Going Back

Xue Ning, being exceptionally intelligent, immediately noticed the reservation in Dongfang Yueming's words, her eyes flashing slightly. "You seem to have another deduction?"

"Nothing special." Dongfang Yueming shook his head, not voicing his speculation about a core disciple of the Earth Spirit Sect, as it was too shocking and lacked any evidence. "It's just that my intuition tells me something's off. Rather than risking unknown dangers to hunt down a vague ' Ash Demon,' I'd rather ensure my own safety." He paused, then added, "I plan to return to my mentor first."

Upon hearing this, Xue Ning's cool eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation. She had initially been quite tempted by the reward of directly advancing in rank by capturing the "Ash Demon," but Dongfang Yueming's caution had calmed her down. After a moment's thought, she nodded slightly. "Very well, I'll go with you."

The two turned and walked back, while on the other side, Wang Bufan was walking alone, still troubled by his previous team formation and cultivation path. At this moment, his teammate from an unknown dynasty, who had achieved the Tendon Transformation Lesser Completion, caught up with him.

"Hey! Where are you going?" the man asked in an unfriendly tone.

Wang Bufan gave him a disgruntled look. "Going back to your lodgings, what's wrong?"

"Go back to your lodgings!" the man scoffed. "Everyone's looking for ' Ash Demon,' and you're trying to slack off? Hurry up and come patrol with me!"

Wang Bufan wanted to refuse, but the other person's undisguised mockery stung him. "Fine, I'll go!" he gritted his teeth and agreed, though a fire burned within him.

On their way back, Dongfang Yueming and Xue Ning encountered the leader of the Snow Dynasty's Marrow Cleansing Realm. His gaze swept over them, and when it landed on Xue Ning, his eyes revealed undisguised disdain and indifference. Xue Ning instinctively lowered her head slightly, avoiding his gaze. Dongfang Yueming, however, remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the other's rudeness, completely at ease.

They hadn't gone far when they encountered another pair of students who were enthusiastically searching for traces of the "Ash Demon." When the two saw Dongfang Yueming and Xue Ning traveling together, a hint of ambiguous imagination crept into their eyes.

Xue Ning seemed a little uncomfortable and said softly, "How about... we split up and look for it separately?"

"Listen to me." Dongfang Yueming's tone was calm but carried an unquestionable air.

Xue Ning was slightly taken aback, then nodded obediently.

The two returned to their lodgings without incident, Qin Rushuang seemed somewhat surprised to see them back so quickly.

Dongfang Yueming cut to the chase. "Instructor Qin, if we really encounter trouble, with your strength, you should be able to handle the Earth Spirit Sect, right?"

These words sent shockwaves through Xue Ning's heart! She looked at Dongfang Yueming in disbelief. How dare this man so bluntly mention opposing the Earth Spirit Sect? That was a colossal entity that had stood here for countless years!

Upon hearing this, Qin Rushuang remained silent for a moment, her beautiful face revealing little emotion, before finally speaking slowly, "The Earth Spirit Sect has a profound foundation. Under normal circumstances, if their Grandmaster doesn't intervene, I can still manage to hold my own."

Xue Ning was even more shocked! Grandmaster wasn't going to intervene? The Earth Spirit Sect still had Internal Force Realm experts in charge! Although Instructor Qin was only at the Qi Refining Realm, dealing with the entire Earth Spirit Sect... how dare she utter the word "maneuver"?

Meanwhile, deep within the Earth Spirit Sect, in a quiet room, Li Xuan was leisurely flipping through the list of students from various dynasties who had come to participate in the Battle of the Python Gate. When his gaze fell on the Great Xia Dynasty's team list and he saw the name "Shi Qing," the playful smile on his lips suddenly vanished, replaced by a cold snort.

"Hmph, the Shi Family... how dare they set foot here?" A cold glint One Flash in Li Xuan's eyes.

Just then, Dongfang Yueming and Xue Ning ran into Shi Qing and Zhao Jin returning to their residence. Their eyes met, and they all saw a similar caution and rationality in each other's eyes. Clearly, they had all made the same choice—prioritizing safety when the situation was unclear. Without needing to say anything, a tacit understanding flowed between them.

Night fell silently, darkening the sky. The students who had gone out to search for the "Ash Demon" began to return one after another, most of them dejected, clearly having found nothing. The Earth Spirit Sect covered a vast area, and the so-called "Ash Demon" was elusive; finding clues in a short time was no easy task.

At the edge of a secluded woodland, Wang Bufan was already panting heavily, and the thought of giving up was creeping into his mind. "I'm not looking anymore, I'm going back to sleep!" Just as he was about to turn around, his teammate beside him spoke up sarcastically, "What? You can't keep going already? Weren't you quite capable just now?"

Wang Bufan was speechless, forced to suppress his anger and hold back his frustration.

Just then, a swift black shadow One Flash past from the nearby woods!

"It's Ash Demon!" The teammate's eyes lit up, and he shouted excitedly, immediately taking off after it.

The man in black seemed to be intentionally luring him, maintaining a steady pace and keeping a distance. Seeing this, Wang Bufan's ambition to achieve great things was reignited, and he disregarded his fatigue, excitedly following closely behind. However, his agility was only at Entry level, relying entirely on brute force, and he was quickly left far behind.

After running for a while, Wang Bufan couldn't keep up anymore and could only stop in frustration, clutching his knees and panting heavily, cursing inwardly, "Damn my movement technique! I definitely have to practice it properly when I get back!"

He found a rock to sit down and rest. Just as he was feeling annoyed, a chill suddenly swept over him! Wang Bufan looked up abruptly and saw that the man in black who had fled earlier had now silently appeared not far from him, his eyes hidden in the shadows scrutinizing him with great interest.

"Hmm, Bone Forging Realm, the foundation is fairly solid, barely enough." The man in black spoke in a hoarse, deep voice, his tone carrying a sense of satisfaction as if he were assessing a customer.

Wang Bufan felt extremely uncomfortable under that gaze, a sense of humiliation and contempt welling up inside him. "What kind of look is this guy giving me? Does he look down on my Bone Forging Realm? Does he think I'm easy to bully?" He suppressed his unease, abruptly stood up, assumed a fighting stance, and shouted sharply, "You're that Ash Demon?"

"Heh heh..." The man in black let out a strange laugh, "So what if it is?"

"Hmph! You cowardly rat hiding your head!" Wang Bufan forced himself to remain calm, raising his head and trying to overwhelm the other party with his aura. "I am Wang Bufan, the pride of the Great Yan Dynasty, destined to be famous throughout the world. You're unlucky to have met me!" Despite his tough words, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. The other party's aura was too strange, giving him an extremely dangerous feeling.

However, the man in black gave him no time to think. With a swift movement, he pounced on Wang Bufan like a ghost! His speed far exceeded Wang Bufan's expectations!

Wang Bufan's pupils constricted sharply. Just as he was about to raise his hand to defend himself, an irresistible and terrifying force descended upon him! He didn't even see how the other party made their move; he only felt a sharp pain in his chest, his vision went black, and his consciousness was plunged into eternal darkness.

The man in black casually tossed Wang Bufan's corpse to the ground, then pulled a broken piece of iron from his pocket that shimmered with a dark red light and pressed it against Wang Bufan's chest. The iron piece seemed to be alive, greedily sucking at his body, and Wang Bufan's body shriveled up at a visible speed, turning into a skin-and-bones desiccated corpse in the blink of an eye.

A surge of pure energy flowed through the iron plate back into Li Xuan's body. He closed his eyes, feeling the increase in power within him, a look of extreme satisfaction on his face. "Not bad, although it's just the Radiant Golden Bones, it's better than nothing."

Then, he skillfully took out kerosene from his storage equipment, poured it evenly onto Wang Bufan corpse, flicked his finger, and a cluster of flames fell, instantly igniting the corpse. A roaring fire rose up, crackling and popping.

Li Xuan stood by the firelight, admiring his "masterpiece," clicking his tongue in admiration. "Another pile of ashes..." He licked his lips, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes. "Who should I choose next? Hmm... that Dongfang Yueming from the Great Xia Dynasty, so young yet already possessing the cultivation of the Tendon Transformation Lesser Completion of the Yi Jin Jing, his foundation seems exceptionally solid, his talent should be quite good, a good 'nourishment'..."