Volume 5 Chapter 113
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Volume 5 Chapter 113: Strange and Dangerous, a Life-and-Death Battle (Part 2)
At the same time, thousands of miles away from Xu Qingfan and the others, three hundred miles south of "Ronghua Mountain."
Shortly after Xu Qingfan left "Ronghua Mountain," Bai Yu secretly mixed in with a group of more than ten low-level cultivators, like him, who were restless and had nothing to do, blending in with the crowd of ordinary people to leave the area of "Ronghua Mountain."
So-called "geniuses" and "talents," whether rare once in a hundred years or once in a thousand years, are indeed uncommon but not as few as one might think. Every sect in every era has such figures, because even the rarest individuals, when gathered among the hundreds of millions of people in the Shenzhou Continent, make for a truly significant number.
Many of these so-called geniuses became great masters admired by later generations, but many others remained just geniuses, never becoming anything else, and were quickly forgotten by people. Occasionally, someone might remember them with a sigh of regret, only to forget them again.
Over the years, Bai Yu made some friends and brothers within "Ronghua Mountain." These so-called friends were similar to him in some ways, either with great talent or taught well by their masters, allowing them to progress in cultivation much faster, reaching levels that most people find difficult to achieve in their lifetime in half the time. Therefore, he saw himself as a rare genius, one that appears once in a hundred or even a thousand years. Combined with his unsettled nature, he thought that not trying very hard, occasionally playing around, and relying on his talent could also lead him to core formation and ultimately the path to immortality.
Thus, after playing around continuously, play became routine, and practicing meditation became something he did only occasionally. Initially, he felt anxious, but when he noticed those of duller talent being left farther behind, he felt it was only natural and became even more convinced that he was a genius born once in a thousand years.
Of course, they subconscious ignored the fact that those who were originally as talented as them and reached similar levels were now far beyond them.
Vision determines achievement. These "geniuses" always focused on those who were worse than them, so their future achievements were predictable.
There have always been many people like this in every era, and every sect has one or two that give their masters headaches. This should not be surprising; if Feng Qingtian hadn’t faced changes at home, and if Jin Qinghan hadn’t met Feng Qingtian, they might have been among them.
After the disaster began, major sects gathered at "Ronghua Mountain" to resist the calamity together. These so-called "geniuses" were also gathered by their elders and were surprised to find a few other "geniuses" like themselves in the world. Out of curiosity, they interacted with each other and discovered they shared a common bond, becoming close brothers. As they influenced one another, these "geniuses" fell further into decay.
After Xu Qingfan brought Bai Yu Zhang Ningmei to "Ronghua Mountain," Bai Yu quickly mingled with this group of "geniuses," as he had no supervision due to Xu Qingfan’s frequent missions. He advanced from acquaintance to familiarity and eventually integrated into the group, becoming one of the standout members, both for his talent and his level of moral decline.
This time, the group of geniuses sneaked into the mortal realm during the monthly opening of the barrier located three hundred miles outside of "Ronghua Mountain." This idea was Bai Yu’s.
In these seven years, with nothing to do, Bai Yu has explored almost the entire area of three hundred miles around "Ronghua Mountain," and it has become quite boring. Therefore, he has been thinking about sneaking out to have some fun, and today his wish has come true.
"There’s nothing special here; it’s a desolate area with wild grasses and dead trees, not as lively as near ‘Ronghua Mountain.’ Though it has become dull because I’m so familiar with it, at least there are many people around."
After leaving the area of "Ronghua Mountain," these talented individuals began to fly into the air with their magical tools, taking in the scenery for a long time. A young man in green clothes said disappointedly.
"If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have caused so much trouble. That old man from my family is coming back these few days; if he finds out about me, I’ll be in big trouble."
A man with ordinary looks but long hair also complained. "That old man from my family" is how these talented individuals refer to their master. You could say it’s quite disrespectful, but to them, it feels close and affectionate.
Judging by the clothing of this man, he should be a second-generation disciple of the "Five Elements Sect."
Suddenly, this man seemed to remember something, and his expression changed. He said to the others, "Oh no, I just remembered that old man from my family seems to have taken a group to the Southern Wasteland to deal with those ‘Beast Madness cultivators.’ We shouldn’t have come out from this direction."
As he spoke, this man intended to fly northward.
But just as he moved, Bai Yu reached out to stop him. Bai Yu casually said, "You look so scared; you’re really embarrassing us ‘ten young masters.’"
The "ten young masters" is the name these ten talents call themselves. It may sound a bit silly, but we can’t expect these geniuses to think of a more meaningful name. At least this title has some power to it.
"Exactly." A boy in blue, who seemed very experienced, taught others, "Backing down at a crucial moment is not what we ten young masters should do. If you happen to be so unlucky that your master runs into you on the way back, just say you missed him and couldn’t help but sneak here to meet him. Your master will probably be so happy he won’t blame you at all."
The man from the "Five Elements Sect" hesitated for a moment but was eventually convinced by Bai Yu and the others. Still, he said uncertainly, "However, it’s so desolate here that I haven’t seen a single living thing. It really isn’t much fun. Shouldn’t we change to another place?"
Bai Yu looked around and indeed noticed how barren it was. He didn’t know that there used to be some wild beasts here, but a few days ago, Xu Qingfan’s Little Gold had killed them all.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Yu said, "Let’s look in another direction. Although the common people have gathered around ‘Ronghua Mountain,’ there should still be some wild beasts. We can have a contest to see who can catch the most beasts in a limited time."
When the others heard Bai Yu’s suggestion, they all agreed and flew toward another direction around ‘Ronghua Mountain.’
On the way, the group searched for their prey while chatting with each other.
"I heard, Seventh Brother, that many demon beasts have suddenly appeared in the Southern Wasteland, and their levels are quite high. It seems that your old man has also gone to the Southern Wasteland. I hope nothing happens to him."
The cultivator dressed like a young gentleman in green casually asked while looking around.
The man from the Five Elements Sect showed a hint of worry in his eyes, clearly a bit concerned. However, with all these talented individuals gathered together, they were more interested in joking around and boasting about their past achievements to show off their talents, along with how powerful their master was. So, although he was worried, he hid it well and said stubbornly, "How could that be? My master is very skilled, having already reached the Golden Core Stage. Ordinary demon beasts are nothing before him. Maybe this time he comes back, he will bring me some demon beast eggs to be my spirit pets."
Although the young man was a bit reckless, his concern made him unconsciously change how he addressed his master.
Seeing the worry on Seventh Brother’s face, the other nine understood and didn’t say anything more about it. Instead, they started talking about the recent commotion with the demon beasts on "Ronghua Mountain."
And here, it became Bai Yu’s time to shine. He vividly described the scene at that time, explaining how chaotic the demon beasts were in the area of "Ronghua Mountain" and how they rushed towards his master Xu Qingfan like a mighty army. He spoke of how Xu Qingfan remained calm and unafraid, treating the countless demon beasts as nothing, and how a powerful aura from him made the demon beasts retreat.
It’s likely that Xu Qingfan would blush a little if he heard Bai Yu’s words.
Speaking of which, these talented individuals, despite their youthful arrogance, also had good hearts. At least judging by Seventh Brother’s concern and Bai Yu’s boasting, they cared deeply for their master, even though he often got very annoyed with them.
After flying east for about a hundred miles, the ten young masters finally saw creatures like tigers, wolves, and cattle. For some unknown reason, these animals were hurriedly migrating away. If one looked closely, they might see signs of fear. However, the ten young masters were too focused on hunting the beasts for fun to notice. They cheered loudly and flew towards the animals, starting the competition.
Because of his cultivation method, Bai Yu could only attack up close but struggled to compete with the other nine who could use long-range attacks. So, instead of joining them in the attack, he flew further away, looking for a place dense with beasts to hunt.
"Seventh Brother, why are you following me instead of joining them?" Bai Yu asked the man from the Five Elements Sect as he flew off into the distance.
The Seventh Brother chuckled and said, "Just like you, there are not many beasts, and I don’t want to compete with them."
"Then are you going to compete with me?" Bai Yu shook his head and laughed.
After flying several hundred miles, a large group of beasts appeared before the two again. It was a pack of wolves. As nearby mortals gathered around "Ronghua Mountain," the number of wolves and leopards increased. However, a pack this big was rare. Like the previous herds they had seen, these wolves were hurriedly migrating to somewhere far for some unknown reason.
"Do you think they’re migrating because they know we, the Ten Young Masters, are going hunting, and that’s why they’re so restless?"
Bai Yu pointed at the migrating wolves below and said with a smile.
With that, the two no longer hesitated and unleashed their powers to attack the beasts.
Although Bai Yu and the Seventh Brother were a bit young and reckless, their skills at the Lingji Stage were quite impressive.
Suddenly, Bai Yu’s figure flashed, and in the next moment, he was among the wolves. A golden light flickered around him as he struck and kicked, causing many wolves to fall. The Seventh Brother, though he seemed suppressed and indecisive among the Ten Young Masters, actually had strong skills. With a flick of his fingers, the ground beneath them trembled like ocean waves.
Competing to hunt these wild beasts as cultivators showed how bored these so-called Ten Young Masters really were, as there was a huge gap in strength between the two sides. In just a moment, the seemingly large pack of wolves had been completely wiped out by the combined efforts of the two.
Maybe it was because the two sides were too unequal in strength, after they killed all the wild wolves, Bai Yu and Seventh Brother seemed to find it boring. Plus, although these ten had made a bet before, they forgot to set a prize. The bloody scene was also somewhat thrilling for these two inexperienced beginners, so they stopped looking for more beasts and instead found a quiet spot to chat while waiting for the other eight to arrive and show off their achievements.
Just as these two began to compare their masters’ strengths, they sensed a tremor coming from afar. Strangely, both felt a wave of panic in their hearts, as if something very terrifying was about to happen.
However, being young and reckless, neither wanted the other to see that they were frightened just by a trembling earth. So they both kept calm expressions on their faces.
"Is it the Second Brother’s ‘Art of Earth Shaking’? Even from dozens of miles away, we can feel the ground shake so clearly. This kid has improved a lot recently, has he been secretly practicing without us?"
Bai Yu pretended not to care and turned to ask Seventh Brother beside him.
Seventh Brother looked surprised and said, "Impossible! If the ‘Art of Earth Shaking’ is strong enough to be felt so clearly from this far away, Second Brother must be on the verge of Core Formation. I think he is heading our way but found some prey on the way and used ‘Art of Earth Shaking’, which is why we can sense it so clearly."
Bai Yu nodded in agreement but chuckled, "It’s just hunting ordinary beasts. For Second Brother to use such an advanced technique as ‘Art of Earth Shaking’ is overkill. That guy still cares so much about winning and losing."
Hearing this, Seventh Brother also laughed. The Second Brother Bai Yu mentioned was the young man in green, nicknamed "I Win," because it was his catchphrase. Among the ten young masters, this guy took competitions the most seriously, and he practiced a soil-based cultivation method.
But after a short while, Bai Yu and Seventh Brother gradually stopped laughing, because while they were joking, the tremors became stronger and stronger, eventually reaching a level that was far beyond what the Second Brother could achieve when using "Art of Earth Shaking" in front of them.
Sensing this change, Bai Yu and Seventh Brother no longer cared about face-saving; their expressions changed.
Each used their magical tools and took to the sky, looking toward the source of the tremors in the ground.
The faces of the two turned pale suddenly.
In the distance, a black line slowly appeared on the ground, and a small black cloud emerged in the sky.
As time passed and the distance closed in, the black line and the black cloud grew larger. Before long, the black cloud in the sky became big enough to block the sun and stars, while the black line on the ground transformed into a scene that covered the entire land.
With better eyesight, Bai Yu could now clearly see that the black line on the ground and the black cloud in the sky were not anything else but countless demon beasts, their faces fierce, eyes filled with wicked light, rushing towards them. There were at least one hundred thousand of these demon beasts. Not to mention, each of these demon beasts was powerful, and their united force made both feel their bodies stiffen and their minds shaken.
The tremors the two had sensed before were indeed caused by these demon beasts, all charging together.
The two clearly remembered that the other eight young masters had been hunting in the direction where the horde of beasts was coming from, but now, they were nowhere to be seen.
Time passed, and it was Seventh Brother who reacted first. Suddenly, in fear, he shouted and without a second thought grabbed Bai Yu and flew towards "Ronghua Mountain."
Seventh Brother’s face was, he didn’t know when, already covered with tears. It wasn’t just because of the eight friends he had played with for more than ten years, but also because he clearly remembered that his master had previously led the "Five Elements Sect" team to the Southern Wasteland to eliminate the remaining "Beast Madness cultivators," and these demon beasts were clearly coming from the Southern Wasteland. However, the "Five Elements Sect" team led by his master had vanished without a trace.
The answer was easy to guess.
But Seventh Brother could only helplessly run away, crying.
Although Seventh Brother tried to pull Bai Yu to escape, Bai Yu remained still, his expression filled with horror as if he had discovered something. He pointed towards the direction of the approaching demon beasts and shouted, "Fifth Brother is still alive! Fifth Brother is still alive!"
Hearing Bai Yu’s words, Seventh Brother was startled and turned to look in the direction of the beasts, only to see a small black dot running towards them in front of the group of beasts. In front of the overwhelming number of beasts, this small black dot seemed so tiny and powerless.
Upon closer inspection, this small black dot was none other than Fifth Brother from the so-called ten young masters.
Fifth Brother practiced wind magic and was originally the fastest among the ten. Now, he pushed his speed to the limit, quickly flying towards the two. However, although Bai Yu and Seventh Brother were in front of him, Fifth Brother’s eyes were filled with despair.
Because even though Fifth Brother had reached his top speed, the group of beasts was still getting closer to him, and it seemed they would soon catch up and overwhelm him.
In fact, although there were many demon beasts, they acted in a disciplined manner. If it weren’t for maintaining formation to prevent the slower demon beasts from falling behind, Fifth Brother would have long since become a meal in the belly of some demon beast, like the other seven.
It is said that just before death and danger, people often have very strange thoughts in their minds. For example, at that moment, Bai Yu thought, "We are the ones who came out to hunt…"
A moment later, Bai Yu was about to run towards Fifth Brother. The ten people, though they only shared a bad odor, had good hearts, and their feelings were sincere. Seeing their companion’s death, Bai Yu’s first reaction was to help, but he was held back firmly by Seventh Brother, who would not let him move.
When Bai Yu turned around with surprised, angry eyes that soon changed to disdain, Seventh Brother’s tears flowed even more, but his shouts grew more hoarse.
"You can’t save Fifth Brother; you’ll just be walking to your death!"
The truth is, many people who seem indecisive usually become very decisive at critical moments, like this Seventh Brother, while many who appear confident and decisive end up feeling lost at the last moment, like Bai Yu.
In just that delay, the distance between the pack of beasts and the two men had closed by more than a third, and Fifth Brother was now less than a hundred feet away from the beast pack.
Hearing Seventh Brother’s shout, Bai Yu was slightly stunned and his expression turned blank.
But Seventh Brother didn’t care what Bai Yu was thinking at that moment; he just pulled Bai Yu towards "Ronghua Mountain."
With the earth shaking as if the end of the world was coming, Bai Yu seemed lost and was being dragged away by Seventh Brother. The words of Seventh Brother had shattered something deep inside him. In his daze, Bai Yu turned to see Fifth Brother, who had just been joking with him, torn to pieces by several demon beasts. The blood was bright red, clear to see even from a distance.
The two of them discovered that the time was still early, and compared to the other eight, they were closer to "Ronghua Mountain." Although they were delayed for a while because of Bai Yu, they still ran to about three hundred miles away from "Ronghua Mountain" before the beast herd could catch up with them, reaching the barrier set by several masters.
Then, there was only despair left.
The barrier was closed.
Turning back, the beast herd was already near.
The beast herd was approaching, and it was obvious they could not be fighting just for the lives of the two of them, even though both were well-known geniuses.
"I pushed you to practice hard, not because I wanted you to bring me any benefits or glory. To be honest, with my current status, even if you could bring me some benefits in the future, they would be limited. The reason I urge you is entirely for your own good. You have great talent, but if you waste it like this in everyday life, I wouldn’t feel sorry. The Shenzhou Continent has countless people; geniuses are rare, but together they make a large number. Losing one more or having one extra doesn’t make a difference. But in these chaotic times, with disasters still far from over, even if you are in the prosperous Middle-earth, you cannot guarantee your safety. And during this time, when you can increase your strength, I just don’t want you to regret today’s recklessness when you face enemies in the future and have no way out."
Suddenly, Bai Yu remembered the last time, or the time before that, when Xu Qingfan spoke with a hint of weariness, slowly and helplessly saying those words.
At that time, Bai Yu just thought Xu Qingfan was talking nonsense, repeating old lines. But now, he finally understood the meaning of those words.
Fifth Brother was dead, and he was powerless. The beast herd was coming, and he was still powerless.
Unfortunately, it seems that it is too late.
But Bai Yu did not know that his master Xu Qingfan, whom he was thinking about, was now in an even more dangerous situation than he was.
