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? Dmn, 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.