Mystic Yang Sect

Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

On an island that had once been one of the twelve waterways strongholds.

A month ago, Xu Fan had casually crushed a few resurgent water bandits to death and stayed there for the time being.

"As long as I don't touch that demon fish in the middle of the lake, all the treasure fish and exotic beasts in the lake are mine for the taking."

He leisurely set a pot over the fire, put in a cleaned Silver Moon Rainbow Trout, and added some seasonings he had brought back.

Then he sat and waited for it to cook.

"With the way I eat, I couldn't survive in the prefectural city."

Last time, he had entered the city with the enormous sum of two thousand taels and spent it on treasure fish and precious medicines at every meal. In just half a month, he had nearly run out and had no choice but to return to Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

Without a Great Grandmaster to seek him out across a thousand li, and with his bones compressed and appearance altered, as well as the low cultivation he displayed, he had taken over this waterways stronghold with little trouble.

"It's just that Grandmasters have been turning up more and more often lately."

"With more people looking for me, and enough time, they could easily suspect I have a way to compress my bones and change my appearance."

Qingzhou was vast, but it couldn't withstand sheer numbers. With the intelligence networks of its prefectures and counties working together, if they couldn't find Xu Fan, it wouldn't be hard to guess at something like that.

For that reason, after careful consideration, he had decided to return to Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

The most dangerous place was the safest place.

For the time being, not many people would suspect that he had never fled, but was instead hiding on an island in Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

He had successfully kept his head down until now.

"It doesn't matter. The Taiji Dao Evolution Diagram has finished charging, and I can enter the Land of Wu whenever I want."

"Tonight, it's time to condense the Jade Capital Wheel!"

After he finished the treasure fish, the full moon hung overhead, silver light spilling down over the shimmering lake.

Xu Fan sat cross-legged, his whole body seeming to be bathed in moonlight, shining brightly as spiritual essence came to him of its own accord.

"The key to Fetal Breathing lies in the Jade Capital. It's the hardest and most important of the three Fetal Breathing barriers. It must be created out of nothing in the Rising Yang Mansion, just like the Mystic Luminary and Circulation."

"Once the Jade Capital is complete, Spiritual Sense is born, and the Spirit Beginning Wheel will naturally follow. Then, after refining the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi corresponding to my Cultivation Method, I can advance to Qi Refinement."

"A major cultivator of Qi Refinement lives to one hundred and eighty, and their Spiritual Sense transforms into Divine Sense, with endless wondrous uses."

After days of accumulation and a constant supply of treasure fish, Xu Fan circulated the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction step by step. The Jade Capital Wheel slowly condensed within his Rising Yang Mansion.

It was not until half a shichen later that he awoke from his meditation.

The moment he opened his eyes, he sensed a great difference in the world around him.

Through his Spiritual Sense, he could see wisps of the world's spiritual essence drifting about.

In some areas, the spiritual essence was dense; in others, it was sparse.

"Could there be a Spirit Vein beneath Peach Blossom Spring Lake?"

Xu Fan looked into the depths of the lake with his Spiritual Sense and vaguely caught sight of a long streak of fluorescent light, like a winding flood dragon.

The Miscellaneous Records of the Land of Wu recorded that Spirit Veins allowed cultivators to achieve twice the result with half the effort, but they were all monopolized by various powers.

All kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures could be born atop a Spirit Vein, and they were the best for increasing one's cultivation.

"That would explain how so many treasure fish and exotic beasts could be born here."

He wasn't very surprised. After all, when he cultivated the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction, he had learned that spiritual essence existed in this world too.

Where there was spiritual essence, there had to be Spirit Veins.

That was easy enough to understand.

"Someone's here?"

"What are they doing here in the middle of the night?"

His Spiritual Sense stirred, and Xu Fan turned his gaze to the distant lake surface.

There weren't many visitors, only two.

But they were coming straight toward him.

And neither was weak. Both were Innate Grandmasters.

In the blink of an eye, the two came riding over the waves and landed not far from Xu Fan.

A man and a woman, dressed in matching uniforms trimmed with red and gold, clearly belonged to some sect. Each took up a position.

Their objective was clear: they had cut off his retreat.

"What do you two mean by this?"

Xu Fan frowned, unable to understand how he had been exposed.

Even so, he asked a probing question.

"No need to pretend."

"You can change your looks and build, but you can't change your 'spirit.'"

The young man stood with his hands behind his back, studying the person before him carefully.

From what he could sense, Xu Fan's Qi and Blood were not strong, having only reached the level of Qi and Blood like an ox. He might have some way to disguise them.

According to the information provided by the Han Household and his own investigation, this man had not seemed like a Grandmaster when he killed Han Tianhao's guards.

That golden light was probably some kind of Martial Dao True Intention.

What he should be wary of was the bizarre Movement Method the fishermen had spoken of, with its tremendous speed.

"Seeking an enemy across a thousand li? A Great Grandmaster?"

Xu Fan narrowed his eyes, ready to run at any moment.

Even after condensing the Jade Capital Wheel and gaining Spiritual Sense, he was no match for a Great Grandmaster.

The "spirit" each person left behind would linger for a long time. To a Great Grandmaster, it was like a glowing thread: the stronger the person, the more conspicuous it was. Even at the ends of the earth, they could not escape.

"You know a thing or two."

The pretty woman smiled.

"Don't worry. Killing you doesn't require a Great Grandmaster to act. One merely found out where you were."

To obtain the Emperor Flow Serum, her cousin had specially asked an elder of his family to locate Xu Fan.

It was all to obtain the Emperor Flow Serum, comprehend a second kind of Martial Dao True Intention, and compete for a place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking!

"The one who's going to kill you is Mu Yunyang, a True Disciple of the Mystic Yang Sect."

Mu Yunyang looked down at him, an arrogant expression on his face.

As though passing sentence, he slowly raised his right hand.

Scorching True Qi swirled around him, baking even the earth beneath his feet until it cracked.

Then he thrust out a finger.

Whoosh!

A stream of searing True Qi became a fire snake and shot straight for Xu Fan's brow, too fast for the naked eye to follow!

Boom!

"Plenty of power, but a little lacking in speed."

Xu Fan had vanished from the spot the instant the fire snake was unleashed.

With the wondrous uses of Spiritual Sense and the Divine Movement Technique, strength like this was nowhere near enough to capture him.

His only concern was still the Great Grandmaster who had tracked him down.

Was that Great Grandmaster nearby?

"A Great Grandmaster came running to bully someone weaker?"

He did not try to escape, because he had discovered that the woman could somehow tell where he was and had blocked his retreat again.

"Still trying to get the last word."

Mu Yunyang snorted coldly.

That had only been a test to see the man's Movement Method and martial arts. It seemed he did have some tricks.

But Mu Yunyang could also tell that, at most, this man had only just entered the Innate realm. He might not even have advanced to Innate and merely possessed astonishing speed in his Movement Method.

He, on the other hand, was at Innate Major Accomplishment!

With that thought,

He stamped his right foot, and scorching True Qi swept out around him in rolling waves of heat. In an instant, he closed in and drove out a punch!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Golden light clashed with crimson True Qi.

The golden light was clearly no match for it, constantly defending and retreating.

"Let's see how long you can block!"

Mu Yunyang chuckled, growing ever more pleased with himself. His True Qi condensed, and he struck out heavily.

"True Yang Fist!"

The overbearing force and True Intention of the punch came at Xu Fan, far more formidable than before!

Xu Fan's expression did not change. He condensed the Golden Light Technique in front of him and struck out with a palm.

Fist and palm met, and a terrifying force struck. He was sent flying backward in an instant!

"Cousin, watch out!"

But it was not Xu Fan whose expression changed drastically. It was Mu Yunyang, who had thrown that punch with all his strength.

The pretty woman, who had been trying to block Xu Fan's retreat, paled at his warning and instinctively tried to get away, only to feel a pain in her chest.

She lowered her head slightly and saw an arm covered in golden light that had already pierced through her chest, blood staining her robes red.

"I'll kill you!"

Mu Yunyang's eyes nearly split with rage as he roared and closed in.

"You can have her."

Xu Fan casually flung the dying woman toward him and plunged headfirst into Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

"Stay here!"

Mu Yunyang caught his cousin with one hand while unleashing more than ten punches at the lake, evaporating the water into a vacuum.

But he saw a streak of gold rapidly receding through the lake, and immediately roared in fury.

"Aaah!"