Chapter 67: Mutual Destruction
Not long after the man in gray left, dust once again billowed up from the yellow dirt road.
CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP-CLOP!
A hook-nosed man with a Treasure Sword on his back appeared, his face murderous and his gaze sinister. He viciously cracked his whip, causing his sturdy horse to whinny and break into a frantic gallop. In the blink of an eye, he overtook the Weiyuan Escort Agency’s convoy and sped off in pursuit.
"Isn’t that bastard Zhao Tianxuan, the Gale Swift Sword? Ptooey!" the bearded Li Yunlong muttered, spitting a thick gob of phlegm at Zhao Tianxuan’s retreating back. Clearly, Li Yunlong was also holding in some resentment.
"Strange, why would those two show up here at the same time?" A glint appeared in Ye Xing’s eyes. "It looks like Zhao Tianxuan is hunting the man in gray!"
"That’s not very likely!" Li Yunlong shook his head. "That man in gray’s Power is considerable. Even if he’s not in the Ninth Realm, he should be an Eighth Realm Martial Artist. Besides, the Five Poison Sect has all sorts of tricks up their sleeves—poisonous insects and toxins galore. They’re not easy to deal with. Is that bastard Zhao Tianxuan so bored he’d go pick a fight with someone from the Five Poison Sect?"
"I’m not so sure about that. But two days ago, when Zhao Tianxuan stole our seats, I have a strong feeling it was because the man in gray was at the table next to us. Zhao Tianxuan was watching him," Ye Xing said in a low voice. "And just now, the man in gray fled in such a hurry. It didn’t look like he was just traveling; it looked like he was running for his life!"
"Er, you have a point. But... ugh... who cares. Neither of them are good people. They’re both bastards!" Li Yunlong cursed.
The wheels rumbled and the hooves clopped, kicking up clouds of dust.
The convoy traveled for another five or six shichen, and the sky gradually began to darken.
"Halt!" Li Yunlong ordered in a deep voice. "There’s a small patch of woods ahead. It’s getting late, so everyone pitch your tents. We’ll be staying in those woods for the night."
Li Yunlong was a veteran of the martial world and the Leader of the Escort for this trip. At his command, the convoy slowly moved into the small woods. The twenty-some Escort Masters helped the clients set up their tents. Everyone ate some dry rations and chatted for a while before lying down to rest. After a full day on the road, many were exhausted. Since they had to get an early start the next morning, everyone naturally turned in early.
Night fell. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the woods. The bright moonlight shone down, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
Ye Xing lay on the branch of a large tree, cradling his sword as he rested. Besides Ye Xing, Li Yunlong and several other Martial Artist-level Escort Masters also weren’t sleeping in tents, choosing to rest in the trees as well.
After all, once a person becomes a Martial Artist, their physical constitution far surpasses that of an ordinary person, and their consciousness can be split, allowing them to multitask. While sleeping, they could still maintain a sliver of vigilance. If there was any unusual movement nearby, they would quickly notice it from their perch in the trees.
Of course, in addition to this, six Escort Masters were also taking turns to stand watch through the night.
Ye Xing lay on the branch with his eyes closed, his mind racing. He wasn’t the least bit sleepy. ’Now that I have a Qiankun Cloth Bag, I need to expand my business when I get back. I’ll try to buy an Innate Realm Demon Beast as soon as possible, but they’re too expensive—at least a hundred thousand Gold Coins. At my current earning rate, it would probably take several months. That’s too long. It’s more realistic to buy a Level 8-9 Demon Beast first. Huh? Oh, right, that Gale Leopard at the Beast Taming Pavilion in Phoenix Town is pretty good. It’s only sixteen thousand Gold Coins; a month’s profit from my shop is just about enough to buy it. Sigh, I’m not tired at all. Forget it, I’ll stop thinking about it. I’ll go practice my Sword Skill for a couple of hours and then come back to rest.’
With that thought, Ye Xing moved. The leaves on the tree rustled as he flipped off the branch and jumped down.
"Brother Ye, where are you off to?" Li Yunlong asked, turning his head from his spot in the tree.
"Haha, I can’t sleep. I’m going to practice my sword for a bit in the woods and then come back to rest!" Ye Xing smiled, and grasping his longsword, he headed deeper into the forest ahead.
When practicing a Sword Skill, a forceful swing of a Sharp Sword cutting through the air would usually produce a Sword Roar. To avoid disturbing the others in the convoy, Ye Xing decided to pick a spot a little farther away for his Cultivation.
Anyway, this was just the outer region of the Lianyun Mountain Range, so there were basically no powerful Demon Beasts around. Ye Xing could easily handle Level 1 or Level 2 Demon Beasts.
The night sky was cloudless, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse. A smattering of them dotted the firmament, and the bright moonlight shone down.
Bathed in the light of the moon and stars, Ye Xing carried his longsword and walked deeper into the woods.
The untamed wilderness was overgrown with shrubs and thorns. Fortunately, Ye Xing’s Flying Spin Step was already near the stage of Great Success. Circulating his True Qi, he ran as if on level ground.
He was very fast. In just a short while, he had traveled about a mile. Ye Xing arrived in a dense part of the forest.
’This spot is nice. I’ll practice my Cultivation here!’ With a glint in his eye, Ye Xing drew his Fine Steel Sword, just as he was about to practice the Lingfeng Sword Skill.
Suddenly—
"AHH!"
A blood-curdling scream tore through the night sky, coming from the adjacent woods.
’What’s going on? What happened?’ Ye Xing was startled and immediately became alert. He gazed toward the woods to his front right.
The scream hadn’t come from far away; the sound was still very clear.
’In this untamed wilderness, could someone have been attacked by a Demon Beast?’ With a glint in his eye, Ye Xing immediately raised his sword and cautiously moved forward.
The trees and leaves in the woods were dense, providing good cover. Ye Xing moved with light steps, making almost no sound as he crept toward the forest ahead.
Following the source of the scream for about one or two hundred paces, Ye Xing finally saw the scene before him.
Under the moonlight, two men were facing off in the woods ahead. One was a man in gray who fought with sharp claws, and the other was a hook-nosed man in his thirties with a murderous look, wielding a Cyan Blade Sword.
It was none other than the man in gray who had galloped past during the day and Zhao Tianxuan, the Gale Swift Sword.
At this moment, the man in gray’s face was deathly pale. His right arm had been severed by a sharp blade, and crimson blood spurted continuously from the stump, flowing freely.
"Miao Wuxie, I suggest you hand over the Purple Lightning Golden Eagle obediently!" the swordsman said, his voice stern and menacing.
"Zhao Tianxuan, we’ve always kept to ourselves. Don’t push me too far." The man in gray clutched his bleeding right arm with his left hand and said, "I told you, I don’t have the Purple Lightning Golden Eagle. You keep pestering me—do you really think the Five Poison Sect is a pushover?!"
"Hmph. Whether you have the Purple Lightning Golden Eagle or not, I’ll know once I inspect your Qiankun Bag." The hook-nosed man said coldly, "If you don’t hand it over, don’t blame me for what happens next!"
"What happens next? Heh, Zhao Tianxuan, stop pretending. The spot between your eyebrows is dark and the corners of your lips are purple. My Intestine-Breaking Poison must have already entered your vital organs." The man in gray, despite his pale face, sneered, "A mutually destructive outcome benefits neither of us. Why don’t we just stop here!"