Chapter 255 - Doubts
The Sovereign's Ascension
No one imagined that someone would die after two hours of calmness. Aside from the eight elites from the various sects, there were also over thirty elite guards from the Gao Clan. The path was still far away, but they already suffered a casualty before they went deep into the Bloodbone Forest.
When Lin Yun arrived, he saw a person lying on the ground. The Heavenly Profound Sectâs Bu Chen and Demonic Moon Villaâs Xiao Ran were both examining the corpse. The victim was an elite from the Gao Clan, someone in the third stage of the Profound Martial Realm.
There was no way he would be considered weak in the Great Qin County, but he died just like that. Bai Qiushui locked her brows and a trace of concern filled her eyes. She had a feeling that this trip wouldnât be smooth.
Lin Yun jumped off the horse and started examining the corpse. The face was black and the limbs were stiff. He had died of poison, but there was something unusual about the corpse. But before he could continue examining it, Bu Chen suddenly asked, âDo you have an opinion about the corpse?â
Both Bai Qiushui and Xiao Ran turned to look at Lin Yun. He had never been to the Bloodbone Forest, so he could only tell that the Gao clan elite had died from poison. He could tell that Bu Chen was targeting him on purpose.
Shaking his head, Lin Yun replied, âI canât tell anything else aside from the cause of his death, which is poison.â Lin Yun shook his head.
Bai Qiushui turned around and asked, âI canât tell either. Did you discover anything?â
âLady Bai, this little fellow is the culprit.â Bu Chen opened his palm to reveal a black spider.
âLet me take a look at it.â Bai Qiushui walked over.
âDonât. This is the Bloodbone Spider. Thereâs a trace of blood at the end of each leg and anyone who comes in contact with it will die. The appearance of this spider also means that we have gone deeper into the Bloodbone Forest.â Bu Chen raised his hand to stop Bai Qiushui from approaching and crushed the powder.
âYouâre truthly worthy of your meticulous reputation. I have heard about the Bloodbone Spiders before. Their venom is extremely difficult to deal with because it feasts on blood and is immune to fire and water. Iâm impressed that you can crush the spider in your hand.â The elites from the other sects looked at Bu Chen with reverence after hearing this.
The Demonic Moon Villaâs Xiao Ran smiled, âItâs not that simple. Please open up a path. Brother Bu Chen still has other discoveries.â
âWhatâs the matter?â Bai Qiushui asked.
âLady Bai, youâll know in a moment.â Bu Chenâs eyes flickered with confidence as he revealed a mysterious smile.
Lin Yun maintained composure, but he found it strange. Bu Chen found the spider and purposefully hid it in his hand before questioning Lin Yun. Lin Yun had no idea what Bu Chen was trying to do. Then, everyone retreated a hundred meters.
Bu Chenâs origin surged within his body and fluctuated with a violent aura. He gently barked and threw his punch at the corpse.
âNo! You canât!â Everyone exclaimed out. After all, it was rude to disrespect the dead.
The corpse suddenly exploded before anyone could finish objecting. Shortly after, an endless flow of spiders spread out into the surrounding. No one had expected that there would be so many Bloodbone Spiders hidden in the corpse. There were hundreds of thousands of them. The faces of the Gao Clanâs elites turned pale when they saw this.
âHmph, bunch of weaklings. Die!â Bu Chenâs hands started to form seals. It was the Undying Vajra Seal. He pushed his hands forward, unleashing a ripple that eradicated all the spiders.
Bu Chen was basking in golden light while his hair fluttered in the wind.
âWhat power!â
âThis is the Dragon-Tiger Fist? Itâs purer than the one used by Young Master Lin the other day.â
âYoung Master Lin enforces the Dragon-Tiger Fist with his sword intent, so itâs not orthodox after all.â
The team had shock in their eyes. Right at this moment, Bai Qiushui took a step forward and said, âThank you for helping. The consequences would have been dire if the spiders had come out.â
âThe spiders are too disgusting. They can actually burrow into the human bodyâ¦â
âWho knows what would have happened if we brought the corpse along with us.â
âThis is all thanks to Young Master Bu!â
Everyone was shocked by the spiders and immediately went up to express their gratitude.
Bu Chen waved his hand and replied, âThereâs no need to thank me. After all, weâve accepted the mission, so we must naturally do our job. If weâre poisoned, who knows what will happen.â
Bai Qiushui turned to look for Lin Yun, only to discover that Lin Yun was already gone. He had ridden away on the Dragon Blooded Horse.
âLetâs carry on.â Bai Qiushui bowed to Bu Chen and Xiao Ran before leading the group.
Xiao Ran looked at Bu Chen, âBrother Bu, you seem to have undergone a breakthrough last night. Your Dragon-Tiger Fist has improved.â
âJust a tiny bit.â Bu Chen replied.
Xiao Ran then looked at Lin Yun and said, âThat Lin Yun seems to be avoiding you on purpose.â
Bu Chen looked disappointed and said, âI actually hoped that he would be as arrogant as he was yesterday so I could have an opportunity to show off my strength. Weâre being low profile, but we canât allow him to hog all the spotlight.â
Xiao Ran nodded, âThatâs right. This Bai Qiushui seems mysterious and she has a chamber of commerce behind her. Itâll benefit us greatly if we can attract her attention.â
âI also want to do that, but weâre not in a rush. We still have a long way to go and there will be plenty of opportunities to show her what a genuine elite looks like!â Bu Chenâs eyes flashed with confidence.
The two got on their horses and went to the front to ride next to Bai Qiushui. It was just as Bu Chen had said, they were gradually leaving the Bloodbone Forestâs borders and moving deeper into the forest.
The surrounding scenery suddenly changed. It became more eerie and the aura became more threatening. The Bloodbone Forest was starting to reveal its terror. The party began to encounter several waves of demonic beasts along the way, each stronger than the previous.
Bu Chen and Xiao Ran were strong and unleashed their Dragon-Tiger Fist and Aquashadow Sword Art to reduce the number of casualties. Until now, Bai Qiushui hadnât lost any of her men.
âDragon Painting!â The fifth demonic beast wave included a group of Firerune Leopards that were all in the fifth stage of the Profound Martial Realm. There were a total of twenty of them.
The leopards were moving fast like a lump of fire speeding through the deathly forest. They caught the Gao Clanâs elites by surprise and instantly tore through their formation. But just when a few Firerune Leopards were reaching Bai Qiushui, Bu Chen roared and soared into the sky.
He was using his hands as brushes and the dragon and tiger aura was the ink. It was the Dragon-Tiger Fistâs Dragon Painting. Bu Chen landed on the ground and threw a punch out.
The surrounding aura accumulated into a ferocious dragon that bolted out. The terrifying aura swept out and took five leopards down in a single punch. The remaining Firerune Leopards were terrified when they saw this scene and immediately fled.
The guards let out a breath of relief when they saw this scene. When Lin Yun saw that the leopards had escaped, he dissipated the Flicking Divine Sword that he was going to execute. The Dragon-Tiger Fist had a total of nine moves. There was the Dragon-Tiger Might, Dragon-Tiger Steps, Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger, Soaring Dragon, Crouching Tiger, Dragon Tail, Dragon Painting, Soaring Dragon, Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger, Myriad Beast Tidal, and Subduing Dragon-Tiger.
Every single form was powerful and they could be further empowered with the seals. Lin Yun paid great attention to the cultivation of the four seals, along with the combination of the Dragon-Tiger Fist and Seven Profound Steps. Aside from the first three forms, Lin Yun had cultivated the Dragon Tail.
The fifth form was the Dragon Painting, which Lin Yun barely knew about. His eyes lit up briefly when he saw Bu Chen using it, but he soon shook his head. The punch was powerful, but Bu Chen hadnât grasped it fully. He was barely executing it, so he would be in trouble if he encountered a strong enemy.
There were too many flaws in it and Bu Chen was a little too rushed in trying to use it. But Lin Yun didnât say anything since Bai Qiushui wasnât in danger. He reached out to a Gao Clanâs guard and pulled him up.
âHey, are you alright?â The Gao Clanâs guard had been bitten on his abdomen, but the injury was immediately dealt with. Despite having the wound bandaged, the guard still looked to be in pain, but he put up with it. The Gao Clanâs guard was shocked when he saw Lin Yun reaching out with his hand. He was shocked that this was a gesture from a disciple of the Sword Firmament Pavilion.
âThank you.â The guard grabbed onto Lin Yunâs arm and got up on his feet.
âWhatâs your name?â asked Lin Yun.
âMy nameâs Gao Yu, a branch descendant of the Gao Clan,â he responded.
âGet on my horse. Your injuries arenât serious, so you can still continue to travel. But walking will cause your wound to tear open.â
âCan I really do that?â Gao Yu clearly didnât believe what he had just heard.
Lifting him up on the Dragon Blooded Horse, Lin Yun replied, âDonât worry about it. But the horse is a little wild, so hold on tight.â
Gao Yu sat firmly on the horse and watched as Bu Chen and Xiao Ran tried to strike up a conversation with Bai Qiushui. This was especially so for Bu Chen. He had shocked everyone when he killed five Firerune Leopards with his fist earlier. His face was clearly filled with pride by his achievement.
âYoung Master Lin, I have some words, but I have no idea if itâs appropriate for me to talk about them.â Gao Yu said hesitating for a long time.
âGo ahead,â said Lin Yun.
âI noticed that Bu Chen and Xiao Ran have been targeting you during our travels. Donât you feel it?â asked Gao Yu.
âA little.â Lin Yun wasnât stupid and he could naturally sense his surrounding well.
âI bet you have no idea, but not even my clanâs Patriarch dares to offend Lady Bai. She definitely has a significant background and she clearly has a good impression about you.â Gao Yu grew a little nervous and continued, âIâve personally seen how Xiao Ran and Bu Chenâs faces changed last night.â
But Lin Yun couldnât be bothered if it was just those two. So it turns out that it was because of Bai Qiushui. Gao Yuâs words had allowed him to sort out what was going on. But as they were chatting, Bai Qiushui, Bu Chen, and Xiao Ran came towards them.