Return to Azure Dragon Valley

"It's you?"

Ye Fei froze at the sight of the young man before him.

This was Li Zaitian's disciple, Liu Yishan, whose cultivation was at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Ye Fei had learned his name from a clerk at the Many Treasures Pavilion.

Ye Fei had never expected Liu Yishan to be the one attacking him.

He could not understand it. There was no grudge between them, and they had only met once. Why was Liu Yishan targeting him?

"I never thought a useless piece of trash like you would cultivate so quickly. It's only been a little over a month, and you've already reached the first layer of Qi Refining."

Liu Yishan stared at Ye Fei with cold, vicious eyes.

"What exactly are you doing this for?"

"There doesn't seem to be any conflict between us, does there?"

Ye Fei asked in bewilderment.

"Conflict?"

"Ha ha!"

"Why does there have to be a conflict?"

"I just don't like the look of you."

Liu Yishan threw back his head and laughed, his face full of disdain.

"Uh..."

That answer left Ye Fei speechless.

Indeed, in the eyes of a higher-level cultivator, that was reason enough.

As for whether that reason was reasonable, did it matter?

It did not matter in the slightest.

To them, what mattered most was satisfying their own whims.

If your cultivation was low, you were an ant, and you deserved to be bullied.

This was not a question of having a reason.

It was the law of survival.

When a tiger wanted to eat a sheep, did it need to ask whether the sheep was willing?

No.

It only needed to open its jaws and bite.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

For some reason, as he faced Liu Yishan, a trace of unease suddenly stirred in Ye Fei's heart.

He had never expected Liu Yishan to dare disregard even the Grand Supreme Elder's authority. Someone so brazen was undoubtedly a madman.

"What do I want to do?"

"Don't you already know?"

Liu Yishan licked his lips and spoke in a sinister voice.

"How would I know what you want to do?"

Liu Yishan's expression sent a chill through Ye Fei's heart, raising goosebumps all over his body.

"You'll know when we get there."

Liu Yishan gave a vicious smile and brushed his right hand over the storage pouch at his waist. A flying sword flew out.

Then he swept his wide sleeve, releasing a strand of Divine Sense that swept Ye Fei up and carried him onto the flying sword.

Under the power of Liu Yishan's Divine Sense, Ye Fei could not even resist.

The gulf between their cultivation realms was immense, even greater than that between an adult and a child.

"You four pieces of trash had better keep your mouths shut. Otherwise, heh heh, I wouldn't mind taking you to that place for a little fun, too."

Standing on the flying sword, Liu Yishan gave a wicked smile to Duan Hong and the other three, who had only just arrived.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother Liu. My brothers and I have been cultivating in our cave abode all day. We haven't gone out."

Liu Yishan's words made all four of them shudder, and they hurriedly nodded and bowed.

"That had better be true!"

Liu Yishan snorted coldly. With a thought, he sent the flying sword soaring into the sky, where it slowly vanished into the distance.

Since Black Cloud Peak lay on the outskirts of the Free and Easy Gate, the flying sword carried them beyond the sect in just a few dozen breaths.

Once they left the Free and Easy Gate, Ye Fei grew apprehensive as he watched the mountains flash past on either side.

Within the sect, its rules might have kept Liu Yishan from doing anything to him.

But outside the Free and Easy Gate, his chances of survival were probably slim.

"Where are you taking me?"

As the Free and Easy Gate grew ever more distant, Ye Fei asked urgently.

At the same time, he quietly slipped his right hand into his robes, intending to take out the Voice Transmission Jade Plaque Ning Siyu had given him.

In this situation, his only choice was to send Ning Siyu a message asking for help.

Before, he had been unable to use the Voice Transmission Jade Plaque because he had not begun refining qi. Now that he had succeeded, he could use it.

"Somewhere fun, of course."

"Don't bother with those little tricks in front of me. They're useless."

"Hand over the Voice Transmission Jade Plaque."

Although Liu Yishan had his back to Ye Fei, his Divine Sense monitored Ye Fei's every movement.

The moment he saw Ye Fei reach into his robes, he understood what he intended.

He raised his right hand, and the Voice Transmission Jade Plaque flew out of Ye Fei's robes into his palm. He then tucked it into the storage pouch at his waist.

With the Voice Transmission Jade Plaque stolen, Ye Fei steeled his heart. Forcing himself against the pressure of Liu Yishan's Divine Sense, he reached for the longsword on his back.

Rather than wait for death like this, he would fight a fierce battle. At least then, his journey through this world would not have been in vain.

Liu Yishan naturally saw what Ye Fei was doing, but he did nothing, allowing him to draw the longsword from his back.

"Die!"

Delighted that Liu Yishan had not reacted, Ye Fei gripped the hilt, drove his wrist forward, and thrust viciously at him.

"You overestimate yourself!"

Liu Yishan smiled disdainfully, then flicked a finger of his right hand backward, striking the blade.

Clang!

Whoosh!

Two sounds rang out in succession.

With a single flick of his finger, Liu Yishan knocked the longsword clean out of Ye Fei's hand, sending it flying far away into the mountain forest below.

"Aah!"

With his longsword knocked away, Ye Fei roared in fury, clenched his fists, and punched Liu Yishan with all his strength.

"Trash, stop wasting your strength. You might need it later."

Liu Yishan did not even try to block, letting Ye Fei's fists strike his body.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Ye Fei's punches left Liu Yishan unharmed, but the pain made Ye Fei bare his teeth. Both his fists instantly turned red.

"We're here!"

Just then, Liu Yishan's lips curved upward. The flying sword beneath his feet tilted downward, and they soon landed.

They stood at the entrance to a valley.

Before them stretched a valley whose end could not be seen, with not a blade of grass growing anywhere.

A stone stele stood to its left, bearing the three large characters for Azure Dragon Valley.

It was the very valley Ye Fei had visited before.

"What do you mean by this?"

At the sight of Azure Dragon Valley, something stirred in Ye Fei's heart, but he feigned bewilderment.

"I want to play a game with you."

Liu Yishan gave a wicked smile.

"A game?"

"What trick are you trying to pull?"

"If you're going to kill me, just do it. Why waste so many words?"

Ye Fei clenched both fists and spoke angrily.

"Why the hurry?"

"If you agree to play this game with me, you still have a chance to live."

"But if you refuse, I can kill you right now."

Liu Yishan was in no hurry and spoke at a leisurely pace.

"What game?"

Hearing that there was a chance of survival, Ye Fei pretended to be curious.

"Ha ha, this game is very simple, and very entertaining."

"You'll fight a rank-one Demon Beast. Whoever wins gets to live."

"The loser pays with their life."

"Of course, if you kill a rank-one Demon Beast and then cross Azure Dragon Valley, I promise to let you go and never trouble you again."

Liu Yishan stared at Ye Fei with a smile as he spoke.

In his eyes, Ye Fei had no other choice.

And whatever Ye Fei chose, there would only be one outcome-death.

That was exactly the outcome he wanted.

The mere thought of Ye Fei fighting a Demon Beast, struggling on the brink of death with no way out, filled Liu Yishan with excitement.

Even if Ye Fei killed the Demon Beast, he would not be disappointed.

After all, Ye Fei still had to cross Azure Dragon Valley.

No one who had entered Azure Dragon Valley had ever emerged alive, without exception.

More than once, he had personally watched a living person enter Azure Dragon Valley, only to be dismembered before his eyes and absorbed into the valley's soil, leaving not the slightest trace.

That blend of terror and exhilaration made his blood surge whenever he thought of it.

"I have nothing, yet you want me to fight a Demon Beast. You clearly don't intend to let me live."

"Rather than have me eaten by a Demon Beast, you might as well kill me now."

Ye Fei snorted coldly, looking as though he was ready to face death without flinching.

In truth, Ye Fei was extremely excited.

Whatever Liu Yishan intended, he would not fight the Demon Beast. He would head straight into Azure Dragon Valley.

He was certain Liu Yishan would not follow him inside.

That would leave him a thread of hope.

Although not a blade of grass grew in Azure Dragon Valley, he had only explored part of it before.

What lay in the rest of the valley was still uncertain.

Besides, Azure Dragon Valley was somewhere he had always wanted to return to. He had simply lacked the opportunity and ability to get here.

Who would have thought a pillow would appear just as he grew sleepy? Liu Yishan had actually brought him here.

"Take this sword. If you use it well, killing that Demon Beast isn't impossible."

Very pleased with Ye Fei's attitude, Liu Yishan flicked a finger of his right hand, sending a longsword flying toward him.

Ye Fei reached out and caught it without hesitation.

"Then let's begin."

Seeing that Ye Fei had not refused his Magic Treasure, Liu Yishan's lips curved slightly upward.

He brushed his right hand over his storage pouch and took out a short incense stick, as thick as a little finger and about two inches long.

After planting the short incense stick in the ground, Liu Yishan snapped his fingers. A small flame flew from his fingertips and lit it.

Once lit, the short incense stick produced no smoke, nor did it release any fragrance.

Without seeing it with one's own eyes, one might not even notice it.

"What is that?"

Ye Fei asked curiously. It really was different from ordinary incense.

"You'll find out soon."

With a mysterious smile, Liu Yishan stepped onto his flying sword and rose high into the air.

Seeing Liu Yishan fly up, Ye Fei suddenly had a bad feeling.

He quietly retreated a few steps toward Azure Dragon Valley, leaving only a few more steps between himself and its entrance.

"Awooo!"

In the space of that breath, a Demon Beast's howl rang out from afar.

Immediately afterward, two enormous Demon Beasts appeared in Ye Fei's field of vision.

The moment they appeared, both Demon Beasts charged swiftly toward Ye Fei.

"How is that one? There are clearly two!"

Ye Fei's pupils contracted as he looked up at Liu Yishan.

What a despicable bastard!

Ye Fei cursed inwardly and hurriedly retreated.

This was no joke. He would struggle to deal with even one Demon Beast, let alone two.

His wisest choice now was to enter Azure Dragon Valley.

"Trying to go straight into the valley? Where's the fun in that? Stay outside and play for a while."

Liu Yishan saw every movement Ye Fei made.

He sneered and extended his right hand. A shield appeared in it.

Then he hurled it forward. The shield shot out and formed a shield wall several yards long, blocking Ye Fei's retreat.