Playing God and Ghost

Chen Fan had focused entirely on casting his technique as he traveled, moving with his head down. Only then could he barely keep himself from falling, leaving him no time to worry about his surroundings. When he reached a relatively flat area atop the peak, he finally felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted. He collapsed to the ground at once, his legs so weak and sore that he had clearly overexerted himself.

When he had recovered slightly and looked up, he nearly jumped out of his skin. The middle-aged man was standing right in front of him, looking as though he had been waiting for ages.

"Too slow. You're disgracing Swordcry Mountain," the man said irritably.

Huh? Was he from Swordcry Mountain too? Chen Fan asked in delighted surprise, "Senior, are you also a disciple of Swordcry Mountain? May I ask your name?" Yet he was somewhat puzzled. He had entered and left the inner courtyard many times, but he seemed never to have seen this man before. That was not right. With such high cultivation, this man should at least be an elder, shouldn't he?

"Yun Zhongjun. Have you heard that name before?" The middle-aged man looked thoroughly arrogant.

Yun Zhongjun? It sounded vaguely familiar.

"Senior, could it be that you are especially skilled at darting through valleys, ignoring any terrain, and taking an enemy's life in an instant when they let down their guard? But as time passes, your strength becomes increasingly discounted?" Chen Fan had no idea where such bizarre thoughts had come from.

The middle-aged man froze, his brows knitting slightly. What did that mean? This kid actually knew his background, so why was he acting like this? And it was true that the higher his cultivation became, the slower his technique improved. But how had this kid learned that? He found it utterly baffling, yet he could not be bothered to waste more words on Chen Fan.

"Why do you talk so much? Have you rested enough?" Yun Zhongjun pointed into the distance. "It should be over there. Let's go. If a fight breaks out later, remember not to stray too far from me. Otherwise, suffer the consequences yourself."

Damn! From the sound of it, high-level cultivators might be about to fight. In that case, he was practically cannon fodder here—he could die for nothing! He had thought Senior Yun had kept him close to protect him, but this man was actually so overconfident? Seriously?

"Don't panic either. When facing someone like that, staying by my side is the safest place. If I can't beat them, I'll just run." Yun Zhongjun looked utterly disdainful, as though no one in the world could stop him if he wanted to leave.

Chen Fan felt somewhat reassured by those words. He looked in the direction Yun Zhongjun had indicated and saw an opening in the mountainside, clearly carved by human hands. Combined with what the Raging Eagle Gang members had said earlier, this was very likely the mysterious cultivator's cultivation site. If so, that was terrifying. It was said that when high-level cultivators fought, victory and defeat were decided in an instant. Thus, the stronger one's cultivation, the less likely one was to casually fight another to the death. Having cultivated to such a realm, who was not cautious in their actions? No one would throw away their life over trivial matters.

If they really started fighting, would he have time to look after me? Chen Fan thought to himself. He still needed to keep something in reserve. If things went south, running first would be the best policy. Though he calculated inwardly, his feet did not stop as he followed Yun Zhongjun toward the cave.

Before long, the two arrived at the entrance. Chen Fan craned his head to peer inside, then quickly pulled it back. What a joke. He did not dare enter first, or he really would become cannon fodder.

Yun Zhongjun gave Chen Fan a contemptuous glance, then took one step forward and vanished directly into the cave. Chen Fan considered it, then followed him in anyway.

Once inside, their vision first darkened, then gradually adjusted to reveal the scene within. The cave was not large, and scattered bottles and jars lay across the ground. This was undoubtedly the mysterious person's cultivation site. Yet at present, no one seemed to be here.

At the end of the cave appeared to be a narrow passage, suggesting there was more space beyond it. The two headed that way. While passing through the corridor, they could only walk one behind the other. It was not long, and they encountered no danger, but for some reason, Chen Fan felt increasingly uneasy.

After passing through the corridor, they entered another stone chamber. This one was even smaller, and candles had actually been lit along the ground on both sides, their faint light falling upon the stone walls.

The two looked around. Suddenly, a shadow appeared by the wall opposite them. The eerie feeling was so extreme that Chen Fan began trembling all over. He unconsciously moved behind Yun Zhongjun.

Yun Zhongjun, however, showed no fear at all. He shouted toward the shadow, "Who is there, playing god and ghost?! Show yourself at once!"

"Heh heh heh heh." A series of strange laughs came from beside the wall. To Chen Fan's ears, they were terrifying beyond measure. His heart trembled, and his legs began shaking uncontrollably.

"Hmph." Seeing that the ghostly thing still refused to emerge, Yun Zhongjun snorted and directly condensed a powerful blast of Origin Qi, sweeping it toward the source of the sound.

With a bang, the force struck the wall, and the entire stone cave shook as countless chips of stone and clouds of dust rained down. A moment later, the cave settled again. Beneath the section of mountain wall Yun Zhongjun had blasted, the solid form of a person appeared. Sure enough, it was another black-clad, masked figure. Yet those clothes could not conceal his cultivation at all. Though he had not bolstered himself with External Force, remaining utterly unmoved after a strike formed from Yun Zhongjun's Internal Qi was not something an ordinary person could do.

"I truly didn't expect this. When I saw those few people at the foot of the mountain marked with pollen, I thought I might as well lure them here and catch turtles in a jar. Who would have thought I'd end up waiting for such a big catch? Looks like I can only fight until the fish dies and the net breaks." The black-clad man's tone was icy, as though he had already prepared to perish together with them.

"Cut the crap. I never planned to die with you!" As he spoke, a sword had somehow already appeared in Yun Zhongjun's hand. It was slender and long. Combined with his unfathomably ingenious movement technique, it was simply impossible to guard against. Chen Fan refused to believe that the black-clad man could still dodge within such a cramped space. Before Chen Fan could react, Yun Zhongjun had flashed before the black-clad man and thrust his sword forward.

Yet in the next instant, a boom rang out. Yun Zhongjun was sent flying backward. After landing, he staggered back several steps before barely steadying himself.

At this moment, it was clear that the black-clad man had already exchanged a move with Yun Zhongjun. He held a blade in his hand, less than half the length of that slender sword, yet it looked incomparably sharp. Its blade still trembled faintly, showing that he had not received that attack easily either. But before Yun Zhongjun could make another move, the black-clad man flipped his other hand, and an identical blade appeared in it. He was now poised and ready, seemingly prepared to launch a fierce assault.

"Dual blades? With strength like this, are you one of those fellows from the Heaven and Earth Gate?" Yun Zhongjun's voice carried a trace of gravity. Clearly, he had not expected to encounter such an opponent. If he was not mistaken, this man should be one of the Heaven and Earth Gate's Ten Great Protectors, and his strength could not be underestimated. Yun Zhongjun believed that in a one-on-one clash, he should be able to avoid falling behind. But Chen Fan was beside him now.

Yet that was not even the most crucial problem. Most fatal of all, he could now sense a slight inability to condense the Origin Qi within his body. This was far too inconceivable. At his level of cultivation, his Origin Qi was vast and naturally formed. He no longer needed to breathe and absorb excessively, while his Internal Qi remained full at all times. This situation was completely beyond his expectations. If he rashly forced himself to attack, the consequences would be difficult to predict.

"Stop struggling. Fortunately, I made ample preparations. I didn't expect them to actually come in handy." With that, the black-clad man slowly walked toward Yun Zhongjun. He did not even raise his dual blades, as though he had no fear whatsoever of a surprise attack. "You feel it too, don't you? Hahahaha! Spirit-Drunken Incense—it remains to be tested whether even those below immortals are susceptible to it. Today, we can verify it!"

What?! Spirit-Drunken Incense again! Chen Fan cried inwardly as waves of dizziness began flooding his mind. It was over. This time, he truly could not escape death. His consciousness gradually blurred. Just before he collapsed, he seemed to hear another clash of blades and swords. In the next moment, he lost consciousness completely.

Who knew how long had passed before Chen Fan slowly opened his eyes.

What? Why was it so dark? Had he entered hell? Chen Fan felt weak and numb all over, while throbbing pain periodically surged through his head. This sensation seemed strangely familiar. He forced himself upright and examined his surroundings.

The sight before him made his body jolt, instantly waking him fully. He was not dead. Not far beside him lay a man with long silver-white hair—it was Yun Zhongjun. Several yards away, by the wall opposite, another person lay on the ground. That man wore black clothing and a mask, his upper body propped against the stone wall in a half-sitting posture.

Chen Fan could not stand yet, so he could only crawl with difficulty toward Yun Zhongjun. After a brief examination, he found that Yun Zhongjun was unconscious, but still breathing. Fortunately, his Internal Qi cultivation was supporting him. He should not die anytime soon. Moreover, the Spirit-Drunken Incense appeared to have gone out. Otherwise, in such a confined space, if the incense had continued burning any longer, the consequences would have been far worse.

He looked again at the black-clad man. The man leaned against the wall with his eyes shut tight, both blades fallen beside him. It was impossible to tell whether he was dead or alive. It seemed that while Chen Fan had been unconscious, these two had already fought a fierce battle. In an environment with such a high concentration of Spirit-Drunken Incense, the inevitable result must have been mutual destruction. It seemed this black-clad man would rather die than allow anyone to uncover even the slightest clue concerning the missing children.

Chen Fan slowly crawled toward the black-clad man. His body had recovered somewhat compared to when he first woke up, and his courage had grown as well. Both men had been deeply poisoned by the Spirit-Drunken Incense and should no longer be able to mobilize Origin Qi to fight. Even if this man was a cultivator above the Seventh Stage, what was there to fear now?

Just as Chen Fan moved toward the wall, the black-clad man suddenly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Chen Fan, his previously dull expression abruptly became animated, filled with intense terror. His already hoarse voice nearly rose into a scream. "You... who are you? Don't come closer!"

"Me? I'm nobody at all!" Chen Fan pointed at himself and said contemptuously, "But I am the one who will take your life." Chen Fan knew that given this man's deeds, there was no chance he would confess the truth. He therefore intended to strike while the man was down, take his life, and eliminate future trouble.

As Chen Fan drew closer bit by bit, the black-clad man kept struggling to stand. Yet he could not summon even the slightest strength anywhere in his body. That he could force himself to remain conscious without passing out was already no easy feat.

"No, impossible! How could you possibly still be awake?" The black-clad man's terror did not lessen in the slightest; instead, his shock deepened. "You... what is your relationship with the Poison Immortal?"

Chen Fan's body stiffened, and he stopped. He was deeply puzzled. The Poison Immortal? It sounded like some truly extraordinary being. Then he suddenly thought of his unusual physique and the Treasure Record. Could he really have some connection to the Poison Immortal this man spoke of? Was that possible?