Chapter 829 - 827: Hualuo City, Beast-Hunting Loose Cultivator

Chapter 829: Chapter 827: Hualuo City, Beast-Hunting Loose Cultivator

After retracting their mystic light, Xu Yang and Liou Xueyan made no attempts to disguise or hide themselves, openly traveling to a distant city. Seeing the two of them, the many cultivators in the city were instantly sent into a frenzy. If one were to ask who was the most famous and attention-grabbing in the Eastern Continent recently, it would undoubtedly be Xu Yang and Liou Xueyan from the Northern Continent. Countless geniuses had searched for them everywhere to no avail. Yet now, these two had actually shown themselves in the Void Realm. And without the slightest disguise.

Xu Yang’s very purpose for coming here was to make an announcement. Seeing that more and more cultivators of all shapes and sizes were gathering around, he got straight to the point. In ten days, there would be an open battle with Situ Ke in Chongshan City, which fell within the territory of the Ancient Lotus Vajra Sect. A battle to determine the victor, not a fight to the death. The challenge had been issued; now it remained to be seen if Situ Ke would accept it.

Having accomplished this, Xu Yang and Liou Xueyan immediately left the Void Realm. The news spread across the Eastern Continent at an astonishing speed. Since the Void Realm effortlessly gathered cultivators from all over, the speed of information transmission was truly terrifying. In less than a day, almost everyone in the entire Eastern Continent knew about it. Those who were quick to react immediately began rushing toward Chongshan City. After all, it would be utterly unreasonable for Situ Ke not to accept such a public challenge.

By the next day.

News emerged from the Ancient Lotus Vajra Sect that Situ Ke had accepted the challenge. He would fight Xu Yang in Chongshan City to determine superiority and decide a winner. Who would be seventh on the Dragon and Tiger List? This instantly became the biggest spectacle. Heaven’s Edge Towers everywhere were packed to the brim in no time. Celestial Sword City was no exception. Heaven’s Edge Tower even opened betting pools for the event, and Immortal Crystals came rolling in.

Meanwhile, Liou Xueyan, disguised as Xu Yang and escorted by experts from Heaven’s Edge Tower, was already hurrying toward Chongshan City. Such a disguise was not difficult, but once she arrived and actually made a move, others would immediately spot the inconsistencies. However, neither Xu Yang nor Liou Xueyan cared. By then, it would be impossible for Situ Ke to refuse a battle with Liou Xueyan. As for Situ Ke hating him even more for the deception, Xu Yang couldn’t care less.

Meanwhile, Xu Yang, the instigator of it all, had already secretly and silently set off toward his own destination—Hualuo City. According to the information provided by Liou Sanqian, he only knew the rough location of the Blood Marsh stronghold in Hualuo City. The rest of the details were extremely vague. However, this was already enough for Xu Yang.

Five hundred miles outside Hualuo City lay the Evil Wind Abyss.

To the cultivators of Hualuo City, the Evil Wind Abyss was an extremely dangerous place. It was quite famous in the surrounding regions. The abyss was densely filled with astral winds that were vicious and piercingly cold. Furthermore, there were many ferocious beasts within, the most famous of which was the One-Eyed Black-Scaled Horse. The tendons within these vicious beasts were highly valuable and could be used to smelt and elevate the quality of various immortal weapons. Therefore, even though the Evil Wind Abyss was fraught with peril, many cultivators still came to hunt the One-Eyed Black-Scaled Horses and extract their tendons in exchange for resources.

At this moment, a figure dashed out of the Evil Wind Abyss and stood at its edge. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a cultivation base at the Peak of Celestial Immortal. His stature was completely average—neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin—and he had a thoroughly plain face with no distinguishing features. If thrown into a crowd, he would be completely unrecognizable.

"Fang Yeheng, a Loose Cultivator of Hualuo City. Cultivation at the Peak of Celestial Immortal. A loner who makes a living hunting One-Eyed Black-Scaled Horses. He frequently obtains high-quality Black-Scaled Horse Immortal Tendons and has always maintained a good trading relationship with the Ye family in the city. Hmm... it seems he is also involved with a young lady from a branch family of the Ye family," the man muttered, suddenly frowning. His brow quickly smoothed out, however. "This won’t take more than a few days anyway. It shouldn’t be an issue."

This person, however, was not the real Fang Yeheng. It was Xu Yang in disguise. After arriving at Hualuo City and doing some brief reconnaissance, he had set his sights on Fang Yeheng. He followed the man all the way to the Evil Wind Abyss, captured him, and interrogated him for a great deal of information. Then, he threw Fang Yeheng into the Lesser Immortal Realm and disguised himself as the man. Although his disguise technique wasn’t particularly profound, an ordinary Golden Immortal would find it difficult to see through the facade.

Immediately after, Xu Yang headed straight for Hualuo City. Fang Yeheng hadn’t gained much from this trip to the Evil Wind Abyss, but Xu Yang had prepared quite a bit to serve as his cover. He had hunted and harvested over a dozen Immortal Tendons, one of which came from a Black-Scaled Horse at the absolute limit of the Celestial Immortal realm, bordering on the Golden Immortal level. In addition, there were a few pieces of a rather rare metallic material called Wind Pattern Gold, which was also an excellent material for Artifact Refining.

Upon entering Hualuo City, Xu Yang first made his way toward Fang Yeheng’s residence, quietly observing the city along the way. While Hualuo City was nowhere near as massive as Celestial Sword City, it was not small either. There was a Heaven’s Edge Tower here as well, though it was merely a mid-tier branch, and its strongest expert seemed to be only at the Middle Stage of Golden Immortal. The Ye family was the number one clan in the city and boasted considerable strength.

Passing by Heaven’s Edge Tower, Xu Yang slowly cast a glance toward an elegant, tree-lined area in the distance. There were over a dozen courtyard residences there, most of which were already occupied. They were separated by woods, boasting an elegant and exceptionally serene environment. According to the information from Heaven’s Edge Tower, the Blood Marsh stronghold was suspected to be one of the residences in this area. Or perhaps, all of the residences were part of it. After observing briefly, Xu Yang walked straight away.

Fang Yeheng’s residence was not bad either—a small courtyard home. As a cultivator at the Peak of Celestial Immortal, even though his combat prowess wasn’t particularly strong among his peers, he wasn’t considered weak in Hualuo City. As long as he didn’t provoke major factions or Golden Immortal experts, he could live a very comfortable life. And it had to be said, Fang Yeheng did live very comfortably. He acquired his cultivation resources by hunting Black-Scaled Horses and occasionally obtaining some rare treasures, so he lacked for nothing. He had even hooked up with a young lady from a branch family of the Ye family, living a life of success and satisfaction. As the number one clan in the area, even a branch family of the Ye family held an impressive status.

Xu Yang closed the courtyard gate and sat down to ponder. He now had his disguised identity. However, his investigation could not be taken lightly.

"Judging from Heaven’s Edge Tower’s speculations and the various pieces of information, a stronghold like this in Hualuo City won’t have an expert at the Late Stage of Golden Immortal. Their strongest should be at the Middle Stage of Golden Immortal, and there might only be one or two of them.

"With all my preparations, as long as there are no more than two cultivators at the Middle Stage of Golden Immortal, I can handle them. If there is only one, it will be even easier. Even though Blood Marsh’s methods are bizarre, there won’t be any accidents.

"As for that area... I’ll wait until nightfall to make a move."

He thought it would be even better if there were a chance to operate openly in that area. Xu Yang shook his head slightly, not daring to hope for such a convenient coincidence. In short, he had to act with the utmost caution.

With that, he got up and left the residence. On his way to the Ye family estate, the topics he heard discussed the most were him, Liou Xueyan, and the challenge issued to Situ Ke. Quite a few people were already hurrying to Chongshan City. This place was not close to Chongshan City, but all major cities had Teleportation Arrays. Even if they had to travel on foot, six or seven days was more than enough time for cultivators at the Late Stage or Peak of Celestial Immortal to arrive. A duel between top-tier geniuses at the forefront of the Dragon and Tiger List—one of whom possessed a Ninth Grade Immortal Foundation—was undoubtedly incredibly eye-catching.

"Blood Marsh will absolutely not remain indifferent," he mused.

Even if Hualuo City wasn’t close to Chongshan City, at least a few Blood Marsh assassins from this stronghold would go there to spy from the shadows. Of course, there would definitely be some left behind to guard the base. As the thought flashed through his mind, Xu Yang suppressed his distracting thoughts and continued walking without a change in expression.

Dozens of breaths later.

He slowly came to a stop and looked up. A grand estate occupying a massive plot of land lay before him. He had arrived at the Ye family estate.