Volume 5 Chapter 81

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Volume 5 Chapter 81: Seven Years

How did the mighty Immortal Zizhen and Mr. Liu get here?

Xu Qingfan was filled with confusion. Immortal Zizhen was understandable; he was just reminding Xu Qingfan to keep his identity secret again. But Mr. Liu, who was said to have a great grudge against the elder Li Xuhan of Jiuhua, also came to see Xu Qingfan, and Xu Qingfan truly felt lost.

Looking at Zhang Ningmei’s puzzled expression, it was clear that these two had appeared suddenly and didn’t seem to share Xu Qingfan’s confusion, but made it hard for Zhang Ningmei to see where they came from.

Xu Qingfan smiled apologetically at Zhang Ningmei; the evening was bustling with people, making it difficult for Zhang Ningmei to settle down.

Just as Xu Qingfan waved for Zhang Ningmei to leave, Mr. Liu suddenly spoke up.

"Kid Xu, your place is quite lively! I have been waiting here all night just to see you." Mr. Liu then pointed at Immortal Zizhen and said, "This old guy has been waiting even longer. Before I came, he was already using his Divine Sense to check out what was happening here."

For some unknown reason, Mr. Liu showed no manners in front of Xu Qingfan, acting as if Xu Qingfan were his own disciple as he joked and scolded casually. It was unclear whether Mr. Liu was like this by nature or only acted this way in front of Xu Qingfan.

Mr. Liu spoke casually, but Xu Qingfan dared not be so casual. He first bowed respectfully to the two masters and then asked politely, "May I ask what brings the two masters to seek out a younger person like me?"

Mr. Liu hesitated for a moment, glanced at Immortal Zizhen beside him, and finally said, "Please tell me about Liu Huaxiang’s condition before he died."

Xu Qingfan was slightly surprised and didn’t understand why Mr. Liu was asking this. After thinking for a moment, he felt that there was nothing secret about Liu Huaxiang’s last moments, so he shared what happened then with Mr. Liu. He only left out some secrets about Jiuhua and the matter of Liu Huaxiang’s will.

It was clear that Mr. Liu was listening very carefully. After Xu Qingfan finished explaining everything, a strange expression that looked like both crying and laughing appeared on his face. Then, without saying goodbye, he just left.

But just before leaving the room, Mr. Liu suddenly said to Xu Qingfan, "Your three disciples are good, especially the girl who makes tea."

As he spoke, the strange look on his face had disappeared, and he turned to leave again. After stepping outside, he suddenly vanished into the light of dawn.

Immortal Zizhen’s purpose for coming here was as Xu Qingfan had expected. Although he openly claimed to be giving Xu Qingfan the offerings due to the Honorary Elder of Qingxu for this decade, his words hinted that Xu Qingfan should keep his identity a secret. Previously, to protect Xu Qingfan’s secret, Immortal Zizhen had sacrificed many cultivators of the Righteous Alliance in the Southern Wasteland battle. If this secret leaked from Xu Qingfan, Immortal Zizhen would fall into an endless passive situation.

After Immortal Zizhen also left quietly, the sky was bright.

※※※※

Seven years later…

Xu Qingfan’s fingers danced, and countless beams of light, black and white, shot out from between his fingers, striking the frenzied cultivators rushing at him. Then, those crazed cultivators’ bodies exploded, and the explosions were so powerful that although only about twenty ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators were hit by Xu Qingfan, about forty others nearby were shattered by the terrifying blasts.

From the moment this group of mad cultivators spotted Xu Qingfan and charged at him, to the moment they fell to Xu Qingfan’s "Life and Death Finger," only a brief moment passed, and these seemingly fierce ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators posed no threat to Xu Qingfan at all.

Just then, a golden light rose from a nearby valley in the south. Xu Qingfan furrowed his brow and quickly flew towards the valley, hearing faint, oppressive roars coming from within.

"Didn’t we say we would wait until everyone was here before taking action? Did something unexpected happen?" Xu Qingfan thought to himself as he hurried towards the valley.

When Xu Qingfan arrived at the valley, he found a chaotic battle already underway. Li Yuhan, Sheng Yushan, Lv Qingshang, Dongfang Qingling, Lv Ziqing, Shang Nianyao, Xu Xiurong, and others were battling a group of ‘Beast Madness’ cultivators. These cultivators were different from the ones Xu Qingfan had faced before; the previous ones were only at the Lingji Stage before being infected, while the ones before him could fly in their lost minds, indicating they were at the Condensed Core Stage before their transformation. Looking around, Xu Qingfan’s small team of thirty had about sixteen or seventeen members in the fight, while the attacking Beast Madness cultivators numbered over thirty.

These infected Condensed Core Stage cultivators not only gained vast Spirit Qi after infection but also had heightened senses, able to easily use the powerful skills they had learned in life. Moreover, with just their animal instincts left, they fought without fearing death, while their opponents were cautious of being hit or stained with blood, making battles against them tougher than normal Condensed Core Stage cultivators.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qingfan frowned slightly and recalled many bad memories. During these years of battle, these Condensed Core Stage Beast Madness cultivators had killed many of his companions, including Wang Qingfeng from Jiuhua, who was torn to pieces right before Xu Qingfan’s eyes by these mad cultivators.

Just as Xu Qingfan flew into the valley, two Condensed Core Stage Beast Madness cultivators instantly noticed him and rushed at him with sharp claws, moving at incredible speed.

Xu Qingfan’s brow furrowed more tightly as he saw his companions becoming precarious under the attacks of those Beast Madness cultivators. He quickly unleashed the "Five Spirit Bell" to protect himself and ignored the two attackers, charging straight into the most intense part of the battlefield, shouting, "Everyone, gather together! It’s harder to deal with when we’re scattered."

At that moment, everyone was struggling with the Beast Madness cultivator in front of them, panicking. Although they heard Xu Qingfan’s voice, they had no way to escape.

In fact, Hua Xian had said the same thing a few times before, but it had no effect. Distracted, he nearly got hurt by three Beast Madness cultivators attacking him. Feeling helpless, he could only focus on dealing with his opponent.

Seeing the situation becoming more and more dangerous, with team members at risk of being killed, Xu Qingfan felt a surge of panic. He had no choice but to rely on the strong defense of the "Five Spirit Bell" to knock away the Beast Madness cultivators that were entangling his teammates. He also sent his two clones, Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Ying, to distract them, as the clones lacked intelligence and were not at risk of being infected by the Beast Madness. With great effort, he gradually gathered most people together, including those he knew. With this, everyone could work together and only needed to pay attention to the enemies in front of them, making it much easier.

However, using the "Five Spirit Bell" consumed a lot of Spirit Qi, and under the fierce attacks from the Beast Madness cultivators, Xu Qingfan’s Spirit Qi was drained even faster. Although saving people earlier only took a few moments, it left him feeling breathless.

When Xu Qingfan returned to the crowd to catch his breath for a moment, preparing to save others, he suddenly heard three or four cries of despair. Looking around, he saw that the three people he had not saved were already torn to pieces by the Beast Madness cultivators. As their bodies fell to the ground, Xu Qingfan seemed to see the expression of hatred on their broken faces.

Xu Qingfan knew that they were not blaming the Beast Madness cultivators, but blaming him. The first people he saved were those he was most familiar with, neglecting the others. They resented Xu Qingfan for gathering the group together and inadvertently increasing the attacks they had to endure, hating his hypocrisy…

Xu Qingfan sighed softly; this was not the first time he had faced this situation. Although he felt guilty and pained, he did not regret it. If he hadn’t acted, the entire team would have been doomed. He admitted that he had deliberately saved those he knew well, while only saving half of the new team members.

If he had to sacrifice some people, Xu Qingfan was not selfless enough to sacrifice those close to him to save newcomers. Besides, losing a few recently joined team members would bring only guilt, while losing friends would bring endless pain as well. Moreover, Xu Qingfan managed to protect most people…

Even though he comforted himself continuously and this was not the first time he faced such a situation, watching the falling pieces of bodies and recalling the resentful gazes of these people before they died made his body tremble uncontrollably.

After all, four lives were lost right before his eyes, and their lives should have been in their own hands, not decided by Xu Qingfan.