Chapter 5 - Ambush

Leng Yan had no idea that what Shui Yunyao had taught him was the advanced scriptures used by the true disciples of the Five Elements Sect for cultivation. These scriptures were profoundly mysterious, and even though he had only practiced for one night, his mental power had increased significantly.

“How is this possible?” Prince Bao exclaimed as he watched his men get knocked down in an instant, utterly shocked.

“Prince Bao, take care of your men and stop them from causing trouble,” Leng Yan said as he pulled out a dagger from his waist and began to trim his nails as if talking to himself.

At that moment, Prince Bao felt a complex mix of emotions. His men were being humiliated right in front of him, and there was little he could do about it, or perhaps, even if he intervened, he was not confident about regaining his dignity.

“Fine! I’ll remember this. You just wait,” Prince Bao said through clenched teeth.

“Good, good, remembering me is the beginning of falling in love with me. But I’m sure to hurt you, because I’m not interested in men,” Leng Yan chuckled.

“You!” Prince Bao almost choked on his rage upon hearing Leng Yan’s words.

“Silence! Everyone stand properly. From now on, behave yourselves and stop looking for trouble, or you’ll regret it!” Just then, several men and women, who appeared to be the Elders responsible for the assessment, walked out from the inner hall.

Everyone stopped talking upon seeing the Elders. Although Prince Bao and his men were visibly furious, Hong Luan seemed to be pondering something else.

“Here are two crystal stones; the white one is for teleporting into the demon caverns of the underlands, and the black one is for leaving. Your mission is to collect three corpses of demons each. Bring them back, and you will complete the mission and become an outer disciple,” one of the men announced loudly.

“Additionally, here is a storage bag for each of you, to hold your personal items as well as the corpses of the demons,” the man continued, and then began to distribute the crystal stones, while a woman stepped forward to continue the instructions.

After listening to the Elders’ explanation, everyone understood the rules and took their crystal stones and storage bags, preparing to head to the underlands.

Holding the white crystal stone, Leng Yan glanced at Prince Bao and his men. Noticing that Prince Bao wasn’t heading immediately to the underlands but instead walked out of the outer attendant pavilion, he wondered what he was up to.

“Prince Bao might seek help to deal with you, so be cautious. I don’t yet know how to address you,” Hong Luan said as she approached Leng Yan, her red garments fluttering, her voice melodious like that of a songbird.

“Just call me Leng Yan, and thank you for the advice. Goodbye,” Leng Yan replied with a smile, before crushing the white crystal stone, vanishing in a flash of white light.

“This man possesses profound and unfathomable strength. Although he is only at the Innate Realm, his might is comparable to a fierce tiger. However, his overly resolute nature might attract trouble, possibly leading to a premature end,” a man clad in black robes whispered to Hong Luan.

“Some people always pretend to be weaker than they are to catch others off guard. His actions today seem arrogant, but in reality, he is establishing his authority. This man is calculative and not an ordinary person. Let’s go! We should complete our mission and enhance our strength sooner; our time is running out,” Hong Luan said before she too transformed into white light and dispersed.

…

A pulling force arrived, and with a change of scenery, Leng Yan found himself outside the outer attendant pavilion. He was now surrounded by black rocks and soil, with a chilly breeze carrying a faint scent of blood wafting through the air. This place was the first layer of the demon caverns of the underlands, a gathering spot for lower-level demonic beasts.

Drawing the Mystic Ice Sword, the silhouette of a Northern Abyss Serpent coiled around the blade, with strands of cold mist swirling around it. The serpent seemed to dance within the mist, exhaling cold air.

This Northern Abyss Serpent was the weapon spirit of the Mystic Ice Sword. Once this spirit awakened its spiritual wisdom, the sword could transform into a low-grade treasure tool.

Relying on the light emanating from the sword, Leng Yan proceeded cautiously, constantly alert to the sounds of demonic beasts growling nearby.

Crack! Leng Yan stepped on a piece of bone, and the crisp sound caught the attention of a demonic beast.

Thud thud! The ground trembled as beastly roars filled the air. However, Leng Yan remained composed, listening intently, “Three heads, running speed one hundred, weight five hundred, the sound… Ah! I didn’t expect them to be rune-marked wild boars!”

Leng Yan had been taking on numerous missions to eradicate demonic beasts since the Red Leaf period and had accumulated a great deal of experience. By analyzing the vibrations caused by the movement of the demonic beasts, he could estimate their number, speed, weight, and strength. Recently, he had heard the cry of a wild boar, and combining other factors, he deduced the type of demonic beast.

Leng Yan and Leng Yu had once hunted a rune-marked wild boar during their time in the divine valor realm, earning ten primordial spirit elixirs.

Now, Leng Yan had reached the Innate Realm and his mental power had become much more refined. His strength was incomparably greater than before, and with a supreme-grade spiritual weapon and a middle-grade treasure tool, he could easily complete his mission.

From past experience, Leng Yan knew that the rune-marked wild boar would start with a charge. As he contemplated his next move, he swung his mystic ice sword, causing snowflakes to flutter around the cave and the temperature to drop instantly to freezing, forming a thin layer of ice on the ground.

After executing these maneuvers, Leng Yan leaped onto a nearby boulder.

No sooner had Leng Yan landed on the boulder than he saw three rune-marked wild boars charging towards him. In a blink, they were right in front of him. Suddenly, the lead boar slipped, rolling into a wall. This was just the beginning, as the next boar couldn’t stop in time and slid, its long tusks stabbing into the rear of the first boar, eliciting a painful howl from the grievously injured animal.

The third boar, unable to make a sharp turn, slid past like on ice, bumping the second boar forward and pushing the tusks deeper into the first, which subsequently died a noble death.

Seeing this unfold, Leng Yan’s heart swelled with joy. Seizing the opportunity, he raised his mystic ice sword and leaped, thrusting it directly into the neck of the third boar. The blood that began to spurt was instantly frozen by the ice.

Withdrawing his sword, Leng Yan watched as the second boar grunted twice and, before it could stand, he stabbed it in the abdomen, killing it as well.

With the bodies collected, he inwardly noted that the mission was completed all too smoothly, and he was now ready to advance to an outer disciple.

Just then, a white figure appeared in Leng Yan’s line of sight. This figure, entirely white with sharp horns and humanoid in shape, wielded a steel fork-it was a Yaksha.

Yakshas transform into snow-white humanoids only once they reach the divine transformation realm, and it is at the peak of this realm where they sprout sharp horns. When the horns recede, they evolve into Asuras, marking their entry into the realm of divine power and magic in terms of cultivation level.

The Yaksha that Leng Yan encountered clearly possessed the peak strength of the divine transformation realm and had developed intelligence, no longer a lowly demon. Upon seeing the mystic ice sword in Leng Yan’s hands, the Yaksha was filled with greed, yet also a trace of fear.

“Hand over your sword, and I might spare your life,” the Yaksha said after a long pause, trying to intimidate him.

Upon hearing this, Leng Yan burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at? Hand over the sword now, or I will kill you,” the Yaksha, seeing no fear in Leng Yan and hearing his laughter, shouted angrily.

“I’m just wondering, is there only one line for robbers? ‘Hand it over and I’ll spare your life.’ Besides, do you really think I’d believe you’d let me go if I gave you the sword? I’m not foolish. Moreover, with your current strength, you couldn’t stop me even if you tried. Shall we test that?” Leng Yan said with a smile.

“Hmph! You won’t know fear until you see my true power. Prepare to die,” the Yaksha, finding threats useless, raised his steel fork and thrust it forward.

The fork moved incredibly fast, and with his current mental power, Leng Yan could only catch a blur. He quickly raised the mystic ice sword to block the attack. The Yaksha then changed tactics, attempting to knock the sword aside and sweep it horizontally.

Leng Yan was unable to keep up with Yaksha’s speed and was struck by the steel fork, leaving a bloody gash across his chest.

“Damn it!” Leng Yan cursed, channeling his inner power to its fullest, activating the Star Refining Technique as Yaksha attacked again, prompting Leng Yan to quickly dodge.

As the fork and sword clashed, the two had exchanged countless blows. Leng Yan, covered in wounds by now, was fortunate to have the support of the Primordial Spirit Elixir.

Although the Moonlight Ring could serve as protection, Leng Yan knew that to grow rapidly, he needed to endure battle after bloody battle, becoming stronger with each fight. Indeed, this was the case. In this life-or-death battle, Leng Yan’s potential was maximized. Initially, he could only catch glimpses of Yaksha, but now he could see all of Yaksha’s moves clearly. The battle was no longer one-sided.

“You’re getting stronger as we fight. I never thought I’d become a stepping stone for you to enhance your strength. Die!” Yaksha finally recognized Leng Yan’s transformation, feeling a rising panic as he realized he could no longer suppress Leng Yan and might even be surpassed.

“Realizing this now, aren’t you a bit late? To express my gratitude, I will grant you a swift death. Kill!”

With a loud shout, the Mystic Ice Sword came crashing down from above in a Mountain-Cleaving Strike. Yaksha, horrified, quickly positioned his fork overhead to block Leng Yan’s ferocious attack.

With a clang, the steel fork snapped, no match for the supreme-grade spiritual weapon.

The Mystic Ice Sword did not stop; it struck Yaksha’s neck, instantly opening a gory wound that exposed grisly white flesh, which then was encased in cold air, freezing it into an icy corpse.