Mysteries Upon Mysteries

"What kind of person is the Poison Immortal?" Chen Fan suddenly asked. Then he moved over, preparing to finish the man off. If the man could reveal some information Chen Fan wanted before dying, so much the better.

"How is this possible? The poison of Spirit-Drunken Incense can only be endured until its effects fade. Once someone falls unconscious, they either sleep forever or die, and even if they wake, they will suffer irreversible consequences. It is said that in all the world, only the Poison Immortal is unaffected by this. Just how did you do it?" The man in black seemed to have accepted his fate by now, but he was intensely curious about Chen Fan.

"Whether there are aftereffects, I don't know. But I'm afraid you'll never get an answer to your question." Chen Fan had already reached the man's side and picked up the treasured saber he had dropped nearby.

"Hahahaha." At the sight, the man laughed heartily, his expression brightening as though he were experiencing a final flash of vitality. "They say that with one bout of Spirit-Drunken Incense, you forget this life; with two, you cast away three lifetimes; with three, you leave the mortal world behind. I never thought that before dying, I would meet such a strange fellow as you. Hahaha, interesting—far too interesting! Hahahaha..."

As his laughter abruptly ceased, the man's breath vanished as well. Chen Fan reached out to check him. Well then, it seemed he no longer needed to bother striking. But from what the man had said just now, the secret surrounding Chen Fan only seemed more extraordinary.

Chen Fan murmured inwardly. One bout made you forget this life—he really had lost his memories before, yet he had later recovered them. Two bouts cast away three lifetimes—did that mean forgetting three lives and three worlds? But this time, not only had he awakened far faster after being poisoned than the first time, he had also recovered remarkably quickly afterward. He had not even circulated his cultivation, yet he could already stand and move without difficulty. And what did three bouts leaving the mortal world behind mean? It sounded even more unfathomable. If that man had known this was Chen Fan's second time being poisoned, would he have been scared back to life?

Oh no. Chen Fan suddenly realized that, if so, wasn't Yun Zhongjun in grave danger?

Suddenly, he heard two coughs. The man on the ground actually coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, and his body seemed to twitch. Chen Fan hurried to Yun Zhongjun's side and bent down to examine him. His breathing was heavy, and his eyelids trembled constantly as if he were trying with all his strength to open them, yet he could not.

It seemed Senior Yun truly possessed profound cultivation. Earlier, he had relied on Internal Qi to force himself to endure, preventing himself from falling completely unconscious. Yet even so, there was still no sign that he would awaken. The poison of Spirit-Drunken Incense truly lived up to its name. What the hell was wrong with Chen Fan's constitution? Could he really be some immortal reincarnated? That was far too unbelievable. Not only had Chen Fan failed to unravel the mystery of his origins, the mystery had now deepened upon mystery. Perhaps the only person in this world who knew his secret was that old monk.

He would not dwell on it for now. The matter before him had to be dealt with quickly. Unsure whether Yun Zhongjun could awaken, Chen Fan decided to circulate his cultivation and recover first. After all, the mountain here was steep and precipitous. If Yun Zhongjun could not wake up, Chen Fan had no way of taking him down the mountain with him.

There were also the two from Myriad Blossom Valley at the foot of the mountain. If they waited too long without seeing Chen Fan and Yun Zhongjun descend, they might think of a way to come up. If they saw this scene then, who knew what else might happen?

Yun Zhongjun had to be saved. Since that was the case, Chen Fan might as well help him once more, lest the night grow long and dreams multiply. He directly gathered Internal Qi in his palm and poured it into Yun Zhongjun's body. Though his meager Origin Qi was practically insignificant to Yun Zhongjun, it was like a spark setting the prairie ablaze at this moment, stirring the circulation within Yun Zhongjun's body into motion. It was extremely slow, but still far faster than relying on Yun Zhongjun's own recovery.

Chen Fan was not having an easy time either. This man's cultivation was too high; one careless misstep and Chen Fan could suffer a backlash. Fortunately, Yun Zhongjun's Origin Qi could not circulate on its own because of the poison. Even so, Chen Fan remained exceedingly careful, sending in only the faintest thread of Origin Qi each time. The instant he felt tremendous resistance beginning to rise from within Yun Zhongjun's body, he immediately withdrew his hand. His bodily functions should have recovered somewhat. From here on, Yun Zhongjun could rely on himself.

Chen Fan had expended no small amount of energy helping Yun Zhongjun circulate his qi, so he immediately entered a meditative state to cultivate and recover.

Time passed second by second. At last, the man on the ground slowly opened his eyes. His pupils rolled a few times as he asked in confusion, "Where am I? What happened?"

The same old routine? Chen Fan was speechless inwardly. Could even someone of Yun Zhongjun's realm not escape the aftereffects of Spirit-Drunken Incense?

"Senior Yun, you're awake. Do you still remember what happened earlier?" Chen Fan roughly explained the previous events, but he did not mention that he had been following at Yun Zhongjun's side the entire time. He only said that Yun Zhongjun had entered the cave to investigate first, while Chen Fan had waited outside for a long time before entering the cave to look for him.

Yun Zhongjun fell silent for a moment, seeming to strain himself to recall something. Then he let out a long sigh and said, "I don't remember anything at all."

"Senior, do you truly remember nothing?" Chen Fan felt uncertain. If Yun Zhongjun had truly lost all his memories, taking him back to the sect would not be easy.

Yun Zhongjun closed his eyes and pondered for a while longer. Then he studied Chen Fan a few times before finally forcing out a bitter smile. "I do remember some things. I am from Swordcry Mountain. And... I will have to rely on you to take me back."

Chen Fan looked astonished. "Senior, you truly are from Swordcry Mountain, but why do you trust me so much?" Had this person really lost his memories? Or was he pretending, merely wanting Chen Fan to carry him back so that once he recovered, he could study Chen Fan's miraculous constitution?

"I truly don't know who you are, but I recognize this sword." Yun Zhongjun stared straight at Chen Fan's waist. "Since you carry this sword, you should not harm me." Though he could not remember the sword's origins at the moment, the mere sight of it gave him an instinctive sense of trust.

The Fire Spirit Sword? So that was it. Chen Fan understood and asked, "Senior, how is your body at the moment? The two of us will need to use Soaring to descend the mountain."

"I must have forcibly driven the poison into my lower body earlier, keeping it away from my heart meridians. Therefore, my legs cannot stand at all right now." Yun Zhongjun showed no grief or indignation. It was clear at a glance that this was the decisiveness forged through countless storms.

"What should we do, then?" Chen Fan was somewhat anxious. He could hardly leave Yun Zhongjun here and return to find help, could he?

Seeing Chen Fan's predicament, Yun Zhongjun said, "It's fine. You only need to carry me to the cliffside. I have my own method."

Chen Fan was immensely curious. As expected of an expert—he still had another trick up his sleeve. He carried Yun Zhongjun out of the cave. He did not destroy the cave either, leaving some information behind for the two from Myriad Blossom Valley. After all, the existence they would face in the future was not something Swordcry Mountain alone could deal with.

Chen Fan carried Yun Zhongjun to the edge of a cliff. This was not where they had climbed the mountain; it was on the other side. Chen Fan did not want to encounter those two from Myriad Blossom Valley again.

"Good. Here will do," Yun Zhongjun said. Then he took out that treasured sword, tossed it into the air, and wrapped the blade in a stream of Origin Qi. The sword actually floated in midair. "All right, get on quickly. My injuries have yet to heal, and I can't keep this up for long."

Sword-riding arts? Chen Fan's horizons were broadened once again. Could this slender sword truly bear the weight of both of them? Chen Fan was actually quite afraid. It felt as though his fate was in someone else's hands. Besides, Yun Zhongjun's cultivation had been greatly depleted—what if they fell halfway through the flight?

Forget it, he would deal with it as it came. If things went wrong, he would just put Yun Zhongjun beneath him as a cushion. Yun Zhongjun was the one who wanted to fly, so he could not blame anyone else.

Chen Fan leaped onto the sword. The instant his feet touched it, his body began dropping rapidly. The intense sensation of weightlessness made him too afraid to move, his feet seeming to stick to the sword. After only a few breaths, the two had descended to halfway down the mountain, and Chen Fan could vaguely see the ground below. Then the sword beneath his feet encountered greater resistance, clearly beginning to slow.

A moment later, they reached the foot of the mountain, and Chen Fan hurriedly jumped off the sword. Having his feet on solid ground felt far better. That had been far too thrilling. At the beginning, their speed had been no different from jumping straight off the cliff.

Yun Zhongjun, on Chen Fan's back, remained completely composed. He retrieved the treasured sword and said, "I gave you a fright. My Internal Qi was insufficient, so I had no choice but to do that. When there is another chance, I'll let you properly experience sword flight."

Better not! Chen Fan rolled his eyes, thinking that he had to comprehend a more brilliant method of flying through the air in the future. Standing on a sword like that gave him far too little sense of safety.

All right, this was not a place to linger. Carrying Yun Zhongjun on his back, Chen Fan headed toward the sect.

Since they had been delayed in the mountains for almost an entire day, it was already past midnight when Chen Fan carried Yun Zhongjun to the mountain gate. The gate had been shut, and perhaps because of the recent disturbance caused by the men in black, quite a few disciples were keeping watch below Swordcry Mountain. Security was extremely tight.

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass upon Swordcry Mountain!" someone among the guards suddenly shouted.

From the shadows, a youth who appeared sixteen or seventeen years old slowly revealed himself. It was Chen Fan. His expression was awkward, and he felt utterly helpless inside. When he had carried Yun Zhongjun to the mountain gate and prepared to report his identity to these people so he could enter, he had unexpectedly discovered that Yun Zhongjun had fallen unconscious again at some point. Chen Fan had no idea whether it was an aftereffect of Spirit-Drunken Incense or whether Yun Zhongjun had exhausted his Origin Qi from using the sword-riding art and fallen asleep directly.

Thus, Chen Fan's current situation might turn into another headless wrongful case. He had originally planned to wait until Yun Zhongjun woke up before explaining, but he had not expected to be discovered so soon. There was no helping it. He could only waste more breath explaining himself.

"Senior uncles, I am Chen Fan, an outer sect disciple. I had previously gone down the mountain to travel. When I returned, I found that the sect's curfew had already begun, so I waited here, intending to enter the mountain tomorrow morning." Chen Fan's tone was respectful, and his manner sincere.

"Oh?" The man who had questioned Chen Fan earlier came before him. He looked rather old, with white hair and beard. He was an older-generation inner court disciple. He felt somewhat doubtful. Though such a possibility existed, people could generally calculate their return to the mountain gate precisely. Who would spend the night in the mountains for no reason, especially so close to the gate? It was highly suspicious.

"Senior Brother, there's another person here," another disciple suddenly called out beside him. Evidently, while Chen Fan was speaking, the other disciples had not been idle and had continued searching the surroundings.

Oh no! Chen Fan's heart tightened. This would be even harder to explain.

"Who is it?" the old man asked the disciple, yet he remained standing before Chen Fan. Clearly, if Chen Fan made even the slightest move now, he would be subdued first and questioned later.

"It... it seems... it's... Yun... Yun..." The disciple suddenly began babbling incoherently, stammering as though he had been frightened senseless. He could not continue speaking.

"Yun what? You few, keep an eye on him!" The old man called out, then ran over to personally inspect the place where that disciple had been.

It would have been fine if he had not looked. But when he did, his blood rushed upward, and his mind buzzed. He nearly fainted on the spot.