Fortune and Misfortune Depend on Each Other?

The car continued to drive forward, Ye Wudao's mind a complex tangle of thoughts.

The Ye Family alone was already so difficult to deal with; adding the Li Family to the mix certainly increased the difficulty of his revenge significantly.

In particular, what Zhang Hankuang had said about the Xiantian Realm not being easy to reach only added to the pressure he felt.

After about three or four minutes, Zhang Hankuang slammed on the brakes. Ye Wudao's body tilted slightly forward, pulling him out of his myriad thoughts.

Ye Wudao tilted his head, peering curiously through the windshield as he asked, "Are we here?"

Hu Lianfeng unbuckled his seatbelt and shook his head. "Not yet. There's still some distance to go, but we can't drive any further."

"The Great Canyon is just ahead. The sound of the engine and the headlights will cause the demonic beasts to riot."

"We have to get out and walk the rest of the way."

With that, he opened the passenger door and stepped out.

At the same time, Zhang Hankuang and Qin Tianlong also exited the vehicle.

The first thing the three of them did upon getting out was to head to the trunk to retrieve their weapons.

Qin Tianlong gripped his wooden-shafted spear and said to Ye Wudao, "We'll head over first; you follow behind."

"There's a steep slope by the canyon. Don't go down; just watch from above."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Tianlong turned around, pushed off the ground, and shot into the distance like an arrow released from a bow.

Zhang Hankuang was not to be outdone, following closely in Qin Tianlong's footsteps with impressive speed.

Hu Lianfeng glanced at Ye Wudao and said in a deep voice, "Did you remember what Elder Qin said?"

Ye Wudao nodded.

Hu Lianfeng gave a slight nod, then turned and sped off in the same direction.

Watching the speed of the three men, Ye Wudao was filled with shock: Is this the speed of a Houtian Realm expert?

This speed was already comparable to a car traveling at high velocity.

He looked at the ground where the three had departed; three sets of footprints were carved into the earth, with cracks radiating from around them.

Without time to dwell on it, he hurriedly sprinted in the direction they had gone.

After running for about a minute or two, shouts of battle and sounds resembling beast roars suddenly erupted from ahead.

"Hah..."

"Kill..."

"Roar..."

The sounds rose and fell, one after another, never ceasing.

Ye Wudao slowed his pace slightly, looking at the slope not far away.

This is called a slope?

It was practically a vertical cliff, with only the slightest hint of an incline.

For him, let alone walking down such a slope, even climbing down would be nearly impossible.

Standing at the edge of the slope, he could see several massive searchlights below, illuminating the dark canyon.

Numerous human martial artists wielding weapons were locked in a fierce battle with some exceptionally ferocious beasts.

These beasts seemed to have been drawn by the searchlights and were pushing forward frantically.

The humans, meanwhile, were holding them back with all their might, preventing the beasts from breaking through.

"Are these demonic beasts?"

Ye Wudao took a closer look at the creatures.

There were some that resembled wolves, but they were larger than tigers.

There were others like sheep, with long, sharp horns growing from their heads.

There were some like wild boars, covered in a thick layer of armored plating.

There were even some he couldn't describe, looking nothing like any common biological species.

But without exception, these beasts still retained their animal forms, unlike the demonic beasts he had imagined—those with beast bodies and human heads, or human bodies and beast heads.

There were no humanoid beasts; they all looked exactly as beasts should.

Because of the significant height from the ground and the poor visibility at night, he could no longer spot Hu Lianfeng or Zhang Hankuang.

There were simply too many people wielding blades in the canyon.

However, after searching for a moment, he found Qin Tianlong.

Qin Tianlong was easy to identify, as he was holding his long spear.

In particular, he had not chosen to stay where the human martial artists were clustered, but had instead lunged straight into the heart of the beast swarm.

There were no other human martial artists around him, and he was completely surrounded by over a dozen demonic beasts.

He wielded that long spear with supernatural skill; every thrust, jab, stab, and sweep was executed with blinding speed.

A dozen or so demonic beasts were unable to get anywhere near him, and instead, one would fall every so often.

It was precisely because of these eye-catching maneuvers that Ye Wudao was able to spot him instantly amidst the crowd and the beast horde.

"Is this the true strength of a powerhouse in the Xiantian Realm?"

Ye Wudao kept his eyes locked on Qin Tianlong's figure, his shock growing with every passing second.

This level of combat prowess far exceeded his understanding of what humans were capable of.

He was particularly stunned whenever Qin Tianlong leaped high into the air, clearing seven or eight meters in a single bound.

Furthermore, he noticed a layer of white substance coating the tip of Qin Tianlong's spear, though he couldn't quite make out what it was.

He felt a deep sense of regret now—regret that he hadn't brought a pair of binoculars.

Body Tempering to refine the physique, Houtian Realm to refine strength, Xiantian Realm to refine Qi, Grandmaster to refine the spirit. The saying suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Is this... Qi?"

He watched Qin Tianlong, who stood like a god of war in the distance, and muttered to himself.

"Hey! Kid, what are you doing standing around here?"

Just as Ye Wudao was watching with rapt attention, a rough voice suddenly came from behind him.

He spun around abruptly to see three men and one woman walking toward him.

There were three middle-aged men and one elderly woman.

Ye Wudao glanced at the broadswords in their hands and took half a step back.

Hu Lianfeng had told him to be careful when encountering strangers in the Rift World.

In the Rift World, murder was not a crime.

One had to be especially wary of those carrying the same type of weapon.

These people were usually from the same sect or family, and they wouldn't even blink before killing someone to loot their belongings.

"My master told me to wait for him here!"

He looked at the four of them and replied in a low voice.

"Waiting for someone? Why aren't you out there killing demonic beasts yourself?"

The middle-aged man standing at the front of the group frowned and asked.

"I only just started practicing martial arts today and haven't even entered the path yet. My master said he brought me here to broaden my horizons."

Ye Wudao replied cautiously.

"You only started practicing today, and your master dared to bring you to the Rift World? Your master sure has some guts!"

"Who is your master?"

The middle-aged man asked again.

Ye Wudao pursed his lips and replied, "My master is Hu Lianfeng."

At this point, he had no choice but to bring up Hu Lianfeng.

The middle-aged man's interrogative tone carried a faint trace of killing intent, and he was genuinely afraid that the four of them might suddenly attack him.

"Hu Lianfeng? Scarface Hu?" The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice.

Ye Wudao nodded and replied, "Yes!"

Since the other party knew Hu Lianfeng's name, they were either friends or enemies.

He prayed silently that these four were not Hu Lianfeng's enemies, otherwise, he was done for.

However, the very next second, he realized he was truly done for.

The middle-aged man burst into loud laughter and said, "I wondered who it was! So it's the apprentice of that dog thief!"

"Talk about finding something without even looking for it."

His expression shifted, and he barked, "Kid, if you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck for becoming Hu Lianfeng's apprentice and running into us."

"Do you know who we are?"

Ye Wudao's brow furrowed tightly as he said in a deep voice, "Are you my master's enemies?"

The middle-aged man pointed his broadsword at Ye Wudao and sneered, "Enemies? I wish I could hack him into a thousand pieces and tear him limb from limb!"

"That dog Hu Lianfeng killed my junior brother and stole the blade technique manual of our Four Blade Sect. We've been looking to settle the score with him for a long time."

"It's just a pity that the dog reached the peak of the Houtian Realm, and we were no match for him."

"I never expected to run into you today! This is a gift from the heavens."

"I'll kill you first and use you as a sacrifice for my junior brother!"

Ye Wudao's mouth twitched slightly. What the hell was this?

He had brought up Hu Lianfeng thinking he could use the name to avoid trouble, but he had ended up inviting an even greater disaster.

However, he could also tell that this Four Blade Sect was likely just a minor sect.

If they couldn't even handle Hu Lianfeng, they were at most at the minor success stage of the Houtian Realm.

Yet, even so, he was no match for these four people!

He gave a bitter smile internally: Is this what the ancients meant when they said, "Misfortune, it is upon which happiness depends; happiness, it is in which misfortune lies hidden"?

Hu Lianfeng teaching him the Northern Dark Divine Art, activating the system, and cultivating the martial path—this was the happiness.

Running into Hu Lianfeng's enemies in the blink of an eye—this was the misfortune!

Happiness and misfortune intertwined; was this fate?

He narrowed his eyes and let out a loud shout, "Ah! I'll fight you to the death!"

The middle-aged man standing opposite Ye Wudao laughed, "Haha! Just you?"

However, to his utter astonishment, Ye Wudao did not charge toward him, but instead turned and ran toward the valley at the bottom of the slope.