Volume 2 Chapter 14

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Volume 2 Chapter 14: The Elder

When the elder appeared among the crowd, a powerful aura emanated from him, causing the mutated beasts nearby to not dare approach, keeping a distance of about three meters, growling softly yet threateningly, but without coming closer. The mutated birds circled above at a few meters’ height but did not dare to descend.

The presence of one person alone was so overwhelmingly strong! To Xu Qingfan, with the aura of this elder, only sect leader Zhang Hualing, Supreme Protector Zhou Huahai, and Xiao Huazhe could slightly surpass it in Jiuhua Mountain. Even Elder Weichi, Jin Qinghan’s master, was only on par with him. Considering Lv Ziqing and the others’ incredible strength, Xu Qingfan had to admit the truth in sect leader Zhang Hualing’s words about the decline of Jiuhua Gate.

The elder didn’t even glance at the ferocious mutated beasts around, instead, he sharply scanned Lv Ziqing and the other three; seeing Xu Qingfan, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes, seemingly surprised by the presence of a stranger. On noticing the injuries of Xu Xiurong and Hou Wanjun, a light gleamed in his eyes, which then grew sharper towards Lv Ziqing and Shang Nianyao, as if blaming them for not protecting their junior martial brothers and sisters.

Lv Ziqing clearly feared this martial uncle of theirs; when the elder looked towards them, he quickly bowed and greeted, "Martial uncle, you are here." Though Shang Nianyao couldn’t speak, he repeatedly bowed to the elder, the distress on his face growing more apparent.

When Hou Wanjun and Xu Xiurong greeted the elder, his expression softened a bit. Xu Xiurong called the elder Martial Uncle, but Hou Wanjun called him master, clearly showing he was the elder’s direct disciple.

Although the elder’s eyes lingered on the wounds of Hou Wanjun and Xu Xiurong, he only let out a cold grunt and pointed to the mutated beasts around them, asking in a slow voice, "What exactly happened here?"

Lv Ziqing promptly replied respectfully, "Martial uncle, after you went to pursue that mysterious person, these beasts suddenly appeared. Junior Brother Hou and Martial Sister Xu were injured by them in the confusion. Later, when we were at a standstill with these beasts, this Senior Brother Xu from Jiuhua Mountain appeared and helped block many of the beasts’ attacks for us."

As he spoke, Lv Ziqing pointed to Xu Qingfan, who was quietly standing aside.

Hearing Lv Ziqing’s words, the elder snorted coldly and said sharply, "Why is it the younger martial sister I asked you to look after before I left who’s injured, rather than you two senior brothers? Is this how you take care of her?"

Hearing the elder’s reprimand, Lv Ziqing and Shang Nianyao didn’t dare to defend themselves. They just bowed their heads and admitted their fault, showing how much authority this elder had at Qingxu Gate.

After scolding Lv Ziqing and Shang Nianyao, the elder turned to Xu Qingfan with a much calmer expression and asked softly, "Are you a disciple of Jiuhua Mountain? I, Bao Wei, am very grateful for your help."

As he spoke, the elder gestured a slight bow to Xu Qingfan.

Upon hearing Lv Ziqing and the others refer to this elder as their martial uncle, Xu Qingfan understood that the person before him was a friend, not a foe, and heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing the elder bow to him, Xu Qingfan quickly bowed back and said, "Junior Jiuhua Mountain Xu Qingfan greets Senior. Actually, Senior Brother Lv and others were already driving the beasts away, my actions were merely a small push in the right direction."

"Nearly drove these beasts away?" Bao Wei looked at the surrounding swarming mutated beasts, understanding that Xu Qingfan’s words were just to put in a good word for Lv Ziqing and the others. Bao Wei didn’t point this out but appreciated Xu Qingfan’s modesty. After another stern look at Lv Ziqing and Shang Nianyao, ignoring Lv Ziqing’s wry smile, he turned to Xu Qingfan and asked gently, "Young friend, under whom do you study at Jiuhua Mountain? Or perhaps you are acquainted with an old friend of mine."

"My master is Changchun Zi Lu Huayan; I am not sure if Senior knows him," Xu Qingfan replied respectfully.

"Lu Huayan?" Bao Wei was slightly taken aback by Xu Qingfan’s words, muttering to himself and appearing lost in thought, as if recalling memories.

"Do you know my master’s teacher?" Xu Qingfan asked in surprise after seeing Bao Wei’s expression. In Xu Qingfan’s mind, his master Lu Huayan was quite a solitary person and probably didn’t know many people.

"Six hundred years ago, I had a brief encounter with Martial Brother Lu," the elderly man said slowly, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. Then he added, "Back then, I lost to Martial Brother Lu by just one move, and the scene is still fresh in my memory."

Hearing the old man’s words, Xu Qingfan was slightly startled and felt a bit awkward.

"Young friend, you don’t have to worry. That’s all in the past, and I no longer hold onto it," Bao Wei chuckled seeing Xu Qingfan’s awkward expression and then asked, "How is your master doing now?"

"My master passed away seventeen years ago," Xu Qingfan replied sorrowfully after hearing Bao Wei’s question.

Unexpectedly, Bao Wei merely showed slight surprise at Xu Qingfan’s response but neither joy nor sadness, and he said slowly, "Is that so? Even Martial Brother Lu couldn’t escape the cycle of life and death? We old folks are truly becoming fewer and fewer."

From Bao Wei’s words, it seemed he had long come to terms with life and death.

After hearing the old man’s words, Xu Qingfan didn’t say much more and remained silent. Nonetheless, memories of his time with Lu Huayan came flooding back, enveloping Xu Qingfan’s heart in a gentle sorrow.

After a moment of reflection, Bao Wei closely observed Xu Qingfan and nodded, saying, "With a disciple like you, Martial Brother Lu has indeed left behind a worthy successor."

As he spoke, Bao Wei couldn’t help but glance at his disciple, Hou Wanjun, with a complex look in his eyes, while Hou Wanjun remained silent. In fact, ever since Bao Wei arrived, Hou Wanjun hadn’t said a word except to greet the elder.

Noticing the atmosphere becoming a bit sorrowful and awkward, Lv Ziqing quickly said to the elder, "Martial Uncle, let’s deal with these beasts surrounding us before we catch up." As he spoke, Lv Ziqing pointed at the mutated beasts around them, who dared not approach due to the elder’s intimidating presence.

Upon hearing Lv Ziqing’s words, the elder silently nodded and turned to look at the beasts around them. When he saw the few mutated low-level demon beasts, the elder exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? I have never seen these demon beasts before, nor do I know what breed they are, yet they are leading ordinary beasts to attack humans."

After hearing Bao Wei, Xu Qingfan hesitated slightly but still said, "If I’m not mistaken, these demon beasts, including the ordinary ones, have fallen under the ‘Nine Transformations of Demonization’ and have become controlled demon soldiers."

Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Bao Wei suddenly turned around, his eyes flashing sharply and his hair standing on end, asking, "Are you sure about what you’re saying? How do you know this?"

Seeing Bao Wei’s surprised expression, Xu Qingfan slowly recounted his previous experiences to Bao Wei and the other four, then said, "As for these beasts’ transformation, I can’t be certain if it’s due to the ‘Nine Transformations of Demonization,’ since I don’t know much about it. But what I detected closely matches the descriptions in the books."

After hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Bao Wei’s expression grew more serious, as he asked, "The mysterious person you mentioned, is he nearly ten feet tall, with dark skin, and a purple-blue flame totem on his forehead?"

"Yes, have you seen this person as well, senior?" Xu Qingfan asked in surprise.

"This person’s appearance is very similar to the one I’ve been tracking, but I can’t be sure if they’re the same person," Bao Wei said, his eyes flickering with sharp light. "Since arriving at the Southern Wasteland, I realized that person has been following us. But when I went to chase him, he vanished mysteriously. Looking back, it seems it was a diversion tactic he used."

"Martial Uncle, what kind of mystical art is the ‘Nine Transformations of Demonization’ that you and Senior Brother Xu spoke of?" asked Xu Xiurong, who had been quietly listening, while Hou Wanjun also showed a trace of puzzlement on his face, clearly not quite understanding either.

"It’s not certain yet if the ‘Nine Transformations of Demonization’ is at work here. I plan to deal with these mutated beasts first and then I’ll personally verify it," Bao Wei said slowly. Then, he commanded softly, "You all, protect me while I use my arts to eliminate these abominations."

As Xu Qingfan Lv Ziqing and the others complied, the elder slowly closed his eyes. His ten fingers danced swiftly, forming thousands of different hand gestures in an incredibly short time, dazzling the onlookers. With each change of the gestures, the aura around him grew more powerful, and the temperature in the air rose rapidly, as if endless fire Spirit Qi surged from him, resonating continuously with the fire Spirit Qi between heaven and earth.

At that moment, the heavens and earth transformed. Countless fire Spirit Qi began to gather in the sky, slowly forming into a massive fire cloud that obscured the entire horizon.

Mystical arts so profound they touch the mysterious. Upon witnessing the transformation of heaven and earth, this was Xu Qingfan’s only thought.

With the changes in heaven and earth appearing, the mutated beasts intimidated by Bao Wei became increasingly restless, letting out low growls, yet for some reason not escaping, as if controlled by someone.

Finally, under the lead of those mutant demon beasts, the mutated beasts charged toward the group once more, like an endless wave of darkness. Unfortunately, Xu Qingfan and the others fought back fiercely, preventing any progress.

Nearly a tea’s time passed, and the fire Spirit Qi in the air became even more intense, as if the entire Southern Wasteland was set to burn. At that moment, Bao Wei suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing in them, and shouted:

"Fire Cloud Technique! Go!"