Chapter 75 - 73: Leaving Alone, An Earth-Shattering Manhunt

Chapter 75: Chapter 73: Leaving Alone, An Earth-Shattering Manhunt

Night had fallen over the Endless Mountain Range.

A gentle breeze caressed the cliffside, fluttering a few strands of the young girl’s hair. The silent night wind added a touch of desolation to her presence, and her breathtakingly beautiful, intelligent face seemed etched with an even deeper sorrow.

"Why? Why are you all lying to me? Father, Brother Qin Fan? Why?"

Qin Xiangyuan’s beautiful eyes were filled with grief and disappointment. She simply could not accept Qin Shiming’s deception, nor could she accept the young man’s concealment. They had banded together to fool her, and she had believed them without a single doubt. Staring into the bottomless night, the girl’s heart was a tangled mess. She hated being lied to more than anything, yet the ones who had deceived her were the two people she trusted most in the world.

"Brother Qin Fan, why? Are you no longer Yuan’Er’s Brother Qin Fan? In my entire life, you are the only brother I’ve ever had. Why? Just why?"

Unknowingly, a heartbreaking mist of tears began to blur her beautiful eyes. As her heart slowly began to accept the reality of the situation, scenes from the past three years they had spent together day and night flashed before her eyes. All the laughter, the times they were utterly inseparable—practicing the sword together, cultivating together, discussing their insights, and watching the clouds roll by on the horizon. Having never experienced a brother’s love before, those three years had left her with far too many wonderful memories.

Vaguely, Qin Xiangyuan felt as if she could see that figure in white standing in the snow once more. He had descended like an Exiled Immortal—elegant as jade and absolutely peerless. Every movement, every word, every glance, and every smile of his had been a display of unparalleled grace. Without her realizing it, a subtle shift occurred in Qin Xiangyuan’s state of mind.

On the cliff, Qin Xiangying watched her tearful sister, her eyes brimming with intense heartache.

"Sister, Brother Qin Fan isn’t a direct descendant of the Qin Family. He’s no longer our brother. The blood flowing in his veins isn’t the Qin Family’s. Ruining your health over him just isn’t worth it," Qin Xiangying consoled.

Not knowing how else to comfort her sister, she simply blurted out whatever came to mind. When it came to emotional attachment, her own bond with that figure in white was certainly not very deep. But her sister was different. The two of them had spent over three years together day and night in the Upper Spirit Garden, forging a profound connection. To discover that the family member she had spent three years with was nothing more than an illusion was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

However, Qin Xiangying failed to notice that when she said "the blood flowing in his veins isn’t the Qin Family’s," the young girl standing in the night wind trembled violently.

"No blood relation? Brother Qin Fan and I have no blood relation?" Qin Xiangyuan murmured to herself.

"That’s right, his real name is Jiang Hao. He has no blood relation to the Qin Family," Qin Xiangying replied.

Qin Xiangyuan’s gaze grew even more complicated. In her daze, the figure in white seemed to appear before her eyes once again. He stood in the hazy, heavy snow, smiling at her. His smile seemed to hold a magical charm that she could never tire of seeing. Even Qin Xiangyuan herself didn’t realize that at this very moment, her mindset was undergoing an earth-shattering transformation.

"Brother Qin Fan... Brother Qin Fan isn’t from the Qin Family. No, he is Yuan’Er’s Brother Qin Fan, and he always will be."

As she spoke, a trace of emotion surfaced in her beautiful eyes—one that neither she nor Qin Xiangying fully recognized. It seemed to be joy, a joy that had gradually blossomed from her sorrow.

"Sister, what’s wrong?" Qin Xiangying asked instinctively, her eyes filled with confusion. "Sister, he isn’t from the Qin Family, and he lied to you. Why do you seem almost... happy?"

"He may not be a direct descendant of the Qin Family, but that means he can be my Brother Qin Fan forever." Qin Xiangyuan’s joy became even more apparent. She quickly stood up and urged, "Xiang Ying, where is Brother Qin Fan? Where is he?"

Looking at her sister, Qin Xiangying seemed to guess the reason for her sudden happiness, though she hardly dared to believe it. Nevertheless, she pointed toward several mountain peaks a few miles away. "He should be with Qin Ye and the others."

"Let’s go. We’re going to find Brother Qin Fan."

Without hesitation, Qin Xiangyuan prepared to take to the skies. However, right at that moment, a powerful voice echoed through the night.

"Qinghe Sword Technique!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Within the Endless Mountain Range, an unfathomable amount of Sword Qi pierced through the void, shattering the tranquility and illuminating the entire night sky. The two sisters looked up, only to witness an unbelievable scene. As the Sword Qi crisscrossed, the phantom of a Divine Dragon Martial Soul surged from the mountains into the heavens, its roar shaking the very firmament.

"Jiang Hao! It’s Jiang Hao! He’s here!"

RUMBLE!

Simultaneously with the ascending Sword Qi and dragon soul, countless voices erupted across the night sky. Qin Xiangyuan and her sister watched as endless silhouettes appeared atop the mountain peaks in the boundless void. From a particular ark, Cultivators were leaping into the air in droves.

"It really is him. Hmph! Everyone, hear my command! Put all your strength into striking down Jiang Hao! Whoever kills him will receive a massive reward from the sect! Fellow Daoists, whether you are disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect or not, anyone who kills Jiang Hao will be rewarded by our sect! The bounty includes at least one Foundation Establishment Pill, one Profound Tier Technique, two Profound Tier Martial Techniques, and countless cultivation resources! You may also select one Secret Technique from the Celestial Sword Sect’s Secret Technique Pavilion!"

Mo Yan’s booming voice rang out as countless experts from the Celestial Sword Sect took flight. Instantly, the endless number of Cultivators who had followed the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark here shuddered with excitement, eager to join the fray.

A Foundation Establishment Pill, Profound Tier Techniques and Martial Techniques, and infinite cultivation resources—the temptation was overwhelmingly massive. Even more shocking was that the Celestial Sword Sect was willing to offer a Secret Technique. To countless Cultivators, this was an absolutely irresistible lure.

"Jiang Hao? Who is Jiang Hao? How is he worth so many resources?"

"Who cares who he is? That reward is mine!"

"So the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark changed direction just for a single person? Not for some terrifying legacy?"

"Jiang Hao? Could it be that peerless prodigy who slew the Qilin Child with a single sword strike in the Earth Realm of Xingyue City?"

In an instant, this corner of the world completely exploded into chaos. Countless arks descended, followed closely by waves of genius factions.

Atop the cliff, watching the terrifying army of Cultivators rolling in like a storm, all color drained from Qin Xiangyuan’s breathtaking face. Before the two sisters could fully process the situation, Qin Ye and the others came rushing toward them.

"Qin Ye, where is Brother Qin Fan? Where did he go?" Qin Xiangyuan asked frantically the moment she saw him. Though she already knew the answer in her heart, she still desperately clung to the fantasy that the person in the mountains wasn’t the youth in white.

But Qin Ye’s next words plunged her straight into an abyssal valley. "Brother Qin said he was heading out for a bit. We thought he was coming to find you, Fairy, so we didn’t think much of it, but..."

"But what?" Qin Xiangying pressed, immediately sensing that something was terribly wrong.

Slowly, Qin Ye brought out a massive pile of Spirit Pills, Spirit Medicines, and Spirit Grasses. Looking at Qin Xiangyuan, he said, "Someone just discovered that before he left, he left behind all these pills. I... I’m afraid he had already made up his mind to leave us."

The sheer quantity of pills Jiang Hao had left behind was staggering. Although the group had exhausted the Small Spirit Revitalization Pills, Jiang Hao still possessed plenty of Healing Pills, as well as Vein Protection Pills, Support Pills, Spirit Transformation Pills, and Transcendence Pills. The array of pills he left for Qin Xiangyuan and the others covered every possible need. They were all essential for any Cultivator below Foundation Establishment, and there were even quite a few Foundation Establishment Pills hidden among the pile.

Staring at the pills, Qin Xiangyuan instantly understood his intentions. Combined with the scene unfolding before her eyes, she completely read the young man’s mind. Even Qin Ye had figured out the purpose behind this gesture.

"He didn’t want to implicate us, yet he left behind almost his entire fortune of pills. He’s repaying his debt of gratitude." Qin Ye couldn’t help but look toward the unimaginably terrifying commotion of battle in the mountains. With a complex gaze, he added, "I’m afraid he intentionally exposed himself like this. His goal is to draw everyone’s attention, allowing us to escape the Celestial Sword Sect’s wrath."

At those words, all the proud prodigies of Qin City shuddered. Only at this moment did they truly understand. In return for the immense kindness shown to him by the Qin Family, the youth in white was paving a path of survival for them.

"Brother Qin Fan?" Listening to Qin Ye’s words, Qin Xiangyuan’s beautiful eyes filled with profound anxiety and deep emotion. Without a second thought, she shot into the sky.

"Sister?"

"Fairy Qin?"

Watching Qin Xiangyuan charge toward the battlefield without a sliver of hesitation, everyone from Qin City froze in place. It went without saying—their Fairy was going to back him up.

After a brief moment of hesitation, shouts erupted.

"Screw it! Even if he is Jiang Hao, he’s still the Jiang Hao who protected us all the way here! He is a man of honor and loyalty; we cannot be ungrateful!"

"Qin Fan or Jiang Hao, it doesn’t matter. Today, he is my Brother Qin! Let’s risk it all!"

From the massive crowd of Qin City, one silhouette after another vaulted into the air. Over the past half-year on the run, they had all forged strong bonds. Not to mention, if not for that youth protecting them along the way, they would have likely died at the hands of Lin Chen and the others long ago. Furthermore, Qin City was originally an assembled faction. Even if the youth in white wasn’t a direct descendant of the Qin Family, he was at least half considered a peerless prodigy of Qin City itself.

In an instant, everyone followed closely behind Qin Xiangyuan, charging madly toward the distant battlefield. But since Jiang Hao had planned this all along, how could they possibly catch up to him?

Within the low-lying forests of the Endless Mountain Range.

BOOM!

A terrifying wave of Sword Qi swept outward, instantly obliterating two peerless prodigies of the Celestial Sword Sect. Gripping the Qingfeng Sword, Jiang Hao’s icy gaze slowly swept across the ever-increasing number of arks above. Fixing a deadly glare on the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark, he didn’t hesitate for a second. With a blur of motion, he vanished into the dense forest.

"Trying to run? It won’t be that easy."

Atop the Celestial Sword Sect’s ark, one of their peerless prodigies finally made a move. A figure suddenly transformed into an afterimage, tearing through the night sky in a flash. Several other figures, however, remained still with their eyes closed, resting as if slaughtering the youth below wasn’t worthy of their personal intervention.

The very next moment after the first figure vanished, he materialized in the exact spot Jiang Hao had just occupied. The surrounding area was completely ravaged, riddled with endless sword marks. Over a dozen corpses of Celestial Sword Sect Cultivators lay scattered across the forest, accompanied by a chorus of agonized wails.

"What a terrifying concealment technique."

Upon arriving in the woods, the Celestial Sword Sect’s peerless prodigy had completely lost track of Jiang Hao’s aura, causing his brow to furrow deeply. This was entirely thanks to the Concealment Technique given to him by Gu Qingyan. Even now, Jiang Hao had no idea just how overpowered the technique truly was. It was precisely this hiding method—rivaling even a Secret Technique—that allowed Jiang Hao to vanish right out from under his nose.

Right at this moment, a voice called out. "Immortal Master Senior Brother of the Celestial Sword Sect! We can lend you a hand!"

Several figures exuding dreadful auras slowly descended and announced their presence. The Celestial Sword Sect’s prodigy turned to look at them, prompting the newcomers to quickly explain.

"Immortal Master, please do not misunderstand. We are members of the Lin Family from the Earth Realm of Celestial City. The Lin Family possesses an extremely terrifying bloodline Secret Technique. No matter how incredible that man’s concealment method is, we can root him out."

As soon as they finished speaking, they immediately activated the Lin Family’s bloodline Tracking Technique. The Celestial Sword Sect’s prodigy said nothing. He simply watched on in silence, clearly giving tacit approval to their method.

With the involvement of the Lin Family, this was undoubtedly going to be a horrifying hunt. Even if the youth in white possessed the power of the gods, there would be no escaping this time.

Little did they know that this massive manhunt was destined to become a living nightmare for everyone involved.