pjbooks Chapter 485 - 485: A Hero Emerges: Part One
Chapter 485 - 485: A Hero Emerges: Part One
The man in question seemed to have appeared from a Blessed Land - but there was no scenery or grassland behind him; rather a strange greyish prismatic void. It was oddly colored and sparkling behind him even as he stepped out. He had long flowing black hair that danced in the sea breeze as he took in his surroundings.Fang Yuan, glanced around and noticed the two people standing there. He inwardly cursed his luck. While his spaceless tunnel had the advantage of bypassing the Regional Walls, it also carried a couple of distinct disadvantages.
For one, he could only enter and exit at specific points, given that he possessed neither the gu worms nor the skill required to create his own spaceless tunnels. The second issue was that once he was inside a tunnel, there was no way to exit midway. It was technically possible to try and tear a hole through the fabric of the spaceless tunnel to force an early exit, but the nature of the spaceless tunnel mean that he could potentially end up anywhere in the Gu World - the heart of a volcano, the Heavenly Court itself, a trap formation setup by an enemy, or the nest of an immemorial desolate beast.
All such risky locations would undoubtedly result in his death, so if he wanted to be safe he could only exit through either the exit or turn around and go back to the entrance.
The Gu World was vast - far, far more vast than Earth with the Southern Border alone being multitudes the size of the Earth - so the odds of running into someone the moment he emerged from a spaceless tunnel were minuscule.
These exits were not easy to detect unless one already knew their locations or had some clue to deduce them.
Yet, despite how low the odds were, he had managed to run into not just two people, but two people actively fighting.
'Oh well, at the very least they are both only Rank 6,' Fang Yuan thought to himself. 'If they were any higher, I would be in trouble.'
Naturally, An Rui was the first to react. "Ah, Sir, please help me! This evil demonic cultivator is attacking me! If you agree to help, I can assure you that my An tribe will compensate you generously!"
The An tribe only had two rank 6 Gu Immortals, but she could tell that Fang Yuan was also a rank 6 Immortal, so they could certainly figure out a suitable reward.
Dai Ruo glared at Fang Yuan suspiciously. Fang Yuan was a Southern Border Gu Immortal and radiated the distinct aura of one, but since he was only Rank 6, Dai Ruo had never heard of him before.
Dai Ruo basically had two options now. One was to continue fighting. However, with Fang Yuan added to the mix, the likelihood of the battle shifting in his enemy's favor was quite high. Furthermore, Fang Yuan didn't even necessarily need to defeat him; he only had to stall long enough for An Rui's reinforcements to arrive.
At the same time, the method by which Fang Yuan had appeared was incredibly mysterious. If he could appear here mysteriously, could he also vanish mysteriously as well?
Though Dai Ruo was a demonic cultivator, he was no idiot.
He knew they harbored a great grudge and would undoubtedly come after him eventually.
This was the only proper opportunity he had been painstakingly waiting years for, and he would likely never get such a chance again. In the future, An Rui would be far more suspicious and would not leave her brother's shadow. Not to mention, the two siblings would only get stronger as time passed. It would be easier for them to grow when compared to him.
His other option was to flee. That was no doubt safer.
But the best opportunity to kill her was still right now. The only issue was the new variable that had been thrown in: Fang Yuan, a completely unknown factor.
Fang Yuan glanced at the two, quickly piecing together what had happened before sighing inwardly. 'Why do I have to deal with this? Why did I have to pop up right between them?'
He really need to work on solving his luck issue...
The fact of the matter was that he wanted to simply run away, but he knew it wasn't going to be that easy.
Pointing a finger at Fang Yuan, Dai Ruo spoke up. He had seen Fang Yuan emerge from the spaceless tunnel, and though he didn't fully recognize what it was, he realized Fang Yuan possessed an abnormal method of movement.
Moreover, Fang Yuan had appeared quite suddenly and without either of them knowing or being able to detect it. It seemed to be some kind of Space Path or first-class movement technique. Regardless of what the underlying secret was, Dai Ruo naturally wanted it. After all, it would provide him with an escape mechanism if he were ever pursued by righteous path forces.
The reason why the famous Flower Wine Monk had managed to escape persecution for so long was due to his movement methods, most notable of which was the Thousand Li Earthwolf Spider that allowed him to leave righteous path forces in the dust.
Dai Ruo wanted a similar escape mechanism. His own movement-type killer move, Wandering Through Windy Waves, was certainly powerful, but it could not be considered top-tier by any means. If he could obtain a method like Fang Yuan's, it would be for the best.
Then, Fang Yuan did something that neither of them expected.
He turned toward Dai Ruo, cupped his hands, and said, "Brother, I see that you seem to have some kind of problem with this fairy. My name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan, and I am from the Southern Border and work with the Shang Clan. Why don't you simply place your weapons aside and make peace with each other? It is the nature of violence to only beget more violence. There is already so much death and destruction in the world. Why add to it? Fate already is a sea of chaos that threatens to engulf us all and end us - in such a scenario, why fight amongst each other? We should not strike each other in anger, but band together as one in forgiveness and understanding so that we may bear the tides of this cruel and violent world together. Taking out your anger upon others will only harm yourself in the long run, for rage is like acid - it harms the vessel it is kept in more than it can harm anyone else. I see that you appear to either be a demonic or a lone cultivator, and perhaps you feel that there is no choice but for you to go down this dark and wicked path. But such is far from the truth. It is never too late to turn over a new leaf, after all, and embrace the path of kindness and justice."
Both of the onlookers were stunned.
An Rui's jaw dropped, while Dai Ruo began laughing immediately before shifting into a sneer. "Fang Yuan, aren't you the softest, wettest, little boy? Do you truly think that I, a demonic path cultivator, would be so easily moved by words? I don't know how you eunuchs in the Southern Border deal with disputes, but this is a kill or be killed world!" The Shang Clan may as well have been on a different planet for all that Dai Ruo was concerned - and Fang Yuan did not have the surname 'Shang' so there was little likelihood that they would pursue him this far.
Dai Ruo stopped laughing.
He then glared at Fang Yuan, now fully convinced the man was just a paper tiger. More likely than not, Fang Yuan was here by accident and did not want to fight. That was perfect. "Hand over the secret of how you managed to travel here, and I'll consider letting you go! Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
An Rui, meanwhile, was inwardly cursing. 'I was hoping a hero would emerge from nowhere, just like in the old stories, but what kind of person is this Gu Immortal? He's trying to negotiate with a demonic path cultivator! He doesn't look like he's very good at combat either. Oh no, what if he's a newly ascended Gu Immortal like me? Then we'll be in a bad spot. Oh Heaven, why couldn't you send someone stronger, or someone more used to killing? He seems like such a peaceful young lad. A warrior is what's needed in this situation, not someone who tries to negotiate!'
Fang Yuan look far too relaxed, she noted. He seemed to also completely lack situational awareness.
"I'm afraid that simply is impossible," Fang Yuan answered calmly.
"In that case..." Dai Ruo drew in a deep breath as killing intent radiated from his eyes. He had made his decision. Sure, attacking Fang Yuan was risky, but what was the demonic path about if not taking risks? In the worst-case scenario, he figured he could simply turn tail and flee. But if he abandoned An Rui right now, he would never get the chance to kill her again, not to mention he would miss out on the strange secret behind Fang Yuan's appearance. "Your death anniversary will be a year from now!" Dai Ruo roared.
But suddenly, Dai Ruo flinched. A blade nearly flew right at him, almost separating his head from his shoulders.
It was the mortal killer move, Emotions Cut Like a Sword!
Fang Yuan had unleashed this strike attempting to hit Dai Ruo while he was distracted.
Dai Ruo frowned. That strike was powerful - some kind of killer move he had never seen before. It seemed to be a Sword Path killer move, yet at the same time, it wasn't strictly sword path. This was troublesome.
It was possible that Fang Yuan was not as weak as he had initially assumed.
But so what? Dai Ruo obviously had multiple trump cards as well. He would have preferred not to use this one, but he realized that the clock was running out; if he did not take care of these two right now, reinforcements would soon arrive.
He was not confident enough to fight the two of them using just his ordinary mortal killer moves.
"Take a look at this and despair!" Dai Ruo screamed as he summoned a Gu House from his immortal aperture. "Behold, the instrument of your demise!"
It was a chariot made of crimson red, large enough to fit a dozen elephants within it. It radiated a malevolent aura. Although it did not have a single Immortal Gu within it, its offensive power could rival that of Rank 6 gu worms.
It was a Rank 5 Gu House - the Blood Chariot!