Chapter 475: Chapter 474: Gathering of Heroes
Nan Zhanbu Continent, deep within the hundred thousand mountains of the Southern Border.
In a highly secretive cave’s depths, Xu Jian’s ears suddenly twitched, and he opened his eyes.
A trace of surprise flashed across those profound eyes.
By his side, Duanmu Cheng sat cross-legged with an ashen complexion. A month had passed, and the once Duanmu Fourth Master had become a prisoner at his mercy, his beard unkempt and his face haggard.
"Did you just hear a noise?" Xu Jian asked.
Duanmu Cheng snorted, "These hundred thousand mountains of the Southern Border are the most secret place; how could anyone come here?"
As he spoke, a faint and elusive voice carried over.
"Yang Fei... Qin Yanyang has come to seek you. If you hear this, then quickly go to the tunnel entrance to meet him."
Even though the voice came from afar, it was clear that it was propelled by robust Inner Strength, and it could be heard distinctly.
Xu Jian heard it clearly this time, and couldn’t help frowning slightly.
The day he obtained the Taoist Longevity Scripture, he left with Duanmu Cheng, and since then, there had been no contact with Yang Fei and Wang Lei.
Now more than a month had passed, and he had been diligently studying in the depths of the wilderness, preparing for the final moments with single-minded focus, yet unexpectedly, someone appeared here, conveying a message to Yang Fei by shouting.
Duanmu Cheng also heard the voice and couldn’t help but be startled, then said in confusion, "They’re actually looking for Yang Fei?"
Xu Jian nodded, his eyes signaling Duanmu Cheng to stay silent. They listened for a while longer and realized that the voice kept repeating the same sentence, and after passing the message, it moved away into the distance.
Xu Jian’s brows furrowed slightly as if speaking to himself, yet also to Duanmu Cheng, "This is a message deliberately passed to Yang Fei. Could it be that Yang Fei has done something to be pursued by the Hidden Sect and has gone into hiding?"
Duanmu Cheng snorted, "He is a Taoist Inheritor, and since he has come to cause trouble in the Hidden Sect World and taken me captive, the Duanmu Family will not let him go. In addition, other powers also want to capture him; he has no place to hide in the Hidden Sect."
Xu Jian said coldly, "If he has nowhere to hide, why has he not been found after such a long time? With Yang Fei’s Realm, if he truly wishes to hide, it wouldn’t be so easy to be located."
Duanmu Cheng remembered how on that day, despite being accompanied by such high-level experts, they were annihilated by Yang Fei and Wang Lei, and there was also this seemingly dying old man who was an expert in poisons and had stepped into the Divine Travel Realm.
It seemed that Yang Fei had indeed not been caught yet.
"However, that girl worrying about him and entering the Hidden Sect World, as long as that boy knows she has come in, he won’t stay hidden," Xu Jian muttered to himself, a trace of worry appearing between his brows.
But moments later, he sighed deeply.
His life was nearing its end, and even if he went out to help now, facing the strong forces of the Hidden Sect would be futile.
Whether Yang Fei could dodge this disaster was entirely up to his own fate.
As for himself, he had more important matters to attend to at the moment.
His deep gaze turned towards Duanmu Cheng, and he said coldly, "How well have you memorized the Immortality Scripture?"
Duanmu Cheng’s heart clenched, but he had no choice but to answer resolutely, "I’ve learned it inside out."
He knew why this old monster had captured him.
Originally, he had made Qi Hongshao steal this Taoist scripture from Giant Sword Manor with the intention of using the Body Seizing Technique to achieve immortality.
Now that he’d fallen into the hands of this old man, the latter wanted to perform Body Seizing on him to gain a new lease on life.
And his chance to escape was no longer an option.
The only opportunity was to take a stand at the moment the other party attempted the Body Seizing.
...
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed like a dragon into the sky, and a head shot up high before falling and rolling towards the bushes, staining the green grass red.
Wang Lei, alone with his sword, found himself surrounded by enemies, but with his formidable combat strength and his reckless fighting style, he had just slain the chief of the adversary.
Sweat mixed with the blood splattered on his face from his enemies rolled down his cheeks, blurring his vision.
Wang Lei felt the depletion of his True Yuan inside his body was enormous, and he inwardly cursed his bad luck.
Fortunately, having just killed the enemy leader, he had managed to intimidate the others.
His voice hoarse, he said to Qi Hongshao, "You go first."
Qi Hongshao held a sword in one hand and a whip handle in the other. Tied to her back with a long whip, the barely alive Qi Honglei wouldn’t slip off.
Ever since the day Wang Lei took her and her sister away from Muyun City, the three of them had only enjoyed a few days of peace before disaster struck.
First, Qi Hongshao was betrayed while meeting with her organization, which led to their whereabouts being leaked, and they were chased all the way by the experts of Giant Sword Manor and other sects they had previously offended.
Had it not been for Wang Lei’s companionship along the way, she would have died during one of the earlier pursuits.
The trio had been living a life of hiding and fleeing, exhausted to the core. Just an hour ago, when Wang Lei heard that Qin Yanyang was coming to the Hidden Sect World in search of Yang Fei, and news was spreading among the Hidden Sect World for Yang Fei to meet Qin Yanyang at the passage, he decided to head to the passage to meet with Yang Fei.
Regardless of whether or not this news was true, whether the various powers of the Hidden Sect World were using it to deceive Yang Fei and trick him into coming out, for the three of them, leaving the Hidden Sect World was the best choice.
Only by escaping could they free themselves from the endless pursuit.
Unexpectedly, they had just stumbled upon a pursuing troop from Giant Sword Manor and, unable to avoid them, were drawn into a fierce battle.
Wang Lei and Qi Hongshao were formidable fighters, but Qi Honglei was too weak. Soon, she was gravely injured, and Qi Hongshao, unable to abandon her sister, carried her on her back.
Unable to escape in time, she and Wang Lei found themselves in a bitter fight.
Hearing Wang Lei’s words, Qi Hongshao’s eyes reddened with emotion, her heart filled with gratitude. She looked at him with determined eyes and shook her head, saying, "If we go, we go together."
Because of his refusal to marry back then, she had endured slander; she was not only scorned by outsiders but also gossiped about by her own family.
Later, when misfortune befell the Qi Family, with their home destroyed and family lost, she struggled in this ruthless world, all to save her only sister.
Occasionally, when she thought of her betrothed whom she had been promised to since childhood, her feelings were incredibly complicated.
Meeting him again, Qi Hongshao initially held resentment towards this former fiancé, but after Wang Lei had helped her several times and took her and her sister away, standing by them through various pursuits, her resentment faded into nothing but gratitude.
Facing Qi Hongshao’s resolute gaze, Wang Lei suddenly cracked a smile and said, "Good, let’s go together!"
After speaking, he charged forward with his sword.
Even if he used up all his True Yuan, he would fight to the death. Even if he died here, he would help the two sisters escape.
It would be settling a debt he owed her ten years ago.
Above the sky, there was a stirring of thunder.
Not far from the place of the battle, a calvary charged ahead, heading toward the passageway.
The noise of the galloping horses was so loud that the men on horseback, all carrying weapons, hardly heard the fighting in the woods.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man at the front of the troop sensed something, his gaze sharpening as he suddenly looked up at the sky above a bamboo grove.
Out of nowhere beneath the clear sky, a bolt of lightning appeared, followed by the explosive sound of thunder.
The middle-aged man’s pupils contracted slightly as he muttered to himself, "Thunder Blade?"
His expression changed, and he ordered, "Yu Lin, you take the men ahead; I’ll catch up."
Wang Yulin was surprised and confused by the middle-aged man’s remark, but he quickly responded, "Yes, uncle six."
The middle-aged man, referred to as uncle six, reined his horse to the side, while Wang Yulin and the rest continued on their way.
After discerning the direction of the Thunder Blade’s appearance, the middle-aged man urged his horse toward the bamboo grove where he had seen the signal and sped away.