Volume 3 Chapter 20

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Volume 3 Chapter 20: The First Night (End)

Sensing someone with Spirit Qi clearly tainted with evil suddenly fly past, Xuan Lian couldn’t help but slightly furrow his brow at the suspicious behavior.

This person was quite strong, with at least the cultivation of the Fake Golden Core Stage, not likely to be a disciple attending the Newcomer Competition on Huandao Island. But it couldn’t be a cultivator from Penance Valley either. Although Penance Valley welcomes all sorts, and some of its cultivators practice with Spirit Qi that has an evil aura, none came to avoid trouble for the Newcomer Competition; they are all meditating in seclusion within Penance Valley.

Given that this person wasn’t participating in the Newcomer Competition nor secretly protecting disciples on Huandao Island as a Penance Valley cultivator, their sudden appearance at a skill level no less than the Fake Golden Core Stage, with Spirit Qi marked by evil, makes their purpose highly suspicious.

Even though this person seemed very suspicious, Xuan Lian didn’t dare investigate at will. He knew that although he used the Art of Invisible earlier, with the mysterious person’s cultivation, it was impossible for them not to notice anything at all. Yet, the fact that they openly flew past Xuan Lian suggested they may have intended to distract him.

However, after a moment’s hesitation, Xuan Lian still decided to pursue. Because although it could be a tactic to lure him away, he had practiced wind-based Dao techniques and had absolute confidence in his speed. More importantly, seeing the mysterious person pass by without knowing their purpose for coming to Huandao Island, Xuan Lian couldn’t simply ignore it.

"Go and return quickly, and never stray far, there should be no problem," Xuan Lian thought to himself, glancing at Kai Huan and the others on the ground, still unaware, before giving chase.

…

Although the night on Huandao Island was cloudy and drizzling, this misty scenery couldn’t dampen Kai Huan’s spirits at all.

Kai Huan is in a good mood now. In fact, ever since Xuan Jian announced the content of the first round of the Newcomer Competition, Kai Huan has been feeling cheerful.

The "Heart Linking Pill" is a special elixir created by Medicine King Valley. It has a strong attraction for omnivorous demon beasts because after they consume it, they can more easily call upon a mate.

And it just so happened that Kai Huan had some of this elixir with him.

So, after arriving on Huandao Island, even though the five disciples representing Medicine King Valley weren’t very strong, Kai Huan was not as anxious as disciples from other sects. He simply found a quiet, secluded place, crushed the "Heart Linking Pill" onto a type of grass that Seven-colored Deer often eat, sprinkled some sedative, and then waited for the deer to fall into the trap.

Sure enough, in just one day, eight Seven-colored Deer fell into a deep sleep after accidentally ingesting the sedative, unable to wake, quickly becoming prey for the disciples of Medicine King Valley. If not for a sudden loud roar midway, causing panic among the deer on Huandao Island, distracting them from grazing, Kai Huan and the others might have already completed their task and returned to Zhantai.

"However, by tomorrow the Seven-colored Deer should regain their calm, and catching two more won’t be a difficult task." Kai Huan thought optimistically, filled with confidence about completing the first-round task of the Newcomer Competition.

Kai Huan wasn’t greedy because he knew that without the "Heart Linking Pill" he had with him, the five of them wouldn’t likely catch even one Seven-colored Deer. So, rather than trying to capture more for a better score, he was contemplating how they could safely return to Zhantai after capturing ten of them.

Thinking about the problem of safely returning to Zhantai, Kai Huan’s initially good mood vanished, and his brow furrowed. In past Newcomer Competitions, rivalries between disciples would often lead to confrontations to seize each other’s achievements. Although Kai Huan could cleverly use elixirs to easily capture the Seven-colored Deer, preventing the theft by other disciples remained a big challenge. Kai Huan knew that the five of them would find it difficult to protect the Seven-colored Deer, as power cannot be faked.

While Kai Huan was worried about how to return to Zhantai the next day, he suddenly felt a slight stir in his heart. His expression became tense, and he stood up, signaling to the four junior brothers beside him. He then clasped his hands towards a shadowy area not far in front of them and said, "May I ask which sect brother is passing through? Medicine King Valley’s Kai Huan greets you."

Hearing Kai Huan’s sudden words, the four Medicine King Valley disciples behind him also became tense, secretly readying themselves.

As Kai Huan’s voice fell, five figures slowly emerged from the darkness nearby but did not reply to Kai Huan’s words. They quietly walked up to Kai Huan and his group.

Once Kai Huan clearly saw the faces of the five people emerging from the darkness, he breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed his guard, and smiled, saying, "Oh, it’s Senior Brother Xu! Such a coincidence we meet again here. How did your harvest go today?"

The five faces emerging from the darkness were none other than Jiuhua Gate’s Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, Feng Qingtian, Lv Qingshang, and Wang Qingjun.

Three years ago, after Kai Huan’s master, Watchman, returned to Medicine King Valley, he praised Xu Qingfan’s character, who had sold him Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast’s inner pill. Kai Huan always trusted Watchman’s judgment. Though his daytime encounter with Xu Qingfan was brief, Kai Huan felt Xu Qingfan wasn’t the type to steal others’ achievements. So, seeing Xu Qingfan now, Kai Huan eased his guard slightly.

Hearing Kai Huan’s words, Xu Qingfan didn’t immediately respond but instead showed a peculiar smile. After a brief silence, he softly said, "Yes, it is quite a coincidence. I didn’t expect to meet familiar faces here."

Seeing the strange smile on Xu Qingfan’s face, Kai Huan felt a slight unease, a foreboding sensation stirring within him, though he couldn’t pinpoint its source. To be cautious, Kai Huan discreetly gestured to his four junior brothers, who had relaxed their guard, signaling them to be careful. He then smiled and said, "Senior Brother Xu, how come you’re strolling around Huandao Island at night instead of meditating?"

Xu Qingfan smiled lightly and said, "No choice, we caught too few Seven-colored Deer during the day, so we have to search more during the night."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Kai Huan was taken aback. Although he wasn’t sure of Xu Qingfan and his group’s exact skills, disciples from the six major Holy Lands should have better results than them after a whole day’s effort. Moreover, with Xu Qingfan’s experience, surely he knows that Seven-colored Deer rarely come out at night, making nighttime hunting less effective. Why would they hunt all night?

Despite his doubts, Kai Huan reassured with a gentle voice, "Brother Xu, don’t worry. There are still two more days, and with your skills, capturing ten Seven-colored Deers will certainly not be an issue."

Xu Qingfan shook his head gently and said, "The first day is the best for capturing the Deer, but as the days pass, they decrease in number, captured by disciples from other sects. Completing the task becomes tough. That’s why I’ve come to ask for your help."

Hearing that Xu Qingfan came for help, Kai Huan was startled again, wondering if Xu Qingfan knew about his "Heart Linking Pill." Could he be borrowing some because he couldn’t catch enough Deer? But then he thought, apart from his four brothers, no one knew about using the Pill, so Xu Qingfan couldn’t know either. How could Xu Qingfan explain asking for his help then?

Seeing Kai Huan’s puzzled expression, Xu Qingfan smiled lightly and said, "In urgent times, if we don’t pass the first round of tests, we’ll face punishment from our elders. So, could you, the Medicine King Valley brothers, give us the Seven-colored Deer you caught today?"

Xu Qingfan’s calm tone and soft voice were like a thunderclap to Kai Huan and the others. Wasn’t he clearly asking to take away all their hard-earned results from today?

Kai Huan, especially, was both shocked and angry. His good impression of Xu Qingfan vanished. Yet, knowing Xu Qingfan’s group was much stronger, he suppressed his anger and said politely but coldly, "I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed, Brother Xu. We five have little skill; after a whole day’s effort, we still have nothing."

"Does that mean you don’t want to help me?" Xu Qingfan smiled lightly and said, "Since asking isn’t going to work, we might just have to take it by force."

As Xu Qingfan’s voice faded, the four people behind him, including Jin Qinghan, suddenly attacked Kai Huan and the others. Red lights from fire magic, golden flashes from hair, the sound of waves from water magic, and countless spells surged toward Kai Huan and his group, giving them no chance to escape.

Amid the angry shouts and cries of pain from Kai Huan and repeated explosions, a cruel smile appeared on Xu Qingfan’s face as he slowly turned and walked in another direction on Huandao Island.

…

After chasing the mysterious figure for a short while, Xuanlian suddenly stopped flying, sighed as he watched the figure disappear into the distance, and turned back to return.

Through his pursuit, he realized the mysterious figure was just as fast as he was, making it hard to estimate how long it would take to catch up. However, he feared a threat might be posed to Kai Huan and his group in Penance Valley, and the mysterious figure’s appearance could be a distraction. Realizing he couldn’t catch up quickly, Xuanlian decisively stopped his pursuit and began flying back.

Unexpectedly, after only flying back a short distance, colorful lights appeared in the sky around him. Simultaneously, five talismans glowing in gold, red, blue, green, and yellow appeared three meters around him, slowly rotating in a mysterious pattern, forming a barrier that trapped him inside.

With the appearance of this barrier, Xuanlian found himself unable to move freely. Each meter forward now consumed several times more Spirit Qi, and his speed was reduced to a fraction of what it was!

"Five Elements Imprisonment Formation!" Xuanlian muttered in a deep voice, gazing at the five slowly turning talismans surrounding him.

By now, Xuanlian realized someone didn’t want him to return immediately, and the mysterious figure was certainly meant to divert him. Could it be that someone truly intends to harm the disciples of Medicine King Valley?

At this thought, Xuanlian became anxious and unleashed all his powers, launching a full-force attack on the "Five Elements Imprisonment Formation" surrounding him. Xuanlian, a master at the Fake Golden Core Stage, was terrifyingly powerful when exerting his full strength, but it still took him a whole incense stick’s time to break through the formation.

After breaking through the "Five Elements Imprisonment Formation," Xuanlian did not hesitate or try to find out who was blocking him. He immediately flew swiftly towards the location where the Medicine King Valley disciples were initially.

However, when Xuanlian arrived at the previous location, the scene he encountered shocked him. He saw five disciples of Medicine King Valley lying sprawled on the ground, their bodies covered in wounds, and the surrounding area was in ruins, clearly having been struck by a powerful spell.

Upon witnessing this sight, Xuanlian no longer cared about concealing his presence and quickly flashed beside the five disciples of Medicine King Valley, beginning to carefully examine their conditions. What he discovered made his heart sink even deeper.

Of the five disciples of Medicine King Valley, four had already died, leaving only Kai Huan with a faint breath of life. However, he had also fallen into a coma and was not far from death.

Seeing this situation, Xuanlian was extremely alarmed. He hurriedly propped Kai Huan up, pried open his mouth to feed him a few life-saving pills from Penance Valley, and then gently infused his robust Spirit Qi into Kai Huan’s body.

Under the combined effects of the medicine and Xuanlian’s Spirit Qi, Kai Huan’s face, which had been ashen, began to show a slight blush, and his heartbeat gradually stabilized. His eyes twitched slightly, and he finally regained consciousness from his coma.

Seeing a cultivator from Penance Valley before him, Kai Huan’s once-panicked eyes calmed slightly. With great effort, he haltingly said to Xuanlian, "Jiu, Jiuhua Gate, Xu Qing, Qingfan."

Having said these few words, Kai Huan seemed to have exhausted all his strength and fell back into unconsciousness.