meal, he spoke to Iron-tailed Black Eagle without turning his head, "Relax, there will be a portion of spiritual rice and barbequed meat for you today..."

"Chirp Chirp..."

With Fang Yuan's reassurance, Iron-tailed Black Eagle then flew away reluctantly, disappearing into a tiny black speck in the sky in no time.

This was Fang Yuan's secret weapon; he could not reveal it to anyone so easily.

As for the existence of Flower Fox Ferret, it was no longer a secret to those close to him. Instead, the knowledge of its existence seemed to intimidate them.

"Zhou Wenwu would like to meet you, sir!"

Before long, Fang Yuan strolled to the small hut along with the noise of the gong. Here, he saw Zhou Wenwu with a large and thick wolf skin cloak draped over him as he waited alone.

"My greetings!"

Seeing Fang Yuan appear, Zhou Wenwu's eyes lit up as he stepped forward and showed his respects.

"Erm...you're not a stranger, please follow me into the valley!"

This man's loyalty and integrity could be trusted to some extent. In fact, they were put the test before. They were also secretly manipulated by Fang Yuan and Fang Yuan treated him differently from others.

"Have you found out what's the mysterious force behind the Guo family?"

Fang Yuan flicked off the snowflakes that had fallen on his body and asked Zhou Wenwu casually.

Seeing that Fang Yuan was not affected by the cold at all, Zhou Wenwu was filled with admiration and envy for him. He replied, "I've found out already and I'm here to report my findings sir!"

"Very well, let's discuss it in the valley. What a great timing, the spiritual rice is also ready!"

Fang Yuan looked into Zhou Wenwu's eyes. Although Zhou Wenwu seemed pure and innocent, Fang Yuan had the feeling that Zhou Wenwu was intently sizing him up. Recognising this, he said, "Based on your martial prowess, you have already reached the 5th Gate. What you need to do now is to strengthen your foundations and break through the Pain Gate!"

"The more solid and firm your foundations are, the higher the chances of breaking through the 3 Perilous Gates. Even in the event you fail, the negative effects will not be as severe...Have you finished the Vermillion Jade Rice from the last time? Take along another batch with you this time then!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhou Wenwu was instantly delighted.

After all, to be able to consume spiritual rice daily to boost his martial prowess was a privilege not even the direct disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect could enjoy.

He would be stupid to betray Fang Yuan. Additionally, Fang Yuan had already emplaced traps on his body as preventive measures.

Even though he did not say it explicitly, Fang Yuan had an immense reputation for being a divine healer. Any doubts Zhou Wenwu had were erased instantly.

Even if Fang Yuan were to order him to fight against the Spirit Returning Sect, he would still do Fang Yuan's bidding no matter what.

Despite this, Fang Yuan still had some reservations about him.

At least he was still able to maintain his possession of the spiritual tea and Iron-tailed Black Eagle a secret.

"Greetings esteemed ferret!"

After stepping into the valley and seeing Flower Fox Ferret, he became extremely humbled.

At that point in time, he already knew that Flower Fox Ferret was the guardian spiritual beast of the valley and its specific role was to watch over the Vermillion Jade Rice.

It was this sort of valuable secret that was worthy of the guardianship of a spiritual beast.

Remembering when he first saw Flower Fox Ferret, it did not pay him any attention. It was hugging onto a large porcelain bowl and concentrated all its attention on voraciously consuming spiritual rice from it. This scene agitated Zhou Wenwu extremely.

It was too embarrassing and intolerable!

Not only was he unable to defeat Fang Yuan's pet spiritual animal, even what he was eating was inferior to the pet's. What sort of miserable and pathetic situation was he in?

'At least it isn't too bad… Fang Yuan still gave me some of the spiritual rice after all, even though it was not as much as the ferret's..."

At this point, Zhou Wenwu was minimally comforted that at least Fang Yuan treated him as well as his own pet. However, what Zhou Wenwu did not know was that Fang Yuan did not value the Vermillion Jade Rice as highly as he did.

"Have a seat!"

Entering the abode, Fang Yuan grabbed a cushion and poured a cup of clear tea. Even though it was just common tea, Zhou Wenwu felt as though he was pampered beyond measure by this mere gesture and was struck beyond words.

"Have you found out the backers of the Guo family?"

Fang Yuan shook off the snowflakes on his body and sat down.

"Yes..."

As Zhou Wenwu mentioned this, he slapped himself on the face.

Even with Fang Yuan's prior cautioning and medical help to preserve his life, he still nearly lost his life to the Guo family.

"Ever since the failure last time, our sect repeatedly dispatched many groups of people led by elders to duel with the force behind the Guo family. After several intense duels, they finally found out that the force behind the Guo family was actually the Five Ghosts Sect!"

Zhou Wenwu said angrily.

"Five Ghosts Sect?!"

Fang Yuan frowned. It seemed that after all, he was not as familiar as the situation around him as he thought he was.

"This sect is extremely secretive and mysterious. They have always operated within Lieyang County. We also just found out that the ancestor of Guo family was actually a known disciple of the Five Ghost Sect..."

Zhou Wenwu sighed and continued saying, "The Five Ghost Sect is an extremely powerful sect in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. It is almost as powerful as the Spirit Returning Sect. They are even more mysterious and brutal than the Spirit Returning Sect too. By activating their spies in the Guo family and even sending out experts this time, it seems like they are looking for something..."

"Oh? What are they looking for?"

Fang Yuan's heart skipped a beat and he enquired immediately.

"I am not too sure myself, but it definitely is a piece of treasure! It was stolen and taken away by a traitor, but a lot of time has passed since then. I'm afraid it's already lost..."

Zhou Wenwu shook his head and carried on saying, "The Spirit Returning Sect also suffered big losses. I also just heard that in this period of time, the Guo family have also suffered great losses. It also appears that the experts from the Five Ghosts Sect have realised that they are not gaining much from this area and are starting to pull out..."

"Pull out..."

Fang Yuan nodded his head and asked, "Is it because of the Spirit Returning Sect?"

"Correct!"

Zhou Wenwu nodded his head and habitually replied in a slightly proud tone saying, "Their actions have already startled our leader. They are even preparing to send Elder Han down. No matter how proud and daring the Five Ghosts Sect are, Qingye City is after all the territory of our Spirit Returning Sect! Only that..."

Zhou Wenwu then began to hesitate and stuttered, "...the retreat of Five Ghosts Sect seems to be because they are consolidating their forces for some far more important reason back home...our sect leader has already ordered us to investigate and our confrontation with them might carry on!"

"So, it's like that..."

After hearing this, Fang Yuan remained silent for some time.

It was obvious that whatever the Spirit Returning Sect was doing at this point in time was to some extent also helping him to avert disaster.

Unless the Spirit Returning Sect drew away most of the attention of Five Ghosts Sect, the Five Ghosts Sect might even head straight to the valley.

Fang Yuan was however puzzled at their decision to withdraw their forces now.

Qingye City was the territory of the Spirit Returning Sect and furthermore, they had the support of the Wu Zong.

It seemed reasonable for them to withdraw the moment they captured the attention of Shi Yutong. However, from Zhou Wenwu's account, it appeared they had an ulterior motive.

"It seems like…I really have to leave this valley!"

Waving his hand, Fang Yuan gestured for Zhou Wenwu to leave him. After intense consideration, he finally made up his mind.

Fang Yuan began to ponder over this incomplete treasure map that had captured so much attention from the Five Ghosts Sect. There was probably a lot more to it.

...

Guo family.

Several horse carriages were already lined up neatly in formation ready to set off. Members of the Guo family were looking distraught and several women were sobbing. After all, they were leaving their home for good and they did not know when they would be returning.

"Hmph, all you know is how to cry! What a burdensome bunch!"

From the side, a few stern-looking riders atop massive horses clad in black shouted angrily, "Stop behaving this way and move faster!"

"Master, why do we have to save this household? After all, apart from the elders of the Guo family, what business do these commoners have with our sect?"

One of the disciples who had a skull embroidered on the front of his robes complained to an elder next to him.

"Idi*t!"

The elder flew into a rage unexpectedly and said, "The elders of the Guo family sacrificed their lives for our sect and now in this conflict we caused more of their family to lose their lives. If we just abandon them like this, our other disciples will lose hope and confidence in us. You have to understand that it is precisely these commoners that form the roots of our sect..."

"Hmph, Spirit Returning Sect..."

The young martial artist scoffed, "Isn't it unnecessary for someone who is around 7th or 8th Gate to come along on this operation?"

"Hehe, if it was just inner force experts who came it would be easy..."

The elder shook his head and said, "It's just that I heard news that Elder Han was coming along with the reinforcements from the Spirit Returning Sect. He mastered the Yin and Yang energies twenty years ago and is already a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates...I am reluctant to do so but I have to admit he is more superior than me!"

"This journey to Qingye City is really unpleasant..."

As if he was hit by some bad news, the young martial artist now looked down in distraught and said, "We have suffered too many losses...As for the Spirit Returning Sect disciples, despite suffering serious injuries, they could recover their old strength so easily so quickly..."

"Yeah, I have heard that there's a divine healer in this area. Apparently, he could even bring someone dead back to life. Rumours described him to be so divine and godly that it seemed ridiculous. But from the looks of it, there seems to be some truth in the rumours. Should there be a chance in the future I would like to meet this person..."

The elder tugged on his horse reins and left without turning back, saying, "For now, nothing is more important than our sect's issues. When you get out of Qinghe County, escort this group of people to Lieyang County with the rest of your seniors. I am making a move first!"

After completing his sentence, he set his horse into a full sprint and disappeared in no time without even turning back.

Chapter 54: Attack

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Chang chang!"

"Chang chang!"

The ear-splitting sounds of a gong pierced the silence of the secluded valley.

"Eh?"

Fang Yuan, who was in the midst of his training, frowned and looked towards what seemed to be a large crowd gathering outside the valley and remarked, "Why are there still such unruly people? They must be from the Spirit Returning Sect or the Five Ghosts Sect!"

It was evident that given his capabilities, there was no doubt that he was the leader of the Qingye City. Even in Qinghe County, many of the martial artists showed him a great deal of respect.

After all, in the world of martial arts, nobody could guarantee that they would not get ill or injured, and not require the services of the divine healer ever.

It was probably either of those two who dared to do something like this.

With this thought, Fang Yuan strolled out of the valley without delay.

...

"Elder Lu, you cannot barge into the valley!"

Zhou Wenwu stood his ground in front of the valley, speaking righteously, "These are the rules set by Divine Healer Fang. If you continue to blatantly disregard them and offend him, Elder Zhao's injuries might worsen..."

This group of people belonged to the Spirit Returning Sect. At the front of the group, two disciples were carrying a stretcher. An elderly man whose breathing was extremely weak laid on it.

"Phew, phew..."

Elder Lu clenched his fist and his eyes were bloodshot with rage. He barked, "What do you know? If Elder Zhao loses his life, you will not be able to answer for it!"

These words increased the already high tension.

Looking at Elder Zhao on the stretcher, Zhou Wenwu was in a dilemma.

For any sect, martial artists beneath the 5th Gate were insignificant. Once a martial artist broke through the 6th Gate and developed inner force, the martial artist would be immediately bestowed an elder position. This was the true mark of an elite martial artist.

Elder Zhao was well known in Qinghe County for his Great Sun Technique and Cloud Stepping Technique. Unfortunately, while he was rushing to another person's rescue, he bumped into Gui Wusheng from the Five Ghosts Sect. Gui Wusheng was an infamous villain who was an 8th Gate expert who had broken through the Death Gate. It was rumoured that he already mastered the Yin energy and entered the realms of the 4 Heavenly Gates too!

A short battle later, Elder Zhao had been injured. Thankfully Elder Lu came just in time, and Gui Wusheng seemed to be in a rush, otherwise, he probably would have lost his life there and then

It was no wonder Elder Zhao was in such a depressing condition.

"Move aside!"

As he shouted, Lu Zhisen's temper rose rapidly as he glared menacingly at those who stood in his way.

"No way!"

Zhou Wenwu broke out in cold sweat but he refused to budge, explaining, "Divine Healer Fang is an inner force expert that broke through the Pain Gate. Elder Lu, please show some respect!"

"Hmph, there are so many rumours going about to the point that it's hard to believe them anymore. Even if he is at the 6th Gate, what could someone that just broke through do against my iron pole?"

Lu Zhisen remarked arrogantly. He was also speaking his mind.

After all, fighting against a newly advanced [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] would definitely not be a problem for him, considering his vast amount of experience.

Standing away from Zhou Wenwu and Lu Zhisen, Lin Benchu and the head of the Zhang household watched nervously in silence with a group of disciples from the Spirit Returning Sect.

They were naturally inclined towards supporting Zhou Wenwu as Lu Zhisen was an elder infamous for his recklessness. However, they also did not dare to bear the brunt of Lu Zhisen's murderous rage, hence they looked to Zhou Wenwu with respect and awe.

"Saving this person's life is extremely important and urgent! Get out of my way!"

Having lost his patience, Lu Zhisen swung his hand at Zhou Wenwu.

"Bang!"

Zhou Wenwu was hit by an enormous force which he could not resist even with his inner power of the 5th Gate. As a result, he was sent flying through the air.

Inner power indeed lost out when pitted against inner force.

Furthermore, Lu Zhisen did not expand all his power. Should he have used his weapon, Zhou Wenwu's brains would have been splattered on the ground.

Even so, Zhou Wenwu was sent soaring high into the sky.

"Bang!"

After landing with a dull thud, he realised that he was not injured at all. He was forcefully grabbed up by the neck by Fang Yuan with only one hand.

"Erm? So you are the Divine Healer Fang Yuan?"

Looking at the youthful Fang Yuan emerge from the valley, Lu Zhisen felt an uneasiness in his heart.

Fang Yuan looked incredibly young. He looked like he was younger than 20 years of age. Yet when he responded earlier by nimbly catching Zhou Wenwu with ease, his skills seemed to suggest otherwise. This confused Lu Zhisen greatly.

"Yes I am..."

Fang Yuan released Zhou Wenwu and while looking at Lu Zhisen, shook his head and said, "You refused to abide by my rules and yet you still expect me to tend to your patient?"

"You…"

Lu Zhisen's face flushed red with anger. Swinging out his right hand, he instantly grabbed a metal pole as thick as a teacup and threatened Fang Yuan, "You dare to refuse to treat my patient? Be careful of my Coiling Dragon Iron Pole..."

"Fu Ha ha ha!"

Seeing this, Fang Yuan could not resist breaking into laughter.

It was an entertaining sight watching Lu Zhisen's reckless and temperamental behavior.

Using force to threaten a doctor to tend to a patient? What's the difference between that and forcing a fengshui master to select a spot to bury one's ancestors? If Lu Zhisen intended to end his family line, he could continue trying his luck.

"Argh...This is pissing me off!"

Lu Zhisen's face was blood red and the veins on his forehead swelled up and protruded out. He slammed the iron pole on the ground and caused a tremor around him. Raising his immensely huge arm, he charged towards Fang Yuan.

"Hmm…6th Gate inner force?"

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed and opened his palm, spreading his fingers like an eagles claw, creating a swishing noise.

"Sssss pa!"

With a loud explosion in the air, Lu Zhisen staggered two steps backward. It was evident Fang Yuan inflicted some damage on him.

"Ah... Dragon Subduing Pole Technique!"

With his eyes reddening further and his body bursting with rage, Lu Zhisen was going to give everything he had. Swinging the iron pole in his hand, Lu Zhisen brought it down with immense force.

"Good move!"

Fang Yuan moved forward swiftly and twisted his Eagle Claw. When he reappeared, he broke through the shadows created by the movements of Lu Zhisen's pole technique, grabbed onto the pole and forced it downwards.

"Bang!"

With a reverberating explosion, the Coiling Dragon Iron Pole deeply penetrated the soil, sending large amounts of soil particles into the air.

Lu Zhisen's face was now swollen and red. His nostrils were almost going to start bleeding. He grabbed the pole with two hands and mustered all his strength as he tried to yank it out of the ground. However, the pole did not seem to budge. It seemed as though the hand on top of the pole was like the Five Finger Mountain that physically repressed the Monkey God.

After the short exchange of blows, Lu Zhisen broke out in profuse perspiration. The colour drained from his face as he tried to catch his breath.

"So? Do you concede defeat?"

Fang Yuan asked with a smile. He was delighted with his own improvement.

"You...already broke through the Shock Gate?"

Lu Zhisen stuttered, but there was a degree of certainty in his voice.

In the earlier bout, Fang Yuan completely dominated the fight and displayed an impeccable character. Every move he made completely wowed the spectators. It was as though they were watching a renowned martial artist in action.

The intense concentration Fang Yuan had seemed unrivaled.

Lu Zhisen might have been a brute, but he was not stupid. He quickly got to his feet and respectfully apologised, "Sorry for offending you, I hope you would forgive me. Should you seek to dish out punishment, please just punish me!"

As Lu Zhisen conceded defeat, he remembered the brilliant and talented individual the elder accepted as a student.

In the past, the student improved at an incredible rate. But in comparison with Fang Yuan, it no longer seemed as impressive anymore.

"Eh?"

"This..."

Lin Yuanwai and the family head of the Zhang Family widened their mouths in disbelief. It was almost as if they were in a dream.

In just one bout, the fiery Elder Lu infamous for his reckless violence was brought to his knees.

Furthermore, he had a reputation for being a veteran expert martial artist who was gifted in strength, and unrivaled amongst 6th Gate martial artists.

Also, what did he just say? Shock Gate?

At that moment, everyone turned their gaze onto Fang Yuan. They now began to look at him in fear.

"If that's what you think, then so be it!"

Fang Yuan gave a vague answer, making it difficult for others to comprehend.

In reality, he had already broken through the Shock Gate long ago. Had he failed to break through this gate with the help of the Questioning Heart Tea, it would be ridiculous and embarrassing.

'Anyway, in terms of cultivation and combat power, considering I could defeat this person, it seems like my martial prowess has reached the highest levels at least in Qinghe County?'

Fang Yuan thought to himself and checked his stats window.

"Name: Fang Yuan

Essence: 4.2

Spirit: 4.1

Magic: 3.0

Age: 19

Cultivation: [Martial Artist (7th Gate)]

Techniques: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 7)]

Skills: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"

'In the blink of an eye. a year has passed, and I came from being a nobody into a highly skilled martial artist with miraculous healing skills...'

Fang Yuan thought to himself as he was flushed with a sense of accomplishment.

This massive advancement made by Fang Yuan affected Minister Lin greatly.

Looking at Fang Yuan, Minister Lin could only feel repeated waves of regret hitting him from inside, as though his heart was attacked by a venomous snake. It was excruciating for him.

Even though Lin Leiyue had Shi Yutong's blessings and the future of their sect seemed bright, it now appeared to be merely a hopeful expectation.

In terms of true power, reputation and position, Fang Yuan was no less inferior than Lin Leiyue.

Why was he so blind and wasteful to let go of such a desirable candidate?

He could only regret as it was too late.

Looking at the very impressed family head of the Zhang Family and the smug looking Zhou Wenwu, he felt very annoyed.

It seemed as though they were all ready to send the women in their own families to sleep with Fang Yuan to win his favour.

"An accomplished martial artist at such a young age!"

Lu Zhisen silently sighed. Looking at the frail and weak Elder Zhao lying next to him, he swallowed his pride and grudgingly dropped to his knees and begged, "Please try to save him divine healer! Should you want to dish out punishment, please just punish me!"

Seeing Lu Zhisen fall to his knees, and even Fang Yuan was moved.

Even though Lu Zhisen was a boorish fellow, it appeared even he had a soft side.

"Please recover!"

Waving his hand, Lu Zhisen involuntarily stood up almost immediately.

Fang Yuan continued to speak, "I shall forgive and forget your earlier transgression with what you have just done...Are you aware of my rules?"

For every person the divine healer in the deep valley healed, he demanded either a spiritual object or anything else that was valuable as payment.

"Yes! Of course!"

Lu Zhisen respectfully presented a silk booklet and said, "I obtained half of these random records. The materials inside include records by several renowned elders, as well as various stories of spiritual knights. Please accept this as payment!"

Chapter 55: Shaoyang City

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"The Secluded Mountains Prefecture is one of the three prefectures in the country. It is also under the jurisdiction of the six counties, which Qinghe is a part of. It is home to several mysterious and special individuals..."

"In terms of martial arts, there are several talented spiritual knights, capable of fully mastering spiritual energy and lightness skill. Only the crème de la crème of martial artists can rival their skills..."

Fang Yuan sat cross legged as he prepared his tea.

The steam from the piping hot water simmered off once it came into contact with the cool surroundings as the stunning fragrance of the tea wafted out.

The small fireplace created a sense of comfort from the bitter cold environment.

It was a different experience reading his book in such an environment.

Elder Zhao from the Spirit Returning Sect suffered a life-threatening injury as he was hit by Gui Wusheng's Ghostly Claw and the Decomposition Toxins seeped into his bones. His condition was made worse by his internal injuries. However, with the combination of Fang Yuan's

Golden Needle Acupuncture and Yama's Talisman, Fang Yuan saved his life without a fuss.

After Elder Zhao's condition stabilised, Fang Yuan immediately sent off Lu Zhisen and the group of people who were thanking him profusely. He then began to read the book they gave him intently.

"Erm...in this journal, the time period is longer. Furthermore, the author's martial arts prowess is so advanced. It seems like he has reached the highest level of Wu Zong..."

After reading through the book once, doubts arose in Fang Yuan's mind.

Most importantly, the author recorded several legends regarding spiritual knights, traditional customs and even revealed some precious pieces of information regarding advanced martial arts. This pleasantly surprised Fang Yuan.

"I'm left with one remaining gate to clear to break through the 8th Golden Gates in the 12 Golden Gates. After I clear this, I must master the Yin and Yang energies for the 4 Heavenly Gates..."

Laying out the 12 Cultivation Levels of Initial, Rest, Life, Restriction, View, Pain, Shock, Death, Yin, Yang, Earth and Heaven in front of Fang Yuan, he only had five left to clear.

"At the 8th cultivation level, I must break through the Death Gate. At the 9th and 10th, I must master the Yin and Yang energies individually while at the 11th cultivation level I have to master combining yin and yang energies into one and to break through the 12th cultivation... At the 12th level, I must put in consistent effort in training to break through this level. After completing all these, I can finally get a taste of the exhilarating experience of being a martial artist of the highest level of Wu Zong..."

"Many gifted martial artists have failed at this stage but apparently after passing this stage one would enter an entirely different realm altogether. There are even changes in the form…for example, one would no longer train inner force but...elemental force!"

From these descriptions in the booklet, Fang Yuan was able to confirm that this author had already reached the Wu Zong level.

"According to him, it is only with the breaking of the Wu Zong and mastering of elemental force then one could be considered to be really set on the route of cultivation which can then be worthy of comparison with the spiritual knights and alchemy masters..."

While reading this particular paragraph of description, Fang Yuan sensed a hint of melancholy between the lines.

At this point, Fang Yuan's mood was also affected.

After all, it was extremely rare even for gifted martial artists who had renowned teachers to break through the 4 Heavenly Gates. Wu Zong was more about fate. Even if one were to train and prepare for his entire life, he also had to count on fate to succeed.

But as for spiritual knights and the like, they started training their elemental force straightway. Their strengths and abilities at the beginning were already on par with Wu Zong. This news could possibly disillusion several martial artists.

"In the first place nothing in this world is fair!"

Fang Yuan put down the booklet with a sigh. He was still very envious of spiritual knights and their kind, thinking, "Spiritual knights use elemental force and are able to manipulate nature, gaining the ability of Creation. For example, magical masters are able to arrange the key elements while alchemy masters can obtain the extremely beneficial essence from spiritual plants, grabbing the valuable fruits of nature. There are also the more mysterious dream masters…..."

Fang Yuan no longer had further doubts about the martial arts route ahead of him before Wu Zong.

Fang Yuan was only slightly puzzled about how to become a spiritual knight.

"If we were to talk only about physical capabilities, there are not many people who are better than me I think. Especially in the aspect of magical energy..."

As for the honing of martial arts skills, it usually consisted of just building up and enhancing elemental energy. As for Fang Yuan's growth in the magical energy, he had the aid of the Questioning Heart Tea.

As for the requirements to become a spiritual knight, it seemed to be very similar to this magical energy.

Fang Yuan walked to the front of a bronze mirror and released all of his magical energy.

At that moment, the young man in the mirror looked incredibly vibrant and lively. He was almost shining with youth and vigour, like a luminous pearl in the night.

"Luminosity...magical energy of 3.0, and I can already accomplish something like that..."

Fang Yuan knew that it would be a pity if he did not attempt to train to be a spiritual knight with his current capabilities.

But becoming a spiritual knight was not a simple task. It required determination and will.

"When I leave this time, I have to also pay more attention to the details here..."

Fang Yuan made up his mind, but he was still slightly troubled.

As for all those spiritual knights, Qinghe Country was just a poor rural area. Even he had never heard about this area in the legends.

If he really wanted to find out, he had to travel out towards the Secluded Mountain Prefecture or even the capital of the country, maybe he had to even travel out of the country to search for it in order to have a glimmer of hope.

"Ow!"

After making up his mind, Fang Yuan got up walked to the garden and called out.

His voice reverberated around the valley and shook the ground.

"Chirp!"

"Keke!"

A big and small shadow from the sky and ground respectively sped towards Fang Yuan. It was Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed Black Eagle.

"I'm going to travel out for a long period of time, this secluded valley will now be under your charge!"

Fang Yuan caressed the small head of Flower Fox Ferret and tossed a bamboo fruit to Iron-tailed Black Eagle.

Taking his spiritual tea, spiritual rice, and bamboo fruit, he hid them in separate places within the vast and huge Clear Spirit Mountain. Given the vastness of the mountain, not many people would be able to uncover his hiding spots.

After harvesting the crops for the last time, Fang Yuan set a fire and burned all the Vermillion Jade Rice plants into ashes. The barren Questioning Heart Tea tree and spiritual bamboo that were left looked a bit conspicuous, but it was extremely difficult to notice them. It would be far more challenging for someone else to take advantage of their beneficial properties in their current state.

Furthermore, with the protection of the two spiritual beasts, Fang Yuan felt more assured.

...

Lieyang County.

This was a part out of the six counties in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. It had always been the territory of the Five Ghosts Sect and a neighbour of Qingye County. As it had a few gigantic quarries, the county was economically powerful and looked more developed than Qinghe County.

Winter passed and spring set in.

Within Shaoyang City, people who rested during the bitter cold winter resumed transporting huge amounts of mineral ores again.

These mineral ores of Lieyang harnessed some form of Yang energy. It was the blacksmith's favourite material to add to their works which included weapons. After the addition of these mineral ores through a unique process, the quality of the constructed weapons would be enhanced and maybe even transformed. It might also have some divine or holy properties. It was said that such weapons could defeat the most demonic entities and were thus known to be the divine and powerful weapons of magical troops.

Of course, this was just said in legends. However, the hard reality was that the demand for Lieyang mineral ores was far greater than its supply.

Furthermore, along the journey, the value of these mineral ores would increase along the way. By the time they reached the main mansion of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, the price would increase by fifty percent. When they reach the capital of the country, the price would double. If one was willing to risk breaking the law and transporting it beyond the country's borders to faraway lands, the profits one could make would be almost uncountable. It was definitely enough for one to live the rest of his life in prosperity without having to work anymore.

However, several dangers and obstacles plagued this transportation route.

These merchants were only enticed by the sheer amounts of profits they could reap to take the risk of face the bandits and robbers along the way. They had to be brave, intelligent and extremely determined on their journey in order to succeed.

"Is this Shaoyang City?!"

As the horse carriage entered the gates of the city slowly, a jade-like hand pulled open the curtains and the person inside visually surveyed the different scenery the city held. The person was feeling incredibly excited.

"Miss, we have reached the inn!"

In front of the carriage stood a middle-aged man with a goatee. He looked like the hotel manager and at the same time, he also looked like he was the carriage driver.

"Great!"

The lady dismounted from the carriage. Her striking red robes incongruently stood out against the dull colours of her surroundings. Her eyes were glistening beautifully, but she covered half her face with a mask, eliciting looks of disappointment on those around her.

"Old Yu, thank you so much for putting on the disguise and for also being my carriage driver, it must have been hard for you!"

After entering the inn and requesting a suite, the lady removed her mask and revealed a gorgeous face. It was Lin Leiyue.

"I am honoured to work for you, Miss Lin!"

The middle-aged man smiled and wiped off the sweat from his face. The lines on his face changed drastically and he looked evidently more light-hearted.

If Fang Yuan was here, he would definitely find this man familiar. This was the man who forced Lin Yuanwai to back out of his marriage. He was the Cold-faced Iron Eagle, Yu Qiuleng!

"Elder Han has already notified us that he would link up with us as soon as possible to chase down Gui Wusheng!"

Lin Leiyue clapped her hands and a few skilled martial artists entered, ready to take orders.

"The Five Ghosts Sect has a mysterious background and they are unpredictable. When they were in Qinghe county they activated the spies they planted for many years. Their objective does not seem trivial. You are the elite spies of our sect in Shaoyang County, support Elder Han and my mission this time and find out the objective of the Five Ghost Sect!"

"Yes Madam!"

All the martial artists bowed respectfully.

"Good, Yan San, Ma Si, Hou Wu, Zheng Liu...Four of you guard the four doors in Shaoyang County. The martial artists of Five Ghosts Sect have recently been gathering in this city. Make sure you get to know each of them inside out!"

"Zou Jiu, you will..."

Lin Leiyue looked as though she was issuing operational orders in an army. Her last order was to Yu Qiuleng, "Old Yu, I will put you in charge of the deployments of the Five Ghost Sect in this area!"

"Rest assured, I will not fail you!"

Yu Qiuleng replied in arrogant tone; he was confident that he would succeed.

He had no reason to believe otherwise.

Since the last time, Yu Qiuleng had made massive improvements in his martial prowess. He was also promoted to an elder in his sect. His confidence was bolstered, and he was extremely satisfied. This time, he was tasked with escorting members of the sect on this mission. It was a huge responsibility, an indication of his bright future in the sect, thus explaining his confidence and high morale.

Seeing this, Lin Leiyue cautioned him, "The Five Ghosts Sect is as powerful as ours, do not be complacent!"

"Very well said Miss Lin, I will remember it!"

Yu Qiuleng waved as he replied. Judging from his cavalier attitude, Lin Leiyue knew then that he did not take her words seriously.

Chapter 56: Sparring

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

As days and hours gradually passed, the whole Shaoyang City instead became more heavily guarded. With such a serious and solemn atmosphere, even the ordinary folks could feel it.

Every day, there would always be people coming from Lieyang County. Even martial artists from other counties flooded the city daily.

Needless to say, the people who couldn't be left unmentioned, were the disciples of Five Ghosts Sect, constantly fighting and killing on the streets and in the alleyways, almost as if there was no stop to the violence and mayhem.

Along with this, was news that a treasure had been spotted in Shaoyang City. The news spread far and wide, attracting even more warriors to come forth to the city.

"There's a treasure in Shaoyang City? Some claimed to have seen its shine, sparkling in the sky, lasting for many years?"

Fang Yuan was riding a green donkey; upon hearing the exaggerated rumors, he broke into laughter.

"Those rumors must be fake."

Traveling beside him was a man 7 feet tall, body bursting with masculinity, as muscular as a bull.

"This was personally said by brother, it cannot be any less true!"

This huge man was carrying an axe the size of a door, with an air of ferocity around him, he said, "It seems like you're a kindred spirit, why not come join us at Cow Head Mountain? We can eat huge blocks of meat, drink giant bowls of wine, talk about gold and silver, how enjoyable will that be, ha ha!"

"Oh no oh no, Brother Wang, I am honoured by your offer and hospitality, but my martial arts skills are not up to par, so I think I'll pass."

Fang Yuan discreetly rolled his eyes, unable to believe that this fool could be a mountain king.

He met this man on the road. After finding out that they both were heading to Shaoyang City, they had been traveling together ever since. His name, in particular, was very special. His surname was Wang and his first name was Fugui. The name Wang Fugui meant 'Rich King', and that already sounded like it belonged to a wealthy man.

From what Wang Fugui said, this Cow Head Mountain was also from Lieyang County and was supposedly very famous.

"Brother Wang, you're making the journey to Shaoyang City for the treasure too?"

Fang Yuan didn't want to talk about recruitment anymore and thus immediately changed the topic.

"We don't even know how the treasure looks like, even if we did, the experts will beat us to it, as if it's that easy to find it!"

A shrewd look flashed on Wang Fugui's face.

"Oh? I didn't think brother would be someone who understood the situation."

Fang Yuan was slightly surprised," Then why are you heading to Shaoyang City?"

"Ha ha..."

Wang Fugui waved his hands in excitement and said," Recently so many people are gathering in Shaoyang, and just as I was planning on gaining fame as a martial artist, I heard that Five Ghosts Sect has many senior martial artists here, even the junior ones are all here too! All I have to do is wait for a good opportunity to challenge them, beat them, and my name will spread throughout the lands. With such a good chance coming up, how could I miss it?"

"Oh I see!"

Fang Yuan cupped his hands together, at least he finally understood what the big fuss was about, and how it could still attract so many martial artists to come too.

People from the world of martial arts weren't passive and were not willing to miss out on any action if they heard of it. Needless to say, add on the promise of treasure, even while knowing that there might be danger, they would just walk straight up to face it without fear.

"Brother, even though your martial arts skills are bad, but your medical prowess is unmatchable! If you could join Cow Head Mountain, and work for Brother Wang, then 1 of the 5 important positions will be left for you!"

Ever since Wang Fugui personally saw Fang Yuan save a grandfather and grandson with medical techniques, he had been wowed and totally admired Fang Yuan's medical skills, wanting to recruit him into the group.

Unfortunately, Fang Yuan had no interest in being a mountain thief, and thus there wasn't much Brother Wang could do.

"We've reached Shaoyang City!"

His eyes lighted up upon seeing the building in the distance.

"Oh? There are martial artists fighting..."

Wang Fugui saw that in front of the gates of the city there was a circle of sabre wielding martial artists. There seemed to be people fighting in the centre of the circle. Upon seeing that, Fugui excitedly said, "Everyone out of my way!", as he headed towards the circle.

He was huge, hence it was good to be allied with him.

Occasionally some martial artists flashed fierce looks, but upon seeing his body of steel, and the giant axe, they didn't dare to pass any comments. This allowed Fang Yuan to pass through easily.

As they entered the circle, it seemed like the battle was coming to an end.

The fight involved two martial artists, one old and one young. The old guy was graceful and had remarkable skills, but it was evident that he was already exhausted to his limit and was being forced to a corner by the younger guy.

"This youth had actually advanced to the 6th Gate, and became an inner force expert?"

Fang Yuan eyes flickered as he looked at the younger warrior.

He had nice eyebrows and a nice coloured skin. However, his face was extremely pale and he carried an aura of coldness. Wearing black, he was definitely a disciple of Five Ghosts Sect.

"Who's that?"

Fang Yuan saw Fugui's veins bulging in his neck, a look of eagerness on his face and was temporarily speechless.

"Ha Ha, looks like you're not from around here, you don't even know Ghost King!"

"Ghost King?"

Fang Yuan shrugged; he really haven't heard of this name before.

"This guy is one of the best disciples of Five Ghosts Sect! He was born gifted, at the age of 20 he obtained inner power and was able to break through the Pain Gate, being the first youth in Lieyang County to attain that!"

Wang Fugui's eyes never left the fight, and in acknowledgment he merely murmured.

"Oh..."

Fang Yuan was rendered speechless upon hearing his response.

Excluding himself, from the last time they met, even Lin Leiyue was still a few steps away from breaking through the Pain Gate. If this youngster had really done it then he would have set a new record.

With regards to the difference in skill between Leiyue and this youngster, oh well, Leiyue would have to commit suicide out of embarrassment.

After all, Ghost King was a merciless evil demon who managed to break through all 7 Gates in a year.

Fang Yuan was an intellectual, but was indifferent when it came to battles.

"Ghost King's martial art is graceful and elegant, just like how a spider spins its web, slowly but surely forcing its prey into a corner. The old man is already completely exhausted, its best if he surrenders early lest he suffers even more internal injuries."

"Five Moons Palm!"

Ghost King gave a shout, his right hand turning pale beyond measure, completely drained of colour, as he gracefully slid past the old man's defences and pressed his hand on the old man's chest.

"Argh..."

The old man's facial expression took a turn for the worse, as he rapidly staggered back, spitting out purplish black blood.

"Flying Crane has actually been defeated!"

"He is actually a renowned master of inner force in Lieyang County!"

"Seems like he's about to be replaced by the new generation of martial artists..."

"Ghost King's techniques are of such a high level, don't even talk about Lieyang County, even within Secluded Mountains Prefecture, I doubt there's many who can match up to him..."

"Hey! Everyone listen up!"

Ghost King eyed the whole circle and proudly said, "Shaoyang City is Five Ghosts Sect's territory, anyone who has any thoughts about competing with us better think twice, or you'll end up just like this old man!"

Upon finishing his sentence, he gave a cold smirk. Surprisingly, he and the other disciples did not enter the city. They all got on horses and rode off to an unknown destination.

Wang Fugui waited until they were gone before he indignantly said, "Hmph...that bold attitude of his."

"If I wish my name to be renowned throughout the lands, all I have to do is go up, challenge them and win, am I right?"

Fang Yuan's eyes were filled with ridicule.

Wang Fugui had natural strength and had trained in the brute strength of the Cow Devil Technique till the 5th Grade. Usually, there were few martial artists that could match up with someone like that, but it turned out that a master of inner power was one of those who could.

Wang Fugui's face broke into a smile and rubbed his head in glee but the moment he saw the Flying Crane walking away, all expressions vanished instantly.

Under the shine of the setting sun, the back of Flying Crane seemed like a defeated hero, causing a tinge of sadness to suddenly hit Fang Yuan.

It seemed like Ghost King's display of power was very effective, striking fear into the circle of martial artists that were watching the fight. Having been shocked by Ghost King's prowess, they suddenly became less rowdy and entered the city in a quiet and orderly manner.

"Let's go! I'll bring you to Fragrance Bar for a drink or two."

After entering the city, Wang Fugui shrugged off all past feelings of sadness and said," My drinking tolerance is unmatched in Cow Head Mountain, believe me, I'm not making it up!"

"Ha Ha...I have other matters to attend to, please excuse me!"

Although Fang Yuan wanted to personally see whether Fugui's claim was true, after considering his own alcohol tolerance, he knew he was only going to embarrass himself and thus left immediately.

"Oh? What matters are you referring to? Could you be going to meet some beautiful maiden?" Fugui teased.

Suddenly, a carriage stopped in front of them and it's doors swung open, revealing a young maiden. "Brother Fang Yuan? Please come in!"

"You see! I really have matters to attend to!"

Fang Yuan rubbed his nose as he entered the carriage.

Wang Fugui stood there in a daze, only regaining his senses after a moment. Slapping his forehead, he said, "It's ok, Brother Fang Yuan really has matters to attend to, he didn't hide anything from me..."

Suddenly, he had a fit of anger, and scolded, "Choosing women over me? How can he leave Fugui alone here by himself! Hmph...I'll go drink wine by myself then."

"Maiden Lin! What a coincidence!"

The carriage had little room, and the air was filled with a fragrant smell.

Sitting opposite Fang Yuan was Maiden Lin. She had a peculiar look on her face as she gazed at Fang Yuan, leaving him confounded as to why she had such an expression.

Little did he know that Maiden Lin had failed before due to his mistake, and was embarrassed really badly. But she chose not to tell him out of fear that the Spirit Returning Sect would come knocking at his door.

Upon hearing that Fang Yuan's greeting came with a hint of alienation, Maiden Lin's eyes flicked as she said delicately, "I heard that your medical skills have exceeded all expectations, and have surpassed even that of your mentor. I am in awe of your achievement, but I wonder, what brings you here? Surely you know that currently Shaoyang City is filled with danger?"

Fang Yuan curiously asked, "I've heard that there was a treasure in the city, and have decided to come take a look. As long as I don't get caught up in the hunt for the treasure there shouldn't be too much of a problem... Is that the reason why Maiden Lin is here too?"

Maiden Lin laughed, as she admitted, "This was supposed to be a secret but for some reason it has been leaked out to almost every city and county around here. Now the daily influx of warriors has increased to unbelievable amounts..."

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed, "Wasn't the rumour spread on purpose?"

Maiden Lin shook her head," Although taking advantage of the chaos to reap benefits will be good, but I definitely will not want to do it on such a large scale."

"If that's the case, this will be interesting..."

Fang Yuan rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

Chapter 57: Suspicion

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

The horse carriage stopped at the back of the large mansion and immediately two martial artists dressed as servants stepped forward and respectfully drew back the curtains on the carriage.

"This place…seems to be the backyard of a house belonging to someone from the upper class…"

Upon hearing the muffled commotion from the front yard, Fang Yuan silently nodded.

Fang Yuan was already impressed when he saw the technique and skill behind the tricks done earlier. Seeing that of the Spirit Returning Sect, Fang Yuan was also convinced that the Spirit Returning Sect was indeed able to rival the veteran sects. Their influence in this area was no less remarkable.

"This is the secret base for our Spirit Returning Sect. Apart from the martial artists from our sect, Master Fang you are our first guest!"

Lin Leiyue broke into a gorgeous smile as she led the way in front.

After making their way through a few smaller doors, they arrived at a garden. The garden was intricately arranged and designed. Even though the cold winter had yet to pass, signs of life and growth were beginning to emerge.

Next to the clear green pond, a moustached martial artist was practising the Eagle Claw Technique.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Accompanying each strike the martial artist made, the force pushed the air around him along while creating subtle sound effects. It was as though a pond of still water was being disturbed.

"Old Yu!"

Lin Leiyue made what appeared to be a casual greeting. However, Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes to this.

Was not this the Cold Faced Iron Eagle Yu Qiuleng? The same person who followed Minister Lin into the mountain and then forced himself to break off his engagement?

In the beginning, Fang Yuan thought Yu Qiuleng's martial prowess were formidable. After watching Yu Qiuleng, he did not seem that powerful after all.

It even seemed like Yu Qiuleng's Eagle Claw Technique was inferior to Fang Yuan's.

"Erm, you are?"

Yu Qiuleng gently nodded in acknowledgement towards Lin Leiyue. Looking at Fang Yuan, Yu Qiuleng felt a tingling sense of familiarity. Frowning his eyebrows, his eyes glistened all of a sudden as he remembered, "The guy from Qingye city?!"

At this moment, a tingle of hostility crept appeared on his face as he thought, "How dare he still pester Maiden Lin?!"

"It's a misunderstanding Old Yu!"

Upon seeing this, Lin Leiyue hurriedly explained, "I merely bumped into Master Fang along the way. Furthermore, he is an accomplished martial artist and is famous in Qingye city for his medical prowess…"

"Hmph, it might just be a scam…"

Yu Qiuleng dismissively snorted. Even though he has heard some rumours, he stubbornly refused to believe that this teenager from the mountains could accomplish so much. He might have killed Song Zhong and Elder Zhong, but it might be because they were already in a precarious position and Fang Yuan probably killed them by pulling off a trick or two.

At this point in time, Fang Yuan was not displaying his martial prowess, and based on what Yu Qiuleng could see through his naked eye, he could not discern that Fang Yuan's capabilities were as good as what was being said.

"Oh? Looks like you do not like me very much?"

Fang Yuan laughed harmlessly, but there was a slight hint of anxiety in his eyes.

"Sir, reporting!"

At this moment, a disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect sprinted towards them with a messenger bird in hand, "We have just received Elder Han's message. He had already found the tracks of the elders from Five Ghosts Sect outside the city. Elder Han ordered us to reinforce them immediately!"

"This matter is of utmost importance, we will move off right now!"

Upon saying this, Lin Leiyue shot a pleading glance at Fang Yuan.

Seeing this, Fang Yuan decided not to mention the next training session he was thinking of suggesting.

Anyway, having seen Yu Qiuleng's pitch black face, he knew there would be trouble for him, so there was no hurry.

When an honourable man seeks revenge, waiting ten years to do so was not considered a long time. Even though he was not an honourable man, he could still wait a few days.

"Very sorry Master Fang, our sect needs to attend to a pressing matter!"

Lin Leiyue looked at Fang Yuan apologetically.

"Oh, it's alright, I shall take my leave then…"

Fang Yuan turned and prepared to leave.

"Do not let him leave!"

At this moment, Yu Qiuleng, who was remaining quiet, remarked, "This man has heard the secrets of our sects, we cannot let him spread them"

Yu Qiuleng was originally intending to kill Fang Yuan to prevent him from leaking the sect's secrets.

However, as the Spirit Returning Sect was a proper and respectable sect, and with so many junior disciples present, he could not surface his suggestion.

"Master Fang, are you willing to follow Lin Leiyue?"

Instantly reacting, Lin Leiyue remarked "What a coincidence! Isn't this why I came?"

Fang Yuan chuckled as this was also on his mind.

"Alright, let's delay no further, we shall move out this instant! There is no need to leave anyone here anymore!"

Being a decisive person, Lin Leiyue left instantly. In no time, a group of people hurriedly exited the mansion and rushed towards a location in the mountains.

...

"Click Clack!"

The horses they rode took them at a blistering speed.

"Maiden Lin, can you tell me, what is the treasure you were talking about?"

Amidst the galloping of the horses, Fang Yuan's voice resonated clearly in Yu Qiuleng's ears. Fang Yuan's question alarmed Yu Qiuleng.

"Given what has occurred, Leiyue has nothing to hide. The treasure is said to be a piece of Yin Yang Jade!"

Ignoring the cautionary cough from Yu Qiuleng who was beside her, Liu Leiyue replied immediately.

"Yin Yang Jade?"

Fang Yuan was slightly confused. After a moment, he remembered reading about it in a journal somewhere. His eyes brightened as he thought, "Isn't Yin Yang Jade the item stated in legends that could merge the Yin and Yang energies and accelerate a martial artist's advancement in skills?"

After the 8 Gates of the path of a martial artist, it was the 4 Heavenly Gates!

Discounting the Earth and Heaven Gate, the Yin Gate and Yang Gate at the start precisely required the merging of the Yin and Yang energies!

This Yin Yang Jade was a famous treasure of generations. It was said that the jade was a natural gem which contained yin and yang energy and could immensely improve foundations of the martial artist. It was said that it could also break through the Yin and Yang Gates. It was indeed a much sought-after treasure.

A martial artist from the 4 Heavenly Gates could easily be one of the top five martial artists regardless whether he was in the Spirit Returning Sect or the Five Ghosts Sect!

This explained the importance placed on this treasure and the elaborate actions taken by the two big sects as well as many other martial artists to try to attain it.

"Obtaining this Yin Yang Jade is equivalent to reserving a spot in the ranks of highly powerful martial artists at 4 Heavenly Gates in the future…"

Fang Yuan nodded and glanced at Lin Leiyue.

It was obvious that this operation taken by the Spirit Returning Sect to obtain this treasure was most likely for Lin Leiyue.

However, Lin Leiyue was still injured which made Fang Yuan slightly unsure about who the treasure was for. He was even more incognisant if the person responsible for this was actually him.

'It is easy to defeat your external enemies, but difficult to overcome your inner demons!'

Being aware of Fang Yuan's gaze, appearing to be slightly embarrassed, Lin Leiyue lowered her head. She was however thinking, "To defeat my inner demons and take down my enemy's strong points, it was originally sufficient for any of the elders to defeat Brother Fang in front of me. However, Elder Han's report came all of a sudden and I was unable to adapt my plan in time. Fortunately Elder Han is present, it might even be easier to accomplish the mission!"

Elder Yan and Elder Han were the left and right pillars of the Spirit Returning Sect. Both were top martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates!

"The Little Frost Mountain is right here!"

A junior disciple who arrived at the entrance to the mountain dismounted immediately. He summoned a messenger bird and nodded at Lin Leiyue.

"Dismount and enter the mountain!"

Lin Leiyue did not hesitate. Her will at this point in time was indomitable.

"Move!"

Yu Qiuleng took the initiative and led the way. At the same time, he shot a provoking glare at Fang Yuan.

After all, in the dense and old forests in this mountain, an "accident" would, after all, be quite a common occurrence.

Although it seemed like nothing would happen at that point in time, should they get into a fight with the people from the Sect of the Five Ghosts, some fratricide might be inevitable.

However, after entering the mountain, Fang Yuan's behaviour caused Yu Qiuleng to view him in a different light.

The path was filled with multiple boulders and blocked by thorny plants…

In the true old forests in the deep mountains, there was not even a path to follow. Even for veteran martial artists, it was extremely difficult for them to navigate.

The people brought out by the Spirit Returning Sect were all respectable martial artists who could still manage the difficulty of the path. Yu Qiuleng was trying his best to conceal his discomfort as he waited to ridicule any mistake made by Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan was still patient and uncomplaining. He did not seem to slow down by the natural obstacles and looked more at ease and comfortable in his surroundings than Yu Qiuleng. As he moved swiftly through the obstacles, he casually enquired, "Do the communication methods used by your sect still work in an area like this? Also, are there any more instructions given by Elder Han?"

"The methods of our sect are impeccable!"

Yu Qiuleng replied grudgingly.

He was shocked at Fang Yuan's bravery as well as his remarkable Lightness Skill. However, even then Yu Qiuleng convinced himself that Fang Yuan's ability was only limited to his slightly superior Lightness Skill.

It must be acknowledged, that once someone has made up his mind about a certain issue, it would be extremely difficult to convince him otherwise.

"Rustle rustle…"

Suddenly, everyone emerged from the dense jungle into a clearing.

They saw a valley ahead of them and messenger bird circling in the air, emitting ear piercing cries.

"Elder Han is right in the valley, follow me to see him!"

Yu Qiuleng took the lead and entered without hesitation.

Fang Yuan surveyed the hills on both sides and tensed up his brows. He touched an object in his robes, took a deep breath and entered the valley.

"Where is Elder Han?"

After walking a few metres, Lin Leiyue surveyed the thin fog around them. She instantly asked, "Why have we not sent out a message? This area gives me a bad feeling. We cannot be careless, let's retreat from this valley!"

"This….."

Just as Yu Qiuleng was about to speak, the swooshing of arrows flying continuously sounded.

Arrows flew from the opposite end.

"Ah!"

Some disciples who were hit dropped to the floor instantly. They died almost immediately after exclaiming and black blood flowed from their wounds.

"It's a trap!"

Lin Leiyue drew her long sword and ordered, "Retreat!"

Fortunately for them, they did not enter too deep into the valley and were thus not fully entrapped. After an exhausting escape, they found they had lost half of their original manpower.

"The arrow tips are poisoned!"

Thinking about the earlier scenes, Yu Qiuleng broke out in cold sweat.

Had he continued to advance into the valley, they would have been attacked from all sides. Under the shower of that many arrows, their martial prowess did not matter as they would all be killed by the sheer number of poisoned arrows.

"It's a surprise you are able to discover my location, no doubt you are a talented disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect!"

A feminine looking young man, accompanied by an applauding bunch of disciples from the Five Ghosts Sect, emerged arrogantly and slowly from the valley.

"Caw caw!"

The circling messenger bird automatically landed on his arm obediently. This caused colour of Yu Qiuleng's face to become worse than that of a corpse. "How is this possible?"

"Haha... Let me reveal to you, as long as it's not a spiritual beast, it cannot resist the influence of the Temptation Pellet!"

Fang Yuan met this young man before. He was Lin Huang.

At that moment, Lin Huang drew out a pink pellet and fed it to the messenger bird. He shook his head in disappointment and said, "Had you guys entered the trap fully, all of you would have been dead and I would not need to do anything. Now I must come out of the valley to ensure my job is done. Tell me… the method by which you all would like to die by?"

Lin Huang visually surveyed the body language of Yu Qiuleng and Lin Leiyue. Initially slightly aggressive, Lin Huang became calmer but began to verbally provoke them, "Isn't this legendary psychic who is also the beloved student of Shi Yutong? Hehe... If I capture you, wouldn't this make the Spirit Returning Sect beg?"

"Dream on!"

Yu Qiuleng let out a thunderous roar and launched himself at Lin Huang with the immense energy of a hawk.

It was clear to him that in their unfavourable situation, the only way to turn the odds around was to bring the fight to Lin Huang himself.

Chapter 58: Defeat

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Eagle Claw!"

Qiuleng was a calm person but was not known for being submissive. Despite being surrounded by enemies, he was still constantly thinking of ways to turn the tables on them.

He recognized Lin Huang, who was the favourite disciple of Five Ghosts Sect's Sect Head, and the head of all disciples. His power and position would be equal to Lin Leiyue's. Even though he has heard of Lin Huang breaking through the 6th Gate, but when it came to experience, there was no way Lin Huang could surpass him!

If he could retaliate in one move, he might even win the battle!

By then, Qiuleng's Eagle Claw Technique was at full force, it was as if he was an eagle circling high above, and black-coloured eagle claws came crashing down like a thunderstorm. The two disciples by Lin Huang's side let out a scream, and instantly flew backwards from the attacks.

"Alright! Everyone stop!"

Lin Huang burst into laughter. His right hand turned pale and flexible, as if it had no bones inside and is drained of all blood, and made the next move. "Five Yin Hand!"

"Bang!"

Qiuleng's Eagle Claw and Lin Huang's Five Yin Hand came in contact. There was a change in Qiuleng's expression, and he flew back instantaneously.

Lin Huang's feet shifted at lightning speed and floated towards him like a ghost. "Leaving? How about seeking permission from my Ghost Shadow Steps first!"

His footsteps became unpredictable, and suddenly he was right by Qiuleng's side, with fingers black as ink. "Ghost Claw!"

"Splat!"

Lin Huang's reached out with fingernails like jade pieces emitting a hint of evil. With a twist of his hand, both of Qiuleng's hands retracted back quickly as if he got bitten by a snake. Before he knew it, there was a mark on his chest.

"Puff!"

Qiuleng's facial expression shifted again, as he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the ground. His face slowly turned black, and the 5 punctures on his chest spouted out blood as black as ink.

Within the mere exchange of a few moves, Spirit Returning Sect's last hope was defeated!

After witnessing the difference between both competitors, Leiyue was lost for words, as if her heart was hanging over a cliff.

"Cold Iron Eagle Yu Qiuleng? Is that all there is? How is your Eagle Claw compared to my Ghost Claw?"

Lin Huang's laughter was filled with disdain, and his eyes swept the room coldly. "Apart from Lin Leiyue, everyone else who is irrelevant is to be killed with no exceptions!"

"This Lin Huang seems to have concealed his flaws quite well…"

A thought flashed by Fang Yuan's mind as he saw this scene. "This martial art seems to be of higher level than what was displayed before… Being ruthless and evil, and only one step away from Shock Door, what a character. In due time, it is not impossible that he could become extraordinary, unfortunately…"

Regardless of right or wrong, he could not possibly just offer up his head to someone who wanted to 'kill all with no exceptions'.

There was also Yu Qiuleng.

"Initially I was thinking of finding an opportunity to teach you all a lesson, but judging from the situation, if this drags on, this person might just die from his injuries… Save me some trouble, may peace be with you!"

Even up till then, Fang Yuan still had the mood to think of irrelevant things. He took a big step forward, pushed both his hands out, and the few Five Ghosts Sect disciples who were charging towards him flew backwards.

"Eh?"

Lin Huang seemed a bit taken aback. "An inner force expert? You aren't from Spirit Returning Sect?"

"Hmm… Not really, but it seems like you still won't let me go!"

Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "Where is Elder Han?"

"Obviously that Old Hag Han is under the control of our sect's experts, no need to count on him to save you all!"

Lin Huang looked at Fang Yuan's young face signifying his tender age, and felt a wave of anger surge through his chest. He licked his lips and said, "With your talent, you have definitely surpassed Lin Leiyue. I didn't expect Qinghe County to harbour such a young talent! What a pity that you can't live past today…".

"Oh really? Unfortunately, I am always one to disappoint!"

When Fang Yuan heard that, he tried his best to stifle his laughter.

Leiyue looked at these two about to battle, her fists tightly clenched, and her eyes filled with worry. "Fang Yuan may be an expert in inner power martial arts, but he just advanced to his current level. Lin Huang is far more experienced than him, not to mention that he has Five Ghosts Sect's support when it comes to divine power and techniques. Fang Yuan is but a mere commoner, so what good techniques could he have? Even Elder Yu lost! There really isn't much hope…"

She clearly knew that even if there was Lin Huang as the only opponent, based on the huge difference in their powers of Inner Force and Power, he could defeat all of them one by one. Thus, escaping was definitely not an option.

A group attack? There were far more Five Ghosts Sect's disciples on the other side than there are us, with even bigger weapons like bows and arrows!

Thus, their only hope would be Lin Huang being defeated and captured during a solo fight.

It's just… Was that even possible?

Lin Leiyue looked at Fang Yuan's back silhouette, her heart filled with mixed feelings and emotions, with a tinge of anticipation that couldn't be explained.

"Young Master, just kill them on the spot. Is there really a need for you to be directly involved?"

A man dressed in black beside Lin Huang waved his hand, and more than ten Five Ghosts Sect disciples appeared with bows and arrows. A sense of danger washed through Lin Leiyue's heart.

"That would be unnecessary, this is our fight, no one is to interfere!"

Lin Huang shook his head, as he looked at Fang Yuan with a glimmer in his eyes.

This was not his arrogance talking. It was apparent that when martial arts were being competed with inner force, even if they were unable to handle the archers, they could still retreat back into the woods. They could use both offensive and defensive strategies. If they started fighting like guerrillas, they might even be able to kill a few of them, and that would be rather troublesome.

Especially if all the arrows were fired at the same time and all the low-level disciples were killed, the opponent would have less to worry about and could escape immediately, sabotaging the mission.

The only chance would be using Lin Leiyue's disciples as bait, forcing Fang Yuan to engage in a battle with him.

Lin Huang had confidence in his own skills, even Yu Qiuleng lost to him in combat, how much threat would a 6th Gate martial artist, that had only recently advanced, be?

"Alright, you may begin!"

Fang Yuan stood in the arena, his spiritual energy however was continuously focused on his surroundings.

By now, the yin poison had already entered Yu Qiuleng's bones, and he had reached the point of no return. He waved his hand, inviting Lin Huang to make the first move.

"You should know that I'm one to bear grudges!"

Initially Lin Huang was not keen on talking, and wanted to change the topic of conversation to stall for time. All it took was one look for him to know that even the gods were unable to save Yu Qiuleng now.

Fang Yuan was far from ready to let this incident go, considering how Lin Huang just had ill intentions towards them.

But right now, his actions and appearance indicated that he did not consider Lin Huang as a threat at all!

This blatant act of 'disregarding' immediately angered Lin Huang.

Considering himself as the best, this behavior was completely unacceptable.

"You're dead meat!"

Protruding veins appeared on Lin Huang's forehead, even his usually pale skin reddened due to his anger. He floated forward like a ghost and thundered, "Five Yin Hand!".

"Swoosh!"

Fang Yuan glanced at him from aside, and flicked his right hand.

"Swoosh!"

Amidst the flow of air and friction, the cry of a hunting eagle was heard.

Lin Leiyue closed her eyes, it was as if she saw a handsome spiritual bird, with both wings extended, gliding down gracefully with its sharp claws out!

An Eagle Claw executed with both its shape and spirit!

Compared to this Eagle Claw, Yu Qiuleng's version was just child's play!

"Crack!"

A loud bone-breaking sound was heard.

With a loud cry, Fang Yuan held onto Lin Huang's right arm and twisted it into an unnatural position, and he promptly fell to the ground and passed out immediately.

Defeated in just one move!

Master Lin Huang, the treasured disciple of Five Ghosts Sect's master, an expert in Inner Power, the champion of Lieyang County's teenage martial artists, defeated in just one move?

With such a stark difference between the two battles, both the Spirit Returning Sect and the disciples of Five Ghosts Sect were lost for words, left in disbelief.

"Fang Yuan… became this powerful?"

Lin Leiyue let out a sigh, and she felt as though the shadow he left in her heart had enlarged yet again. It was as if there was a huge storm cloud weighing her down, and it kept growing.

"Young Master… lost?!"

"Quick! Save Young Master!"

All the Five Ghosts Sect disciples were at a loss.

Seizing the opportunity, Fang Yuan lunged at the archers. Like a tiger leaping into a herd of sheep, with a few casual swings of his hand, the archers flew out one by one, and passed out on the floor.

"Nice!"

As much as there was bitterness in her heart, Leiyue was elated by watching how the tables had turned. "Catch them all, especially that young master!"

"This isn't good, Young Master… Elder Yu… is dead!"

A Spirit Returning Sect disciple was about to help Yu Qiuleng up, however upon seeing his complexion and checking his breath, the disciple's expression changed drastically and he started screaming maniacally.

"What?"

Lin Leiyue's body stumbled backwards.

This ambush cost them an elder, so even if they did catch Lin Huang, it was very probable that they would be punished when they got back.

However, it was right then that something unexpected happened!

Amongst the Five Ghosts Sect disciples, a dark shadow lunged out at lightning speed towards Fang Yuan. With a wave of his hand, several Frozen Stars appeared instantaneously.

"Zip!"

The concealed weapons broke through the air, and there was a huge amount of power focused onto the concealed weapons. It was obvious that an inner force expert had launched it.

There was another elder hiding among the Five Ghosts Sect disciples!

Facing this kind of situations, even if the Spirit Returning Sect elders were to come forward, as long as it was not Elder Yan, Elder Han or Shi Yutong, that person was bound to lose.

It was just bad luck for the other party to go against Fang Yuan!

Fang Yuan's magical energy had already reached level 3', and with enough attentiveness, no one nearby would be able to conceal their actions from him!

"Haha… I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

With a loud laugh and no time to spare, he folded up his sleeves and caught the concealed weapons and tossed them out fiercely.

This might sound simple, but without precise control of the body's inner force, it would be nearly impossible to execute that move.

The Five Ghosts Sect elder who appeared was obviously a lot better than Lin Huang.

"You should be lying on the ground too!"

Fang Yuan however was indifferent. After taking away the concealed weapons, he lunged at the black shadow with a claw.

Grade 7 Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique, with Black Sand Palm!

"Bam!"

The surrounding trees were shaking, countless leaves and branches came showering down.

A gush of blood spurted out, but it was not from Fang Yuan, but from the body of the Five Ghosts Sect elder who suddenly appeared!

"You… broke through the Shock Door, and are at the peak of the 7th Gate!"

With a trembling voice, he exclaimed. The dark shadow fell to the ground, exposing an elderly face, with blood flowing out of his nostrils and mouth.

"What? The 7th Gate?"

Lin Leiyue covered her lips, all thoughts of her fighting for power with Fang Yuan instantly flew out of the window.

After all, the Shock Door could only be attempted when the martial artist's magical energy had peaked, there were no shortcuts for it.

Even the most talented martial artists had to train for a few years, maybe even more than a decade! It was not rare to see people training their whole lives, but still unable to break through the gate.

But Fang Yuan broke through it in such a short period of time?

By now he had not even reached his 20s. With such talent, he could really be considered a demon!

Chapter 59: Gui Wusheng

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

Silence!

The silence was deafening!

Not a single person made a sound. It was as if they were choked by a noose.

What happened just now?

The rising star of the Five Ghosts Sect, Lin Huang, a Martial Artist (Grade 6), was struck by Fang Yuan's Eagle Claw. It was uncertain if he lived.

An elder of the Sect, who was more highly-skilled, was similarly struck down like a fly.

"Could it be that he is the old monster in disguise?"

Even Lin Leiyue was shocked and looked at Fang Yuan differently.

"Yin Wujiu?!"

She stepped forward and exclaimed again.

"Yin Wujiu? Who is that?"

Fang Yuan asked.

Lin Leiyue looked on in horror, "He is an elder of the Five Ghosts Sect and was fellow disciples with Gui Wusheng. He had long surpassed the 7 gates but was unable to break through the Death Gate. He is extremely cruel and legend has it that he single-handedly kill all his enemies, leaving no one behind..."

"Given his character and martial arts skill, I am afraid he would never be able to break through the Death Gate. It would be the correct decision not to attempt it..."

Fang Yuan shook his head.

The Death Gate was the last of the Three Perilous Gates. Failure to break through the gate would result in death! There was no doubt that most highly-skilled practitioners were stuck at this gate.

After all, who would dare to gamble their life?

"Gui Wusheng... This name sounds familiar..."

Fang Yuan furrowed his brows.

"Gui Wusheng is even more skilled than his junior. He was a martial artist that had broken through the Death Gate. He is the leader of the group of Five Ghosts Sect's martial artists in Qingye City and ranked top 5 in the Five Ghosts Sect!"

Lin Leiyue wanted to roll her eyes. She explained.

"This man's Ghostly Dark Claw is very powerful!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan remembered that the elder of the Spirit Returning Sect that he had treated was wounded by Gui Wusheng.

"Luckily, it is not Gui Wusheng leading the troops, if not..."

Lin Leiyue shooked her head.

"Haha...cough cough..."

At this time, Yin Wujiu, who was collapsed on the floor, laughed and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, "My senior...would not forgive you!"

"Cut the crap!"

Fang Yuan use his left hand and pressed against the old man's skull, "Where is the Yin Yang Jade? What is the Five Ghosts Sect up to?"

"Crack!"

Yin Wujiu lost his courage as he felt the Eagle Claw's strength increasing.

While Fang Yuan was a free-lance martial artist who did not belong to a particular sect, he was still rather carefree and cavalier. Furthermore, given his age, the typical hot-hotheadedness of a young man like him meant that he could kill Yin Wujiu if he were provoked into a fit of rage. Even if people attempted to avenge him, it would not bring Yin Wujiu back to life.

"This matter had always been anchored by my senior. I am not too sure..."

Yun Yujie laughed bitterly, "All I know is that the Yin Yang Jade does exist...furthermore..."

"Enough!"

A loud explosion echoed in the valley.

"Hmmm?"

Fang Yuan lifted his head, "A highly-skilled opponent?!"

A man's shadow appeared in the ravine.

His beard was white and his eyes were like that of a hawk's. As he walked, the surrounding fog warped around him.

"Gui...Gui Wusheng!"

Lin Leiyue's face turned deathly pale.

The martial arts techniques of the Five Ghosts Sect were mostly Yin in nature. Long-term practitioners often suffered negative side effects to their appearances, causing some to look like to zombies.

However, looking at Gui Wusheng's robust features, it was obvious that he had overcome the restraints and reverted those negative side effects.

"He had definitely broken through the Death Gate and is only one step away from the 4 Heavenly Gates!"

The immense pressure caused Lin Leiyue to retreat. She looked at Fang Yuan's unyielding posture and feared for him.

"Senior?!"

Yin Wujiu's voice was fearful instead of grateful when he saw Gui Wuzheng.

"Hmmm!"

Gui Wusheng exclaimed, "Useless fellow! If I had not come forward, would you even betray our master?"

"Cough cough..."

Fang Yuan coughed, "Are the two of you done?"

"Unbelievable...It is truly unbelievable..."

Gui Wusheng examined Fang Yuan and said, "To think that a young lad of your calibre is here in my valley! It looked like I did not make a wasted trip here!"

"You overestimate me!"

Fang Yuan concentrated and realized the gap in power between Gui Wusheng and him.

While the Death Gate might appear to be insurmountable, it was still possible to break through it.

Furthermore, his stats were increasing at a rate that Gui Wusheng could not match due to his consumption of spiritual rice every day.

He also had a few tricks up his sleeves. As such, he did not fear Gui Wusheng.

Gui Wusheng was even more intrigued when he saw how composed Fang Yuan was. He exclaimed, "Good! You are able to keep your composure in front of me. That is hard to find. Which sect are you from? If you are not from any sect, why not join the Five Ghosts Sect? I can guarantee that you would be treated similarly to me!"

He was experienced and recognized that Fang Yuan did not belong to any sect.

Lin Leiyue's heart fell when she heard what Gui Wusheng said.

"Enter the Five Ghosts Sect?"

Fang Yuan appeared to seriously consider the offer before shaking his head, "Sorry, I am not interested. It would be kind of you if you would tell me the location of the Yin Yang Jade. I would be so grateful..."

"Sigh... What a shame!"

Gui Wusheng sighed with his hands placed behind his back.

"Oh? Why is that so?"

Having undergone 10-odd years of being nurtured by Master Wenxin, Fang Yuan had long treated him as a teacher and a father. There was no way Fang Yuan would destroy that relationship by joining another sect.

"It is a shame that you have to die today even though you are young and talented!"

Gui Wusheng's face was sinister, "Die!"

"Boom!"

His words overflowed with power. It was as if there was the clap of thunder directly beside his opponent's ears.

Lin Leiyue paled. Fresh blood trickled from her ears.

"What a technique! If Fang Yuan was complacent, he would not live!"

Lin Leiyue immediately turned her attention to the scene as soon as she regained her senses. What she saw surprised her.

It was impossible to follow the fight with the naked eye. All she could see were flashes of two shadows fighting each other.

"The Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique?"

Gui Wusheng gazed at Fang Yuan's torn sleeves and cuts on the arms, his face turned dark.

The technique Gui Wusheng had just used was capable of disabling a Martial Artist (7th Gate) momentarily and could ensure a swift victory by following up with a decisive strike. It was not easy even for a Martial Artist (7th Gate) to counter it. Gui Wusheng had once used this tactic to kill a Martial Artist ( 7th Gate).

He was therefore shocked when he saw that Fang Yuan was unaffected by the technique and even engaged him in battle immediately. Furthermore, Fang Yuan's Iron Skin Technique was perfect. There was no way Gui Wusheng could kill him in a single strike.

"Not bad! This is indeed the Iron Skin!"

Fang Yuan let out a deep breath. He looked at his surroundings and realized that the disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect and the Five Ghosts Sect had not recovered.

Gui Wusheng's technique was a psychological attack which tested one's magical energy!

Fang Yuan was not afraid of any martial artist in this aspect. His vigorous magical energy allowed him to instantly recover from Gui Wusheng's technique.

He would have been able to put Gui Wusheng at a severe disadvantage if he had learnt the methods to counter the attack on magical energy.

As it was, Gui Wusheng was shocked.

He looked at Fang Yuan's youthful face and could only think of 1 word: Monster. It would be best to get rid of those talented enemies as soon as possible.

Gui Wusheng did not hesitate any longer. In a flash, he created multiple shadow clones and rushed forward. Throwing his palms outwards, he conjured a whole sky full of black blood-thirsty bats.

"18 Black Bats Palm!"

Yin Wujiu let out a surprised gasp as he recognized that this was Gui Wusheng's trump card. He could not believe it.

He would never imagine that his senior, who had broken through 8 Gates, would use such a technique and all his energy against the youth facing him.

"Good move!"

Fang Yuan shouted. His Iron Skin technique formed an armour-like protection beneath his skin and acted as another layer of protection.

His arms had turned black with the sheen of metal. His palms started to emit the poison of the Pearl Tail Snake!

"Gui Wusheng had forced him to give his all with his relentless attacks!"

"Eagle Air Strike!"

"Whoosh!"

Lin Leiyue stumbled back a few steps amidst the strong gust. She was already in a daze.

From her perspective, she saw a majestic eagle charging straight into the wall of ravenous bats and took them head-on.

This level of battle had greatly outstripped her capabilities as well as that of the disciples in the Spirit Returning Sect.

Even those highly-skilled martial artists from the Five Ghosts Sect could be killed by the ghost bats if they were to enter the battle.

As such, all they could do was to watch the two high-leveled martial artists battle as they moved deeper into the dense forest.

"What should we do...without the head of the sect?"

A disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect asked as he looked at the wake of destruction caused by Fang Yuan and Gui Wusheng.

"We..."

Lin Leiyue looked on.

At the moment, Lin Huang was unconscious. With Yin Wujiu heavily wounded, the Five Ghosts Sect no longer had any skilled masters. The sect's power and influence were greatly diminished.

Her side was the same with Yu Qiuleng gravely wounded.

She secretly rejoiced that she brought Fang Yuan along which had prevented the downfall of her fellow disciples in the sect.

"We..."

Lin Leiyue walked away before suddenly turning around and drawing her sword, "Kill!"

"Swoosh!"

A disciple of the Five Ghosts Sect who did not manage to dodge in time had his throat slit open and he toppled over.

"If we are leaving, we might as well kill Lin Huang and Yin Wujiu!"

The remaining disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect and the Five Ghosts Sect plunged into battle following Lin Leiyue's outcry...

Chapter 60: Winning

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

A few screams were heard along the main road.

"Aahh, my face. Don't hit my face! Aahh!"

"Stop hitting, I will give you all the money!"

"You are a good man so please spare me! Spare me please!"

...….

These few rookies who had just integrated into the world of martial arts were bruised badly. The few of them handed over everything that they had.

"Isn't this better now? This whole area belongs to me…."

Wang Fugui happily showed his superiority and punched the young martial artist who talked back to him previously. He then took a gold and silver-thread pouch from him and stopped as his was satisfied with what he had gotten. He then said, "You all are considered lucky today. If you all were at my Bull's Head Mountain, you few weaklings would have lost a few of your own….Now get out of here!"

He lifted his leg and kicked an unlucky one who fled the slowest. That unlucky one rolled and crawled and was wishing so badly that he should have been born without his legs.

"Tut Tut….."

After they fled, Wang Fugui counted how much he had gotten and was satisfied. "There are so many easy targets right here….Plus, many of them are rich. Unfortunately, I can't relocate my home to this place…."

"Hehe! I can buy myself a few drinks at the brothel again today!"

Wang Fugui played with the coin pouch and wondered, "Not really sure where Brother Fang Yuan is now…."

However, when he was on his way back home, he saw a group of martial artists running towards him angrily. The ones leading the group were the few young ones he bullied just now.

"That's him, the tanned one. Don't let him escape!"

The few bruised young ones looked at him and their eyes were filled with anger.

"Woah, time to run!"

Wang Fugui immediately ran in the opposite direction and retreated into a nearby jungle under the hot pursuit of the group of martial artists.

Even though their lightness skill were not that great, they were all trained in martial arts and had a great amount of physical strength. Hence, it didn't take a long time for them to catch up in the jungle.

"F*ck!"

Wang Fugui cursed while he escaped frantically. "If I was near the Bull's Head Mountain now, they would have lost me...and I could even request a group of men to help me. This place here is so deserted and it is difficult to even find one who can lend a helping hand right now…. Damn….."

He cursed halfway and stopped suddenly with his eyes wide open.

Two people appeared right in front of him with a speed that was not easily distinguished by a naked eye. The two swiftly cleared the nearby trees to make a pathway.

"This is not good!"

Looking at how powerful those two were, Wang Fugui gave a weird cry and rolled clumsily out of the way.

"Kill him!"

"Don't let that evil thief get away!"

While Wang Fugui managed to dodge out of the way, the group who were chasing him ran straight into the danger he dodged to avoid.

"Whiz! Whiz!"

Silhouette sped past with immense forces!

A few screams were then heard. Many of the martial artists were sent flying about as they spat out blood from their pale faces.

"Aahh…. Old Zhong is seriously injured!"

"Even a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] with inner power is also badly injured…."

"Please spare us! Please spare us!"

"Don't come any further…..Aahh…."

...

No matter how much they pleaded for mercy, the silhouettes ruthlessly ignored their desperate pleas and finished them off gruesomely.

Their deaths were considered to be of slightly useful as it slowed down the two silhouettes. One of them was a white-haired old man who was exhausted. He stepped on one of the heads of the dead martial artists and propelled himself off the ground. The force from this pushed the head down into the chest of the dead body.

"Gui Wusheng…..don't you dare to escape!"

Then came the voice of a young man. A pair of arms reached out ferociously for the figure in front. It seemed as if though the pursuer was very determined to rip the person in front to shreds.

"This figure…..this voice….Why do both features seem so similar to Brother Fang Yuan's?"

Wang Fugui spat out the grass that went into his mouth and stared on in awe.

At that moment, one of the survivors from behind exclaimed.

"Hold on a second! Gui Wusheng! Could he be that famous elder from the Five Ghosts Sect and who was an expert in Death Gate?!"

"Look at how murderous he is, who else could it be other than him? He looks like he has broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates….."

"But it looked like he was at a disadvantage…..my goodness. I wonder who was the one that was chasing him?"

A few of the young martial artists lost their limbs while some of them were still spitting out blood and in shock. A strong man carrying an axe came to them and mocked them. "I know the person who was chasing the old man. However, you all don't have to know as you all are going to be dead soon….."

...….

"Black Sand Eagle Claw Palm!"

"Ghostly Dark Claw!"

In the mountains, the scenery objects on both sides were destroyed.

Fang Yuan's eyes focused and he fluttered forward suddenly. Once again, he duelled with Gui Wusheng.

"Bang!"

It was incredibly powerful but it was not as destructive as before.

Both of them were now near their limits.

However, in actual fact, the opponent was an expert and he deliberately caused Fang Yuan to overexert much of his inner strength.

Just that every time this happened, Fang Yuan would swallow down a bamboo fruit quickly. His essence, spirit and magic would then recover immediately.

The spiritual bamboo fruit not only helped in the growth of spiritual beasts, it also helped in recovering one's essence, spirit and magic. This was one of the backup moves Fang Yuan prepared this time.

"This again!"

Gui Wusheng was extremely depressed to see his inner strength being exhausted and while Fang Yuan was recovering so quickly.

From the start, he was suppressing the cunning Fang Yuan. However, Fang Yuan was well trained in martial arts and was difficult to deal with. Fang Yuan also had the spiritual medicine which allowed him to recover quickly. Hence the fight dragged on and on for nearly 3 days!

Even though Gui Wusheng brought some pills as well, how could those pills be compared to the phoenix's bamboo fruit? The bamboo fruit was definitely way more superior.

In the beginning, it was Fang Yuan who was escaping from Gui Wusheng. Now, it was the other way round.

Also, if Fang Yuan managed to catch up this time, Gui Wusheng would be dead!

"What a cunning lad indeed. From the start, he pretended that he was not my enemy and led me into the mountains to prevent me from calling for help…...Luckily there are signs of human habitation here, which suggest that the city should be nearby..."

Even so, Gui Wusheng had to admit that he started to become fearful of Fang Yuan during the fight.

Fang Yuan couldn't be defeated easily and could recover so quickly. If he was not a monster then what was he?

Even if Gui Wusheng managed to escape today, it would be hard to say whether he would even want to take revenge on Fang Yuan in the future.

"Now!"

Fang Yuan's eyes focused.

His abundant magical energy allowed him to feel a drop in Gui Wusheng's vitality.

It was similar to a string breaking when stretched past its limit.

At that moment, Gui Wusheng was reaching near his limit. However he still had a glimpse of hope, but it was this hopeful thought that brought about his downfall.

"Die!"

Fang Yuan did not hesitate and shouted.

"Die!"

His voice was so loud like thunder and it almost deafened Gui Wusheng's ears.

"Aahh…..my Paralysing Scream!"

Gui Wusheng was shocked and couldn't avoid what was going to happen.

"Eagle Claw Palm!"

At that moment, Fang Yuan immediately caught up with him and took a shot. Fang Yuan broke all his limbs!

"Snap!"

Gui Wusheng fell to the ground softly and was in shock.

"Haha…..I've finally won!"

With his wisdom in martial arts, he actually managed to defeat an expert in Death Gate. Fang Yuan was very impressed with himself and was at a loss for words. He couldn't wait to cry into the air and rejoice.

"How is this possible….how could you have known my secret technique?"

When he was conscious again, this was the first sentence he said.

"Your secret technique…..involves the display of your magical energy isn't it? It wasn't that difficult, was it?"

Fang Yuan went forward and punched his lower abdomen. Fang Yuan then gave him a few slaps, causing Gui Wusheng to be injured badly in the face. The force of these blows knocked out some of his teeth into a bloody mess.

There was no other way. In his dream world, things like 'tearing tendons', 'committing suicide', 'poison in one's mouth' and many more left deep impressions on Fang Yuan.

Now, Gui Wusheng's limbs were broken, his martial arts abilities stripped off and his teeth knocked out. If he could still commit suicide in this short period of time, Fang Yuan would really be impressed by him.

"Oh….I…..understand now. You…..are naturally born with stronger magical energy…."

Gui Wusheng couldn't speak properly but he managed to express what he meant clearly. "This is heaven's will! Heaven's will!"

"Whatever you say!"

Fang Yuan then impolitely searched Gui Wusheng's body for something of value to keep.

There were many bottles and cans on his body and most of them contained things like poisonous powder, medicine, flammable items and coins.

Fang Yuan smelled a few medicine bottles and threw them away.

Gui Wusheng didn't even poison him. Plus, Fang Yuan was highly skilled in medicine and had Yama's Order with him to remove any kind of poison. Hence, the poison made by Gui Wusheng was nothing

in his eyes.

However, Fang Yuan's eyes glittered when he opened a wooden box.

Inside the box was a piece of jade. The piece of jade was clear and shiny. There were faint black and red textures inside it and the textures seemed to be moving, making it special.

"Is this the Yin Yang Jade?!"

Fang Yuan murmured and couldn't believe his eyes. How could he able to get hold of such treasure in a farce?

Clearly, he wasn't prepared to receive anything good, was it? This was simply like a gift straight from heaven and coincidentally, it landed on him.

"Something is not right. What is actually going on?"

Fang Yuan, of course, couldn't believe that he would be so lucky. He immediately grabbed Gui Wusheng by his collar and questioned him.

"Haha…..you really think I will tell you?"

Life was slowly fading from Gui Wusheng's eyes.

Fang Yuan kept silent for a while and slowly said, "You may not know yet that I am Fang Yuan and I live in the secluded valley!"

Gui Wusheng's expression changed upon hearing what Fang Yuan said.

No matter how ignorant he was, he heard about the famous doctor in Qingye City.

"As a doctor myself, I have many ways to make people speak. I do not wish to test these methods one by one on you….Plus, you do have relatives, friends and disciples don't you?"

Fang Yuan said in a deep voice.

"You….are a member of the martial arts world and how could you go against the principle of not hurting one's family….."

Gui Wusheng struggled and said.

"Who told you that I was a member of the martial arts world?"

Fang Yuan glanced at him and gave a jocose look.

Gui Wusheng remained silent and Fang Yuan saw through him. Gui Wusheng was pretending to be sanctimonious but he was actually indifferent from any other people. He could do anything if he forced himself to do so.

After a long period of silence, he finally admitted defeat. "This Yin Yang Jade was actually a treasure of the Five Ghosts Sect…."

Chapter 61: Emerge

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"This Yin Yang Jade came from the Five Ghosts Sect?"

Fang Yuan was shocked. "Is the news about the treasure fake too? Just to create chaos?"

"That's right!"

Gui Wusheng nodded and appeared lost.

"To create confusion, you guys can even use the Yin Yang Jade as bait..."

Fang Yuan took in a deep breath.

To hide from the many martial artists, sacrifice would be required, and this was the sole purpose of the Yin Yang Jade.

With a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] and a well thought-out plan, the Yin Yang Jade was safe. Unfortunately, they encountered Fang Yuan…..

"Good! However, the focus is not on the Yin Yang Jade..."

Fang Yuan threw the jade up in the air and became serious. "That what is your real motive?"

"Our real motive..."

Gui Wusheng became expressionless but slowly began to describe. "It is a treasure map! Or should I say, an incomplete scrap... Our Sect once received a copy, but it was lost. This is the second copy!"

...

Luori City.

This city was at the extreme North of Lieyang County, and even further North of Shaoyang City. There was a ridge of mountains outside the city, called Xuanyan. Legend has it that there was fire everywhere and was extremely dangerous.

It was noon, and farmers were ploughing on their farms, businessman working in their shops. Often kids could be seen playing by the river, and it was a lively sight to behold.

"Hu..."

Just before the gates to the city were closed, a person in a cloak hurriedly rushed to enter Luori City.

"This place... Is indeed different from Shaoyang City!"

This cloaked person was Fang Yuan.

After Gui Wusheng's tip-off, he hurriedly killed him and rushed to Luori City.

Compared to Shaoyang City, which was filled with martial artists, Luori City was more lively. The villagers were carefree, and no one would have thought that under this peace was a big mystery.

'Even if I said it out, no one would believe that most of the Sect masters of Five Ghosts Sect actually live here...'

Even though it was quieter than Shaoyang City, Fang Yuan could feel an immense pressure as he entered Luori City.

This wasn't a real feeling, but more of his imagination. It made him realise that this place was ten times more dangerous than Shaoyang City! A hundred times!

"I still cannot fight and win any Martial artist of 4 Heavenly Gates..."

Fang Yuan knew his own capabilities. He could easily defeat any [Martial Artist (7th Gate)], or be on par with a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)].

If he made use of his external martial arts techniques, he might get a chance at winning. However, against the martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates who trained and fused their Yin and Yang, he would stand no chance.

Furthermore, the Sect Leader of Five Ghosts Sect was similar to Shi Yutong and had already attained Wu Zong!

"At the moment, I can only hope for an internal conflict for myself to reap the benefits afterwards... Hopefully, the news that I let out would be useful!"

In such a dangerous position, he could only keep reminding himself not to be too stubborn.

If he succeeded, that would be best, but if he did not, it was still alright, as staying alive was the most important.

Even if he did not get anything, in the end, he still would have the Yin Yang Jade as a consolation prize.

"I am about to break through the Death Gate, and by then the Yin Yang Jade would be useful in aiding me in my journey to become a martial artist of 4 Heavenly Gates!"

Fang Yuan thought for a while, walked along the streets and entered a hostel.

"It seems that Spirit Returning Sect is not foolish. Elder Han was lured to Shaoyang City, Shi Yutong couldn't locate him... If they received my anonymous letter they would surely come and fight over it... I shall be the coward to watch the fight by the side!"

After deciding, he booked a small room. Every day, it seemed that he was quietly practising his martial arts, but in actual fact, he was observing the movement within Luori City.

After all, he had already decided not to appear. If there was no response from the Spirit Returning Sect, or if the news came late, then he could only accept it.

...

"The Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master being sceptical, did not really describe the real treasure map to Gui Wusheng. He only instructed him to spread the fake news. Only a few martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates know the truth..."

Fang Yuan was practising his martial arts peacefully in the small room. White smoke rose from his head like fog, and it appeared like clouds were forming.

"[Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 7)] progress is filled, and now I just need to find an opportunity to break through the Death Gate..."

Breaking through the 8th Gate was extremely decisive. If breaking through failed, he would die, and there would be no second chance!

Although he was confident in his own foundation, Fang Yuan wanted to condition his body to the best it could be while breaking through.

"Rumble!"

His ears stood up as he heard the loud rumble.

"Hmm? They've started fighting already?"

Fang Yuan leapt over the wall and saw a bright crimson flash from within the city. Shoutings were heard and shadows flying around. He was happy to witness this scene.

With his abilities, it was impossible to stalk the Five Ghosts Sect and ambush them, but it would be a totally different story if the Spirit Returning Sect were to do it.

Without consideration, Fang Yuan jumped down and made his way towards the crimson flash.

"Ping! Ping!"

The nearer he approached, the louder the rumbling became, as though thunder roared ten times simultaneously.

A chaos of this scale would surely attract the attention of the soldiers and martial artists. However, no one dared to take another step towards them, and the whole mess was a good opportunity for Fang Yuan.

As he came closer, he realised that it wasn't a fight within the Five Ghosts Sect's compound, but in a rich businessman's manor.

At this moment, numerous shadows flew across the roof, and every action they took was full of strength.

"From the Spirit Returning Sect? All the way here?"

In the scene was a duo in black, surrounding an old lady clad in silver clothing.

Although these 3 people appeared lifeless, their moves were deadly and they appeared powerful. Even Fang Yuan himself was afraid to join the fight.

"Martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates!"

Fang Yuan hid to the side and stared at the old lady, shocked.

Even though all of them were martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates, the old lady could sweep her crutch and pressure the other two. She was extremely strong.

"Cha!"

Out of a sudden, the old lady shrieked, and the lion head on her crutch pounced forward, breaking through the defence of one of the elders, as it touched his chest.

"Senior?"

The two elders retreated quickly, and the one which was touched by the old lady began to spit out blood.

"Good! Good! Good!"

The younger brother clenched his teeth, his eyes seeking revenge. "Elder Yan... Lady Yan! Today's score will be settled, and we the Ghost Brothers will remember it for life!

Together with his brother, one was Yin and one was Yang, but against this Lady Yan, they realised that she already broke through 11 Gates, and have already fused her Yin and Yang to become an elemental energy martial artist!

At this stage, the only thing she needed to do was to train and get ready to break through Heaven Gate!

[Martial Artist (11th Gate)] are not to be belittled as they harnessed elemental force. It was therefore not so surprising to see her fend of two opponents by herself.

"Keke..."

Lady Yan kept her crutch, coughed a few times, hunched her back and lost all her craziness previously during the fight. "Cough... As I get older, my memory would fail me... Two of you, did you see me leave anything behind? Do a good deed and pass it to me, and I will offer tea, apologise and leave immediately, how does that sound?"

"What thing? We didn't see anything!"

The Ghost Brothers appeared shocked and denied.

"Heh... I have not told you what is it, so why are you so quick to turn me down?"

Lady Yan shook her head, rolled her eyes and looked at the two of them. "What a pity, Yin Shizhong, Brother Yin is not here. He should have lured Elder Han away by now, right? Two of you cannot hold me back!

The Ghost Brothers looked aghast, but could not deny that she was stating the truth.

At this moment, Fang Yuan was hiding in the hair stood on its ends as he became increasingly anxious. He took a deep breath and concealed himself even more.

"They cannot block you, but how about me?"

Behind Lady Yan was a fearless and cold-blooded voice. It was as though every word of his could freeze one's blood.

While the voice was heard, Lady Yan immediately swung her crutch backwards with immense strength.

"Hong!"

The lion on the crutch opened its jaws and spewed crimson fire, accompanied with black smoke.

After striking, Lady Yan struck forward again, caught her footing and turned around.

Where she once stood was empty, and only the remnants of the raging fire were left behind, which stunned her.

"Very impressive, I've heard about stories of Lady Yan's 'Flaming Lion Crutch'. It was designed by Carpenter Lu, sturdy and able to spew poisonous fire from the top of the crutch. It is ranked 87th in the secluded mountains unique weapon ranking, and I've finally seen it for myself today..."

The voice came from behind Lady Yan. Although it sounded normal, it was a praise.

"Five... Ghosts... Sect... Master!"

Lady Yan turned pale and stuttered while saying out the name she feared most.

Only someone who had broken through the Heaven Gate attained Wu Zong and able to harness elemental force would be able to toy around with her!

"This is... Wu Zong?"

Fang Yuan shuddered and did not dare to look at the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master.

After all, based on rumours, the Wu Zong martial artist is extremely sensitive and would be able to sense when someone is looking at him. He then would feel the urge to kill those within 35 yards.

"Keke! Why would Sect Master find trouble with Lady Yan? If you have any vengeance, just deal with me!"

At this moment, accompanying bell ringing, Shi Yutong appeared and seemed welcoming. "I had a few suspicions when I heard about the news, but after seeing Sect Master here, I have no more doubts!"

Chapter 62: A Mysterious Man

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Shi Yutong?"

Upon seeing a Wu Zong, like himself, appear, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect lost his interest in teasing and making fun of Lady Yan and stood still.

"Sect Head!"

Lady Yan immediately rushed to Shi Yutong.

Now that this respected woman was around, Lady Yan dared to look at the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect.

The sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect had a small stature, almost like a dwarf. He wore an ice mask and rays of green light shone from his triangular eyes. This sight was sufficient to strike fear into anyone who looked at him.

"Someone leaked the news!"

At this moment, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect spoke in an icy tone.

If it was just Lady Yan who came, it would be easy to turn her away. Anyway, it could have been because they found some inconclusive traces of a horse.

However, now that Shi Yutong appeared personally, they must be very confident! Their determination seemed unflinching.

The loss of control in this situation unsettled the head of the Five Ghosts Sect.

The disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect glanced at each other and gathered behind their sect head. Both camps glared at each other as tensions soared. Anything could spark a war between the two groups.

Fang Yuan who heard the conversation from his hiding spot felt something was amiss.

According to his plan, the Spirit Returning Sect should have checked out and tested the situation and confirmed that everything was alright before attacking. This confrontation should not even be happening.

After all, the Five Ghosts Sect and the Spirit Returning Sect were equally powerful. Should they fight each other, both would suffer greatly.

Shi Yutong and the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect were both smart people and they should have recognised this fact.

If this was so, what gave Shi Yutong the confidence to barge in like that?

Fang Yuan was unsure about this, but it did not seem to stop him from retreating.

At the same time, upon sensing the emerging tension and the incendiary desire for battle, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect smirked provokingly.

"Shi Yutong!"

The sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect spoke haltingly, "You seem intent on opposing everything I do. Is this your declaration of war against the Five Ghosts Sect?"

"Hehe…How would I dare? I am just here to ask you to return our item, that's all!"

Shi Yutong replied playfully in a tone which gave the impression that she was vivacious and quick-witted, which was typical of girls her age. The only problem was people who treated her like this sort of girl would definitely suffer a grotesque death.

"Snap!"

A flash of white light that seemed like lightning shot out of nowhere.

"It has begun...What exactly is the level of elemental force of a Wu Zong?"

In his retreat, Fang Yuan tried to get a glimpse of what was going on out of curiosity.

This scene was different from what he saw earlier between the martial artists at the Four Heavenly Gates. In this duel between the martial artists during elemental force, apart from the flash of light at the beginning, all was quiet.

"Is this…because both martial artists have perfected the art of using elemental force such that it does not manifest in other forms of energy, which explains why the effects are not visible to us?"

The powers of Shi Yutong and the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect were so powerful they seemed godly. This scared Fang Yuan.

The strongest evidence of their powers was the sight of the martial artists who tried to creep forward to sabotage either of the duellists losing their power instantly, as though they were swallowed by a giant whirlpool.

"They moved!"

Of course, Fang Yuan was unable to catch sight of the two martial artists.

However, when he saw the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect and Lady Yan use their Lightness Skill and sped for the city gates, he could not resist following them secretly.

"Eh? Is something wrong?"

At this moment, from all corners of Luori City, several silhouettes emerged and rushed off, using Lightness Skill, into the distance one after another. This startled Fang Yuan.

Despite knowing the two dueling were extremely powerful, as well as that the earlier unlucky few perished because they were too close to the duel, these people who still dared to follow them were definitely formidable martial artists themselves.

...

"Phew phew!"

Traveling at a blistering speed, they arrived at Xuanyan Mountain in no time.

This place was very different from Clear Spirit Mountain. Most of the knolls were bare, revealing the red boulders and soil of the mountain.

Even from the depressions of the mountain, one could feel the blistering heat emitted from there. It was obvious that inside the depression, there was a terrifying volcanic lava from the crater.

As for the natives living in the mountain and the martial artists, this Xuanyan Mountain was a place to avoid! If one were to fall into the crater, it did not matter how powerful the person was, one would completely dissolve into the lava.

"How dare you despicable and inferior people try to finish us off while we are fighting each other? You must have a death wish!"

All of a sudden, the Five Ghost Sect disciples and Lady Yan who were sprinting ahead halted, turned on their heels in mid-air and sped behind, all in sync with each other. One would not be able to tell that they were at each other's throats before this.

"As expected, the idea of watching the Spirit Returning Sect and Five Ghosts Sect destroy each other and picking up the scraps after that is not that realistic after all. They are already starting to clear the area..."

Fang Yuan silently tore off a piece of cloth from his robe and covered half his face.

At this moment, despite the intimidation by Lady Yan and the Five Ghost Sect disciples, there were still people chasing after the dueling pair. Those who still dared to do so were inner power experts who were at least at the 5th Gate and above.

Furthermore, the number of these people far surpassed what Fang Yuan expected.

"It seems like I am not the only intelligent person around!"

Upon seeing this, Fang Yuan immediately realised that of all these experts, a majority of them were not locals. Most of them moved in only recently, having the same intentions as him to strike when both sects were weak! What he did not know was how they got their information.

"Everyone attack together!"

A hideous voice rang out as a powerful force exploded, revealing a proud figure. This startled Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect and they exclaimed, "Dugu Hong?"

This man was a well-known martial artist who always trained on his own. He did not belong to any particular sect and roamed about freely. The reasons behind his sudden appearance were unclear.

"Since Brother Dugu made the request, we would definitely go along with you!"

Dugu Hong's order was answered by three martial artists at the same time as they leapt out. They were dressed like hunters, draping their backs with wolf-skin, and the wolf heads on their shoulders bore eyes that glistened.

"The Three Wild Wolf Brothers?"

The disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect became more troubled.

Although the three brothers were not on the same level as Dugu Hong, they were also formidable opponents who were experts at Yin energy. When the three of them combined their efforts, they could be equivalent to a martial artist at the peak of the 12th Gate.

"Haha…Lady Yan and disciples of the Five Ghost Sect, get out of the way if you do not wish to die!"

All these lone martial artists armed with extremely high levels of martial prowess who outnumbered Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect charged forward.

"Kill!"

Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect looked at each other, roared and stood their ground as they attempted to fight off the attackers.

"Bang bang!"

With the forces and energies from the various martial artists clashing with each other, a messy and ferocious war erupted instantly!

"All these martial artists are not familiar with each other and thus do not trust each other yet. As they fight they are constantly watching their own backs..."

Fang Yuan had no intention of joining in the fight and tried to swiftly skirt around the melee.

With Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect fighting for their lives, and the martial artists on the other side refraining from over-exerting, the fight would definitely last a long time.

Of course, this would be exactly what Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect wanted to achieve.

Instead of joining in the fight, why not take advantage of this chance to skirt around them and move to the front.

"Die!"

Just when Fang Yuan thought of this idea, he found out he was not the only who had the same thoughts.

Furthermore, the other person was his competitor in this situation.

Just as he moved around the fight and was preparing to move forward, a martial artist dressed in black crept up next to him and threw out successive punches with both fists.

Fang Yuan felt the force from the punches and then deduced that his competitor was also an expert at the 6th Gate at least.

Judging from the power of his opponent, his fists were no less lethal than a weapon. This caused Fang Yuan to remember a famous fighting technique.

"Wind and Thunder Palm? D*mn, rumour has it that this technique is immensely powerful. When it is executed by a martial artist at the 6th Gate, even a martial artist at the 7th Gate would be unable to meet this technique head on..."

As Fang Yuan thought to himself, he made use of the pitch darkness and sent his fist flying menacingly towards his opponent like a pestle.

"Snap!"

The force from Fang Yuan's fist contacted with that of his opponent's palm. At that moment, a hint of triumph crept into his opponent's eyes. But it changed also almost instantly into excruciating pain as the bones in his arm shattered. He was sent somersaulting backwards into the air, spilling blood as he went.

In just one move, this was even more powerful than a martial artist at the 7th Gate!

To describe the event in words did not do the sheer speed of it justice. In reality, everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.

After defeating his enemy in just one move, Fang Yuan did not turn back and skirted the main fighting area and headed deeper into the mountain.

Upon seeing this, Gudu Hong, the Wild Wolf Brothers and the rest were even more frustrated. Furthermore, Lady Yan and the Five Ghost Sect disciples were determined and desperate to prevent the other martial artists from chasing their dueling sect heads.

"To break through and arrive here...It must have been easy?"

As Fang Yuan sped along the mountain road, he visually surveyed his surroundings and realised the martial artists who were similarly able to break through or skirt past the fighting were like him. They were mostly between the 6th and 7th Gate and were not as recognised.

"Yeah… Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect found us too insignificant to hold us back. We are not as powerful and troublesome as Gudu Hong and the Wild Wolf Brothers. I never thought I would enjoy this 'privilege' of having inferior martial prowess..."

After turning around a peak, the company saw a huge volcanic crater.

Next to the crater, two people were exchanging blows at a speed so fast it looked blur to the naked eye. It was Shi Yutong duelling the head of the Five Ghosts Sect!

Seeing this, Fang Yuan felt confused and suspicious.

The precious treasure map had yet to appear, so why would these two respected and powerful martial artists expand all their energy fighting each other? Were they not afraid that the map might not even exist and thus create a lifelong enemy for themselves?

Or was it possible that both were extremely confident that they would completely defeat the other?

With this thought, Fang Yuan immediately stopped advancing. His goose bumps erected as he thought, "Oh no! There might be a trap!"

He immediately turned around and left without hesitation.

How could a broken piece from a treasure map be more valuable than my own life?

The risks at that point time were far higher than what he had predicted and had already exceeded the profits he could hope to receive.

"Eh?"

Upon seeing how Fang Yuan decided to not pursue further, a few of his companions became suspicious too.

"I did not think that...there would be another enlightened person? What a pity..."

With a low noise coming from what looked like a common 5th Gate martial artist, the situation changed completely at that instant.

A layer of blood surfaced on his body. The martial artists around him were astonished. At that split second, his body disintegrated, and blood flowed out rapidly. The blood cluttered at his side and formed what seemed to look like several pythons writhing about.

"Blood Pythons...Attack!"

He pointed a few lucky survivors. The Blood Pythons immediately locked on their targets and charged. Fang Yuan was one of the targets.

"What an impressive technique! It's a spiritual knight!"

Seeing this startling and terrifying sight, one of the martial artists screamed aloud.

Chapter 63: Reveal

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"This is…."

Fang Yuan retreated but the Bloody Python was coming straight at him and an explosion was heard

"Bang!"

In this very short period of time, he could only execute the inner strength of the Iron Skin Technique to defend himself. A bright red light flashed across him.

"Piak!"

Fang Yuan's expression changed and could only feel intense pain on both of his hands. A powerful and corrosive energy broke through his defence and was spreading across his arms.

He was suffering till now as his inner strength of the [Eagle Claw Technique (Grade 7)] was deflected easily by that energy. This situation was similar to when a martial artist who was trained in inner power duelled with an expert in inner force.

"Puff!"

He rolled and landed on the ground. He was in shock and said, "Is this…..the elemental force? So the rumour of a well trained spiritual knight having the ability to leverage the power of nature is true!"

"Eh?"

The explosion of the blood-coloured python caused the bodies of the martial artists who were defeated to disappear.

Fang Yuan survived as he managed to escape far away from the explosion. Plus, he was only badly injured, which meant he still had a chance of survival.

The mysterious man in black was surprised after seeing this. "You are lucky. Others who have tasted my bloody elemental force in normal circumstances would not have to think about surviving."

Looking at Fang Yuan who was unconscious, he moved 2 steps forward and a bloody bright light appeared on his right hand. It seemed that he wanted to end Fang Yuan's life.

"Ouch!"

At that moment, a shout was heard from the magma lake and it sounded urgent.

"Damn it! Can't even hold it longer, what a useless guy!"

The man in black changed his expression and abandoned Fang Yuan and galloped away.

"My Bloody Python will strike in all directions!"

The Bloody Python was executed along with a roar and it became more powerful and concentrated. It also gave out a noxious rotting smell.

"Spiritual knight? ...No! Another spiritual disciple that has not been promoted? So he is your backup?"

Shi Yutong said in a clear and loud voice which could be heard from far away.

'Shi Yutong was so capable that she could make the head of the Five Ghosts Sect use his backup move on her…..but his backup move is indeed incredible….."

There was a breeze and Fang Yuan who was 'badly injured' got up and frowned. He focused his inner forcefully on healing his injuries.

Previously, he was pretending to be unconscious actually. If the mysterious spiritual knight had decided to kill him, he would have fought for his life.

Luckily for him, Shi Yutong's skill was way superior and could manage to suppress the head of the Five Ghosts Sect and distract him, allowing Fang Yuan to escape and survive.

"But what about these injuries due to the elemental force….."

Fang Yuan was expressionless. He looked at his arm and frowned.

When he was attacked by the Bloody Python, his clothing on both of his arms was broken into pieces and this caused his exposed arm to be burnt. The wounds on his arm were so bad that he could see the bones of his arm.

Even his inner force couldn't help to heal his injuries fast enough and suppress it from spreading.

"This bloody elemental force acts like a poison? It is indeed powerful!"

He could feel intense pain and numbness from his injuries. Fang Yuan knew that if he still didn't receive any medical attention yet, his injuries would worsen and spread. By then, he would have to amputate both of his arms and his life would also be in danger!

"Since it is poison and the injuries are due to elemental force, normal pills shouldn't work….."

He frowned and took out two bamboo fruits with much difficulty. He swallowed them and thought about the Yama's Order he had with him. He then drank the whole bottle of Yama's Order as well.

"Hoo hoo!"

The bamboo fruit was indeed a powerful spiritual object. Once the fruit entered his stomach, Fang Yuan could feel a clear stream gurgling through his arms and his arms felt less painful.

"Luckily…..I have the bamboo fruit with me still. If not, with these injuries, I would really be in big trouble!"

Fang Yuan bandaged his wounds and lurked towards the magma lake to see what was going on.

"Whooo!"

The tremendous force from the one of the duelist's palm technique caused sound effects which sounded like the howling of the wind.

He could see the duel between Shi Yutong and head of the Five Ghosts Sect. Their moves were very fast and fluid. There were no explosions although there were loud noises created during the duel.

That mysterious disciple beside the both of them was circling 9 Bloody Pythons and murmuring incantations. This caused the Bloody Pythons to flank Shi Yutong constantly.

Shi Yutong was actually fearful of such spiritual attacks and it gave the head of the Five Ghosts Sect a chance for a breather when he was almost going to be defeated. Now, he had a chance to gain the upper hand.

As time passed, the three of them were fully focused on the fight and completely unaware of their surroundings.

"Haha….that is unfortunate!"

Fang Yuan felt regretful when he saw what happened.

Victory was about to land in on one of the party's hand. If he was an expert in 4 Heavenly Gates, he would be able to change the verdict of the duel.

However, he was just a [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] and he was injured. If he was to join in the battle now, he would definitely not survived through it.

"Patience! Patience!"

He advised himself silently and hid somewhere even deeper.

After all, he wasn't here to obtain something of value and since now he knew how powerful the spiritual knight was, it was not a good time for him to attack.

"Both Wu Zong and the spiritual knight are trained in elemental force. However, both would produce different effects….."

This battle was actually a good chance for him to learn and improve further.

"The spiritual knight is more focused on the conversion of his elemental force into spells…..On the other hand, Wu Zong also has elemental energy but one will use it to condition his or her body. Therefore, both have different uses!"

"However, according to what Shi Yutong said, the man in black has not been promoted to become a spiritual knight, but he is powerful enough to duel with Wu Zong….."

"However, Shi Yutong is highly skilled and was scheming. How could she land herself in such a disadvantageous situation?"

...…

Fang Yuan pondered over his thoughts and focused on hiding himself.

"I cannot give her any more chances as she is waiting for me to be lured out of the city and there will definitely be traps…..Blood Killer!"

The head of the Five Ghosts Sect shouted and his eyes were filled with anger. He seemed to have a secret technique and his energy surged. "Five Ghosts Soul Capturing Technique!"

He stretched his fingers and visible black smokes could be seen. It then became like a ferocious looking ghost which pounced forward.

"Wu! Wu!"

"Jie jie!"

"Hehe!"

...….

At that moment, there were many ghostly screams heard and 5 streaks of black smokes transformed into a giant ghostly claw. The claw fiercely clamped down like the Five Fingers Mountain.

"He released his elemental force to form that?"

Shi Yutong let out a surprised scream and she transformed into 9 silhouettes suddenly which darted off in all directions.

"Come down now!"

The head of the Five Ghosts Sect gave a ferocious look and pulled back both of his hands.

His Ghostly Claw tore through the silhouettes and left Shi Yutong in her original spot.

Shi Yutong's moves were impressive but the Ghostly Claw was much more superior!

"What are you waiting for?!"

After such a move, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect was already panting. He could not move to sustain his Ghostly Claw and could only shout in despair.

"Haha! Well done!"

Presented with this golden opportunity, the Blood Killer would not let it slip.

He used his Ghostly Claw to suppress Shi Yutong and the 9 Bloody Pythons were attacking her at the same time. "9 Bloody Pythons, you shall explode!"

"Hiss!"

As compared to how the Bloody Pythons attacked Fang Yuan previously, the Bloody Pythons revealed their tongues this time and made hissing sounds. Their scales were revealed clearly and they were indeed powerful.

Seeing that the Bloody Pythons were charging towards Shi Yutong, the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was elated.

"Whiz whiz!"

At that moment, there was a sudden change!

A few emerald flashes struck the pythons' heads.

"Puff! Puff!"

The heads of the pythons exploded one by one like explosives and blood splashed everywhere.

Suddenly, there was a sound of a flute coming from far and the notes from it were incredibly lively. Fang Yuan could feel the notes invigorating him as if he was in a different setting, filled with blooming flowers in spring.

"Sorry that I came late, please forgive me!"

From the sound of the flute, the head of the Five Ghosts Sect retreated and spat out a mouthful of blood. His Five Ghosts Soul Capturing Technique was then lifted.

A clear and spiritual female voice was heard along with the sound of the flute.

After the sound, a beam of emerald green light struck right beside the Blood Killer.

"Aahh...elemental blood defence!"

He shouted and a pool of blood appeared on his body. However, he couldn't avoid what was about to happen as the beam of the emerald green light struck through his body, leaving a bloody hole.

"A flute? A woman?!"

The Blood Killer covered his chest and seemed to have recalled something scary. He immediately escaped without hesitation!

Before he left, he gave a ferocious look and patted the head of the Five Ghosts Sect's back. He then placed a violet pill on the head of the Five Ghosts Sect's Yuzhen acupuncture point.

"Blood Killer….you?"

Seeing that his ally betrayed him, the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was in shock and wasn't ready to defend himself.

The pill that was placed by the Blood Killer was especially mysterious. The pill went through his skin and he could feel its effect instantly.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

The head of the Five Ghosts Sect kept panting and his face was blushing. Many of his veins started hideously to pop out like worms beneath his skin.

Suddenly, he shouted and pounced right at Shi Yutong like a crazy man.

The Blood Killer then managed to escape with this opportunity.

...

"Crazy Blood Pill?"

At that moment, a lady arrived at the scene. She was dressed in a green gown, wore a golden bangle on her head and had an emerald-coloured belt at her waist. She was beautiful.

Seeing that the head of the Five Ghosts Sect had become crazy, she joined in the battle. Both the lady and Shi Yutong managed to suppress him.

"Fortunately, you came just in time to help me. Otherwise, I would be in big trouble…..Why did you let the Blood Killer off?"

Shi Yutong asked.

The lady in green then answered with a laugh. "You overestimate me. Even though Blood Killer had not been promoted to become the spiritual knight, but right after he had seen my secret technique, he thought I was way more superior and thus he fled…."

Chapter 64: Resistance

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Seeing how things are, it seems that both Shi Yutong and the Five Ghosts Sect have their own ideas on how to defeat each other, and both had managed to get assistance..."

At the sound of the flute, the Blood Killer escaped and Fang Yuan managed to retreat as well.

"The only difference is that Shi Yutong's reinforcement came from outside the city, and only arrived after Lady Yan was discovered, and therefore Shi Yutong was forced to reveal herself to lure the head of Five Ghosts Sect out of the city..."

"Shi Yutong's skill was above that of the head of the Five Ghosts Sect, and her assistant could scare away the Blood Killer. She was totally in control of the situation, and they had no chance of retaliating!"

"Lieyang County will be very different from this day onwards..."

Fang Yuan witnessed how the Blood Killer betrayed head of the Five Ghosts Sect and used him as a bait for him to escape, and knew that the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was unlikely to walk out alive under the attack of Shi Yutong and her strong assistant.

The Five Ghost Sect would crumble without their head, and other sects would take advantage of them once they were at their downfall.

...

"Whoosh!"

Fang Yuan flew into the woods, his eyes filled with fury.

"The Blood Killer is only strong in his spiritual spells. As for his martial arts cultivation, he is only equivalent to that of a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]... Furthermore, he was hurt by the emerald flashes..."

"And as for me? I've recovered from eating the bamboo fruit, and although my external wounds look terrifying, my internal wounds have already recovered quite a bit, and I can even fight!"

Fang Yuan was unwilling to risk his life for a treasure map he knew little about.

But it's different about the Blood Killer!

This person was a spiritual knight! ... Alright, according to Shi Yutong he was a spiritual knight-to-be, and badly hurt too. This was attractive to Fang Yuan, who wanted to observe spiritual spells in action.

With the intention to stalk the Blood Killer, the Blood Killer could not run away from Fang Yuan.

Indeed, after an hour, the Blood Killer stopped near a mountain spring to take a rest.

The bandage over his wound on his chest was red. He twitched and felt suspicious. "The spiritual weapon does not seem to be the widely-known Spiritual Emerald Silk! If the Spiritual Emerald Silk attacked me personally, I would never have the chance to escape... Could it be that someone is tricking me?"

After thinking, he felt extremely regretful.

He knew that with him and the head of the Five Ghosts Sect teaming up, they would just be able to take down Shi Yutong, but the moment her ally arrived, even if it was a young disciple, they would have won. This was the main reason why he escaped without a doubt.

The only thing was that betraying the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was akin to burning a bridge, and felt that it was a pity.

"Curse you! After I have officially become a spiritual knight, I will peel all your skins alive to vent out my anger and take my revenge..."

Blood Killer sighed, bent down and drank the spring water.

After quenching his thirst, he opened his robes, looked at the blood-red bandage, clenched his teeth and tore it apart.

"Piak!"

As the bandage fell apart, blood spurt out of the wound.

"Mm..."

He bit his teeth and was sweating profusely. His right arm was shivering as he retrieved a dark-green bottle from his pocket. He scattered some white powder onto his wound and began to bandage it.

Fang Yuan came out of hiding and took a few steps forward.

"Who's that?"

As the Blood Killer looked up, his eyes revealed an emerald flash, as though he was an injured wolf.

'I was discovered?'

Fang Yuan changed his mind, stood up and acted as though he was afraid. "Don't... Don't kill me..."

"Mmm?"

Blood Killer noticed his rotting arm and was perplexed. "You were that martial artist, but why are you still alive? How is this possible?"

He knew Fang Yuan was a [Martial Artist (6th/7th Gate)] and therefore was not on guard. Unknowingly, he took a few steps towards him as though he was a weak martial artist who was easily affected by his blood elemental force. He was suspicious as to how Fang Yuan survived his attack.

"This is the moment!"

Fang Yuan stood his ground and struck.

"Whoosh!"

He rushed forward and felt the air rush over his claws, as he made an eagle's cry. He appeared next to the Blood Killer as his claws emerged, with a black spot on his palm; the poison from the mutated Pearl Tail Snake harnessed in his palms.

"Hmm?"

Even though he was injured, he remained calm as he looked at Fang Yuan attacking him, as though he was extremely confident.

"Mind Calming Spell!"

He bit his tongue and spit out blood towards Fang Yuan, and shouted.

"Wung!"

A weird vibration was felt as it travelled onto Fang Yuan's body.

Fang Yuan was shocked, and at the moment his stood at where he was, maintaining his pouncing posture.

"Hehe... This Mind Calming Spell is indeed useful when dealing with normal people... Cough Cough..."

After two coughs, he examined Fang Yuan. "This person could survive my Bloody Python attack, it seems he is somewhat special. He would be a good ingredient for me to make a blood corpse... And while I am injured, I will need protection..."

"Dementor!"

He took two steps forward, and in his right hand was a dark-red pill. Mischief filled his eyes, as he exclaimed, "From today onwards, I am your master, and now, eat this!"

Blood Killer ordered and stretched his right hand out.

But at that moment, his expression changed.

Fang Yuan's expressionless face changed to one of mocking.

'This isn't possible, how can a normal human being who is not of Wu Zong level be able to escape my Mind Calming Spell... Could it be...'

Wild thoughts ran through his mind, quick as lightning.

There were very close to each other and it would be useless if any one of them tried to defend himself.

This golden opportunity was one that Fang Yuan wouldn't give up.

"Die!"

He focused his inner force and his words were loud as thunder. It was something he picked up from Gui Wusheng, and the Blood Killer was stunned for the moment.

His right hand struck out like lightning and formed an eagle's claw. He hooked on to the throat of Blood Killer, pulled with his might and a distinct fracture sound could be heard.

"Eagle Claw Technique! Black Sand Palm!"

After the first move, Fang Yuan continuously struck at the Blood Killer like raindrops, every move aiming at the Blood Killer's vulnerable spot.

After all, he was a cunning person and Fang Yuan was afraid to let him survive.

Fang Yuan was fortunate to be lucky.

Blood Killer's corpse landed on the ground, like a doll being abused.

"Phew..."

Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relieve after witnessing his death but was afraid of the trouble which might come along.

To deal with a spiritual disciple was indeed not an easy task.

Even when he was injured, he could conjure up spells. If not for Fang Yuan's remarkable magic abilities, he would have been trapped and made his slave.

On hindsight, it was rather scary.

"However... Even though the elemental energy of the spiritual disciple is similar to that of Wu Zong, it was extremely different... Just now, it felt as though he had used up all his energy and had little strength left."

With combat experience, Fang Yuan realised a little secret of the spiritual disciple. "After all, their defence is average. Take for instance this Blood Killer. Without the help of the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect's, he was no match for Shi Yutong... Only after attaining the level of a spiritual knight will be able to match up to a Wu Zong, or even surpass them..."

After thinking, he took a few steps forward and felt satisfied.

It was a good feeling to kill someone and take their treasure.

A spiritual knight would be scheming and Fang Yuan had to take precautions. He picked up a tree branch, carefully peeled open Blood Killer's clothing and found a cloth bag.

A few bottles within the bag were damaged from the fight, and the medicine powder was mixed together. Spiritual pills would be rendered useless by now as they were destroyed. Fang Yuan did not dare to touch any medicine or poison from the bag.

Other than these, there were other miscellaneous objects and a few taels of silver, which made him feel like it was not worth it.

"This can't be... I took such a risk to kill this spiritual disciple, and this is all I get?"

Looking at the rotten corpse, Fang Yuan remained speechless and even felt like whipping the corpse.

The good thing was that he wasn't such an extremist, and after rummaging through his belongings one more time, he stood up and sighed. "Ah... It seems that there is really nothing, I guess luck is not on my side!"

He remained silent as he looked at Blood Killer's corpse.

"You attempted to kill me first, and therefore it is only normal that you are killed by me. Just because you are a magical person, I will... dig a grave for you, so that you will not be eaten by wild beasts!"

Using his inner strength, it was effortless for him to dig a large hole in a short amount of time.

"Rest in peace!"

Fang Yuan struck his palm out and shoved the corpse and his belongings into the hole, and was about to cover the grave up.

At this moment, a jade-coloured object was revealed from the corpse, which stopped Fang Yuan in his tracks.

"Wait a minute... What is this?"

He grabbed a tree branch and flicked his arm out of the grave. The jade piece was clearly visible just beside the bone.

"What the..."

Fang Yuan spent a long time to separate the jade from the bone and appeared shocked. "This person is crazy, why would he hide this in his own body..."

If he didn't strike that many palms and claws on the Blood Killer till he was disfigured, he would not have discovered this piece of jade.

"What does this count as? Retribution? Since he could have hidden this piece of jadeite in his body, who is to say that there is no second piece, third piece... Even after his death, he is still asking to be tortured?"

He became speechless and vexed.

After a short while, he looked at the 2 looted objects that were washed and went into deep thought.

Because of the discovery of the jade, he had to force himself to do a thorough search on the corpse. His unintended move unknowingly brought him rewards.

Fang Yuan remained speechless as he looked at the loot.

"Treasure map... broken pieces..."

This treasure map was discovered in the Blood Killer's clothing, sewed in between the cloth. As for the corpse? After an intense search, Fang Yuan found nothing and proceed to bury him.

What appeared in front of Fang Yuan was an incomplete treasure map, similar to the one Han Shou had!

"This piece is the missing part of the treasure map, just lacking a corner! Who would've known that the Five Ghosts Sect had already obtained the treasure map and passed to the Blood Killer for safekeeping..."

This incredible encounter and miraculous turn of events left Fang Yuan speechless.

Chapter 65: The Death Gate

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Things are constantly changing in this world. Who can predict what is the next move?"

Fang Yuan had caused the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer to be dead one after another. He managed to obtain pieces of the treasure map and was very happy with it.

With such treasure in his hand, he was naturally happy about it. However, he had only gotten two pieces and one last piece of the map was still missing. He was worried.

"No matter what, a treasure map that could cause the Five Ghosts Sect and a spiritual disciple to be so obsessed with would lead to a treasure that is extraordinary….."

"Of course, the most important issue is not this….."

Fang Yuan murmured and kept the pieces of the treasure map safely. His right hand touched a piece of jadeite and he kept silent.

That piece of jadeite was clear and shiny. It seemed that there were streaks of gold lines circulating in it, making it special.

Also, the Blood Killer had the treasure map sewn on his clothes but he hid the jadeite in his body, which clearly showed that the piece of jadeite was very precious.

"Just that…..I wonder what mystery this piece of jadeite holds!"

He stared at the square-shaped jadeite for a long time. He couldn't find any handwritings or symbols on it. It could reflect light when placed in water under sunlight.

"This is strange!"

Fang Yuan shook his head and kept the jadeite safely. He then continued on his journey.

During this trip outside the Qingye City, he battled in the jungle and killed Gui Wusheng and the Blood Killer. He also obtained a few treasures like the Ying Yang Jade, pieces of the treasure map and the mysterious jadeite. He even got to observe a battle between Wu Zong and the spiritual disciple. Thus, he gained quite a lot through this trip and was very satisfied.

The only thing that he wanted to do now was to cut off any relations between him and these incidents.

This was fairly simple.

After all, Fang Yuan didn't even reveal his face before.

Even though back in Shaoyang City, someone witnessed him leaving together with Gui Wusheng, nobody knew the outcome of the duel between the both of them. Fang Yuan could say that both of them were on par with each other and they fought till exhaustion.

But what about Gui Wusheng? The Five Ghosts Sect was crumbling and it would be normal for him to hide now, wouldn't it?

If it still looked suspicious, the rest could find the ghost of Gui Wusheng to testify.

"Next, if I were to remove all the traces I left behind here, that would be sufficient!"

Fang Yuan trekked through the forest and walked a big circle. He then exited the Xuanyan Mountain by another way and reached a nearby county. He then boarded a carriage and quickly went back to Qingye City.

...…..

Days after, back at the inn where Fang Yuan was living in.

Fang Yuan, who was lying down, opened his eyes and was welcomed by a bright light.

"Hoo….."

Fang Yuan exhaled out a long breath and stretched himself.

"Once I have broken through the Death Gate, I will be reborn...I have finally attained [Martial Artist (8th Gate)], which is the Death Gate!"

He was not really surprised that he attained it.

After all, he was already in a state which he could attain a new level anytime.

In addition to the previous battles and the lessons learnt from the duel between Wu Zong and the spiritual disciple, his attainment was a matter of time.

Of course, the main contribution to his attainment was his daily intake of spiritual food, which allowed his foundations to become stronger and thus able to break through the Death Gate successfully!

Ever since he felt that he was ready to break through, Fang Yuan immediately found an inn and got the best room in the inn for him to prepare to break through.

This time, the breakthrough of the Death Gate was different for him as it felt as if he went for a nap.

Correct! He went for a nap!

If he was able to wake up from the nap, it meant that he broke through successfully. However, if he did not wake up, it meant he was dead!

Even though the concept was simple, it also had a possible scary outcome!

"Hmm?"

Fang Yuan got up and felt that both of his hands were sticky. It felt very uncomfortable and he rubbed his hands. A layer of dead skin then dropped off and it revealed a new layer of clear and bright skin.

"Reborn? I am really reborn!"

He looked at his hands happily and tore away the dead skin which was on his arm.

"Piak!"

It was as if a snake had changed its skin. On his arm, a layer of skin which contained traces of dirt and blood dropped off, revealing a smooth layer of new skin, perfect and without any scars on it.

"The cultivation of martial arts is actually considered a tough training. With a bit of talent, one can train his elemental force when he has attained Wu Zong….."

Fang Yuan gradually understood.

Under normal circumstances, most people would not be able to reach the lowest gate of a spiritual knight.

However, martial arts is different!

From the start, there were 3 gates, namely the Initial, Rest and Life. One who did not have prior experience would be able to break through and attain them in 3 years with hard work.

If one had prior experience, one could try to break through the Restriction Gate and strengthen one's inner power.

After the Pain Gate, one would have gained inner force and could improve his essence and spirit naturally. After the Death Gate, one's inner force would reach its peak.

Next, whether to take in both Yin and Yang or to combine them together, was part of the preparation needed to break through the Heaven Gate and train one's elemental force.

"This process is one step at a time and consists of 12 steps, which is different from the process which involves the spiritual disciple breaking through to become the spiritual knight. Hence, the former process is considered to be more favourable….."

At that moment, Fang Yuan did not look down on martial arts but felt full of respect for the creation of the 12 Golden Gates in martial arts.

The creator had given many who did not have prior experience a straight pathway to attain the Heaven Gate!

Correct, the Heaven Gate!

Fang Yuan recalled that the Blood Killer looked at him with disdain and knew what kind of impression spiritual knights and sorcerers had on normal human beings.

Then what about normal human beings? If one was to be able to break through all 12 Golden Gates and attained Wuzong, one would become immortal and would be able to reach the heaven!

"The Yin Yang Jade can be used right after the 8th Gate!"

Fang Yuan was not as petty as Gui Wusheng. Gui Wusheng was reluctant to use it for himself but Fang Yuan had decided to use it immediately to speed up his training process.

Of course, before using it, he wanted to have a look again at his stats window.

His stats window then appeared in front of him:

"Name: Fang Yuan

Essence: 5.0

Spirit: 4.9

Magic: 3.3

Age: 19

Cultivation: [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]

Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 8)]

Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"

"Eh? There is an increase in my magic, is it because of the breakthrough of the Death Gate? Or is it due to the effect of the spiritual tea which was triggered during the breakthrough? Or is it both?"

His essence and spirit had increased tremendously and Fang Yuan had expected it.

What surprised him was that his magic had increased by 0.3.

After all, he did not have any other breakthroughs other than his previous breakthrough of the 7th Gate.

"However, this is normal anyway….The prerequisite to being a spiritual knight or a sorcerer was to have a high level of magic! How could martial arts only help to improve one's body condition? It definitely had to improve one's magic as well!"

"Or maybe….attaining the 4 Heavenly Gates was not only to combine the elemental force of Yin and Yang but also to improve one's magic to prepare oneself for Wu Zong…."

"The 12 Golden Gates; I have broken through the 8th gate which is the Death Gate. Next up will be the 9th Gate, which is the Yin Gate, and then the 10th Gate, which is the Yang Gate, and then the 11th Gate, which is the Earth Gate and lastly the 12th Gate, which is the Heaven Gate!"

Fang Yuan took out the Yin Yang Jade. The piece of Jade was perfect and it had both red and black textures in it, which made it special.

This piece of jade could speed up the combination of Yin and Yang for a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]. This was one of the secret processes of the Five Ghosts Sect.

Even though the Five Ghosts Sect had wanted to use this piece of jade to attract its enemies, the jade landed into Fang Yuan's hands in the end.

"This jade…..seems to be used in this way!"

Fang Yuan murmured and shipped his inner force onto his palms.

At that moment, there was a conversion and his inner force that was actually in 7th Gate previously was now smoothly transferred to the 8th Gate.

He noticed a swirl in the inner part of the Yin Yang Jade with the combination of Yin and Yang.

"Go!"

Fang Yuan shipped his inner force into the circulation of the Yin and Yang and his inner force went one round in the circulation and then back into his body.

"Hiss..."

At that moment, he felt a cold stream down his arms and then to shoulders and his chest…..and then finally to his lower abdomen.

"Is this…..Yin?"

Fang Yuan looked at the Yin Yang Jade and the textures on the jadeite were still clear as before. It seemed like it had not been used before.

"According to the Iron Skin Technique and the manuals from the Spirit Returning Sect, if a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] wants to make a breakthrough, he would have to train hard daily and endlessly. As such, he should be able to get the Yin into his body in half a month or so, but now….."

He looked at his stats window again.

He saw his proficiency points for [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 8)] had increased by 1%.

"My intake of Yin this time equals to half a month of hard work by a normal [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]?"

Fang Yuan's eyes glittered and said, "This Yin Yang Jade is good stuff. The Five Ghosts Sect is indeed rich with treasures….."

In fact, he was being whimsical.

Even though Five Ghosts Sect was rich, the Yin Yang Jade was considered one of the most precious treasures in there and was hidden well. Normal elders would not have known this piece of jade.

If the purpose was not to attract the enemy, Gui Wusheng would not have brought the jade out.

Even so, Gui Wusheng only had the right of safekeeping it and not the right of using it.

"Gui Wusheng that stupid idiot. He was probably controlled by the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master..."

Fang Yuan then came to a conclusion. "If one does not know how to appreciate the treasure, even if the treasure was a gift from heaven, the treasure would hurt one instead!"

He got up and opened the windows. He breathed in deeply and looked at the Lieyang County silently.

With the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer dead, the Five Ghosts Sect had no leader. In addition to the attack by the Spirit Returning Sect, the Five Ghosts Sect would definitely split and it was a golden opportunity for one to take advantage of the situation!

Since the Five Ghosts Sect had a piece of Yin Yang Jade, maybe they would have a second or a third piece of the same jade or something similar in value….

Fang Yuan was too imaginative and he grew greedy.

"Hold on a second, I have gained a lot from this trip and I should reflect and plan my next moves, instead of finding ways to get even more such treasures."

Fang Yuan's eyes glittered and thought, "Looks like I have improved too quickly. I better return home to continue on my cultivation, along with farming and making tea….."

Chapter 66: Cultivation

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Chirp!"

A black dot appeared in the blue sky and accompanying it, a bird's caw.

"Hu!"

A large eagle with metallic wings flew down and landed in front of Fang Yuan.

"I'm back!"

Fang Yuan walked forward and patted the Iron-tailed Black Eagle.

"Keke!"

Black Eagle did not appear to reject him, which pleased Fang Yuan, because he knew that they had gotten even closer than before.

"Is everything alright in the secluded valley?"

He took a few steps forward and reached the entrance. A white flash appeared and stopped at his legs. It was the Flower Fox Ferret.

All this while, they had no spiritual tea, and the two beasts also didn't know how to start a fire. They had no choice but to return to their old ways of hunting and eating meat raw and therefore, both of them longed for his return.

For instance, the Flower Fox Ferret had already caught two plump chickens and was waiting for Fang Yuan to cook them.

"Greedy fellow!"

Fang Yuan scolded him jokingly and entered his home.

Even though there were two spiritual beasts looking after the secluded valley, Fang Yuan was still worried and went around to check on things.

He arrived at the farm and firstly went to look for the Questioning Heart Tea. He couldn't contain his excitement as he noticed small leaflets sprouting from the branches of the tree.

This trip made him realise the importance of having higher than average magic points.

He owed it all to his magic points that he could survive the ordeal this time.

"This tea should be spring tea, as the season is coming soon..."

Fang Yuan as extremely pleased, as he arrived at the farm and realised almost all the Vermilion Jade Rice had been harvested. However, the surroundings were not barren.

Shrubs of Emerald Grass were sprouting around the farm in an orderly manner, full of life.

"The Emerald Grass is growing rather well!"

As it was the lowest form among spiritual plants, it only two purposes was to cultivate a plot of land and also be harvested as food for spiritual beasts. Fang Yuan scanned the area and could not find any plant with evolved special traits, and was a little disappointed.

"Let's take a look at the spiritual bamboo!"

With shocking healing abilities, the bamboo fruit could even heal wounds caused by elemental forces, and this made Fang Yuan realise the importance of it.

As he approached the bridge, he was overwhelmed with joy.

Beside the rock, a green bamboo stood tall and strong. Its branches were emerald-green and had no signs of rotting.

"When a spiritual bamboo blooms, fruits will form. It would then rot and die after its fruits ripen, and re-sprout into a new spiritual bamboo... This is because it cannot receive enough nutrients to sustain itself... But now, what is happening?"

Fang Yuan looked at his [Botany] and knew that this was one of the special traits that the spiritual bamboo evolved to have.

Even though the spiritual bamboo was not completely evolved, it already had certain traits of it being improved, and for instance this time, it did not rot.

"Keke!"

The Flower Fox Ferret pointed to a little bulge on the ground, as it tried to hint to Fang Yuan that it was something new.

"Eh? Could it be..."

Fang Yuan gently dug out the layer of soil above, and a purple shoot appeared.

"Indeed... When spring comes the bamboo will flourish, what an unexpected gain!"

It was different from the spiritual bamboo. Its bamboo trunk had a layer of purple and hidden within it, there was spiritual energy which emitted a pleasant fragrance.

"I could locate other bamboos by following its roots, and for this root..."

Fang Yuan followed then bamboo root and discovered a few more bamboo shoots. He gingerly covered the shoots with soil and was smiling from ear to ear.

"Keke…...Chirp Chirp..."

The Flower Fox Ferret was pulling at his clothes, its paws pointing about. Fang Yuan was amused, "You want to try the bamboo shoot?"

"Chirp Chirp!"

After hearing this, the black eagle at the side seemed to understand what was happening and appeared as excited as the Flower Fox Ferret.

"You guys... This spiritual bamboo is a treasure, how can we kill the source of our food?"

Fang Yuan continued, "There's quite a lot of spiritual bamboo within the red-eyed white king bird's nest, as well as other spiritual things... When we have a chance, I shall bring you guys along to loot the entire place!"

With his improvements in martial arts and his two spiritual beasts, Fang Yuan started to have ideas on the Green Peak once again.

"Chirp Chirp!"

The Iron-tailed Black Eagle had bad blood with the red-eyed white birds all along and was excited at the thought of Fang Yuan's suggestion.

Even though they have decided on the plan, it still wasn't easy to deal with the red-eyed white king bird.

After all, the king bird was equivalent to a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates and would be even more unpredictable when angered.

The Iron-tailed Black Eagle was extremely lucky to have escaped the previous ordeal, and there was no way it could have escaped again given the same situation.

Furthermore, Fang Yuan had just returned and he should be resting and recuperating.

...

"Phew... I am finally able to rest after this hectic period!"

The next day, Fang Yuan held a teacup, took a sip and was in deep relaxation.

"Spiritual bamboo shoots for breakfast, coupled with Meditative Questioning Heart Tea. Even the gods couldn't ask for this!"

After mulling over it for the whole night, he gave in to pressure from both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, and the three of them enjoyed the bamboo shoots for breakfast.

Of course, it was the three of them sharing one shoot.

Fang Yuan was shocked to his wits.

Regardless the crunchy texture, or the milky fragrance, or the sweet sap, they were all on a different level.

Of course, he became extremely regretful after eating it.

His was afraid that he would not be able to resist eating the remaining shoots, and he felt that it was such a waste to eat the shoots and therefore lose the fruit that it would bear in the future.

"Both of you have gained quite a bit..."

Seeing the both of them drinking the spiritual tea, eating the spiritual bamboo and strengthening themselves, Fang Yuan admired them.

After all, the spiritual beasts were different from humans; there are no gates for them. As long as they eat and drink to their fill, and grow to a certain age, they would automatically attain a higher level.

Comparatively, he needed to train hard, and would, therefore, feel that he had no choice but to accept the fact.

As a cup of Questioning Heart Tea entered his stomach, he began to forget his worries.

After a long while, he slowly placed his teacup down, and heaved a long sigh.

"The higher my magic, the harder it would be to increase it... Furthermore, the effect of the Questioning Heart Tea slowly seems to be unable to satisfy me anymore..."

This was normal. As time passed, the spiritual plants which were able to increase one's magic would be treasured by many, and would be called 'Deity Plants'.

Of course, being such a unique plant, the Questioning Heart Tea would definitely be beneficial to spiritual knights as well.

Fang Yuan realised that even though his body was less receptive to the Questioning Heart Tea, he could drink more of it instead of focusing in finding a better quality deity plant to replace it, and that would solve the problem.

"The most important thing now is to quickly break through the 4 Heavenly Gates! Fusing the Yin and Yang, to break the Earth Gate and Heaven Gate, all these should be extremely beneficial to my magic!"

After sorting out his thoughts, he crossed his legs and sat on the ground, and took out his Yin Yang Jade.

After playing around with the Jade, Fang Yuan knew how to use the Jade in general. Only the inner force of [Martial Artists (8th Gate)] would be able to enter the Jade, to be split it into Yin and Yang, and this would expedite the progress of cultivation by a thousand times.

"After the process, I would have lost around half of my Yang..."

The black and red stripes within the Jade became milder, and Fang Yuan felt that it was a pity.

Yin and Yang are the forces of the heavens, and they coexist, never alone but always together.

Whenever some Yin was taken, the same amount of Yang would be lost, in order for the forces within the Yin Yang Jade to remain balanced at all times.

As he had not broken the Yin Gate, he could only see the true Yang from the afternoon sun being lost, as he had no way to harness it.

"Keke!"

As he was sighing, a white flash appeared, and a paw came in contact with the Yin Yang Jade. It was the Flower Fox Ferret.

"Eh? What are you doing?"

Fang Yuan was confused, as he observed. The Flower Fox Ferret was actually harnessing the extra Yang for his own cultivation.

"Can spiritual beast cultivate their skills on their own?"

He felt that his view of the world was once again obsolete. The memories he had from another world made him aware that many demons would train under the moon, but this was the Yang from the sun, and it was completely different.

"Hiss!"

After taking in a shred of Yang, the Flower Fox Ferret held its breath, shook, and laid flat on the ground, as though it was drunk.

Fang Yuan had seen the Flower Fox Ferret in this state a few times before, while he was drinking the Questioning Heart Tea.

"It seems that it had entered a deep level of cultivation..."

Fang Yuan nodded his head, kept the Yin Yang Jade, and had a headache.

Afterall, there was another being at home who would be after his own treasures. To be on guard against it would not be easy.

Of course, he wasn't stingy about the Yang lost. To Fang Yuan, he would rather strengthen his spiritual pet than let it go to waste!

The only thing he was afraid about was that the beast might not be aware of how to harness it properly, and might take in too much Yang. This would not only spoil the Yin Yang Jade, but also harm the beast, and that wouldn't be worth it...

"Phew... If I continue to fuse my Yin every day, I should be able to achieve a breakthrough to 9th Gate in a few days time..."

Seeing the experience bar slowly being filled, Fang Yuan nodded his head and started to train.

To a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)], taking in Yin was the hardest of all. The fusion was much easier, and after 2 hours, Fang Yuan completed his training for the day. He felt as though a clear river was flowing through him, and was immensely satisfied.

Since he was in such a good condition, he decided to take the opportunity and took out a piece of jade.

This jade was different from the Yin Yang Jade. It was squarish, and it was as though a golden coin was swirling within it. It was indeed the jade Fang Yuan obtained from the Blood Killer.

He was completely relaxed and wanted to unveil the mystery of this jade.

"There seems to be no carving on it, and it does not seem like a key..."

Fang Yuan sighed and suddenly stuck it on his own forehead. He focused his magic on his forehead, as though he was gathering and pushing the magic upwards physically.

"Rumble!"

...

...

...

After a long while, nothing happened.

Fang Yuan rolled his eyes, took the jade down, and felt a little disappointed. "Indeed, the memories from the other world shouldn't be taken too seriously. Using magic to understand jades, this was most likely bullshit from the author..."

Even though it was as such, he felt that he understood something else.

Within this jade, there must be a secret, and the only thing lacking is the key to it.

Chapter 67: Mystery

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"I'm here to see you, sir!"

Zhou Wenwu bowed respectfully and was also relieved to see Fang Yuan.

Previously, when Fang Yuan went out on a trip, Zhou Wenwu would feel unsafe. However, with Fang Yuan back, he felt much safer.

"Hmm!"

Fang Yuan crossed his knees and sat down. He then waved his hand and said, "How is everything in Lieyang County?"

He had about 10 days left before he had to go back to the sect. With the daily cultivations of body and soul, Fang Yuan's [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] was much more stable than before. With the intake of the Yin, he had improved tremendously.

Zhou Wenwu was affected the most by his improvement.

To him, Fang Yuan was way more superior than the dead Elder Song!

Upon hearing what Fang Yuan asked, he then answered immediately, "Ever since the news of the injured Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master spread, there was chaos everywhere in Lieyang County. Everyone in the Five Ghosts Sect were panicking and some of the disciples had decided to defect. Some of the elders stayed indoors while some went missing. Meanwhile, there were other forces getting ready to join in this mess….."

The situation was expected.

Without the suppression of the Five Ghosts Sect, the sect was already considered well organised if the sect did not split.

Also, there were loyal disciples who were still there, but there was a possibility that they might change their mindset as well.

"Is there any movement made from the Spirit Returning Sect?"

Logically speaking, Shi Yutong did not gain anything through this expedition and wouldn't go back to the sect so easily before she gained anything.

If there was the help of the mysterious spiritual knight, there would be a possibility of losing the two counties.

"Under the leadership of Spirit Returning Sect Sect Master, Spirit Returning Sect controls Shaoyang City and two of the quarries in Lieyang County. After which, there is not much movement from them….."

Zhou Wenwu was really telling everything that he knew about the sect.

"Really? It looks like the sect is confident in its preparation for its next move!"

Fang Yuan nodded his head upon hearing what Zhou Wenwu said. However, it was not an easy task for the sect take over the whole of Lieyang County. "But the sect only controls the two quarries…..but this should be sufficient for the sect to show its power. Very well!"

The more chaotic Lieyang County was, the more problematic it would become for the Spirit Returning Sect. However, to Fang Yuan, it would be more advantageous.

"Also, the Spirit Returning Sect incurred a big loss this time and even the Second Elder Han Yan was also injured badly and was currently recovering back in the sect. The sect was also on a lookout for any good doctors to help in the recovery and Master, please be extra careful!"

"One final thing….."

Zhou Wenwu hesitated for a while before he continued, "The sect secretly ordered for me to collect intelligence about you…..and it seemed like it was an order given by a series of Sect Masters!"

"A series of Sect Masters….if it was Shi Yutong, she wouldn't be so secretive about it. That means a certain person is very interested in me now?"

Fang Yuan stroked his chin and dismissed Zhou Wenwu. He then sighed and said, "Being too handsome is also a problem for me now…."

Jokes aside, he could sort of guess that this order was initiated by Lin Leiyue but it had nothing to do with the possibility that both of them still had feelings for each other.

Even if Fang Yuan had revealed a part of his ability, she would be very surprised by it and this would make her even more curious to find out more about Fang Yuan.

Outsiders wouldn't know how Fang Yuan was like in the past and would only know there was someone powerful in the secluded valley.

However, Lin Leiyue knew the background of Fang Yuan.

Since she knew Fang Yuan was also a normal person in the past, she would then be even more surprised with the improvements Fang Yuan had in his abilities and skills.

Fang Yuan had expected this to happen but didn't expect the other party to be so secretive in finding out more about himself. It seemed like Lin Leiyue was hiding a secret or something.

"Never mind…..I shall think of a solution on the spot when the time comes. I should get back to farming! And this….."

Fang Yuan flipped his hands and an emerald green jade appeared.

He looked at the golden textures on the piece of jade was mesmerised by it.

...….

Spring had arrived in March. Birds were flying and chirping everywhere.

Winter had passed and the flowers were blooming. Fang Yuan came to the Vermilion Jade Rice farm specially during this time.

Looking at the consolidated Emerald Grass, the farm hadn't become a waste as the colour of the soil remained pure black and it was still in good condition.

"This fertiliser…..has a beneficial effect on the farm!"

Fang Yuan wore a thick clothing. He carried a hoe and started to cultivate the Vermillion Jade Rice.

The seeds that were planted were chosen by him and were of high quality. The condition of the seeds remained well for a long period of time.

"I think there is no need for further expansion of the spiritual farm. The current size of the farm is sufficient….."

Beside him, the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle were also helping out in the farming.

After a busy morning, Fang Yuan then made a pot of tea and enjoyed the tea with the other 2 spiritual beasts beside the spiritual farm.

"All the spiritual tea leaves have been picked. The bamboos are growing fast. I have also just planted the seeds for the spiritual rice and with the spiritual fertiliser added, this year's harvest should be a big one…."

Fang Yuan couldn't help but think of the Red-eyed White King Bird when he thought of the spiritual fertiliser.

Even though he already had plans to raid the nest once more, but with the Yin Yang Jade in his hands currently, he decided to postpone that plan and prepare himself for further improvements.

If he could break through the 4 Heavenly Gates, he would have no problem in dealing with the Red-eyed White King Bird.

Also, with the current happenings around him, he was not thinking about expanding outwards.

There were dark clouds everywhere in the afternoon and it looked like it was about to rain. It was also humid and this made it easier to fall asleep.

Back in his home, Fang Yuan sat down and ordered the 2 spiritual beasts to keep a lookout outside. He looked at the emerald green jade and was mesmerised even further.

There was a cool stream flowing down his fingers as he touched the piece of jade and this made him alert and not sleepy anymore.

During this period of time, Fang Yuan had been searching for the secret of this piece of jade and now he had managed to learn something about this piece of jade.

"The main criteria for being a spiritual knight was one's magical energy…..Hence, one should start by improving the magical energy…..This piece of jade is indestructible and inner force cannot even destroy it. However….."

Fang Yuan took a copper basin and it contained a red liquid. The liquid gave off a fishy smell and it was actually blood.

"This Blood Killer is so secretive in his movements. He is slightly evil and now even the things that he brought along with is also slightly evil in nature….."

He came to this conclusion about the piece of jade that the Blood Killer had hidden in his body after many rounds of unsuccessful experiments with it.

"Ploop!"

He was expressionless and he dropped the piece of jade into the basin.

Fang Yuan then stared at the basin.

Not long after, there was a change in the basin.

The golden textures on the jade seemed to be moving about and absorbing the blood as the colour of the liquid started to turn gold. Finally, the colour was back to blood red.

After a period of time, the emerald green piece of jade became red and the golden textures had become blood red in colour as well, which looked like the blood vessels of a person. The jade seemed evil.

"Are all spiritual knights…..that evil in nature?"

Fang Yuan then picked up the bloody jade and washed it with clean water.

The bloody jade was fine and glossy. The red textures in it were slightly moving and that made it a special jade.

"There is not much change!"

Fang Yuan placed the jade under the sun and couldn't find any handwriting or symbols. Even his inner force couldn't be shipped into the piece of jade.

He experimented for quite a while and then placed it on his forehead, in between his eyebrows while biting his teeth.

The position he placed the jade was called Yintang in traditional Chinese medicine. That position was also called Mind Palace in the world of inner power. This was an important acupuncture point as this was where one's essence, spirit and magic met. One who was highly skilled in medicine could decipher how strong a person is from his or her Yintang.

In this world, there was also another name for it, called 'Heaven's Eye'!

This name originated from an old anecdote. The anecdote stated that in the past, there was an immortal person who had three eyes. After generations, the Heaven's Eye closed gradually.

Whether the anecdote was real or fake, Fang Yuan was not really bothered by it. However, with his magical energy being concentrated between his eyebrows, he could observe his surroundings and hide.

"Pah!"

The position where he placed the bloody jade gave off a cooling sensation.

Fang Yuan concentrated his magical energy from the Mind Palace and started to explore the secrets of the bloody jade.

"Bang!"

A loud noise then came from his mind.

There were no obstructions this time and his spiritual mind managed to reach into the jade.

Fang Yuan felt as if he reached a chaotic space and there were numerous red handwriting appearing right in front of him. The handwritings were about a form of technique.

"It's the Blood Magic Technique; Focused Magic Returning Scroll!"

At the start, a few of the handwritings were big in size, which made it very visible. The handwritings brought about a tense atmosphere and this caused Fang Yuan to be in shock.

He continued on looking at the handwriting and realised that the Blood Magic Technique taught one on how to concentrate one's magical energy and attained the level of a spiritual knight!

However, it was not easy to attain it as the criteria required one to have magical energy that was beyond a normal human being. Furthermore, it was almost impossible for one to have such great amount of magical energy.

Also, the training process was gory. One example would be the 'Blood Elemental Force'. One would have to concentrate 3 Yang and 7 Yin as a blood sacrifice. 10 sets of blood from 10 different people would be needed to build the foundations. The entire process was extremely cruel and the crueler the victims were treated, the higher the probability of success.

Seeing this, Fang Yuan frowned.

He knew that his character was not good in nature but if he were to execute this process, it would not do any good to his morals anyway.

After a long while, Fang Yuan then placed the bloody jade down and his face was pale white. He then shook his head and said, "Blood Magic Technique is way too evil and cruel. The risks are too high….."

Even though this technique was very cruel, there were recordings at the back of the scroll which stated some tips used by different spiritual knights and disciples of different magical energy. The tips were also used along with other medicine and tools. The scroll also mentioned the formula on how to make the Crazy Blood Pill. This caused Fang Yuan to be interested in the scroll again.

Without knowing it, he had almost exhausted his magical energy and knew the hardships of a spiritual knight.

With his current level, he had already exhausted his elemental energy. Under normal circumstances, normal people would not have been able to discover the secrets of this jade, not to mention about using it for training.

Chapter 68: Flame Jade

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Although I can't learn the Blood Magic Technique, the description of the uses of magical energy is still useful, maybe I can learn from it..."

After unveiling the secrets of the jadeite, he focused his energy on understanding the Blood Magic Technique.

Based on his prediction and the inscriptions on the jadeite, Fang Yuan was sure that the Blood Magic Technique was not a widely circulated technique among the spiritual knight community; it was merely a technique for those who wanted to hastily improve their skill through other means possible.

"In this Focused Magic Returning Scroll, there are only two steps. The first is to focus one's Blood Elemental Force and become a spiritual disciple. The second step would be to break through and become a spiritual knight..."

Thinking of the scroll's description, Fang Yuan shook his head.

Compared to the 12 Golden Gates, the cultivation method of the spiritual knights only consists of one step. If one did not have immense potential, it would be impossible.

"As for the training methods of elemental force, some of it might be relevant for me..."

Once a martial artist fused his Yin and Yang, and then through the Earth and Heaven, he would have formed elemental force.

The Blood Magic Technique's description of harnessing the elemental force was entirely relevant and could be followed to the tee.

After all, Fang Yuan had enough magic, comparable to that of a spiritual disciple.

The Blood Magic Technique was not something suitable for him, and if he wasn't desperate enough, he wouldn't try to learn it.

"However, as for elemental force... It is something of a higher tier than inner force. It is sometimes called Heaven and Earth's spiritual force, and its potential is immense and cannot be fathomed..."

Fang Yuan had witnessed a battle between Wu Zongs and a spiritual disciple and was extremely looking forward to attaining a whole new level as what he saw.

"Based on my potential, it should be possible for me to start gathering my elemental force!"

This was the final conclusion he ended up with after reading about the Blood Magic Technique and based on his own martial arts experience.

Although he could not adopt the training methods of the spiritual disciple wholesale, he could adapt it to his own training to expedite his progress.

After all, the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique could only break through 12 Gates, but to break through Wu Zong it was impossible.

In addition, the Spirit Returning Heart Manual that Fang Yuan had was also incomplete, and it was the important parts that were missing.

He had to plan for his future.

"Of course, I must not neglect my Meditative Tea Ceremony... especially the cultivation of the mind."

The only useful power would be power that one could control. Fang Yuan did not want to lose control of his mind, especially when getting involved with this type of magic technique. Even though he was only adapting from it, he still had to take precautions.

...

The next few days were devoted to understanding the Blood Magic Technique.

This technique was a spiritual knight technique which required a deep understanding of it. Even though he was only adapting from it, he had to understand the entire technique, which led to him even sacrificing his sleep and meals, which showed the extent he devoted to understanding the technique. He had no further energy to find trouble for others.

"The 12 Golden Gates is merely a process to harness elemental energy. For a martial artist with average potential, he would have to take it step by step. As for the spiritual knights who have higher potential, they would ultimately end up on the same path... In theory, if I focused my elemental energy, I could instantly become Wu Zong! What a pity... The 3 Yins and 7 Yangs sacrifice as described in the Blood Magic Technique is full of implications, and other problems may surface, I cannot practice it..."

As he was farming he was mulling over this problem.

"As of now I have accumulated enough Yin, and I just need to wait for the right moment to break through into the 9th Gate and become a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates..."

If this news spread, the entire Qinghe County would be in shock!

After all, what was the whole concept of the 4 Heavenly Gates? Within the Spirit Returning Sect or the Five Ghosts Sect, he would be top 5! It was no longer the majority of the martial artists, but the pinnacle!

If Secluded Mountain Prefecture knew about it, they would take Fang Yuan as the most talented young man in the martial arts world. Lin Huang or Lin Leiyue wouldn't even be considered.

Even as such, Fang Yuan didn't care much.

In his mind, he had a crazy plan.

"What's so great about breaking through the 9th Gate? 10th Gate, the Yang Gate, and 11th Gate the Earth Gate are all actually pathways to harness the elemental force, or should I say, the seeds to elemental force! Although I have no intention to learn the Blood Magic Technique, with the assistance of the Yin Yang Jade to fuse my Yin and Yang, it would be possible to obtain elemental force and attain the next level, the Earth Gate!"

Fang Yuan's eyes was filled with passion.

To focus his elemental energy and break through Wu Zong was too large a step. Furthermore, he had little information and fully based his assumptions on what was written on the Blood Magic Technique manual, and he wasn't convinced.

It would be different at the Earth Gate!

This Gate required the fusion of Yin and Yang to produce the seeds of elemental force. This would fulfil a large requirement to break through the Earth Gate.

With the Yin Yang Jade, he had enough knowledge of the Yin and Yang.

The most important was that he had the guidance of the Blood Magic Technique, and had no qualms about focusing his elemental force, so what considerations would he have in harnessing the seeds of the elemental force?

"If the plan works, I can break both the 10th Gate and the Earth Gate one after another!"

"If my guess is correct, the breaking through of the Heaven Gate is actually breaking through the control of Mind Palace! One's magical energy would be surge, and when a martial artist reaches this stage, even if he loses focus he would recover in no time. He would have the chance to break through to Wu Zong and have the chance to harness elemental force... This is no problem to me!"

Fang Yuan heaved a long sigh.

To him, understanding the 12 Golden Gates were as simple as flipping his palm to look at his fingerprints, and he had no other doubts.

"Eh?"

He was stunned for a moment and looked at the farm.

After a downpour, the Vermilion Jade Rice seedlings began to sprout furiously in neat rows.

There was a particular patch which seemed empty, and it was as though the spiritual plants were dead.

Not just the Vermilion Jade Rice, but even the Emerald Grass had signs of withering.

"Could it be..."

Fang Yuan wasn't disappointed; instead, he was rather excited about it as he rushed forward to examine it up close.

Indeed, in the middle of the barren patch were flame-like seedlings standing out, extremely eye-catching.

Fang Yuan examined it further and realised that it was shorter than the average seedling. It was a deep orange, with a streak of gold in the middle. The colour was extremely vibrant, like a flame.

Comparing the Vermilion Jade Rice to it would be like comparing the eyeball of a fish to a pearl. They were of a totally different level.

"Haha..."

Fang Yuan smiled as he saw the seedlings before him, and not long later, he could no longer contain his laughter and started to burst out laughing.

"Indeed... It's a spiritual plant evolving a special trait! Level up!"

The Vermilion Jade Rice was a spiritual plant to begin with, and what entails after evolving the second time? Fang Yuan looked forward to it.

After all, this was still spiritual rice!

It was different from the bamboo fruit and other spiritual medicine. This was milder in magical energy and could be produced in masses and consumed daily!

This would be a priceless treasure for those big sects!

"Hmm, this seedling evolved from the Vermilion Jade Rice and is even better than it, I shall name it 'Flame Jade Rice'!"

After a long period of examination, Fang Yuan stood up, swept the dirt away and looked around at the withered plants, looking helpless. "After evolving, the spiritual plant would steal the elemental energy from its surroundings. Both the Vermilion Jade Rice and Emerald Grass failed to survive..."

His thoughts linked to the bamboo fruit that he was holding in his hands all along.

It would not grow if it was planted here. Ultimately, the Flame Jade Rice was just a little better than the Vermilion Jade Rice.

What made Fang Yuan speechless was the fact that only one of the many evolved!

How many grains would there be? And how many batches did he plant already?

He might not even be able to harvest a bowl of Flame Jade Rice! Therefore, the priority now was for him to focus his efforts to let it grow, replant all the harvest and after a few seasons, only then would he start to consume it.

"Ultimately, it would be a gain, just that the starting would be a little troublesome..."

Fang Yuan bit his teeth and looked around. "Hmm... Given the surroundings of the secluded valley, it is impossible to plant the Flame Jade Rice in large scales!"

Unknowingly, he looked towards the mountainous ridges of the Clear Spirit Mountain.

...

"I want to meditate and break through gates, I wouldn't be too worried if both you are guarding the secluded valley!"

After a good meal of Vermilion Jade Rice, Fang Yuan called to the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle. "There is one thing you two should take note. Do not harm the spiritual bamboo, spiritual tea, spiritual rice, and especially the Flame Jade Rice! Remember, if you want to have a taste of it in the future, you need to listen to me!"

It was rare that he was fierce to the two spiritual beasts.

The two spiritual beasts were not stupid and knew that they should not jeopardise their long-term benefits just for short-term satisfaction.

Fang Yuan closed the curtains and cleared his mind.

This was the state of mind that he achieved through years of cultivation under the Meditative Tea Ceremony. Within seconds, all cluttered thoughts were cleared and peace was restored in his mind.

After these few months of cultivation and training, he knew that his foundation was stable. Although he felt nothing, he knew that the previous time he ate the spiritual bamboo, his elemental energy had improved.

At the 8th Gate, his abdomen was filled with Yin, and this was the perfect opportunity to break through!

Fang Yuan sat down as he tried to feel for the spiritual feeling. Within his body, the Yin energy swirled within him, as it began to fuse with his inner force. They were now a single entity.

...

Unknowingly, it was daybreak and the sunlight peered through his curtains.

"Kacha!"

Fang Yuan, who was sitting down on the ground, let out a long sigh.

"Whiz!"

A white flash as agile as an arrow shot out, and all around him, he felt cold, which lowered the temperature in the entire room.

"After fusing my Yin, would there be any changes to my stats window?"

Fang Yuan mumbled to himself, stood up, and felt newfound strength within him as he nodded his head. "The 9th Gate, completed!"

Chapter 69: Elder Han

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"How far is Qingye City from here?"

Along the old pathway, there were a few carriages moving. Suddenly, a pale hand stretched out and opened the curtains, which revealed a pair of eyes.

The hand was so pale that it looked as if it had lost a great amount of blood. The blood vessels along the arm were also visible.

The person whose hand was pale had a strange voice. His old raspy voice had a slight hint of youthful vigour in it. He was already panting after saying a few words, which clearly suggested that he was easily short of breath.

"Elder Han please hold on, we will be there in a few hours time!"

The person who was at the helm of the carriage was Lu Zhisen, who went to the secluded valley to seek medical attention previously.

The only difference was that now he was being polite and respectful instead of his usual recklessness.

"Hurhur….that's good….after all, we have Lin Leiyue with us on this trip. Once we reached back home, you should have a big reunion with Minister Lin….."

Elder Han looked middle-aged. His lips were red and his teeth were white. He had a beautifully shaped pair of eyes. With his pale cheeks, his facial features were handsome in a feminine way. This effeminate side of him was accentuated whenever he covered his mouth when he coughed gently. Even Lu Zhisen was disgusted by this.

However, no matter how courageous he was, he wouldn't dare to do anything to Elder Han who had attained the 4 Heavenly Gates in the Spirit Returning Sect.

"Elder Han, you are being too polite!"

Lin Leiyue was riding on a red date coloured horse previously and galloped forward respectfully after hearing what Elder Han said.

In the sect, she was the junior of both Elder Yan and Elder Han. After all, to an expert in 4 Heavenly Gates, even the direct disciple of the sect head was not on the same level unless the disciple had very exceptional abilities.

"Cough….no harm…..hurhur….."

Elder Han wanted to say something but his expression changed. He then started coughing and covered his mouth with a piece of white handkerchief.

After which, he saw blood on the handkerchief.

"Elder Han….."

Lin Leiyue got anxious and said, "Have your injuries worsened?"

"Hurhur….hurhur….I won't die don't worry….."

Elder Han waved his hands and replied proudly. "Hehe….the vice head of the Five Ghosts Sect's Soul Searching Hand was indeed powerful. Unfortunately for him, I was still more superior and managed to kill him. If the vice sect head was slightly more powerful, I would probably not be able to survive. Even if I managed to survive, I would probably be a vegetarian from then onwards….."

Even though he sounded defeated, Lin Leiyue still respected him.

After all, Elder Han got hold of his position as an elder in the sect 50 years ago and definitely had a vast experience in martial arts. Even though he was older than Lady Yan, he was still able to defeat many good young martial artists. Everybody in the Qinghe County would be afraid when they heard his name.

He was in such a state because he was ambushed by the Five Ghosts Sect.

"Please don't worry, Elder Han. This doctor in the secluded valley is highly skilled and can cure many illnesses. He was also the one who cured Elder Zhao previously!"

Lu Zhisen said, "You are highly skilled and with the help of the doctor, you should be able to recover in no time!"

"Haha….thanks for your well wishes!"

Elder Han smiled but his deep expression showed that he seemed to be thinking of something else.

Lin Leiyue didn't seem to notice his expression and pondered over her thoughts silently. "Even though Elder Han had managed to defeat the vice sect head, one other person still managed to escape and this would mean serious trouble for the sect. Plus, with both Elder Yan and Elder Han being injured right now, the attacking power of the sect would be less…..Both elders had not recovered from their injuries and the doctors in the sect had no solutions to help them. This doctor in the secluded valley would be our final hope then….."

As compared to Elder Han's injuries, Lady Yan's injuries were worse when she was fighting against a few experts.

However, Song Zhong was part of her faction previously, but he was killed by Fang Yuan…..

Not to mention anything about grudges but she would mind.

Even if Fang Yuan was willing to treat her, she would probably not trust Fang Yuan fully and she would think that Fang Yuan would do something harmful to her.

After all, if a doctor wanted a person to die without being identified as the murderer, the doctor would have many ways to do it.

In fact, Shi Yutong actually had another choice which was to seek medical attention from the alchemy master who had previously helped Lin Leiyue.

However, the alchemy master was a carefree person and isolated himself from the outside world. Plus the alchemy master had other commitments and why would the alchemy master accept a request made by the Spirit Returning Sect?

Previously, the alchemy master owed Shi Yutong a favour which was why he agreed to help Lin Leiyue. Since now the favour had been returned, it would be harder to ask the alchemy master for help.

"Elder Han, this doctor has a weird attitude and he set many rules…."

The memories of him being scolded by the doctor were still vivid in his mind. Lu Zhisen touched his head and remarked.

"Don't worry, I do understand. After all, I'm the one that require his help now…."

Elder Han smiled and looked at Lin Leiyue. "Lin Leiyue, I heard you were once engaged to this doctor and you even went to Shaoyang City?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Leiyue blushed. "Yes, you are correct!"

"That is unfortunate…."

Elder Han closed his eyes and didn't know who should he feel unfortunate for, Lin Leiyue or Fang Yuan.

'This person is mysterious. The head of the sect had instructed to keep Fang Yuan for the sect's use….at least not to let him go to the enemy's side….and also to find out the secret behind his fast advancement in his skills…..'

He then returned to his previously relaxed posture and gazed out at Qingye City in hopelessness.

...…..

Back in the secluded valley.

"Hoo…..Haa….."

Fang Yuan was half naked and was regulating his breathing.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

Iron-tailed Black Eagle flew down from above. Its claws were like hooks and with its fast speed, it was indeed a powerful eagle.

"Keke!"

On the ground, a white light flashed past very quickly.

"You came just in time!"

With the attacks from air and land by the 2 spiritual beasts, a normal expert in 4 Heavenly Gates would also be confused.

However, Fang Yuan couldn't wait to take action when he saw this.

"Iron Skin Technique!"

He breathed in and could feel the energy surging. He then stepped his right leg out and the ground beside his leg split.

"Piak!"

The clothing on his leg immediately broke into pieces and it revealed his muscular legs and tightened skin. He was not injured at all.

"Hissss..."

The Flower Fox Ferret retreated and looked as if it had incurred a big loss.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

Just when it had just retreated by a few steps, a strong wind came and a giant eagle's claws came pouncing down.

"Haha….."

Fang Yuan laughed and lifted his right hand with his left hand at the bottom. This formed an eagle's claw shape and he aimed it at the sky.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

When the giant eagle's claws came, Fang Yuan's eyes glittered and grabbed with both his hands. "You better come down now!"

"Swish! Swish!"

Fang Yuan's attack was strong and swift. Both of his hands managed to grab hold of the giant eagle's claws and he lifted the claws fiercely.

"Bang!"

The Iron-tailed Black Eagle then fell to the ground forcefully.

With such strong impact, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle couldn't hold any longer even though it had tough bones. It let out a cry to admit defeat.

"Keke!"

The Flower Fox Ferret immediately raised both of its claws to admit defeat.

"Fine, I shall stop…...I was just warming up actually….."

Fang Yuan stopped and saw both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle were trembling. They were obviously injured by Fang Yuan's inner force. Fang Yuan then went forward and treat them.

'The inner force of an expert in 4 Heavenly Gates changes and is different from a normal inner force. Such inner force can defeat a low skilled martial artist easily….Of course, no matter what changes there are, elemental force is way superior compared to inner force and both types of forces are of different levels…..'

Fang Yuan gradually understood how it felt to be a [Martial Artist (9th Gate)].

Through his tough training, his skills had surpassed the two spiritual beasts and that meant a lot to him.

At least, the spiritual beasts which were previously living in the forests knew the concept of 'the weak losing out to the stronger ones'. They might become friends with humans but having a weakling to become their master was unacceptable!

The first step to tame a spiritual beast was to show one's dominance over it!

Similarly, in this case, Fang Yuan felt that the way the Iron-tailed Black Eagle looked at him was different now. The Iron-tailed Black Eagle was less proud now.

"With my current skills and the 2 spiritual beasts, dealing with the Red-eyed White King Bird shouldn't be a big problem for me now…."

Upon reaching this conclusion, Fang Yuan was slightly hesitant instead.

Even though he already had plans to take over the Green Peak, the Red-eyed White King Bird could, after all, fly. If he missed his shot and caused it to escape elsewhere, wouldn't he have to fear of it coming back in future?

"It is better for me to break through the 11th Gate first before moving on to take over the Green Peak!"

Fang Yuan wavered and looked at his stats window:

"Name: Fang Yuan

Essence: 5.9

Spirit: 5.8

Magic: 3.5

Age: 19

Cultivation: [Martial Artists (9th Gate)]

Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 9)] (with the addition of Yin's inner force)

Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"

"The 4 Heavenly Gates, which was after the Death Gate, did actually help to improve my magic!"

Even though this was not the first time he saw his magic increase by a little, he felt happy still when he saw the increase.

From his conjecture, he had realised that attaining the 12 Golden Gates was similar to becoming a spiritual knight. This would allow a normal human being to become powerful.

As such, the process not only helped to condition one's body and also improve one's magic.

However, he didn't expect this feature to only appear when approaching the 4 Heavenly Gates.

"With such big magnitude, it would still be difficult to attain the standard of a spiritual knight even if one was able to break through the Heaven Gate….."

This was the reason why there were many martial artists who were of [Martial Artist (12th Gate)] but there was no one in Wu Zong.

The Heaven Gate was difficult to break through! Attaining Wu Zong was even tougher!

Chapter 70: Xuan Yin

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

After many days.

Fang Yuan was seated on an emerald rock and was frowning, as though he had doubts.

"After the 9th Gate, the next step is to harness the Yin to break the Yang Gate. But in order to fuse the Yin and Yang to form the elemental force while breaking through the Gate, I will need some help..."

Although Fang Yuan had the spiritual knight's Blood Magic Technique, it was ultimately different from true martial arts.

The highest Gate he could attain through the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique was the 12th Gate. There was no chance of him breaking through Wu Zong, and realizing the true elemental force.

The only chance Fang Yuan had was through the Spirit Returning Heart Manual, which was incomplete. He felt that it was such a pity.

"The Spirit Returning Heart Manual is passed down by word, so must I really kidnap a Spirit Returning Sect disciple or elder to question him?"

He had a wild thought but dismissed it quickly.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

At this moment, there was a strong gust of wind as the Iron-tailed Black Eagle landed on the ground, chirping at Fang Yuan.

"Oh? Is someone arriving?"

Fang Yuan waved and sat down.

"Gong Gong!"

"Clang Clang!"

The sound of deafening gongs was heard from a distance and it drew nearer and nearer to the secluded valley.

"Another one who is giving me more experience...!"

Fang Yuan took a quick glance at his experience bar, and [Medicine] was filled up to a large extent and was almost equal to that of [Botany]. He laughed, stood up and walked out of the valley.

"Someone from the Spirit Returning Sect?"

In the pavilion, a crowd was waiting patiently and followed the rules. The one in front was his acquaintance, Lu Zhisen.

"The doctor has arrived!"

The usually rash Lu Zhisen became excited and greeted Fang Yuan the moment he saw him.

"Oh, it's Elder Lu. Who's injured this time?"

Fang Yuan was direct, but none of the Spirit Returning Sect's disciples took it to heart. After all, a doctor who could make miracles would be rather different from other normal doctors.

"Cough cough... it's me!"

The disciples made way and revealed an Elder Han in a wheelchair.

"I am injured and cannot properly offer you a greeting, please don't take it to heart!"

Elder Han clenched his fist and greeted Fang Yuan. He appeared humble, which surprised Elder Lu and the other sect disciples.

Lin Leiyue was not here. When they returned to Qingye City, she immediately returned to her home. Even though she made the excuse up, it was clear why she didn't come along with the rest.

"A doctor should have care like parents, why would I blame you!"

Fang Yuan intentionally deepened his voice and noticed Elder Han twitched his eyebrows as he laughed. It seemed that he agreed with Fang Yuan, but deep down knew that he was scheming and might not be that easy to deal with.

"Please!"

After he brought the patient into the Straw Pavilion, he felt his pulse. "Elder Han had sustained an internal injury for quite a while now, this is hard..."

At the same time, he felt emotional, for he had seen every elder, including the Sect Master of the Spirit Returning Sect.

"Doctor, you are indeed impressive. This injury was from the Five Ghosts Sect assistant Sect Master! Cough Cough..."

Elder Han explained, and Lu Zhisen revealed a delicate box.

"I've heard of your rule, and have no intention of breaking it. I present to you the Xuan Yin Heart Technique Manual, and hope you will accept it..."

Elder Han continued. "This heart manual came from the Five Ghosts Sect and can be cultivated up till the realm of Wu Zong without any problem. Furthermore, this is a complete copy of the manual. I've heard that you rendered assistance to Lin Leiyue at Shaoyang City, and I shall thank you for that. Please accept this manual as a form of my gratitude... Regardless if I will recover in the future, I shall send more gifts, which will surely satisfy you!"

"Xuan Yin Heart Technique? The Five Ghost Sect's true magical technique?"

Fang Yuan was surprised and received the box. As he opened it, he saw a black scroll within, filled with tiny words describing the 12 Golden Gates as well as Wu Zong. Based on his current experience he could only understand the first few lines and knew that this was the real deal.

"This present... is worth too much!"

He closed the wooden box and had a serious tone. "Elder Han, are you sure you are willing to give this technique manual to me? Won't there be implications? Furthermore, I know that any manual with the sect's special technique that is able to break through to Wu Zong would surely be incomplete, and had to be filled up by the word of mouth and cannot be written down, am I right?

What was a sect's special technique?

This meant that if Fang Yuan was willing, he could base solely on this technique to start his own sect!

This kind of sect foundation was akin to a magical weapon, so how could one give it up so easily?

"Doctor Fang is indeed wise!"

Hearing how Fang Yuan understood the crux, Elder Han's eyes glittered. "This technique was stolen by myself, and since the Five Ghost Sect is almost destroyed now, you can accept this gift without any worry for no one will find trouble with you... And as for the incomplete manual, I have already filled it up personally, and you can try it out to see for yourself, it would be fine..."

"Filled up?"

Fang Yuan frowned.

"That's right... I only had to capture a few disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect to obtain the remaining information, nothing too difficult..."

Elder Han laughed while Fang Yuan remained silent.

After capturing these people, there was no need for torture. They would automatically sell out their sect to ensure their own safety and preserve their own life.

'This came at such a good time...'

After all, he was looking for a technique that could attain Wu Zong. Never would he have dreamt that someone would deliver it to him. What a blessing!

Furthermore, Elder Han was an extremely suitable patient for him to test his skills on!

After fusing the Yin and Yang, seeds of the elemental force would develop to break through the Earth Gate. This was Elder Han, a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]. But now, he had no strength and had to succumb under Fang Yuan's hands; what a scene!

'A martial artist of Earth Gate would have already harnessed elemental energy, and by observing this person's blood circulation and inner force, I can test my hypothesis further!'

Fang Yuan felt warm, and his glare made Elder Han feel uncomfortable for a moment.

"Please leave, I will start now..."

Fang Yuan retrieved his golden needles, told Lu Zhisen in a serious tone.

"Oh! Very well!"

Even though he wanted to watch Fang Yuan, he wasn't a fool and politely left the Straw Pavilion. He even closed the door after him, but no one really knew what he was thinking about.

"I will use my Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing Technique. If you feel any pain, do not use your elemental force to counter it, just relax and let nature take its course!"

Fang Yuan spun around and was uncertain. Even though Elder Han was powerful, he was powerless here. "I'm afraid that in your current state, even if you wanted to move you wouldn't be able to..."

"Very well!"

Fang Yuan's hands worked extremely fast, and 2 golden needles made their way towards Elder Han's forehead.

"Eh?!"

Elder Han's face twitched, remained motionless and fainted.

"Ping!"

His body fell to the ground. Fang Yuan first observed his palms as he appeared light-hearted. "You may seem to trust me completely, but you took precautions against me... Of course, it may be your habit as you roam the martial arts world for the many years, but I'll let you know that your precautions were right..."

With such a good test subject in front of him, why would he not take full advantage of it?

Since he decided to make use of him, keeping him awake would be troublesome, so why not just make him faint?

"This is the rights of a doctor. Whatever I do is for your own good!"

Fang Yuan looked at the defenceless Elder Han, and his smile grew...

...

"Creak!"

After a while.

The door to the hut opened and revealed a somewhat exhausted Fang Yuan.

"Doctor, how is Elder Han?"

An anxious Lu Zhisen came over.

"It was fortunate!"

Fang Yuan wiped his fake sweat and smiled. "Bring him home first. After 7 days, return here for me to perform my acupoint piercing once again. Coupled with medicinal herbs, he should recover fully in half a year..."

Illness and injury might come in an instant, but recovering would take very much longer. Lu Zhisen understood that.

Thinking about how the people within the sect were all helpless when facing Elder Han, Elder Lu gained even more respect for Fang Yuan. He bowed, came into the hut and saw Elder Han lying there with a weak breath. His face had more life now, and Lu Zhisen was glad. "Thank you, doctor! I will return after 7 days!"

He then ordered the disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect to put down all their gifts and brought Elder Han back.

Fang Yuan sent them off, and only after they have disappeared from sight, Fang Yuan revealed a sinister smile.

It was true that Elder Han's injury was hard to treat. If he did use his true [Medicine] skills, it would only take him half a month to save him. However, he wanted to delay his recovery so that he could use him more often as a test subject.

"Furthermore... This person has his guard up against me!"

What Elder Han did previously had worried Fang Yuan a little.

After all, he was the Spirit Returning Sect's Elder, who commanded a high position within the sect. His attitude would be equivalent to the Spirit Returning Sect's attitude, and so Fang Yuan could guess what the sect's impression of him was.

"This was reasonable though..."

Fang Yuan thought about this. If he was the sect and an uncontrollable factor appeared, he would be likely to react the same way as the sect.

The sect only had the intention to test him for now, and might even want to have him as an ally, but as for the future, no one knew.

"The good thing is that I have gained so much this time, therefore my prediction could be true!"

Thinking about his own little experiment, Fang Yuan clenched his fist in excitement.

Elder Han even volunteered himself as a test subject, which was of a great help to Fang Yuan.

After all, he could conclude that it was indeed possible to directly harness the seeds of elemental force. This was even more so after obtaining the Xuan Yin Heart Technique; it was as though the last piece of the puzzle appeared.

"Hmm, even Shi Yutong wouldn't have guessed that I only cared about how to breakthrough to Wu Zong, and not any other secret martial arts manuals. With the Blood Magic Technique as a reference, any wrongly filled up information would not be able to escape my eyes... Of course, I will have to take precautions against this Elder Han too!"

After thinking, Fang Yuan returned to the secluded valley, changed to a new set of clothes, ordered the Flower Fox Ferret to look after the house, and started to chase and follow the Spirit Returning Sect party.