That Man Returned

"Boom! Boom..."

Accompanied by the thunderous sound of hooves, four bowstrings resonated through the mist.

White mist swirled, Wind Force was strong and biting.

Four magical arrows imbued with the power of lightning whistled past, heading straight for Hidden Twenty-Five.

Hidden Twenty-Five was skilled in agility and dodged all four arrows. However, this delay caused him to lose speed in his escape. A yellow figure wearing a loose Monk's Robe flew up from the back of his mount in the white mist behind him, like a large bird flying in the sky, and landed in front of Hidden Twenty-Five, blocking his way.

"Boom!"

Nine riders quickly closed in from behind, raising a cloud of dust.

They rode enormous, powerful horses, exuding murderous intent and magical energy. The horses had lion-like heads and blue fur, and were exceptionally majestic, clearly having drunk the blood of strange beasts.

The nine people on horseback were all at the Eighth Spring level of cultivation and dressed in Monk's Robe.

Five men wielded long-handled swords, and four men carried bows and arrows.

The winged, Deformed Race Martial Cultivator blocking the way in front of Hidden Twenty-Five was the most powerful, a supreme Perfected Person who had opened the Nine Springs Ancestral Field. He wore a bright yellow Monk's Robe and held a heavy magical weapon, a battle sword.

The martial arts practitioner in the Nine Monk's Robe Monk Robe, his wings constantly flapping, made a Dharma mudra with his left hand and said, "Amitabha Buddha! The Five Seas Realm experts from the Sui Sect and the Three Chen Palace are guarding the border. Benefactor, if you flee back, the killing intent there will be even stronger. Hand over the exotic medicine, and this humble monk will spare your life. A Buddhist practitioner always keeps his word."

Hidden Twenty-Five gripped his sword tightly, wiped the blood from his mouth, and gritted his teeth as he surveyed the surroundings. "You Coffin Mountain people are truly insatiable. Every year, the Nine Great Tribes pay tribute to that forbidden figure, hoping to exchange it for peace. I never expected that those tributes would be far from satisfying your appetites. You've actually colluded with the Four Great Sects. What, do you also want to divide up Lizhou?"

From within the mist, a voice rang out. "Why are you, Pure Immortal Body of the Nine Springs, spouting so much nonsense? What's the point of reasoning with Buddha's Crossing Bandits?"

Li Weiyi was no longer invisible and appeared seven zhang away, his figure standing tall and imposing.

Dressed in Nightwalker's Robe, vague and mysterious.

Upon seeing Li Weiyi, Hidden Twenty-Five was overjoyed and said, "You don't know this, but these ten men are the elite selected from among the Iron Arhats of the Buddha's Crossing Bandits's Iron Arhat Army. They have also taken the Crimson Haze Exotic Medicine and have all entered the Eight Springs Wind Mansion. Each of them is highly skilled in combat. If the ten of them work together, without relying on Formation Script, they can surround and fight a powerhouse at the First Realm of the Five Seas Realm."

"If you can't beat me, I will."

Li Weiyi took out the Evil Camel Bell, channeled the ancestral energy into it, and shook his wrist.

"Clang clang!"

The sound of bells rang out, and everyone felt as if they were in a vast desert.

Li Weiyi is still difficult to control, so the evil thoughts released by the Evil Camel Bell are indiscriminate attacks, appearing in the minds of the ten Buddha's Crossing Bandits and Hidden Twenty-Five. Their heads are like bells, constantly being shaken and ringing, their consciousness is drowsy, and negative emotions are constantly growing.

"Boom!"

A Giant Camel, half real and half illusory, burst forth from the Evil Camel Bell, its four hooves galloping and its head held high, knocking over the nine riders of the Iron Arhat Army.

It was like a rapidly moving iron mountain crashing down on them.

Four people died instantly after the crash.

Li Weiyi used his movement technique, stepping on flowing light, and changed positions five times before the remaining five people were all killed.

The whole process was completed in one go, taking only two breaths.

Hidden Twenty-Five and the winged Buddhist cultivator from the Nine Springs stood there dumbfounded, their minds seemingly frozen, briefly losing their ability to think.

The Buddhist monk from the Nine Springs gasped in shock, as if he had seen a ghost. He immediately flapped his wings, trying to fly into the sky and escape.

"What goes around comes around."

Hidden Twenty-Five was only a little over ten feet away from him. He stomped his foot on the ground, and magical energy burst out from the soles of his feet, propelling him three feet into the air. With a single sword strike, he forced Yin Ershiwu back to the ground.

"I am a disciple of the Extinction God! You Jiu Li Tribe dare to kill me? Do you know what the consequences will be?" the Nine Springs Buddhist cultivator roared.

He felt an unprecedented sense of impending death, his heart filled with fear. He brandished his magical longsword and clashed with Hidden Twenty-Five, fighting and retreating as he went, wanting nothing more than to get away from that killing god wielding the bell.

"So what if he's a disciple of the Extinction God? He even dared to kill the Sixth Generation Grandson of the Demon King."

Hidden Twenty-Five's combat strength was much higher than that of the Nine Springs Buddhist Cultivator. In just ten moves, he had already left three sword wounds on the Buddha's body.

Li Weiyi rummaged through the corpse on the ground, taking away the money bags one by one.

The four sets of magical bows and arrows were naturally not spared either, and were all put into the inner space of the Evil Camel Bell.

Seeing that Hidden Twenty-Five was still unable to subdue the Nine Springs Buddhist cultivator, Li Weiyi sighed and had no choice but to take out a set of bows and arrows.

Both the bow and arrowheads are forged from the Dense Metal and are heavy to the touch.

The bowstring is a single silver thread.

Nock the arrow on the bowstring.

Li Weiyi channeled his magical energy into the bow and arrow, and slowly drew the bowstring.

"Sizzle!"

The silver light emanating from the bowstring grew brighter and brighter. Countless worm-like electric crackles appeared on the arrowhead.

It wasn't easy; even with physical strength alone, he couldn't pull it into a full moon.

With the blessing of magical energy, he unleashed the power of ten thousand jin in his arms, pulled them to a full moon, and shot out an arrow.

"Boom!"

The body of the Nine Springs Buddhist cultivator was severed by an arrow, his flesh and blood exploding and splattering all over Hidden Twenty-Five's face.

Li Weiyi examined the black bow in his hand as if he had found a treasure. "So, the power of a magic bow and arrow is this great. I think it's enough to threaten a martial artist in the Five Seas Realm."

Hidden Twenty-Five, covered in blood and badly injured, rushed over. "Magic weapon bows and arrows are inherently more dangerous than other magic weapons of the same level. Those four Eight Springs martial artists couldn't even draw them to their full potential and couldn't unleash their true power. The reason they were qualified to wear them was simply because the environment of Immortal Burial Town required them, giving them enough strength to come in and collect exotic herbs."

Li Weiyi slung the bow and quiver over his back, quite dissatisfied with his performance. "You've already transformed into a Pure Immortal Body, yet you couldn't even crush a Nine Springs Deformed Race. Your abilities are very disappointing."

Hidden Twenty-Five said, "Every Nine Springs Perfected Person is extraordinary. Apart from you, how could someone of the same realm be so easily defeated in just a few moves? Give me ten more moves, and I will surely kill him."

Li Weiyi picked up the Nine Springs Buddhist cultivator's magical weapon, a heavy sword nearly two meters long, and said, "I don't want to hear any explanations. Hone your combat skills in Immortal Burial Town. If you can master ten or eight moves of the Heavenly Dao Mana Fusion, killing martial artists of the same realm will be a piece of cake."

Hidden Twenty-Five smiled bitterly, offered no further explanation, and silently listened to the reprimand.

The moves are difficult to master.

At his age, if he can master even one or two moves out of ten, he's already a prodigy.

"What about the exotic medicine?" Li Weiyi asked.

Hidden Twenty-Five hurriedly took out the three wooden boxes containing the Crimson Haze Exotic Medicine from his bosom.

Li Weiyi opened the wooden box and looked inside. He was immediately impressed and said with a smile, "Not bad! In just a few days, you've actually managed to collect three Crimson Haze Exotic Medicine '."

Hidden Twenty-Five said, "After the internal space of Immortal Burial Town expanded, many exotic herbs were born, making them much easier to harvest than before. This is why young martial artists from the entire Southern Territory, and even more distant places, have been attracted here."

"Opening the Wind Palace, establishing the Ancestral Field, breaking through the Five Seas Realm, and undergoing Pure Immortal Body transformation—this is enough to make any force take notice."

"Of these three plants, one I picked myself. The other two were taken from the Buddha's Crossing Bandits."

Li Weiyi said, "Then you deserve to be hunted down. Why did you steal someone else's rare medicine?"

"I fought my way out of the encirclement, intending to rush back to Yaoguan City to report the news. The exotic medicine was just something I took along the way."

Hidden Twenty-Five's expression was solemn. He continued, "Although experts at the Five Seas Realm cannot come here, the Four Great Sects have promised some benefits to the forces outside the state, and have gathered a large number of experts at the Spring Realm to deal with us. Many forces are involved. The Ten Riders of Buddha's Crossing Bandits are the strongest among them."

Li Weiyi's expression hardened. "Wang Daozhen and the others are most likely still guarding the Five Seas Realm. You can't get through. Come on, let's fight our way back."

"Boom!"

The two mounted the lion-headed steeds and galloped downstream along the river.

"These three Crimson Haze Exotic Medicine are safer with me for now. I will take them back to the Hidden Gate and give them to the Hidden Lord. Without the Hidden Gate's no-expense-spared cultivation, you wouldn't have the Pure Immortal Body of the Nine Springs. You should be grateful."

Li Weiyi put the wooden box away and said, "You'd better not reveal a single word of the secrets I carry."

Hidden Twenty-Five didn't care about the three exotic herbs. After all, if Li Weiyi hadn't intervened, it was uncertain whether they could have broken through the encirclement.

Li Weiyi's warning reminded him of the strange power that the bell had unleashed earlier, filling him with both awe and fear. He felt that this future Hidden Person was truly unfathomable.

The further downstream you go, the brighter the white fog becomes.

Brilliant streaks of celestial light weaved through the mist, gradually opening up the vista.

From afar, Li Weiyi could already hear the earth-shattering sounds of battle.

Two strong horses with lion-like heads charged up the hillside, then suddenly pulled on their reins and stopped, neighing and kicking up hooves.

Li Weiyi channeled his magical power into his eyes and looked down at the barren red earth below the hillside.

Dust billowed everywhere as hundreds of martial artists clashed in a chaotic battle. Countless corpses lay on the ground, weapons clashed, and magical artifacts clashed against each other.

The Jiu Li Tribe had a numerical advantage, but enemies were everywhere, and even the lowest-ranking among them were Seven Springs Martial Cultivators.

By observing the enemy's clothing and how they gather, one can determine that they come from more than a dozen factions.

This is a very dangerous sign!

To know the whole from a single spot.

The Jiu Li Hidden Gate can provide a safety net if the Four Great Sects rebel. However, if they were to make concessions and invite more forces to participate in this feast of dividing up Lizhou, the Jiu Li Hidden Gate might not be able to withstand it.

Li Weiyi found Cai Yutong and Gao Huan one after another. They were Pure Immortal Body and had not been cultivating for long, so they were protected in the center.

Yao Yin stood alone at the forefront, fighting against more than ten martial arts masters, four of whom were Jiu Quan Perfected Person.

Although she was slender and thin, she possessed boundless inner energy. Her magical energy transformed into wind, and her clothes fluttered like flags. She could fight a group of people by herself, and martial artists were often killed by her palm strikes.

"What a fierce girl! Her combat strength is so formidable. Could she be a Pure Immortal Body with Hundred Meridian Lines All Silver physique?"

"No matter how strong they are, the four of us working together can kill even a seed of a successor."

"Capture her alive! She possesses Pure Immortal Body, with skin as white as snow and long, straight legs. She's at the perfect age for blossoming. Haha!"

The four Nine Springs Perfected Person who besieged Yao Yin were no weaklings. They were leaders of four forces with the Spring Realm strength of millions, possessing superb combat skills and seasoned techniques.

"Yao Yin took the rare medicine she picked three days ago and broke through to the Ninth Spring realm. She should be a Pure Immortal Body with a hundred meridians. Although she is not yet fully silver-level, her combat power is already far superior to mine."

"Bang!"

Hidden Twenty-Five slapped his horse's rump with the blade of his sword, spurred it down the mountain, kicking up a cloud of dust as it charged toward the desolate battlefield, shouting, "Sima Tan is here! Sima Tan is back! He's not dead!"

The name "Sima Tan" is very intimidating.

All the martial artists on the wasteland looked toward the black-clad figure riding on horseback atop the hill, some with surprise and doubt, others with apprehension.

The young martial artists of the Jiu Li Tribe were naturally overjoyed and shouted the name "Sima Tan".

Besieged by multiple forces, they were initially demoralized, fighting with the mindset of "killing one to break even, killing two to make a profit." But with the man's return, everything changed; their confidence soared, and their fighting spirit soared.

Only Gao Huan, standing in the crowd, felt a wave of annoyance; the fact that he shared the same name with someone else was very frustrating for him.

Why call him Sima Tan of all names?

How could he still be alive?

Yang Yun was very frustrated. He had clearly heard Wang Daozhen say that Sima Tan was dead and that they should go on the hunt without restraint.

Could this be a spirit that has passed away?

Li Weiyi drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

He fired five arrows in quick succession, one arrow killing the target.

Five of the dozen or so martial arts experts who were besieging Yao Yin were instantly blown apart, their bodies blasted into pieces of flesh.

The arrows were so powerful that once hit, it was difficult to leave a complete corpse.

Seeing that the attackers had stopped, Yao Yin finally relaxed, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. Her beautiful, jewel-like eyes, filled with tears of joy, gazed at Li Weiyi on the mountaintop.

She genuinely believed that Li Weiyi had died in the siege of the Five Seas Realm cultivators from the Four Great Sects.

"Don't be afraid of him. How strong can he be? A few of you, come and join me."

Unlike Yang Yun, a Pure Immortal Body from outside the state was not afraid of "Sima Tan". He quickly gathered more than ten martial artists, each moving as fast as a blur, and rushed to the top of the hillside.

The weakest among them was at the Seventh Spring Realm, and there were three Ninth Spring Perfected Person.