Defying Fate

The night wind howled over the mountain peaks, like the endless wails of ghosts, chilling everyone to the bone.

"I'm... going to die..."

Shen Lingfeng felt as if he had plunged into an ice cellar, his heart crammed full of overwhelming fear. He was about to die.

Yellow Millet Dream had seen this scene!

Shen Lingfeng's trembling lips showed that his heart was far from calm. He asked, "Junior Brother Wang Chan, who is this person?"

An inexplicable smile flickered in Wang Chan's eyes. "Senior Brother Chen Xuan..."

"Chen Xuan, Senior Brother? Is there such a person on Green Deer Mountain? Since he's our fellow disciple, why would he try to kill me...?"

Shen Lingfeng spoke in bewilderment. Then he suddenly realized something, his expression changing drastically as he shouted angrily, "Wang Chan, what are you really trying to do!"

He remembered who Chen Xuan was!

Chen Xuan!

That exceptionally talented martial artist from Willow Town.

If he had not encountered Wang Chan, Yellow Millet Dream, ahead of time, and if Wang Chan had not happened to casually mention a few things, he would have taken this man into Green Deer Mountain!

"He's merely a martial artist from the mortal world. How could he possibly kill me!" Shen Lingfeng asked with a gloomy expression.

"I deliberately left a volume of Yellow Millet Dream's breathing method in Willow Town. With nowhere else to turn, he could only study it... He chased me all the way here and encountered members of the Chu Family on the way. Using certain methods, he begged for the Little Firebird Trick that could counter Green Deer Mountain's Green Qi... Metal Virtue White Qi would naturally have been better, but he had no connections... Now, he has come to kill."

Wang Chan remained composed as he explained in an unhurried stream, "Within Yellow Millet Dream, this is a segment of 'Chen Xuan's' life trajectory..."

Shen Lingfeng felt a chill in his heart. Pointing at Wang Chan, he said furiously, "You—you've raised a tiger to bring disaster upon yourself!"

He did not understand why Wang Chan had done this. If he had a grudge against Chen Xuan, he only needed to mention it in Willow Town. By now, weeds would have grown over Chen Xuan's grave.

But things had already come to this. There was no point complaining; he had to solve the problem.

Shen Lingfeng was decisive by nature. He immediately ordered the others, "Go call back Junior Brother Chu, Li San, and the others at once. The mountain is no longer safe... Forget about catching the treasure fish. We've wasted several nights and haven't caught a single one!"

Wang Chan said, "There's no need to go. They've already died at Chen Xuan's hands."

Shen Lingfeng's eyes widened at those words. In disbelief, he said, "How did he do it? Has he actually grown this powerful already!"

It was unimaginable. In just over half a month, that mortal-world martial artist named Chen Xuan had actually grown into a powerhouse capable of killing four Qi Refiners simultaneously. What kind of talent was this? It was practically enough to shock the heavens and shake the earth.

Wang Chan nodded. "Chen Xuan is this kind of person. I saw everything in Yellow Millet Dream..."

His voice was flat and cold, like a massive hammer striking Shen Lingfeng's heart again and again.

"Wang Chan... why didn't you tell us beforehand!"

Shen Lingfeng's eyes were bloodshot, fury and resentment erupting from them.

Wang Chan knew everything!

Yet Wang Chan had done nothing. He had watched their fellow disciples die with his own eyes! So much for "when one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend"—it had all been false affection. And he had actually regarded Wang Chan as one of his own!

At that moment, Shen Lingfeng seemed to see the thing called Yellow Millet Dream carrying a world-swallowing malice, surging toward him like a mountain cry and a sea roar.

Wang Chan looked innocent. "Chen Xuan is very cautious. His strength is still insufficient, so he won't act tonight... Senior Brother Shen, you can still live for a few more days..."

"Wang Chan! From this moment on, I won't believe a single word you say!"

Shen Lingfeng's expression turned cold. Then his voice rang out with force and authority. "It's only been more than half a month. No matter how high his talent is, how strong could he have become? I've undergone Second Ascension! I'll go down the mountain and kill him right now. I'll fight for my own life—I don't need you, Yellow Millet Dream, scheming for me!"

With that, Shen Lingfeng turned around, summoned a group of Green Deer Mountain disciples, and stormed down the mountain with murderous intent.

He would die in a few days?

He would personally act now, Defying Fate and resolving this matter!

Wang Chan watched the group's departing backs. He curled a finger and tapped his head, a strange and sinister smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

"You ignorant mortals... you don't understand the terror of Yellow Millet Dream at all..."

On the shore of Small Stone Lake.

Dragging Li San's corpse, Chen Xuan returned here.

"Green Deer Mountain won't discover for the time being that Li San and the others are dead, nor will they guess that I've come after them. I still have time to keep increasing my strength..."

On the other side was a Second Ascension expert, Wang Chan, Yellow Millet Dream, and several others who had already mastered tricks and cultivated Green Qi.

It would be difficult to win in a direct confrontation. He could only wait until they separated and break through them one by one...

"I don't believe the six of you will stay together forever. Starting tomorrow morning, I'll watch you for a year!"

Chen Xuan made this plan in his heart.

He did not know that shortly after he left, a group of people rode green deer down the mountain, charging toward Small Stone Lake with imposing momentum.

Moonlight scattered across the empty surface of Small Stone Lake, which rippled faintly like a mirror reflecting cold light. From time to time, a treasure fish darted past, and the atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful.

Chen Xuan sat beside the corpses. He began cultivating the Little Firebird Trick while waiting for the Small Underworld to descend.

He could not understand why Senior Brother Chu's group had already been dead for more than two hours, yet Mystic Cat Goddess had still not appeared.

Could a chaotic battle be erupting somewhere nearby, with Qi Refiners dying on a large scale? Had Mystic Cat Goddess been held up and been unable to arrive here in time?

Or was there some other reason?

Chen Xuan could only continue waiting. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he looked toward the glittering surface of the lake.

"Splash!"

The water broke open, and a silver-white treasure fish as long as an arm leaped out. Its scales reflected dazzling radiance beneath the moonlight. It landed on the grass dozens of meters away, then slid rapidly toward the woods like a streak of white rosy light.

An Over Mountain Treasure Fish!

"The treasure fish have begun leaping through the Dragon Gate!"

Chen Xuan immediately realized this. Over Mountain Treasure Fish were extraordinarily precious flesh-and-blood medicines, possessing enormous benefits for the body's Feather Transformation. It was not only Green Deer Mountain—even the Qi Refiners from Small River Village had long coveted them.

He glanced at the several corpses on the ground. Why keep waiting for the Small Underworld? The treasure right before his eyes was obviously more important!

"Whoosh!"

Chen Xuan immediately moved, charging into the woods like a bolt of lightning in pursuit of the Over Mountain Treasure Fish.

"Roar!"

A clear cry, faintly resembling a dragon's roar, rang out from among the mountains and forests.

Within the mountain forest, a group of people rode green elk at a gallop toward Small Stone Lake.

Suddenly.

One figure stopped. Shen Lingfeng's brows drew tightly together. Through the dense forest, he seemed to be staring at a ferocious monster.

The other four followed Shen Lingfeng's gaze, but there was nothing ahead.

"Whoosh!"

Shen Lingfeng abruptly pulled the reins, turned his mount around, broke away from the group, and sped northward in a cloud of dust.

"Senior Brother Shen! Where are you going?"

Several bewildered shouts rang out anxiously. Shen Lingfeng ignored them and drove his deer into a furious gallop. Then his loud, resolute voice carried back from afar.

"Junior Brothers, after thinking it over, a gentleman does not stand beneath a wall in danger. I'll return to Green Deer Mountain first to report the situation in the Southern Wilderness! Don't follow me. Hurry back and protect Junior Brother Wang Chan!"

Shen Lingfeng had thought it through. This concerned his Dao Life—how could he casually risk his life?

Yellow Millet Dream clearly had something real behind it. He might truly die at Chen Xuan's hands... Even if there were only a one-percent chance of capsizing in a gutter, he would not gamble on it.

"What kind of person is Shen Lingfeng? I'm a direct disciple of Green Deer Mountain. Even if I do nothing at all, I'll still become a Great Figure in the future. Why risk my life wading into these muddy waters?"

Bah! What nonsense Yellow Millet Dream and Chen Xuan's heaven-defying talent! Shen Lingfeng was no longer playing along. He was going home to seek help from his powerful elders!

The group of junior brothers stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded like statues.

"Senior Brother Shen, weren't you going to personally act and Defy Fate?"

He had ridden off alone and fled just like that?

"Uh... I suppose this counts as changing fate in an alternative way?"

Beneath the night sky, countless people stood before forks in the road and embarked on the paths they had chosen. No one knew what would happen next...

"Roar!"

Shen Lingfeng drove his deer wildly onward. Suddenly, ahead on the mountain road, a streak of rapidly moving silver-white radiance swept across and entered the woods on the other side. A cry resembling that of a dragon or a flood dragon rang out from within the radiance.

"What is that... an Over Mountain Treasure Fish?"

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, a figure appeared close behind it. The pursuer moved so quickly that he had almost become a blurred afterimage. As he crossed the mountain road, he glanced toward Shen Lingfeng...

Their gazes met.