The Fleeing Ancestor

A brief silence fell on both sides of the stone steps.

A moment later, the old hunter, who had lost half his hand, slapped his thigh hard, his rough face turning bright red, and cried out in alarm.

"They... they occupied the Black Fiend Gate's mountain stronghold? That's a powerful force that's been the dominant force in the main city for hundreds of years!"

"So what if you're a hegemon? You can still cough up blood and run away after taking one of my punches."

Chen Fan's lips curled into a slight smile, revealing the arrogance and mischievousness characteristic of youth.

"What, you think a golden nest delivered to your door is too hot to handle and dare not move in?"

"I dare! With the leader here, this old man would brave any danger, even mountains of knives and seas of fire!"

The old hunter pounded his chest, the animal bone pendant on his chest clanging loudly.

The heavy gloom that had hung over the hearts of the clansmen vanished with just a few words from Chen Fan.

The short, stout priest's eyes lit up instantly. He rubbed his fat hands together, muttering, "We're rich!" and "Middle-Grade Spirit Vein!" His previous fear had completely transformed into almost fanatical greed.

Seeing that everyone's emotions had calmed down, Chen Fan put away his smile and walked down the stone steps.

He approached several veterans who had been wounded in the previous battle and placed his hand on their sunken and twisted shoulder blades.

The pure and gentle gray Qi and Blood flowed quietly into his palm. In just a few breaths, the crisp sound of bones realigning was heard one after another, and the originally blocked and necrotic Meridians were completely cleared.

"Get a good rest tonight, and distribute the captured raw meat and medicinal wine among the people."

Chen Fan patted the old soldier's intact shoulder gently.

"Three days later, only the elite of the Fire Crow Tribe will remain. Those who haven't fully recovered will stay at the main camp to guard the territory."

"I will obey the leader's decree!"

Dozens of armored barbarian guards knelt down on one knee in unison, their eyes filled with a mixture of awe and fanaticism, as if they were worshipping the young man before them as a god.

The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

At dawn on the fourth day, the morning light pierced through the towering Blackstone Mountains.

The Chariot Gate of Blackstone Main Stronghold burst open with a roar, and a hundred elite barbarian guards from the Fire Crow Tribe, clad in heavy black iron armor, marched out in formation.

The uniform group of peak Sixth Stage Peak savage beast mounts shattered the morning frost, their murderous aura condensing and lingering.

Chen Fan, dressed in a plain black outfit and carrying a bone knife, rode leisurely on the back of a fierce, armored wolf with a jet-black coat.

The short, stout priest, dressed in a perfectly fitting new robe with bulging waist, followed beside him with a ruddy complexion.

The group moved at a very fast pace, and in just two hours, they had crossed the border of the Great Wilderness and arrived at an open basin on the southern outskirts of Profound Nether Main City.

On both sides of the official road ahead, thousands of disciples of the Blazing Sun Sect, dressed in crimson robes, were already in formation, waiting for their turn. The intense fire spiritual energy scorched the surrounding vegetation, turning it yellow and causing it to curl up.

At the very front of the formation stood Zhao Qianjue, the Blazing Sun Sect Master, his hands behind his back, his red hair like fire.

Upon seeing Chen Fan leading over a hundred riders in a triumphant procession, their movements perfectly synchronized and their murderous aura soaring to the heavens, Zhao Qianjue's eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Three days ago, Chen Fan single-handedly repelled the enemy, and he thought of him as a wild and uncivilized freak from the wilderness. But now, looking at the spirit and equipment of these hundred barbarian guards, they are clearly an elite cavalry that has survived a hundred battles.

"Fellow Daoist Chen is truly a man of his word."

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Zhao Qianjue took the initiative to cup his hands in greeting and put on a polite smile.

"The Blazing Sun Sect has already prepared all the necessary magical artifacts to break the formation; we are just waiting for you, fellow Daoist, to lead the charge and break the deadlock."

Chen Fan reined in his horse, glanced down at him, and lazily returned the salute.

"Sect Leader Zhao, you're too kind. Since it's time to divide the spoils, we must be punctual. If we're late, even the bone broth might be gone."

Zhao Qianjue choked for a moment, coughed twice, then his expression turned serious, and he turned to point to a huge canyon dozens of miles away.

"The Black Fiend Gate is located in that desolate and gloomy place. The Old Monster Wusha has activated a great formation and is probably clinging to life underground right now. Fellow Daoist, please!"

"Lead the way."

Chen Fan's words were concise and to the point.

The two forces merged into a mighty torrent of steel, relentlessly crushing towards the Black Fiend Gate's mountain gate.

The closer we got to the canyon, the more gloomy the sky became.

Thick, black fog descended like leaden clouds, obscuring the sun.

A towering protective Light Screen, hundreds of feet high, collapsed down, Light Screen surface covered with countless grotesque faces writhing and wailing, emitting a nauseating stench of blood.

This is the "Ten-Thousand Fiends Subduing Demon Grand Formation," upon which the Black Fiend Gate is renowned.

Inside the great formation, the remaining thousands of Black Fiend Gate disciples, armed with weapons, surveyed the surroundings with fearful expressions.

Zhao Qianjue stepped through the air, hovering a thousand feet in the air directly in front of the great formation.

"Wu Sha old dog, come out and face your death!"

The shout was as loud as thunder.

Zhao Qianjue suddenly waved his sleeve, and a giant crimson sword several meters long materialized out of thin air, carrying raging flames, and slammed down on the huge mountain gate of the Black Fiend Gate Sect, which was built of Xuan Yin heavy stone!

Boom!

Crimson flames surged, and the three protective stone tablets outside the mountain gate were instantly blasted into dust. Rolling heat waves swept wildly along the edge of the array.

"Zhao Qianjue! You're asking for death!"

From the depths of the great formation, a roar of extreme shock and rage echoed from the ground.

Amidst the surging Yin energy, a gaunt figure in black robes tore through the mist and appeared in mid-air behind the protective array.

Ancestor Wusha's face was ashen, and although the sunken wound on his chest was covered by a black cloth, the overflowing decaying death energy could not be concealed at all.

He stared intently at Zhao Qianjue outside the Light Screen, gritting his teeth. "You opportunistic scoundrel! I was in seclusion recovering from my injuries, and you dare to invade my sect? Aren't you afraid I'll detonate the earth's veins and drag your Blazing Sun Sect down with me!"

"Detonate the ley lines?"

Zhao Qianjue sneered and was about to shout insults when a series of slow and steady footsteps came from the Void beside him.

Step, step, step.

Chen Fan stepped through the Void and walked step by step to Zhao Qianjue's side.

He didn't even draw his sword; he simply crossed his arms lazily, tilted his head, and looked at the distorted face behind the screen.

"Old man, it's been three days. Has your chest bone healed yet?"

The crisp sound wasn't loud, but it echoed exceptionally clearly in the deathly silent canyon.

The voice of the Ancestor Wusha behind the array curtain abruptly stopped.

His gaze followed the sound downwards, and when he saw the boy's still-childish face with a nonchalant smile on his lips, his turbid pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints!

"It's... it's you?!"

Ancestor Wusha trembled violently, and the hidden injury he had managed to suppress in his chest suddenly tore open, causing a mouthful of black blood to spill from the corner of his mouth.

The desperate memories of that night outside the Blackstone Mountain Main Stronghold surged wildly into his mind. The seemingly harmless ten-year-old boy before him was actually Primordial Ferocious Beasts in human skin! That knee strike still caused his Golden Core to crack and his meridians to ache terribly!

He never expected that Zhao Qianjue, that old fox, would actually invite this scourge to the mountain gate!

"Sect Leader! Enemy attack..."

Below, an elder of the Black Fiend Gate, still unaware of the situation, was drawing his sword and shouting, while the Ancestor Wusha had already gone completely mad.

"Escape!"

There was no nonsense, no probing, and no concern for any grand sect plans!