Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way

“What the fuck?!” screamed Li Rong as a shiver ran up his spine. He made a hand seal and summoned his jiangshis back, made a shield out of spiritual energy, and took several steps back in haste.

“Ha!” Gu Suihan traveled through the dense forest swiftly. His face was a little pale. If he hadn’t sprung a surprise attack while Mo Yuluo was in the middle of a spell and Li Rong didn’t have the time to get all his jiangshis into formation, he would probably be dead by now.

A throbbing in his legs made him frown. His attack earlier looked well executed and easy on himself, but he knew very well how hard it had been to get out of that situation. He had caught his victims by surprise and they didn’t know what he was capable of, so his combination of unfamiliar spells, stacks of talismans, and unpredictable movements helped him to escape.

He swallowed a Qi Nourishing Pill and spiritual energy instantly surged into his Spiritual Meridians. The concentrated herbs inside the pill were quickly digested through his powerful cultivation technique, drenching his Spiritual Meridians and getting rid of the painful swelling in his legs. After he felt better, he cautiously stuck his head out to check if the coast was clear before running out again.

Meanwhile, Li Rong and Mo Yuluo were still in shock.

“He’s really powerful, and that saber of his is a spiritual weapon,” said Li Rong after clearing his throat. He quietly broke down what happened, “His speed is terrifying. Also, he used at least three different types of attack methods and he’s very good at concealment.”

Mo Yuluo didn’t seem to be bothered by any of this as she retrieved a cake from her storage ring and squatted down quietly like a small, injured animal. After hearing Li Rong’s analysis, she snapped out of her daze and said, “He’s sly, scheming, despicable, shameless, vicious, and very well versed in fighting techniques. He’s used those few talismans in such creative ways.”

She was suddenly reminded of how Gu Suihan had stared so blatantly and lecherously at her. Her teeth chattered in fury and she bit off half her cake as if it could help her to vent out her anger. She had a deep frown on her face and looked like she was ready to fight someone right now.

“Look for Mu Tian and the other two. It’s easy for both of us to shake him off, but it’s too hard for just two of us to finish him off,” said Li Rong after a brief moment of silence as he stood up.

Mo Yuluo pouted and glared at Li Rong. “Gu Suihan is no fool. He’s a bold one, but he also knows when to run. If we set up such an obvious trap for him, will he still fall for it?”

“Yes, he will. As long as it holds enough temptation for him,” said Li Rong in a certain voice and with a confident look on his face.

“What sort of temptation?”

Li Rong narrowed his eyes as he looked at the forest and said in a thoughtful tone, “He’s hit Foundation Establishment stage, which will need a large amount of spiritual herbs and Spiritual Stones. What we need is to provide him with herbs.”

“Alright then,” Mo Yuluo agreed after thinking about it for a while. She took a jade slip out, inscribed a message on it, then flung it out. The jade slip spun a few times in the air, then flew out of sight once it had determined which direction to go.

…

“Who’s sent you a message?” Yan Wuheng and Hang Chulong looked strangely at the equally confused Mu Tian.

“I have no idea.” Mu Tian looked down puzzledly at the jade slip he had just received.

“Take a look and we’ll know.” The three men filled the jade slip with their spiritual sense.

After reading the message contained in the jade slip…

“This…this is…” Hang Chulong’s lips twitched violently. He had no idea how to react.

“We’re seriously down on our luck!” Yan Wuheng rubbed his temples vigorously. His head hurt so much.

Mu Tian didn’t know what to do either. He sighed sadly and said, “What are we going to do now? What are we going to do now?”

“How the hell do I know?” snapped Yan Wuheng in reply. His expression was foul as he said, “Seriously, why couldn’t that woman from the Way Seekers Alliance just stay in the sect obediently and wait for us to come back? What is she doing here?!”

“It’s because Gu Suihan came here and Li Rong was after him, then Mo Yuluo wanted to talk to Li Rong, so she came here too. The two of them have teamed up to kill Gu Suihan. That’s the way things are right now. We are just…really unlucky,” said Hang Chulong with a huge sigh as he looked up and felt like crying.

“It’s all that Gu Suihan’s fault,” grumbled Mu Tian. “If he hadn’t appeared, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Hang Chulong looked at the Blood Jade Figs that seemed to be getting juicier by the minute. “Luckily, there are five figs on this tree. We can have one each, I suppose.”

“That’s a few thousand Spiritual Stones less!” Yan Wuheng’s eyes bulged angrily.

“Shush. They’re here.” Mu Tian kept the jade slip away, removed the formation outside the cave entrance, and walked out.

…

Several days passed. Gu Suihan continued to run through the secret realm without stopping, killing every single person he met along the way.

The total value of the items he swiped from his victims added up to less than what he got from killing one Chuan Xin, but it still added up to a lot. He had killed several wandering cultivators as well as those new Seven Kill Sect disciples who were only at the Qi Activation stage.

On top of killing these disciples, he had also robbed some of them and stole from others, earning him slightly under 2,000 Spiritual Stones.

But while he was excited by his haul, he was also getting more and more worried.

Many days had passed, but Mo Yuluo and the rest had not tried to chase after him or hunt him down. In fact, they seemed to have vanished into thin air. He guessed that they were planning some elaborate scheme.

But a piece of news was beginning to spread very quickly. Apparently, this secret realm was about to be abandoned since the Seven Kill Sect had pretty much emptied this place of all its treasures. However, someone had recently found a Blood Jade Fig tree in a cave that had fruit that was almost ripe, which made everyone’s eyes light up in excitement.

It took only a few days for this news to spread through the entire secret realm. Everyone immediately headed towards that cave, either in small groups or by themselves.

“It’s a trap!” That was Gu Suihan’s first thought. He didn’t think it was real.

But shortly after that, more news confirming that the figs were almost ripe arrived. The figs were supposed to be ripe about 20 days from the opening of the secret realm.

Gu Suihan was tempted. He had reached the Foundation Establishment stage in less than a year, but that was at the expense of nearly losing his life twice to gain more resources to level up. Now that he was at Foundation Establishment, he needed even more resources to advance to the next stage. He didn’t want to miss such a good chance.

“So what if it’s a trap? News has travelled to everyone in the secret realm, so even the wandering cultivators are headed to that cave. And even if I can’t snatch it outright, I know how to steal too.” Gu Suihan decided that he was going to that cave too. A terrifyingly threatening expression spread across his face.

He weighed the magic storage bag in his hand that carried all his spoils. A frosty smile appeared on his lips as a thought crossed his mind.

“Nan Xingyuan, I hope you appear soon,” murmured Gu Suihan to himself. He cast a Spiritual Eye Spell on himself, then stood on a tree branch to look out at the vast and dense forest as emotions stirred in his heart.

…

“Miss Mo, the figs will be fully ripened in two days. Why hasn’t Gu Suihan appeared yet?” Mu Tian looked bored as he raised his head to peek at the clamoring wandering cultivators who had gathered inside the cave.

“How do I know?” responded Mo Yuluo unhappily as she rolled her eyes at him.

“Who knows? He might be here but we haven’t discovered him yet,” said Li Rong slowly. His greedy gaze scanned the wandering cultivators outside.

Gu Suihan had to die. Li Rong wasn’t only interested in turning him into a jiangshi, but he also wanted to learn all the spells and techniques that Gu Suihan knew.

The wandering cultivators were so many in number, that they had cleared a huge space that measured at least 300 meters in diameter. The Seven Kill Sect disciples and the wandering cultivators stood in two distinct groups.

The wandering cultivators were greater in number, but only two of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage and most of the others were around the Qi Activation stage. The Seven Kill Sect disciples only numbered fewer than ten, but five of them were at Foundation Establishment.

In a way, both sides were balanced in terms of fighting power, so they remained wary of each other but did not break into a fight. They would just look sinisterly at each other from time to time, then look greedily towards the Blood Jade Fig tree that was swathed in Qi and gave off such a lovely fragrance.

“Where could he be?”

While Mo Yuluo and the rest were still wondering who Gu Suihan would disguise himself as and where he could possibly be, he was now hiding among the wandering cultivators as he continued to observe his target very closely.

His target? Nan Xingyuan.