Ram Horn Mountain

"What on earth is the Inner Court's stance now?"

In the mountains, Yu Xiu strode along. Mountain winds seemed to lift him beneath his feet; every step carried him dozens of yards.

Wind Movement. Riding the Wind.

If he wanted, Yu Xiu could even ride the wind through the air. It was simply too exhausting.

More importantly, he had no intention of hurrying back to the Inner Court.

The sect must have learned that Fang Jiming and the other eight Inner Court disciples were dead. There was no way to keep it hidden.

He had left the sect aboard the Flying Boat with Zhao Zheng and the other three. It was far too obvious.

On the other hand, Fang Jiming and the others' attempt to kill him was just as obvious. That was why he hadn't destroyed the evidence, but buried them all together.

If he really had been an Inner Court disciple at the first level of the Qi Sea, he would already have died at the hands of the Shadow Demon in Lushui Town.

Fang Jiming and the others would never have been implicated.

Unfortunately for them, Fang Jiming and his companions had misjudged Yu Xiu's strength, and he had killed every last one of them.

If the sect chose to investigate, it could easily uncover Fang Jiming and the others' scheme. Of course, it would also see that Yu Xiu had deliberately dangled bait to lure them out.

So he would let the dust settle for a while.

If the Inner Court's Law Enforcement disciples came to arrest him, he would run. If he made it back to the sect without incident, then he was probably in the clear.

He headed toward the Qingwei Sword Sect. Nothing happened along the way.

They said the mountains teemed with demons and spirits, while cities and towns were prone to Shadow Demons. But Yu Xiu traveled through mountains and forests without seeing a single mountain demon or spirit.

He was taking a remote route, far from any settlements, yet the journey remained uneventful. He did come across a few ordinary beasts, which he casually killed with a streak of Sword Qi.

As he walked, he suddenly noticed a strange, faint aura rising from a tall mountain in the distance.

Demonic aura?! Yu Xiu paused, then changed course and gave the mountain a wide berth.

He now possessed the strength of the first stage of the Four Great Passes, the Five Viscera, but that didn't mean he could run wild without a care.

Who knew how powerful the creature in that mountain was? If some great demon beyond the Four Great Passes sprang out, it could seize and refine him in an instant.

He grew even more cautious, concealing his Sword Heart and hiding every trace of his aura.

Nothing happened.

"Hey, you there! How'd you escape from my Ram Horn Mountain? Take one more step and you'll be boiled up for lunch!" A huge toad leaped out of a low thorn bush and spoke to Yu Xiu in human speech.

Huh? Yu Xiu's heart skipped. He hadn't sensed this little toad demon at all.

He looked past the thorns and saw a muddy pool. The little toad demon must have been hiding in the mud, evading his senses.

He took another look. The toad was indeed caked in mud, so much so that its original appearance was impossible to make out. Only its two red-glowing eyes stood out.

Good. This little demon is only at the second stage of Ascending Dragon.

It couldn't see through the realm he had concealed with his Sword Heart.

He paused. "Where'd you get people on Ram Horn Mountain?"

The big toad froze for a moment. "Great King Ram Horn rules our Ram Horn Mountain. Of course we keep people as livestock for blood food. How could there be none..."

It cut itself off, then suddenly realized. "You're not from Ram Horn Mountain?"

Then it burst out laughing. "What luck! Today, your Lord Toad is going to bring a wild human back to the mountain. The Great King will surely reward me handsomely."

With a loud "Ribbit!" the little demon's belly suddenly swelled until it was as big as a millstone. Then it shot forward like lightning, spitting a streak of red light at Yu Xiu.

"Clang!" At that same moment, a sword rang out.

Blinding swordlight flashed. The charging toad demon was sliced in two and fell to the ground.

Great King Ram Horn?

Keeping people as livestock for blood food?

Ram Horn Mountain, you'd better believe I'll remember this!

Yu Xiu didn't spare the toad demon another glance. He continued along his detour.

Once he returned to the Inner Court, he would report the matter to a steward. Then the Sword Sect's senior brothers would descend in force, and sword Qi would reduce Ram Horn Mountain to dust.

He would earn a reward of contribution points for his report, too.

He hadn't gone far when a rolling wave of demonic aura suddenly rose behind him, accompanied by a low growl. "Which blind fool dared kill a Mountain-Guarding Toad Guard of Ram Horn Mountain? Get out here!"

It's a Wolf Demon. Yu Xiu glanced back from afar and saw a demon wolf, over ten feet long, churning up demonic aura. It leaped dozens of yards at a time, as if treading on demonic clouds. Its aura was fearsome.

A demon at the Four Great Passes. Yu Xiu didn't slow down for a moment. With Wind Movement bolstering him, he moved even faster, vanishing from the mountain range in just a few strides.

This was Ram Horn Mountain's territory, after all. He could kill the Wolf Demon, but that might draw even more powerful demons. There was no need to get entangled with it.

Once he returned to the sect, Ram Horn Mountain would be as good as sentenced to death.

In Yan Province, the Qingwei Sword Sect ruled the skies. It would never tolerate the existence of a Ram Horn Mountain.

Ram Horn Mountain quickly receded behind him. Before long, he could no longer see the demonic aura or hear the Wolf Demon's growl.

Another day passed before Yu Xiu finally emerged from the mountain forest and came upon a small town.

Once he passed through the town, he would be in Wuyang Prefecture. The Qingwei Sword Sect wouldn't be far away.

Nothing's happened all day. The Law Enforcement Hall is probably on my side after all.

If the Law Enforcement Hall had sided with Fang Jiming and the other eight dead disciples, the sect's experts would have chased him down already. They wouldn't have let him travel so freely.

Yu Xiu felt a weight lift from his heart.

He had expected this, but he had still been worried. After all, facing a behemoth like the Qingwei Sword Sect, his only option would have been to run. He wouldn't have stood a chance against it.

Now he didn't need to worry about that anymore. Still, to be safe, he didn't speed up.

Outside the small town, people came and went. Before he even got close, Yu Xiu saw a crowd of cultivators gathered there. None of them seemed to belong to the Sword Sect; they were probably from small sects or wandering martial artists.

Holding his sword in one hand, he made his way toward the town at an unhurried pace.

He heard the cultivators coming and going talk among themselves. "What kind of sect is Cloud Mountain Cliff?"

"Who knows? There are countless small sects whose lineages have died out. For all we know, Cloud Mountain Cliff was already a thing of the past hundreds of years ago!"

"But that lone cultivator Jiang Han sure is lucky. The demons captured him, but not only did he survive, he also found the spirit weapon Mountain Settling Hammer left behind by Cloud Mountain Cliff. Now he's made it big!"

"If they had a spirit weapon, Cloud Mountain Cliff probably wasn't some obscure little sect back in the day. They must have left behind other good stuff, too."

"Come on, let's go! I heard Jiang Han has gone into hiding and stopped showing his face. But a few of his friends have been saying he also found a precious pill. He's probably hidden away in seclusion by now. Once he comes out, his strength will have soared. With a spirit weapon in hand, he might not leave any scraps for the rest of us!"

Yu Xiu deliberately slowed his pace and listened to it all. By now, he had more or less pieced together what had happened.

Cloud Mountain Cliff?

Jiang Han!

Yikes, this sounds like a protagonist template!

Captured by demons, surviving against all odds, then stumbling upon a fortuitous opportunity and rising to prominence—wasn't that the textbook protagonist template?

But he wasn't curious about this Jiang Han. Hanging around people with protagonist templates was usually asking for trouble.

Still, he was quite interested in Cloud Mountain Cliff. He didn't care much about pills or spirit weapons, but there were bound to be secret manuals and books there.

He didn't care whether the techniques and cultivation methods were profound, either. As long as there were enough of them and he mastered them all, his lifespan and comprehension would surely soar!

And it wouldn't cost him a thing!