Chapter 149: Kings Never Meet

Guan Xian never expected that the person Zhang Yu was waiting for would be none other than that murderous fiend from the Talisman Diagram Sect.

Given the multitude of people gathered outside the secret realm earlier, Guan Xian might not have remembered everyone clearly, but he had an indelible impression of this bald, chubby man who constantly followed behind the cold beauty.

This was precisely a case of dreading something and having it happen right before one's eyes. Guan Xian's mind went completely blank, filled only with the mysterious man in black's earlier remark about how quite a few rogue cultivators had already met their end.

No wonder Zhang Yu hadn't taken the Yu brothers seriously. Realizing that he had once again done something foolish, Guan Xian felt like crying without tears. The Talisman Diagram Sect cultivator approached with terrifying speed, within reach in the blink of an eye. Running away now was undoubtedly too late. Guan Xian cast a look of incomparable pitifulness and terror at Zhang Yu.

Pu Pingping had indeed been "summoned" by Zhang Yu. Initially, he hadn't paid any attention to this minor Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Danxia Sect. However, plans often failed to keep up with sudden changes; Qi Xiuning had unexpectedly achieved Golden Core and could not enter the secret realm, rendering the communication artifact the two of had prepared useless. Figuring that having an extra pair of eyes could only be beneficial, Qi Xiuning had handed the artifact over to Zhang Yu instead.

In half a day's time, Pu Pingping had already slaughtered over a dozen people. Although his cultivation base was suppressed, his techniques were still those of the Golden Core stage. Scarcely any of these rogue cultivators could withstand even a single move from him. Had those people not been scattered across the vast secret realm and difficult to track down, the rogue cultivators who entered probably wouldn't have been enough for him to kill, even if they queued up for it.

The rain washed away the reek of blood staining Pu Pingping. Despite killing so many individuals, his mood was hardly pleasant. In his eyes, these Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators were nothing more than ants. Yet, the exotic treasure he was searching for still yielded not the slightest clue, nor had he managed to track down Gao Hongli of Lesser瀛洲 and Chou Feng of the Three Clears Sect, the two people he most wanted to eliminate while the opportunity arose.

If he hadn't happened to be in the immediate vicinity when Zhang Yu contacted him, he might not have bothered to come and take a look.

Pu Pingping asked coldly, "What is it?"

As he spoke, he glanced briefly at Guan Xian. This piece of trash from the Danxia Sect had actually teamed up with a thoroughly unremarkable rogue cultivator. Now, whenever Pu Pingping laid eyes on these rogue cultivators whom the Immortals Cloud Sect had let in to cause him trouble, a murderous intent would inevitably surge within his heart.

Knowing that Pu Pingping had been killing everyone in sight ever since entering the secret realm, and remembering that Guan Xian had helped him—not to mention that he was the one who had asked Guan Xian to stay—Zhang Yu hastily spoke up to prevent Guan Xian from being obliterated by Pu Pingping in a single blow: "Senior Brother Pu, aren't you currently disciplining those unruly and lawless rogue cultivators? I have two here. Fortunately, this Guan Xian gave me a timely warning just moments ago, and those two are right nearby..."

Pu Pingping frowned, ignoring Zhang Yu's explanation and interrupting him directly: "Why are you still wasting time entangling with these people? Have you seen anyone from the other sects?"

Zhang Yu understood what Pu Pingping meant. He was only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage; he could neither help nor wish to get involved in Pu Pingping's pursuit of Gao and Chou. However, simply passing along information brought no psychological pressure, so he immediately replied, "The people from Lesser瀛洲 and the Three Clears Sect likely haven't fallen near here, but less than a quarter of an hour ago, I ran into Jiang Yan of the Immortals Cloud Sect."

At this, not only Pu Pingping, but even Guan Xian—who was trying his utmost not to draw any attention—quietly pricked up his ears. Pu Pingping pursued the matter: "Where is he? What is he doing?"

Zhang Yu stretched out a finger and pointed: "There is a small mountain if you walk straight ahead in that direction. When I encountered him, he was slaying a spirit beast halfway up the slope. I exchanged greetings with him, and it looked like he intended to head all the way to the summit."

Pu Pingping sneered, "Climbing high to gaze into the distance, eh? What an ignorant, brazen kid. It seems even if I wanted to spare him, he insists on seeking me out."

Hesitating for a moment, Zhang Yu offered a reminder: "When I came to the Immortals Cloud Sect, I brought a letter on behalf of your sect's Mr. Shi. It was addressed to Jiang Yan. It seemed Mr. Shi still holds some fondness for their past friendship."

Pu Pingping let out a huff, "I know, so he'd better not provoke me first!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu had no useful intelligence to offer, Pu Pingping grew impatient at the thought of wasting time here. He swept his divine sense through the surroundings and commanded, "There's no one else nearby. Pull yourselves together and don't dawdle. Contact me the moment you get any news about those individuals or the exotic treasure."

Before leaving, Pu Pingping glanced toward Guan Xian, toying with the notion of casually executing this rogue cultivator along the way, only to hear Zhang Yu reply, "Then the two of us will head off in the opposite direction from you, Senior Brother, and search there."

Zhang Yu was only at mid-Foundation Establishment; he truly might not be a match for those rogue cultivators, and having him die in the secret realm wouldn't look good either. Consider this fellow surnamed Guan lucky. Pu Pingping let out a foul breath, turned his gaze away from Guan Xian, summoned his magical artifact, and swept off into the distance.

Seeing the fiend depart, Guan Xian finally relaxed his tense heartstrings and thanked Zhang Yu with lingering fear, "Many thanks to Brother Zhang for your protection. This Great Circle of Foundation Establishment expert possesses truly formidable strength." Despite the gap of only a single realm tier, for some reason, the mere gaze of Pu Pingping had filled him with immense pressure.

Zhang Yu was well aware that had it not been for him, Pu Pingping would never have spared a rogue cultivator he laid eyes on, and Guan Xian would already be a corpse by now. Therefore, he didn't dwell on Guan Xian's expressions of gratitude, simply saying, "Senior Brother Pu is at the mid-Golden Core stage, and he suppressed his cultivation specifically to enter the secret realm for the exotic treasure. Let's set off quickly and search for clues regarding that treasure."

Without a word, Guan Xian followed Zhang Yu in the direction opposite to the one Pu Pingping had taken, while thinking to himself: "I don't know how vast this secret realm is, but no matter how large it is, searching this way will eventually lead the fellow surnamed Pu to cross paths with that mysterious expert. When two tigers fight, I wonder who will survive. It would be best if they run into each other soon so that fewer people have to die."

After walking for a while, the faint roaring of a tiger drifted from ahead.

Guan Xian paused in his tracks and thought to himself, "A spirit beast!"

The chaotic ordeal since entering the secret realm had long caused him to forget that the original purpose of this trip was to slay spirit beasts and hunt for treasures. Upon realizing there was a spirit beast nearby, his very first thought was, "We've run into someone." The environment of this secret realm was normally exceptionally quiet, especially with such heavy rain falling; unless someone had gone and provoked it, a spirit beast would not emit such an uneasy roar.

Heightening his vigilance, Guan Xian followed the sound alongside Zhang Yu.

Upon drawing near and extending his divine sense to scout ahead before using his eyes, the scene that met his gaze left him simultaneously relieved and somewhat saddened.

Not far ahead stood an ancient tree, its trunk thick enough for two or three people to embrace. A nest was built within its canopy, but the spirit beast that ought to have been resting inside was instead standing upon the grassy clearing not far from the tree, lifting its head and roaring.

This spirit beast was covered entirely in mottled spots, resembling both a tiger and a leopard, with a pair of wings sprouting from its ribs. All four of its paws were planted on the ground, and its tail lashed about uneasily. Right before it, blood was being washed away by the rainwater, flowing in dull, red rivulets everywhere.

A heavy, pungent stench!

A male cultivator lay flat on his back in the grass, appearing as though he had been cleaved by some razor-sharp weapon. His body had been sliced diagonally from the shoulder downwards into two halves, his life force long since completely severed.

This cultivator with the unfamiliar face was also a rogue cultivator, evidently slain while he was in a standoff with the spirit beast. He was still clutching a magical artifact in his hand, though even that artifact had been clipped into a major fraction and thoroughly ruined.

Guan Xian made a guess merely by observing the state of the corpse, and sure enough, he heard Zhang Yu draw in a sharp breath: "Senior Brother Pu strikes with such ruthlessness."

Guan Xian shuddered inwardly, his mind once again wandering into chaotic speculations.

Before meeting Pu Pingping, he had considered the mysterious expert who had saved him to be unfathomably profound, certain that anyone from the Talisman Diagram Sect would be no match for him. But after meeting Pu Pingping face-to-face, feeling the immense pressure, and hearing Zhang Yu mention that the fellow surnamed Pu was a mid-Golden Core expert who had suppressed his cultivation, he began to imagine that when the man surnamed Pu crossed paths with the man in black, it would inevitably be a ferocious battle of dragons and tigers, the victor impossible to predict. Yet now, seeing the blood-soaked corpse of this rogue cultivator, he couldn't help starting to worry for the man in black.

If only he could issue a warning to that man.

Whenever Guan Xian's tendency to meddle flared up, his whole body would grow uncomfortable. Completely oblivious, Zhang Yu remarked, "What kind of spirit beast is this? I've never seen one before. Let's kill it and see."

Enduring his impatience, Guan Xian accompanied him in slaying the spirit beast, divided the valuable parts harvested from its carcass, and asked, "Brother Zhang, where do you plan to go next?"

Zhang Yu replied as a matter of course, "Aren't we supposed to be looking for the exotic treasure?"

Guan Xian began scheming secretly. Searching for this exotic treasure probably still meant helping the fellow surnamed Pu hunt for people. Once it was found, another encounter with the fellow surnamed Pu would be inevitable. Would he be lucky enough next time for the fellow surnamed Pu to be in a good mood and spare him again? Besides, why on earth should he stay in the company of this Zhang Yu? He needed to figure out a way to shake him off.

Responding to Zhang Yu in a distracted manner, Guan Xian couldn't help letting his gaze drift back toward the corpse of the rogue cultivator, suddenly conceiving a repulsive idea.

Resisting his nausea, he walked over to the corpse, bent down, and began rummaging through the mutilated remains, saying to Zhang Yu, "Why bother going through all that trouble? We might as well scavenge the good things off these dead people; that way, this trip into the secret realm won't have been in vain."

Guan Xian's enthusiastic corpse-robbing felt deeply unnatural to Zhang Yu. He truly never expected that this honest and submissive companion of his would harbor such a peculiar hobby. Still, reflecting that rogue cultivators had it hard and anyone else might do the same under these circumstances, he suppressed his words and stayed silent.

Having resolved to administer a strong remedy to shake off Zhang Yu, Guan Xian deliberately made the process of looting the corpse appear utterly revolting. Once finished, he cheerfully declared, "The harvest is truly substantial! Let's search around some more and see where else there might be dead bodies."

Naturally, there were still plenty of dead bodies scattered throughout the secret realm at this moment. However, Zhang Yu had no intention of engaging in such an activity. People had different aspirations; since he couldn't change Guan Xian, Zhang Yu finally decided to stop putting up with him, and the two parted ways right then and there.

Guan Xian let out a long breath. He knew that Zhang Yu and the fellow surnamed Pu had a way to communicate at any time. Since Zhang Yu hadn't mentioned anything further, it naturally meant that things remained smooth on the fellow surnamed Pu's end—which meant that up until now, the fellow surnamed Pu and the mysterious expert who had saved him still hadn't crossed paths.

What could he do himself? By now, the rain was gradually easing, turning into a fine drizzle like silk with a misty, desolate fog curling about. Hesitating between prioritizing self-preservation and meddling in other people's business, Guan Xian wandered aimlessly for a while, distracted and uneasy. As he looked up and gazed around, he discovered that he had unknowingly arrived near a small mountain.

Oh? A mountain. Guan Xian couldn't be certain whether this was the very same mountain Zhang Yu and Pu Pingping had mentioned earlier. If it was truly such a coincidence, was that Jiang Yan from the Immortals Cloud Sect still up on the mountain at this moment?