Chapter 44: Gang Fight
"You little beast — you're looking for death!"
Lü Ci was so furious his hair nearly stood on end, wishing he could tear the boy to pieces on the spot.
But before his rage could even erupt, someone across from him was burning with even greater fury!
"Fuck your ancestors!! And you still dare talk back!?"
Heishan didn't waste a single word — he roared and lunged forward first.
His mouth never stopped either, unleashing a torrent of profanity at Lü Ci, each insult more creative than the last, not a single one repeated!
This was the old scraggly hair himself!
If not for their brother's great skill and resourcefulness, the three of them might still be going mad in that blood pool, struggling until they dropped dead from exhaustion!
Chifeng was equally furious. He let out a thunderous tiger's roar, wind blades swirling wildly around him as he transformed into a crimson blur and charged forward.
Their three brothers had nearly been killed by this scheming old bastard — how could they possibly swallow that?!
The demon clan members at Si Chen's side had long been itching to repay their debt of gratitude. Now that both elder brothers had charged in, who cared about the gap in cultivation or whether the enemy was at the Nascent Soul Stage?
One by one, their eyes went wide, howling as they threw themselves at Lü Ci without a care for their own lives!
In an instant, bears roared, tigers bellowed, pigs charged, and wolves surged — demonic energy surging to the heavens!
"Avenge Brother Si Chen!"
"Charge! Kill this old scraggly hair!"
The cry of "old scraggly hair" echoed again and again through the cavern, ringing without end.
The sheer scale and momentum of it made even the furious Lü Ci's eyelid twitch involuntarily.
He was a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, yes — but facing two demon beasts of equal rank fighting with their lives on the line, plus several dozen demons who showed absolutely no fear of death and kept coming in waves, even he felt his scalp go numb!
The grey-robed elder reacted swiftly, immediately pulling Young Master Fang back to the edge of the cavern, clearly unwilling to be caught up in the melee.
Faced with so many demon beasts, plus two immensely powerful third-rank leaders, the elder had no choice but to tread carefully.
Young Master Fang's brow furrowed slightly. They hadn't anticipated this kind of variable. His eyes flickered with uncertainty.
"Get out of my way, all of you!"
Lü Ci forced Chifeng back with a sword strike, but Heishan's bear paw — heavy and crushing — was already bearing down on him. He had no choice but to swing his sword back to block, and the impact left his arm numb.
The harder he struggled, the more viciously Heishan cursed: "Get fucked! Watch me stuff your head up your own ass!"
On the other side, the two Core Formation Stage Elders who had accompanied Lü Ci were also in dire straits.
"Sect Master, watch out!"
Boom!
Elder Zhang had barely gotten the words out before he was sent flying by a rhinoceros demon.
Elder Sun fared even worse — simultaneously entangled by three wolf demons, blood appearing on his arm in an instant: "It's no good! There are too many of them!"
The two of them were surrounded by seven or eight second-rank Demon Beasts. These creatures had thick hides and tough flesh, enduring sword-qi just to lunge in and bite.
Among cultivators of equal rank, the demon clan already held a decisive advantage in physical strength — and now they were vastly outnumbered on top of that.
The two elders were stretched thin on all sides, and before long several deep, bone-exposing gashes had appeared on their bodies, their Daoist robes torn to shreds.
Lü Ci wasn't faring much better.
Heishan and Chifeng worked in perfect coordination — one heavy and overwhelming, the other swift as the wind — every strike aimed straight at his vital points.
The look he directed at Si Chen grew increasingly venomous, for Si Chen had not made a single move from start to finish, simply standing there in silence.
But Si Chen's attention had long since left the battlefield.
His gaze was fixed on the colossal Flood Dragon corpse coiled like a mountain, and the faint fluctuations seeping out from beneath it.
An instinctive craving born from the Nine Tribulation Thunder Body drew him forward, step by step, toward the dragon's remains.
The closer he drew, the clearer that sensation became.
Whatever lay beneath — it was definitely connected to Yang Thunder!
Young Master Fang noticed Si Chen approaching the Flood Dragon's corpse, and his expression immediately turned dark and unreadable.
He lowered his voice and asked the elder beside him: "Old Mo, can you ensure Lü Ci survives?"
The grey-robed elder naturally understood what his young master meant...
If Lü Ci fell here, just the two of them would have great difficulty wresting the treasure beneath the dragon's corpse from this young man and the horde of demons.
Old Mo considered for a moment, then said: "That shouldn't be a problem — but once we intervene..."
"No matter." Young Master Fang cut him off. It was clear he was determined to have whatever lay beneath the Flood Dragon's corpse.
Hearing this, Old Mo gave a single nod and said nothing more. His figure flashed as he entered the fray — his sleeves billowing as a supple yet immense surge of energy intercepted the charging Chifeng.
"Where did this old stick come from?! Tired of living?!" Heishan immediately split half his cursing toward Old Mo.
Old Mo, however, seemed not to hear a word. His palm techniques were deep and powerful, absorbing every one of Chifeng's attacks without yielding an inch — he was a Mid Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse!
With this Nascent Soul Stage grey-robed elder entering the fight, the pressure on Lü Ci dropped sharply. He was overjoyed in an instant, seizing the opportunity to sweep aside Heishan's bear paw and called out loudly:
"Many thanks to Young Master Fang for his righteous assistance!"
"Sect Master Lü, you're too kind. Friends help one another — it's only natural." Young Master Fang stood outside the fighting circle, his tone composed, as though he truly were a hero stepping in to right a wrong.
Only then did Si Chen pull his gaze from the dragon's corpse and turn it toward this so-called Young Master Fang: "You — are you going to interfere?"
Young Master Fang's face broke into a perfectly calibrated helpless smile. "Fellow Daoist Si Chen, why such a temper? Sect Master Lü is my friend, after all — I can hardly stand by and watch him die."
Clearly he was worried about missing out on the treasure, yet he dressed it up in such high-minded language.
Si Chen shook his head. Having lived in Wanji Mountain for over two years, he had grown increasingly averse to dealing with people like this.
He raised his right hand in a loose grip, and blinding arcs of lightning surged forth in an instant, condensing into a Spear of Thunder.
"Then — you may die as well."
Before the words had even faded, the thunder spear had already transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking straight toward Young Master Fang!
Young Master Fang hadn't expected Si Chen to strike without another word, and so decisively at that. His expression shifted slightly as he twisted his body, barely dodging the lightning-fast strike.
The thunder spear slammed into the rock wall behind him, blasting a shower of stone fragments.
"Bold!"
The last traces of Young Master Fang's false smile vanished completely, replaced by a cold, sharp edge.
He drew a long blade from behind him with a reverse grip — its surface rippling with a water-like spiritual light, clearly no ordinary artifact at a glance.
He moved in an instant, his speed extraordinary, appearing before Si Chen in a flash. The long blade swept horizontally — a slash!
Si Chen neither dodged nor retreated. He raised his left hand in a loose grip, and another Spear of Thunder condensed in an instant. He used it like a short staff, raising it to block!
Clang!
Lightning and blade-force crashed together violently, electrical sparks scattering wildly from the Spear of Thunder!
The scene Young Master Fang had imagined — sending his opponent stumbling back with a single slash — never came to pass.
The rebound force transmitted through the blade was heavy and steady, leaving his wrist faintly numb. His pupils contracted, his heart filled with shock.
He was a Late Core Formation Stage cultivator, his body tempered since childhood with his clan's secret medicines, his physical strength far surpassing those of the same rank.
With the supreme-grade spirit artifact in hand, he could hold his own even against an ordinary Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator — yet right now he couldn't force a Foundation Establishment Stage opponent back even half a step?
In a pure clash of strength, he had even come out slightly on the losing end!
Watching from the sidelines and fighting in person were two entirely different things.
He had always assumed Si Chen's earlier advantage over Lü Ci had come from the flight-suppression barrier and the terrain advantage at the entrance.
But now, having crossed blades himself, he truly felt what terrifying power and an absurdly solid foundation lay hidden within that seemingly slender frame.
This blue-clad young man was genuinely difficult to deal with!