The Next Master of Green Cicada Valley

Fang Wang and the other two felt their way onward, occasionally encountering disciples of Green Cicada Valley. They had even been besieged before, but those disciples were all in the Qi Nurturing Realm and posed no threat to them at all.

Another three days passed. Besides Green Cicada Valley, they began to encounter disciples of Yellow Prison Mountain. However, the Yellow Prison Mountain disciples were rather cautious and always chose to avoid the three of them when they saw them.

They also came across quite a few Rogue Cultivators, all searching through the mountains and forests. It was obvious that they had come for the Jihao Sect's inheritance.

At noon that day.

Fang Wang and the other two arrived atop a cliff. From there, they could overlook the endless mountain forests ahead. Looking out, they could see the figures of many cultivators, and some were even fighting in the air.

How lively!

It was Fang Wang's first time seeing so many cultivators from different sects and Rogue Cultivators gathered together, especially in deep mountains far from human habitation.

The cultivators did not merely fly on swords. There were all sorts of strange flying treasures, and some even used Monsters and demon beasts as mounts. Fang Wang watched with envy, secretly deciding that he would get himself an imposing, stylish mount someday.

"It seems Fang Hanyu's whereabouts, or those of the other disciples, have already been exposed. So many people have come," Zhou Xue said thoughtfully.

Zhou Xingshi frowned. "They were exposed, yet they have not been captured. Could some powerful force be protecting him?"

Zhou Xue shook her head. She did not dare say for certain either.

"There are not only Qi Nurturing Realm cultivators ahead. I have already sensed many cultivators whose auras are stronger than mine. Are we really going to rescue him?" Zhou Xingshi continued.

Zhou Xue did not answer. She stared ahead, lost in thought.

Fang Wang, meanwhile, did not feel much pressure. He had been looking forward to stretching his limbs in a grand display.

As long as no expert beyond the Spirit Sculpting Realm appeared, he did not fear any number of enemies in the same realm. Even if he could not win, he could still run.

With the White Rainbow Escape Technique at Great Perfection, he was confident that he could carve his way out of an encirclement and shake off any pursuit!

Just then, a fierce wind blew in from the east. Fang Wang and the other two turned to look, only to see a massive beetle as huge as a small mountain flying over. Its wings beat rapidly, stirring wave after wave of wind that shook the trees along its path and formed spectacular waves through the forest.

The beetle was jet-black all over and had eight legs. Before its head stood a pair of sharp horns like scorpion pincers, making it resemble a demonic insect from a devilish realm—grim and terrifying. Behind those horns stood a red sedan chair, shrouded in mystery.

"It's him..."

Zhou Xue narrowed her eyes and muttered.

Fang Wang heard her and asked, "Who is he?"

"Green Cicada Valley's greatest genius, Li Hongshuang. He possesses the Earth Origin Treasure Spirit, though the news has not spread yet," Zhou Xue introduced quietly.

Zhou Xingshi frowned. "I have heard Li Hongshuang's name before. The Li Family is an Aristocratic Clan with a thousand-year legacy. Li Hongshuang had been the pride of his Lineage since childhood, yet he chose to join Green Cicada Valley, enraging the Li Family. Though the Li Family publicly expelled him from their genealogy, there are still rumors that this was the Li Family's arrangement."

Fang Wang sent Zhou Xue a voice transmission. "What realm is Li Hongshuang in now?"

"He should be at the Eighth or Ninth Layer of the Spirit Sculpting Realm. He will only reach the Spirit Pill Realm several years from now. Once he does, his Gu worms will evolve, so he is easy to identify. Two hundred years from now, he will become Green Cicada Valley's foremost figure. Fifty years after that, he will become the master of Green Cicada Valley, one of the leading giants of Great Qi's Demonic Path. Running into him is troublesome."

Zhou Xue answered through voice transmission, her tone grave.

So formidable?

Fang Wang raised his brows, but he was not intimidated. No matter how formidable Li Hongshuang was, that was in the future. In this life, Fang Wang had survived, and with the Heavenly Palace aiding him, everything in the future would change because of him!

Li Hongshuang's massive Gu worm drew the attention of many cultivators. The Green Cicada Valley disciples immediately flew toward him like a rain of arrows, arriving from all directions in a spectacular sight.

Judging by this formation, there were at least three or four hundred Green Cicada Valley disciples alone, not to mention the other cultivators. If all their targets were Fang Hanyu, then this would be troublesome.

A tremendous roar came from the horizon, accompanied by tremors running through the mountains. Li Hongshuang's Gu worm immediately flew in that direction.

Zhou Xingshi looked at Fang Wang, secretly praying that Fang Wang would not do anything foolish.

"Let's go take a look. If it is not Fang Hanyu, we'll leave. I've already mastered the White Rainbow Escape Technique you taught me!" Fang Wang said in a low voice.

Zhou Xue looked at him in surprise. The White Rainbow Escape Technique was no simple flying technique; neither the Breathless Natural Skill nor the Sword Control Technique could compare to it. This kid had already mastered it?

She knew that when Fang Wang said mastered, he did not merely mean he could use it. He meant he had achieved major mastery!

"Then let's go take a look. There are so many Rogue Cultivators anyway!" Zhou Xue decided. The two immediately controlled their swords and gave chase.

Zhou Xingshi gritted his teeth and could only steel himself to follow.

These two were both madmen!

Within the forest, a black panther fled at high speed with someone on its back. It was Fang Hanyu. He clung tightly to the panther's neck, his eyes still wrapped in cloth. With the violent motion, blood had already begun seeping from his eye sockets.

A green figure leaped rapidly across the branches beside them, moving no slower than the black panther. It was the green-robed girl who had saved Fang Hanyu. Wearing a fox mask, she moved like a ghost.

"Leave me behind, so I do not drag you down..."

Fang Hanyu said through gritted teeth. Though he could not see during this time, he often heard the sounds of fighting. He understood that the green-robed girl and her clansmen had been protecting him.

"You think I do not want to? But the moment those people entered our clan's territory, they began slaughtering everywhere. Many of my friends had their tendons pulled out and their bones stripped away. It was not only me who saved you. Earlier, one of my sisters also saved another Taiyuan Sect disciple, then handed him over. In the end, that sister of mine was executed on the spot... They are detestable beyond measure! One day, I will destroy Green Cicada Valley and Yellow Prison Mountain!"

"Since we are going to die anyway, we might as well preserve your life and let you return to Taiyuan Sect for help. Taiyuan Sect is a Righteous Path sect. They should not be able to swallow this insult!"

The green-robed girl answered swiftly. Her words made Fang Hanyu's heart sink to the bottom.

How many of the senior brothers and senior sisters who had ventured out with him had survived?

To fall into the hands of the Demonic Path—even if they lived, they would be worse off than dead.

Fang Hanyu was filled with hatred, yet he could only bottle it up. Right now, let alone fight, he did not even have the strength to stand.

A deafening roar came from ahead. Immediately afterward, a wild gale swept toward them. Caught unprepared, Fang Hanyu was hurled away. With a bang, his waist slammed into a tree trunk, and the pain nearly made him pass out.

The green-robed girl landed, her body unable to stop sliding backward. She looked up and saw a ravine torn through the forest ahead. Trees had toppled to either side, while dust filled the air.

A massive black insect with a savage shape floated in the air. A red sedan chair stood atop its head, its curtains swaying like blazing flames.

Behind the black insect, a large number of Green Cicada Valley disciples arrived.

A middle-aged man landed before the red sedan chair and said, "Senior Brother, there is a heavily injured cultivator ahead. His eyes were gouged out. He is likely a Taiyuan Sect disciple who escaped from our hands."

A languid voice came from within the red sedan chair. "Bring him over and question him."

"There is also a demon beast beside him..."

"Then kill it."

"Yes!"

The middle-aged man immediately turned and called out to the Green Cicada Valley disciples behind him. At once, twelve Green Cicada Valley disciples flew on swords toward the green-robed girl and Fang Hanyu.

The black panther that had carried Fang Hanyu was pinned beneath a tree snapped in half at its trunk. It wailed in agony, unable to move.

The green-robed girl wanted to carry Fang Hanyu on her back, but a sharp whistle cut through the air. A long sword blocked her path, startling her into jumping backward.

Seeing this, the green-robed girl could only flee in another direction. In just a few steps, she vanished deep into the forest.

The middle-aged man standing atop the giant Gu worm waved again, and nine Green Cicada Valley disciples immediately pursued the green-robed girl.

Fang Hanyu lay sprawled before the tree, his whole body aching as if it were about to fall apart. The cloth over his eyes had been dyed red with blood, and blood was even dripping from it. He looked utterly miserable.

He heard footsteps and understood that the enemies were walking toward him.

"I remember this guy. Taking advantage of our inattention, he actually threw himself off the cliff. By the time we tried to find him, he was already gone."

"Oh? He is the Taiyuan Sect disciple who escaped from your hands?"

"Yes. He has some backbone. His limbs were broken and his eyes gouged out alive, yet he stubbornly refused to beg for mercy. He has more backbone than his senior brothers and sisters."

"Tsk, tsk. Look at him. He really looks like a long worm about to be crushed underfoot."

Listening to the laughter of the Green Cicada Valley disciples, Fang Hanyu dug all ten fingers into the dirt. Hatred filled his heart.

Just then, a white rainbow shot out from the forest.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

Piercing sounds tore through the air one after another, rising and falling in succession. Fang Hanyu faintly sensed sharp Sword Qi. He was a sword cultivator himself and was extremely sensitive to Sword Qi.

Before he could think further, he heard the sound of bodies hitting the ground. The clamor of the Green Cicada Valley disciples abruptly stopped.

What was happening?

Fang Hanyu was extremely tense, his body trembling instinctively.

At that moment, a figure stood before him, tall and straight beneath the sunlight, dressed in fluttering white robes. Corpses lay all around him.

It was Fang Wang!

Fang Wang stood with his back to Fang Hanyu, holding the high-grade artifact Qing Jun Sword. His eyes beneath the bamboo hat were cold as he stared at the giant Gu worm hovering over the forest ahead.

"Who are you?"

The middle-aged man beside the red sedan chair atop the Gu worm demanded fiercely, his eyes filled with terror.

Fang Wang was too fast!

He had not even seen how Fang Wang attacked before those twelve disciples had all died!

When Fang Hanyu heard this, he understood that someone was saving him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Whoever you are, do not save me. I am already crippled. Rather than be dragged down by me, you should flee!"

He thought it was the green-robed girl or one of her clansmen. He did not want to implicate another innocent person.

"Drag you down? This is already the second time I have saved you. If you are crippled, find a way to recover. I'll wait for you to repay this life-saving debt someday!"

A familiar voice came from ahead, making Fang Hanyu abruptly raise his head.

"Fang... Wang?"

Fang Hanyu's voice was filled with disbelief. He could not believe Fang Wang would appear at this moment.

"Tsk, tsk. You really are badly hurt. Even your eyes were gouged out."

A teasing laugh sounded out. Fang Hanyu did not become angry upon hearing it. His body trembled violently, and for the first time, grievance welled up in his heart, because his clansmen had come.

Zhou Xue had come too!

When the Green Cicada Valley disciples tortured him, he had felt no grievance. When the green-robed girl treated him, no matter how much it hurt, he had not been afraid. Yet facing the arrival of two relatives, he could no longer restrain his emotions.

Zhou Xue and Zhou Xingshi emerged from the forest beside them. Seeing Fang Hanyu's miserable state, Zhou Xingshi's heart turned cold as well.

"Li Hongshuang, some say you can become the next master of Green Cicada Valley, but my sword does not believe it!"

Fang Wang shouted aloud, making Zhou Xue and Zhou Xingshi look at him in astonishment.

After saying that, Fang Wang sent Zhou Xue a voice transmission, telling her to take Fang Hanyu and leave quickly.

Zhou Xue had indeed been reborn as an Immortal Venerable, but Fang Wang did not think she was necessarily stronger than him. Moreover, he knew nothing of medicine, so it was better to entrust Zhou Xue with the task of taking Fang Hanyu away.