Trouble stirred again

"Zheng Fan, you're far stronger than I imagined," Cardmaster Twister said sincerely after several battles.

"You're not exaggerating. I'm still some way short of Ultimate." Zheng Fan knew his own condition. With Spirit Realm mental power and a body fully converted into data, he could easily marshal scattered data energy to attack or defend. However, because of his cultivation technique and other factors, his physical body remained in the Emperor Realm. To protect itself, an Emperor Realm body would automatically constrain his mental power within a certain limit. That prevented Zheng Fan from unleashing the full strength of his Spirit Realm mental power.

Zheng Fan had a feeling that if he abandoned his cultivation technique and became a Digimon completely, his Emperor Realm physical strength would vanish as well, but his overall strength would be enough to break through to Ultimate. After all, Ultimate Digimon with weak bodies existed too. But he would also lose the possibility of growing stronger through cultivation.

On the way to Infinite Mountain, Greymon and the others generally handled any lone Digimon they encountered. After imitating the attacks of Fierce Beasts, Greymon had left the other Champion Digimon far behind. That much was obvious from how easily Greymon tore a Numemon apart while Kabuterimon and Cactismon together were still struggling against Triceramon.

Watching the terrifying aura that accompanied Greymon's movements, MegaKuwagamon asked Zheng Fan, "Did you teach Greymon how to use that power?" As a beast-type Digimon, MegaKuwagamon understood better than anyone just how far Greymon exceeded the norm.

When Zheng Fan nodded, MegaKuwagamon said, "Please, teach me that way of fighting."

Hearing MegaKuwagamon's words, Izzy Izumi glanced worriedly at Kabuterimon, who was still locked in combat with Triceramon. Zheng Fan naturally knew about the feud between these two Digimon, both of whom had evolved from Tentomon. The first Kabuterimon had regarded Kuwagamon as a traitor and taken it upon himself to hunt Kuwagamon down. As a result, all Kuwagamon who later regained their sanity believed Kabuterimon was responsible for their tragedy. Their feud had never been resolved. The tragedy was that Kabuterimon retained their reason from the Champion stage onward, while Kuwagamon were never lucid during that stage.

"I'll teach both you and Kabuterimon," Zheng Fan said. Izzy Izumi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, while MegaKuwagamon declared proudly, "Of course you should. But if Kabuterimon is too stupid to learn, I won't go easy on him." Everyone chuckled.

Triceramon suddenly crouched down, taking a Mega Cannon blast head-on with the hard armor on his back. When Kabuterimon flew close again, Triceramon pushed off with all four feet and leaped five or six meters into the air. The sharp horn on his head pierced Kabuterimon's belly. Both Digimon fell from the air and slammed into the ground.

By the time everyone reacted, the bony spikes on Triceramon's back had begun glowing red, the prelude to his finishing move, Volcanic Cannon. Seeing this, Cardmaster Twister flung out a card, and Zheng Fan fired a streak of sword qi.

In an instant, the spinning card sliced off Triceramon's horn. The red glow on his back flickered, then faded. Zheng Fan's sword qi had shattered the data energy Triceramon had gathered.

Cardmaster Twister retrieved his card and gave Zheng Fan a look brimming with fighting spirit. Although broad, sweeping attacks were formidable, Cardmaster Twister was a Digimon who hoped to surpass his limits through finer control. Zheng Fan's sword qi had given him fresh inspiration.

As they walked through the forest, MegaKuwagamon suddenly stopped. "There are some strange fluctuations to the east of the forest." Kuwagamon evolved from Tentomon or Mochimon who ventured into the forest after being lured by an entity in its depths. Though no one knew what that unknown entity was, when it came to an affinity with nature, Kuwagamon ranked behind only certain plant Digimon.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Palmon extended several vines underground. After sensing quietly for a while, she said, "Yes. To the east." This kind of sensing took considerable effort, especially for Palmon, who was still a Rookie.

Mimi Tachikawa could not stand it anymore and snapped, "What's wrong with you all? We have four Ultimate Digimon! Why are you being so cautious?" Young lady, you've never fought a war, so you don't know how precious life is.

Still, Mimi Tachikawa's words did have an effect. Everyone stopped agonizing over it and headed east at full speed. Those who could fly did so themselves. Zheng Fan flew with Tentomon, while Tai and the others rode on MegaKuwagamon.

"This forest looks like it's been burned, doesn't it?" Mastermon murmured as he surveyed the devastation. A battle between Digimon could cause destruction like this too. There were only so many Ultimate Digimon on File Island, though. It was not impossible that two newly evolved Ultimates had fought all-out, but there was not a single crater in the ground. Yet if it really had been a huge fire, what Digimon would be bored enough to do this?

"Mastermon, what is this place?" Izzy Izumi asked.

"Judging by the terrain, it should be Graveyard Mound. But many of the landmarks around here have been destroyed. I can't be certain." Graveyard Mound's most distinctive feature was its cold, gloomy forest.

"You mean Graveyard Mound, where Bakemon gather?" Izzy Izumi immediately made the connection. Bakemon were ghost-type Digimon, and in fact, they really were ghosts. Any incomplete Digimon could potentially evolve into Bakemon. For example, if Triceramon lost half his body in a battle but refused to die, and no Digimon was there to heal him, he might become Bakemon. This evolution, or rather mutation, could occur at any stage from In-Training to Ultimate. Of course, if an In-Training Digimon that knew only how to play possessed such a firm will to live, then enduring such an evolution was only natural. Once they evolved to Mega, however, they could control themselves.

As the price of a second life, Bakemon were Digimon who had clawed their way out of darkness completely, and even their memories were fragmented.

"All right. Like Mimi Tachikawa said, there are four of us Ultimates. Do we really need to be afraid of this?" Mastermon said, taking the lead as he strode forward.

"The dark power is growing stronger," Zheng Fan said as he quietly sensed the changing aura. "We need to go farther east. Tai, you and the others should stay here for now."

Tai wanted to follow, but when he saw the troubled expressions on everyone's faces, he did not insist.

"There's something strange about this stone." Cardmaster Twister spotted the stone platform where the Bakemon had previously placed the Digivice. He walked over and tapped it.

"Yes. Its dark aura is extremely strong, but a lingering aura is suppressing it. This feeling doesn't belong to any Digimon I know," Mastermon said.

"It's obvious if you think about it. This is where Bakemon gather, after all. How could it be like anywhere else?" Zheng Fan did not know much about Digimon, but the Digimon card stack showed him the circumstances of each kind of Digimon's first evolution, allowing him to deduce a great deal.

"Watch this." MegaKuwagamon raised his arm pincers and gave the platform a light smack, smashing it to pieces. A staggering dark aura surged into the sky.

"MegaKuwagamon, what are you doing?" Caught off guard, Mastermon was blasted far away and shouted angrily once he recovered. Nearby, Zheng Fan sat on the ground, drenched in sweat as he desperately suppressed the darkness.

"Get out of here, now. The dark power is too strong. It'll corrupt you in an instant," Zheng Fan said through gritted teeth. The harm this resentment-filled darkness inflicted on Digimon far exceeded anything he had imagined. His body had already been corrupted. If his primordial energy constitution had not offered some resistance, and his Spirit Realm mental power had not been suppressing it, he would already have become a demonic Zheng Fan.

"Zheng Fan, let me try." Cardmaster Twister was closest to him, and faint black markings were already flickering across his body.

His hands moved in a dazzling blur, planting cards in a scattered pattern within a five-meter radius around Zheng Fan. But the faster Cardmaster Twister moved, the more crazed his expression became, and the more frequently the black markings appeared.

"Stop, Cardmaster Twister!" Zheng Fan could only tell that Cardmaster Twister was using a finishing move. He had no idea what exactly he intended to do.

"Barrier!" Mastermon knew this was no time for empty talk. Forming a seal with his hands, he erected a barrier around Cardmaster Twister's card formation.

"Zheng Fan, this is a teleportation formation. It's my first time making something like this, but it should be able to send all this dark aura away," Cardmaster Twister said, a sinister grin curling his lips.

Zheng Fan did not notice any of that. Though this was their first time working together, at their level of strength, coordination was merely a basic skill. The instant Cardmaster Twister activated the teleportation, Zheng Fan abruptly stopped suppressing the darkness and sprang up, knocking Cardmaster Twister out of the barrier.

The surging dark power immediately filled the entire barrier. Knocked outside it, Cardmaster Twister felt his head spin. The black markings on his body faded, and he immediately realized what he had done.

"Zheng Fan, can you hear me? Please, suppress the dark power again. I sent all that dark power to Infinite Mountain!" As he spoke, playing cards flew from Cardmaster Twister's hands in rapid succession as he tried to modify the teleportation formation.

Zheng Fan had, of course, heard Cardmaster Twister. Unless he wanted countless lives to be destroyed, he had no choice but to comply. He struck his belly hard, spat out a mouthful of blood, and roared, "Lesser Northern Sea Devouring!" His mouth became a terrifying vacuum, sucking in not only all the dark power but also the earth, stones, grass, and trees on the ground. It was far more powerful than Cardmaster Twister's teleportation.

Lesser Northern Sea Devouring was a finishing move developed by a mighty cultivator of Buzhou Domain after observing the Northern Sea's eye. Faced with that place, which had swallowed countless geniuses from the Three Great Domains, even the maids of Wa Emperor Palace could only shake their heads at the elders. That alone showed how terrifying it was. Lesser Northern Sea Devouring could temporarily match the Northern Sea's eye, but everything swallowed had to be spat out afterward. Otherwise, even if the user survived, they would certainly suffer a fate worse than death.

As Zheng Fan devoured everything madly, visibility inside the barrier improved a little. Cardmaster Twister threw out several more cards and said, "Done. The destination is now two hundred li to the west. That's definitely open sea."

Forcing the destination two hundred li away without coordinates left Cardmaster Twister's aura weaker than even a Rookie's.

Zheng Fan desperately spat all the dark power back out inside the barrier, then retreated outside. He opened his mouth, and countless stones, clumps of earth, plants, and trees spewed out.

Seeing this, Mastermon immediately said, "MegaKuwagamon, hurry! Pile the earth and stones Zheng Fan spat out into a fortress." MegaKuwagamon understood his meaning too. Bracing all four limbs, he shoveled all the surrounding earth and stones toward the barrier, building high walls around it. Even against pure energy, surrounding three sides while leaving one open was effective. The strain on Mastermon as he stabilized the barrier eased considerably.