391 Illusions, Part One

The night wind howled.

The deep roar instantly spread within a hundred-meter radius.

Zhang Xuan and his group, who were approaching from a distance upon hearing the noise, saw this place from afar.

Flying Bear King quickly reached out to stop the others.

"Wait! Don't go over there yet!"

He has the best eyesight and noticed the problem immediately.

The aura and positioning of those people clearly indicated they were not joking.

"What happened?! What was that sound just now?" Zhang Xintai's face was slightly pale; the poison was starting to take effect.

He gazed into the distance, but could not see the situation clearly.

He has now reached the Fourth Grade rank. This is the result of his diligent study and practice over the past few years, as well as his intensive supplementation.

But at this moment, as he looked at the few people fighting rapidly under the moonlight in the distance, he felt dizzy and couldn't make out their figures or speed at all.

"There's a fight going on. It's with Rong Fang! I don't know which side they're on," Zhang Xuan said in a deep voice. "Let's keep quiet and not get in his way!"

He now clearly understands that although their strength is quite good in the eyes of ordinary people, it is far, far inferior to Zhang Rongfang's current level.

Therefore, the best help they could offer was to avoid becoming a burden to Zhang Rongfang and being used against him.

"Why are there also people from the Great Dao Sect fighting him? Shouldn't they be working together?" Xiao Qingying lowered her voice, her heart clenching with anxiety.

Having endured hardship and displacement along the way from Qingchuan to here, their only hope now rests on Zhang Rongfang.

Upon hearing that something had happened to him, Zhang Xuan and Zhang Xintai also looked worried.

Flying Bear King took a deep breath and was about to speak.

Bang!

In an instant, a blood-covered figure brushed past him.

With a whoosh, it crashed heavily to the ground, rolled several times, and its entire body rapidly turned into black ash before disappearing and collapsing.

He shuddered and looked into the distance again.

Of the opponents who had just fought Zhang Rongfang, only two remained.

There were three of them before, but in just a few words and breaths, one person is gone. Boom!

Zhang Rongfang pressed down with one hand, heavy as a warhammer, slamming it onto Zhou Lingsong's parrying arms.

As blood and flesh splattered a second time, Zhou Lingsong's arms finally gave way under the strain, snapping and caved in with a crack.

The old man with a black face and gold trim moved with ghostly speed, rapidly circling around him with a sharp blade, mainly using piercing techniques to kill.

But no matter which angle he attacks from, Zhang Rongfang can easily block him.

Clang! Another piercing, the short dagger in the old man's hand was knocked away, and he was violently shaken, staggering back several steps and coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Who exactly are you?!"

At this moment, he absolutely refused to believe that the person in front of him was Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying is rumored to be Super Grade External Medicine, already considered one of the world's greatest geniuses.

The person in front of them was far stronger than the External Medicine Super Grade, and could suppress the two of them, who were at the Three Voids Worship God, face to face.

Absolutely terrifying!!

"Aren't there any other tricks?"

Zhang Rongfang stretched his muscles and pressed Zhou Lingsong back down with a palm strike, just as Zhou tried to dodge again. It was like an adult hitting a child.

Neither of these two used the martial arts of the Great Dao Sect.

The old man in the black mask was one thing, but what was truly laughable was Zhou Lingsong, whose martial arts showed absolutely no trace of the Great Dao Sect's style.

From this perspective, it's easy to see that he's an imposter.

"Let's end it here."

Zhang Rongfang raised his head and turned slightly backward, already spotting Zhang Xuan and the others hiding in the distance.

He didn't want people to discover his cruel side; he wanted to leave his good image to his masters and the others.

"Wait! We can cooperate, sir. We are both people who have designs on the Great Dao Sect, so why don't we join forces?"

Zhou Lingsong was now in a sorry state, with both arms broken and covered in blood.

But before he could finish speaking, everything went black.

Zhang Rongfang had already reached his side.

He raised his hand and slapped her.

This palm strike was much faster than before! So much faster.

In the blink of an eye, the palm reached Zhou Lingsong's neck, and then, like a trap, the sharp fingertips pierced his veins with a hiss.

A large amount of blood was sucked out, Zhang Rongfang looked at the other person's trembling face.

Simply by activating two layers of the Limit State, he can now easily deal with the group's encirclement and attack.

This result is already satisfactory enough.

In the darkness, with his back to Zhang Xuan and the others, he shielded Zhou Lingsong with his back, watching him tremble until he withered away completely.

Withdrawing his hand, Zhang Rongfang struck again, delivering a powerful blow to the center of his forehead.

Bang!

With a loud bang, a large amount of Silver Thread simultaneously oozed from Zhou Lingsong's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

All the Silver Thread rapidly turned black and hardened. After struggling for a few moments, they fell to the ground and turned into black ash.

Zhou Lingsong also collapsed to the ground, quickly shriveled, turned black, and evaporated.

Zhang Rongfang looked up at the other person; the old man in the Gold-rimmed Black Mask had already escaped more than a hundred meters away.

He shook his head slightly, stomped his foot, and a large chunk of black mud exploded behind him, splashing up as he disappeared from the spot.

The two closed the distance rapidly.

Hearing the noise, the old man turned his head with a distorted expression, only to see a huge face right next to him, less than a meter away!

He was filled with regret at this moment, having thought that everything he had arranged was perfect and foolproof.

Unexpectedly, this guy disguised as Zhang Ying is actually quite powerful. "Stop! I am an elder of the Taiji Palace! Killing me is going against True One!! Let's talk this out! Do you want to know who leaked your information?! Who deliberately misled Zhang Xuan and the others?!"

The old man was desperate to prove his worth.

"Taiji Palace?" Zhang Rongfang paused.

"Could it be a fellow Daoist from the True One Sect?" He never imagined that he would be involved with the True One Sect.

If it really is the True One Sect, then this is troublesome. Why are they targeting me? How do they know the details of my whereabouts? "I can tell you! All the secrets!! As long as you swear by the god you worship to let me leave! Leave me alive!" the old man with the gold-rimmed black face said urgently.

"I swear by the gods I worship, if you tell me the answer, I will let you leave!" Zhang Rongfang swore quickly without blinking.

"The one who leaked your whereabouts is Shang Family from the Jade Void Palace the Great Dao Sect. They have informants in your Prefectural Office. Furthermore, we are directly under orders from the Taiji Palace. As long as we obtain evidence of your collusion with the rebel army, we will send it to Great Capital. In addition, if we can force you to kill your former master and others..."

That way, we can also plant a thorn in Yue Dewen's heart. We have plans for anything that will disgust Yue Dewen! The old man blurted out all at once.

"Would the True One Taiji Palace go to such lengths to target someone as insignificant as me?" Zhang Rongfang frowned.

"Zhang Ying's identity has been significant ever since Yue Dewen ascended to the top of the Assembled Sages Institute in Great Capital. After Zhang Qingzhi's disappearance, you are Yue Dewen's only and most suitable successor."

If we can get rid of you, whether by killing you directly or by using other methods to sever your connection with Yue Dewen.

These were all major blows to him.

If he doesn't handle this matter well, Snow Rainbow Pavilion will also be affected.

The old man paused and glanced at Zhang Rongfang.

"What happened to the Snow Rainbow Pavilion?" Zhang Rongfang, his brows furrowed.

"Snow Rainbow Pavilion, now the military leaders mostly support Yue Dewen, to maintain the legitimacy of the Imperial Spirit Court."

So basically, most of their forces are on the same side as Heavenly Sincerity Palace.

If Daozi's stance becomes questionable, it could shake the already wavering resolve of the many Fierce General of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion!

The old man's words left Zhang Rongfang speechless.

He thought it was just a small scheme by the other party, but he never expected that there would be so many other things involved.

"Now I've told you everything I know, and you promise to let me go."

Boom! A huge gas explosion suddenly erupted.

Zhang Rongfang slapped the old man hard on the head.

The immense, terrifying force, combined with the added speed, instantly spun his head around 360 degrees.

The old man stood there blankly, his pupils rapidly dilating, fading, and disappearing.

Zhang Rongfang remained still, placing one hand on the top of the man's head and piercing his veins.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds! Suddenly, a silver light flashed in the old man's eyes, but before he could react, he was squeezed by a tremendous force, and his skull suddenly collapsed inward.

Soon, a patch of black ash slowly scattered on the ground, then evaporated and disappeared.

"That's how the weak are; they place all their hopes on the kindness of others."

Zhang Rongfang sighed softly.

At this point, all the troubles present were completely eliminated.

He released his grip and turned to look at his only remaining subordinate.

"Pack your things and go back. He didn't die in vain."

The man was trembling all over, almost paralyzed with fear.

I was jolted awake by the sound and quickly came to my senses.

"Yes!" He knelt on one knee, looking at the corpse of his comrade beside him. After a surge of shock and awe at Zhang Rongfang's unparalleled power, what rose in his heart was even more sorrow for himself and his comrade.

Back in Wushan Prefecture, they thought they were someone important, but now... a nameless sorrow permeated his heart.

The man carried his companion's body on his back, bowed to Zhang Rongfang, and then quickly left.

Only then did Zhang Rongfang have time to look at Flying Bear King Zhang Xuan and the others.

"Next, please come and stay at my place for a while, Master. I will ask someone to come and detoxify me."

"But..." Flying Bear King wanted to speak, but when Zhang Rongfang glanced at him, he trembled.

Recalling the scene I had just witnessed.

The four of them died within a minute of each other. Two of them were top-tier experts no weaker than him, and the other was Worship God.

But what if he becomes a Grandmaster?! A terrifying guess jumped into his mind.

The thought of this title sent a shiver down his spine. Only those who have experienced torment can understand how ridiculously powerful a Grandmaster is.

"Thank you so much, Brother Zhang, for your righteous help! I, Flying Bear King, will forever remember this! I will never forget it!" he immediately replied loudly. "And I will repay your great kindness!"

"Don't be so polite," Zhang Rongfang smiled. "Actually, I'm very easy to talk to. There's no need to be so formal."

The group fell silent.

These words might have been more convincing if they hadn't been spoken amidst the bloodstains and corpses all around. Without further delay, Zhang Rongfang, to avoid any unforeseen complications, led the group to another nearby branch of Pine Crane Temple. They decided to hide there first.

And just after the group left.

On this patch of black soil that has been cleared.

Just where Zhou Lingsong and the others had died, a human figure draped in a gray-white robe with a black shadow on his face quietly appeared where the bodies were.

The humanoid figure crouched down, stretched out its pale hand, and grabbed a handful of blood-stained mud from the ground.

He picked it up and smelled it.

"Zhang Ying, Zhang Rongfang. Interesting."

A gentle breeze blew by, and the humanoid figure vanished in the blink of an eye.