113: Fairy Gu She

The Taoist priest dodged a swift blade and retreated a dozen paces. Seeing the remaining armored guards recovering and charging toward him with roars, he let out a strange laugh and waved his hands. The guardian spirit standing by his side immediately lunged forward to meet them.

In an instant, blades flashed and cries echoed. These guardians, however, were not living beings; they felt no pain. Even having been wounded in the previous clash, they were formidable, far beyond the capabilities of ordinary warriors.

In just a few moments, the guards were slaughtered. General Zhang, seeing the dire situation, grew increasingly anxious and furious. He gripped his sword hilt tightly, wanting to flee, but the priest’s gaze was locked onto him. With his current injuries, he knew he could last at most a few rounds; once he failed to hold his ground, he would be at the mercy of his enemy.

Thinking this, General Zhang covered his wound and used internal energy to seal his meridians, granting himself a temporary reprieve of movement, before swiftly bolting away. Seeing the Taoist priest indeed giving chase, he felt a flicker of hope, followed immediately by dread.

"General Zhang, don't waste your efforts. If you weren't injured, you might have stood a chance against me, but now, even with your wounds suppressed, how much longer can you hold on?"

"You demonic priest! Why do you do this? I treated you well! I risked my own safety to lure martial artists here for you and your brother, and I gave you countless gold, silver, treasures, beauties, and jade!"

Seeing the General’s resentment, the Taoist sneered, "Those outside the Way cannot comprehend the affairs of the Way. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Gold and silver are fine things, and beauties are all the better, but these are mere external trifles. With our status, why should we worry about such things?"

With that, seeing his guardian finish off the remaining guards, he decided not to delay further to avoid any complications. He attacked from both sides, and within a few rounds, he struck General Zhang dead with a single palm.

After clearing the scene, the Taoist had the guardian carry the corpse of his junior brother. He arranged the other bodies in a formation, pulled seven or eight "Corpse Control Talismans" from his pouch to suppress the souls within, and performed a hand seal, causing the corpses to stand up automatically.

Having prepared everything, the Taoist looked deeply in the direction where Yi Fan had escaped and said coldly, "You revealed your presence and still think you can run?"

As a major sect of the current age, Gezao Mountain boasted experts even among the disciples of the third generation, Yan Ming. Among the many disciples sent down the mountain to hunt the culprit, four or five had reached the second stage of "Divine Communion," and one had even reached the third stage, standing on the threshold of entering the "Returning Elixir" realm.

Just now, he had already sent out a signal.

...

Yi Fan was hiding his presence when he saw the Resentful Ghost lurking not far away. Before he had killed the first Taoist, he had sensed the ghost nearby, but it was too weak to be of any help.

When he had revealed that he was the one who killed Fang Chen, the Taoist had been momentarily stunned. The screeching of the Resentful Ghost had tightened his nerves and blurred his senses, creating the opening Yi Fan needed to completely shake off the pursuit.

"Go quickly, we cannot stay in this place any longer."

Yi Fan mounted his donkey and gave the instruction, then closed his eyes to heal. Though the skirmish had been brief, the two Taoists were indeed from a major sect; not only was their power substantial, but their supernatural arts were also treacherous. A single lapse would have been fatal, and even so, he had been infected by their ghostly energy.

For several days, Yi Fan tried to leave the vicinity of Lake Poyang, but from some point on, the area had become filled with cultivators. Though they hid among ordinary people, they were not hard to distinguish, and the official roads and waterways were watched even more closely.

One day, standing on a high cliff overlooking the lake, he gazed at the thousand miles of blue waves and felt a sudden sense of bewilderment at being trapped here.

Where should he go?

The world was vast, yet where was a place of safety? And what was he actually pursuing?

Since arriving in this world, he had lived day by day, wandering aimlessly, making a few friends, and witnessing many things. Yet, he always felt that he was merely a passerby, and everything before him was but a dream.

Yi Fan sighed, looking into the distance. Everything before him was truly a dream within a dream.

Suddenly, a song drifted over, clear and melodious. Looking closely, he saw an old man carrying a medicine basket, moving nimbly through the woods and occasionally pausing to collect herbs.

A moment later, the man was before him. Yi Fan quickly bowed, "Greetings, Senior. This humble practitioner pays his respects."

The old man stroked his white beard, looked deeply at Yi Fan, and smiled. "No need for 'Senior.' I am but an idle wanderer of the mountains."

He set down his basket and sat nearby, gazing at the blue waves. "These thousand miles of water are best for opening one's heart, yet I heard you sighing and shaking your head. You are young, yet you look so troubled. Have you encountered some difficulty?"

Yi Fan was startled. He could tell the old man was a cultivator, but they had been hundreds of meters apart, with mountain winds blowing and birds calling in between. What level of cultivation must one have to possess such perception?

Seeming to read Yi Fan's thoughts, the old man patted his leg and said, "I have some ties to your Shangqing Sect, so you need not hide your identity, nor do you need to fear that I am a villain. If it weren't for that old bull-nosed monk Xu Wu, these old bones of mine would have turned to dust years ago."

"At your age, to have such cultivation is no small feat in the Shangqing Sect. I wonder what your masters were thinking, letting you down the mountain? Don't they know that the southern regions have become increasingly chaotic in recent years?"

The old man muttered, then glanced at Yi Fan again. "Those scum from Gezao Mountain have been searching everywhere for someone these past few days. That would be you, wouldn't it?"

Yi Fan knew the old man had mistaken his identity, but he did not explain, instead shifting the topic. "They are indeed hunting me. With their numbers, they will track me down sooner or later. I beg for your guidance, Senior."

"I have no desire to get involved in the grievances between your Shangqing Sect and Gezao Mountain. But you need not fear. Gezao Mountain has made quite a show of force this time, so the Shangqing Sect has naturally taken action. The one who has come this time is a standout among the third-generation disciples: the Fairy of Gushe."

Seeing the shock on Yi Fan's face, the old man nodded with satisfaction, stood up, and shouldered his basket. "This Lake Poyang is full of spiritual energy, and deep within it hide countless demons, ghosts, and human cultivators. There are mysteries in the depths of this lake. Do not wander about; I have cleared the surrounding area, so you need not worry about danger for the time being."

With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the deep mountains in the blink of an eye, his singing echoing from afar.

Yi Fan, however, was left in shock. The Shangqing Sect had actually sent someone? He was a fraud; even if everyone else was misled, the Shangqing Sect should know the truth, which would be easily verified.

For a moment, he felt panicked. If he had only offended Gezao Mountain, there might still be a sliver of hope, but to be simultaneously impersonating a disciple of the Shangqing Sect meant certain death.

What puzzled him most was this: if the Shangqing Sect knew he was a fraud, why would they send someone to save him? Why not just clarify the facts and clear their name, instead of performing this redundant act?