Chapter 44 (Part A) – Swept Away

“Woah! Such a young man standing at the heart of the evil spirits, this is really amazing!” One man exclaimed.

A man whose beard resembled that of a goat’s, creased his eyebrows as he frowned while speaking up: “This youngster doesn’t seem to be afraid of these evil spirits and seems to have been here for a long time now. I would conclude that he’s a devil’s disciple, right?”

“These evil spirits are really powerful; even we have to exercise our powers to fend them off. I highly doubt that a man that young could be capable of lasting here for such a long time.”

They were some distance behind him, but Bi Fan could hear their conversation quite clearly, and couldn’t help as gloomy feeling crept into his heart.

“This is really bothering me, a dark practitioner, practicing his martial arts in here; it’s quite scary and dangerous!”

Bi Fan wanted to explain things, but he couldn’t open his mouth.

Even If he could open his mouth, he wouldn’t be able to explain things, as he wouldn’t be able to say anything.

All Bi Fan could do, was pray, that these martial artists would look into his situation before taking any action; otherwise, he was doomed to die.

“I would like to investigate the situation a little further. This boy obviously seems to be very strong, and on top of that, we have no idea who he really is.”

“I too, would like to take a better look.”

Following this, Bi Fan started hearing brisk footsteps, more than one set, approaching him at a very quick pace.

These people were genuinely very strong, even with the force of the evil spirits that lingered in this region; they were able to move forward in the area at such a brisk pace.

Bi Fan was really worried, as these people were capable of killing him off in an instant.

“Ah!” The fastest among the new comers issued a miserable shriek and quickly took a few back steps. “This kid is demonically strong. The influence of the spirits in this region isn’t the same as other places, it’s almost tenfold here. I can barely walk in there, how is he able to do it with so much ease?”

Two other humans, who were right behind him, tested it for themselves and were shocked when they realized that their companion was right.

“Scary! Really scary! He’s capable of practicing in that intense pressure! Could he be drawing support from the spirits as well?”

He was only trying to be humorous, but the others, almost a dozen of them, were very serious.

If the boy really was drawing energy from the evil spirits, then things could prove out to be very tricky for these people. And if such was the case, then the person in question, once, if successful, could mean bad news for everyone.

Soon, more than a dozen, extremely powerful martial artists had gathered around, and even though they were really tempted to sort Bi Fan out, none of them had the guts to take the initiative.

Due to the Yin Yang Lotus’s activity, a huge amount of spirits had formed a massive loop around him. This meant that the influence of the spirits around him was even greater, more powerful, and even more violent. So much so, that even these dozen or so ‘magical powers’ layer practitioners wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

“Everyone, let’s get a good look at his face, so we can locate him later. If he really is practicing such dark techniques, then it is vital that we eliminate him.” One man spoke up.

Bi Fan was incapable of speaking at the moment, but he felt relaxed. He had changed his appearance a bit on the way here, to avoid any attention from ‘rising sun’ disciples.

‘Magical powers’ layer, martial artists who were this strong, were usually the figureheads of the schools in Quinyang. So if someone got on the wrong side of such men, then bad times were inevitable.

“Everyone, should we continue to excavate this region? What if this place really was an ancient battlefield?”

“Yes, but be careful everyone.”

As he heard them depart, it was clear to Bi Fan that these people had a very good understanding amongst them, a fact, made obvious by the nature of their conversations.

But most likely they weren’t from the same school, which meant that if they managed to find an ancient artifact, then things could turn sour. Especially if there weren’t enough for everyone, and if such was the situation, then they all might start fighting over it.

Often, even if students of the same school managed to find a valuable treasure, then they would end up fighting over it.

This was such a cruel and deceptive world, in which one needed to keep an eye out at all times, and be on guard against friends and enemies, alike.

“I hope you guys find a huge bounty in here and then die fighting over it.” Bi Fan secretly wished.

Bi Fan’s heart calmed down a bit, once he realized that it was only a false alarm.

‘Magical powers’ layer practitioners were regarded undefeatable in the Jiu Yu region, and people like Bi Fan, were no more than ants in front of their might and status.

Bi Fan was nowhere near as strong as the ‘magical powers’ layer, which meant that even hoping to contend against men like these, would only pave the way for his doom.

Bi Fan secretly pledged: “One day, my strength will transcend yours, and then I will trample the likes of you. On that day, you will taste the stench of my feet.”

The dozen or so that had been standing close to Bi Fan had already left the area, leaving behind Bi Fan, who stood there, with a silly look on his face.

The Jade book’s method was enhancing his strength at a very fast rate, and was transforming his physical strength unceasingly.

The evil spirits were still attacking him continuously, but his body was able to resist them off more tenaciously than ever before.

The two new seeds that had sprouted inside the Lotus’s stamen had grown quite big by now and were almost the size of rice grains.

“Yin Yang Lotus, my brother, let’s quickly get out of here before they come back, because if they do, we will be in a lot of trouble.” Bi Fan had put aside the thought of enhancing his strength of the time being and just wanted to get out of this predicament.

Strength can rise slowly over time, but it’s of no use to dead men.

“Boom!” A massive explosion shook the earth and the sky.

The intensity and force of clamor almost sent Bi Fan flying, and left his ears in a great amount of pain as they buzzed, depriving him of his hearing ability for a short while.

“Seems like those guys have finally ran into trouble, let’s get out of here now. They might end up using me as the scapegoat for their misfortunes.” Bi Fan started to complain.

But, this was far from the end of it. The explosion soon took the shape of a massive cyclone.

This time, Bi Fan wasn’t spared and he found himself being swept up by this cyclone.