Chapter 41: A Gruesome Discovery and a Timely Rescue

Fan Yang stared at the headless corpse before him, his entire being utterly stunned.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t killed before; dozens, if not a hundred, hostile cultivators had fallen by his hand. Yet, a method of execution so brutal, where a person’s head was directly blown into a pulpy mess, was something he had almost never witnessed.

He had seen demonic cultivators kill, severing heads and hacking off limbs, which he considered quite gruesome. But compared to the scene before him, those acts paled in comparison.

“This, this…” Fan Yang was too flustered to speak, his voice catching in his throat.

However, he was no ordinary person, and soon regained his composure. Fan Yang’s first instinct was to glance in a particular direction. He had distinctly felt an attack streak from that direction, striking the Foundation Establishment initial-stage cultivator’s skull.

The assailant’s intention was clear: to prevent the man from self-detonating and to save him. But who was this person? And how had they struck from beyond the range of his divine sense? He simply couldn’t fathom it.

“Senior Brother Fan, Sister Lin, are you alright?” Just as they stood in a daze, Su Yun, having adjusted her state, put away her weapon and hurried towards Fan Yang and the others.

Upon hearing her voice, Lin Xue paused, her expression one of extreme discomfort. She turned her head, only to see Su Yun rushing towards them on her flying sword.

“Junior Sister Su? This, did she make the move to kill this person just now?” Lin Xue’s first thought was that Su Yun had acted, as Su Yun was the only one nearby. Of course, it was also possible that a senior from their sect was secretly protecting them.

Still, she harbored some doubt. Why were Su Yun and Fan Yang here? And what method had Su Yun used to kill this fellow?

“Junior Sister, did you do this?” Fan Yang asked, glancing at the headless corpse beside him, his face filled with bewilderment.

Su Yun stole a quick glance at the headless corpse, feeling another wave of nausea, but she nodded to Fan Yang nonetheless.

“I used a treasure. Master gave it to me for self-preservation. I saw him lunging at you with a self-detonation talisman, so I immediately used this treasure to kill him. I just didn’t expect its power to be so immense that his entire head would explode.” Su Yun invoked Lei Yan’s name as an excuse.

Upon hearing this explanation, Fan Yang dismissed any further suspicions.

Su Yun then looked at Lin Xue, and seeing that Lin Xue was unharmed, she finally breathed a complete sigh of relief.

As for whether Lin Xue had noticed the bullet she used to kill the man, it didn’t matter. Su Yun couldn’t concern herself with such details; at worst, she would simply reveal her identity.

“I see. Then that treasure of yours truly came at the perfect time. Though, it’s a bit too violent,” Fan Yang said with a chuckle, nodding his head.

Su Yun glanced at the human tissue clinging to Fan Yang’s body, and another dry heave escaped her.

“Ugh, Senior Brother, you… you should clean yourself up quickly. I’m going to throw up. How can you stand it?” Su Yun urged.

It was then that Fan Yang remembered he was covered in blood. He hastily used his spiritual energy to shake off the gruesome stains from his body.

Lin Xue and another Heavenly Sword Peak disciple slowly approached.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Fan, for your timely assistance. Otherwise, I fear I would have met my end here today,” Lin Xue bowed respectfully to Fan Yang.

Fan Yang, being a blunt fellow, instinctively began to explain upon seeing Lin Xue’s bow.

“Don’t, Junior Sister Lin. If you’re going to thank anyone, thank my junior sister. It was her…”

Just as Fan Yang was about to give Su Yun away, Su Yun suddenly stepped on his foot, making him wince in pain and swallow the words he was about to say.

Fan Yang then looked at Su Yun with an innocent expression.

Su Yun gave him a meaningful look, subtly telling him not to say such things. Fan Yang understood instantly.

“Oh, we just happened to be in the Yunfeng Ridge area and heard that a fellow disciple had gone missing, so we rushed over to see if we could help. And wouldn’t you know, we just happened to stumble upon you being besieged by a group of ruffians,” Fan Yang chuckled loudly.

Upon hearing Fan Yang’s explanation, which was riddled with holes, Su Yun couldn’t help but cover her face.

Lin Xue and the other disciple were not so naive; it was obvious to them that Su Yun and Fan Yang were conspiring loudly. This was clearly a lie.

But if others were unwilling to speak the truth, there was no need for them to press the matter. If they chose not to say, there must be a reason for their reticence.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. What a coincidence, wouldn’t you say, Junior Sister Su?” Lin Xue looked at Su Yun with a knowing smirk.

Lin Xue guessed that Su Yun and Fan Yang had likely followed them. As for why they were following, Lin Xue couldn’t quite figure it out yet.

“Hehe, well, yes, it’s quite a coincidence,” Su Yun replied awkwardly with a forced smile.

****

A short while later, Zhou Xueqi also returned. However, she had failed to catch the Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator. There was nothing she could do; the opponent was a wind-attribute cultivator, and speed was their forte.

“I’m back. Eh, what, what’s going on here?” Upon her return, Zhou Xueqi’s gaze was instinctively drawn to the headless corpse.

Once she clearly saw the gruesome state of the body, her stomach churned violently.

“Junior Sister Zhou, this fellow used a self-detonation talisman to try and kill me. My junior sister, to save me, used a powerful magical treasure to kill him,” Fan Yang explained.

Zhou Xueqi paused at his words, then turned her gaze to Su Yun.

“This? When did Elder Lei Yan take on a direct disciple? How did I not know?” Zhou Xueqi asked, clearly surprised.

Su Yun promptly stepped forward and bowed, introducing herself.

“Senior Sister Zhou, my name is Su Yun. I joined Spirit Sword Mountain last month and was taken in as a disciple by Elder Lei Yan. Please guide me in the future.”

Zhou Xueqi was somewhat confused, as she remembered that Artifact Forging Peak only accepted artifact forgers. But where would they find a female cultivator who was an artifact forger?

“Mm, please take care,” Zhou Xueqi offered Su Yun a faint smile, then turned her attention back to Fan Yang.

“Senior Brother Fan, on behalf of Heavenly Sword Peak, I thank you for your timely rescue. If not for you, Junior Sister Lin might not have made it back to the sect alive today,” Zhou Xueqi said with a serious expression.

Although Lin Xue possessed a protective magical treasure, in that situation, if no one had stopped the Foundation Establishment initial-stage cultivator, Lin Xue would have been doomed, at best only delaying her demise.

“Thank me for what? We are fellow disciples, after all. But Junior Sister Zhou, haven’t you noticed that this sect rescue might actually be a conspiracy?” Fan Yang voiced his thoughts, though he refrained from immediately naming Deng Wenqing.

Currently, there was no solid evidence to prove that Deng Wenqing was involved in this trap targeting Lin Xue. Fan Yang might be outspoken, but he wasn’t brainless; some things could be said, while others absolutely could not, given Deng Wenqing’s unusual status.

“Mm, I’ve already realized this is a trap targeting Junior Sister Lin. Let me first inquire about the situation of the other teams,” Zhou Xueqi certainly understood.

She then began contacting the leaders of the other teams. It was only then that she learned they had already rescued the six fellow disciples from the enemies. The ruffians, realizing the situation had turned unfavorable, simply abandoned their captives and fled. As their primary objective was rescue, they had not pursued to the very end.

Not pursuing was a wise choice; who knew if the enemies had set up an ambush?

“Alright, our mission here is complete. The other teams have also rescued the missing disciples,” Zhou Xueqi informed Fan Yang and the others of the news she had received.

Meanwhile, Deng Wenqing was in a state of extreme panic. He dared not stop for a moment, fleeing directly out of Yunfeng Ridge and back towards Spirit Sword Mountain alone. He had been terrified by Su Yun’s four shots.

He now felt as if a pair of eyes was constantly watching him from behind. If he stopped even for an instant, he would be attacked. Instinct drove him to run towards a safe place. For him, the safest place was naturally Blazing Flame Peak of Spirit Sword Mountain.

He no longer cared about any mission; his own life was paramount.

“Damn it, who? Who wants to kill me? Has someone seen through my plan and interfered? Damn it, what should I do?” Deng Wenqing’s peripheral vision constantly darted behind him. Although there was nothing there, he simply couldn’t bring himself to stop. Su Yun’s attack had given Deng Wenqing an inner demon.

On the other side, the Spirit Sword Mountain rescue teams had converged at Zhou Xueqi’s location. They were also somewhat confused upon seeing Fan Yang and Su Yun.

But when they learned that the ruffians’ true objective was to kill Lin Xue, they were struck with a wave of lingering fear. If Lin Xue had been killed by the enemy during their operation, they would undoubtedly face severe consequences upon their return to the sect.

“Who wants to kill Junior Sister Lin, using our Spirit Sword Mountain disciples as bait? But how did these people know Junior Sister Lin would come out? Could it be someone from within our Spirit Sword Mountain?” the Thunderbolt Peak team leader asked with a grim expression.

He had, in fact, articulated what everyone else was thinking. They had just finished describing their respective teams’ encounters. The enemy had clearly been deliberately stalling them, seemingly intending to lure the tiger away from its mountain lair and scatter their forces.

Especially the attack on Zhou Xueqi’s team after luring them away – the arrangement was far too obvious.

“Eh? Where’s Junior Brother Deng? Where is he? Has anyone seen Deng Wenqing from my Blazing Flame Peak?” The Blazing Flame Peak team leader suddenly realized Deng Wenqing was missing.