Volume 4 Chapter 45

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Volume 4 Chapter 45: Discovery

Watching the strange purple aura and tremendous power surrounding the person in purple, Xu Qingfan’s expression became increasingly grave.

Judging from the aura of the purple mist and the person in purple, Xu Qingfan realized that this purple-clad individual’s power exceeded his expectations, and the cultivation method they practiced was not the usual type seen in the cultivation world; it carried an eerie and extremely dangerous vibe.

"It seems I can’t fight directly," he thought.

Staring at the person in purple not far ahead, Xu Qingfan murmured. In fact, before things became clear, Xu Qingfan could have completely stayed out of it. After all, the group led by the purple-clad person was looking for Old Beggar, but Xu Qingfan had a fondness for Old Beggar, who was currently helping him forge a weapon. Additionally, Xu Qingfan felt that the strange occurrences in the cultivation world might be closely linked to the person in purple before him. Moreover, when the person in purple had killed their companions, Xu Qingfan knew that if he were discovered, there would be no peaceful resolution. So, instead of being passive, it would be better to take the initiative.

Xu Qingfan initially thought of turning back to consult with Old Beggar, but then he remembered that Old Beggar was upgrading his magic tools. Given Old Beggar’s obsession with crafting, if Xu Qingfan disturbed him now, Old Beggar would likely be more upset with him than with the cultivators breaking the formation.

At the moment, Xu Qingfan was hidden within a shroud of blue mist. Thus, even though he could clearly see and sense the aura of the person in purple, his own presence remained concealed, unnoticed by the purple-clad person.

"Should I launch a sneak attack?"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Xu Qingfan dismissed it because the person in purple was highly attuned, their Spirit Qi gathered and senses keen. The moment Xu Qingfan stepped out of the blue mist, he would be detected by him. At that point, whether or not he mounted a sneak attack, the outcome would be the same.

Just then, the Spirit Qi within the person in purple had fully consolidated, and a vast, magnificent purple mist enveloped their entire body, tinting half the sky with a purple hue. Under their powerful presence, the nearby cultivators were instantly forced back several meters, their faces filled with fear.

Yet, the person in purple paid no heed to the cultivators’ reactions. He gracefully moved his hands, bringing the surrounding purple light together to form a fierce purple demon beast, which fiercely lunged at the blue mist.

"Let’s first use the ‘Infinite Sea Array’ to gauge the strength of this person in purple, and perhaps deplete some of his Spirit Qi too."

Xu Qingfan thought secretly. When he saw the purple demon beast approaching, he frowned and swiftly retreated over thirty feet. At the same time, the purple demon beast crashed fiercely into the blue mist where Xu Qingfan had been standing, and the impact instantly scattered much of the mist.

However, the ‘Infinite Sea Array’ has long been famous in the cultivation world. Many small sects use it as their mountain-guarding formation; it’s not that simple. The blue mist, once dispersed, surged like parted sea water, quickly returning to its original form and trapping the purple demon beast within.

The ‘Infinite Sea Array,’ true to its name, surrounded the purple demon beast, and the blue mist inside rapidly condensed into countless waves, continuously battering the demon beast. The spectacle was grand, and the purple demon beast seemed to be amidst a raging sea, buffeted by wind and waves, causing it to grow even angrier, roaring repeatedly.

Yet the strength of this demon beast formed of purple qi was overwhelmingly powerful. The blue mist waves crashed against its body without effect, and its counterattacks easily scattered the misty waves. As it continued to strike, the blue mist waves became thinner, and their attack frequency decreased. Over time, the ‘Infinite Sea Array’ could no longer mount a significant threat.

Listening to the roars of the purple demon beast, Xu Qingfan realized it was only a matter of time before the ‘Infinite Sea Array’ was broken.

For one person to forcibly break this "Infinite Sea Array" so renowned in the cultivation world, Xu Qingfan realized he had to reassess the strength of this person in purple.

What concerned Xu Qingfan even more was that he couldn’t discern any trace of the techniques used by the person in purple. In the cultivation world, some techniques could transform Spirit Qi into a demon beast for attacks, but nothing he knew matched the lifelike presence of this purple mist demon beast.

Such lifelikeness, Xu Qingfan had only seen when Feng Qingtian or he himself used the ‘Flame Phoenix.’

But Xu Qingfan had no time to think about these problems because the powerful aura of the purple demon beast was causing the "Infinite Sea Array," which Xu Qingfan had high hopes for, to near collapse.

"As far as I know, the ‘Infinite Sea Array’ should have one last attack."

Xu Qingfan raised his hand, and the "Five Spirit Bell" appeared in his grasp. He no longer looked at the wildly roaring purple demon beast in front of him but focused on the man in purple outside the array.

The "Five Spirit Bell" was the only magical tool Xu Qingfan could use at the moment.

Sure enough, after being easily defeated by the purple demon beast repeatedly, the "Infinite Sea Array" seemed to get angry. After a long calm, blue mist swirled and quickly formed several blue sea dragons, charging at the purple demon beast with roaring cries.

Seeing these changes, the man in purple outside the array grew serious. He rapidly moved his fingers, and under his control, the purple demon beast surrounded by the blue sea dragons roared loudly. Its body swelled several times larger, gaining strength far greater than its size, turning the tide of battle to its favor.

"Now’s the time!"

Just as the purple demon beast’s body underwent the change, a gleam appeared in Xu Qingfan’s eyes. He gathered his Spirit Qi in his fingers and struck the "Five Spirit Bell" three times.

"Dong… dong… dong…"

At this moment, the person in the purple robe was casting a secret spell to empower the demon beast he had transformed into. He was at a critical point in the spell, and it looked like the purple demon beast was about to defeat the blue sea dragons, which would cause the entire "Infinite Sea Array" to collapse. But suddenly, an unexpected change occurred. Three ancient, melodious chimes sounded in his ear. Although the chimes were not loud, at that very moment, he felt his internal Spirit Qi violently disrupted, and his mind was heavily shaken. Instantly, the spell backfired, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, the purple demon beast, which was displaying great power within the "Infinite Sea Array," also exploded suddenly after defeating the four blue sea dragons. It transformed into wisps of purple mist that dispersed into the air.

As the purple demon beast and the blue sea dragons disappeared, the blue mist that had surrounded "Jingxiu Mountain" gradually vanished. When the blue sea dragons were defeated, the entire "Infinite Sea Array" collapsed instantly.

"You go attack those cultivators besides the one in the purple robe. Leave the one in purple to me."

Just before the blue mist vanished, Xu Qingfan gave an order to Little Black in his heart. Simultaneously, his body transformed into a gray whirlwind, rushing quickly towards the person in purple.

"Who? Who’s attacking me?" While injured by the chime of the "Five Spirit Bell," the person in purple momentarily suppressed his internal injuries and quickly retreated dozens of meters. After quickly taking several healing pills, he looked around with sharp eyes and shouted.

As the person in purple was angrily shouting, he suddenly saw a chaotic gray whirlwind rapidly blowing towards him. The speed was so fast that he had no chance to dodge.

Just before being swallowed by the gray whirlwind, the person in purple initially thought it was just a regular spell meant to distract. But in the next instant, his expression changed dramatically.

Because the person in purple realized that once the wind touched his skin, it quickly withered and became covered with wrinkles. He could even clearly feel the life force draining from his body as the gray whirlwind passed over him, filling his heart with terror.

"What kind of magic is this, with such strange and overpowering strength?" the person in purple silently wondered.

At the same time, the person in purple didn’t hesitate, quickly forming hand seals, and suddenly a huge amount of purple mist surged around him, transforming rapidly into a gigantic purple eagle. With the eagle’s rapid flapping, the gray whirlwind that Xu Qingfan had become was disrupted by the fierce wind.

Taking this opportunity, the person in purple swiftly escaped the range of the gray whirlwind’s power on the back of the purple eagle, then without hesitation, quickly fled into the distance.

But Xu Qingfan wouldn’t let the person in purple escape easily. He had finally managed to severely injure him and found a chance to attack him by surprise, otherwise, in a direct confrontation, the outcome would still be uncertain. He also wanted to capture the person in purple alive to question him, so he was relentless. Transformed into a gray whirlwind, he chased after the swiftly retreating figure, yet the speed of the purple eagle was so intense that even Xu Qingfan’s wind transformation couldn’t close the distance quickly. Even if Xu Qingfan sped up to get closer, the person in purple would immediately wave his hand, releasing several purple beams of light, just like the method he used to slay those followers earlier. Not knowing what properties this purple light possessed, it managed to injure Xu Qingfan even while transformed, making him cautious about getting too close.

Compared to the fierce battle between Xu Qingfan and the person in purple, the skirmish between Little Black and the dozen or so cultivators at the Lingji Stage was much simpler.

Those cultivators were already severely injured from Xu Qingfan’s previous attack, and before they could regain their senses, they noticed a black streak swiftly flashing towards them. Before they could react, they felt a slight pain in their bodies as if pecked by a bird. Then, the black streak ignored them and quickly chased in the direction of Xu Qingfan and the person in purple.

As the cultivators were secretly relieved to have narrowly escaped and were preparing to flee, they suddenly discovered that the spots where they felt pecked began to emit a strange and terrifying energy. This energy had a tremendous corrosive effect, quickly eroding a significant portion of their inner Spirit Qi. After the Spirit Qi was exhausted, this eerie energy grew even stronger, beginning to invade their internal organs and dantian meridians. No matter how hard the cultivators tried, they couldn’t stop the terrifying energy.

"Death energy! It’s death energy!"

Looking around, all the cultivators saw the ashen expressions on each other’s faces. Suddenly, one cultivator seemed to remember something and cried out in terror, his voice full of despair.

Amid his scream, the weakest of the cultivators could no longer remain suspended in the air and plummeted toward the earth. As this cultivator fell, the others were horrified to discover that he had turned into a skeleton, scattered upon the ground.

"Ah…"

Over ten terrified cries echoed continuously outside "Jingxiu Mountain."

…

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan persistently chased the fleeing figure in purple. During this pursuit, the purple-clad person emitted a purple aura, forming a six-winged, three-headed, eight-armed monster to attack the gray whirlwind that was Xu Qingfan, only for it to be instantly dispersed by him.

Disrupted by the bell from the "Five Spirit Bell" and retaliated by the Spirit Qi, then ambushed by Xu Qingfan, when he summoned the demon beast again, its power was much weaker than the one in the "Infinite Sea Array" before.

By this point, Xu Qingfan had roughly gauged the strength of the figure in purple. Judging by power, he was about at the late stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage, but his abilities were unusually strange. He could condense his internal Spirit Qi into various lifelike demon beasts and conjure purple glitter with a wave of his hand, without needing to form gestures, making both casting and attack speed incredibly fast, catching people off guard.

Watching the figure in purple still fleeing in panic, Xu Qingfan thought to himself, "Martial Uncle Liu once said that he saw over ten of these purple-clad figures collecting the battlefield’s blood essence from vengeful spirits together. This suggests there isn’t just one purple-robed person, and I can’t let him escape. Otherwise, if he finds the others, I’ll be the one running."

With this in mind, Xu Qingfan stopped hesitating, increased his speed to the limit, and rushed toward the purple figure. Upon noticing Xu Qingfan approaching, the purple figure responded as before, throwing several streaks of purple light at him as a barrier, but was surprised to find Xu Qingfan plowing through without the slightest pause, directly confronting the strikes, then continuing to close in quickly. Seeing Xu Qingfan’s determination, the purple figure was alarmed and repeatedly hurled purple light at him.

After enduring dozens of hits from the person in purple, Xu Qingfan finally landed beside the enormous purple eagle. Then, with a swift motion, he appeared near the person in purple, though his face was pale from taking those blows.

Seeing Xu Qingfan suddenly appear beside him, the person in purple was astonished and wanted to attack Xu Qingfan again. But before he could act, Xu Qingfan moved close and struck him with his palm.

As Xu Qingfan’s palm touched him, the person in purple felt two opposite forces, or Spirit Qi, inside him. One was full of life and holiness, while the other was withering and corrosive, known as Xu Qingfan’s "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi."

These two Spirit Qi began to clash inside him, ignoring his attempts to block them. Their fight caused far more destruction than normal magic. The pain and itchiness they brought were unbearable, as "Withered Qi" corroded parts of his body and "Flourish Qi" healed them, causing the person in purple extreme discomfort. Distracted, even his control over the giant eagle waned, and they both fell from the sky.

Just as he thought he would surely die, he felt something soft beneath him. Opening his eyes, he found himself landing on a cloud, while Xu Qingfan watched him coldly from its other end.

The strike Xu Qingfan used was actually the result of his new cultivation method, the "Formula of Life and Death." With the two forces elevated to "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi," Xu Qingfan found it harder and harder to control them with the old "Formula of Wither and Flourish." So, he had begun to create this new method, the "Formula of Life and Death."

However, this "Formula of Life and Death" was still very basic and, as Xu Qingfan observed, seemed only good for torturing enemies with no other special effects. The person in purple was the first to be "fortunate" enough to experience Xu Qingfan’s test of this new method.

Watching the person in purple tremble and pale under the torment of "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi," Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but secretly admire his strength. Even though this opponent was ruthless, his ability to endure such pain was commendable.

With a cold snort, Xu Qingfan placed his hand on the person in purple again, retrieving the "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi" from his body. He knew the struggle inside had left the opponent too weak to resist anymore.

When Xu Qingfan withdrew the Spirit Qi from his body, the man in purple paused for a moment, then a look of despair appeared in his eyes as he gently closed them. Just as Xu Qingfan was about to speak, the man in purple spoke first, "Are you one of ‘Huang’s’ subordinates?"

Xu Qingfan was slightly taken aback and replied, "What are you saying? Who is ‘Huang’?"

The man in purple let out a cold laugh and said, "Don’t pretend. All of Huang’s subordinates have been altered by him. I can sense this unique energy fluctuation from you."

Xu Qingfan was taken aback for a moment, then remembered how his body indeed emitted a sort of energy fluctuation ever since it was altered through a secret art. It was this very energy that had allowed him to detect Zhang Hualing’s secret learning from Liu Huaxiang’s teachings. Xu Qingfan had initially thought only those similarly altered could sense it, but he hadn’t expected this man in purple to uncover it so easily.

Liu Huaxiang had once told Xu Qingfan that those secret arts were created by a genius predecessor, though they eventually descended into dark methods despite their great power.

"Could it be that the ‘Huang’ mentioned by the man in purple is related to the predecessor who created the secret arts?" Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

With this thought, Xu Qingfan calmly asked, "Since you have identified me, you should also know why I’m here, right?"

The man in purple, who had remained impassive even under Xu Qingfan’s "Formula of Life and Death," now visibly showed fear upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words. Trembling, he said, "Is it because my family’s master once mentioned Huang’s failure and identity from fifty years ago at a ‘Ming’ gathering that Huang seeks revenge?"

Xu Qingfan nodded slightly and said, "It’s good that you know."

Suddenly, the fear in the eyes of the person in purple vanished instantly, replaced by a look of determination. In a cold voice, he said, "You must be trying to find out from me where my family master’s hideout is, so you can wipe out my master’s family like you did with ‘Yu’ and ‘Zhou’ back then?"

Before Xu Qingfan could say anything, the person in purple suddenly shouted, "I will never betray my master."

As he spoke, the body of the person in purple began to convulse uncontrollably. Xu Qingfan was startled and wanted to stop him, but the person in purple was already motionless.

Looking at the corpse of the person in purple, Xu Qingfan sighed slightly, realizing that he couldn’t bear the torture any longer and chose to end his life with a secret technique.

He hadn’t expected that after a fierce battle, and capturing the person in purple, he would gain no useful information from him, such as why they were collecting the blood of vengeful spirits from battlefields or why they attacked Old Beggar. Moreover, whether the disappearance of cultivators in the cultivation world over the years was related to them.

However, Xu Qingfan also received some unexpected information from the person in purple. For example, the person in purple had a master above him, and both his master and someone named "Huang" belonged to an organization called "Ming." Moreover, his master had once offended "Huang" and feared him greatly, which showed that the "Ming" organization itself was not united, and "Huang" was much more powerful than the master of the person in purple.

This person in purple had already reached the late stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage, which meant his master was at least at the Golden Core Stage. Yet, the master still feared "Huang" so much. How powerful must "Huang" be?

More importantly, Xu Qingfan learned from the person in purple that "Huang" was somehow connected to the predecessor who created the secret technique.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan’s body trembled slightly. He then began to piece together the information he had gathered from the person in purple and what he already knew.

The person in purple once said that Huang’s subordinates had all been transformed, which made Xu Qingfan involuntarily think of Zhang Xusheng. He still clearly remembered those monsters under Zhang Xusheng, Bai Qingfu and Wang Qingjun.

The person in purple once said that his master offended Huang because he talked about Huang’s failure and identity from fifty years ago. So, what major event occurred in the cultivation world fifty years ago? Did Zhang Xusheng attack Jiuhua Mountain?

Liu Huaxiang never revealed who the predecessor was that created the mysterious technique—only that it was acquired by chance. Previously, Zhang Xusheng hurriedly defected from Jiuhua Mountain, leaving his research there, which seems highly likely.

Could it be that the Huang mentioned by the person in purple is Zhang Xusheng?

Although still uncertain, the thought of this possibility made Xu Qingfan shiver. Anything linked to Zhang Xusheng made Xu Qingfan uneasy since the impression Zhang Xusheng had left on him was too profound.

While Xu Qingfan was lost in thought, a flash of black light suddenly streaked across the sky, swiftly landing on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder. It was Little Black, coming over after defeating its opponent.

Xu Qingfan stroked Little Black’s feathers and sighed, "Little Black, let’s go back."

As he spoke, Xu Qingfan was about to turn and leave but then seemed to remember something. He paused for a moment, turned back, and began to carefully examine the deceased person in purple before him.