Chapter 148: Life and Death Are Ordinary Matters

Both of the Yu brothers were at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Having fought their way up through open robbery and dark treachery, their cultivation was exceptionally solid. As the pressure on Guan Xian eased slightly, he immediately began to worry about the person who had just saved his life.

Stumbling and crawling as he fled a short distance, he heard no further spells whistling through the air and hastily turned back to look.

He saw him! Guan Xian took a deep breath.

Unawares, the rain had grown into a torrential downpour. Beside a large tree more than ten zhang away stood a figure in black robes, dressed most strangely. Wrapped entirely from head to toe in black, only a pair of eyes was exposed, appearing especially bright through the driving rain.

"Who is this person, hiding their head and tail, acting so mysterious?" This thought flashed through Guan Xian's mind, but he had no time to dwell on it, as the battle over there was far from over.

The figure in black had succeeded in a sneak attack. Yu Sheng, caught completely off guard, was struck directly in the chest, the true essence piercing straight through and leaving a severe wound. Fortunately, he possessed a Wood spiritual root, and his innate recovery was formidable. Although knocked to the ground, he was not left half-dead. Struggling, he raised his hand, preparing to unleash the spell originally intended for Guan Xian toward the figure in black.

This took only the blink of an eye. Seeing his younger brother injured, Yu Hao instantly abandoned Guan Xian. A metal-element spell materialized in mid-air into a chilling, massive saber that slashed toward the figure in black—a strike aimed at the enemy's must-save weakness to buy Yu Sheng a breathing space.

Seeing that the figure in black made no move to dodge, Guan Xian leaped up in alarm and cried out in horror, "Watch out!"

As if ignoring the warning, the figure in black pulled their right arm sharply backward, and the falling rain before them suddenly splashed horizontally outward.

The casting motion was so swift that, through the thick curtain of rain, Guan Xian failed to see it clearly, only feeling that the opponent had made a gesture like embracing the moon to one's bosom. Amidst the splashing droplets, a few cold stars suddenly appeared, instantly piercing through the rain and mist to arrive right in front of Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng let out a strange cry, turning his body sideways in an attempt to roll and dodge. But he realized it was already too late. His defensive magical artifact was a cyan shield, which had just been summoned and barely expanded to the size of a human face to protect his head and face when the cold stars arrived. With a rapid succession of muffled impacts, they struck nearly everywhere on his body, instantly turning him into a sieve.

Yu Sheng's eyes bulged, unable even to scream. Bathed in blood as he lay there, he harbored a stifled breath of hatred, waiting to see the figure in black struck down by his elder brother.

Having snatched that fleeting moment to deal with Yu Sheng, the figure in black was now too late to evade the blade descending toward the crown of their head. Guan Xian's heart pounded violently, cursing his own slow reaction for not rushing up to help. The sharp wind of the blow had already caused the figure's hood to nearly flip backward. Only then did the figure in black unhurriedly raise a hand.

It was merely a lift of the hand, done with utter nonchalance. Had one not seen the blade, one would have thought the person was simply annoyed by the wind and reaching up to adjust their hat.

Bizarrely, the blade, which was at least a zhang long, melted even faster than snow meeting scorching flames. First the tip, and then the entire blade vanished into thin air. It was as if the figure in black were a monster transformed from a magnet; the moment the metal-element true essence touched them, it was instantly absorbed without causing the slightest bit of harm.

This spectacle was truly beyond bizarre. Not only did Guan Xian drop his jaw in utter stupefaction, but Yu Hao, who had already prepared his next spell, wore an expression as if he had just seen a ghost, his hand frozen in a spell gesture, completely at a loss for what to do.

No matter how formidable one's strength in this secret realm, it could at most reach the peak of Foundation Establishment. How could such a freakish expert appear, rendering the combined efforts of two brothers useless against even a single move or stance?

Yet, bewildered as they were, surrender and submission to the slaughter were out of the question. With a furious roar, Yu Hao hurled his spell outward and lunged forward like a madman. Even the heavily wounded Yu Sheng rolled over and over on the ground. In the pouring rain, the two brothers desperately fighting for their lives truly resembled a pair of vicious wolves, determined to tear a few chunks of flesh from their enemy.

Since this mysterious expert had appeared and saved his own life, stepping in to help now was hardly meddling. Fearing the mysterious expert might misunderstand, Guan Xian hurriedly waved his hand to cast a spell, shouting aloud, "Fellow surnamed Yu, taste my 'Spring-Striking Rope'!"

However, his cyan rope came a step too late. Before Yu Hao's second spell could land, the figure in black abruptly raised a hand, and a beam of golden light pierced the rainstorm, striking Yu Hao squarely in the chest. The power of this blow far exceeded the cold stars that had previously struck Yu Sheng, instantly bursting open a massive mist of blood. Without even a groan, Yu Hao's corpse plummeted heavily into the mud.

The figure in black was exceedingly efficient. Having struck Yu Hao down and seemingly anticipating the outcome, they did not spare him even an extra glance. With a flick of the hand, they absorbed Yu Hao's second metal-element spell, then cast another beam of golden light to finish off Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng had been forcing himself to endure on sheer willpower. With the golden light descending and lacking the strength to dodge, he took it square on. Staring with resentful eyes and a venomous expression, his breath was already cut off.

Guan Xian let out a massive sigh of relief. Though this series of changes took a long time to recount, from the moment he was chased with no way out to the clean and bizarre elimination of the Yu brothers by the figure in black, it had taken only a few short breaths. He still felt somewhat dazed.

What was the background of this mysterious person who had saved him? Guan Xian could not fathom their cultivation level, and as for their spiritual root... the initial spell damage was slightly weaker, resembling the water element, but the subsequent two strikes that directly destroyed the bodies of the Yu brothers looked very much like the metal element.

Seeing that the figure in black did not immediately leave after slaying the Yu brothers, but instead turned those visible eyes to look calmly in his direction, Guan Xian felt his heart leap violently. He quickly bowed and saluted: "Guan Xian of Zhongzhou thanks Your Excellency for the rescue."

Such a simple phrase could never fully express the heartfelt gratitude and emotional turmoil Guan Xian felt upon being saved. After a moment of thought, he hurriedly added: "Had it not been for Your Excellency, I surely would have fallen victim to these twin wolves of the Yu family. Such great kindness and virtue—how might Guan Xian ever repay it?"

This figure in black was none other than Hong Jian, who was passing through this way while searching for Pu Pingping. Having casually saved Guan Xian, she had no desire to let him know her identity as a female cultivator, and thus transmitted her voice via divine sense: "No repayment is needed. The cultivators of the Symbol Picture Sect are clearing obstacles to seize a rare treasure and are slaughtering people on a massive scale. Along the way, I have discovered quite a few murdered rogue cultivators. Be careful, and try to find a few companions."

Had he heard this a moment ago, Guan Xian might have taken it lightly. Although the late stage of Foundation Establishment and the peak were separated by a grade, this gap was not as insurmountable as that between the peak of Foundation Establishment and Core Formation. In combat, whichever practitioner's technique was superior or luckier could prove decisive. However, having just witnessed the terrifying strength of the figure in black firsthand, he instantly realized that if the Symbol Picture Sect cultivators were equally formidable, he would truly have no room for resistance if they came to kill him.

While Guan Xian harbored secret dread, Hong Jian did not waste any more words with him. Turning, she plunged into the pouring rain to continue her search for Pu Pingping.

Hong Jian was not exaggerating. Before encountering Guan Xian, she had already discovered five corpses of rogue cultivators in this secret realm, all killed by metal-element spells—a single fatal strike, executed with precision and ruthlessness. Given that the storage bags on these rogue cultivators were still intact, the murderer was clearly not killing for wealth like the Yu brothers. Aside from the unhinged Pu Pingping, Hong Jian could think of no one else.

And these were just the ones she happened to run into. Before finding the rare treasure, Pu Pingping would undoubtedly continue this endless killing spree. Hong Jian had no good solution for this and could only warn this Wood-root cultivator to take care of himself, while she herself accelerated her search.

This widespread rainstorm posed an obstacle to Pu Pingping, but to Hong Jian, who possessed a water spiritual root, it had no effect whatsoever.

Watching until the figure in black completely vanished from sight, Guan Xian drew a deep breath, ran over, and thoroughly looted all the magical artifacts, storage bags, and other treasures on the bodies of the Yu brothers.

One must seize opportunities when they arise; profiting from the dead was a standard convention among rogue cultivators.

The wealth accumulated by the Yu twin wolves over the years was certainly not to be underestimated, yet Guan Xian had no mood to inspect the storage bag in his hand. Pondering his current predicament and remaining in a daze for a while, he made up his mind and turned back.

He had just walked this stretch of road, so he shouldn't be so unlucky as to run into the fiend from the Symbol Picture Sect.

The mysterious person who had just saved him had told him to find a few companions, but at a time like this, how could one tell who could be trusted? Rather than running into people like the Yu twin wolves again, it would be better to turn back and look for that aloof Danya Sect cultivator. If his eyes hadn't deceived him, that young man was only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, and furthermore, he had just been given a warning favor by Guan Xian himself.

After walking back a short distance, Guan Xian indeed spotted the Danya Sect cultivator. At that moment, the latter had just finished dealing with that fierce beast and was standing under a large tree to shelter from the rain.

A subtle strangeness stirred in Guan Xian's heart. It seemed that disciples of major prestigious sects truly knew how to keep their composure; after nearly losing his life to the Yu twin wolves, he acted in the blink of an eye as if nothing had happened. Wasn't he afraid those two would finish with him and circle back to cause trouble?

The Danya Sect cultivator had spotted Guan Xian long ago. With a strange look on his face, he let out an "Oh?" and greeted him: "Why is it you?"

Guan Xian's face darkened. Realizing his question sounded inappropriate, the cultivator added: "You were the one who shouted out a warning from the bushes earlier, weren't you? Where did those two scoundrels go? Did you shake them off?"

Guan Xian was somewhat speechless, thinking to himself: "This fellow truly doesn't care about other people's lives. That's the stinking arrogance of the major sects—as if rogue cultivators aren't even human?"

Yet, staying with this brat was still better than running into a madman who slaughtered indiscriminately. Enduring his irritation, Guan Xian decided not to tell him the Yu brothers were dead; only by applying pressure could this brat proactively request to travel together. "I temporarily shook them off," he said. "They might track me down at any moment."

True to form, the Danya Sect cultivator remarked, "Thanks to you earlier. Since they're likely to come back, you might as well follow me."

Guan Xian thought silently to himself: "People from these major sects are so obsessed with saving face. They won't say 'let's travel together'; instead, it's always 'you can follow me'." Despite these thoughts, he let no sign of it show on his face.

Since they were now companions, the cultivator introduced himself: "My name is Zhang Yu. What is your name?"

Standing together under the tree, Guan Xian gave his name, then asked with some puzzlement: "What are we doing staying here? Aren't we leaving?"

Without any rush, Zhang Yu replied, "Wait a moment."

"Wait for whom?"

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, he heard Zhang Yu say, "They're here." Following his gaze to look back, Guan Xian's face instantly turned pale.