“Woah! Such a young man standing at the heart of the evil spirits, this is really amazing!” One man exclaimed.
A man whose beard resembled that of a goat’s, creased his eyebrows as he frowned while speaking up: “This youngster doesn’t seem to be afraid of these evil spirits and seems to have been here for a long time now. I would conclude that he’s a devil’s disciple, right?”
“These evil spirits are really powerful; even we have to exercise our powers to fend them off. I highly doubt that a man that young could be capable of lasting here for such a long time.”
They were some distance behind him, but Bi Fan could hear their conversation quite clearly, and couldn’t help as gloomy feeling crept into his heart.
“This is really bothering me, a dark pract.i.tioner, practicing his martial arts in here; it’s quite scary and dangerous!”
Bi Fan wanted to explain things, but he couldn’t open his mouth.
Even If he could open his mouth, he wouldn’t be able to explain things, as he wouldn’t be able to say anything.
All Bi Fan could do, was pray, that these martial artists would look into his situation before taking any action; otherwise, he was doomed to die.
“I would like to investigate the situation a little further. This boy obviously seems to be very strong, and on top of that, we have no idea who he really is.”
“I too, would like to take a better look.”
Following this, Bi Fan started hearing brisk footsteps, more than one set, approaching him at a very quick pace.
These people were genuinely very strong, even with the force of the evil spirits that lingered in this region; they were able to move forward in the area at such a brisk pace.
Bi Fan was really worried, as these people were capable of killing him off in an instant.
“Ah!” The fastest among the new comers issued a miserable shriek and quickly took a few back steps. “This kid is demonically strong. The influence of the spirits in this region isn’t the same as other places, it’s almost tenfold here. I can barely walk in there, how is he able to do it with so much ease?”
Two other humans, who were right behind him, tested it for themselves and were shocked when they realized that their companion was right.
“Scary! Really scary! He’s capable of practicing in that intense pressure! Could he be drawing support from the spirits as well?”
He was only trying to be humorous, but the others, almost a dozen of them, were very serious.
If the boy really was drawing energy from the evil spirits, then things could prove out to be very tricky for these people. And if such was the case, then the person in question, once, if successful, could mean bad news for everyone.
Soon, more than a dozen, extremely powerful martial artists had gathered around, and even though they were really tempted to sort Bi Fan out, none of them had the guts to take the initiative.
Due to the Yin Yang Lotus’s activity, a huge amount of spirits had formed a ma.s.sive loop around him. This meant that the influence of the spirits around him was even greater, more powerful, and even more violent. So much so, that even these dozen or so ‘magical powers’ layer pract.i.tioners wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
“Everyone, let’s get a good look at his face, so we can locate him later. If he really is practicing such dark techniques, then it is vital that we eliminate him.” One man spoke up.
Bi Fan was incapable of speaking at the moment, but he felt relaxed. He had changed his appearance a bit on the way here, to avoid any attention from ‘rising sun’ disciples.
‘Magical powers’ layer, martial artists who were this strong, were usually the figureheads of the schools in Quinyang. So if someone got on the wrong side of such men, then bad times were inevitable.
“Everyone, should we continue to excavate this region? What if this place really was an ancient battlefield?”
“Yes, but be careful everyone.”
As he heard them depart, it was clear to Bi Fan that these people had a very good understanding amongst them, a fact, made obvious by the nature of their conversations.
But most likely they weren’t from the same school, which meant that if they managed to find an ancient artifact, then things could turn sour. Especially if there weren’t enough for everyone, and if such was the situation, then they all might start fighting over it.
Often, even if students of the same school managed to find a valuable treasure, then they would end up fighting over it.
This was such a cruel and deceptive world, in which one needed to keep an eye out at all times, and be on guard against friends and enemies, alike.
“I hope you guys find a huge bounty in here and then die fighting over it.” Bi Fan secretly wished.
Bi Fan’s heart calmed down a bit, once he realized that it was only a false alarm.
‘Magical powers’ layer pract.i.tioners were regarded undefeatable in the Jiu Yu region, and people like Bi Fan, were no more than ants in front of their might and status.
Bi Fan was nowhere near as strong as the ‘magical powers’ layer, which meant that even hoping to contend against men like these, would only pave the way for his doom.
Bi Fan secretly pledged: “One day, my strength will transcend yours, and then I will trample the likes of you. On that day, you will taste the stench of my feet.”
The dozen or so that had been standing close to Bi Fan had already left the area, leaving behind Bi Fan, who stood there, with a silly look on his face.
The Jade book’s method was enhancing his strength at a very fast rate, and was transforming his physical strength unceasingly.
The evil spirits were still attacking him continuously, but his body was able to resist them off more tenaciously than ever before.
The two new seeds that had sprouted inside the Lotus’s stamen had grown quite big by now and were almost the size of rice grains.
“Yin Yang Lotus, my brother, let’s quickly get out of here before they come back, because if they do, we will be in a lot of trouble.” Bi Fan had put aside the thought of enhancing his strength of the time being and just wanted to get out of this predicament.
Strength can rise slowly over time, but it’s of no use to dead men.
“Boom!” A ma.s.sive explosion shook the earth and the sky.
The intensity and force of clamor almost sent Bi Fan flying, and left his ears in a great amount of pain as they buzzed, depriving him of his hearing ability for a short while.
“Seems like those guys have finally ran into trouble, let’s get out of here now. They might end up using me as the scapegoat for their misfortunes.” Bi Fan started to complain.
But, this was far from the end of it. The explosion soon took the shape of a ma.s.sive cyclone.
This time, Bi Fan wasn’t spared and he found himself being swept up by this cyclone.
This time, Bi Fan wasn’t spared and he found himself being swept up by this cyclone.
The cyclone swept up everything in its path, rocks… trees…
The cyclone swept him up, rendering him completely helpless.
He could not dodge the other things that had been swept up, nor could he get out of it. He couldn’t even protect his vital body part by covering them with his hands.
At present, when his body was undergoing such ma.s.sive physical enhancements, Bi Fan really couldn’t afford to sustain a violent collision. Especially considering the fact, that at present he was also incapable of using his inner energy to a.s.sist him if needed, and a violent collision would mean the end of him.
Bi Fan had been swept up really high up in the air, and had no idea where this cyclone was headed to.
The Yin Yang Lotus continued to avariciously a.s.similate the aura and the spirits, completely ignoring Bi Fan’s predicament. In fact, it didn’t even show any signs of slowing down.
The Yin Yang Lotus was so absorbed in absorbing the aura and the spirits that, it even failed to return the control of the body to Bi Fan.
Failing to move even a hairsbreadth, Bi Fan resigned himself to the will of the whirlwind he was caught in.
Bi Fan had no idea what had really happed just now, but such a huge explosion could mean that those martial artists may now be dead.
He was really anxious to find out what had become of them at present, whether they were alive or dead.
He was caught in a cyclone with several other objects; trees, stones which kept smashing into him, and had managed to knock him unconscious several times, and at present, he had no idea as to how long he had been inside this tornado.
He would lose consciousness and then, immediately regain it as another object smashed into him. Incapable of doing anything, he was forced to endure the inhumanity of the pain he was suffering.
At last, Bi Fan landed on the ground; his body was completely torn apart, fractured in more places than he could count.
His body was in such a bad shape that he could even move it, so he started using his mind to restore his body. He kick started the method from the Jade book in order to repair his damaged body.
As the Jade book’s technique started doing its work, the white Lotus petals unexpectedly joined in, a.s.sisting in repairing his body and silky white threads started swimming inside his body.
The white silk threads were miraculous in their work; the pain started to ease quickly as the fractures started to heal at a very quick pace.
Bi Fan was amazed and he wanted to shout out loud; and he would have, if his body hadn’t been so badly injured.
With the white petals of the Yin Yang Lotus a.s.sisting the Jade book’s technique, Bi Fan’s body was healing at an amazing rate, and within a few hours, he was capable of standing up on his feet with some difficulty.
He stood up and looked around, only to find himself still inside the devil’s territory.
The devil’ territory was a very dangerous place, more so for him at the moment, as his body was in a very badly battered shape. He desperately needed to find himself a secretive place so he could complete the healing process and restore his body to its full capacity.
Bi Fan trudged along for half an hour in that presently injured state of his with great difficulty before he found a place to take shelter in a cavern under an escarpment.
It took a great amount of effort to enter the cave, as it was covered with vines on the outside which concealed it from sight.
Once inside, Bi Fan started to practice Longevity burst in order to repair his damaged body along with restoring his inner energy.
As he kicked off the Longevity burst, the white petals of the Yin Yang Lotus, once again started emitting white silky threads to a.s.sist in repairing his body.
The white silky threads accelerated the speed of his physical recovery significantly and even helped in accelerating the restoration of inner energy.
“It seems that the white petals of the Lotus have healing powers. That’s really good for me.” Bi Fan thought, pleased.
It took Bi Fan one day and one night to finish the restoration process and now, his body was back to its full capacity.
“Arghhh!!!” Bi Fan felt strength surging throughout his whole body and couldn’t help shouting out.
Bi Fan tested his new found strength for a while and realized that, at present his physical strength was close to seven Yun Shi, while his inner energy had already crossed seven Yun Shi.
In this last episode, Bi Fan had to undergo a lot of suffering, but his strength had improved a lot, so as far as he was concerned, it was all worth it.
Now, that everything was fine, Bi Fan decided that it was time to go looking for the Chimera and the Marten. He especially needed to locate the Marten, as he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his dear friend.
Bi Fan tried to a.s.sess his current position, only to realize that he was lost.
He climbed on top of a tree but still couldn’t identify his present location.
He had been swept away by a tornado; he had no idea how long he was caught in it or the direction it had taken.
Bi Fan speculated that he must be inside the devil’s territory at the moment, but had no idea which part he was in.
If by chance, he had been thrown into the second layer of the devil’s territory, then he was certainly going to be in a lot of trouble.
In case he was confronted by a strong demon here, he knew that he would have no option, but to run for his life.
At present, Bi Fan seemingly, had already forgotten about the Jade tablet, which will allow him to teleport to Xi Guan. Since, Bi Fan had experienced so many unworldly activities in the devil’s territory, leaving his mind in a state of chaos; it is possible that he might have forgotten about the simplest of things.
Bi Fan hadn’t gone too far before he b.u.mped into a ‘spiritual intelligence’ layer beast.
With his new found strength, Bi Fan was able to end the fight with exceptional ease, and it barely took ten minutes to sort it out.
Bi Fan was a little worried, in the first layer of the devil’s territory, ‘spiritual intelligence’ beast were a rarity. But here, he had barely started out, and he had already b.u.mped into one. It didn’t take a great mind to deduce that he was probably not in the same segment of the devil’s territory that he had set out in at the beginning of his adventure.
Bi Fan tried to suppress all the anxiety and concentrated in preparing himself for the battles that awaited him, but chaos still lingered somewhere in his mind.
It seemed that he was going to b.u.mp into a fair amount of really strong beasts here; he decided that he must use them to temper his skills or else he would regret it later.
Once he had calmed down a bit, he started looking for opponents to train on.
The beasts in this vicinity were indeed stronger than the ones he had initially set out in, and in no time, he managed to run into another strong one. This beast was in the ‘brave’ layer.
Bi Fan didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly killed the demon.
Along the way, Bi Fan kept an eye out for any precious herbs he could find, but it seemed that they had already been plucked.
The fact was that, many people entered the devil’s territory in search of such valuables, so finding one needed a good amount of luck.
There were a few who entered the region to practice, but even they made sure that the collected the flesh and skins of the beasts they kill, to exchange for spar once they exit the devil’s territory. However, the real treasure for such people was a nucleus.
Fabulous fate, that’s what it took to find a gold ore or a rare herb inside the devil’s territory.
Bi Fan didn’t waste much time treasure hunting; he would be satisfied as long as he could find strong beasts to hone his skills.