Chapter 150: Gathering of Heroes

Guan Xian was thinking along these lines, hesitating, when he caught sight of someone approaching from far across the mountain.

The rain was still drizzling, making it difficult to see clearly through the misty downpour. Yet, although he was not very familiar with Jiang Yan of the Sanyun Sect, Guan Xian recognized the other person instantly simply by the way he walked.

What a coincidence?

Dazed, Guan Xian watched as the figure drew closer and closer, then saw him bend down, pick up a branch, and poke around at the soles of his feet for a moment.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Guan Xian pushed his spiritual sense closer, only to discover that the object beneath Jiang Yan's feet was, shockingly, the corpse of another rogue cultivator.

Was he... looting corpses? A disciple of such a prominent, noble sect surely wouldn't stoop to making a fortune off the dead?

As Guan Xian muttered inwardly, Jiang Yan raised his head and called out toward his direction, "Who's there? Acting so sneakily, come out."

Guan Xian had no choice but to step out.

Fearing that Jiang Yan might misunderstand and hoping to introduce himself quickly, Guan Xian heard Jiang Yan say first, "It's you. You're that... Guan Xian, what are you doing here?"

He had not expected Jiang Yan to remember him. Taken aback and not knowing what to say, Guan Xian stammered, "I'm... just taking a walk." The moment the words left his mouth, he could have bitten off his tongue in regret; it sounded utterly idiotic.

Jiang Yan paid it no mind. He lowered his head once more to examine the corpse, his expression grave. "Did you see the person who killed him? No, you certainly couldn't have, or you wouldn't be standing here safe and sound. I still have an impression of this victim; he was at the peak of Foundation Establishment in the earth element. Supposedly, it's very difficult for cultivators of the same rank to destroy his physical body, but look—killed with a single strike. It's simply incomprehensible, completely exaggerated."

Gently rubbing his chin with his free hand and gazing at the horrifying, massive wound on the corpse, he muttered again, "Could this be the power of the 'Heart-Enlightening Sword'? It truly lives up to its reputation."

Guan Xian felt somewhat unable to figure out this young man from the Sanyun Sect. You would think that recognizing the killer's formidable strength would make him worry about whether he could defeat such an opponent, but judging by his tone, that didn't seem to be the case. Alongside his solemnity, there was a sense of yearning and urgency born of unknown origins.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, Guan Xian blurted out, "I saw the person. That fellow surnamed Pu from the Runes Diagram Sect."

Jiang Yan looked over at him in surprise. To someone who enjoyed meddling in other people's business, this kind of gaze was thoroughly gratifying, so Guan Xian detailed the entire process of how he had encountered Zhang Yu of the Danya Sect, and how Zhang Yu had subsequently summoned Pu Pingping.

There had barely been any dialogue between Pu and Zhang. Being at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, Guan Xian possessed an exceptional memory, leaving out not even the cryptic remarks about the letter written by a certain Master Shi.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan let out a scornful laugh and said, "Should I thank them for looking upon me with such favor and preparing to show mercy?"

Curious, Guan Xian asked, "That fellow surnamed Pu is extraordinarily powerful. What do you plan to do next? Are you still going to look for the rare treasure?"

After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Yan used the tree branch in his hand to flick a cosmos sack off the corpse, sending it flying straight into Guan Xian's arms. "Naturally, I am going to find it. Since you love meddling in affairs, take this, tuck it away, and come with me. We'll search along the way and see how many people that fellow surnamed Pu has already killed."

This happened to be precisely what Guan Xian wanted to do right now; it held far more appeal for him than searching for a rare treasure. Moreover, having Jiang Yan as a companion meant he no longer needed to worry about running into people like the Twin Wolves of the Yu Family, so he quickly followed closely behind Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan was at the peak of Foundation Establishment, possessing a spiritual sense far stronger than his own. Coupled with the fact that Jiang Yan seemed remarkably acute to the scent of blood, within barely half an hour, Guan Xian had four or five additional cosmos sacks in his possession.

He was getting rich—provided he could make it out alive. This trip to the secret realm was turning out far more lucrative than he had ever anticipated, and in a way he would never have dared to dream of.

Yet Guan Xian possessed good self-awareness; he had already figured out that Jiang Yan wasn't deliberately bringing him along to get rich, but rather carefully comparing the traces left behind by spells on those corpses. It seemed this young man still intended to have a showdown with the fellow surnamed Pu.

Silence represented boredom, which was not Jiang Yan's style. As they walked, he asked, "Guan Xian, come on, tell me, why did you stop following Zhang Yu of the Danya Sect?"

Guan Xian replied, "He's in league with that fellow surnamed Pu, and that fellow has killed so many people..."

Praising him, Jiang Yan remarked, "Not bad at all. Your distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, is quite clear. You know which side to stand on—you have a future." Blushing with embarrassment from the praise, Guan Xian heard Jiang Yan click his tongue twice before adding, "Still, since he can establish contact with Pu Pingping, finding him will give us a way to track down that fellow surnamed Pu."

Confused, Guan Xian asked, "This is your Sanyun Sect's private secret realm; you ought to be very familiar with it. Why is finding someone such a struggle? Could it be your first time entering?" Naturally, he knew that was impossible; given Jiang Yan's standing among the Foundation Establishment disciples of the Sanyun Sect, if anyone were to be left out, it certainly wouldn't be him.

True to expectation, Jiang Yan answered, "Naturally not. However, this secret realm is vastly different from previous ones; the territory is much larger, and the terrain and climate are far more complex. Look at this—just a single rainstorm has lasted this long. As for that rare treasure, I've checked several likely locations and found nothing; it must not have sprouted yet. You need to be careful; at any moment, that treasure might suddenly appear, and there will likely be major upheaval within the realm."

Chatting as they walked, Guan Xian increasingly felt that despite being a disciple of a major sect, Jiang Yan was both forthright and righteous in character.

Guan Xian could barely keep his mouth shut. He desperately wanted to ask Jiang Yan if he knew of another mysterious expert in the secret realm besides Pu Pingping. Presumably, since all the entering rogue cultivators had been vetted by Jiang Yan, it was impossible for him to be completely unaware. Yet every time the words reached his lips, remembering how that person had risked danger to save him, he swallowed them back once more. Back and forth, it left his heart feeling as tormented as if being scratched by a cat.

The rain in the secret realm poured continuously for a full three or four hours. Seeing it finally stop, Guan Xian breathed a sigh of relief. Although cultivators were protected by true essence, being soaked all over while carrying heavy thoughts on one's mind was ultimately irritating.

Such heavy rain was probably only enjoyable for those with water spiritual roots.

Now, the sky was overcast and darkening toward evening, the humid and chilly air blowing against him making his mood lift considerably. Not far away beside them, a small stream was brimming with rainwater, rushing noisily toward the lower reaches. Guan Xian reminded Jiang Yan, "It's getting dark."

Jiang Yan stood completely motionless. Seeing him suddenly adopt this single-minded posture, Guan Xian realized he was probing the distance with his spiritual sense and did not dare to disturb him, instead expanding his own spiritual sense outward as well.

Before he could gain any insights, Jiang Yan suddenly cried out, "Come!" Before the echo of his voice had faded, his body moved faster than a shooting star, propelling himself forward with a few bounds down along the stream toward the lower reaches.

Oh? It seemed there was a discovery. Could the rare treasure have manifested? Disregarding the danger, Guan Xian summoned his flight artifact and followed closely behind.

After dashing about a mile, Jiang Yan came to a halt, stopping atop a pile of scattered boulders.

Descending along with him, Guan Xian discovered that the foothold Jiang Yan had chosen was situated quite high. Standing here and looking down with a panoramic view, he could take in the entirety of a lake not far away.

The mist over the lake was extremely dense, the water surface as flat and smooth as a mirror, save for a small island shaped like a steamed bun protruding right in the center. The vegetation on the island grew with extraordinary lushness, and amidst the ring of green, one could faintly make out a pine tree. It was an ancient tree of unknown age, its branches growing not upward, but sprawling across the island, twisting and undulating like an azure dragon lying high and steadfastly motionless upon the water.

Though far away, Guan Xian was nonetheless shaken by the scenery at the center of the lake. He murmured, "All this misty vapor is spiritual energy! Could the rare treasure be appearing right in the middle of the lake?"

Jiang Yan countered, "Hard to say. But I didn't bring you here to look at the center of the lake. Look over there!"

The opposite shore of the lake was too far away; given Guan Xian's cultivation level, trying to see clearly took considerable effort. He pulled back all the spiritual sense he had cast elsewhere and stared intently in the direction Jiang Yan was pointing, finally distinguishing three figures.

The three individuals clearly knew one another and were currently conversing. Two stood very close together, presumably trusted friends, while the third kept a greater distance.

Guan Xian reined in his spiritual sense. Being at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, if he ventured any closer, he would be detected by those with higher cultivation levels, so he dared not be as unreserved as Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan stated, "That's Gao Hongli of the Lesser Yingzhou, Qiu Feng of the Sanqing Gate, and Zhang Yu of the Danya Sect." He paused, then added, "They just met up. I reckon Pu Pingping should be arriving shortly."

"Should we go up and help?" Guan Xian assumed he had guessed Jiang Yan's intentions.

"Wait, let's see how things develop." Jiang Yan truly wanted to go up and have a confrontation with Pu Pingping, but the intentions of several sect elders were crystal clear—he couldn't misinterpret them even if he wanted to. Thus, his expression turned rather poor as he spoke. Pausing for a moment, he remembered that Guan Xian was a rogue cultivator and said, "If you don't want to get mixed up in this, you should leave right now."

Guan Xian rubbed his hands together. As the saying went, rivers and mountains are easy to change, but a person's nature is hard to alter; telling him to leave right now felt far more agonizing than being killed. Besides, Jiang Yan's words didn't sound like he was trying to chase him away. Lowering his voice apologetically, he groveled, "I'll just watch, I promise not to cause any trouble."

Already focusing his entire attention on the scene across the water, Jiang Yan paid him no further heed.

It was unclear what Zhang Yu had discussed with Gao and Qiu, but he parted ways with the two of them. Instead of leaving, he skirted a distance along the lake shore. This brought him considerably closer to Jiang Yan and Guan Xian. With nothing obstructing the lakeside, he and the other two could still clearly see one another; whatever he did, he couldn't escape their watchful eyes.

It appeared that all three of them were convinced the center of the lake was where the rare treasure would manifest, hence staking out the location in advance and waiting silently, intending to rely on their individual skills to contend for it when the time came. Yet both Jiang Yan and Guan Xian knew that Zhang Yu must have already sent a message out, waiting only for Pu Pingping to arrive. Knowing that his own cultivation at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was low, Zhang Yu kept his distance, preparing to make a clean escape when the moment arrived.

Jiang Yan curled his lip, thinking to himself, "That Zhang Yu only has this much capability. No wonder I looked down on him thirty years ago—my judgment really is piercingly accurate."

At that moment, a tiny black dot appeared in the distant sky. The dark shadow grew increasingly distinct, resolving into a figure flying toward them at extreme speed. Guan Xian gasped, "He's here!"

Guan Xian was right; the person flying swiftly toward them was indeed Pu Pingping.

Having learned that Gao and Qiu had appeared by the lakeside, Pu Pingping no longer bothered to conceal his surging murderous intent, flying straight toward them!